Session 7: The BioBusiness Revolution 2: Agriculture and the Environment - Past, Present, Future

Brief Overview/Summary

Session 7 was a continuation of session 6 on the biobusiness revolution but this time we were more focused on the environment. I thought that this was a much needed to talk about topic as we are seeing the effects of an overworked planet Earth today. 

An overview of our lesson:

• The different categories for biotechnology, mainly red (medical processes), white (industrial), blue (marine and aquatic application of technology) and green (agriculture). 
• We also talked briefly on the need for a farmist, which is a specialist in farming. This would therefore be able to increase our output in agriculture. I do think this would be one good way of solving the problem of shortage of food but I would think this would be more effective if people actually were more interested in this sector. Especially in Singapore where agriculture is not a big thing, I would think people would still choose to be a medical specialist, lawyer or accountant than become a farmist. Productivity of farms also increase drastically as a result of globalisation when more people realise the potential of jobs in urban areas rather than in farms. This led to a drastic amount of people to move out of rural areas into urban areas, therefore solving the problem of overcrowding and then being able to produce more output. 
• There was also a case study on the Love Cannel in the Nigeria Falls in New York. At first when Prof mentioned it, I thought it was a cute name and that it had some fairy tale meaning (something like Love Lock bridge in Paris). But after researching on it and watching a video which was posted on the FaceBook group, I realise that it was actually of devastating consequence where the chemicals released by the company were so toxic that 11 out of the 30+ chemicals present were known to be cancer causing. This reminds me of many other examples around the world that have caused lots of suffering to mankind due to the "cheap" way of dumping chemicals into the environment. An example would be the Minamata disease due to mercury poisoning in Japan by a company called Chisso. Another would be the Agent Orange chemical by the US military during the Vietnam War.
• This also made me think abt the reasons behind individuals choosing to take the easy way out in terms of properly disposing their toxic wastes. I think that everyone has this "as long as the problem is no longer in my hands, it is not my problem" mentality which justifies people's behaviour when they decide to do something (eg. littering)
• Agribiology VS Agribiotechnology: Making use of the genetic make up of agriculture VS Making use of technology to improve the genetic make up of agriculture 

Interesting Observations/Key Takeaway Points

• 2 quotes were mentioned in class that I thought were interesting to discuss. The first by Mahatma Gandhi “There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.” I think this is very very true and goes in line with "the more the merrier". The fact that everyone equates a higher quantity to a higher level of happiness, we keep striving and taking more for ourselves even if we may not need it, and we forgot  the joy of giving as well. 
• The other one is by Prof himself: “when we are able to grow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability”. I thought if we were to be able to manage our resources, instead of growing, we would be able to sustain our current lifestyle.
• Prof mentioned about the Malthusian Catastrophe where Tomas Malthus predicted that our population would increase faster than food can go around therefore causing world famine. His predictions however did not come true as he did not factor in technology and how it is able to aid in increasing output of food. This shows how significant technology is in helping alleviate problems such as hunger. However, the question today is not so much on food being a rarity but energy sources such as oil due to our high dependence on it. Will technology be able to once again save the day in solving this problem?
• This then led on to our discussion on growing food and using them as an energy source. Despite this being a good alternative to oil, I think there still needs to be a lot of research done in this aspect. Food being food, there will be people who object using the land to grow corn for example for the purpose of energy rather than growing other crops that could feed the masses. 
• Next, we also talked about GM food and whether or not it should be labelled on food products. This is in line with Ben's presentation on organic agriculture. Even though I have heard of GM food and its main difference with non-GM food, I personally am not particular about it. When I go grocery shopping with my family I actually do not really care too much about whether it is is a GM food, whether or not it is labeled. For me, I would first compare prices of the same good and definitely choose the lower priced one and wonder why for the same product, some are significantly more expensive. In Singapore today where majority of us are middle income, I would think we are not so particular whether or not our food is GM. Rather, we are more concerned with the rising prices of food in general, in line with the rising cost of living in Singapore. I would therefore conclude that it is definitely ethical of food companies to label their products if it is or is not GM as it is good to be transparent about food manufacturing processes but it is ultimately up to consumers to decide and discern for themselves what they want and what is important to them.
• Lastly, I feel that the presentation on bioremediation as well as vertical farming stood out amongst the others. 
• Bioremediation was a fresh concept and an interesting concept introduced to me and while I can see its benefits, the fact that it requires a long period of time makes it altogether less effective in today's context. I can understand why people would choose other methods which may be more environmentally damaging compare to bioremediation, rather than bioremediation simply because of the time it needs. All in all, this process of bioremediation could maybe be put together with other technology in future so that we are able to leverage on this natural process.
• Vertical farming was also another interesting topic to talk about. Even though it is not a brand new concept, unlike remediation, it was very relevant to discuss as the Singapore is in need of space and this is something that we could adopt.

