6th Lesson

Today's lesson was on BioBusiness- Healthcare. 

As people become more health-conscious these days, they are willing to spend more to keep themselves healthy and fit. This results to a wide variety of health-related products, especially vitamins and supplements to be heavily marketed. Also, do take a look at http://www.visualeconomics.com/how-the-average-us-consumer-spends-their-paycheck/ This shows a rough breakdown of how an average American spends his salary, which is about $2853 annually on healthcare alone. 

Prof shared about how herbal and traditional medicine are opportunities that can be further looked into. In the past, these medicine are merely considered to be folklore cures. However, these medicine are actually becoming more popular in demand now. Firstly, they are herbs and thus, little or no side-effects at all. Not only that, these herbs also contain other properties that are beneficial for the body. On the other hand, western drugs often prove to be faster and more effective cures instead, but they may be harmful for the body in the long run.

By 2020, it is forecasted that there will be a shift from infectious to chronic diseases as the major causes of death. With better sanitation and availability of basic healthcare in most parts of the world, infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis have decreased significantly. However, chronic diseases like diabetes and heart failure are often triggered by physical inactivity and poor diet. For example, America is one of the countries in the world with high obesity rates and this is contributed from consumption of junk food, alcohol, tobacco and the lack of exercise.  

In conclusion, biobusiness for healthcare is definitely a lucrative business to look into! With more resources pumped into research work, there is also a need to ensure that the cures will be made affordable for almost everyone in the world. Lastly, I'll end with a quote from someone's fb status "No one should die because they cannot afford healthcare, and no one should go broke because they get sick."

8.5/10 for this lesson! Thought that the oral presentations done by my fellow classmates were interesting, especially on organs trading, patenting and counterfeit drugs, which raised many insightful perspectives by Prof and the rest of the class!

5th Lesson

During class, Prof mentioned a quote by John Naisbitt that the sensational innovations in this era would be how we can "humanize" technology and incorporate into products and services. I would like to share this link that I have read: IBM Supercomputer Watson to assist doctors.
(http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ibms-watson-assist-doctors-163719556.html)

Similar to the video shown about Project Natal, Dr Watson is a supercomputer that helps medical professionals to diagnose illnesses and recommend treatments for patients. With "him" around, I am sure doctors will always welcome a "second opinion"! This will definitely be a breakthrough in the healthcare industry and perhaps a solution for the lack of manpower! 

Looking at the evolution of mass media, with information growing at an exponential rate, people also have faster and better access to sources. However, like what one of the presenters said, we being "consumers" have to process these information first to detect hints of biasness and exaggeration.

Censorship is also becoming difficult to block information from users. From my personal experience, when I was in Shanghai last year for my internship, I almost cried aloud because Youtube, Facebook and Blogger were blocked. Found this useful website- www.vtunnel.com! Simply enter the url that you wish to visit and you will be able to pass through the Great Firewall of China. *Warning- may have disturbing ads! This could be used at workplace too, if your company blocks access to social networking sites.

The web is transforming to better suit needs and cater to tastes and preferences. Think customization and the fact that humans are typically drawn to things that appeal to them. Using the common phrase heard "Customers are always right!", this is evident that consumers have a bigger bargaining power now. Not only that, the evolution of web3.0 will be interesting, as it includes the perspectives of the users for others to use as references. This can be seen from popular blogs (Xiaxue/ Beatrice Tan/ LadyIronChef) about product reviews, food recommendations and etc.  

9/10 for this lesson! It was interesting and I am sure most of us were able to relate to this topic very well!

Individual Topical Review Paper

Topic: Biometrics
Innovation: Biometric Passport or e-passport


Rationale: E-passport is a revolutionary innovation that has been introduced about 5-6years ago to replace the conventional travel document. After the 9/11 attacks, there is a increased need for security measures to screen for potential terrorists from entering into a country. Not only that, it also makes forgery difficult now, as each passport will contain a chip with personal biometric information to authenticate the identify of the traveller. 

