Advantages of Scientific Pursuits and Innovative Methods in Science Policy

1. This original ppt file to be Converted into VIDEO with the “wondershare” PPT2VIDEO converter This file is a slide show automatically timed to play for 10 minutes; from the beginning to the end ,repetitively. http://www.isc2011.in Comments by http://blog.niscair.res.in/?page_id=2 Audio track: “Salute to Tradition” Allbum ‘AARZOO’ http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

2. “The scientists’ knowledge increases much faster than the wisdom of public progresses” – Prime Minister while inaugurating the 98th Indian Science Congress at Chennai. The context of the advantage of the nuclear energy and the possibility of the nuclear holocaust. A derivable inference there off: Hence the overall effective advantages of the scientific pursuits can be known only after the full consequences of the acquired knowledge gets assimilated: The public should (be allowed to) gain wisdom on the use of the fruits of science and technology. http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

3. Plenary Session: Science Policy-Agenda For Next Five Years Plenary Session: Enhancing Academia Industry Interactions In the context of the contents of the presentations in the above two plenary sessions it may be worth considering the following point of view on the INNOVATIVE METHODS: While trying to adapt innovation as a component in the implementation of projects, the stage of “what next?”is encountered more often and the duration of the deliberation at such stages could be much longer depending on the results and progress till that particular stage. Thus it is necessary to include a sort of “EVALUATION PERIOD”which may be seemingly the same as the incubation period;only the following feature (to be described in the subsequent slide) would differentiate between the two processes: http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

4. During the incubation period the project proceeds for a well defined time period which has been ascertained before setting off the process to progress and the effective result is guaranteed only after that specified period with the required monitoring. On the other hand, how much would be the evolution period cannot be ascertained before setting off into this evolution process. modifying feedback loop? A continuous monitoring of the progress must be ensured along with a modifying feedback loop to be included to result in a cumulative process which eventually accomplishes an effective result. Thus the result may be better than the expected assessment or may be it would lead to a conclusion that the anticipated quality in the result is not achievable. This means that a real time balancing of the positive and negative trends is incorporated continuously as the progress is being made. It is the realization of such an evolutionary process which causes indefiniteness about the methods followed. It is this instantaneous balancing feedback continuously applied to the activities that which can ensure that the public wisdom also follows with right pace with the scientists achievements. All these above considerations on INNOVATIVE methods have in some form or the other a process which is arising out of the necessities of an inclusion of such evolutionary component. How exactly the time is spent during the evolutionary periods and what exactly the investigators and project leaders incorporate in this component is all about what is required. As one can find that the accountability , as for as the time spent in terms of achievements , cannot be the familiar way as till now and may not follow a conventional pattern. http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

5. Personal attention of the much senior persons would be required by the ‘named’ project leaders/principal Investigators to a larger extent and such a consultancy and monitoring should be available in such a friendly way that it is never felt by the actual younger (named-) implementers as interfering with their autonomy and freedom. When it is referred to improving an educational system, as in the Special Presentation by Dr Stephan, Provost, Northeastern University, USA, on An Experientially Based Global Approach to Engineering Education, it was as if trying to add an informal component to a formal system of education system, this time with a cooperative activity between the industry and educational institutions. That the Educational researchers have always looked for ways to incorporate informal component to a formal system and a Formal component to an informal system to improve the effectiveness of education, and that it was found such optimal procedure to be a solution, is a well established trend as reported in the articles in JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH. All these are again a manifestation of the necessity to have a much less defined evolutionary component in the otherwise systematically prepared proposals and planned projects. http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

6. Open source drug discovery is a method which is similar to the Low cost instrumentation initiatives for the hardware of equipments. The emphasis must be on finding out where exactly it becomes necessary to “own” the activity and assets; in view of this the patenting activity and the : I.P.R. aspects would have to be considered. When it is a matter of R.T.I. or I.P.R. what should be the priority? When one looks for such flexibilities in the contents of the presentations at the Plenary Session: Space Summit, then the following aspect could be discerned. The satellite information as in the case of the GPS is obtained one way transfer: that is information gets transferred to the user on all aspects when a requisition is sent but the user himself cannot store information in the satellite. However the small and Medium Satellites scheme makes it possible for a user to experiment with generating one’s own programs and database based processing and it is the educational purposes which is the priority in the SMS programs and initiatives. The use of GPS may be compared with the “black-box” approach in instrumentation when the user can utilize the potential of the instrument just knowing the operation of the panel controls of a system by training. The user is not required to learn the basic scientific principles of operation and other design and developmental aspects of the instrumental technique. On the other hand, low cost instrumentation initiatives to enable acquisition of non-propriterate equipments is adding informal component with more autonomy and degree of freedom in the instrumentation based initiatives. The SMS initiatives in space research are comparable to the later aspect of the instrumentation activities. http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

7. The special lecture by Atsuhiro Tanaka, Senior Manager, NEC on NEC’s R & D Challenges to design the future ICT curiously described an another INTERNET as if the internet can be contained as one unit like a Computer unit to talk about the internet –another internet different from the first one. In principle when a computer can get connected to the Internet, that is when it is possible to get access to internet from a Unit that computer unit itself becomes part of internet. Thus in the light of what was described earlier as the SMS schemes, instead of one directional information transfer like in GPS systems, if the SMS can be programmed in such a way that the lot of services from one satellite can be made available from another satellite by user’s programming with SMS, then there is some way of distinguishing technically another internet without considering issue of “Proprietors”. This would mean the satellite system which has been assigned a frequency band for its services, can transfer the entire service & operational programmes to another frequency band at the instance of a user’s option. This is like the relaying programs by radio and TV channels and relaying from one satellite to another satellite, and receive the services from another satellite. http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