Personal Ratings

8/10

Session 6: The Biobusiness Revolution 1: Healthcare and the Biomedical Sciences: Past, Present, Future

Brief Overview/Summary

Today's session was about technology in health care and biomedical sciences. Here is a summary of what we discussed in class.

• Black Swan event
• A discussion on why Singapore's expenditure on health care (in % of GDP) less than other developed countries?
• Drivers for change in the health care industry
• Why is there now a need for medication to be personalised?
• Presentations by various classmates on this topic

Interesting Observations/Key Takeaway Points:

• Prof introduced the term 'Black Swan event' and I thought the name of this terminology is quite funny. The definition of a black swan is an event that takes us by surprise and having bountiful of impact on people. I am able to relate this concept of black swan to disruptive innovation/technology that we have been talking about in class.
• An interesting fun fact Prof told us in class!! Human beings are actually 47% similar to a banana in terms of our genetic make up! I thought this was quite hilarious haha! A banana could probably be my long long long distant relative ;)
• Singapore's health care expenditure as a proportion to GDP was also brought up during class. Healthcare constitutes only about 3-4% of our GDP, and this is considered low as compared to other developed countries with the US & UK at 18% followed by others such as France, Germany and Canada at about 11%. This could be due to the fact that Singaporeans finance our own medical expenses through the various policies that are in place such as Medisave from citizens' CPF accounts as well as the emphasis on taking good care of our health so that we do not need to incur hefty health care costs in future when people age. However, I am looking forward to Budget 2014 and whether there will be an upward trend in health care expenditure due to an ageing population in Singapore and the inevitable need for the elderly to up their medical expenses.
• This brings about the point on Drivers for Change in Healthcare. The 2 that were most relatable to me were demographic and epidemiological change as well as changing consumer needs, demands and expectations. 
• Demographic and Epidemiological change: These changes include development from rural to urban, a growing ageing population and changing patterns of disease. In the past, people would usually suffer from diseases due to the lack of sanitation, proper drinking source, etc which therefore led to the top 3 causes of death to be lower respiratory infections, diarrhoea diseases and perinatal diseases. This is actually happening even right now in less developed countries that do not have a clean drinking source of water. I remember watching a short advertisement when I was in a cinema waiting for my movie to start and thought it'll be appropriate for this point About Clean Drinking Water
• On the other hand, developed nations suffer a different kind of 'patterned' disease and these include heart diseases, depression and road accidents. There is a change from communicable to chronic disease over time as well as across space (developed VS developing) which requires different treatment types and prevention methods. 
• Prof also showed us another video on obesity due to changing consumer needs, demands and expectations. Obesity is a condition where a person's BMI is well over 30kg/m^2 and it is a socioeconomic disease. In the video citing China as a case study, this was due to the growing wealth of the Chinese due to the opening of China's economy as well as the One Child policy implemented. Parents are now well abled to feed 'good food' to their only child and these children do not engage in physical activity to enable the body to burn the food they consume hence resulting in obesity. It might not only be due to the 'good food' available but also the increasing demand for fast food since fast food is becoming more affordable and serve as a more convenient option in today's context. Others may attribute the fact that because it is more common now for a family to receive dual income attributed to women's increase participation in the work force, kids often do not get to eat healthy food but instead opt for food that are convenient and tasty therefore resulting in obesity. All in all, obesity is a result of social and economic changes that lead to different lifestyle choices made in terms of their eating habits. 

• As such, I suppose there is a growing trend for nutraceuticals or more commonly known as functional food. I would think Yakult/Vitagen is a good and commonly known example of functional food as it has prebiotics and probiotics that is consumed to aid digestion.
• I went to YouTube to search for the video on Oscar Pistorious and a short summary of his prosthetics legs. It was really inspiring to see how someone with a disability was able to still live his life and doing what he enjoys with the development of technology. Beyond Reason
• I think out of the 5 presentations today, Janice's presentation on Google's Smart Contact Lens stood out the most for me. It was on how Google's Smart Contatc Lens was able to help diabetic patients monitor blood glucose levels in a patient's body without the need to draw blood ~3 everyday. With this technology, the level of glucose is measure through bodily fluids (tears). I think this is a fantastic innovation which really makes the life of diabetic patients much more convenient. Even though Janice did point out that this only serves the function of convenience and ease to patients, to me it is a break through as the inconvenience of having to measure glucose level in one's body through drawing of blood can really be quite a hassle. On top of that, I do not think that there is a permanent cure for diabetes as of now but this invention can be considered to be a stepping stone closer to the goal of curing diabetes.

