SCIENCE

Causality is defined as the relationship between an event (known as the cause) and a second event (known as the effect), where the second event is a consequence or a follow up of the first. Causality has been a topical problem of discussion since the beginning of western philosophy.

Many philosophers tried to explain cause and its effects by showing how they relate to each other. Aristotle for instance, distinguished between accidental (cause preceding effect) and essential causality (one event seen in two ways).  Aristotle example of essential causality is typified in a builder building a house. This single event can be analyzed into the builder building (cause) and the house being built (effect).

Aristotle, who regarded science as the search for cause, postulated four causes which provided the framework of explanation. These four causes were the four general types of answer to the question “why” or “why is something what it is?”

The first is the efficient cause (causa quod) or that by which a change is produced, the second is material cause or that in which a change is wrought, the third is final cause or the end for which a change is produced and lastly formal cause or that into which a change takes place.

Causality as postulated by Max Born (1949) implies that there are laws by which the occurrence of an entity B of a certain class depends on the occurrence of an entity A of another class, where the word entity means any physical object, phenomenon, situation, or event. A is then called the cause, while B is the effect.

For Max Born, antecedent cause implies that the cause must be prior to, or at least simultaneous with, the effect. In other words, the antecedent cause implies that the cause must happen before the effect or together with the effect.

Scientist has tried to set up experiments to determine causality in the physical world using the scientific method. But then, many scientists disagree that experiment are necessary to determine causality.

For example, the link between smoking and lungs cancer is considered proven by health agencies of the United States Government, but experimental methods were not used to establish that link. This view has been controversial and consequently, many philosophers prefer notions of causality that are more relativized.

Nature of Causality

The importance of causality lies in the fact that the universe is compactly full of events. Again, the explanatory models depend on the nature of the events to be explained, the culture in which it is being explained and the personal interest in that event.

Causation is therefore based on the fact that nature is uniform and the uniformity of nature implies that the same kind of cause produces the same kind of effect always and everywhere under the same condition.

This nature of causality based on the uniformity of nature presupposes that the universe is governed by natural laws. This is why we have laws in the natural science such as the Charles law, Boyles law etc.

It is from these laws of science derived from the natural law that theories of explanation or hypotheses are formed. For instance, Charles law states that at standard pressure and temperature, water will boil at 100°C in Nigeria.

However, it must be noted that it is not any kind of cause that can produce any kind of effect. Naturally only certain kinds of effect are produced by certain kinds of cause because the universe is not chaotic but an orderly cosmos. The universe is governed by laws and things happen according to these laws. What scientist does is to understand these laws on which to base their theories, so as to know the kind of cause that can produce certain kinds of desired effects.

The concept of causality is also associated with necessary connection. It was generally believed that there is a necessary connection between an event and its cause such that once the cause is present, the effect will necessarily follow.

The truth of this is that there will be no instances in which a cause occurs without a corresponding effect. For example, it was a common belief that lightening is the cause of thunder and that any time there is lightening; there must be a corresponding thunder.

But today this belief is quite erroneous as experience has shown that lightening do occur without the corresponding thunder. David Hume rightly noted that we do not perceive any such necessary connection; that it is part of our empirical experience.

However, Hume’s objection raises some question:  if we perceive causality in our empirical experience, how then do we come to form the idea in our mind? The answer is not farfetched, for Hume’s explained that it is derived from our habit of association, which is associating things that go together in sequence.

According to Hume, the uniformity of nature on which the universality of causal principle is based is an assumption which cannot be proved. Similarly, that the future will resemble the past is an unproven assumption and all these assumption are implied in the universal application of the principle of causality.

The denial of any intrinsic or necessary connection has various implications. First it affects our idea of the laws of nature which shows that there is a necessary connection between a cause and its effect.

Secondly, the denial of necessary connection implies that the laws of nature are mere statements about the regularity and constancy with which certain things happen under similar conditions so that certain things necessarily follow others.

What this implies is that it is possible for things to fail to happen the way they have always been happening in the past on the bases of our empirical experience.