8. The lecture by Prof. P. Dayanandan, Chennai, on Gravitational Biology: Basic Research to Growing Planets in Space exposed a point of view different from what usually the considerations on PLANT AND TREE GROWTHS. The botanist or to some extent the biochemists have been dealing with the classifications and characteristics of plant species and their properties. It was a revelation to know that a lot of statics and mechanics (physics) have to be taken into account the way the trees grow with their stems & branches shooting upwards (against gravity) and roots downwards (the directional of gravitational force) while the tendency in presence of gravitational force is to bring the objects downwards to the ground. And, what would be the consequence of exposing such phenomenal growths to the variety of gravitational scenario in space? Would such experiments bring advantages to living conditions? http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

9. Unlike the advanced research Institutes where in the scientists are committed totally to scientific pursuits calling for specialization in specific areas to bring about inventions that would stand the test of time, there is also the necessity to develop science research, in an inclusively functioning institution, by taking the public along as the science and technology advances. This later perspective would apparently bring about changes slowly and not as dramatically as the fast rate at which scientists acquire knowledge. It is probably because the “public” factor is lagging, but only the ‘publicity’ that is apparently pervasive, scientists themselves lose sight of the consequences that are obvious only to the common people. Thus the emphasis on inclusive institutions like possibly the Universities, must be even more. Since discoveries by scientists can come about only in such environments where scientists are exposed to common phenomenon about which they can raise specialized queries which common people cannot raise. Most often only after such common people discover something scientifically very important, they become acknowledged as scientists of unique capability. Thus trying to be a wise man from the common standards seems a prerequisite to build up the potential to make new discoveries. http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

10. Video segments of views from the 98th ISC proceedings are at: http://www.youtube.com/user/aram1121944#p/c/D025C3FF5C53D15E/1/BHwqxTMlkWs The Sectional sessions contained the presentations of researchers and the aspect of INNOVATION which is yet to gain inroads in the project methods was evidently found wanting in several of the approaches of the research scholars. Opinions can be sent to the email ID: Inboxnehu_sa@yahoo.com This presentation file would be available for downloading at: http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com/98thISC_cmnts_SA.ppt Also visit; http://saravamudhan.tripod.com/infotech_tools/id2.html http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

11. “The scientists’ knowledge increases much faster than the wisdom of public progresses” – Prime Minister while inaugurating the 98th Indian Science Congress at Chennai. The context of the advantage of the nuclear energy and the possibility of the nuclear holocaust. A derivable inference there off: Hence the overall effective advantages of the scientific pursuits can be known only after the full consequences of the acquired knowledge gets assimilated: The public should (be allowed to) gain wisdom on the use of the fruits of science and technology. http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

12. Unlike the advanced research Institutes where in the scientists are committed totally to scientific pursuits calling for specialization in specific areas to bring about inventions that would stand the test of time, there is also the necessity to develop science research, in an inclusively functioning institution, by taking the public along as the science and technology advances. This later perspective would apparently bring about changes slowly and not as dramatically as the fast rate at which scientists acquire knowledge. It is probably because the “public” factor is lagging, but only the ‘publicity’ that is apparently pervasive, scientists themselves lose sight of the consequences that are obvious only to the common people. Thus the emphasis on inclusive institutions like possibly the Universities, must be even more. Since discoveries by scientists can come about only in such environments where scientists are exposed to common phenomenon about which they can raise specialized queries which common people cannot raise. Most often only after such common people discover something scientifically very important, they become acknowledged as scientists of unique capability. Thus trying to be a wise man from the common standards seems a prerequisite to build up the potential to make new discoveries. http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

13. Plenary Session: Science Policy-Agenda For Next Five Years Plenary Session: Enhancing Academia Industry Interactions In the context of the contents of the presentations in the above two plenary sessions it may be worth considering the following point of view on the INNOVATIVE METHODS: While trying to adapt innovation as a component in the implementation of projects, the stage of “what next?”is encountered more often and the duration of the deliberation at such stages could be much longer depending on the results and progress till that particular stage. Thus it is necessary to include a sort of “EVALUATION PERIOD”which may be seemingly the same as the incubation period;only the feature described in slide #4 would differentiate between the two processes: http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011

14. Video segments of views from the 98th ISC proceedings are at: http://www.youtube.com/user/aram1121944#p/c/D025C3FF5C53D15E/1/BHwqxTMlkWs The Sectional sessions contained the presentations of researchers and the aspect of INNOVATION which is yet to gain inroads in the project methods was evidently found wanting in several of the approaches of the research scholars. Opinions can be sent to the email ID: Inboxnehu_sa@yahoo.com This presentation file would be available for downloading at: http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com/98thISC_cmnts_SA.ppt The corresponding VIDEO output is at http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com/98thISC_cmnts_SA.WMV http://www.ugc-inno-nehu.com / I.S.C.2011