Session 6

Our professor started the lesson with a quote from Albert Einstein, which serves as a reminder to us that our mindsets are important in affecting our outlook on life. Simply put, if we are able to develop a curiosity for our surroundings, there will always be something to learn and gain from. This brings us back to the Organisational Behavioural Model raised in Session 2 that highlights the difference between  the Rising Stars and the Falling Stars. This model is applicable to Einstein's quote because what he characterises as "one that sees everything as though it is a miracle" is in fact one that adopts a rising star mindset since an individual that does so will be open to change, keen to adapt and improve, and thus be capable of learning more. On the other hand, one that lacks the curiosity and thirst to seek new perspectives and perceive their learning process to be closed and self-sufficient will then view life "as though nothing is a miracle" and risk being classified as a Falling Star. A key takeaway message here is the interdependence between our attitudes towards life and what we can hence, gain out if it. Learning can be lifelong if we seek to discover new openings everyday. Learning can be a novel experience if we find joy in these new findings. It is the choice we make in the beginning that determines the outcome. 

The Greek proverb "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in" gives us an idea of the importance of sustainability. Sustainability can be defined as development without jeopardising current resources. To secure a future for the next generation, there is a need for a shift in focus from our self-vested interests in maximising our usage of present resources to adopting practices that ensure that these resources can be used for a prolonged time to benefit not just the current population but also the society in the future. The need to create a sustainable future is a prelude to the bio-business revolution, the topic for this session.

As bio-business develops into a growing industry, taking up over 25% of global GDP and hiring over 40% of the workforce, we might come to the conclusion that the workers in this industry are generating a high level of income but this is not the case as more than 50% of the labour force in bio-business engage in subsistence farming and are thus, low wage earners. The global bio-business market size is also an underestimate of actual figures because the chart does not include the profitable beauty market and the lucrative sex trade. These industries are not included within the global bio-business market due  to their controversial status. Our class however perceives beauty to be a commercial activity based on life science and hence 30% of us consider it to be a bio-business. Another reason why the statistics given for the global market size of bio-businesses might be inaccurate can be attributed to the exclusion of some sectors within the industry. In the agriculture industry for example, only food-based sectors are considered in the calculation of its contribution to global GDP. Non-food based sectors such as logistics, supply chain of supermarkets and restaurants are not included. 

The healthcare bio-business sector involves the provision of biomedical processes as well as biomedical research. Healthcare is seen to be a growing sector especially with the rising affluence of the middle classes that leads to a spike in demand for higher quality and more frequent healthcare services. However, it can be observed that this demand is extremely polar with the US being the biggest spender as it utilises 52% of the world's resources on healthcare, while other countries do not spend as much. Healthcare is key in ensuring the sustainability of our population and hence, should be given as much emphasis in other regions of the world. There is thus a need to increase the awareness of the importance of healthcare especially in areas like South Asia that only spends US$33.5 billions on healthcare, at least four times lesser than that of America. 

Next, we moved on to discuss the bio-business landscape, which consists of summit, valley and cloud opportunities. The best approach highlighted by our professor is to embark on summit opportunities, which capture the value in existing propositions while simultaneously creating new areas of interest to develop into cloud opportunities. An example of an industry that capitalises on summit opportunities would be the biomedical arena. Cloud opportunities are termed as such because the ideas generated might be novel and interesting but they still remain a fantasy rather than an actual innovation since their invention or business plan still needs to be made marketable and feasible before it can be concretised. On the other hand, we need to acknowledge that less emphasis should be placed on valley opportunities as such opportunities utilise the old approach of being manufacturing-centered rather than knowledge-intensive and do not value-add to the bio-business landscape. 

From the trends in bio-business related innovation, it can be concluded that new patents are generated at a rapidly increasing rate as seen in the sharp rise in life science patent approvals by the US Patent Office between 1977 and 1997. NCE (New Chemical Entity) patents have increased as the rate of generating new products and chemicals have been rising rapidly over the years. The number of microbiologic innovation patents also increased with the growing trend of genetically engineered bacteria, yeast and other microorganisms. Lastly, multicellular organism innovation patents have also increased from a scenario of null patents approved to a significant 318 patents approved. A notable example of multicellular organism innovation would be cloning, where a rise in cloning cases has been observed since the the controversial cloning of Dolly the sheep. This growing demand for life science patents could be attributed to the booming bio-business industry that has spurred the rise in innovations in the various sectors. As a result of these new innovations in the life sciences and biotechnology, the cumulative annual revenues generated by the leading biotech companies has increased significantly over time. Nevertheless, biotechnology still occupies a very small proportion (less than 0.5%) of the bio-business arena even with the growth of new innovations. Hope is not lost since the usefulness of biotechnology in its broad applications to solve challenges and generate a wide range of products  ensures that biotechnology still garners much interest, and is even expected to revolutionise the bio-business landscape in the future.

Next, our professor showed us a futuristic video on "Health Future Vision", which sparked our class discussion on telemedicine. The ability to speak to the doctor through broadband in the comfort of our own homes makes intentional trips to a clinic/hospital to see the doctor personally, a redundant practice in the future; severely cutting down on waiting time, transport costs and effort. This is an innovation especially beneficial for the elderly or physically disabled patients that might find the travelling process too inconvenient for them. In the doctors' perspective, telemedicine is useful since they can now conduct a real-time check on their patients and access medical records of them at any time of the day that helps increase their efficiency in the diagnosis and treatment procedure.  While telemedicine might seem like a win-win situation for both patients and medical practitioners, some countries have imposed laws that decree that patients have to be physically present when consulting the doctor before a diagnosis can be made. Nevertheless, the ease and efficiency of telemedicine has spurred the change in such rules to embrace new technological developments. In California, for example, one needs to travel up to an hour to reach the hospital. With technological advancements, accessibility to healthcare is expected to improve so that patients can contact a doctor through a phone call or through Skype. Apart from that, the idea of a digital wallet introduced in the video is also extremely appealing as it reduces the hassle of carrying heavy wallets containing various credit cards. The fingerprint system adds an extra level of security to the wallet, making it only accessible to the user in the case of theft, which can prevent the misuse of stolen credit cards observed in modern society.

