For TWC session 3, we started off our discussion with the topic of working towards sustainability. The question that was the center of the discussion was, " Economic development and environmental well being, are they at odds with each other or can they be achieved together?" This question made us reflect on the economic models of the traditional systems and its flaws/ in-sustaniable structure. Following that, we moved on to Innovation Management. We talked about the RDA translation process and the value creation pipeline, both displays the process of transferring innovative ideas into real-life applications.
It is already a know fact that the economy is energy intensive, having the bulk of the energy derived from fossil fuels (non-renewable resources). Continuing on in this Western industrial model is not sustainable, and we discuses about the alternative model. Since they is no way the rest of the world can follow this model, their economic development will definitely be energy intensive too. Hence, a new model is required. One that moves from fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources to other forms of energy (renewable). This then will be the only way to achieve a balance between economic development and environmental well-being.
However, in my opinion, this is so much easier said than done. The first problem i feel is the costs. The energy from fossil fuels are sold at a much cheaper rate as compared to other renewable energy sources. Though Green Technology is on the rise, there is no break through to meet the excess demands of the world and hence people will stick to fossil fuels. Next, governments are not enforcing the true cost of using valuable, non-renewable resources. Though steps are taken in the recent years for companies to pay for externalities such as pollution in the form of patents, the point is that pollution still takes place. I feel that governments and MNCs need to be accountable for these externalities and changing the view of externalities and making it an internality.
In the latter part of the session, we discussed about R-D-A Translation Process. In my opinion, i feel that in the 3 aspects, Research; Development and Application, different parties play a significant role. In Research, where new insights and understandings/ innovative thoughts come about, this mainly plays a role of "scientists. To be a good add-on, i feel that either the government or MNCs are the "big muscles" that provides the scientists backing to start on their research. Governments for instance, can encourage innovation through their policies and through education. Policies will provide higher incentives for MNCs/ big corporations to invest in R&D. Education, on the other hand, will nurture creative minds in the society. Next comes Development, the main part of this will be on the shoulders of governments and MNCs. They will give the funding needed to carry out these innovations and lead them to Applications. Finally comes the sale through SMEs and MNCs. this is the end of the process when the innovation is being sold to benefit everyone. In the entire process, i feel that everyone has a role to play, and all parties are interdependent to make the process a success.
A key takeaway point: as we go about our daily business, we all have a part to play to ensure a sustainable environment.
There was a brief mention about an idea/innovation that considers culture and relationships will be a successful innovation. though i roughly understand, i would have enjoyed a more in-depth explanation.
rate 8/10!
Tuesday 30 August 2011
Monday 22 August 2011
TWC Session 2
Brief Overview
There were two topics discussed today during the second session: Technology, Society and Global Dominance; and Technology and Human Development. For the first part, we talked about the different aspects of Global Dominance that a country might have and Prof discussed the ways in which dominant leaders come about. As for the second part of the session, we mainly talked about the components of human development and personally i learnt a new term: impact assessment.
Interesting Observations & Ideas
The most interesting part of the first half of the session was the discussion about the concept of rising stars, dominant leaders and falling stars. Honestly, i have never looked at key dominant leaders in this perspective, usually just the usual thoughts of "how impressed i am with this fellow". It lead me to think on a more personal level, of my individual attitude towards everything else and what i should be. I realize to succeed in life as a whole, one should adopt the attitude of a rising star / dominant with rising star attitude.
Next interesting idea that was talked about briefly was the "happiness" component that might be added to the Human Development Index(HDI) in the future. I feel that this will add on to a list of already comprehensive measures to calculate HDI. The idea was not new to me, but the ways of measuring happiness were. Examples such as rate of suicide, broken marriages and such from the Prof gave me new insight into this factor. Personally i feel that this addition to HDI will allow a better grasp of the developments of countries everywhere.
The Millennium Development Goals was a movement unheard of until today. I feel that though more often than not, the goals will not be met entirely by the end of the proposed timeline, but as countries work towards this goals, there will definitely be increase in the general welfare of the world (especially the developing countries). This movement also boils down to every individual and to do his part in helping out. This session shared this MDG movement with many from SMU who has not heard of it and I'm sure has impacted at least some of them.
Key Takeaways
Everyone who wants to succeed in life MUST adopt a rising star attitude!