Another aspect of the nature of causality is that a cause generally precedes its effect in temporal order. This however, does not explain the non temporal order. But then there are certain cases in which both the cause and the effect are contemporaneous.

For example, when I write, it is my hand that causes the pen to write. In natural science, it is just the pen that causes the writing. But the theoretical sciences consider other interior causes such as the thoughts and the brain as well that function together to cause the hand to write.

Some philosophers who strongly uphold the priority of causes to their effect do that on the basis the causes have the power to compel the occurrence of effect.

Pollution is the ejection of toxic and dangerous substance into the environment which harm the life and health of all living things in the environment. In other words, it is the release of harmful or toxic substances like chemicals into the environment by man in such amount as to constitute a danger to either man’s health or his resources.

Pollution is known as any substance or situation that gives rise to pollution. Examples of pollutants include, noise, light, radioactive waste, smoke, heap of refuse, etc.

Types of Pollution: there are four types. They are: water, air, land and noise pollution.

Water Pollution: the ocean is the greatest waste dump of the world. However, other bodies such as rivers, seas, ponds, lakes and streams are common places for waste disposal by cities and factories.

The sources of this water pollution are mainly from, oil spillage from oil industries, sediments from erosion, mining and construction sites, bathing and washing in rivers and streams, synthetic organic chemicals like pesticides, detergents, animal wastes, oil fields, irrigation, inorganic chemicals and minerals from mining, manufacturing industries, irrigation sites, oil fields, exploration activities, sewage and fertilizers applied to crops which find their way into water bodies.

Effects of Water Pollution:

Water pollution affects both man, animals and plants both on the land surface and inside the rivers, oceans, seas etc. some of these effects includes:

• Water pollution by inorganic chemicals and minerals may become very acidic or alkaline or saline. Such water is toxic to organisms and unsafe for human consumption.
• Water bodies polluted by fossil fuels disturb the ecological setup, damage the aesthetic nature of coasts and may cause accidents or fire outbreak.
• Highly polluted water may change colour, emit offensive odour, have taste and may become poisonous, thereby rendering such water unfit and unsafe for humans and even animal use. Polluted water may cause and spread diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, dysentery etc.
• The nitrates and phosphates washed into different water bodies especially stagnant ones, help in the growth of water plants (algae) which depletes or reduces the amount of oxygen in the water. This affects marine life and may lead to either death or migration of such animals. The growth of water plant may also disrupt and cause danger to navigate activities.
• Some harmful chemicals and elements like leads, mercury etc may accumulate  in the bodies of lower animals organism and if consumed by higher organisms including man, toxic level may be attained and death may result.

Air Pollution: this is one of the most pervasive environmental problems because atmospheric currents can carry contaminated air to every part of the globe. Most air pollution comes from automobile emissions and from power plants that burn coal and oil to produce energy for industrial and consumer use. Carbon dioxide and other harmful gases released into the air from these sources adversely affect weather patterns and the health of people, animals and plants.

Industrialized nations produce most of the world air pollution. For example, although the United States is home to just 5 percent of the world’s population, the country can and does generate 22 percent of human-made carbon dioxide emission and 19 percent of all “greenhouse” gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Emission harms the environment by causing acid rain and global warming, and by depleting the protective ozone layer that surrounds the earth.

Sources of Air Pollution

• Smokes emitted from industrial and power generating plants.
• Lead particles, carbon and phosphorus released by burning fuels and hydrocarbons.
• Burning of tyres, agricultural wastes and bush burning
• Industrial gas particles, ash, soot and fumes from exhaust pipes of different vehicles and machines.

Effects of Air Pollution

• Is harmful to man’s comfort and health as it promotes such disease like bronchitis, lung cancer, asthma etc.
• Air pollution can damage clothing, crops, building etc.
• its contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer leading to increase in skin cancer, cataract etc.
• High level of pollutant in the air can impair visibility thereby becoming serious threat to aircrafts.

Land Pollution: land is the primary and the commonest recipient of many wastes products and chemicals, sources of land pollution include: nuclear and atomic wastes, inorganic pollutants from mining which contains mercury, lead, nickel, copper, fossil, fuel, organic wastes like animal manure, municipal and industrial wastes such as refuse dumps, poisonous pesticides and herbicides mainly used to control pests and weeds, tins, plastics, abandoned and old vehicles, vehicle parts, old tyres, cartons, papers, broken bottles, pure water sachets etc.

