Session 6: BioBusiness Revolution: Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences (Past, Present and Future)

BioBusiness is the commercial activity based on an understanding of life sciences and life science processes, which encompasses biomedical, agri-veterinary, environmental and other areas. Prof. Shahi introduced the lesson by showing us a video by Mirosoft about the future vision on healthcare. What an interesting video it was! It featured new technologies which would undoubtedly bring much convenience to patients. Tele-consultation for example, enables patients to speak to their doctor on broadband, without the need to travel nor queue for their turn, which saves transportation costs as well as time. This is particularly beneficial for patients with mobility issues. It also reminds patients to take their medicine, which medicine, and how much of the medicine to take, and therefore relieving the doctors from their role in this aspect. Indeed, this would definitely speed up the process at which patients are attended to, where time previously wasted from waiting in queues and administrative resources spent could now be saved, which therefore increases efficiency and productivity in the healthcare industry as a whole.  

Learning points:

1. Demographic and epidemiological change is a key driver for Innovation and Change in Healthcare and the Biomedical Sciences. As societies develop from rural to urban, patterns of disease changes. In the past, communicable diseases were more common, such as diarrhoeal diseases due to the lack of clean water supply, and perinatal conditions, due to the lack of facilities to take of babies for example. This pattern is predicted to change from 1990 to a projected year of 2020. As populations get more affluent, people suffer from non-communicable diseases such as chronic diseases instead. Such a pattern causes a shift in the focus from disease management to wellness management instead. 

2. Impacts of ICT on bioengineering technology: Birth of computer systems, use of databases to compare proteins/amino acids sequences to analyse and compare and to model, to create new database technologies to store information. ICT is revolutionizing the field of pharmaceutical industries and in the future, the genetics of human beings.

3. Pandemic vs epidemic. Pandemic, outbreak of multiple places. Epidemic is outbreak of diseases in a restricted place. Major cause of concern: always a fear of the next big outbreak. 1918 pandemic for example, killed 60% of people exposed to the virus. How extensive would the damage be, when no immunity is available for the next virus? Equity issues such as who should get access to vaccines first? 

4. From Reading 1:

- Moving from disease management to wellness management. (Fitness industry, aesthetics industry, use of alternative and complementary therapies. To maximize wellness is to prevent people for being sick in the first place)

- Not just disease of deprivation now, like anorexia and bulimia, but disease of excess and disease of the aged.

-Increasing affluence. Growing role for private sector in healthcare service provision. Move towards public-private cooperation. Change of government role.

- Those who have the most need have the least access (and least ability to pay for) capabilities and resources that can help them to help themselves.

- Diseases know no borders; global village. Collective responsibility to manage the widespread disease.

5. Changing consumer need, demand and expectations: Eg. changing dietary patterns, changing lifestyle patterns. Video: "Global pulse, obesity going global." Given that fast food is being marketed by MNCs as good food, and that they are getting increasingly affordable to all, the issue of obesity is becoming a global pandemic. This is further exacerbated when obese parents eating habits influences their children as well. It is suggested that the following generations will live shorter lives than their parents. Then again, innovative weight technologies or dietary supplements can be innovated to perhaps solve this pandemic for the following generations. 

I would give this lesson a 8/10, looking forward to next lesson!

Session 5 -ICT and World Change (Mass Media, the Internet,Wireless, Interactive Telecommunications) - Past, Present and Future

Today's 21st century has been defined as the "information era". During this Information Age, the phenomenon is that more and more information is created and downloaded everyday, and societies are transitioning from industrialized societies to knowledge-based ones instead. Indeed, ICT has drived world change. ICT, includes the entire realm of mass media, the Internet, wireless and interactive telecommunications. During class, we explored ICT in a global context, about where we came from, where we are today and where we are going in the future. 

In the past, information was mainly communicated via word-of-mouth. The invention of writing then followed, introducing new mediums for dissemination of information such as books and newspapers. The invention of the radio was also notable and of course, the invention of the early Internet. Previously, communication was directed from one to many. Over time, this form of communication started to evolve. It was no longer one to many but many to many, where it provided a platform for information to be spread to large groups of people. As sources of information become more varied, with more perspectives, due to consumers becoming more sophisticated over time. Admittedly, interactions with mass media has become far more interactive than compared to the past. Feedback, newspaper forums, blogging. Gone were the days where interactions were one-way. However, due to such open communication, we ought to be critical in our thinking, to discern for ourselves what information to receive and what not to.  