As more countries move away from the status of "developing" to "developed", there has been a subsequent shift from infectious diseases to chronic diseases. The spread of infectious diseases as a result of poor water supply, lack of access to antibiotics, poor sanitation and bad living conditions has reduced due to efforts of millennium goals to improve healthcare and infant mortality. "Burden of disease" refers to the number of people who are sick and the number of days of quality life left (opportunity cost in time as a result of falling sick). Previously, more than 65% of global burden of disease was infectious disease but the world has changed dramatically such that the problem of chronic disease has replaced communicable diseases. The aging population could be a reason for the increase in non-communicable diseases since problems like heart disease become more prevalent as we age. Another probable cause for this shift in disease patterns could be a change in our diet as we gain affluence. In India for example, the mortality rate of ischaemic heart disease is very high due to a change in obesity patterns that has led to a country of fewer skinny people and more obese people that are susceptible to high cholesterol and heart problems instead. The video "Global pulse: Obesity going global" showed to us in class highlighted the danger of the rise in the number of obese people (The World Health Organisation predicted that 2.3 billion people will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese in 2015 seeing that already 22 million children are overweight) as economic prosperity has driven a change in the lifestyles of Asians that cause consumers to demand for a Western diet that largely includes fast food. Easy access to unhealthy food combined with marketing techniques that make fast food seem like a good choice, a change in the concept of play such that physical activity is replaced by electronic gadgets as well as the affordability of fast food in recent years are the various reasons that contribute to the rise in obesity cases. China has the fastest growing obesity rate, with a quarter of urban China classified as being overweight, a problem that has roots in China's social context where its one child policy has given birth to a generation of pampered children that "have too much to eat, and too little time to play". In South Korea, child obesity is twice as high in low income families because parents have no time to prepare proper food for their children and research has found that parents' lifestyles affect children the most. All of this points to one thing: Obesity is becoming a world pandemic that calls for the intervention of bio-business to come up with weight loss solutions and look into genetic engineering to reduce the potency of fat genes. However, I agree with what our professor said about prevention being better than cure. Many of us will agree that a fundamental change in lifestyle is better than having to undergo a liposuction procedure that might bring about unexpected side effects without actually being proved to remove the fat in our blood. There is a difference in disease management (Reducing the negative) and wellness management (Maximising the positive) and we should aim to do both to achieve optimum results.

An area that I feel is worth discussing is the issue on prosthetics. Indeed, the move to include physically handicapped athletes and allow them to compete alongside normal athletes might seem reasonable to those who support the idea of giving the physically handicapped a chance to feel that they are no different from everyone else and hence, should not be ostracised. However, our professor raised a good point that the adjustability of how flexible the prosthetic leg is can result in unfair outcomes if these athletes are allowed to run in a normal race. The use of prosthetics can be seen as an advantage over the normal human leg with alterations to the length, speed and elasticity of these artificial leg replacements being made possible with technological advancements. As a result, the issue remains controversial which opens us to various arguments supporting or rebutting against the use of it alongside normal athletes in a competition. What do you guys think? Feel free to leave your comments or thoughts below!

Overall, I found this lesson interesting and informative. I would give it a 8.5 out of 10.

Have a good weekend!
Glenda

Session 5

Our professor started the class by reviewing some quotes that left us with key messages worth thinking about. The first learning point is that anything advanced enough in the perspective of the the viewer will be seen as "magical" since it appears to them that technology has transformed an impossible fantasy into a possible and concrete reality. The next learning point is that the concept of who we are as an individual (our physical being) and our ability to connect and interact with others changes according to what we possess and is also dependent on the milestones made in technology (e.g. The introduction of the Internet). The third message that was conveyed to us was that with global drivers of change such as globalisation, this concept has expanded to include all the countries sharing the planet. This is because we are now interconnected with everyone around the world and together, all of us have a shared responsibility in sustaining the ecosystem that we are closely related to. Thus, we should all learn to understand and respect the interaction between people and systems, especially as we are interdependent on one another.

The focus of today's lesson is on using technology, namely ICT, to make a difference in the world. ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is a broad term that consists of many areas of interests, which I will discuss the main key takeaway messages from the session in this blog post.

1. Mass Media

What is mass media? Mass media is media that allows one to communicate and reach out to a large group of people. In the past, people made use of all sorts of methods to communicate with each other starting from the most basic forms like word of mouth, smoke signals, reading, letter-writing, before inventing more advanced ways of disseminating information such as utilising the radio, television and even the early Internet. There has been a clear transition from passive communication (one to many) that was used in the past mainly for the ruling government to aid in its centralisation of the country and advocation of propaganda; to an active one (many to one) that we are currently witnessing, where the government no longer uses the one-way approach and instead establishes an interactive communication channel with the public. An illustration of such a shift from passive to active communication is the Internet. Initially, with the introduction of the early Internet as a form of communication, a passive approach was harnessed where people posted information online and others would simply read and close the webpage, regardless of their decision to accept the information or not. However, this has changed with the advent of the 2nd generation technology that is more interactive and interesting with the invention of the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 unlike the early Internet has an additional component of interaction in the form of contribution. It also incorporated functions like bookmarking and brought in new ways of communicating and reaching out to others through novel concepts like social networking. With continuous improvements in technology,  we are even in the process of a move towards the 3rd generation. Web 3.0 is not only interactive but is also invincible, working everywhere even as we are resting. Such examples include the ability of the 3rd generation technology to help us book our flights and plan our travel itinerary. It is even able to customise according to our habits, preferences and friends, showing off an ever higher level of technology that is unprecedented. However, as all innovations usually come with positive and negative effects, this shift from a one-way provider to  interactive communication, has both sides to it too. In the perspective of a government, this improvement has definitely allowed for feedback and communication that fine-tunes messages to respond to the needs of people and find out what the public really wants and thinks. From the consumer's perspective, this shift is beneficial as it has allowed them to become more informed of the reliability of the source, product quality and product pricing from the commercial marketing done online. In the general perspective of the community, this change might also be seen as beneficial as they are now able to be more informed of the truth rather than simply absorbing what the government chooses to feed them with the one-way mode of communication in the past. Nevertheless, there are still negative effects that can be observed from the shift. One such example would be that the interactive communication now opens us up to a wide range of information that needs to be verified for its reliability and accuracy.