Issues for Further Discussion
One issue that i wished was discussed further was the reasons as to how the countries (in the past such as China and Roman Empire) became the dominant leaders in that era? Prof started on the Pars Romana already leading in the various cultures and the fall of the empire, however i felt that a more important point was what led to their dominance.
Personal Rating
I feel that there will always be something new to learn from TWC and Prof brings up very different perspectives on issues that i had never though of.
8/10
Jeremy :)
There were two topics discussed today during the second session: Technology, Society and Global Dominance; and Technology and Human Development. For the first part, we talked about the different aspects of Global Dominance that a country might have and Prof discussed the ways in which dominant leaders come about. As for the second part of the session, we mainly talked about the components of human development and personally i learnt a new term: impact assessment.
Interesting Observations & Ideas
The most interesting part of the first half of the session was the discussion about the concept of rising stars, dominant leaders and falling stars. Honestly, i have never looked at key dominant leaders in this perspective, usually just the usual thoughts of "how impressed i am with this fellow". It lead me to think on a more personal level, of my individual attitude towards everything else and what i should be. I realize to succeed in life as a whole, one should adopt the attitude of a rising star / dominant with rising star attitude.
Next interesting idea that was talked about briefly was the "happiness" component that might be added to the Human Development Index(HDI) in the future. I feel that this will add on to a list of already comprehensive measures to calculate HDI. The idea was not new to me, but the ways of measuring happiness were. Examples such as rate of suicide, broken marriages and such from the Prof gave me new insight into this factor. Personally i feel that this addition to HDI will allow a better grasp of the developments of countries everywhere.
The Millennium Development Goals was a movement unheard of until today. I feel that though more often than not, the goals will not be met entirely by the end of the proposed timeline, but as countries work towards this goals, there will definitely be increase in the general welfare of the world (especially the developing countries). This movement also boils down to every individual and to do his part in helping out. This session shared this MDG movement with many from SMU who has not heard of it and I'm sure has impacted at least some of them.
Key Takeaways
Everyone who wants to succeed in life MUST adopt a rising star attitude!
Issues for Further Discussion
One issue that i wished was discussed further was the reasons as to how the countries (in the past such as China and Roman Empire) became the dominant leaders in that era? Prof started on the Pars Romana already leading in the various cultures and the fall of the empire, however i felt that a more important point was what led to their dominance.
Personal Rating
I feel that there will always be something new to learn from TWC and Prof brings up very different perspectives on issues that i had never though of.
8/10
Jeremy :)
Tuesday 16 August 2011
TWC Session 1
Brief Overview
The first part of the session was more of getting familiar with the course outline, expectations and requirements as well as an introduction of everyone. This was followed by a YouTube video of "Guns, Germs & Steel" by Jared Diamonds and a discussion of the inequality of fortunes between New Guineans and the European, otherwise known as "white men". Discussions about technology "revolutions" and the picture on the Future of Human Race was carried out after.
Interesting observations & Ideas
After the sessions, two observations really caught my attention.
First is the video of "Guns, Germs and Steel". During the discussion of this video, we discussed the factors that contributed to the inequality, which were inability to communicate (with many different languages and no writing innovation), lack of exposure and most importantly, geographical location. Though I agreed to the contributing factors, I was not convinced that geographical location was the most vital aspect. This led me to watch all 18parts of the video on YouTube, which took insanely long.
After watching the video/movie, I only then realized how important geological location of a particular community was and how it affects the pace of development. The geographical location provided the Europeans with higher protein crops, higher immune system against the Incas as well as the innovation of writing and guns. These were mainly what i had gathered from the video.
However, after putting more thought to it, I also realize that is how Singapore became such a developed country and of which the pace it developed. Singapore is strategically blessed as a port, in between the major trading countries, allowing the country to prosper. This, along with brilliant minds, allowed Singapore to progress at a rapid rate.
The second point that caught my eye was on the discussion on the Future of Human Race. The main topic of the discussion was the increasing obesity rate all around the world. Some factors which were contributed in class were increase in wealth; technology (traveling in vehicles vs walking); more forms of entertainment which leads to the decrease in exercises and convenient "save time" meals in such a hectic society.
