Lecture 1 Introduction STS

8/10/2019 Lecture 1 Introduction STS

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Science Technology andSociety

Ebonia B. Seraspe

UP Visayas


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What is Science?Science is not just a collection of facts,

theories and models. Science fiction writerIsaac Asimov describes science as "a way ofthinking," a way to look at the world.

Science involves trial and error - trying,failing and trying again.

Science does not provide all the answers. Itrequires us to be skeptical so that ourscientific "conclusions" can be modified or

changed as we make new discoveries.


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Science includes:

* Observingwhat is happening* Predictingwhat might happen

* Testing predictions undercontrolled conditions* Trying to make sense of our

observations


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What is Science?

Science is a particular way ofunderstanding the natural world.

Science is based on the premisethat our senses, and extensions ofthose sensesthrough the use ofinstruments, can give us accurate

information about the Universe.


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Science follows very specific

"rules" and its results arealways subject to testing and,if necessary, revision. Evenwith such constraints sciencedoes not exclude, and oftenbenefits from, creativity andimagination


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Science Has PrinciplesScience seeks to explain the

natural world and itsexplanations are tested usingevidencefrom the natural

world.


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For example:Birds and lizards - exist in nature

therefore fall within the scope ofscience.

Elves and gnomes - do not dwell in the

natural world. That means they arenot appropriate for scientific study.

The basis of any scientificunderstanding is information gleanedfrom observations of nature


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Science assumes that wecan learn about the naturalworld by gathering

evidencethrough our sensesand extensions of oursenses.


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For example:

A flower or a rock - directlyobserved with no special aids.

But using technology, can expand the

realm of human senses to observesuch invisible phenomena aselectricity and magnetic fields, and

objects such as bacteria and farawaygalaxies.


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Dreams, apparitions andhallucinations, seem real but they do

not arise from our senses and arenot even extensions of our senses.

The ultimate test of any conceptual

understanding exists only in realmaterials and observations.

Evidence is the basic stuff ofscience. Without evidence there isonly speculation


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Science Asks Three Basic Questions

What is there?

The astronaut picking up rocks on the

moon, the nuclear physicistbombarding atoms, the marinebiologist describing a newlydiscovered species, the

paleontologist digging in promisingstrata, are all seeking to find out,

What is there?


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How does it work?

A geologist comparing the effects oftime on moon rocks to the effects oftime on earth rocks, the nuclear physicist

observing the behavior of particles, themarine biologist observing whalesswimming, and the paleontologist studying

the locomotion of an extinct dinosaur,How does it work?


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How did it come to be this way?

Each of these scientists tries toreconstruct the histories of their

objects of study. Whether theseobjects marine organisms, orfossils, scientists are asking, Howdid it come to be this way?


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Science Is a Process

Scientific ideas are developed throughreasoning.

No person has lived through

deep time but we know it hasoccurred.

No person has ever looked

inside an atombut we know what is there


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Inferencesare logical

conclusionsbased on observablefacts.

Much of what we know fromscientific study is based oninferences from data, whether

the object of study is a star oran atom.


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Scientific claims are based on testingexplanations against observations of the

natural world and rejecting the ones thatfail the test.Scientific explanations are evaluated usingevidence from the natural world.

That evidence may come from varioussources: a controlled lab experiment, a studyof anatomy, or recordings of radiation fromouterspace,etc.

Explanations that dont fit the evidence arerejected or are modified and tested again


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Scientific claims are subject topeer review and replication.

Peer review is an integral part ofgenuine scientific enterprise and goeson continuously in all areas of science.

The process of peer review includesexamination of other scientists dataand logic.

It attempts to identify alternativeexplanations, and attempts to replicate

observations and experiments.


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Characteristics of Science

Conclusions of science are reliable, thoughtentative.Science is always a work in progress, and itsconclusions are always tentative - they are

temporary until the real answer comes along.

