Thursday, 22nd


February 2018


info@eastcorkjournal.ie


31 Researchers Save Lives – Working Perspectives by DR ROSARII GRIFFIN


Introduction What is a researcher?


According to an OECD (2002) Report, researchers are defined as ‘professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowl- edge, products, processes, methods and systems and also in the management of the projects concerned’. In other words, research- ers are at the cutting edge of most professions, inven- tions or discoveries. They undertake research in labo- ratories, or in the field (i.e. in society). Researchers can conduct experiments, undertake surveys or inter- views to establish facts and/ or figures about people or life. Researchers can also be involved in the creation of a new theories, or estabish new advances in relation to the way we live. In fact, researchers are to be found in just about every sphere of life, from journalism, to space exploration, from mathematical modelling, to medical research, to social work, etc. Researchers are to be found in every area of humour endeavour! How- ever, because of the nature of their work, they are often unseen as they may work in library archives, in back offices or at home. Some- times they work in teams, in scientific laboratories at universities or in industry or more times, in isolation, as private experts or con- sultant experts in their field. Even writers conduct re- search into their novels, set- ting their plots in historical settings, or poets, reading and researching other peo- ples’ work, which informs their own work. In short, researchers are typically in- volved in the advancement of human knowledge, for better or for worse.


Researchers’ Field A researcher is a creator


(or co-creator) of knowl- edge. They discover things, like patterns of behaviour and can invent new ways of approaching old problems. Researchers concentrate on discovering the causes of things, and ask key ques-


tions, such as ‘what causes cancer or Motor Neuron Disease? Or they can be in- volved in identifying and la- belling previously unknown or unidentifable diseases, such as Ebola, or the discov- ery that HIV was indeed a virus, and if left untreated, it then caused AIDS.’ Re- searchers then found the cure for HIV and AIDS, when they trialled anti-ret- rovirals which worked. In short, researchers work on human advancement in the medical field, the field of education, in engineering, in the arts and humanities, in just about everything imaginable. Utimately, they try to find new ways of looking at the world. Re- searchers identify problems and through their research, discover better solutions to problems, or a better way of working, or better ways of being.


Research Of course, sometimes


research can be annoying. One day, for instance, but- ter was found to be bad for you as research linked it to cholesterol and heart dis- ease. But sometime later, research established that butter was actually quite good for you, as it contains important fatty acids diffi- cult to find in other food- stuffs! Thus, butter in mod- eration is the key. However, this had ramifications for the dairy industry. On one hand, much to farmers dis- may, butter sales declined. But then, on the other hand, ‘spreadable but- ters’ took off, and a whole new market developed. So, sometimes you can get conflicting research. And sometimes, research can have unintended outcomes. Einstein is another exam- ple. When he developed his theory of E=MC squared (his theory of relativity of mass to energy through nuclear fission and fusion), and discovered how to split the atom, and release more energy. While this was good for energy production, he did not foresee how this would be used in the devel- opment of nuclear bombs.


Research is a double-edged sword While, the nuclear sector


has been producing energy that have kept many coun- tries going such as Britain and France, yet, often there


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is a price to pay for the ad- vancement of science. For instance, we know, due to the Irish experience of Sel- lafield, a UK nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear decommissioning site that, due to their highly toxic nuclear waste, was once thought to have been linked to increased incidences of cancer along the Irish east- ern seaboard. Chernobyl is another example of the danger of nuclear. In 1986, a nuclear reactor at Cher- nobyl in the Ukraine, over- heated and melted which had a detrimental impact on the people of Cher- nobyl and its surrounding environment. It had an im- pact on future babies being born (causing severe disa- bilities). The level of radia- tion following the explosion created an exclusion zone of 20 miles around Cher- nobyl where noone could live, taking in one thousand square miles, later extend- ed to four thousand square miles. This exclusion zone is still in operation around Chernobyl. These are some of the unintended conse- quences and dangers that science can produce if not regulated properly. Another example was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II where Einstein’s work was used to- wards horrific ends. While it did put an end to World War II in the East, yet, such nuclear bombs caused ter- rible mass destruction – the annihillation of entire cities in one foul swoop. One has to ask, are such advance- ments worth the price? In- nocent civilians lost without warning? There is an im- portant ethical dimension that needs to keep pace with sciencific research.


Ethical questions In the medical field, one


has to ask serious questions around the advancement of science through research and innovation. For in- stance, cloning. What are the implications and ram- ifications of cloning? Why are we cloning, for what purpose? Is cloning good for the human species? How can we control it? In- stinctively, I feel cloning is wrong as it appears to be a manipulation of nature. Nature doesn’t clone itself probably for good rea- son. Even identical twins are not identical. So, why should humans try to cre-


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ate an exact carbon copies of a sheep such as Dol- ly the sheep? What is the purpose of this? Can it be good? What is driving this kind of science. Similar- ly, you could ask the same questions around stem cell research. Growing a foetus for the purpose of their cells to assist people who are currently suffering the loss of limbs or organs. While allowing nature to develop its own ‘organic’ material, it depends (for me) from where the stem cells hail from. Again, there are many moral and ethical arguments that need to be addressed in the


pursuit


of science. For this reason, philosophers and thinkers play a criticial role here in the advancement of science and scientific research.


