Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
valuable resources. It also attributes responsibility to this national
government for the quality of its ST&I policy. There are two aspects
to the boundary condition. It can be interpreted as a warning against
cooperation in ST&I with the governments of countries that do not
respect basic human rights of their citizens, or as an incentive to
look for cooperation with nongovernmental actors such as academ-
ics or private companies. General business ethics concepts such
as Responsible Care include elaboration of possible ways for ethi-
cal behavior in such countries. The benefits for the population of a
country as a whole from such nongovernmental foreign investment
in ST&I in such countries could contribute to the development of an
open-minded academic elite in the long term. However, such non-
structural research cooperation is unlikely to add up to substantial
socioeconomic benefits for the country as a whole. For the latter,
a clear innovation policy of the own government is an essential
prerequisite.
3.
Foreign and private investment:
A major bottleneck in many develop-
ing countries is the lack of financial resources available for invest-
ment in ST&I. Following a global justice approach, rich countries and
multinational companies share in the responsibility for investing in
the capabilities of poor countries to develop their own knowledge
economy. Most economic value is added in knowledge-intensive
sectors of the economy. One of the foreseen implications of nano-
technology is that natural resources, including fossil fuels and raw
materials, can be used more efficiently (Meridian Institute 2007).
Therefore, it is even more urgent for countries mainly depending
on exports of such commodities to develop their own knowledge
e c o no my.
4.
Fair structures of global knowledge economy:
The main structures of the
global knowledge economy, including intellectual property rights,
mobility of knowledge workers, and trade agreements, should be fair
for poor and developing countries. The current global dialogue on
responsible nanotechnology development organized by the American
National Science Foundation (NSF) and the European Commission
(Cordis 2008) and in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) circles (OECD 2010a, 2010b) could be a good
platform for discussing relevant measures, provided the discussions
are not limited to environment, health, and safety risks and techno-
logical standards. However, most decisions on the structures of the
global economy are outside the scope of such international dialogue
on nanotechnology.
5.
Access to higher education and research jobs:
The global community,
national governments, and all research institutions and individual
researchers should give opportunities for the deprived to have access