One of the most accessible platform for the media to reach out to the masses would be the Internet. The World Wide Web, had gone through 2 generations since its invention in the 90s, and is now transitioning to the 3rd generation. Prof. Shahi showed us a  very relevant video about the evolution of the WWW, from 1.0 to 2.0 and now, to 3.0. I found the Web 3.0 particularly interesting and am really looking forward to using it! Web 3.0 provides the user a richer and more relevant experience. The browser learns what the user's interests are just by the keywords he keys into search engines on pages such as Google, Youtube and Facebook. Every user will have a unique Internet profile based on his browsing history and Web 3.0 will use this profile to tailor the browsing experience to each individual user. The above mentioned is actually available today. What interests me more is the connection between all one's devices and appliances, where information is sharable between all. Data from sources would be more linked easily. The Web will extend far beyond computers and smartphones, but everything else such as your washing machine sitting in your kitchen, television sets, and air-conditioners for example. However, one issue for discussion would be the issue of privacy, especially when the Internet will be invisibly present in our everyday's appliances. How are we able to strike a balance between individual privacy and the benefit of having a personalized Web experience? There is always a price to pay. Another question would be, will the Web 3.0 a revolutionary shift, or will it be so subtle that we won't even notice the difference? 

Social media. How has it changed the world? Information is being shared even faster, on multiple platforms, where contents are written by users instead of the usual organizations/companies. By putting forth individual opinions, it drives creativity and thoughtful insights by individuals. Social media has also undoubtedly made the world a closer and more connected one. Networks - people networks, social networks are made visible to others. For example, on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you are able to see who you are friends with and who are your friends' friends. The power of these networks allows us to reach out to people we never dream of meeting. Social networking also revolutionize the way we communicate. We don't find the news, but the news find us through social media today. In addition, social media has also played a part in the political scene. Take elections for example. Voting, a traditionally private matter, is now becoming a more open and free topic to talk about. It is also only in recent times, candidates like Barrack Obama during the 2012 Presidential Elections, are using social media to campaign, predict and get votes.  

An interesting issue brought up during the lesson was: Should the access to the Internet be considered a human right? Personally, I agree. Frank La Rue, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, states the importance of the internet as "an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress". Indeed, the denial of the right to Internet access is fundamentally the denial of the right to freedom of speech. Internet access would allow global reach no matter where one's country of origin and also allow individuals to disseminate information in 'real time'. This is also perhaps why some governments are fearful and thus created restrictions on the Internet by censoring contents and monitoring activists and critics, especially when there is the presence of relative anonymity online. For example, in Egypt, the government shut down the Internet a few times during the 18-day uprising in an attempt to stifle the protests during the Arab Spring. Such censorship of the Internet could therefore be seen as a breach of the right of freedom of speech. Perhaps, governments could better regulate this in the future. 

On a broader perspective, how about the societies who have access to the Internet, and those who do not? This is also known as the Digital divide, where different societies have differing amount of information access, availability of access and affordability of cost and quality. Now the question is how to bridge the gap? It is suggested that the Internet and other ICTs are transforming society, improving mutual understanding, eliminating power differentials, realizing a truly free and democratic world society and other benefits. In education for example, it is great to see efforts such as the project of one laptop per child to be initiated in places such as Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda just to name a few. To add on, Rwanda, unlike most African nations, has limited natural resources and this resulted in Rwanda to take an approach where ICTs form the linchpin of its plan to fundamentally transform its economy. Rwanda drew up a blueprint—dubbed Vision 2020—for how to achieve this goal. Adopted in 2000, Vision 2020 outlines several initiatives, programs, and strategies for transforming Rwanda into a middle-income country and transitioning its agrarian economy into an information rich, knowledge-based one by 2020. With the huge investments in ICT infrastructure, over US$540 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) has been attracted to the ICT sector. This has led to an influx of foreign institutions setting up operations in Rwanda. It is with such steps which societies take, so that they can advance and develop in attempt to bridge the digital divide.


Overall, I would rate this lesson a 8/10. It is the first time the class had such a in-depth discussion on a topic itself, in this case is ICT and World Change and I found this topic particularly relevant to us as well. I look forward to the next lesson!

Session 4: -Drivers of World Change -Change Management and Change Leadership

There are many drivers of world change, such as climate change, demographics, depleting resources, globalization, ICT etc. and these changes can be classified as evolutionary or revolutionary changes. Evolutionary change is incremental change, while revolutionary change is transformational change. 

