Constructive technology assessment (CTA) - A case study of Nano-Biosensor in Malaysia

The nanotechnology industry is predicted to be capable of rivalling the biotechnology industry and even perhaps forecasted to be at par with information communication technology (ICT) by 2014.It is said that nano technology is the next "disruptive technology", meaning that it will influence across industries and affect our very lives, similar to previous technologies like "atomic" was for the 1950s, "micro" was for the 1980s, and ".com" was for the 1990s.Its forecasted impact is slowly blurring out the lines that separate reality with fantasy, as evidenced by various products, but this research focuses on the Nano-Biosensor products, which is being currently researched here in Malaysia in several institutions that focus on the different components that make up the Nano- Biosensor.However, it must be pointed out here that although the research into the materials and applications of these materials is paramount to the growth of this promising industry, there must also be research into the feasibility and management of this industry, in order for it to be forecasted, monitored, and controlled, and thus aid in the betterment of mankind.Measuring the potential impact of a technology is basically a Collingridge dilemma, which is a double-bind problem where impacts of a technology cannot be easily predicted until the technology is extensively developed and adopted, and the control or change of a technology is very difficult once it has been extensively developed and adopted.In order to address these issues, a technique called technology assessment (TA) has been developed to assist in evaluating these emerging technologies. There are many categories of TA that has emerged through various research efforts and published documentation, including Parliamentary TA (PTA), Expert TA (often referred to as the classical TA concept), Participatory TA (pTA), Constructive TA (CTA), Discursive or Argumentative TA, and a specialised TA related to the health industry, called Health TA (HTA).Narrowing down to CTA, CTA initiatives would attempt to broaden the design of new technology through feedback of TA activities into the actual construction of the technology, which is contrary to other forms of TA, where CTA is not directed toward influencing regulatory practises by assessing the impacts of technology, but rather, CTA wants to address social issues around the technology by influencing design practices.Due to the technical nature of Nano-Biosensor, CTA has been proposed as the core topic for a research endeavour for fulfilling this aim of measuring the viability of Nano-Biosensor in the broader context of the nanotechnology development in Malaysia, since it has been identified as the enabling technology with potential industry-wide impact on other sectors not only in Malaysia, but the rest of the world