Science serves society in ecology, environment and economy. This is the empirical spirit that has created enormous interest in research, innovation and development all around the world, particularly in the developed nations.
In all forms and probability, science and scientist must benefit each and every person and part of society in principle. Science, scientist, society and people are the vital elements in achieving the healthier life style. Science and scientist are the significant part of human life, and they should be increasingly beneficial and supportive in the sustainability and development of society and people.
Science more deals with the understanding and control of materials, whether new or old (disposed). The life cycle of people in society is mainly around using and disposing materials. People use the material for the desired purpose, and dispose when it becomes useless for them. Society is then the ready-store for disposable.
The coupling of science and scientist is highly influential in creating greener, cleaner, easier and smoother life environment. Scientist influences the life in society through several means including enhancing the performance of materials, introducing new matter, developing material for particular application, helping the people understand and practise healthy, peaceful and comfortable life style, and protect the people and society from undesirable effects of disposable, waste, and hazardous stuff.
The fight in shaping the society around the globe, from past to present era of time, was not seen to deny the significance of research, education and training, and whenever the excellence in civilisation was desired these were on priority. Whether secular or religious, all the social systems bear this realisation, however at varying levels of appreciation.
Undoubtedly, the limitations exist with the scientific achievement like the any other disciplines. Scientific discoveries and inventions mainly emerge from the five human senses that are influenced by emotions, thoughts and interest. Therefore, an absolute reliance on the achievement of science is not justified. The impact of scientific work on society requires continuous evaluation, as well as adjusting the timely and long-term requirements of social variables.
The best investment in society is the investment in people through education, training and research. Its effects are direct and can be seen at any time. Education and training improves the performance and behaviour of individuals, and research provides genuine problem solution, discovery, and/or invention that offer the way forward. Research is a vital tool to separate the wrong, when the right one is desired, or to find the correct, when the false to be prevented.
More scientists should be part of the society; this element was recently seen at the European Summit.
It was at the 2002 European Summit in Barcelona, EU leaders called for an increase in the proportion of European GDP invested in research from 1.9% to 3%. Relating to human resources, it was estimated that an extra half a million researchers (1.2 million research related personnel) would be needed to reach the minimum level of eight researchers per thousand in the work force. Strategically, it is targeted to meet by 2010.
The former research commissioner, Philppe Busquin, called for setting up of a high-level group on increasing human resource for science and technology in Europe with a particular emphasis on young people. This group ran consultation process in Europe involving 200 national and European industrial organisations, universities and research laboratories, science and technology funding agencies, research councils, academics, science centres, and museums.
In the desired human resources for science and technology in the Western World, the particular emphasis on young people indicates the significance of realisation, recognition, and potential talent of young people that play vital role in national development. The idea of old is gold is not sacrificed when young people are the part in leading the nation. More important are the efforts and the ideas put in solving the problems plaguing the nation, or raising the performance standard of materials and system, where young people may share an effective contribution. An example in supporting this idea is seen when John Dawkins, Member of State Parliament, Australia, December, 2003, confessed the abilities of young people saying "I am passionate about young people and their leadership abilities.
In the next 15 years or may be a bit earlier, I will retire and while I want to commit to the community, I don't want to be leading the community... We've got to have young people coming through and we've got to make sure that the generation gap is not too big...But the generation gap between the 75-year-old and the 25-year-old is enormous. They speak a different language..."
In the case of Europe that already had a rooted infrastructure for science and technology with hundreds of well-equipped organisations and thousands of dedicated and trained researchers working on several thousands of projects funded publicly or privately.
Any developing country or a country willing to develop must realise extra efforts, resources, and funding to manipulate the science role in society and economy. It should not be an exaggeration when research and education are considered the best forms of investment in national building and development.
Science provides the effective means in enhancing the ability of human beings to understand, evaluate and finally control the materials for peaceful purposes, discard the less effective or less efficient (a process also termed as modernisation) and ultimately benefit the society in totality. This is the science and society cycle shown in Figure 1.
Development of science and technology in Asia in the 21st Century may be considered referring to the history of development of science and technology in Japan. This was largely due to the process of modernisation of Japan at the beginning of the 20th Century, not comparatively seen in other parts of Asia.
Many of the Asian countries stress the role of science and technology, around or after the middle of the 20th Century. The economic and social effects were more visible for the world in the 1990's. Consequently, it is not sudden to see the growth in the South East Asian region.
It is not surprising to see the reduced level of research activities in science and technology in the past decades of research and academic institutions in Pakistan, that largely require highly qualified human resource, equipment and funding coupled with the dedicated deriving forces at the highest management level. The missing link of science and society, dependence on foreign nations for Ph.D qualification, lack of natural resources utilisation, reliance on foreign trainers experts for advanced projects, scarcity of highly qualified personnel were all the inter- related elements resulting principally from the reduced recognition of science and technology, and its impacts on society.
GRAPH Figure 1. Science and society-link in science, human resource, modernisation, and society.
An exception is seen in the chemistry discipline that originated by the establishment of a 'Postgraduate Institute of Chemistry' at the Department of Chemistry, University of Karachi in 1967. Later, following a philanthropist donation from Hussain Jamal Foundation, in 1976, the institute was named as 'Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry'.
The past three decades had brought model advancement in the quality of research, human resource, publications, natural product development, analytical equipment and tool facilities, production of Ph.D qualification, collaborative links, national/international - wide training services, conduction of advanced symposia/conferences, moving to research fields beneficial to local industries, literature and library facilities, and more focusing the national research needs - all have turned this institute into a finest research centre in Asia, and leading in Islamic World.
In the field of natural product chemistry research, the institute is one of the best places in the world. This institute has the single largest doctoral programme in Pakistan, with over 180 students. The main research areas include natural product chemistry, protein chemistry, pharmacology, and plant biotechnology. There is also an industrial analytical centre, sewing to over 200 industries. The analytical equipment, tools, and facilities for evaluating product/material/process/molecular structure are comparable to any top institution in West or North America. It is beyond the scope of this article to picture institute or the role and contribution played by its pioneers, and current affiliates. Gaining the excellence in research is undoubtedly a matter of efforts and time, however in conditions when the role of science was under-recognised it becomes a more significant contribution.
The inception of Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, has marked the beginning of another era that supports higher education and research through modernising the existing institutions and setting new facilities. Higher Education Commission is making all the possible efforts in supporting the scientific research and the achievements of scientist. Relative to the situation existing about a decade back in research and development, massive investment and restructuring in higher education and research had been made (http://www.hec.gov.pk). There are 300 programmes run by HEC, with an allocation of PKR 11.7 billion, representing almost 1500 percent increase relative to the year 2000. It would be a matter of time to see the on-going effects of HEC initiatives. These initiatives also increase the possibility of having more institute and organisations conducting advanced research and gaining excellence in international research standards.
Scientists run science, and science may bring the targeted, useful and peaceful achievements for society. Science, scientist, society and people are the integral component of a single system, therefore must be supportive to each other for happy, healthy, and harmless life style.
Research provides the bottom and core of materials and system structure, and the means for their effective utilisation. This directly influences the society in all the materialised forms. Justified recognition of more science and scientist is a matter of realisation.
Comments
Comments are closed.