Report Outline:
·      Executive Summary

·      Introduction
Ø  What is Biometrics
Ø  Rationale for the implementation of biometric passports

·      Historical Perspective
Ø  Descriptive timeline to show evolution of travel documents 
-       Family photos glued in passports
-       Laminated photos and machine-related passports
-       Digital printing and holographs

·      Current Situation
Ø  How does the e-passport works


Ø  More and more countries are adopting Biometric passports
-       Provide statistics

Ø  Pros of e-passport
-    Better security (prevents illegal immigrants & terrorists)
-       Reduces the possibility of forgery 
-       Convenience (minimize waiting time and administration at checkpoints)

Ø  Cons of e-passport
-       Cost of set-up
-       A requirement when visiting some countries (for those without e-passport)
-       Technology involved in implementation

·      Future Considerations
Ø  Technology must be strengthened to prevent security issues
-   Forgery
-   Hacking into databases
-  Private information stolen

Ø  Applying biometric technology into other products (innovations)
-   House and car keys
-   Banking services (ATM)
-   Other identification access

·      Conclusion + Personal opinions on the topic

4th Lesson

I loved the video "Who moved my cheese?" that was shown in class. The two key points to learn from the video are anticipating changes and adapting accordingly to circumstances. Not only that, being prepared will also allow one to strike when an opportunity arises. 

During the lesson, we also covered some drivers of world change. Personally, I felt that changing expectations and "tastes" with changing times is one of the most important drivers. As seen from the market, most products and services have evolved to suit the changing tastes and preferences of consumers. Not only that, most societies have also played an important role in allowing people to express themselves freely and openly. With education, people are no longer bound to follow the dictators of change blindly, but rather, they have the wisdom now to make informed choices to benefit their own interests. 

As for the model- Adapting to Change: New Technology Adoption, I found this to be quite true. For example, Apple. When their initial products were launched, people were skeptical to try. However, as time passes, more and more people are awed by the innovations that Apple has created. In fact, Apple has surpassed Exxon to be the world's most valuable company now.  

On the other topic about leadership, I would think influence is also an important factor. Like the video- First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy that was shown in class, if the leader is not charismatic or influential, it will not be easy for him to get the first follower to start a movement together.  

Lastly, I would also like to share this old American proverb- "There are 3 kinds of people in the world; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened." Hence, it is up to us to decide for ourselves which group we want to belong to!

8/10 for this lesson! I also thought that some of my fellow classmates did an awesome job with their presentations and it allowed me to learn and improve on my presentation next time!

3rd Lesson

The two key topics covered in lesson were sustainability and innovation.

Sustainability of the environment has become increasingly important in today's world. Like the beginning of the video 'Story of Stuff" that Prof shared in class, it was mentioned that there are so many problems, like resources depleting at an alarmingly rate and pollution caused by toxic and waste. If we do not make any efforts to curb these issues, the dire consequences will be brought forward to the future generations of mankind. Hence, I am looking forward to see how the different governments will present their environmental goals during the Earth Summit, which will be held next year.

Similarly, innovation is also another important factor. Unless we strive on improvements, we will be left out of the race in no time. However, like what Prof said, it is only considered innovation until the succesful application of ideas, otherwise it is creativity. Relating to one of the articles in the required readings- “The Chaos of Innovation Management”, I thought what Prof said to be quite true. Although there are a lot of good ideas in the market, little has been done to carry them out in reality. Hence, likewise for students, having knowledge is not power, unless we apply what we have learnt and make a difference. 

Not only that, I feel that the Shahi Landscape Model for Technology Assessment is a good way to help business enterprises identify whether the industry is a sunrise or sunset one to venture into. I also agree with what Prof has mentioned that green technology will hold a lot of potential in future. In fact, I would classify green tech as a cloud opportunity!

On the other hand, I would also like to give another perspective on one of the presentations about Surrogoacy, which is how IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) have made it possible for some couples to have children. Over the years, the use of IVF treatment has increased significantly, as more couples face difficulties in having kids, especially due to the reason of work-related stress. This is also a good example of how science has incorporated with technology.

Overall, I would rate the lesson 7.5/10 and so far, the TWC lessons have been quite enjoyable and informative!

P.S- On a note, I would really appreciate if we are able to end class on time in future, as some of us have another lesson to rush to after TWC. Thanks:)