• We also discussed a question on previous examination questions on disruptive change.

a. Explain the difference between disruptive and non-disruptive innovations.

Disruptive innovations are innovations that make whatever innovations in the field before completely redundant. An example is the industry of photography where digital photography is a disruptive innovation as it makes previous innovations such as print photography and film cameras completely redundant. Non-disruptive innovation on the other hand is an add on to the current innovations. 

Evolutionary innovation VS revolutionary innovation however focuses more on the speed of change, slow and fast paced respectively. Therefore, a disruptive innovation can be both evolutionary or revolutionary.

b. Dividing each answer under 4 sub-headings, describe the (potential) social, economic and environmental implications of each of the following areas of technological innovation, and explain why you consider it to be either (potentially) disruptive or non-disruptive:

i. Smartphones
Social: Changes the way we live, socialise and work as play and work now lies between a line fuzzier than before due to smartphones.
Economic: Companies who were the first to introduce the concept of smartphones and/or able to popularize it and explain why it is an innovation needed now are able to retain a large portion of the pie. Companies who did not see the influence of smartphones eventually lost out since the then current innovations were made completely redundant, aligned with the definition of disruptive innovation. 
Environmental: Smartphones may or may not be disruptive to the environment as this concerns what we previously discussed on waste being more cyclical than linear nowadays. With smartphones, the cyclical process may be more than before as from production to disposal, smartphones are more detrimental to the environment than say, paper. 
∴ Disruptive

ii. 3-D printing
Social: With 3D printing, we are now able to socialise with one another in a new way since we are now able to better communicate with one another through the aid of 3D printing (such as gifting someone a present just simply by printing the item out) 
Economic: Businesses are able to use this technology to produce prototypes instead of painstakingly producing something that can simply be done with 3D printing
Environmental: This would depend on what raw materials are used in the process of 3D printing. Would printing still be confined to paper and ink or will new "materials" be used such as in the example prof showed us where they were able to create real life organs by 3D printing using chemical compounds.
∴ Disruptive as it is a completely brand new innovation that puts 2D printing redundant.

iii. Regenerative medicine
Social: Definitely disruptive as this would mean repairing of organs if they are no longer in tip top conditions. This would also cope with the changing demographics as globalisation and a natural trend of falling fertility rates in developed nation become more prevalent
Economic: I would suppose this would be a 'blockbuster' type of drug and drug companies who invented these medications would expect to earn buckets of gold with this. The concern here is whether or not these drug companies are prioritising social needs above economic gains. Nonetheless, it is a disruptive innovation
Environmental: This could be in the form of the making of the medicine, whehter it is the unethical methods of producing it or the byproduct that comes along when the medicines are produced.
∴ Disruptive

x. Social networking
Social: Disruptive. The way we communicate have vastly changed since writing of snail mails.
Economic: Businesses are now also making use of social networking to progress and marketing, advertising, sales are all conducted through social networks now which make previous business methods somewhat less important (eg. giving out of flyers)
Environment: I would think for social networking to take place, some form of a technological gadget has to be used like a computer/laptop/tablet/smartphone and the enviornmental effects would be the same as those I have mentioned above under the category of smart phones
∴ Disruptive

The 6 other categories would be done in another post :)

Personal ratings:
7/10

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

Brief Overview / Summary

Session 5 started with Prof clarifying my misconception from the previous post. I think it was a mistake on my part and I am glad that I now understand singularity correctly. It is a phenomenon that does not only affect the elderly but rather everyone :)

Today's topic was also on ICT & World Change, something a little more close to heart for me.