Effects of Land Pollution

• Waste dumping along streets and in gutters of our cities is common. These material produce filthy, smelly and unsightly environments, they also form breeding grounds for diseases carrying agents or organism that pose danger to human health.
• Oil spillage greatly affects animal and plant life, as they suffocate and indirectly affect animals and man.
• Agricultural chemicals applied in the soil may affect marine life and man if washed into water body. It may equally increase activity of the soil thereby affecting the survival of other organisms.

Noise Pollution: noise is described as an unwanted sound. It is a serious environmental pollution. Noise coming from vehicles, electronics of all types, music records, and vendors in our street and medicine peddlers are source of noise pollution. Also airport, city, business district or market centres constitute sources of noise pollution.

Effects of Noise Pollution

• It interferes with speech, communication and sleep
• It causes psychological disorder, stress and loss of hearing
• It reduces efficiency of the working population.

Control of Environmental Pollution

• Public awareness and support for control programmes aimed at protecting the environment is essential for the protection of the environment.
• The nature of industrial pollutants and how they can be minimized or treated should be examined as a pre-condition for the setting up of such undertakings.
• Environmental education of the populace is necessary to realize the effects of environmental pollution and the need for the protection of the environment.
• Environmental legislation and its enforcement locally and internationally are important.
• Action should be geared towards research and technology in determining the effects of pollution on the environment and the causes so that effective control measures can be affected.
• Research can be directed towards recycling and use of waste materials. Such research would definitely reduce environmental degradation and pollution.

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Scientism is the term used to express the view that natural science has power or authority over all other interpretation of life. In other words, philosophical, religious, mythical, spiritual or humanistic explanations are ranked below the explanations of the natural sciences.

Scientism also expresses the view that other fields of inquiry, like the social sciences are inferior to natural science. Karl popper as well as some social scientists used the term to describe what they see as the fundamental attitudes and beliefs common to many scientists.

The social scientists tend to use the term pejoratively to show the inappropriate usage of science or scientific claims as a counter argument to appeal to scientific authority when the context is perceived to be beyond the scope of scientific inquiry.

Again the social scientists used the term to refer to “the belief that the methods of natural science form the only proper elements in any philosophical or other inquiry”. Apart from remarketing that “for many theologians and philosophers, scientism is among the greatest of intellectual sins”, Gregory R. Peterson outlined two main broad themes in reference to  scientism: the first is that it is used to criticize a totalizing view of science as if it were capable of describing all reality and knowledge, or as if it were the only true way to acquire knowledge about reality and the nature of things; while the second is that it is used to denote a border-crossing violation in which the theories and methods of one (scientific) discipline are inappropriately applied to another (scientific or non-scientific) discipline and its domain.

The different meaning of Scientism

There are several applications of the term scientism. Scientism may be understood as:

• Methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to the natural scientist.
• An exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all area of investigation, as in philosophy, the social sciences and the humanities.
• The use of the style, assumptions, techniques and other attributes typically displayed by scientists.
• The use of scientific or pseudoscientific language.
• The contention that the social sciences, such as economics and sociology are only properly sciences when they abide by the somewhat stricter interpretation of scientific method used by the natural science, and that otherwise they are not truly sciences.
• A term usually and frequently applied derogatively to a belief in the omnipotence of scientific knowledge and techniques.
• The view that the methods of study appropriate to physical science can replace those used in other fields such as philosophy and the social sciences.
• The belief that scientific knowledge is the foundation of all knowledge and that consequently, scientific arguments should always be weighted more heavily than other forms of knowledge, particularly those which are not yet well described or justified from within the rational framework, or whose description fails to present itself in the course of a debate against a scientific argument. It can be contrasted by doctrines like historicism, which hold that there are certain “unknowable truth”
• Scientism sees science as the absolute and only justifiable access to the truth”

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Resource conservation involves the protection of natural, semi natural or aesthetically pleasing landscapes. Resource conservation is concerned with proper maintenance of available resources. It involves preservation, maintenance, wise utilization, restoration and enhancement of the environment and resources.