2. Internet
We also watched a video (Evolution Web 1.0, 2.0 to 3.0), where we saw devices interacting with other devices with web 3.0. Imagine that in the future, cars are able to interact with other cars such that if the cars are too close, one car will be able to tell the other without the driver having to do anything. This idea of automatic control in fact already exists in the aviation industry between planes. It is also seen in the introduction of self-driving cars and even in the commonly used YouTube, with the "suggested videos" function. Such a technology like most, has its share of positive and negative effects. An example of a benefit is that with this different ability introduced to control movements, traffic accidents can be reduced since it minimises the possibility of human error when cars and vehicles communicate with each other instead. Furthermore, this technology can also help to boost productivity. However, there is still the essential problem of a loss in privacy as these machines gain access to our thoughts, which remains unsolved. Web 3.0 represents the vision that we have, yet it takes more than just anyone to materialise this vision and make it happen. For example, intelligent harvesting has been introduced long ago but has not been seen to be made concrete in the market. In addition, such futuristic technology also raises the question on feasibility considering the myriad of other factors that have to be weighed in to be marketable to consumers. Looking at the example of the new innovation that allows you to control all your devices at home; while it might seem like an interesting concept to many, it is costly and thus, not feasible to most households. As a result, this technology is still not in common practice yet.

3. Social Networking
The next video we watched was "Social Networking Made Easy". From this video, we learnt that social networking allows us to reach people we never dreamt that we were able to reach and more importantly, allows us to capture the hidden opportunities (jobs, people and new places to live) in connections that cannot be seen in the real world since it makes connections between people that are potentially valuable, more visible and transparent. Social networking thus makes our network more useful.

4. Crowd sourcing
The idea of crowd sourcing to reach out to a larger community beyond your network was also introduced. Crowd sourcing makes use of the Internet to reach out to a wider range of people to help you to find the solutions that you lack. Crowd funding works hand in hand with crowd sourcing to help us achieve our objectives. Wikipedia for example, uses crowd sourcing to bring in more contributors that will add more information to the existing knowledge base. Crowd sourcing has facilitated the establishment of connections to help us tackle the various challenges we face, in a cost-efficient and convenient way; although it is apt to question the reliability of the solutions and information retrieved through this method that serves as one of the limitations to this mode of ICT.

5. Gaming
Gaming technology is especially beneficial when it can be used to apply to other industries. For example, the use of joy stick in surgery, where we see gaming equipment and technology being transferred to the medical and healthcare industry that helps improve the lives of others. Gaming can also be used in education to better the way the syllabus is taught that can help improve the retention of knowledge in students or increase interest levels when engaging in the area of study. We can also harness the gaming environment to test for the feasibility of new inventions, giving the gaming arena a lot of potential for innovation.

6. Wireless Technologies
Wireless technology already exists in the present with the introduction of WIFI for us to access the Internet through our smartphones or through our laptops and other electronic devices. It also represents a move towards the future with the possibility of wireless TV that can definitely improve the quality of our lives as it reduces the hassle of handling the multiple cables attached to our television now and increases the aesthetic value with the absence of messy and tangled cables. Similarly, the idea of charging buses on roads as an innovation of wireless technology can improve convenience and benefit the transport system.

7. Interactive Telecommunication
Here, we learnt that as technology becomes more advanced, devices too become more integrated with the introduction of music capabilities, movie experience, data plan etc. This is a result of customer feedback or customer demand, although companies do work towards redundancy to maximise profits. For example, they will be less likely to introduce a technology that can last for a long time since that will severely reduce its profits when consumers find that with a long-lasting gadget, they will not need to replace it as often. Thus, most businesses and firms will choose to respond to consumer requests and demands one step at a time with intentional and tactical delay.

8. Information Systems
This is a system of sharing information and knowledge, with one major example being the traffic system. We learnt from our professor, who is also a practicing doctor, that there are 128 separate systems in a hospital system (e.g room allocation, patient welfare), where these separate and specialised systems help increase proficiency and efficiency.  There are also other systems present such as the financial information system, which is an enterprise system that captures all of the separate systems and integrate them.

9. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is the use of information that is not resident on your device but takes advantage of  other sources of information, accessing and use it. The benefit of this is that if you were to lose your device, the information will not be lost since it will be stored in the cloud like the "iCloud" that Apple has launched. The downside to this technology, however, is the existence of a security risk that can  jeopardise our personal safety and privacy. We watched a video ("What is cloud computing?") that taught us that with the use of cloud computing, we no longer require a big technical team which is beneficial to the company as it cuts down on the resources (human resource: labour) required. Cloud computing also allows for customisation, which enables us to select and harness the capabilities that we want. In addition, cloud computing gives us access to powerful technology at a fraction of the cost that saves both time and money for the product user. Basically, cloud computing has changed the way information technology system works, a truly revolutionary innovation.

10. Knowledge Management
This allows us to see the big picture and aid organisations in making better decisions. We utilise pieces of data to synthesize our information (things that are confirmed and that which we know) that can then contribute to our knowledge (harnessing information that might be gained from learning from our mistakes) and adds on to our wisdom (from past experiences). To develop wisdom, it is necessary to analyse and make sense of data, which can then be used for decision-making. This is what we call "smart data" and also the reason why analytics is critical as it helps us to see and apply patterns to the data.

We then moved on to discuss if Man has successfully captured the potential of ICT to make it a global driver of world change. The key takeaway messages from the discussion is that in ICT, there is a presence of a digital divide between those with access and those who do not have. Often those that do not possess the technology are the ones that need this technology the most, to possibly alleviate poverty for example, and thus, there is a need to cross this divide and ensure that every child and every village has access to ICT and are able to gain knowledge. Also, there has been little application of ICT to education, where there is lots of room for improvement in this area. In our local context for example, while there are instances when ICT has been incorporated in education when teachers make use of ebook readers, introduce e-learning or get students to engage in educational computer games; they are limited and usually not sustained over a long period of time. Moreover, there has not been a move towards literacy programmes through the games and ebooks. Thus, there is still a long way to go before ICT can drive a world change in education. This is where Bill Gates’ quote is extremely relevant when the message he is trying to convey is that we must first know how to use the information, and then apply, before an effective change can be made to the way things work. Similarly, for ICT to drive a global change, we must first know how to capture its potential and apply it to bring about a change.