• The evolution of the World Wide Web from Web 1.0 to 3.0
• The history of ICT & World Change from mass media to our current day knowledge management 
• Presentation on ICT by myself on Skype, Evelyn on microblogging in China, Zhi Wen on Digital Revolution, Nekesh on ICT in Kenya and Liang Bing on Generation Z

Interesting Observations & Ideas/ Key Take away points:

•  “The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human” I really enjoyed this quote a lot as I felt that it was very relatable. Technology is now increasingly integrated into our lives and have become an extension of ourselves. Prof mentioned that technology today is an extention of a human's physical body parts like our limbs. It is therefore to me very tedious to be able to survive without our limbs, just like how people might find it stifling to not be able to access their emails in a place where there is no wifi or get bored on holidays when they are not able to purchase new books on their iPad to read. 
• The term "prosumer" was also introduced to us. I have never realise how much the web has evolved since my first encounter with it in 2006. I remember I had to inform my parents that I was going to use the Internet to play Neopets and so nobody was allowed to use the telephone line since it was a dial up connection and I usually have to monitor my Internet usage since it was not unlimited. At that time, Web 1.0 was non interactive and passive where users were not able to socialise with each other. Web 2.0 came and it became more interactive. Content on the web are also contributed by fellow users. It is a place for the people, by the people. I am really excited at how web 3.0 will sweep us off our feet with the Internet of Things & Services. I look forward to the day we are able to seamlessly integrate technology into our everyday appliances. The ability of Siri to be able to "send a message to mom" / "bring me home" via only my voice really intrigues me and I anticipate whatever web 3.0 will be able to bring!
• Prof also mentioned about his view on the next technology revolution to be wireless energy by Nikola Tesla and I think this is an absolutely genius idea!! This would not only be a technological break through but can also be incorporated into architecture design so that it is less of a clutter and makes the interior design more sleek.
• Another highlight of the lesson was the question on whether the access to ICT should be considered a human right. It is indeed time for the question to be asked since it is now a more prevalent need than ever before. With the access to ICT, I feel that it is equivalent to equipping the people who are less developed with all the skills they need to progress. So for instance they need help with fixing the water pipe or require specific knowledge on farming, with Google or YouTube they are thus able to find the relevant information they need. Perhaps some limitations to this method of aid, instead of directly providing them with the basic necessities is the need for them to be able to be literate (since they will have to type and understand what is on Google/etc) and know how to use the technology in the first place.
• Prof also mentioned https://www.khanacademy.org/ which is a really good example on the use of ICT to be able to provide education to anyone and everyone who has access to the Internet. It is really an excellent way how people make good use of the Internet to help the world progress together.
• I think what really amazed me was the video that Prof showed us nearing the end of the lesson which is Project Natal Milo. I was really really amazed and was watching the video with my jaw dropped the whole time. It is truly amazing how Milo was able to sustain such a conversation and even carried out activities with the user. Everything was so realistic as well. Some concerns I have though is the reducing need for real human interaction. As we all know, the virtual world is slowly over taking reality and even in some extreme examples, couples are caring more for their virtual baby more than a real life one and some even want to marry their virtual girlfriends who completely do not exist at all. Are we substituting the virtual world for a human touch? Even though such a technology like Project Natal Milo exist, it should not replace our need for real human interaction and diminish our ability to be able to socialise with others.

Overall Rating:

I give it a 9/10. I think session 5 is the session I enjoyed most so far. Especially the insightful presentations by my classmates. I found Liang Bing and Evelyn's most thought provoking and thoroughly enjoyed their presentation. Though at times the discussion might get quite intense and I feel that this should not be the case as everyone should have the abiltity to express their opinion without feeling the need to convince others as this might create an "unsafe" (meaning people may not dare to speak up in class in the future anymore) environment to voice their opinion. Looking forward to the next session :)

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

Brief Overview/Summary:

Session 4 was something that made me feel very perplex as 'Change Management and Change Leadership' did not seem like a topic that would be covered in a TWC class. However, I was greatly intrigued by how this is actually an area that we have already been covering all along except that in today's session it was in greater detail.

As usual, here are some highlights through the lesson:

• Management VS Leadership VS Visionary

• "If everyone consumed as much energy as the average Singaporean and US resident, the world's oil reserves would be depleted in 9 years" - http://assets.panda.org/downloads/101223_energy_report_final_print_2.pdf  This quote was talked about during the lecture and I thought this was a interesting fun fact although it does not paint a very nice picture on Singapore's part 
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson who is the first author to wrote a book to create awareness on the detriments that mankind is creating in the time we spend on Earth.
• The concept of singularity
• Coping with Drivers of Change --> Changing expectations and tastes with changing times
• Incremental/Evolutionary (slow) Change VS Revolutionary (fast) Change VS Disruptive Change (a new way of thinking that makes whatever before REDUNDANT)
• Therefore, disruptive can both be evolutionary or revolutionary (this deals with speed only)
  - “Disruptive change is an irreversible change in your expected future” - Doug Berger (eg. digital photography & horse drawn carriages and cars & digital media vs print)
• Presentation on the Rise of China & India by Junhao and The Rise of Offshoring by Nicolas
• "Who Moved my Cheese?" by Yun Feng, Top Companies and The Leadership Factors by Valerie and Coca Cola by Alvin

