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Jan 15, '07 5:56 AM
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there appears a disconnect between technology policy and the public. The way the ministry determines technological choices is quite elitist so that people are marginalized in research decision-making and implementation. The so-called "socialization of technology" is one indication of this elitism. "Socialization" here means more about how to make people blindly accept technology than to shape technology according to social conditions. The nuclear project currently underway is an example of how the government attempts to persuade people to accept a technological choice the government has already made.

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13 CommentsChronological Reverse Threaded

moyas wrote on Jan 15, '07

i've got a couple of recommendations:
1. have Kusmayanto read Sclove's Technology and Democracy. the more people read it the better.
2. abolish the ministry. it's a a new order legacy.
3. establish a new institution accomodating a more democratic choice of technological development
4. concentrate research on specific areas (energy, transportation, etc.) within respective ministry/department that oversees this area

tkmaia wrote on Jan 16, '07

thanks.. now I can picture how complicated things are. You have a tough job to do Pak Prof :). I know you are too busy now to deal with multiply replies :D, but I have question:
What do you think about biotek research in Indonesia?
I don't think researchers in this area have the skills that really appropriate to make things that benefit Indonesian society also there is no infrastructure at all for these things. Biotech research in America is definitely for profit since to do it requires a lot of money, but Indonesian researchers in this area are moved into this field because they think it can be built as a non-profit organization to 'memajukan bangsa'. A lot of young people are moving into this field in indonesia with the same kind of attitude. Commendable as it is in an abstract way, it is just naive. But the big people upstairs seem to champion and perpetuate this kind of thinking. A lot like habibie airplanes :).

republic wrote on Jan 18, '07

moyas said

thanks anto for your recoms.
1. dunno if kusmayanto has read sclove but he's sts-minded for sure.
2. true its habibie's legacy. but completely abolishing it wont be wise for it's still needed in some jobs.
3. still in the process
4. being done actually by kusmayanto as noted in the article.

republic wrote on Jan 18, '07

tkmaia said

What do you think about biotek research in Indonesia?

no doubt biotech is important for a country like indonesia (and every country i believe). the problem, science is still seen more like a prestigous thing rather than a part of socioeconomic production. you make a good point, science here is signified as a form of nationalism to a lot of science practitioners (if any..:)). well, that's ok but it often misleads the goals of science itself, which is to benefit society.

i guess, the spectre of habibiesm is still around...

robymuhamad wrote on Jan 18, '07

i got another multiply id just so i can ask you a question :D

what do you think about the numerous transportation accidents, can they be considered as technological mishaps? what's the sts perspective on this?

republic wrote on Jan 18, '07

technological mishaps are part of system error. in the sts view, system is contituted by both technical and social elements. i believe, the lost of adam air (reminds me of abc's LOST), senopati, and many more are caused by sociotechnical configurations that are devoid of risk consciousness. of course it requires empirical investigation to get a more complete picture of what's wrong with our transportation system. but i guess the biggest failure is located in the social element (authority, institutions, discipline, rules, etc.)

robymuhamad wrote on Jan 18, '07

i agree with you. has anyone written using that argument yet?
i've seen many arguments blaming individuals and market competition of the airlines industry. maybe you can write from the institutional perspective.

republic wrote on Jan 19, '07

i am planning to write something on the myth of human error. as of the market, i tend to see the irony of the market in the ensuing case.

moyas wrote on Jan 23, '07

republic said

2. true its habibie's legacy. but completely abolishing it wont be wise for it's still needed in some jobs.

i am uneasy about this department. it's name doesn't suggest anything useful coming out of this ministry. research without development is uncommon and technology without science sounds baseless. but name change alone won't solve my issue with this department. i am just unclear what this department does.

moyas wrote on Jan 23, '07

republic said

i am planning to write something on the myth of human error. as of the market, i tend to see the irony of the market in the ensuing case.

keep us posted. btw, i understand the importance of deconstructing the notion of human error since our society tends to use this a lot as an excuse in most technological disasters. but to err is human, so making mistake is inevitable. what we lack is desire to truly learn wisely from these mistakes and to improve the conditions.

republic wrote on Jan 24, '07

cant agree more with you, anto. we, i mean indonesian people, lack many things to be modern. is it culturally given or politically handicapped? it sure needs deep contemplation

perempuandrselatan wrote on Jan 25, '07, edited on Jan 25, '07

What do you mean by modern here btw? Is being modern important to overcome human error?

republic wrote on Jan 26, '07

To the latter, yes but not completely eliminate the possibility of human errors. but my point is that blaming individual (as the very notion of human error implies) is more like apology than a way to locate the problem. To the former, being modern comprises of a few things e.g. discipline, rational, progressive, and strategic.

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the machine of narratives