The session also covered on the evolution of Man, where we traced the movement of hunters to the domestication of animals and agriculture. This transition resulted in higher efficiency that gave Man more time for other things and increased productivity (by 25 times). All these culminated in sufficient wealth, and eventually saw us entering the phase of Industrial Revolution that generated even more income. This later progressed to the ICT/Knowledge Revolution. The difference between both revolutions is that while the period of the Industrial Revolution rewarded manual work done by physical labour, the Knowledge Revolution rewarded on the basis of the work done by the brain. The question that was raised in class at this point was whether we should help the less-educated to upgrade their skills seeing that in the period of Knowledge Revolution, information and knowledge are crucial in order to be rewarded? Or should we leave them behind since some of the less-skilled workers already feel satisfied with their present situation and are unwilling to receive education and upgrade themselves? In my opinion, we should take an active step in helping those interested in re-education to upgrade their skills in order for them to remain relevant in a knowledge-intensive society like the one we are living in now. This is especially so with the emphasis on skills development in Singapore. I believe that everyone interested should have the right and the opportunities to receive education and training since this can help boost productivity and improve the quality of the workforce, which can generate long-term economic growth in the future. For those who express a rigid and closed mindset on the idea of skills upgrading, it is apt to raise awareness (possibly through campaigning efforts) on the importance of education and skills upgrading in ensuring their continuous employment in a workforce that rewards those who work and showcase knowledge and wisdom. Also, how do we capture the full potential of the ICT/Knowledge Revolution? To answer this, we must know that there is a need to cross the digital divide, giving more people the opportunity to access technology. There is also a need to ensure that the population is equipped with the relevant skills and technologies.  It is important that these skills are up to date since the needs and demands of society are constantly changing. For example, there is now lesser need for specialized skills as automation becomes increasingly important.

There are definitely potential risks and dangers in using ICT which we have also discussed in class. Examples of such risks include espionage on the personal (relationships like extramarital affairs), corporate (business ideas, marketing strategies, new innovations etc.) and national level (capturing information and data to gain strategic advantage), identity theft (stealing of another person’s identity to commit crime or get away with crime – to fulfill own objectives) and access to illegal sites like pornography. A key takeaway message here is that there will always be risks present in every activity we choose to embark on and so, what becomes important is how we manage these risks to balance and maximize the benefit we can gain from utilizing the technology. Technology can be very useful and beneficial if it is used correctly.

An informative and interesting session as usual! I would rate it a 8.5/10 :)

Have a great week ahead,
Glenda!

Session 4

4A

The focus of today's lesson is centered on the idea of change. There is a need for an active change towards sustainable technology. However, to whom the responsibility of financing this move should be owed to has been a long debated question that has not been answered. Personally, I feel that it should be a shared responsibility, regardless of the size of the country. This is simply because the planet belongs to all of us and everyone has a part to play in sustaining it rather than selfishly expecting the larger countries to solve the problem. Singapore, for example, is a small country but this should not stop us from being part of the solution seeing as we are also contributing to the problem. Here, I agree with what our professor said, "If we say we are a red dot, and can't do anything about it then US can also say that they are only 5% of the population and thus, should leave the responsibility of sustainable technology to the other 95% to solve". Indeed, if every country in the world chooses to push the responsibility to another and delay the problem-solving process towards a greener and more sustainable future, we might not see a future at all in years to come. We are all polluters alike and should all contribute to making a positive and active change into our lifestyles or habits, and expand the usage of sustainable technology. Singapore especially, as a first world country, possessing the technological capability, wealth, sunlight and R&D; will definitely be placed in a strong position to transform itself into a country that promotes green, renewable and sustainable technology as long as we set our mind to commit to it. However, this responsibility at driving world change should not solely be placed on the shoulders of the government. As mentioned, this change involves everyone and so consumers should also be active in their efforts by changing their mindsets and inculcating strong values to be willing to pay at least 5% more for sustainable products in order to play a part in a sustainable future for our children, the next generation. We need to make a choice to change, be willing to change and be ready to execute the change.

As we looked at quotes by famous people like Charles Darwin, I felt that there were several key ideas that could be taken away. The first learning point is on the importance of our ability to adapt to change. In an ever-changing environment, it is not the strongest or most intelligent but rather the most adaptable that will survive and succeed. These are the ones that recognize change and are willing to change accordingly depending on circumstances. Similarly, in the corporate world, businesses that are able to move away from old technology and utilise new technology and novel innovations to create new opportunities are often the ones that can gain success. Another learning point is that in order for us to drive change, we must first adopt a mindset that is keen on improving and innovating. It is only when we are unwilling to live with the existing situation, will we stand up to our own visions and make a difference to the status quo. This in turn, brings us to the most important learning point. It is not sufficient for us to merely want to change (although it is definitely essential as a first step) but even more crucial that we actually invest the time and effort to make things happen to translate our ideas into innovations that can adapt to the changes happening around us for us to stay relevant.

Next, we moved on to talk about the difference between evolutionary and revolutionary change. I learnt that evolution happens when our interests change and as we seek different sources of satisfaction, we harness new technology to create different things that will give us happiness or meet our demands and needs. Language itself has gone through an evolutionary change as different cultures dominate in different time periods. During Pax Brittanica, there was a surge in the number of people mastering the English language. However, as we shift towards a generation where China is increasingly gaining dominance, more people want to learn Chinese instead. Owing to the competitive society that we are living in, we find that we are continuously demanding for faster and better things. This requires changes to meet our insatiable appetite for improvements. This can be achieved through the APDC cycle (Action -> Plan -> Do -> Change -> Action -> Plan…) that puts the plan into action, makes improvements and brings about transformations. The core difference between evolutionary change and revolutionary change is the process taken for the change to be made. While evolutionary change involves a cycle of continual improvement, where a performance gap will be observed before a substantial change is brought about; revolutionary change witnesses a radical leap. This radical leap is basically a radical departure from traditional ways of thinking and acting that causes an abrupt transition from one development to another. A technology revolution for example, is when a radical change is made to the way we operate that allows us to maximize the value we can gain from it. There is a distinction, however, between revolutionary change and disruptive change. A disruptive change can be defined as a change that is irreversible in the expected future. For example, mankind has leapfrogged into a different lifestyle with the introduction of phones as an alternative and more efficient mode of communication and this has impacted the lives of many in an irreversible way. Going through a day without using our phones is now an unimaginable scenario to many, when previously the idea of a phone did not even exist and people communicated through conventional methods such as letter writing. This would be an illustration of a disruptive change in our lives that is irreversible in the expected future as no one would expect to be able to live without their mobile devices after experiencing the convenience and efficiency of it.