This is in order to strike a balance between the rates of use of resources and their formations in order to maintain their stability and continued future use. Conservation activities for non renewable resources focus on maintaining an adequate supply of these resources well into the future. It is important to note that a nation natural resource usually determines her wealth, diplomatic, military and political influence.

Resource conservation seeks to preserve in balance the maximum rates of biological productivity, energy transfer and chemical elements exchanged in all ecosystems while at the same time upholding the quality of the environment and all suited organisms which live therein. The goal of resource conservation is to ensure that such resources are not consumed faster than they are replaced.

Natural resources are conserved for their biological, economic and recreational values, as well as their natural beauty and importance to local cultures. For examples, tropical rain forests are protected for their important role in both global ecology and the economic livelihood of the local culture, a coral reef may be protected for its recreational value for scuba divers, and a scenic river may be protected for its natural beauty.

Conservation conflicts arise when natural resources shortages develop in the face of steadily increasing demands from a growing human population. Controversy frequently surrounds how a resources should be used, or allocated and for whom. For example, a river may supply water for agricultural irrigation, habitat for fish and water generated electricity for a factory.

Farmers, fishers and industry leaders vie for unrestricted access to this river but such freedom could destroy the resource and conservation methods are necessary to protect the river for future use. Conflicts worsen when a natural resources crosses political boundaries. For example, the headwaters or source of a major river may be located in a different country than the country which the river flows.

There is no guarantee that the river source will be protected to accommodate resource needs downstream. In addition, the way in which one natural resource is managed has a direct effect upon other natural resources. Cutting down a forest near a river, for instance, increases erosion, the wearing away of top soil and can lead to flooding.

Reasons for Resource Conservation

• To avoid the sudden resource exhaustion
• To improve the quality of the environment
• To maintain stability in the ecosystem.
• To maintain and protect the existence of rare species of plants and animals.
• To ensure the availability and continued existence of non-renewable resources such as coal, mineral ores, petroleum etc.
• To provide the present generation and the generations yet to come with ever increasing needs or demands.

Resource Management

Resource management refers to the process or methods of managing and conserving both the living and non living resources for the satisfaction of man numerous needs. Natural resource management specifically focuses on a scientific and technological understanding of resources and ecology and the life supporting capacity of those resources.

The challenge of management and conservation is to understand the complex connections among natural resources and balance resource use with protection to ensure an adequate supply for future generations. In order to accomplish this goal, a variety of conservation methods are used. These include the:

Maximization: this is process of resource management which promotes good usage of resources and discourages wastage. This method also leads to increase in the production of resources.

Recycling: this process involves the collection of materials already used, reprocessing them and using them again in place of fresh materials. Living resources such as wood and paper can be recycled. However, the effectiveness of recycling depends so much on the quantity of materials and the methods of organization.

Beneficiation: this is a process of resource management in which the resource that occurs in an uneconomical formation in a given area are improved upon or upgraded and rendered economically viable. This process is usually determined by the type of technological improvement available.

A good example is the availability of resources such as manganese, cobalt, copper and nickel which continuously form nodules on the ocean floor, which are relatively scarce on dry ground. But to harvest or collect them from their natural habitat, appropriate technology must be developed and employed.

Substitution: substitution involves the utilization of resources that are available and ready in place of rare one. A good example is the use of cans instead of bottles for some types of beer or the use of plastics in place of metals for packaging various things.

Allocation: allocation involves the determination of the best way to use a particular resource and at the same time mapping out or scheduling such resources for that use.

The management of living resources is quite similar to that of the non living resources. Hence the living resources can be managed or conserved through the protection and restoration of endangered species through the development of game reserves, national parks etc.

Recycling can also be used in the management of living resources for re-use. Living resources can also be managed by substitution, for instance, species that are readily cultivated can be used in place of species that no longer have recycling period.

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Technology transfer is seen as the movement of knowledge, skill, organization, value and capital from the point of generation to the site of adaptation and application. Technology transfer is the useful and beneficial exchange of ideas and innovations enabling the receiving regions or countries to expand on and utilize the knowledge received.

