Science Technology and

Society
Ebonia B. Seraspe
UP Visayas
What is Science?
Science is not just a collection of facts,
theories and models. Science fiction writer
Isaac Asimov describes science as "a way of
thinking," a way to look at the world.

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

Science does not provide all the answers. It
requires us to be skeptical so that our
scientific "conclusions" can be modified or
changed as we make new discoveries.
Science includes:

* Observing what is happening
* Predicting what might happen
* Testing predictions under
controlled conditions
* Trying to make sense of our
observations
What is Science?

Science is a particular way of
understanding the natural world.

Science is based on the premise
that our senses, and extensions of
those senses through the use of
instruments, can give us accurate
information about the Universe.


Science follows very specific
"rules" and its results are
always subject to testing and,
if necessary, revision. Even
with such constraints science
does not exclude, and often
benefits from, creativity and
imagination
Science Has Principles

Science seeks to explain the
natural world and its
explanations are tested using
evidence from the natural
world.
For example:
Birds and lizards - exist in nature
therefore fall within the scope of
science.
Elves and gnomes - do not dwell in the
natural world. That means they are
not appropriate for scientific study.

The basis of any scientific
understanding is information gleaned
from observations of nature

Science assumes that we
can learn about the natural
world by gathering
evidence through our senses
and extensions of our
senses.
For example:
A flower or a rock - directly
observed with no special aids.
But using technology, can expand the
realm of human senses to observe
such invisible phenomena as
electricity and magnetic fields, and
objects such as bacteria and faraway
galaxies.
Dreams, apparitions and
hallucinations, seem real but they do
not arise from our senses and are
not even extensions of our senses.
The ultimate test of any conceptual
understanding exists only in real
materials and observations.
Evidence is the basic stuff of
science. Without evidence there is
only speculation
Science Asks Three Basic Questions

What is there?

The astronaut picking up rocks on the
moon, the nuclear physicist
bombarding atoms, the marine
biologist describing a newly
discovered species, the
paleontologist digging in promising
strata, are all seeking to find out,
What is there?
How does it work?

A geologist comparing the effects of
time on moon rocks to the effects of
time on earth rocks, the nuclear physicist
observing the behavior of particles, the
marine biologist observing whales
swimming, and the paleontologist studying
the locomotion of an extinct dinosaur,
How does it work?

How did it come to be this way?

Each of these scientists tries to
reconstruct the histories of their
objects of study. Whether these
objects marine organisms, or
fossils, scientists are asking, How
did it come to be this way?

Science Is a Process

Scientific ideas are developed through
reasoning.

No person has lived through
deep time but we know it has
occurred.

No person has ever looked
inside an atom
but we know what is there
Inferences are logical
conclusions based on observable
facts.

Much of what we know from
scientific study is based on
inferences from data, whether
the object of study is a star or
an atom.

Scientific claims are based on testing
explanations against observations of the
natural world and rejecting the ones that
fail the test.
Scientific explanations are evaluated using
evidence from the natural world.
That evidence may come from various
sources: a controlled lab experiment, a study
of anatomy, or recordings of radiation from
outerspace,etc.

Explanations that dont fit the evidence are
rejected or are modified and tested again
Scientific claims are subject to
peer review and replication.
Peer review is an integral part of
genuine scientific enterprise and goes
on continuously in all areas of science.

The process of peer review includes
examination of other scientists data
and logic.
It attempts to identify alternative
explanations, and attempts to replicate
observations and experiments.

Characteristics of Science

Conclusions of science are reliable, though
tentative.
Science is always a work in progress, and its
conclusions are always tentative - they are
temporary until the real answer comes along.

Scientific conclusions are well founded in
their factual content and thinking and are
tentative only in the sense that all ideas are
open to scrutiny.


In science, the tentativeness
of ideas refers to the
willingness of scientists to
modify their ideas as new
evidence appears.

Science is not democratic.

Scientific ideas are subject to
scrutiny from near and far, but
nobody ever takes a vote.

Scientific ideas are accepted or
rejected instead on the basis of
evidence.
Science is based on evidence, not
votes.