We then went on to discuss about new technology adoption, where I was introduced to the various types of customers in the market. Our professor then took a quick poll to find out which group of customers each of us belonged to and it was observed that most of us in class fell under the category of “Early majority pragmatists”. This meant that we sought after stable technology safe from viruses and are functional and operational. However, this also meant that we were unable to cross the border separating customers who want technology and performance, and those that desire solutions and convenience. This border is also known as the chasm that is often difficult to overcome, as consumers are usually unwilling to take the risk when nothing is concrete and would rather be on the safe side and ensure that the innovation really works before accepting it.

In class, we also looked at the various readings given to us and I will highlight a few main points from the discussion facilitated by our professor. The key takeaway message in reading 1 is that there are in fact many drivers of world change, with 14 such global drivers identified altogether. From reading 3, we see that these drivers are based on different aspects such as economic growth, national security and environmental (climate change). It was also brought up in class about the gradual loss in America's dominance, and the need for America to get used to the idea of a multilateral world. This could be attributed to the transfer of global wealth and economic power (especially from the West to the East), a process that has been aided by globalisation, one of the main drivers of world change. The accessibility of a greater range of markets has spurred price competitiveness, where lower costs of manufacturing has shifted the locus of manufacturing and service industries to Asia. We also understand from reading 2 that the more open a country is, the higher its GNI because it encourages the flow of investments into the country that can help boost its economic growth. The openness of the country also allows for greater access to technology that in turn improves our infrastructure and manufacturing processes. It is obvious that a more globalised country will thrive better. However, globalization and the opening up of markets also indicate a higher level of competition since it makes markets more mobile and so, once a country starts to price its products higher than the rest, a shift in demand for their products into another country’s market will be observed. The country with the more expensive products will then experience a drastic fall in its profit level as demand for their goods and services fall. Another example of how globalisation can affect a country is observed in reading 4, where we see the Zambian economy struggling with the full effects of globalisation such as the floatation of their currency in the exchange market. The openness of markets as a result of a more globalised and interconnected world has made the Zambian construction market easily accessible to international players, with a higher reputation and thus demand than local firms that pose as a serious threat to the businesses and livelihood of local Zambians in the construction industry. 

4B

From the question posed by our professor in the latter half of the session on whether the eagle, the ostrich or the dodo bird will be the rising star, a key message that can be taken away is that in a competition to reach the top, it is often those that are dissatisfied with the status quo and are driven to change things that will be able to emerge victorious. In the case of this question, the eagle will be the rising star since the ostrich is unaware of what is happening in its surroundings and refuses to change according to circumstances that will ultimately lead to its decline. The dodo bird, needless to say, is already extinct. Just as the powerful quote from Edwards Deming has implied, it is possible not to change but in order to survive and even thrive, we need to move and be prepared to change with times and adapt to a new world. Also, in order to make a difference, we must first learn to fail. These are very important concepts that I felt were very useful and applicable. 

Our professor highlighted the difference between leadership and management. A leader is one who is visionary, looks into the future and explores the unknown while leaving the trail behind. A manager on the other hand follows the existing trail left behind by the leader. Here, we see how the leader is creating a paradigm by setting up the entire framework to give the organisation direction (where to move), timeline (when to move) and an agenda (how to move) whereas a manager works within the paradigm to make sure things are done right. This is achieved when the manager responds to changes and receives guidance from leadership to facilitate the change. Leading takes a more proactive approach (For e.g. Singapore is already planning for its 5th terminal such that even though the plan has not materialised, there is preparation made for the change to be realised.) while management is a more reactive role that involves observing trends and responding accordingly. (For e.g. China is a large producer of milk but if its products are found to be contaminated, we need to respond to changes in and search for alternative markets).

We also watched a video in relation to the discussion on the leadership and management. What I took home from the first video "First follower: Leadership lessons from Dancing Guy" was that a leader requires the courage to step up and do something new, where this actions needs to be easy to follow to make it easy for others to follow his bold move and even build on it since every leader needs followers in order for them to be termed a leader. Another key point is that as a leader, he/she needs to embrace his/her followers and treat them as an equal to forge a collaborative relationship. It can also be understood from the video that leadership is over-glorified since the tipping point occurred when the existing followers attracted a large crowd to join is. It is not the leaders but rather the followers that the new follower emulates. It is apt to say that "It is the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader".  The next video "Best video ever - True leader" is a truly inspirational clip that conveys an essential message that an individual needs to take the first step to move to get the country to change and progress. The little boy in the video shows us how it just takes a commoner's initiative in taking the first step to propel a change that even a superstar is unwilling to do. This reinforces the point that size or even age does not matter, and what truly does is our desire and initiative to make a meaningful change. Just as the size of the country does not better when it comes to the shared responsibility in gearing towards a sustainable future, the age of the boy was irrelevant as he managed to gain followers and lead the change that positively impacted the lives of others. Change is truly in our hands and this is a very vital message that I felt could be taken away, amidst other ideas, from the videos.

Lastly, we also did a brief analysis of reading 1 for session 4B that I felt highlighted the challenges in being a leader. As leaders work with their followers, they should expect to face independent  individuals with their own mindsets that might not conform with the rest. Such strong-minded individuals are usually hard to persuade and convince and it is thus difficult to impose things on them since this might lead to the opposite effect of the follower rejecting you or even rebelling against you. Considering that we are living in age of knowledge where everyone has their own ideas, information, innovations; it is difficult to make a group of disparate peoples to all accept and uphold the vision and rules set by the leader. This is when a leader needs to learn to manage the differences and synthesize a solution that is agreeable to all. 

