National Book Festival 2010 Hits the Science and Technology Topics

Recently at September 25, 2010, the 10th National Book festival 2010 took place on the National Mall in Washington DC. Science and Technology books draw the attention of the visitors. Some books written by the famous writers were the hot topic of the entire festival. In the festival some writers gave presentations followed by the question and answer session. This was one of the main attractions of the fair. Each and every author tries to highlight their recent works and try to pinpoint the significant of his/her writings.

Edward O. Wilson, biologist, has published his first fiction book named Anthill. Richard Rhodes, a nuclear weapons historian tried to promote his forth volume of the series the creation and spread of nuclear weapons is another attraction of the festival. In this book history was given from the cold war to the present time. The extension of the nuclear weapon of mass destruction is the main focus in his writings.

Harold Varmus, a Nobel Laureate for his contribution came up with his recent memoir, The Art and Politics of Science. This book discusses about different aspects of politics of science got good attention in the civil society. Those three books and speech of the writers were very much informative and touching for the book lovers.

Henry Petroski who is professor of civil engineering at Duke writes about why things fail. In his recent writings "The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems". In his writings he focused on solving problems using science. Scientific facts in various problem solving issues got attraction of the visitors of the fair. He also tries to distinguish between science and engineering using the linear model. He claims that contemporary policy to science is very much short-sighted.

There are some other scientific topics highlighted in the fair. Allegra Goodman wrote new work "her novel intuition" and Richard Holmes in his book "the age of wonder" tries to discover the scientific discoveries, prominent scientists of the late 18th and early 19th century. These two pieces were much talked books in the festival.

The recent national book festival 2010 can be said the science and technology dominating fair. Various new books about modern science and technology are published and inaugurated in the books fair. Country renowned writers try to bring new books in the festival to attract. So in a nutshell national Book Festival 2010 was seen dominated by the science and technology.

Science and Medical Research - What You Need to Become a Medical Researcher

Medical researchers help to pave the way for new sciences and technologies within the medical field. It's because of their intensive studies that we have been able to learn more about the human body and how to detect and fight off a variety of illnesses and afflictions. Becoming a medical researcher takes years of education, but opens doors to a field that is cutting-edge and very exciting.

If you feel that you meet the form of this type researcher (analytical, thrive on logic, and enjoy science), then you may want to consider earning a bachelor's degree in a science that suits you: biology, chemistry, anatomy, pharmacology, genetics, or medical technology to name a few. Upon completing your bachelor's degree, it's suggested to gain further knowledge in the topic of study that you should enroll in a master's or PhD program. The more professional degrees you hold, the more likely you'll be selected for a medical research project.

Finding a good graduate research program at a university or hospital will help get you started on research projects that could help you network with other research scientists and members of the school's faculty and staff. This can help you with scholarships and grants to further your studies.

You may also want to try and find a research position, or shadow a medical researcher within a hospital while still in school. Upon graduation, you will feel experienced in medical researching and can probably get a position within the hospital that you had already been spending so much time in.

When Is It Too Late for a Science and Technology Course?

Science and Technology surround us wherever we go and whatever we do. From the way we communicate to the way we entertain ourselves, we all interact with it on a daily if not hourly basis. But, if you're not already in the industry and didn't grow up with an iPod or get an HTC for your 10th birthday, is it still possible to take a course in science or technology? Or have you simply missed the hi-tech boat?

Many people start studying at University directly after high school without a real idea of what they want to do with the rest of their lives, alternatively they start working immediately and get caught in the cycle of earning an income to meet expenses very early on in life. Either way, many people reach a point in their late twenties or early thirties, where after ten years of hard work they feel they have achieved what they wanted in their selected field of study or work and start craving a new challenge. And it doesn't get much newer of much more challenging than the ever evolving field of science and technology courses.

To clarify, the field of science and technology is as broad and as all encompassing as the field of 'art'. Except, instead of paintbrushes dueling it out with HDTV, science and technology courses more often go hand in hand. From scripting mobile phone applications to mapping the genome of the common housecat, revolutionary progress in one field inevitably has an indirect field on another and ultimately on the way we live our lives. Taking a course in science and technology therefore spans all aspects of modern living.

If you want to get involved with this constantly developing field, there are some questions you are going to have to ask yourself before setting out. It's no coincidence that you can't step into cyberspace without coming face to face with the work of a hundred good to great web designers, while the work of good to great bio-engineers is a little harder to come by. Before typing out your resignation letter and stapling it to your boss's desk, ask yourself the following:

1. What career do I ultimately want to pursue?
2. How much time does it take to establish a career in this field without prior study/experience?
3. Do I have any cross over skills that I could transfer to a scientific or technological field? (Here's a clue, project management is one of them, icing cakes is not)
4. Do I have the time to invest in skills acquisition part time?
5. Could I afford to invest in re-skilling full time?