The second half of the lesson is linked to the first half in a way such that change leadership triggers world change. For example, in my presentation on Wikicells, I talked about how the invention of Wikicells is able to revolutionize the way food is packaged and how it has the potential to move consumers away from "the plastic era" to a more environmentally-friendly era. I believe that this invention is a revolutionary one as it is possibly able to lead to breakthrough in consumer behaviour when dining. But what triggered this new invention? I believe, it is the creator of Wikicells, David Edwards, who engages in change leadership instead of change management. Change management, refers to keeping any change effort under control, with the goal to minimize the impacts of the change. Change leadership, on the other hand, involves visions. Big ones. It involves making big leaps and processes that fuels large-scale and radical transformations. Instead of limiting the options of saving the environment by reuse, reduce, recycle, David Edwards focused on long-term solutions instead of short ones. He looked forward in time, with a goal to create new technologies that would not only minimize problems, but create a whole new solution to waste disposal.

One point that Prof. Shahi made caught my attention. It was the point about how humans are the most unspecialized species compared to the rest. Prof. Shahi continued by saying that because humans are the least fit and least specialized, humans are thus the most able to be adaptable to change. A quote by Charles Robert Darwin exemplifies this well - "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change". Humans are versatile; Jack of all trades, but master of none. 

Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the videos screened during this session. The video on the first follower, who joined the guy who was dancing by himself was truly inspiring. I've learnt that a leader needs a lot of guts to stand alone and take the risk but the first follower's role is the most crucial. It is when the first person starts to follow, it is about them and not just a single person. When more and more people join, it becomes a movement. All in all, the first follower plays the key role in creating change. 

Another video screened was the one about the little boy who displayed exemplary leadership. He took the initiative to move the log away even though he knows inside that his small size couldn't possibly lift the heavy log. When he took the first step, it inspired more and more people to join in. The small boy is thus a good example of a pro-active leader, one who ignites change.  

Overall, I would rate the class a 8/10. I really enjoyed the videos screened and the presentations made by the other 4 that day!

Individual Topical Review Paper Outline

Claytronics

Introduction

This paper aims to market the concept of claytronics to the general public and its possible breakthrough into the telecommunications industry. It will also evaluate the feasibility of use of claytronics and its’ impacts on the rest of the world.

Reasons for choice…

The telecommunication industry has come a long way since the use of methods such as Morse Code. However, since the birth of computers and smartphones, it has stagnated and progression has come to a stall. Then came the use of nanotechnology – a whole new way of communicating that intrigued me.

Background

· What is Claytronics?

· How does it work?

Historical perspective

· What were the old forms of telecommunications?

· What were the limitations and how did it evolve?

· What are today’s most popular forms of telecommunications?

At present…

· Any application of claytronics yet?

· Progress of research and development on “Pario” to what extent?

· What are the problems involved during this period?

· Would there be any limitations for claytronics?

Possible Impacts of application in the real world

· Would it revolutionize the telecommunications industry?

· Newfound form of telecommunication well-received by the public masses?

· Or would they still stick to older traditional methods such as emails?

What are the pros and cons of this technology?

· Saves time on tight schedules. E.g. G8 and G20 summits can be well discussed in the comfort of the ministers’ own home. Companies conferences, meetings with managers from overseas branches will all be good examples.

· A big leap for the design industry. E.g. blueprints for buildings can be replaced with claytronics – to better pre-determine the components of the building so as to maintain its stability.

· Methods of teaching in the education industry also takes a huge step forward.

· Over-reliance of technology might lead to a society where need for human interaction is reduced. Is that a good thing?

Feasibility

· Who is the target audience? If only the rich and powerful are able to afford it, what good can it serve to the general public?

1. Cost of such technology is generally very high.  

· Availabilty of materials needed to build the system?

1. What are the components needed to make up the system to control the catoms?

2. How will it be make available to the consumers?

· Is the technology involved very complex?

1. Not all technicians or scientists have the knowledge to make this.

2. Only a select few able to do so – how can this be mass produced in that case?

Conclusion

Do you think it will revolutionize the way people interact next time?

References

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-claytronics.htm

http://future.wikia.com/wiki/Claytronics

http://www.isa.org/filestore/microsites/TP12IIS019.pdf

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002885.html

Session 3: -Technology and Industrial Development: Moving Towards Sustainable Development -Technology and Innovation Management

Technology and Industrial Development: Toward Sustainability

The industrial revolution in the 17th century changed the way things are done; from labour-intensive work to operating machines, the increased efficiency of water power, the first use of steam and the use of coal as a energy source. These new methods and technologies originated from the Great Britain, and were spread to the rest of the world over time. More and more countries developed. Factories were built for large-scale production, job scopes were more specialized, efficiency and productivity improved significantly and production costs were reduced as a result. Industrialization freed some countries from the shackles of poverty, increased employment, as well as increasing accessibility and availability to education and healthcare. However, at the same time, despite these benefits industrialization brings, it also caused some negative impacts when not sustained. One prime example would be the environment. Large-scale activities such as deforestation of forested land to pave way for skyscrapers or mining for coal, created much damage to the Earth. With more and more carbon emissions from factories, and increasing amounts of toxic chemicals being dumped into the seas, the air and water qualities are severely affected. Human activities since the Industrial Revolution has also increased the level of greenhouse gases in the air, resulting in today's pressing problem of global warming. The Earth's homeostatic mechanism is thus stressed as a result, being unable to cope with the pressure of infinite needs and wants, over-consumption by the increasing population of the world and the issue of limited resources. 