Managing change in a society where such changes are pervasive, our traditional model of simply freezing, unfreezing and freezing ideas again will not work as we will find that we are unable to keep up when the strategies put forth undergo dormant state (freezing period). Thus, in response to these changes, we should switch to a new model and consistently create opportunities for people to improve, modify and make changes along the way so that we can continuously renew and stay relevant. 

It was another knowledge-packed lesson with many key messages to be taken away, which made the session really fulfilling. I would rate this lesson a 9/10 :)

Cheers,
Glenda

Individual Topical Review Paper - A Brief Outline

LASER Technology: Its Prevalence and Prominence

Executive Summary
- Define laser technology, prevalence and prominence

- Context for the prevalence and prominence of laser technology
-> Why is laser technology increasingly used in so many different sectors today? ("Prevalence")
-> Why is laser technology gaining importance? Is it a superior technology? ("Prominence")
-> What is it about our society now that creates a demand for laser technology?

- Brief overview of how the paper will be structured

Introduction

- Reasons for choosing the topic: Current trend -> Laser technology expanding into many sectors
                                                                     -> Laser technology becoming increasingly popular
- Why it is important to do a paper on this topic: Future trend that highlights the importance of laser technology

- Introduce the different key areas that laser technology has been applied to

- Summary of what will be covered:

-> Historical rise of laser technology

-> Current developments in laser technology

-> Future Considerations

Historical Perspective 

- How did laser technology come about? 

- Timeline

- How it grew to prominence and became pervasive

Current Situation 

- Latest forms of laser technology being used to cater to the needs of the different industries

1. Laser as a solution to problems 

2. Laser as a tool to improve the quality of life

- How laser technology has brought about a revolutionary change to mankind and our environment (Eg. in the different areas that laser technology was applied to -> Significant achievements)

- Pressing issues and pertinent problems that we are encountering now in the use of laser technology

Future Considerations 

- Management of risks and fears 

-> Analyse concerns that people might have in order to evaluate possible measures that can be taken to address these concerns arising from the use of laser technology

- Analysis of the potential implications of laser technology 

-> Social, economic, political, environmental impact

- Future of laser technology 

1. Continuity: What aspects of laser technology will be retained? 

2. Change: What are the improvements and modifications that will be made to laser technology? 

3. Sustainability of laser technology: Its functionality and relevance in the long term. Will it still be as prevalent and prominent? Will the value of laser technology rise or fall in the future?

Conclusion

To be drawn

Session 3

3A

As a lead-in to the topic we are covering for this part of the session on Technology and Industrial Development: Toward Sustainability, we learnt the importance of industrialisation as the road to development for most countries. The idea of "most countries" and not "all countries" brings us back to Yali's question in Guns, Germs and Steel on why there are differences between the rates of development of different countries and how we should go about solving them. I feel that this lesson provides us with some insight into the question that Jared Diamond had failed to answer, as will be explored later in my discussion of the areas covered in class today!

Industrial development is necessary to ensure that our processes remain relevant in the ever-changing present and can even be sustainable in the future. Previously, mankind has utilised a traditional linear approach to industrialisation - Manufacture, keep the product and dump the waste. This might be a functional process in the past as the amount of human activity back when industrialisation was a newly introduced concept was considerably small and thus, Earth could easily absorb the waste disposed without significantly negative repercussions. However, as human activity ballooned along with time, our actions have started to take a toll on Mother Nature. Pollution in all its different forms has resulted in a very large impact on the atmosphere. This is alarming because the atmosphere is an integral part in what makes the Earth livable. Among many uses, the atmosphere blocks the Sun's harmful rays from penetrating Earth and if we are not careful, we will not only destroy Earth but ourselves too as these dangerous rays can cause skin cancer and eye damage. While the homeostatic mechanism as brought up by our professor can aid the Earth in correcting itself and compensating for disruptive changes, the consistently increasing stress we place on it over time will ultimately break down the ability for Earth to maintain a positive equilibrium. As a matter of fact, if everyone consumes as much as the US does (using 30% of the world's resources), we will find ourselves requiring 4 to 5 planets to cope with the excessive stress exerted on Earth. The unfortunate truth is we only have one. It is important to realise that there is a limit to everything, even something as expansive and seemingly formidable as Earth is. Hence, this calls for a change in our industrialisation patterns: A move towards a cyclical approach as a form of industrial development for a sustainable planet. This new approach recognises the potential damage we can bring to nature if we carelessly dump waste from manufactured products, such as the toxic material and chemicals used, that can severely contaminate the environment. Apart from discouraging thoughtless dumping of waste used in the old linear model, the cyclical approach promotes sustainable industrial development for the future. It creates opportunities for innovation and opportunities to bring about change. For example, our old practice of disposing products like diapers might require a change for a more sustainable future as diapers take up to thousands of years to degrade when disposed in landfills. They release greenhouse gases and contribute to global climate change. Other than environmental damage, diapers also contain toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and dipentene, which are known as volatile organic chemicals that are linked to adverse effects on humans with long-term exposure. Thus, with sustainable values in mind, we might be driven to seek a change and innovate an alternative product that will be healthy both to the environment and to mankind. 

After going through the various models for industrialisation, we moved on to watch an interestingly animated video on the "Story of stuff". Despite only watching the first 5 minutes of the 20 minutes long video clip, I have picked up several important messages from it. The first being that we cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely. This is closely related to the idea of limits as mentioned in the previous paragraph. There is a limited amount of space that we can continue to throw our waste into, there is a limit to the tolerance level of our environment to accepting the pollutants we emit as a byproduct of our industrial and commercial processes, there is a limit even to how much we can extract from the Earth's surface before all our natural resources are one day sucked dry. We need to change our mentality that there is "still a long way to go" because if everyone thinks this way and everyone takes more and more from the Earth, the day when our future generation will be born into a barren planet, emptied of resources but covered with waste and to top it off, a damaged atmosphere that makes living on Earth impossible; will come in no time. Another message that can be taken away from the video is the fact that the Third World countries are increasingly being pulled into the chain of environmental damage as consumption giants like the US attempt to find solutions to the decline in resources within their own countries by robbing other countries of theirs, extracting and exploiting and damaging in the same way that was done back in their home country. This signifies a spread in the damage of the planet that is originally concentrated in one part of the Earth to other parts too. Our materialism and greed has contributed to environmental damage and it is time to gather both developed and developing nations to make a change. The last takeaway message is that as long as we continue to put toxics into our industrial production systems, we will keep getting toxics in the manufactured products and such toxins not only harm the environment but affect our body systems too. For us and for the environment, we should move towards sustainability especially as we live in a finite planet.

