TWC Thoughts, Week 6

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

Today’s lesson is the first of a two part lesson on BioBusiness. BioBusiness is defined as commercial activity based on an understanding of life sciences and life science processes. It covers a wide range of industries including Biomedical, Agri-veterinary and environmental sectors. Prof then shared with us that BioBusiness constitutes over 30% of the world’s GDP but employs over 40% of the world’s labor force. The figure is skewed by more than 50% of the BioBusiness work force being employed in low wage subsistence farming in developing countries. Then we went on to the specific BioBusiness sector and found that unsurprisingly in the healthcare sector, US is the largest spender on healthcare again with only 5% of the world’s population.

Then we went into the area of Biomedical BioBusiness and we found out that across the board, the life science patent approvals has increased rapidly since it was founded in the 1980s. This is because people know that toolkit evolved from Biotech can be used to solve many problems in other sectors, and it is lucrative as well.

Thereafter we went into some of the key drivers for innovation and change in Healthcare. They included changing patterns of diseases (from infectious to chronic) and also increasing incidence of heart diseases and obesity in countries such as India. Also as R & D takes place, scans on our bodies have become more detailed and accurate as ever. We went from normal visual observation (swelling, redness) to x-rays images (scan for fractures etc in bones) to currently, MRI and CT scans where soft tissue damage can actually be observed through images! As a beneficiary of these changes, I definitely feel that these advancements can only be good for us.

We are also in a midst of a revolution in healthcare and medical sciences where many changes are currently taking place which will change our lives drastically. Examples would include Pharmaceutical industries producing specific types of drug for people with a particular genetic make up so that they do not suffer the side effects of more mainstream drugs(such as paracetamol)

Key Take Away Points 

During lesson we discussed how the advancements in ICT can revolutionise the healthcare industry. Waiting time for patients can be not only be cut down but also totally eliminated when teleconferencing takes off between the doctor and patient. This will also save precious travelling time for patients and bring great convenience to patients that have difficulties travelling. The technology is already available and it’s up to the industry to make use of it. As I was one such patient, I can truly relate to this situation. Late last year I underwent a shoulder surgery and on my way to recuperation, I had to go for regular visit to the specialist’s clinic. Although I had an appointment scheduled in advance, the specialist never fails to make me wait for more than an hour. And when it’s my turn to be examined, I will only do some simple actions to see the strength and mobility of my shoulder. These actions could easily be done through teleconferencing or even through the phone. Come to think of it, I could made use of my time a hell lot better. Hence, I feel this form of medical care will definitely take of as we become increasingly busy individuals.

On another note, I also felt the article from reading two was interesting as it discusses about moving on and changing with the times as old IP laws become obsolete in the sense that it is an obstacle in development. The current old IP thinking of protecting our own technology and not letting others use it is selfish and counter-productive to development as it prevents further innovation. We are entering new IP era where IP is used to sustain and maintain collaborations and partnerships so that knowledge gets to those who need it more to produce and disseminate new products and services. Hence we must adopt this new form of IP that encourages innovation and development so that we can progress.

Issues for Discussion

Not sure if this has been discussed before but nonetheless I still want more answers so here goes. Like the use of solar energy, this telecommunication kind of healthcare as mentioned above has been in the pipeline for quite a number of years already. However, the local healthcare sector is still showing no signs of moving into it. Could it be that vested interest of certain stakeholders are preventing us from developing or is there other reasons? I certainly feel that it is the former. This waiting time, inconvenience, and inability of older folks to travel will be discouraging patients from seeking regular medical care. And this will be our bugbear as we seek to move towards a top notch medical hub.

Personal Ratings for Session

Yet another beneficial topic that I can relate to. However it’s a little dry at times. 8/10.

TWC Thoughts, Week 5

Before the lesson, I was actually quite excited about this topic as I have a particular interest in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). I feel that endless possibilities are possible with the internet and social media today. Information from the whole world can just be a mouse click away. Also, I’m quite glad that from this lesson on, we’ll be covering one topic per lesson as I feel that this will give us more time for deeper discussions and also to internalise the key points raised.

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

We started off the discussion with some forms of ICT, namely mass media, internet, social networking, crowdsourcing, gaming, wireless technology, interactive telecommunication, information systems, cloud computing and data management. For me, the more interesting ones would be the internet and cloud computing.