Postive Research Of course, most re-


search is positive. In the development of drugs to address heart disease, they inadvertently discovered viagra. This was an un- intended outcome of one of the drugs which was on trial amongst the male pop- ulation. Hence, Viagra was discovered to address male errectile dysfunction, which has made a lot of people very happy since. So, there is a positive side to science in terms of its addressing of human problems which have perplexed us. Many people have survived cancer and other diseases thanks to science. Though, they are still looking and research- ing into cures for different kinds of cancers, and other debilitating diseases such as Motor Neuron Diesese, and other rare diseases, and still have no cure, or even a name! But this is only one field of research endeav- our, there are many more positive areas of research including research into life- style habits, into how the brain functions, into how we teach and how we learn. And now, there is the entire information technology realm, which is a new rev- olution in science, which is still in its infancy stage, and has many new and exciting developments to come. The development of the TV, the computer, the internet, the mobile phone, the iPod, the iPad, the smart phones, 3D, 4G, gaming and the virtual reality world have only just begun this digital ‘infor- mation technological and


communication’ revolution.


Women and Science Of course, women have


a huge amount to bring to this revolution, and they are the untapped human resource where a lot of the best ideas area going to come from in the fu- ture. There is now a drive to get women into the STEM subjects (science, technology, engingeering and maths). Why? Because women bring a different perspective, a more prag- matic outlook, a different approach. Also, the ICT future holds more family friendly ways of working. No longer do you have to go to the office to work, as long as you have an internet connection, a lot of work can be done from home, or from wherever you like. Recently, on RTE, we saw examples of architects who went to the USA, set up businesses, then emigrated back to the West of Ireland. They can now continue their businesses in the won- derful setting of the west- ern seaboard of Ireland thanks to the advances in fiber optic cable and more speedy broadband connec- tions. No longer are there set hours to work, but work will definitely become more ‘task oriented’ or ‘project oriented’ in the future. This ideally should reduce the volume of traffic on our roads, as well as begin to repopulate the more rural parts of Ireland. As work becomes more flexible, so too will it become more family friendly. At least it should! Then, it will proba- bly become more attractive to women and men who want to work from home, or not far from home.


Researchers’ Work In the University sector,


researchers now make up over half of the workforce. They also get a lot of their funding, not so much from the government, but from external funding, like the EU or Industry. However, this has lead to a situation where you get a lot of peo- ple on precarious contracts. In other words, many re- searchers do not have secu- rity of tenure. They are on short term contracts. Many professional researchers have been on tenuous con- tracts for years and years. In some cases, anything from


eight to twelve years. But like most people, research- ers want to settle down, buy a house, get a mortgage. However, the banks do not give mortgages to people on tenuous contracts. The Universities are reluctant to give any form of tenure to researchers (including ‘contracts of indefinite duration’ CIDs), or any security of employment to researchers. So some Uni- versities have resorted to referring to researchers as ‘Trainees’ in order to cir- cumvent the Fixed Term Workers (FTW) legislation. In other words, they keep them as long as they have no comitment towards them, and they engineer their exit if they become close to getting a CID. This obviously has serious conse- quences for pension rights and entitlements, as well as general security and morale of researchers. But, the re- searchers, although they now bring in most of the funding into universities, are like the foot soldiers in war – fodder to be used to achieve an aim or a goal, and then turfed out by the Generals to find employ- ment elsewhere, when a CID threat arises. This is not a good situation for re- searchers to find themselves in. But researchers are afraid to speak out precisely because of their job precar- ity. They are the forgotten heroes in our educational system and treated badly depsite the vital work that they do.


Researcher Union As a result of the situa-


tion of researchers, I have become an advocate to address researcher con- cerns and so was elected Chairperson of UCC’s Re- searcher Staff Association, the first female to take on this role a year ago. I am also a member of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, and I have taken on the ‘Researcher’ role in UCC’s Branch committee to further researcher con- cerns. I am also an elect- ed Governor on UCC’s Governing Body authority, and I tend to raise issues pertaining to researchers at the policy level at UCC. The main argument given by the University is that funding in the third level sector, and UCC, has re- duced from 90 million euro to 30 million euro over the


past decade, and the Uni- versity cannot support all researchers if they should wish to get a CID contract (this is the new form of ‘permanent’ contract which is not permenant in the way we perviously understood permenancy). However, not all researchers want to stay in academia. They of- ten go into industry, they go abroad, they go into other areas of endeavour. So, probably a third or less of all researchers possibly want to stay within the third level sector. The pay is not great, so the reason re- searchers stay in this sector is because they enjoy what they do and are possibly very good at it!


Researchers Education By the time a research-


er becomes a professional researcher (i.e. reached post-doctoral level), they have undertaken at least seven years third level ed- ucation. This would in- clude a primary degree, a masters and a doctorate degree. Some professional researchers have undertak- en much more than this, possibly up to 10 years third level education. So to consider someone who is doing a post-doctorate or equivalent as being in ‘a pe- riod of training’ is just not acceptable. But precarity of work conditions is not just affecting researchers, but now also junior lectur- ers, and other areas of the public sector. A twin track appears to be growing, those who are in senior po- sitions of tenure, and those who are kept in a situation of endless precarity, with those in comfortable posi- tions shouting the loudest about the benefits of mo- bility, when they themselves would not dream of mov- ing, uprooting their fam- ily and life. So, when you consider your University, think of the hundreds of researchers, like hamsters on a treadmill, working through on their research projects, to potentially save lives and make life better for other people like you, while they themselves suf- fer in fear and silence. It is not right. It is an area that has to be addressed, just because it is the right thing to do. Contact: Rosarii at info@eastcorkjournal.ie or @rosarii_griffin.


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


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