Monday, November 15, 2010

Blog entry 12 :)

For this week's lesson, we sat through the group presentations of our fellow classmates and watched them introduce their group websites. i felt that a lot of effort was put into constructing their websites and i had actually gained some insights on various topics which were different and uncommon such as how aviation has impacted the world, how technology has aided in dealing with space constraints, space debris and the list goes on.

i will be elaborating on what had impacted me the most and this would the use of technology in dealing with land constraints. i think this was good because it covers a lot of topics that we learnt throughout the entire course of tech and world change lessons. We looked at the current situation and the available tools and methods for us to tackle the existing problems of land constraints. After which, we looked at the present stage on what technologies are employed such as architecture, multiple land use, transportation and waste management. then we also delved into the future and the potentials.

One of the things that i learnt was how technology can be further developed such as using wireless technology and cloud computing. Also in the area of the usage of sea space which i felt was very interesting. In conclusion, i felt that the presentations were interesting and there was a wide range of topics with regard to technology that was elaborated and explained to the class. Overall, i think i learnt pretty much in Twc and gained much insights :)

Monday, October 25, 2010

Week 11

The eleventh session continued with the prospects of the seeds of the future as we explored on the assessment of technology and forecasting-developing a framework for what would be coming next with the use of technology. Like what Prof said in class, we have to be aware of the future and be prepared or equipped for it. This way we will be able to create a direction for a planned journey and develop ways in which such goals can be reached, while calculating and estimating what it takes for people to improve and the ways in which we can.

One interesting thing in the lesson was on the topic of futurology. Futurologists try to predict and in vent the future by looking at the possible scenerios and the possible viewpoints of the future. As such, we can postulate future problems or events that might occur for example, a farmer may be more prepared of droughts and elements that he may be susceptible to and subsequently adopt certain measures for the future. However, as what prof mentioned in class about something regarding ‘wildcard’ and indeed, similarly I feel just as the nature of our world is, that it is highly uncertain and inconsistent, we can only hope to move into something that is a better and improved assessment of the future.

And today we also looked at the potential problems or the effects that might emerge as a result of technology as Hannah presented on eTA, the ethics of technology assessment. I feel that there is a need for us to look into such areas not only because most of the technology developers technically lack of awareness with regard to the ethical issues. But I think there them being technology developers should be the ones that take into serious consideration their technologies can affect people. They are technically the ones with the power, control and influence especially in the sector of technology and they should hold a balance if not, I think it is possible to say that it might cause a bigger problem than solve any issues with the technology invented.

All in all, I think that the past lessons together with today’s lesson summed up and gave me a deeper insight into what technology is about as we talked and discussed about a variety of issues such as agricultural, information technology, past, present, adaptation and into the future. Overall I do feel that I have actually gained much insights with regard to how technology and its effect on the world and how the world has evolved from the past.
I give this lesson an 8 out of 10 because I think it gives us a fuller summarised end as we explore the effects into the future.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Week 10, New and emerging technology

Following last week’s lesson on energy and world change of the past present and future, we delved into the world of the future emerging technologies to a deeper extent this week. We explored future technologies in terms of how, what the ways technology can cause an adverse impact on life. It was an enlightening lesson of energy and world change because it shows us the wide array of technology which innovators have imagined and thought of in the past hence allowing its introduction into the market or in its developmental stage.

You see things; and you say why? I dream things that never were and I say why not?
–George Bernard Shaw
At the start of the lesson, this quote was quoted by prof and I think that it is true enough; there is a need for imagination and to dream of possible things that people can create. In the perspective of a normal person, I would say that in the past, I wouldn’t have thought that it was possible of such a thing as common now as the touch-screen and technology such as the iphone or motion-sensitive games such as Wii or Xbox 360 for example. But the truth is, technology will continue improving and will only advance to the fact that people might not understand how it can in the future but it is on shoulders of the few innovative people and entrepreneurs to surprise the world. And I do think that the above quote only shows us how what good it would be if people were to imagine and dream but realistically, such an instance would only be an optimal.

Other than that, another thing that I learnt in the lesson which I thought was very interesting was the video on catoms which are basic units of the claytonic atoms which can form structure of any size or structure. I think this is would be very useful to us as these claytonic atoms can alter things into something that we need, for example, we can change our smartphones into a laptop when we require it and change it back if there is a need to. I think this technology definitely would make life a more convenient and appropriate into the future especially. It technically revolutionises the view that I have of technology and the aspect into which technology is moving into. Furthermore, communication is also revolutionised when we have claytonic atoms because as seen in the video, we see how even when a human is not there in reality and with claytonic atoms, when you call the other party, he or she would be able to appear in front. This takes us into a whole new aspect of what it can do to communication because this makes communication over the world possible and convenient.