Scientific conclusions are well founded intheir factual content and thinking and aretentative only in the sense that all ideas areopen to scrutiny.


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In science, the tentativenessof ideas refers to thewillingness of scientists to

modify their ideas as newevidence appears.


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Science is not democratic.

Scientific ideas are subject toscrutiny from near and far, but

nobody ever takes a vote.

Scientific ideas are accepted or

rejected instead on the basis ofevidence.


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Science is based on evidence, notvotes.


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Science is non-dogmatic.

Nothing in the scientific enterpriseor literature requires belief. To asksomeone to accept ideas purely onfaith, even when these ideas areexpressed by experts, is unscientific.

Explanations and conclusions are

accepted only to the degree thatthey are well founded and continue to

stand up to scrutiny.


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Science cannot make moral or

aesthetic decisions.Scientists can infer the relationships offlowering plants from their anatomy, DNA,

and fossils, but they cannot scientificallyassert that a rose is prettier than a daisy.

Scientists make moral and aestheticjudgments and choices, but such decisionsare not part of science.


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Science follows sensible guidelines:

*Science relies on evidence from the naturalworld and this evidence is examined andinterpreted through logic.

*Creative flexibility is essential to scientific

thinking, however science follows a processguided by certain parameters.*Science is embedded within the culture of

its times.

Understanding how science works allows oneto easily distinguish science fromnon-science.

Wh t i T h l ?


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What is Technology?Technology is knowledge that has the followingcharacteristics:

* systematized and practical, based onexperimentation and/or scientifictheory

* may involve new discoveries, current

knowledge, or a combination of bothdirected toward application orachieving a goal rather than only towardunderstanding

* involves direct manipulation of materials orbiological systems, or the implementation

of mathematical algorithms is

reproducible and transferable


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Technology includes both thingsdesigned by people, and also ways of

arranging and deploying themforpractical use.Borrowing words from the computer

field, these two aspects of technologyconstitute hardwareand software,respectively. For example, furniture is

hardware, while the plan for arrangingit is software


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Technology has a number ofdistinct characteristics:

1.It Involves DesignAt the centre of technology lies design. Thedesign processin technology is a sequential

process which begins:* with the perception of a need,* with the formulation of a specification,* the generation of ideas and a final

solution, and* ends with an evaluation of the solution.
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/trinity/watisdes.htmlhttp://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/trinity/watisdes.html


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2. It Involves MakingThe motivating factor behind all technological

activity is the desire to fulfill a need.

For this reason all designs should be made orrealised - whether that be through prototype,

batch- or mass- production or some form ofthree-dimensional or computer model

if the need is to be truly fulfilled, the design is

to be legitimately evaluated, and the designactivity is to have been purposeful and

worthwhile.


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3. It is Multi-DimensionalNot only may design and production involve

co-operationbetween different specialists(between, for example, designer, productionengineer and materials scientist),

but may involve technologists in performinga multitude of functions, such as:* working with others,* operating within budgets,

* persuading decision makers,* communicating to clients and* working to deadlines


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4. It Is Concerned With ValuesTechnology is informed by valuesat every

point.Value decisions may be called for not only inrelation to the specific design criteriai.e.

* aesthetic,* ergonomic and economic judgements,* suitability for purpose and* ease of manufacture

but also in relation to the rightness orwrongnessof a particular solutionin ethical terms.


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C0ntribution of S and T to Society

1. Science and Technology for LifelongHealthThe average lifespan in 1921

192542.1 years for males and

43.2 years for femaleshas been nearly doubled in 2004 to78.6 years for males and85.6 years for females

increase in the average lifespan due to thecontributions from improved medical standards,nutritionand sanitationsprung from advances

in science and technology.


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2. Science and Technology to ImproveSocial Welfare

The cutting edge science and technologysupplement the functions lost due to age or injury,support care-givers and relieve them from the

heavy work of nursing care

Autonomous daily-activitysupport robot that is equippedwith soft skin, sight, hearing,sense of smell and sense oftouch, and can perform taskswith a delicate touch.


