"Globalization In Physics and It's Role In South"

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

In the perspective of physicists or physics, I am sure, we all agree that the Cold War  started when the nuclear arms' race began between two super powers with the testing of the hydrogen bomb by former USSR in 1949.  During the Cold War,  physics prospered due to conflicts between the USSR (East ) and the USA (West). Both sides spent a lot of money and used their potentials to support  specially high-cost physics research in order to prove each other their powers under the umbrella of providing national security. However the main aims of these super powers were to become   the winner of the Cold War.  Since nuclear arms were not utilised, the winner had  to attain high-tech science and rapidly apply it to her  economy, space programs, etc..

 

One of the most important reasons behind the demise of the USSR was her failure in the race of science/technology  that also ended the Cold War with the falling down of “Iron Curtain”. We know that due to this progress in science the whole world had changed very fast. The process of globalization accelerated in the World  through “New World Order” programmes with high technology in communication. In the Knowledge Age the Information Society is crated by these programmes.

 

The  processes of globalization have given a new vision to the political configurations in education and in research in science as well,  changing the most part of the concepts for the educational and research evolution for the state, for the scientific societies, for the international scientific collobrations, for the schools, for the universities, for the scientific publications, ect., defining and shaping some new dimensions or a new way. The scientific thinking will help more “information society” address its global problems in a rational way; that the global science and the global education with high technology (for example we consider in this conference; high technologies in physics education) will support more people change their outlook on social, economic and political peoblems, they are facing. I name this new stage in physics as “The Global Education and Research in Physics/Technology“ (GERPT). New relationships between physics/technology and society, physicists and people will be established  by GERPT through. High-cost international scientific collaborations, the process of standartization and equivalencies of the University diplomas via a common education or via a global information (as it is discussed in this conference, new technologies in physics education),  electronic publications, ethics problems in scientific and academic works, etc. In the next centuries the world will be shaped by GERPT and GERPT will be the engine of “information society.”

 

In this conference many papers has been presented on new technologies in physics education and many interesting talks are given to answer the questions: “Are common education and global education ( new information technologies in physics education) good for physics and physicists (people) ? How the physics education effected by new technologies will help “information society”?

 

In which way GERPT can prosper research in physics and education in physics?...Can GERPT solve the world’s global problems, like energy and ecology?...Can GERPT realy help attain  peace in world?... In order to provide “information society”  with science  and to educate science with high technology to young generation in next millennium, first we have to find right answers to these questions!  In this paper; I would like to briefly discuss these questions. As I proposed at Pugwash Workshop on “Etihcs in Science” held in Debrecen, Hungary (1998); the GERPT to be considered as global ethic and a new international organization in physics to be  established by physicists not by national or international scientific organizations to advocates the duty of scientists to take responsibility for the  GERPT.

 

GERPT:

 

As it is also noticed in this conference, there are many signals from the physics community that the   GERPT has begun. For example; The Tokyo Declaration of Physical Societies made at the 2nd World Congress of Physical Societies, (RACIP-2; in Tokyo, Japan, in 18-22 September 1995) [1];

          “...The physics community will exploit (these) new tools to improve inter-personal                contacts and dissemination of knowledge through electronic publishing, communication,   research and education...”

In the paper that had been presented by Prof. H. Schopper (Former director of CERN and former president of EPS) in RACIP 2 [2]:

            “...One of the essential new elements is the end of the Cold War between West and East      which has changed the perspective of science in the minds of politicians and the public. During the Cold War science and physics were seen as an essential ingredient for national security. Now major efforts in weapons development at previous levels are considered to be unnecessary and defence budgets which in some countries provided directly and indirectly large funds for physical and technical developments or even for fundamental physics, are being cut considerably...........the role of physics in its relation to society has to be redetermined.”

 

However in the mean time the physicists community  should be focusing the fact that in the “Knowledge Age “ GERPT can be exploited by “the major powers” to foster their own economic, political and cultural interest rather than solve the global problems of the world like energy and ecology: There is a potential risk of human homogenization through a common education or a global education. Also, one of the first aspect of the costs of the industrialisation based on science/technology is pollution (the hazards of radiation, the Green- House effect, desertification, etc.) which is growing fast. Another aspect is the actual gap between North and South countries, or a high standard of living based on people without food.

 

It is questionable also that the programmes of GERPT can be beneficial to regional peace. Will developing countries possibly succeed in preserving their own scientific and cultural traditions by GERPT? 

 

BALKAN PHYSICSITS TIRANA DECLARATION

 

As an example and as a laboratory let us consider the role of physics in the Balkans today and tomorrow: The Balkans from Europe’s south-eastern peninsula.. People lived together in this region for many years under the Byzantine and Ottoman  authorities -- a historical fact that led to the creation of a common Balkan culture. In the Balkans during the Cold War the region’s people were kept apart in two different worlds by centralised political aims. With the end of the Cold War the Balkan people gained back their opportunity to recapture their cultural inheritance. Today there are about 15 000 physicists , 200 universities and 20 large national research centres in physics in the Balkan countries.