The document of the organization of American States, as cited in Akanbi (1987) defined technology transfer as “the process through which the production system of a country acquires the technology produced in another country for incorporation in their enterprise”.

Technology transfer also means the movement of scientific and technological ideas, men, materials and equipment from one place to another.

It can also be seen as the process of sharing skills, knowledge, technologies, methods or manufacturing and facilities among governments and institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new product, processes, applications, materials or services.

Technology transfer can be domestic, unit or international. Domestic or unit transfer of technology is when a research institute like ANAMMCO develops or designs a pattern of equipment for manufacturing and sells to another manufacturing company that is in of such equipment.

Technology transfer is said to be international when technocrats, equipment etc are taken from one part of the world to another location to help in the development of such region. Technology transfer encourages and makes possible the buying and selling of technology and techniques.

It must be noted however, that the demand for and the price of any technology is dependent upon its productive capacity or its ability or usefulness in a given technological enterprise.

From the above, it can be said that the technological knowledge that is transferred from a given region to another can assume various forms. It can be in the form of goods, services, people, organizational arrangement etc. it is important to note that the transfer involved can be concerned with the knowledge for using and operating technology. It can also be concerned with the knowledge necessary for changing technology and innovating.

Technology transfer is of great importance to the developing countries of the world especially Nigeria. Obviously Nigeria economy as well as the economy of other developing countries depends so much on the developed economies of the world.

Conceptually, the idea of technology transfer has been utilized for many years. For instance, in the olden days, Archimedes was notable for applying science to practical problems. Many companies, universities and governmental organizations now have an office of technology transfer known as Tec Transfer dedicated to identifying research which has potential commercial interests and strategies for how to exploit it.

Types of technology transfer

There are basically two types. They are the lateral technology transfer and the vertical technology transfer. The lateral technology transfer occur when the technology is transferred from one location in a developing country to another location within the same country, while the vertical technology transfer occurs when technology is transferred from a developed country to a developing country.

Methods of technology transfer

Industrial Espionage:  this is a method of technology transfer that involves having spies in vital industries around the world to obtain information in form of documents, charts and formulas etc of highly needed technology for development which were being denied by the industrial nations.

For example, most of the highly military technologies are in most cases being jealously guarded and protected by their proprietors. The secret for these technologies can only be gotten through direct investment or through espionage. This method of transfer is unethical, and equally frowned upon.

Product Sharing Arrangement: this entails a joint venture project. In this method, there is a combination of resources and technologies of the buyer and seller, to develop a production process and the consequent sharing of the benefit afterwards.

One of the disadvantages of this method is that formats and formulas for production are not transferable, and so requires a long term relationship and permanent dependency on the owners of the technology.

Licensing and franchising: this involves the transfer of rights or ownership to use a given process patent of trademark for an agreed royalty. In this way technology can be transferred without either the investment in or ownership of the production facilities by the foreign firm.

For example a Nigeria business man operates his business independently of the foreign firm but definitely has to operate with format and directives of the franchise.

Through franchising, Nigeria can acquire the format and formula from the industrialized world for consideration. Although this method is very expensive, it is the best methods of technology transfer for Nigeria and other developing countries.

Direct Purchase and Management Contracts: This has to do with the government or business organization in a country negotiating with the government or business establishment of another country whose products formula or marketing formats they wish to adopt.

The idea is to give out contract, the building of production process to a country that possesses the technology. The running of the process may have to be done by the transferring country or company over an agreed period.

Copying item already in the market: this method involve the breaking down of products in the workshop to analyze and study each component in the laboratory to see how such product can be reproduced to be exactly the same with the original.

This method is widely practiced in the eastern countries of the world like India, China, Korea, Belgium, Indonesia etc. these countries has grown very fast as a result of this methods.

Developing countries like Nigeria have for long looked down on and even rejected the products of countries engaging or using this type of technology transfer. This is why in Nigeria, products coming from China, Korea and Belgium are considered second class, inferior, imitation or sub standard.

