five application of science to the development of the country
Answers
Answer:
1. Help adapt technology to local circumstances. Even when technologies are imported from abroad, research is necessary to make them work. Rather than insisting on developing indigenous technologies, when abundant and well-proven technologies exist, scientists can help choose the right ones, given the local environment and available raw materials, and learn how to use them. An example is given by the “green revolution.” Despite its shortcomings, this “imported” technology, when applied properly in the developing world, helped eradicate hunger. Problems with the use of pesticides and fertilizers arose because of abuses by commercial interests and because, owing to a lack of knowledge, users and local scientists failed to provide the expertise or make the adaptations necessary to make the best use of the imported technology.
2. Incorporate new science into education. Development requires a well-trained workforce; therefore, high-quality education must be put in place early in development. The teaching of modern science in engineering or medical schools cannot be restricted to the same old classical textbooks but has to be done by active scientists who read the current literature and are capable of conveying the latest advances to their students. This approach worked well in the 19th century during the Meiji restoration, which brought Japan into the modern world.
3. Be involved in government. Science and scientists are an important element in choices and decisions made by governments and can make a difference. For example, at one time the Brazilian government had to set the reservation boundaries for the Yanomami's, a primitive group of some 10,000 indigenous people living in the mineral-rich Amazonia. The issue was whether to set up one large, or several small, reservations. The military and the mining groups favored small reservations, as Indian reservations are “out of bounds” for them according to Brazilian law and could restrict their movements in that region. But anthropologists advised that this solution would destroy the Yanomami civilization because these Indians were accustomed to long-distance migrations. As the federal Secretary for Science and Technology, I argued for one large reservation, a solution that was adopted.
4. It also helped to mediate a conflict in Brazil between multinational enterprises that had computer technology and wanted free access to local markets and local entrepreneurs who wished to preserve the markets for themselves. In the 1980s, the local entrepreneurs convinced the government to establish high import barriers, virtually isolating the region and condemning it to use obsolete technology. I helped resolve this issue by convincing foreign companies and local enterprises to set up joint ventures in