Next, we went through some of the assigned readings in class. The first reading that we did was on the "Environment fact sheet: industrial development". In the discussion we had in class, it was suggested that traditional industrial processes are no longer relevant to us now and there is a need for new industrial processes that has thus resulted in industrial development. It is ironic that while US is among the top few countries that extracts the most out of Earth's resources, it is also at the forefront of sustainable development in areas like renewable energy for example and in ensuring that sustainable processes are done correctly. However, information gained in America and Europe is not enough. As we undergo industrial development and successfully innovate to come up with new products or more efficient processes, it is essential that we take such technologies and transfer to poorer countries so that they possess the skills and technology too. This reduces the inequality between countries as information and processes are shared, which I feel is the answer to Yali's question on how we should close the gap between the developed and the less developed countries. Moreover, as more manufacturing processes are transferred to developing countries like the Third World which has been used by richer nations as their primary production base, it is even more crucial that the information on the appropriate and sustainable way that processes should be done is spread to them since any errors on their side will lead to an impact on the global environment. Hence, there is definitely a need to be concerned with Yali's question over the inequality as we learn to extend the necessary information on sustainable technology and processes to developing countries too. It is a rather informative summary document of what is right and wrong and what needs to be changed. It also urges us to translate traditional processes that result in externalities into sustainable processes that internalise the costs on third parties like the environment. The takeaway message here is that there is a fundamental need for people to change their mindset about externalities and start taking responsibility for their actions.

In reading 2 on "Industrialisation as an engine of growth in developing countries", it is understood that without industrialisation, we will not have development since industrialisation is an intrinsic part in transforming poor agrarian countries to wealthy ones. When a country is first in developing, it tends to take all the innovations and ideas and stand to benefit from that. However, they are also the ones that are made to bear the risks and deal with problems not encountered before with little or nothing to take reference from. These will contribute to the advantages of backwardness that the working paper has pointed out. The countries that are less advanced do not have to reinvent to produce new technology but simply adapt from existing ones, which is cost effective and time saving since they do not have to pay for R&D and defects or have to waste time going through failed processes before coming up with the successful product ready for marketing and sales. This tells us that while countries that innovate later start off with a lower base, they eventually rise with the advantage if they have the right connections and technologies. After all, mankind are copycats. We copy, imitate, borrow ideas, learn from them, adapt and make the information we have into something newer, cheaper and faster; and because we can master this skill so well, we are not in a disadvantageous situation even if we are not the first to come up with a product. Such adaptation of course has both sides to it. We can either be optimistic and see it as a positive and rapid dissemination of new ideas or be negative about it and scorn such acts of imitation as infringing on copyright and preventing the initial creator from maximising on his/her potential. It all depends on perspective and whether we belong to the camps of "the creator" or "the modifier". One real life example of a less-advanced country benefitting from its backwardness is Africa where despite it just beginning its road of industrialisation, it is still one of the fastest in the world in terms of economic growth. Reasons contributing to this phenomenon could be due to the country's new realisation that civil war does not pay (both in the short run and long run) and thus, has dealt with it and began catching up in its rate of development instead. The 10-15% economic growth clocked in by Africa exemplifies how with the right economic policies and infrastructure, even developing nations can rise and grow at a fast pace. This is another solution to Yali's question on the way to solve the inequality between advanced and less advanced countries. It is interesting to note that Africa attributes its economic growth to its traditional African values just as Asians emphasize on culture as an explanation for their growth. Perhaps, another message to be taken away from this article is that all countries will ultimately undergo fairly similar processes to develop and rise and this is comforting for the less developed nations as it provides them a glimpse of hope that as long as the country can determine what kind of development and industry they want (value-added? manufacturing?) and apply the processes, it is likely they can lift their countries out of economic impoverishment and backwardness and emerge as a growing economy too. Singapore is one such industry that has turned itself into a value-added industry with emphasis on electronics and other value-added products as well as skills enhancement. 

Reading 3 provides a business case on sustainability with its article on "Sustainability for tomorrow's consumer". It is found that increasingly, businesses have realised that it is to their best interests to promote sustainability. This deviates from their past perception of sustainability where many companies have previously scoffed at it. This new interest in sustainability could be attributed to businesses wanting to build a positive perception in the eyes of the public (who will view them as a good corporation with clean and green technology and therefore be supportive of their company's efforts and products) and the government (who will lend support and provide funding to green companies). Our professor conducted a small poll in class on how much more we were willing to pay for a completely sustainable computer as compared to a contaminating computer that costs $1000. The results of the poll showed that our class was only willing to pay 5% more for greener technology where the higher the price ($1075 compared to $1050), the lesser the number of people willing to pay. This highlights the fact that people generally are price sensitive, a concept that economics students would have learnt that as prices increase, the willingness and ability of consumers to pay for the good will be reduced and as a result, quantity demanded for the greener and sustainable product will fall. It is also possible that the poorer you are with lower purchasing power, the less interested you will be in upholding a sustainable environment as it is likely that you will want to use the least possible amount of money to purchase a good or service and will not be willing to pay more for a similar but environmentally sustainable product when you are already tight on cash. However, this is the wrong mindset to have as everyone should take responsibility for the issue on sustainability and all of us, rich or poor, have a part to play in sustainable development. It is prudent to remember that the planet is shared and so will the burden of sustaining it be. The problem arises when consumers are short-sighted and tend to focus on the short-term costs rather than the potential benefits in the long run. Let's take the example of the energy-saving lamp for example. It is a costly product with low demand because buyers place their myopic focus on the short-term expenses of purchasing a more expensive energy-saving device rather than on the benefits of cost efficiency, higher sustainability and friendliness to the environment that can all be reaped in the long term. A key message that can be taken away is how important a role each and every individual play in efforts towards sustainability. In Singapore for example, as people became aware of the importance of sustainability and asked for renewable energy, the government was thus spurred to look into alternative sources of energy. The government alone does not have incentive to subsidise sustainable products because of the higher cost of production involved. However, if the people are proactive about sustainable development, so will the government in a bid to appeal and cater to the public's requests.