Ironically, the economies of these countries are far well developed than that of Nigeria as a result of their appropriate use of several methods of technology transfer.

Meanwhile, products can be copied by countries through organizing industrial trade fares for international corporations where the products they intend to copy will be on display. The products are surveyed, bought at reduced prices, and are sent to the factories and laboratories for copying.

China is a good example of countries that utilize this method. Be that as it may, this method of technology transfer has some disadvantages such as:

• It violates the laws governing patents and copyrights.
• The labour required in copying and producing the exact copy of the products is much
• It requires adequate and well equipped laboratories for analysis.
• It encourages duplication of existing technologies instead of improving them.

Formal education and training: this is obviously the main channel for the acquisition of technology in every country. It involves the establishment of various institutes of technology both government and privately owned.

In these technological institutions students are trained in technical education. They may equally be sent oversees to acquire the needed knowledge and skills. Many nations have expanded greatly technology –wise using this method.

Unfortunately, developing countries like Nigeria for example has many graduates, yet many of them are roaming the street jobless.

Categories of Technology Transfer

Material Transfer: this involves the physical transfer of the hardware components of technology from the developed countries to the developing countries. For instances, when Japan supplies Nigeria with materials such as cars or car spare parts, we can say that Japan has engaged in a technology transfer with Nigeria.

Thus, material transfer can occur in the form of machineries and equipment as well as raw materials for factories and industries. It can also occur in the form of finished products such as computers, chemicals, electronic products and other machineries.

Design Transfer: this means the transfer of designs of machinery and transfer of ideas for the development of countries. In other words, design transfer implies the transfer of the prototype of machineries alongside the ideas and process from one country to another.

Capacity Transfer: this is the movement of the management and other process needed to turn materials and design transfer to physical or tangible products and services. This could be in the form of training for capacity building.

Factors that Favour Technology Transfer

There are several factors that encourage and favour technology transfer in any given country. Some of these factors include accessibility, availability of funds, mutual agreement, and availability of maintenance personnel.

Accessibility: in order for technology transfer to be carried out successfully ad effectively, its accessibility to the receiving country is highly important. It has been noted that unfriendly policies, culture and religion differences usually constitute obstacles that seriously affect the transfer of technology from one country to another.

For example, when an embargo or sanction is placed on a nation, it will be very difficult if not impossible for other nations to have any commercial activities with her. Thus, in this situation, technology transfer will be affected. Hence, accessibility is an important factor in the transfer of technology.

Availability of funds: money is very vital in technology transfer. This is because technology transfer involves the movement of not only men, ideas, knowledge but also materials, production processes and even formats, from one place to another.

The movement of all these things requires large amount of money. For instance, materials needed must be bought; the skills, idea and knowledge needed to facilitate the transfer also needed money to purchase them. Besides, the nation negotiating for a transfer of technology should be able to have enough money to pay for and also maintain the technology she is receiving from another country.

Mutual Agreement: mutual agreement between the two parties engaging in technology transfer is quite a necessary factor. Hence, in order for technology transfer to take place, there must be a willing seller and a willing buyer who mutually agree to sell and buy technology respectively.

The implication of this factor is that where there is no nation willing to give or let go of her technology to another nation, then technology transfer will be impossible. Even when there is a willing nation or party to receive the technology, there should and must be a willing nation or party to give what the receiver request for.

Availability of maintenance personnel: there is need for local maintenance personnel to be trained in order to maintain the equipment or machines transferred from one country to another. This is because long term use causes wear and tear in every machine or equipment where there are no technocrats.

Apart from the factors that favour technology transfer, there are other conditions that must be met or fulfilled in order for technology transfer to take place. These other conditions are: (1) that the said technology must exist or be generated at one end and (2) that there must be incentive to adapt and use the technology.

Benefits of Technology Transfer

• It encourages positive mutual relationship among the nations involved.
• It shapes and enhances the standard of living of the citizens of a nation.
• It brings about technological and economic growth and development of a nation.
• It encourages better communication and dissemination of information among nations.
• It encourages national and international integration, oneness and friendship among nations.
• It encourages the establishment of a direct business link among the nations.