The internet evolved tremendously over the past couple of decades. It started around the early 90s with web 1.0, which is basically the internet presenting one way information to its users without any input from the user. Gradually, web 2.0 came about with mediums like Facebook and Youtube where users can post content on the internet and also interact with other users. Currently, we are at the brink of web 3.0, the internet of services. It can be described as a personal assistant who personalises content that we are exposed to. One such example in its infancy stages would be the Google assistant in smartphones. Based on our previous Google searches and internet activity, it can actually identify our location(country), hobbies, etc. Thereafter, the Google assistant will regularly feed us information such as the location’s time, weather, traffic, and even the match results of our favourite football team. This personalised touch is what is so unique about web 3.0. Like what Prof mentioned, it would be an internet that is working behind you to design your itinerary details(time of flight, places to visit, who to visit, etc) when you are going overseas. This is truly breathtaking.

However, with this comes the issue of privacy. Just how secure is the internet? Will others be able to know our location, hobbies, taste and preferences?

Another exciting form of ICT will be cloud computing. It is a shared data centre that basically allows users to access their data from anywhere with internet connection. For businesses, this will do away with the need to have a technical support team for their data servers. Companies will only need to pay a nominal monthly subscription compared to huge costs needed to maintain huge data servers. When the individual misplaces his/her device, there is no loss of information as all data is still in the cloud. The individual will also be able to access the data in the cloud anywhere with just a simple device (tablet/smartphone) with a web browser. This brings about great convenience.

As usual, critics will point out that the security of classified business information in a shared data centre is a cause for concern. I do not see it this way. Cloud computing companies such as Dropbox will not want their painstakingly built up reputation to take a beating now, just as they are having some success in converting users to cloud computing. Thus they will take extra measures to secure the shared data servers. Information there might even be safer than the traditional data servers. There is also no credible evidence that using shared data servers will compromise classified information. It’s as good as saying that keeping our money in the bank is dangerous and we should keep it with ourselves wherever we go. Hence, this form of conventional thinking has to go for us to progress.

Key Take Away Points 

For me, the key take away point of the lesson would be the need for developing countries to have access to these ICTs so as to solve their poverty issues. Like what Previous Secretary-General of the United Nation said “Today’s real borders are not between nations, but between powerful and powerless, free and fettered, privileged and humiliated.” Hence once we are able to get such forms of ICTs to them(and there are countless policies to do so), they’ll have a much better chance of closing bridging the borders and alleviating their problems.

There is also another observation I made with regards to interactive telecommunication. With just our smart phones and free applications such as Skype and Whatsapp, we can easily make video calls and communicate with anyone across the world who has the same application. Now this changes the playing field for telcos who can no longer rely on calls to make their profits in the long run. They would then have to reinvent themselves and come up with new technologies and strategies (such as data services). But it remains to be seen if their reinvention would be enough. This is another example of how companies would be left behind if they do not change.

Personal Ratings for Session

I would rate the lesson 9/10. I really like the fact that we covered all parts of the topic rather comprehensively.

TWC Thoughts, Week 4

We started off the lesson with a sobering quote from THE ENERGY REPORT that if everyone consumed as much energy as the average Singaporean and US resident, then the world’s oil reserves would be depleted in 9 years. This implies that small countries like Singapore should also contribute to reduction of consumption and not claim that just because we are small we cannot do anything much, thus the others should do it. On the contrary, we should be a leader of renewable energy as we are the leaders in technology. In short, every country has the responsibility to maintain Earth’s environment.

Drivers of World Change

The lesson then started proper as we went into some of the drivers of world change. Prof then shared some quotes with us and for me, the most memorable one would be from George Bernard Shaw. “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” This simply means that if we want to survive in a changing environment, we must change our circumstances like how an unreasonable man asserts change and makes change happen. Thereafter we were introduced to the idea of Evolutionary vs Revolutionary, as well as the idea of disruptive change.

Change Management and Change Leadership

Similarly for the next half of the lesson, some quotes were shared and this one by W. Edwards Deming struck me the most. “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” This means that if we don’t change we just die. We then went to differentiate between a manager and a leader. A manager works well according to a paradigm(model), while a leader creates a paradigm for the organisation to follow. A leader must also be proactive to lead change and not reactive. An example would be a company which is implementing renewable sources of energy compared to a company that waits for the regulation to kick in and then react to it.