3B

The next half of the session was on Technology and Innovation Management. We were introduced to the Research-Development-Application (R-D-A) Translation Process, a three step process that is used to respond to market needs. 

1. Research: This is the step where we can fantasize all we want about possibilities and bask in the creativity of looking at things in completely different ways just like Albert Einstein did when he combined things together to make something interesting and novel. Our experimentation contributes to new insights and understanding on how things can be done in a new and different way and this serves as constructive research in the eventual innovation.

2. Development: This is the bridge between research and application when we attempt to translate these new ideas, insights and understanding into reality and test out their practicality in application (For example, the receptiveness of the product in the market according to market circumstances like if the economy happen to meet with a Financial Crisis, people are unlikely to be willing and able to spend on luxury products and hence, we need to develop a product that will suit the economic situation.)

3. Application: This is the final step of the process and is the reality where the ideas, products and technologies are now sold to markets, corporations and enterprises. 

We also learnt about the value creation pipeline, which I found interesting. Invention is the first creative step with coming up with something new that will become your concept. The next step is technology validation in which the idea put forth has to be proven to be able to be translated into reality (that the concept works and is able to be utilised in the new product). Following this is the need for "productivisation"where the product is developed, tested and further improved before it undergoes business case validation that demonstrates how business plan can be taken to the market. Before finally introducing the product into the market, ways of regulating the product has to be decided on. For example, if the product is a drug, it has to be decided whether the drug can be found in any drugstore or has to be regulated by the doctor before purchase in which case only a limited number of people will have access to the product. The first two steps rely on science and technology before subsequently relying on business and marketing to create the rapid growth that we see in the pipeline. I also understood from the study of this model that there is a higher chance of success and a lower chance of risk as we move along the pipeline.

We also covered some readings in the latter part of the session. The first reading on "U.S. Technology and Innovation Policies: Lessons For Climate Change" is based on the viewpoint of the US government. As discussed in class, there are two main points to be remembered from this article. The first is that the technological innovation process is huge and the second is that the US government realised that spending on R&D is insufficient as public and private partnership needs to be drawn in to work hand in hand with government efforts. A three-way collaboration between the government, public and private firms is thus required to promote innovation in the country. 

The next reading is on "Human Development Report 2001", where it is known that certain countries fare better than others in technological achievements/advancements. Through the Report, I was introduced to the concept of technology hubs that are either legendary such that there is a congruence of people with ideas and venture capitals (e.g. US that has a grand total of 13 hubs, UK with 4 hubs and Germany with 3 hubs) or those that are trying hard to achieve but reap little or no results (e.g. Singapore with only 1 hub). Here, Yali's question can be brought back into the context as we question the different rates of development of technology hubs around the world. Why do some countries like the US have so many while Singapore can only achieve one? Why are there marginalised countries like Nicaragua and Pakistan that have no hubs at all? Could political stability play a part? Could government policies be preventing countries like Ethiopia from building a hub of its own due to the lack of Internet penetration there? Statistically, less than 1% of the population there has Internet access. If the Ethiopian government invested in bringing Internet to the people, could this open them up to more opportunities to grow a technology hub? 

The last reading we discussed is that on "The Biobusiness Landscape: The Importance Of Innovation And Value Creation". The concept of valley-summit landscape was introduced, with the valley being the environment that has many competitors, low barriers to entry, low interest for investment and  low margins whereas the summit is an environment with high investment, high barriers to entry, high returns opportunities and have value-added products and services. Naturally, we will aim to be in the summit. Same goes for businesses and corporations. Since the summit is knowledge and invention-intensive, players in the summit have to keep innovating in order to remain at the top and this would mean a certain level of R&D to prevent them from falling into the valley. Apart from the valley-summit landscape that deals with the old and new economic principles respectively, there are also cloud opportunities that are future opportunities in which the business models are not sufficiently developed yet. In an era of "copycats", where you are just one of multiple players in the industry, innovation is an essential process that allows one to venture into different areas and be a step ahead of others. There are many different ways to get to the summit: 1. Cloud to summit  (e.g. When a new cure is discovered for HIV) 2. Valley to summit (e.g. When a company begins to brand itself differently and uniquely while simultaneously denying another company of rights to the their product through copyright acts. This can be seen in the example of Apple that upon finding themselves in doldrums, reinvented to harness themselves to the summit) The cream of the crop in this case would be those at the summit level with entrepreneurship, resources and technologies put together and yet have aspiring business plans and new ideas that serve as cloud opportunities. 

To answer the professor's question on whether innovation should be technology-driven or market-driven? It is wise to select based on the amount of resources and funds you possess. For one with sufficient and even excessive funds, it will be an investment in the future to enter technology-driven innovation where people with different specialisations are put together to create a product that might or might not serve the market. Products that are a result of such innovations are usually categorised under what "people don't know that they need it until they see it". Sony Walkman is a classic example where people got curious and excited with the creativity and ingenuity of the product when it was launched and this resulted in a huge sales of the product. The same goes for a smartphone when it was first brought into the market. Market-driven innovation, on the other hand, is what the market exactly needs. This is especially useful for innovators that do not have excess funds and thus would want to make as much money as they can without suffering much cost. Such would be categorised as products "people know they need and will buy when they see it". A key takeaway message is the need of a fusion of the 4 "SMARTS" - 1. Smart manpower 2. Smart ideas 3. Smart money (Investors coming in at the right time in the right places) 4. Smart alliances, connections and partnerships (Connections are important since good business/market partnerships are needed to ensure that the product can enter the market easily and quickly).

In conclusion, this lesson has been a really informative one that has really provided me with a better understanding of both technology and industrial development as well as technology and innovation management. Judging from the amount of things to write and reflect, the class has been a 3h 15 mins well spent soaking up the information taught to us by the professor! I would rate this lesson a 9/10. In addition, I also appreciate those who gave us their time and presented on the various topics in class today. Really good job :)

Cheers,

Glenda