Though i do agree to some extent, for all the advances the world has, obesity is a problem that can be solved by cultivating proper habits in everyones' lives. For instance, governments should create social awareness and educate the people, especially the young to curb the problem of obesity. Singapore government in the recent months have been promoting "low fat" milk powder (if i am not mistaken) to reduce the chances of obesity at a young age, as well as creating awareness of the down-sides of being obese, other than just appearances. Another example is the activists protesting for a "ban" on Ronald MacDonald's Happy Meals and their fierce marketing campaign to the young children about MacDonald. MacDonald's marketing has been very successful and hence obesity is higher. (this is just an example, not solely blaming it on Macs)
Key Takeaway
For every innovation, i feel that there will always be downsides. It is how the society reacts to them and bring them to a minimum.
Sometimes the root of a problem, such as the one in "Guns, Germs and Steel", can sometimes be an unexpected answer.
Issues for Further Discussion
I vaguely remember Prof mentioning something about "dark ages" and how first Europeans, then Middle East plunged into the era. I wonder how a progressing society can be digressed into the "dark ages"? Logically to me personally, I feel that this does not make much sense and wished that this could have been discussed further during the session.
Personal Ratings
I will rate the session about a 8/10. Going into TWC for the first session, i did not know anything about this module. The session sparked my interest in the the module as a whole and questions left pondering in my mind.
thanks!
The first part of the session was more of getting familiar with the course outline, expectations and requirements as well as an introduction of everyone. This was followed by a YouTube video of "Guns, Germs & Steel" by Jared Diamonds and a discussion of the inequality of fortunes between New Guineans and the European, otherwise known as "white men". Discussions about technology "revolutions" and the picture on the Future of Human Race was carried out after.
Interesting observations & Ideas
After the sessions, two observations really caught my attention.
First is the video of "Guns, Germs and Steel". During the discussion of this video, we discussed the factors that contributed to the inequality, which were inability to communicate (with many different languages and no writing innovation), lack of exposure and most importantly, geographical location. Though I agreed to the contributing factors, I was not convinced that geographical location was the most vital aspect. This led me to watch all 18parts of the video on YouTube, which took insanely long.
After watching the video/movie, I only then realized how important geological location of a particular community was and how it affects the pace of development. The geographical location provided the Europeans with higher protein crops, higher immune system against the Incas as well as the innovation of writing and guns. These were mainly what i had gathered from the video.
However, after putting more thought to it, I also realize that is how Singapore became such a developed country and of which the pace it developed. Singapore is strategically blessed as a port, in between the major trading countries, allowing the country to prosper. This, along with brilliant minds, allowed Singapore to progress at a rapid rate.
The second point that caught my eye was on the discussion on the Future of Human Race. The main topic of the discussion was the increasing obesity rate all around the world. Some factors which were contributed in class were increase in wealth; technology (traveling in vehicles vs walking); more forms of entertainment which leads to the decrease in exercises and convenient "save time" meals in such a hectic society.
Though i do agree to some extent, for all the advances the world has, obesity is a problem that can be solved by cultivating proper habits in everyones' lives. For instance, governments should create social awareness and educate the people, especially the young to curb the problem of obesity. Singapore government in the recent months have been promoting "low fat" milk powder (if i am not mistaken) to reduce the chances of obesity at a young age, as well as creating awareness of the down-sides of being obese, other than just appearances. Another example is the activists protesting for a "ban" on Ronald MacDonald's Happy Meals and their fierce marketing campaign to the young children about MacDonald. MacDonald's marketing has been very successful and hence obesity is higher. (this is just an example, not solely blaming it on Macs)
Key Takeaway
For every innovation, i feel that there will always be downsides. It is how the society reacts to them and bring them to a minimum.
Sometimes the root of a problem, such as the one in "Guns, Germs and Steel", can sometimes be an unexpected answer.
Issues for Further Discussion
I vaguely remember Prof mentioning something about "dark ages" and how first Europeans, then Middle East plunged into the era. I wonder how a progressing society can be digressed into the "dark ages"? Logically to me personally, I feel that this does not make much sense and wished that this could have been discussed further during the session.
Personal Ratings
I will rate the session about a 8/10. Going into TWC for the first session, i did not know anything about this module. The session sparked my interest in the the module as a whole and questions left pondering in my mind.
thanks!
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