Science is non-dogmatic.

Nothing in the scientific enterprise
or literature requires belief. To ask
someone to accept ideas purely on
faith, even when these ideas are
expressed by experts, is unscientific.

Explanations and conclusions are
accepted only to the degree that
they are well founded and continue to
stand up to scrutiny.
Science cannot make moral or
aesthetic decisions.

Scientists can infer the relationships of
flowering plants from their anatomy, DNA,
and fossils, but they cannot scientifically
assert that a rose is prettier than a daisy.

Scientists make moral and aesthetic
judgments and choices, but such decisions
are not part of science.
Science follows sensible guidelines:
*Science relies on evidence from the natural
world and this evidence is examined and
interpreted through logic.
*Creative flexibility is essential to scientific
thinking, however science follows a process
guided by certain parameters.
*Science is embedded within the culture of
its times.

Understanding how science works allows one
to easily distinguish science from
non-science.


What is Technology?
Technology is knowledge that has the following
characteristics:
* systematized and practical, based on
experimentation and/or scientific
theory
* may involve new discoveries, current
knowledge, or a combination of both
directed toward application or
achieving a goal rather than only toward
understanding
* involves direct manipulation of materials or
biological systems, or the implementation
of mathematical algorithms is
reproducible and transferable

Technology includes both things
designed by people, and also ways of
arranging and deploying them for
practical use.
Borrowing words from the computer
field, these two aspects of technology
constitute hardware and software,
respectively. For example, furniture is
hardware, while the plan for arranging
it is software
Technology has a number of
distinct characteristics:

1.It Involves Design
At the centre of technology lies design. The
design process in 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.

2. It Involves Making
The motivating factor behind all technological
activity is the desire to fulfill a need.

For this reason all designs should be made or
realised - whether that be through prototype,
batch- or mass- production or some form of
three-dimensional or computer model

if the need is to be truly fulfilled, the design is
to be legitimately evaluated, and the design
activity is to have been purposeful and
worthwhile.
3. It is Multi-Dimensional
Not only may design and production involve
co-operation between different specialists
(between, for example, designer, production
engineer and materials scientist),

but may involve technologists in performing
a multitude of functions, such as:
* working with others,
* operating within budgets,
* persuading decision makers,
* communicating to clients and
* working to deadlines
4. It Is Concerned With Values
Technology is informed by values at every
point.
Value decisions may be called for not only in
relation to the specific design criteria i.e.
* aesthetic,
* ergonomic and economic judgements,
* suitability for purpose and
* ease of manufacture

but also in relation to the rightness or
wrongness of a particular solution
in ethical terms.

C0ntribution of S and T to Society

1. Science and Technology for Lifelong
Health
The average lifespan in 19211925
42.1 years for males and
43.2 years for females
has been nearly doubled in 2004 to
78.6 years for males and
85.6 years for females
increase in the average lifespan due to the
contributions from improved medical standards,
nutrition and sanitation
sprung from advances
in science and technology.
2. Science and Technology to Improve
Social Welfare
The cutting edge science and technology
supplement the functions lost due to age or injury,
support care-givers and relieve them from the
heavy work of nursing care


Autonomous daily-activity
support robot that is equipped
with soft skin, sight, hearing,
sense of smell and sense of
touch, and can perform tasks
with a delicate touch.

3. Science and Technology to Enable
Diversification of Work Styles
Science and technology
contribute to enhancing social vitality and
making work easier for individuals.
* Aging and Physical and Mental Function
Science and technology - used to maintain and
improve mental vigor by delaying the decline in
physical function that accompanies physiological
aging as well as preventing depression and
preserving intellectual ability.


* Development of lifelong learning and
vocational skills
The development of learning and
vocational skills using communications
technology - support the return to the
work force of those who took childcare
leave, as well as the re-employment of
people who have retired from another
job.