Doing a quick budget or a 'life audit', where you break down how you spend your week on average hour by hour, will help you to decide whether you have the monetary or timing capacity to invest in a career change. But investing in a course in science and technology requires serious commitment and capacity and motivation are not one in the same.

Do as much research as you can into the science or technology course that you want to pursue and see if you can find someone in that field who can answer some of your questions. Better yet, ask them to allow you to shadow them for a day. Studies show that it takes at least 10 000 hours to become an expert at anything, so realise that you will need time to become proficient in your new career and above all, remember that it's never too late to learn anything.

The Contribution of Science and Creativity to Marketing Success

Marketing is increasingly viewed as a science, where sophisticated modelling and data-driven decision-making are taking centre stage. Against this backdrop, has creativity become a less important marketing skill? It has certainly been argued that marketers come in two shapes - the scientist and the artist. My contention is that significant marketing success requires a careful balancing of both, and that neither is the superior marketing skill.

In a previous discussion (What To Say When), I scoped out the decision-making process, and the appropriate communications approach at each stage. So, working on the assumption that a decision to buy starts at awareness, let's also start here in reviewing the relative roles of science and creativity on marketing success.

In my first major agency role with Mason Zimbler, our MD used a simple equation to set the scene which has stayed with me ever since:

Frequency x Impact = Awareness

The premise is that if either element is out of balance, your chances of success are limited. It is a simple concept. In regard to frequency, think 'it takes more than one drip of water to get wet'. The Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK suggest that it takes three sightings of an ad to really notice it. When we talk about impact, the most important element is relevance - did your ad, email, banner, blog, etc strike a chord with the recipient, if not they won't notice you. (There's also more on this in my article 'what to say when'). So, if your piece is dull and irrelevant, your audience will not see it. Or, if your piece is stunningly relevant, but they only see if briefly, you're unlikely to really get the message across. Taking these two elements as our bases of comparison, we'll review the contribution of science and creativity to each.

The scientific approach to communication frequency: The scientific approach to managing the frequency of your marketing messaging is to model an ideal contact density for each segment or, in highly sophisticated set-ups, for each individual. By which we mean the number of exposures to a message typically required to elicit a response. This enables the marketer to develop a communications plan that ensures the optimum number of touches. Large consumer organisations, like banks, also use this technique to ensure that their customers aren't over-communicated - having observed that over-communication can trigger complaints or defections, smart technology-driven rules are applied to ensure that this risk is minimised.

The creative approach to communication frequency: A creative approach to communications frequency is to think laterally. The best example of a really creative approach to this is the innovative use of ambient media. By putting themselves in the shoes of the audience, a creative team will dream up highly creative media placements to ensure that the message gets to people regularly. A great example from the not-for-profit sector is an NUS (National Union of Students) sexual health campaign, using stickered ten pence pieces scattered in student bars. This is creative thinking on many levels - firstly the location, then the assumption that a student would pick up a stray coin, and the association of the money having passed through many hands linking directly to the message itself. Another example of this is the use that Amplex deodorants made of placing their ads on the hanging hold bars on underground trains and busses - we all know how unpleasant it is to be on crowded public transport where someone nearby has a body odour issue. Creatively tapping into this gave Amplex a highly creative media placement opportunity - ensuring that commuters in London were served this message every time they travelled. By mapping out a buyer's journey and thinking about how to get your message across creatively at each point, you can vastly increase your opportunity-to-see.

The scientific approach to communication relevance: Scientific marketing has increased the likely relevance of marketing messages exponentially in recent years. There is real value in powerful analytics, particularly if you're able to cross hatch your analyses to build a full and rich picture of your market. Right message, right time, right medium can now be worked out for you using powerful optimisation software. The various data strategy awards are littered with excellent examples of this approach.

The creative approach to communication relevance: When it comes to creativity and relevance, we need only look to viral marketing for lessons in why creativity is essential. The Gadbury Gorilla ad would never have come about by virtue of scientific messaging development. Marketers need to remember that they are talking to people, with feelings and a sense of humour. We also all know that a recommendation from a friend is vastly superior in terms of our likelihood to listen than an official piece of marketing. As such, tapping into word of mouth is essential and creativity is king in the 'click to forward' world. The earlier examples of creative media placement also show how creativity can increase relevance by being appropriately positioned to amplify your message.

Balancing and fostering a healthy mix of marketing skills: Having merely scratched the surface on these subjects, it is clear to see that marketers need to balance their skills at both ends of the scientific-artistic continuum.