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* Development of lifelong learning and

vocational skillsThe development of learning andvocational skills using communicationstechnology - support the return to thework force of those who took childcareleave, as well as the re-employment ofpeople who have retired from another

job.


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Telecommunications systems tosupport more flexibility in styles ofworkingabout 15% of companies in Japan, and 69% of

companies in the USA are using telework for

employees to work at locations other than theoffice using telecommunications networks.

it allows people to work while also raising

children, and reduces the physical burden ofcommuting to an office.


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5. Science and Technology for Safeand Secure Society and SustainableSociety

Most of our daily activities in modernsociety depend on social systems

supported by advanced science andtechnology, such as telecommunications,transportation for distribution of goods, andenergy supply. These social systems are

expected to contribute to a sense of securityand ensure the stability of the activities of

everyday life.


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6. Science and Technology to

Vitalize the Economythe development and maintenance ofthe economy through innovation is

necessary in order to create anaffluent society and keep andenhance its vitality.


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Innovation and science and technologyto improve productivity

An indicator to show the contribution of science andtechnology to economic growth is a concept calledtotal factor productivity (TFP)contributing to therate of growth of GDP.

Total factor productivitymeans productivity withconsideration of all factors contributing toproduction, except for amount of labor investmentand capital stock. It increases with changes in the

business climateand improvements in labor quality,and the progress of technologyis said to be a major

factor for such an increase.


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Trends in various countries onscience and technology policies to

achieve innovation

Modern Japan and economicsocieties in other advanced nationsare knowledge-based economies andsocieties,founded on knowledge likethe results of science and

technology.


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To maintain and grow these economies it isimportant to:

* make use of the knowledge base inindustrial technology,

* develop new goods and services, and* cycle the knowledge back into society

and the daily lives of citizens.

The development of mechanisms to promoteinnovation has become an important policy

issue for many countries, and a variety ofscience and technology and innovation

policies are being developed


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Promotion of basic researchat universities, which arethe wellspring of innovation

Universities are a source of[knowledge], and are atreasure trove of the seedsthat give rise to innovation


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Building a sustainable andprogressive industry, academia andgovernment collaboration systemNew knowledge is created by meeting

people. It is important that universities

seeking to create new knowledge andtheories, business seeking to developproducts and services and the governmentjoin forces on research and development to

foster innovation.


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Creating, protecting and utilizingintellectual property

In order to boost innovation, it isessential to stimulate the intellectual

creative activity cycle and ensure thatthe resulting intellectual property isproperly protected and utilized.


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Promoting entrepreneurial activitiesof R&D venturesResearch and development-based venture

businesses, such as university start-ups,quickly return ground-breaking research

results from universities to society, and playan important role as a driving force ofinnovation. In recent years universities arenot just generating the seeds that are the

source of knowledge, but are also activelysetting up university start-ups to developnew goods and services utilizing their

own research results.


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Innovation activities by privateenterprises

The creation of market value in the

form of new products based on theresults of research and developmentand industry-academia-governmentalliances, and the final realization of

innovation is achieved throughprivate business


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Government support measures

needed to foster company-internalventure enterprises

Measures in the tax system related to testing andresearch costs, include a system of tax deductions

The special tax deduction system related to thetotal testing and research expenses is a systemallowing a deduction from corporate taxes (incometax) of a certain percentage of the total

expenditure on testing and research(8-10%


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To Build Innovation Systems

the country to have continuous innovation in order tomaintain economic vitality and internationalcompetitiveness.

it will be necessary for industry, academia and thegovernment to work together and strengthen theinnovation systems so that the latent abilities of thenation are utilized to the fullest extent in order to

continuously and effectively achieve innovation forthe ground-breaking research and developmentresults


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Documents

Lecture 1 Introduction STS