TWC Thoughts, Week 3

Technology and Industrial Development: Toward Sustainability

This lesson started with a discussion of industrial development and the effects that development had on the Earth’s limited resources. Initially, we thought that our industrialization would only have just a miniscule impact on the Earth. However, as time passes, we realized how unsustainable our development was, judging from the environmental problems faced by us today. The homeostatic mechanism of Earth has also been overstressed by human activity. This is reflected best by the fact the United States, with less than 5% of the global population, using about a quarter of the world's fossil fuel resources. If everyone consumed at the same rate, we would need about five planets for us to sustain our consumption habits. Thus, the need for sustainable development has never been more real.

Thereafter we were introduced to the ‘cyclical’ approach of consumption instead of the ‘linear’ approach that we are so used to. This is so that the products used are either biodegradable or easily recyclable and will not destroy the Earth. Thus, this will give rise to the opportunity for innovation in sustainable development and I believe that this is the step companies should take. By doing so, they are not only practicing corporate social responsibility, but also being one step ahead of any potential environmental sanction that the government will impose on unsustainable business practices.

Technology and Innovation Management

Next, we moved on to Technology and Innovation Management where Innovation Management is the process of creating value by increasing the efficiency of translating promising concepts into high value products and services. We were then introduced to the Research-Development-Application(R-D-A) translation process where the Development portion is the nightmare as we have to turn our ideas and research into the actual product. Also, in the R-D-A process, the further down we go, the higher the chance of success. Different part of the R-D-A process also requires different skill sets: At the infancy stage, it’s more of knowledge based technical skills, while towards the end it’s more of management and business development skills.

Key Take Away Points

From the reading ‘Environment Fact Sheet’, the European Commission actually has many methods that they are using/plan to use for sustainable development. However, this article was published in 2006 and the situation has not improved much since then. I feel that this is because the key methods of sustainable development are not being transferred to third world countries who are developing rapidly. Hence, these countries industrialize without concern for the environment. Thus the key take away point is that we must influence all stakeholders, especially the rapidly developing countries, to adopt sustainable development practices so that sustainable development can be a success for the world.

Personal Views on Presentations

A few presenters raised the question of whether the onus of sustainable development should be on government or consumers. I personally feel that it would be very difficult, if not near impossible to first educate and then thereafter, get these huge masses of people to change their consumption habits. This is because most of the population are short-sighted and only aim to achieve tangible benefits such as cost(as shown by the class’s unwillingness to pay too much a premium on sustainability). Thus the government has to take the initiative in this area. I feel that the key to this is that the government has to put aside its own vested interest(to attract all sorts of businesses) and start attracting the 'right' businesses whose goal is also sustainable development. However by doing so, the country's development will bound to slow down. So ultimately for the government, it boils down to balancing sustainable development and economic progress.

Personal Ratings for Session

I would rate the lesson 9/10 as most of the pertinent issues are covered with sufficient air time.

TWC Thoughts, Week 2

Brief Overview/Summary

This lesson is split into two, the first of which is on Technology, Society and Global Dominance. We started off by identifying the dominant force in different dimensions (Eg.US culture is the most dominant throughout the world). Following that, we were introduced to the model of Rising Star, Falling Star, Dominant Player, as well as the characteristics of each model. We learnt that this can be applied to countries, companies, individuals, etc. From the readings, we can also see a fresh perspective on colonialism which I will elaborate on later.

Next, we moved on to Technology and Human Development where we touched on different kinds of development, especially sustainable development which will be economic development without negative environmental consequences. Thereafter, we discussed human development where one way to measure it will be through the Human Development Index(HDI) which is largely based on three broad areas namely: Health, Education and Income. There is also the United Nations Millennium Development Goals 2015 that aims to get worldwide cooperation to help the poor countries to attain a certain living standard.

Interesting Observations and Ideas

Technology, Society and Global Dominance

The reading on colonialism basically took most of us by surprise as we are so used to the idea that colonial powers brought progress to their colonies(Eg. The British helped to construct roads for Singapore). This cannot be further from the truth.  In fact, evidence has shown that colonial powers exploited their colonies by destroying their key industries and made the natives slaves. They also plundered their colonies for resources and produce. This is shown by China and India’s fall in the economic charts from 1500AD to 2000AD. Through this, we realized the devastating and crippling effect that European colonial powers brought onto their colonies.

My next observation will be from what Prof mentioned in class about Kodak and Fujiflim. Initially, Kodak was the dominant player in the photo(flim) industry, and it even came up with the digital camera first. However, it took a falling star approach by keeping the ideas of a digital camera within itself and not sharing it with others. Soon, its competitors such as Fujiflim eventually developed their expertise in digital photography and overtook them in the industry. Till today Kodak is a pale shadow of its former self. This shows that we must take a rising star approach by embracing change, constantly reinventing ourselves(by staying hungry) so that we will become the dominant power in the respective domains(countries/companies/individual).