Ten key points to fostering and balancing both skill sets:

1. Ensure your marketing team is trained in understanding and briefing scientific and creative suppliers

2. Facilitate creative thinking - I'd suggest that marketers need about one day per quarter of facilitated creative thinking

3. Start with science to build the profile of your audience, but always get a creative team to contribute ideas about how to reach them

4. Test various creative executions against the same audience to demonstrate in hard commercial terms the impact of the creative element of your campaigns

5. Don't sacrifice creativity to buy more frequency - if your message makes no impact every time you pay for space, you're wasting money

6. Don't let beauty distract you - something can be beautiful but irrelevant

7. Make sure you track people through the sales funnel to allow you to see how you've generated your best leads

8. Look for ideas everywhere - you don't have to have 'creative' in your job title to have a good idea

9. Never let the numbers speak for themselves - when it comes to reviewing marketing, you do need to look at what the audience saw to really understand it

10. Read the marketing awards booklets - there's no such thing as a new idea. Most marketing awards these days look at science and creativity, you will find great examples if you look for them.

Marketing is one of the most exciting jobs in the world - you are a scientist, a psychologist, an artist and so much more. If you recognise, hone and balance these skills you'll achieve success for your business and great satisfaction for yourself.

Copyright (c) 2008 Bryony Thomas

Modern Science and Technology and the Challenges of Third World Countries

We live in a highly sophisticated world where everything is almost achievable. There would probably have been no changes between the world of today and that of three centuries ago if necessity and serendipitous discoveries had not driven men to achieve great things. Science and technology have had huge positive effects on every society. The world today has gone digital, even human thought. Our world has been reduced to a global village and is better for it.

The benefits of science and technology far outweigh every perceived shortcoming. Some of the biggest effects of technology are in the area of communication; through the internet and mobile phones. There is advancement of communication and expansions of economic commerce. Today we hear of information and communication technology (ICT). Any institution worth its name must have it in place to be really outstanding. Information technology has become boosted in today's generation; from the field of communication, business, education, and down to the entertainment industry. Through information technology, work performances are boosted with less effort and greater productivity by using various operations. Without computers or the internet, it will be difficult for people all over the world to get their questions answered. One may use the internet to locate a wealth of information with which to answer an essay question that may have been assigned at school, communicate with people, conduct transactions, access news, buy and advertise goods. The list is endless.

The advancement of Science and technology allow mass communication today so that we not only have the television, radio and newspaper, but even mobile phones which renders a multipurpose service; from long distance calls, listening to radio and music, playing games, taking pictures, recording voice and video, and browsing the internet. The benefits we obtain as a result of services from ICT have become widespread in our generation today. It improves the productive level of individuals and workers because People's knowledge of life beyond the area they lived in is now unlimited. This idea of mass communication also profoundly affects politics as leaders now have many ways they talk directly to the people. Apart from going on air to use radio or television, politicians resort to the social media for some of their political comments and campaign. Information about protests and revolutions are being circulated online, especially through social media. This has caused political upheavals and resulted in change of government in most countries today.

Furthermore, current global issues are much more accessible to the public. Communication has been brought also to the next level because one can find new ways to be able to communicate with loved ones at home.

Science and technology expand society's knowledge. Science helps humans gain increased understanding of how the world works, while technology helps scientists make these discoveries. Learning has maximized because of different media that are being developed which are all interactive and which bring learning experiences to the next level. Businesses have grown and expanded because of breakthroughs in advertising.

Modern technology has changed the way many companies produce their goods and handle their business. The idea and use of video and web conferencing, for instance, has helped companies remove geographical barriers and given them the opportunity to reach out to employees and clients through out the world. In today's economy, it has helped companies reduce the cost and inconveniences of travelling, allowing them to meet as often as they could like without having to worry about finding the budget to settle it. Modern technology helps companies reduce their carbon footprint and become green due to the fact that almost anything can be done from a computer.

There have been advances in medical care through the development of science and technology. Advances in medical technology have contributed immensely in extending the life span of people. People with disabilities or health problems are now more and more able to live closer to normal lives. This is because science contributes to developing medications to enhance health as well as technology such as mobile chairs and even electronics that monitor current body levels. Most devices used by the physically challenged people are customized and user friendly.

Science and technology increase road safety. Nowadays, law enforcement officers use Laser technology to detect when automobiles are exceeding speed limits. Technology has led to the development of modern machines such as cars and motorcycles which allow us to be mobile and travel freely and airplanes which travel at a supersonic speed.

Another machine, the air- conditioner, provides cool comfort, especially during hot weather. In offices where dress codes exist, people can afford to wear suits without being worried about the weather. It guarantees convenience even when the climate says otherwise.

Moreover, present day factories have modern facilities like machines and soft ware that facilitate production. These machines work with greater speed and perfection incomparable with human skills. These machines have enabled markets to have surplus products all over the world. For the soft ware, they make it possible for machines to be programmed, for production to be regulated, to monitor the progress being recorded and so on.