Telecommunications systems to
support more flexibility in styles of
working
about 15% of companies in Japan, and 69% of
companies in the USA are using telework for
employees to work at locations other than the
office using telecommunications networks.

it allows people to work while also raising
children, and reduces the physical burden of
commuting to an office.
4. Science and Technology to
Contribute to the Effective Utilization
of Social Capital
Social capital stock, such as the roads, airports
and sea ports has been steadily accumulating.
It is necessary to continue with the
development of technology for the planning,
construction and maintenance, and development
of structural materials with a long lifespan and
suitable for recycling, so that social capital can
be utilized efficiently for a long time.


5. Science and Technology for Safe
and Secure Society and Sustainable
Society
Most of our daily activities in modern
society depend on social systems
supported by advanced science and
technology, such as telecommunications,
transportation for distribution of goods, and
energy supply. These social systems are
expected to contribute to a sense of security
and ensure the stability of the activities of
everyday life.
6. Science and Technology to
Vitalize the Economy

the development and maintenance of
the economy through innovation is
necessary in order to create an
affluent society and keep and
enhance its vitality.

Innovation and science and technology
to improve productivity
An indicator to show the contribution of science and
technology to economic growth is a concept called
total factor productivity (TFP) contributing to the
rate of growth of GDP.

Total factor productivity means productivity with
consideration of all factors contributing to
production, except for amount of labor investment
and capital stock. It increases with changes in the
business climate and improvements in labor quality,
and the progress of technology is said to be a major
factor for such an increase.


Trends in various countries on
science and technology policies to
achieve innovation

Modern Japan and economic
societies in other advanced nations
are knowledge-based economies and
societies, founded on knowledge like
the results of science and
technology.

To maintain and grow these economies it is
important to:
* make use of the knowledge base in
industrial technology,
* develop new goods and services, and
* cycle the knowledge back into society
and the daily lives of citizens.

The development of mechanisms to promote
innovation has become an important policy
issue for many countries, and a variety of
science and technology and innovation
policies are being developed

Promotion of basic research
at universities, which are
the wellspring of innovation

Universities are a source of
[knowledge], and are a
treasure trove of the seeds
that give rise to innovation
Building a sustainable and
progressive industry, academia and
government collaboration system
New knowledge is created by meeting
people. It is important that universities
seeking to create new knowledge and
theories, business seeking to develop
products and services and the government
join forces on research and development to
foster innovation.

Creating, protecting and utilizing
intellectual property

In order to boost innovation, it is
essential to stimulate the intellectual
creative activity cycle and ensure that
the resulting intellectual property is
properly protected and utilized.

Intellectual property is expected to fill two roles:
One is to motivate research and development.
The second role is to encourage the public release
of research and development.
Patent rights are intellectual property rights that
require publication as a condition of the protection,
so by strengthening this, it is possible to avoid
having research become a business secret and
prevent redundant investment by other companies.
On the other hand, excessive protection hinders
technological innovation, so it is necessary to seek an
appropriate protection balance.


Promoting entrepreneurial activities
of R&D ventures
Research and development-based venture
businesses, such as university start-ups,
quickly return ground-breaking research
results from universities to society, and play
an important role as a driving force of
innovation. In recent years universities are
not just generating the seeds that are the
source of knowledge, but are also actively
setting up university start-ups to develop
new goods and services utilizing their
own research results.
Innovation activities by private
enterprises

The creation of market value in the
form of new products based on the
results of research and development
and industry-academia-government
alliances, and the final realization of
innovation is achieved through
private business
Government support measures
needed to foster company-internal
venture enterprises

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

The special tax deduction system related to the
total testing and research expenses is a system
allowing a deduction from corporate taxes (income
tax) of a certain percentage of the total
expenditure on testing and research
(8-10%
To Build Innovation Systems

the country to have continuous innovation in order to
maintain economic vitality and international
competitiveness.

it will be necessary for industry, academia and the
government to work together and strengthen the
innovation systems so that the latent abilities of the
nation are utilized to the fullest extent in order to
continuously and effectively achieve innovation for
the ground-breaking research and development
results

there must be an effective
innovation system built through
promotion of the alliances, with
a mutual understanding
maintained through the
interaction and exchanges of
personnel among the various
organizations.