In addition, I would like to make a bold prediction with regards to the rivalry between Apple and Samsung. In the last couple of years, Apple's innovation stagnated while Samsung reinvented itself and caught up. Although Apple currently still has a larger market share than Samsung and is still THE dominant player, I cannot help but think that they are taking a falling star approach by suing Samsung over many copyright infringements so that they can maintain the status quo. Samsung on the other hand is fast progressing by coming up with many new technologies such as the 'eye movement to read' and flexible screen technology. Compared to Apple's approach of sticking to a tried and tested iphone formula with minimal improvements, I feel that Samsung is the rising star which will dominate for years to come.

Technology and Human Development

Lastly will be my observation with regards to the HDI which is used to measure human development. I agree with many of my peers’ response(on their blogs) that the HDI is a flawed way to measure human development. This is due to the fact that the HDI does not measure the intangible things such as happiness and stress levels. Hence I find it rather interesting that the concept of Gross National Happiness(GNH) has become more commonly used in recent years. Hopefully, this will signal to the governing parties that economic development should not be the sole focus and considerations should be made for their citizen’s happiness and well-being.

Key Take Away Points

One should always have a rising star mentality and be hungry for more knowledge so that we can be at the forefront of changes and not get caught flatfooted when change takes place.

As countries all around the world have got to a certain stage in development, sustainable development will become the next big thing. This is because environmental/governmental organizations around the world are starting to come together to prohibit unsustainable development that causes irreversible environmental damage to the Earth. Hence, companies/economies should focus their efforts on sustainable development as I feel that whoever can embrace this change best will be the leading light in development.

Issues for Further Discussion

In light of our realizations about colonialism, would Singapore be in a better position now if we are not a British colony before?

Personal Views on Presentations

I would like to weigh in my views on the presentation on Childhood Education and Eugenics.

Wen Bin - Childhood Education

I feel that the role of teachers can never be adequately replaced by technology. Technology can have all the content and resources needed for our development but it will always lack the human touch. Things like morals, ethics and behaviors can never be taught through technology. In addition, if a child is educated solely through technology, he/she will be lacking in EQ to deal with real situations. Thus, the individual will be severely handicapped if there are no teachers to guide him/her along in the educational journey. 

Sylvester – Eugenics(shared on Facebook)

I feel that the problem with eugenics is human's greed. Sure Eugenics may have started off with good intentions, such as preventing diseases and disabilities. And I agree with these objectives wholeheartedly. But human's greed will make the next step seem inevitable and soon it will be alright to use eugenics as a method to counter obesity. Naturally, next in line will be genes that modify looks, increase intelligence, and sex selection(which will undoubtedly be used in China given the large number of female fetuses being aborted). We might say that this will not happen as we can draw up ethical guidelines to guide our progress in this field. However, our greedy nature will lead us down this slippery slope of no return and that is the danger in embracing eugenics. 

Unfortunately, or fortunately in the case of eugenics, our progress in human development is still far from satisfactory. Like what Prof has mentioned, children across the world are still dying of preventable causes like hunger and having no access to drinking water. Thus I feel that until these problems are solved, we have no right to use eugenics to improve our own developed societies while other third world countries languish behind and suffer. Then, they might never be able to get out of their abyss.

Personal Ratings for Session 

I found the lesson and presentations to be very engaging and would give it a 8/10. However it would be even better if we had enough time to discuss about the issues brought up in the presentations.

TWC Thoughts, Week 1

The very first lesson of my university life was Technology and World Change. I remember being excited the night before as technological advances was always one of my main interests. Things such as the Google Glasses and 3D printers never fail to amaze me.

Brief Overview/Summary:

The lesson was divided into two parts. For the first half of lesson, we introduced ourselves as well as shared our views on Technology and World Change(TWC). I shared on the future possibilities of technology but was pointed out by the Prof that there was always two sides to the coin. A good example would be that technology in the form of our latest gadgets can either bring us together or bring us further apart.

The second half of the lesson started off with the video "Shift happens", followed by discussion of the technological advancements in human history. As there were inequality in development, our discussion led to the book "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond. In the book, Diamond attempts to answer the question of inequality through Guns, Germs and Steel.

Interesting Observations and Ideas

Midway through the lesson, the Prof posed us a simple question: What is technology? All of us came up with complicated explanations which could simply be summarized into the following: Technology the knowledge of doing things and how to do it better. This simple view of technology widened my horizons as even objects such pen and paper are revolutionary technologies in their respective eras.
 
In addition, the Prof made an important clarification with us. In TWC, we are not learning about the latest technologies and trends in the world. Instead, we are learning about the processes by which technology have evolved as well as how the past had provided insights on potential changes in the future.

Key Take Away Points

One interesting observation I had from the video "shift happens" was the notion that whatever we are learning now will be outdated by the time we are ready for the workforce. This just shows the pace that the world is progressing at. History has also shown that countries that resist change and adopt the closed door policy will ultimately fall. Hence, my key take away point will be that we should embrace changes in our world and not resist it.

In the discussion about inequality between nations, we came up with many strong arguments on why certain countries develop faster than others, such as geographical location, war and conquest, etc. However, what we can be sure is that there is no single definite answer as most of the time, it will be a mixture of factors that enable a certain country to develop ahead of others.


Issues for Further Discussion 

With regards to the video "Shift Happens", is it really possible for technology in the form of a super computer to one day overtake the human brain?


Personal Ratings for Session 

I find the lesson rather engaging and will give it an 8/10.