Interesting Observations & Ideas/ Key Take away points:

• The quote that states how Singapore was also involved in polluting the environment in a large scale. This is quite a shock since Singapore is so very small in relative to the USA so why is it that both these two countries who differ so greatly in size are lumped together? I decided to take a further look at WWF report and this is what I have found. The WWF report mainly emphasizes on the goal of having 100% renewable energy by the year 2050 which is about 36 years from now. In 2050, I will be 56 years old! The report thus analyses and questions that while it is an ambitious goals, can it be a reality in this short span of time. From what I understand, renewable energy is where the energy source is naturally replenished and hence can be considered to be infinite, unlike burning of fossil fuels which are finite. In Singapore where the Energy Market Authority (EMA) is responsible for this aspect, it has stated that renewable energy in Singapore is capable of sustaining 10% of our electircal usage by 2025. This definitely does not coincide with WWF's plan of being 100% renewable energy efficient by 2050 as much more time is needed for this to happen.
• Under the category of environement as a driver of world change, "germs" was one of the factors that was brought up and prof mentioned that water and sanitation are the most important aspects in improving life expectancy, etc. I have not done any research to see how true this is but I would feel that besides water and sanitation, I would think access to food should also be included in the list. This is because as we all know, human beings will not be able to survive without water for 3 days and food for 7 days. Therefore I included food as another factor for the life expectancy to increase as people do die from malnutrition as well.
• Prof also mentioned in the slides about how all these drivers of change eventually would lead to a change in our expectations and "taste". I felt that this was more of a social problem as I am reminded of how my friends & I would discuss about what is an ethical time to send my boss/prof/colleagues/ an email or text? In response, is the recipient obliged to reply instantly? What about on weekends/during holidays? I feel that in this era where we have to cope with the many changes around us, we have to be mindful of how these changes might be "overtaking" our logical minds in that sense we expect instantaneous response 24/7 with the invention of emails and texts without considering the fact that people are human beings who require rest as well. I think besides coping with technological change, we have to properly examine our expectations and manage them well too.
• “Man's mind, once stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions.”  - Oliver Wendell Holmes
  This quote stood out most to me as I think it is most applicable towards my attitude in TWC. I have never been one who pays much attention to technology in detail as we do in TWC but I think over the course of the past 3 lectures, I begin to see technology in a whole new dimension because of the great exposure by Prof as well as some insightful additional comments made by my classmates who share their knowledge about this field in class.
•  The video on Steve Jobs (Life's Changing Agent) is beautiful summarised by this quote:
  "Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forward". It was a really inspiring video for me especially when week 5 draws near and all of us start feeling the crunch of the workload from school.  
• Last but not least, I feel that I liked reading 2 (Drivers of Change: Globalization, Technology and Competition. Asian Development Outlook 2003) of session 4A the most. It mentions the 14 different drivers of world change and as I was reading, I could identify a particular event that relates to the given factor. This particular reading consolidated the current affairs in the world into something that I could see as a big picture which can therefore be classified as drivers of world change.

Further Issues for Discussion:

• I feel that the issue of singularity should have been further discussed in this session. Singularity is defined as the hypothetical moment where humans will no longer be able to keep up with the exponential increase of information available. As today's lecture was on change management, I thought it was a missed opportunity for Prof to further explain to us how do we actually really cope with this in detail. This "hypothetical" moment may not be very far from us now and as we can see elderly having problems coping with smart phones, etc how are we as the elders of the future going to cope with the issue of singularity. I would have loved to hear Prof give us a real life story of himself facing situations like this whether is it not knowing how to operate a new washing machine or figuring out the works of the newest kindle :) It would have been interesting!
• Additionally, I think that more can be discussed on Who Moved My Cheese. I think it is a simple analogy that can be applied in many different aspects. Our TA Sylvester has sent this to us and I look forward to inputting some of my comments with regards to the text upon completion of it. 

Personal Ratings for the Session: 

I would rate this session a 7/10 as it gets really taxing after 4 weeks of squeezing 2 chapters into one. Hopefully session 5 where we can concentrate on a single topic will be better and less tiring for all of us :)