Abstract
Community Science and technology (CST) is an emerging concept and side by side a broader domain that deals with various aspects of community and societal development. Practically Community science and Technology may be treated as subject responsible and dedicated for community and society development. This is the domain which is talks about Science and Technology and its development for societal and community. On other way Community Science and technology (CST) may be express as a domain of Science, Technology, and Engineering responsible for social and community development. Information Science is an interdisciplinary domain and responsible for information vis-à-vis technological solution with social science perspective; and thus, the domain may be treated as a domain of Community or Social Touch or more clearly a domain of Community Science and Technology.
TopBackground
CST is a conceptual domain dedicated to societal development though proper science and technological tools (see Figure 1). Community Science and Technology may be brought as both, individual course of study or may be an individual subject with CST flavour. If it is a full-fledged CST programme then it may deal with several aspects of Community including its nature, role, diversity and side by side valuable for expressing the tools and techniques responsible for community or society and ultimately for its development today. Many aspects like virtual community, social network, and community development may also fall under the CST. Science and Technology are the main sources for the development whether it is industry, communication, education, governance and others. Such development and modernization of society is also possible with better and healthy Community Science and Technology related applications. The main background of this chapter includes but not limited:
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To find out about and learn on Community Science and Technology including its basic nature and characteristics.
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To learn and find out about Community Science and Technology as a stakeholder of development and modernization.
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To know about future potentiality of CST related programs as an academic specialization courses.
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To draw an exact picture and possibilities of CST program related to Community Science and Technology and its development.
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To find out Service Science and Community related aspects in Information Sciences and Technology.
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To design and development of Information Science related curriculum focused with Community Science and Technology gradients or specialization.
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To find out main problems and challenges of MSc- Information Science/ Information Sciences and Technology course with CST flavor.
This conceptual vis-à-vis policy study has been undertaken by the several tools and methods. Among others, review of literature is the important source of information. The web review, study of existing Community Science and Technology related programme has also played an important role to do this research work. It is a fact that material in the form of paper or chapter on Community Science and Technology is very limited. Hence web review has been undertaken to learn about the term and emerging concept. Role of specific subject to the community like computer in community, communication in community, energy informatics and management in the community and others critically analyzed and thus huge literature has been consulted and indirectly used to prepare this study.
Figure 1. The basics of community science and technology
Key Terms in this Chapter
Information: In generally processed data is called Information. Though, clearly Information as a concept has a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings. Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, and representation.
Community Science: It is a conceptual domain dedicated to societal development though proper science and technological tools. Community Science may be bring as both, individual course of study or may be an individual subject with CST flavor.
Digital Divide: It is the concept and aspect of disparities of Information Technology product uses among the common mass. More clearly, still in the society some are having access and condition of using several IT product and some are not able to uses due to economical and social status.
Service Science: It is a domain of interdisciplinary nature dedicated to serve or more clearly services to the wide scale such as organization, institution, community and so on.
UGC: University Grants Commission is the main regulator of Universities of India, Including Central, State, Private and Deemed and other institutes which are listed and granted funds etc.
Technology: It is the collection of techniques, skills, methods as well as the processes which are used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation. Technology term and concept can also be the knowledge of techniques, processes.
MSC: It is a University Degree or Higher Degree. Normally is treated as graduate program of advance level in the European countries and other followers. Normally the program offers with1-2 year of duration.
Interdisciplinary: Connection between some subjects irrespective of domain and direct and indirect connection with main facet or sub field. Such as Bio Chemistry, Information Sciences, Community Sciences.
Information Science: Information Science is actually a discipline of disciplines. It has come from the subjects and fields which are information, information services, information activities and digital information.
Developing Countries: It is the countries which are economically and socially trying towards betterment by economic and social maintenances and proper policy implementation.
Internet Community: It is a Groups of people are complex, in ways that make those groups hard to form and hard to sustain; much of the shape of traditional institutions is a response to those difficulties. In the Internet Community, an online community builds weaker bonds and allows users to be anonymous.
BSC: It is a University Degree or Higher Degree. Normally is treated as graduate program in the European countries and other followers. Normally the program offers with 2-4 year of duration.
India: The Republic of India is located in South Asia. Virtually it is the seventh largest country by area and most importantly second most popular with 1.2 billion people. Many religions originated from here and some of them are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
Community: It is actually a social unit of any size that shares common values; however he embodied or face-to-face communities are usually treated as small, larger or more extended communities such as a national community, international community and virtual community are also studied.
Science: It is refers to this body of knowledge itself, of the type that can be rationally explained and reliably applied. In the West during the early modern period the term “Science” and “Natural Philosophy” were sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the study of natural phenomena.