Interaction of science and technology

• Intended Learning Outcome: Discuss the interactions between S&T and society throughout history and delineate the effects of scientific and technological advancements to society and the environment
• Science


  An education process that allows the educated and creative minds to question, experiment or observe in an attempt to find answers, and then try to identify a set of unifying principles, concepts, and laws that embraces all phenomena of nature
• Science


  A process of comprehension and description of the universe by utilizing and organizing the truth and knowledge with scientific methods
• Science


  A body of knowledge, a way of knowledge, and a set of methods/processes
• Characteristics that qualify science

  • Phenomenological
  • Logical
  • Objective
  • Critical
  • Generic
  • Selective
  • Progressive
  • Based on several fundamental needs
• Science


  The body of evaluated knowledge that involves definitions, concepts, and phenomena which are systematically organized using several methods
• Technology


  A practical activity that involves applying not just scientific knowledge but also other types of knowledge, and also involves people and organizations as well as machines
• Technology


  Computers and communication technologies
• Technology


  Beyond just teaching and communication technologies (e.g. computers, multimedia, and biotechnology)
• Technology


  The sum of alterations made to the natural environment for people's own purposes (to live longer and more productively, to meet demands and needs)
• Technology


  The application of knowledge that consists of the production methods related to a branch of industry; the equipment, instruments, and tools that are used; and their usage formats
• Technology


  The sum of materials which have been developed to meet people's needs and improve their welfare
• Science and technology are dependent on each other
• There is a dynamic information flow between science and technology
• Science and technology are important for society and they should develop
• Aim of science


  To better understand the universe and gain new knowledge that will enlighten humanity by unveiling mysteries of how nature works by making new discoveries and inventions that change the way we think and/or create new technologies that transform our society
• Relationship between science and technology

  • Science precedes technology
  • Science and technology are independent
  • Technology precedes science
  • Technology and science engage in two-way interaction
• The twentieth century witnessed a fateful change in the relationship between science and society
• Science became so identified with practical benefits that the dependence of technology on science is commonly assumed to be a timeless relationship and a single enterprise
• Changes in society due to scientific and technological progress have not been limited to the improvement of society's material wealth, but have also extended to altering the paradigms under which society operates
• As progress in science and technology has broadened and enlivened human activity, new issues have appeared in society, and these have in turn led to demands for new sciences and technologies capable of resolving the new issues arising from the changes in society
• Since the rise of the Industrial Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century, science and technology have shown accelerated progress in energy, physical materials, information and communications, medicine, and many other sectors, resulting in vast improvements in people's health, economic prosperity, and living conveniences
• Inventions in machine tools have been linked to advances in energy technology to achieve automation and acceleration of manufacturing processes, resulting in large-volume production of goods in ever-shorter periods of time
• Progress in materials technology has resulted in the ability to produce diverse types of material items
• Progress in medical technology has greatly extended people's average life spans and reduced infant and child mortality rates, resulting in a dramatic rise in the world's population
• Scientific and technological progress has brought huge changes to how society itself operates, such as globalization and the IT revolution
• Global environmental issues like global warming, destruction of the ozone layer, and desertification can be traced to increased human activity due to progress in science and technology
• Progress in biotechnology, particularly genome analysis, has raised ethical issues and concerns about safety
• Issues have been raised about a Digital Divide arising between generations and between regions, and also about information security due to progress in IT
• Threats from emerging or reemerging infectious diseases like COVID-19 have increased due to scientific and technological progress
• A theory elucidating the mechanism for global warming was first described by the Swedish physicist Svante Arrhenius near the end of the 19th century
• In 1958, Charles Keeling of the U.S. Scripps Institution commenced periodic monitoring of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, showing conclusively that carbon dioxide concentrations were rising

  
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UNEP to gather and assess the latest scientific, technological, and socioeconomic data regarding climate change, and to assist national governments

  
• Four new concepts have been identified as responsibilities for science in the 21st century: "science for knowledge", "science for peace", "science for development", and "science in society, and for society"
• The "Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge" and the "Science Agenda – Framework for Action" were adopted to state the new responsibilities for the promotion of science in the 21st century
• 13.8 billion years ago
• 4.5 billion years ago