This is precisely why sustainability is so important. Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present population without compromising the ability of the following future generations to meet their own needs. Prof. Shahi gave an example on the US, that despite making up 5% of the world's population, it is using a shocking 30% figure of the world's resources and thus producing 30% of waste. US then attempted to solve its over-consumption problem by using the Third World countries' resources instead. I believe that this widened the income gap between the First and the Third World countries as when the former uses the latter's raw materials, the former would use these resources to undergo manufacturing processes in their own countries and then, sell them at inflated prices to the Third World countries, with the First World countries reaping all the profits and the Third World countries on the losing end. 

The video, "Story of Stuff" by Annie Leonard, talked about how Earth is planet with finite resources which are depleting at an exponential rate. This is why businesses should move from a "linear" approach to a "cyclical" one. Everything has a life cycle. For example, when a product reaches the end of its life cycle, it takes up land space when dumped and years to decompose. Therefore, there is a need to move towards sustainable development, creating new "cyclical" business and industrial models through innovation and change. 

On a broader perspective, sustainability management is applicable to many aspects. Businesses for example, should strive to be sustainable in their growth if want to maintain a competitive edge against other companies. On a more personal level, our own lives should be managed sustainably as well, by making decisions with a long-term goal in mind. 

Key takeaways from readings:

1. Localized damage on the environment has detrimental effects on a global scale.

2. Advantage of backwardness. The inventor is the one who incur all the R&D costs and risks. Other players such as Third World countries would then benefit from such spillover effects. (though this is only applicable if they had the connections and access to these new technologies)

3. Humans copy. It is thus important to always invent and create something newer, faster, better. 

Issue for discussion:

With industrialization and the increasing use of machines, there is greater automation of the work we do and this threatens workers that earn their living through low-skilled jobs and might even threaten management and professions in the near future. Unlike the past, the advancement of technology today can potentially create drastic changes in the labour force as gadgets grow in ability to replicate even the most sophisticated of skills, and thus rendering the skills of the labour force obsolete. To what extent exactly, has technology had a negative impact on the skills level of people? Well, perhaps such technological advancement compels us to upgrade ourselves in the skills of innovation, creativity and ingenuity; something of which is far less likely to be replicated by machines.

Technology and innovation management

A good summary of the innovation process:

Prof. Shahi shared the key elements for successful innovation: 4 Smarts: Smart people with smart ideas having access to smart money and smart partnerships. I personally feel that each and every element is equally as important and one cannot do without the other to a successful innovation. 

Overall, I would rate the session a 8/10. Presentations were really interesting this session! :)

Session 2: - Technology, Society and Global Dominance - Technology and Human Development

Prof. Shahi kickstarted the second lesson by reminding us the core objectives and the relevant questions to be answered by the end of this module. They are:

1. To understand why white men have more cargo than the others, or in other words, the reasons for inequalities. What are the advantages others have?

2. What can be done about it? How does the disadvantaged ones compete with the rest of the world?

In this lesson, I had a clearer understanding of the difference between innovation and invention. Though both innovation and invention do overlap, there are actually subtle differences between the two. Invention is ultimately the creation of new, fresh and original ideas while innovation on the other hand, is the practical application of inventions to produce something marketable and useful to mankind. Innovation is essentially the translation of invention.

I had also learnt that technology is neutral in its intentions. It is human-centric and therefore magnifies human life and its activities. Technology is used to serve the human-being and amplify what they do. However, technology applied in a positive way may have unforeseen circumstances. Guns for example, can be used for self-defense, or for recreational purposes such as target-shooting, but when they fall into the hands of people with otherwise bad intentions, the consequences are dire. Think terrorism and world war – you get the idea.

Session 2A: Technology, Society and Global Dominance

Main observation: Different societies/countries/companies are dominant at different point in time in different aspects.