 

Balkan Physical Union (BPU) is one of the most active non-governmental organisation in the Balkans. BPU was established in 1985 in Kosov. Today, members of BPU are the national physical societies of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia. Until the Tirana Declaration that was endorsed by BPU members in Tirana in 1990, BPU member countries  had little direct knowledge of each other’s scientific potential in physics due to centralised governments whose political strategy was to keep countries apart.  The Declaration announced the intention to promote and improve science, as well as the exchange of knowledge and information through links to be established  among scientists that would lead to joint research projects and common programmes in the Balkan countries.

 

The stimulus provided by the Declaration led to the first major activities of BPU:  (I) The Balkan Schools of Physics,  (ii) General Physics Conferences of BPU; the first of  which (BPU-1) was held in Thessaloniki ,Greece in September 1991 where more than 600 physicists from the Balkans came together for the first time in the history of science. 2nd BPU General Physics Conference  (BPU-3)  was held in Izmir, Turkey in September 1994 at which 800 physicists from the Balkans participated  and more than 1000 Balkan physicists met again at BPU-3 in Cluj_Napoca, Romania in September 1997. (iii) The BPU Physics Students Branch was established to promote friendship among the Balkan students by the Balkan Physics Student Conferences.  (iv) The BPU also started to publish a scientific journal in 1993 entitled Balkan Physics Letters (BPL).

 

On the other hand, the scientists from the  Balkans had been extremely supported by the global European scientific programmes to join mostly  in high-coast international scientific collaborations  in Europe and to join common physics education programmes applied to in order to ensure the mobility of students and diplomas in Europe. (For more details, Prof. Hendric Herdinande presentation in this conference; “EUPEN Tries to Consolidate Its Consortium.”) during as well as after the Cold War. Unfortunately they (GERPT programmes) did not bear fruit, and in spite of recent improvements towards in peace in the Balkans, the dangers from the political, religious and ethnic conflicts still prevail in the Balkans. Establishing regional scientific and cultural collaborations coordinated by non-governmental regional scientific organisations (NGRO) and national physics societies also will be undercontro of the goverments since they need support to continius their works in GERPT which neeed money.

 

CONCLUSION

 

The science will conduct the “knowledge society” in the next centuries. The scientific knowledge will provide the new raw material for prosperity of mankind. The “global revolution” is being defined and shaped by science. Considering only partialy GERPT facts, for the teaching in physics or for the researching in physics,  scientisits, mostly from south, responding to the new globalized conditions that their people are facing or will face quite soon, must actively involve in efforts to build international equal cooperation I following the main human characteristics of high education and scientific activities, concentrated in the Rutherford’s expression “science is international”. To make the the internationalization, globalization and integration succed, scientists have to release, time after time, top-class or top-labwork and put in an enthusiastic and serious showing at political venues. There are good reasons for thinking that the intellectual and scientific “breaks” are necessary to be applied to proceed with more caution in human demands associated with effective, integrated world’s governance... We also have to keep in mind that science/technology is able to change the world better, to improve the quality of life, but it is also true that its application can have adverse effects on the world. There is a potential risk of human homogenization through a common education or a global education. Also, one of the first aspect of the costs of the industrialisation based on science/technology is pollution (the hazards of radiation, the Green- House effect, desertification, etc.) which is growing fast. Another aspect is the actual gap between North and South countries, or a high standard of living based on people without food. It is quite important considering that the world population could double to over 10 bilions in 21-st  century. This huge increase will hapen,   can you imagine what kind of world it will be like, and what problems will have to be faced. at least the double the amount of food to satisfy consumption, the urgent problem of the scarcity of usable water the need more and cheaper power, the need for the technological solutions that improve the  efficiency of energy production and more over, the immense environmental challenges facing the next century, despite scientific disagreement etc. For these global problems the most worst case that there is also possibilty that GERPT could be used by super powers for their own interest. As we have noticed for the Balkans, it is sure that GERPT programs can never provide the solution to central search for peace, harmony and tolerance.  

 

By GERPT in which human capability to deal with the enormous challanges of coming decades will be greatly enhanced. But GERPT must work side by side with new international organizations that must be better equiped than those of the 20-th century to grapple with the problems they address and the globalized ethics in GERPT can be considered by these scientific organizations particuly. This new international orgnization in physics to be  established by physicists not by national scientific organizations  to advocates the duty of scientists to take responsibility for the consequences of their work using high tecnolgies in research ans education by GERPT and to  prevent and  overcome the actual and potential harmful effects of GERPT innovations movements to keep it not used major powers aim to poor people. Developing countries possibly succeed in preserving their own scientific and cultural traditions by these moral efforts via scientific and cultural collaborations coordinated  by this organization. Such organization can also initiate a period of everlasting peace for the people of region.   

 

 

  REFERENCES

1] H. Toki; RACIP-2, World Congress of Physical Societies, Tokyo-Japan (1995).

2] G.Akdeniz;"Counter balancing Glabalization",Europhysics News, Vol.27/6 (1996)

3] G.Akdeniz; "The Role of Science in Balkans", presented at Pugwash Workshop on

Ethics in Science, Debrecen-Hungary (1998) and at The World Congress of    Humanists Unity, Sarajevo- Bosna-Herzogovina (1998).       Talk is given  in  " International Conference on New Technologies in Physics Education"