Fergus Cassidy

Nine out of ten cats

research, n systematic investigation towards increasing the sum of knowledge

CALL it fate or maybe coincidence, but I was sitting on a sun-bathed beach in Wicklow last week, reading an article in New Scientist (as you do) which had a cover story on why sunshine was good for people.

It was a strange thing to read, covered as I was in Factor 57 lotion and a hat with a brim the size of Texas, that new research is pointing to positive aspects to soaking up some unprotected rays. With the popular media salivating during this oasis of sunshine - with daily reminders that the planet is hotting up - scientists talking about unprotected exposure, is about as welcome as a power cut in an ice cream factory.

It has taken 20 years or more for health organisations and governments to hammer home the message that people should be wary of the sun. Now along comes a bunch of research scientists who are publishing interesting studies on the beneficial aspects of the sun. Findings have shown the role of vitamin D in the body's ability to ward off cancer cells may be enhanced by a limited and controlled exposure to the sun.

Results of one study, published in The Lancet, revealed that out of a group of 355 men studied, half of whom had prostrate cancer, the quarter who got the least sun were three times as likely to be in the cancer group.

This is the way it is with research. One study says such and such is good, the next study recommends sending for the exorcist. I know it's supposed to be the 'knowledge society', but I feel hypnotised sometimes, like a dog catching a glimpse of the end of his tail.

That running around in circles feeling, however, I have put down to the fact that there are essentially two types of research - commercial and others. By commercial I mean all the research and development that goes into new products or services. Or cutting edge studies into future technologies like nano and bio. But some of this lower-level commercial research has been taken up by the marketing and branding departments of business. I'm not knocking it, some of it has been important, crucially in the areas of health and medicine.

The one serious problem about commercial research, however, is that it's increasingly being driven by the need to satisfy the investors and shareholders of technology-based companies. This approach has historically attracted huge sums of money which powered research, leading to innovative breakthroughs and, in many cases, life-enhancing consequences.

That approach can lead to a situation though where more and more research is spent only on breakthroughs that can bring large capital rewards as a result. This research in return for rewards approach leads to more and more private research with patents being the name of the game. It also means that many many technological breakthroughs are owned privately by companies for their own exclusive benefit. Companies see this as the legitimate consequences of their belief and investment of their time and someone else's money.

But what about research into subjects and areas that are not the property or exclusive domain of commerce? In large part, this has been the job of governments. There's no doubt, that the internet as it exists would never have happened without the support of the American government, especially at times when no one thought it would amount to anything much.

It has, and regardless of the fears, threats, dangers and all the other malevolent pronouncements, there is one thing about the net that will impact for many decades to come. Nobody owns it.

One of the fastest-ever adopted communications technologies is not controlled by any one single entity or organisation. From here on it there will be very little likelihood of something like that ever happening again.

The net not being owned by anyone means that it's beginning to get caught in the research-as-reward paradox. Why bother committing funds if other businesses - including competitors - stand to gain also. The paradox amplifys when the increasing dependence on the net is taken into account. And the alarm bells are beginning to ring.

According to a recent draft discussion paper from the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) - a key standards group - "if commercial funding is the main source of funding for future internet research, the future of the internet infrastructure could be trouble".

The draft also delves into the area of how any future funding is spent. "In addition to issues about which projects were funded, the funding source can also affect the content of the research, for example, towards or against the development of open standards, or taking varying degrees of care about the effect of the developed protocols on the other traffic on the internet".

Power to the people
The document above I have to stress, is only for discussion purposes and doesn't in any way represent the view of those who run the net. Nonetheless, it does point to problems with research that may lie ahead, particularly its independence or neutrality. And Ireland won't be immune to this.

As examples of what I'm getting at, there are two important issues concerning the health, safety and social fabric of this country that really can't be resolved without independent and well-funded research.

The first is with electronic voting, which the government is committed to using during next year's local and European elections. Margaret McGaley of Maynooth University computer science department recently published a report into the electronic voting system and concluded that: "The introduction of electronic voting in Ireland, in its current form, threatens the integrity of our democracy". Without going into the technical details here, the report points to the lack of transparency and security in the computer code used by the software.

On the other hand, the minister responsible responded in the Dail in June: "...this report does not raise any new issues concerning the security of the electronic system to be used and its conclusions cannot be considered to have been substantiated".

The other issue concerns a trial by the ESB next month, believed to be in Tuam, County Galway. The ESB will attempt to find out if it's feasible to send data to homes and businesses over electric wires. This potential to connect to the internet in this way is currently under commercial trials in Scotland by Scottish-Hydro. Governments are keen to drive competitiveness by encouraging alternatives to incumbent or monopoly telephone companies.

But I followed a fascinating and very informative discussion on Boards.ie during the week which convinced me that Ireland badly needs an independent research facility specifically on internet technology.

Running data over electricity wires mounted on poles can create massive radio noise pollution. This would mean that the frequencies used by a large and important community of amateur radio operators could be drowned out. Naturally, the radio people are extremely concerned and more than a little determined to fight their corner.

It's quite clear to me that these two issues, there will be many more, provide ample proof that the technological undepinnings of such technologies must be subject to independent verification and the findings published. Otherwise we're threading water.

When a government has already spent Euro36m on a voting system, any minister now ordering independent analysis to determine the security (or otherwise) of the system would be like a turkey voting for Christmas. But it should be done. Independent verification for something like voting has to happen for people to have confidence in it. The government's 'trust us' approach just doesn't cut it anymore.

The same applies to the ESB trial. Independent study and analysis and full disclosure of the results. Debate can then be conducted and decisions made enhanced by better knowledge and understanding.

The Irish government, to its credit, is spending large amounts on research and development. But it tends to be primarily for commercial and competitiveness reasons. Expecting that kind of research to take an interest in the internet is like building castles in the sand.