The main questions for the first part of this session are:

1. Why does some societies rise and others fall?

2. How do we build societies/companies that are dominant leaders in their respective arenas?

Rise and fall is defined as positive or negative development respectively largely quantifiable in terms of trade and produce within a country (economics). The definition is non-exhaustive in nature suggesting that additional factors such as societal quality of life also matters in terms of the rise and fall of a society.

The example of China versus Britain is one that is relatively easy to understand, due to its long and illustrious history. China at the turn of the 10^th century was a leading power in terms of economic produce. For example, China’s steel production reached an approximate 125, 000 tons, a figure that even in the 18^th century when the British were supposedly more technologically advanced following the industrial revolution were unable to match initially. China’s textile industry was largely dominant in Asia and trade spent all the way to Africa, Middle East and Europe. [1]

While China’s economic condition was as such and did carried on for the better part of the Millennia, its rulers were more concerned with maintaining a status quo. The rulers of China were more concerned about maintaining their status as a ruling class and in order to do so, the economic ability of the lower classes was suppressed through social discrimination and the inaccessibility of education. Their trade policy relied mainly upon open markets and they failed to therefore project future threats and challenges in the face of other developing countries. On the other hand, following the industrial revolution the British began an expansionist foreign policy of colonization. The British used militaristic power to dominate and colonize other countries such as India. This policy allowed for the opening of markets and access to foreign resources that were less costly.

While both China and Britain have two varying histories, it is plain to see that Britain was on the incline in terms of economic development with the aid of its naval dominance while China was on the decline due to its failure to progress in the later part of the Millennia. This highlights a very important aspect to social and economic development that it requires constant progress both economically and socially and that the maintenance of status quo within the internal environment inevitably serves to stall the growth and development of the country as a whole. This is due to the fact that other countries that are as well-off in terms of economic development and growth will eventually catch up or become more economically efficient and socially sophisticated.

Overall, the key takeaway from this part of the session was to have the right attitude and an open mind-set. Being open refers to being receptive to changes, as well as to welcome new ideas with open arms for potential successes. It is also crucial to recognize the need to constantly upgrade oneself and not to be stuck in one’s own comfort zone, as that would lead to stagnancy in growth. Project into the future, and anticipate changes so as to ensure sustainable development. I personally find that Prof. Shahi’s Organization Behaviour Model is pretty related to reading 2: Innovation in the reset world. Overall, the point is to stay hungry; stop closing doors and instead, open windows.

Session 2B: Technology and Human development

When the word, “development” is mentioned, people commonly tend to relate it to progress, growth and improvement. However, Prof. Shahi enlightened the class by pointing out that development can be both positive and negative in nature.

I came across an article on the net, “Campaign to preserve Singapore’s Chinese cemetery pushes on” (http://asiancorrespondent.com/78465/campaign-to-preserve-chinese-cemetery-pushes-on/) about the demolition of a part of the Bukit Brown Cemetery so as to give way for the construction of a highway. On one hand, the cemetery is a home for a variety of flora and fauna, of which some are identified as endangered species. In addition, the cemetery holds high historical and cultural significance in the Chinese for it is where traditional rituals are performed on days such as during the Qingming Festival (also known as Tomb Sweeping Day and Clear Bright Festival). On the other hand, it is difficult to manage Singapore’s urban developmental needs, especially when land is scarce. This then leads to an issue – Is it possible for economic progress and environmental and cultural concerns to co-exist?

Due to the limitations of using national income statistics as indication of living standards, the Human Development Index (HDI) was developed by the United Nations as a composite measure, to provide a broader view of a country’s standard of living. HDI is measured in terms of 3 criteria, namely real GDP per capita, education (literacy rate) and health (life expectancy, infant mortality rates).

Strengths of HDI:

- Can be used to compare across countries and also over time

Weaknesses of HDI:

- Does not take inequalities into consideration, such as gender inequality, income inequality.

- Other factors that affect social well-being such as freedom of speech and happiness level not taken into account.

For example, Singapore was ranked 18^th out of 187 countries with a high HDI value of 0.895 in 2012 by UNDP. However, it was ranked 90^th on the Happy Planet Index by New Economics Foundation in 2012 and 29^th highest Gini Index in terms of distribution of family income by CIA World Factbook in 2012. This serves to show that Singaporeans are not doing comparatively well in terms of mental well-being and that despite having one of the highest GDP per capita, there is a widening income gap amongst Singaporeans.

Overall, I would rate the second session 7/10. It was the first session for individual presentations and I found my peers’ presentations were really interesting and insightful! I hope the subsequent lessons would not run overtime like the previous session though, as I had another lesson 15 minutes later and had to rush! L

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[1] http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/03/07/china-rise-fall-and-re-emergence-as-a-global-power/