Key Take Away Points 

A key take away point for me was recognising the difference and workings behind the Evolutionary and Revolutionary change. For Evolutionary change, we improve through the Action, Plan, Change, Development(APCD) and it’s a slow and gradual process. However for Revolutionary change, it’s a radical process represented by a quantum leap in progress. We also found out that disruptive change is irreversible change in our expected future.

I also found the two different change models introduced to us to be especially interesting as I did not know of this before. They are namely the Traditional freeze-unfreeze-refreeze model (5 year plan) and the Modern continuous monitoring and renewal model. The traditional model used to work when change is happening slowly but in today’s world things are developing fast. Hence the modern model where methods and processes are continuously renewed would be more effective in countries/companies/nations.

Personal Views on Presentations 

In Eric's presentation, he posed a question on how social media can influence public policy making in Singapore. I feel that it can provide an avenue for many to have their voices heard. Policy makers can also take these views into account in their policy development. However, the fact that these views can be easily put together without much thought means that these views may be made at the heat of the moment and lack analysis. In addition, the anonymity may also enable various groups to make politically motivated comments to mislead others. That said, I feel that government should not impose restrictions on social media as there will always be ways around it. Instead, they should think of how to use it to their advantage as the use of social media will only get more widespread when the take up rate increases.

For Hui Qi’s presentation on WikiCells, I feel that the major obstacles to it happening is cost, the taste of the edible packaging and the psychological barrier that we(consumers) need to overcome when we eat food packaging such as subway wrappers. If these challenges are overcome, then it might well be a success as food packaging waste takes up a really substantial portion of our consumption.

Personal Ratings for Session

I would rate the lesson 9/10. The presentations are informative and I’ve gained a lot from this session.

TWC individual report outline

Topic: The influence of Technology in Sports Performance

Executive Summary:

This paper seeks to explore how technology has influenced performance in the sporting scene. I will be focusing on sports gear (sportswear and equipment- looks and functionality), training tools/methods (simulation of in-game scenario etc) and diet (nutrition, doping and performance enhancing drugs). Furthermore this paper will delve into the future possibilities of technology in this sporting world.

Why I chose this topic:

Increasingly, sports are becoming an important part of our lives. Billions of people tune in to the Olympic Games and many other sporting events around the globe. The revenue that goes around is also very much a substantial amount. This will mean high stakes in the sporting arena and athletes will want to outdo one another using all means available including use of technology. This increasing influence of technology for athletes to get an edge has impacted the sporting arena both positively and negatively.

Background:

How can technology help to improve sports performance?

3 main areas: Sports Gear, Training Tools/Methods, and Diet.

Historical perspective:

Throughout history, athletes have often sought to outperform one another. Often they have trained as hard as they could and can only turn to technology to help them. In the past, technology was limited. For sports gears, what they had was just functional and could only do the bare minimum. For instance, waterproof sportswear for swimmers enables them to preserve their modesty. For training methods, they can only keep practicing and doing the same thing as what they will do on competition day to get better. When the athletes get injured or fatigued, they do not have many options but to rest. For Diet, they do not know specifically what to eat to improve their performance.

Current Situation:

Currently technology has improved sports performance in 3 broad areas:

1.    Sports Gear

-       Eg. High technology swimwear

2.    Training Tools/Methods

-       3D real life simulation of in game scenario

-       How to shorten rehabilitation time  

3.    Diet

-       How sports nutrition evolved

-       Doping and performance enhancing drugs Eg. Blood oxygenation enhancement,

Thereafter I will address the implications of the advancements above. Positive/Negative implications? Ethical/Moral issues? Eg. Armstrong doping incident

Future Consideration:

1.    Sports Gear

-       Sportswear that will heat up and cool down so as to regulate athlete’s body temperature

2.    Training methods

-       The future of rehabilitation: http://www.sporttechie.com/2013/08/19/biomimicry-nasa-cooling-technology-are-the-future-of-sports-rehabilitation/

3.    Doping

-       Gene doping

And impacts of such advancements

Conclusion:

Bibliography:

http://www.ulster.ac.uk/scienceinsociety/technologyinsport.html

http://www.sporttechie.com/2013/08/19/biomimicry-nasa-cooling-technology-are-the-future-of-sports-rehabilitation/