Modern technology indeed has been great. For third world countries, however, it has been challenging, especially the area of production. Only consuming and not been able to manufacture does not favour any country when it comes to balance of trade. The most sensitive parts of technology are the theoretical or conceptual parts and technical parts. These are the backbone of technological development anywhere in the world. Without the ideas, there will not be technology. Third world counties need to go back to the basics, that is, to the primitive. There must be meeting ground for tradition and modern technological invention. Third world countries engage in import substitution strategy where they import half finished goods and complete the tail end of the production process domestically. Third world countries started wrongly. They started with climbing the ladder from the top which is very wrong and difficult. They thought that being able to purchase and operate modern technological products qualifies for advancement in science and technological development. This makes third world countries to be a dependent system because working in the factories are routine work and this inevitably links to the issue of the idea of technology transfer. They should seek for technological transfer, but the problem is that no nation is ready to transfer her hard earned technological knowledge to any other nation for some certain reasons which drive nations into competition; world politics and economic prowess. That is the struggle to lead or dominate other nations technologically, economically and politically. Be the first to invent new gadgets and latest electronics including those used in modern warfare, use other nations as market for finished goods, and to have a strong voice and be able to influence other countries. They should consider embarking on technological espionage so as to acquire the rudiments for technological development if they must liberate themselves from the shackles of technological domination.

In conclusion, it's not until third world countries begin to put embargo on the importation of certain electronics and mechanical goods that the necessity to be creative would replace the habit of consuming foreign products. Countries like Thailand, Burma, Brazil, and South Africa and so on, should be emulated. These countries experienced colonialism yet they did not allow it to overwhelm their creative prowess. Industry and determination saw them emerge as economic giants in the world today. Third world countries should emulate them by carrying out proper feasibility studies to ascertain which technology will suit their country; giving more financial boost to this area, training people to become experts; motivating and encouraging individuals who are naturally endowed and technologically inclined to display their bests of talents. These measures if strictly adhered to will go a long way to help the advancement of these countries in the area of science and technology. If these countries must achieve greatness before the next decade, they have to make conscious and unrelenting efforts. The time starts now! The more they delay, the more backward they become.

Science and the Bible

People have used science to try and discredit the bible. According to some the bible has now become an "outdated book" because science can now give us all the knowledge we need. However all the scientific knowledge gathered so far are still more or less theories and are still yet to be proven as fact. So while some areas of science are valid, there are still categories of information that need to be tested or established.

Science is basically the gathering of knowledge to better understand the how and why of how things work as it relates to the world and the universe. Science and technology go hand in hand as they are both dependent on each other.

There are two categories of science:

  1. Exact Sciences - these would include physics, chemistry, biology etc. For exact science the certainty of information is greater and in some cases the function is more analytical, while in others it is mostly descriptive.
  2. Non Exact Sciences - History, Sociology and Humanities. For the non-exact sciences, the degree of definiteness is small, but in some branches exactness is allowed. That is why you can detect biasness in some areas, but not in others.
The methods for study and analysis will differ from discipline to discipline and the methods of investigation and analysis will be valid from one field but not for another. What is important though is that logic be used in the methods of investigation. Logic helps in determining what is true from false.

Therefore, one has to be careful when discussing the Bible and science. Science is a good thing and has made great strides especially in recent times, but in a lot of cases it has been used to discredit God and the Bible.

In the world of science, information can be categorized as theories and facts. Information that is based on theory should have no place in discussions about the bible and science, only those that deal with the facts and laws of science. When using scientific information based on facts, you will find that a lot of misconceptions about the bible will disappear.

Scientific Models

A model is used when studying things that cannot be easily handled. There are two types of models - qualitative or descriptive models and quantitative or mathematical models.

The theory of evolution and scientific creation are both examples of scientific models. However, the evolutionist should not claim his model is truth. He should rather state that his model is a possibility in which life came into being.

Testing of both models should be able to explain:

  1. the maximum number of observed phenomena related to life, and
  2. the maximum number of predictions about phenomena related to life, but not observed so far.
Only the Scientific Creation module has been able to do this.

In the world of Science, model making is a must. However, it must be understood that the model itself is not truth but only a representation of the truth. Therefore, the Christian Apologist must be wary when scientific theories are used in debates or discussions with the bible.

Historical Science

Science has really advanced over the years. It is used in a variety of ways to find answers to questions that long ago seemed impossible to answer. However, when it comes to the bible, we must understand that material science cannot explain or give answers to those questions that come out of the bible. We must look to historical science.

The Origin of the Universe, Life and Archaeology belongs with Historical studies. Demanding scientific proof for historical events in the Bible is beyond reason and shows the lack of knowledge about scientific investigation.

The Christian Apologist must make it known to his opponents who use physical science to discredit the bible that you cannot mix the two for their own biases and purposes.