Subsequently, one other thing that I found was enriching was that of augmented reality. It is generally a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery. Such a technology is amazing because it only needs wireless connection for the downloading of information, a smartphone and a camera to capture the information we need. In the case of the phones as illustrated in the video shown in class, I think such a technology would be beneficial to the elderly of the society or even tourists because it helps with the identification of roads, buildings and places. This makes life easier, convenient and smarter in fact. And I do believe that such a technology should be developed because it would be beneficial to people of all ages.

Also throughout the lesson in some readings, a technical, political and institutional map of emerging technologies in numerous areas such as nanotechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence etc were elaborated as well as further emphasized in the presentations. Overall, I think the lesson was a mind-expanding and informative one because it shows us the many aspects of how technology can be developed and the areas that it might soon delve into. I’d rate it a 8 out of 10 :) In conclusion, like what prof said, the bottomline is that there is a need for imagination for new and emerging technologies for a radical transformation of mindsets and lives.

Week 10, New and emerging technology

Following last week’s lesson on energy and world change of the past present and future, we delved into the world of the future emerging technologies to a deeper extent this week. We explored future technologies in terms of how, what the ways technology can cause an adverse impact on life. It was an enlightening lesson of energy and world change because it shows us the wide array of technology which innovators have imagined and thought of in the past hence allowing its introduction into the market or in its developmental stage.

You see things; and you say why? I dream things that never were and I say why not?
–George Bernard Shaw
At the start of the lesson, this quote was quoted by prof and I think that it is true enough; there is a need for imagination and to dream of possible things that people can create. In the perspective of a normal person, I would say that in the past, I wouldn’t have thought that it was possible of such a thing as common now as the touch-screen and technology such as the iphone or motion-sensitive games such as Wii or Xbox 360 for example. But the truth is, technology will continue improving and will only advance to the fact that people might not understand how it can in the future but it is on shoulders of the few innovative people and entrepreneurs to surprise the world. And I do think that the above quote only shows us how what good it would be if people were to imagine and dream but realistically, such an instance would only be an optimal.

Other than that, another thing that I learnt in the lesson which I thought was very interesting was the video on catoms which are basic units of the claytonic atoms which can form structure of any size or structure. I think this is would be very useful to us as these claytonic atoms can alter things into something that we need, for example, we can change our smartphones into a laptop when we require it and change it back if there is a need to. I think this technology definitely would make life a more convenient and appropriate into the future especially. It technically revolutionises the view that I have of technology and the aspect into which technology is moving into. Furthermore, communication is also revolutionised when we have claytonic atoms because as seen in the video, we see how even when a human is not there in reality and with claytonic atoms, when you call the other party, he or she would be able to appear in front. This takes us into a whole new aspect of what it can do to communication because this makes communication over the world possible and convenient.

Subsequently, one other thing that I found was enriching was that of augmented reality. It is generally a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery. Such a technology is amazing because it only needs wireless connection for the downloading of information, a smartphone and a camera to capture the information we need. In the case of the phones as illustrated in the video shown in class, I think such a technology would be beneficial to the elderly of the society or even tourists because it helps with the identification of roads, buildings and places. This makes life easier, convenient and smarter in fact. And I do believe that such a technology should be developed because it would be beneficial to people of all ages.

Also throughout the lesson in some readings, a technical, political and institutional map of emerging technologies in numerous areas such as nanotechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence etc were elaborated as well as further emphasized in the presentations. Overall, I think the lesson was a mind-expanding and informative one because it shows us the many aspects of how technology can be developed and the areas that it might soon delve into. I’d rate it a 8 out of 10 :) In conclusion, like what prof said, the bottomline is that there is a need for imagination for new and emerging technologies for a radical transformation of mindsets and lives.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Energy and World Change: Past, Present, Future

In today’s lesson, we explored how and what roles that energy has played, impacted and changed the world, mainly on the past and into present since future and emerging technologies would be elaborated to a greater extent in the next lesson. In this lesson, we learnt in detail, existing problems that the world faces in terms of energy sources, several alternative sources of energy and also forms of energy that could possibly be a main source of energy in the decades to come. Energy these days can no longer come from simply the burning of fossil fuels and there is a need for people to tap onto newer technologies or research on existing technologies to open up alternative sources of energy that can support our energy-dependant world.

One of the ideas that caught my attention was what prof said, that despite the decrease in energy we have, one of the effects is that there is actually an increase in the productivity of men. Hence, this means that there is a more effective use of energy around the world. Although it is undesirable that we have a smaller source of energy, it shows that we have improved in the ways that have helped to conserve energy but also in utilising more ways to save energy as well as making sure that things are still done. In my opinion, this is actually better than finding solutions to our energy problems because there is a need for us to find ways to conserve energy and that it is proven that it is possible to conserve and yet produce the same or more amount of output. However in the long run, it is still better to look for more dependable sources of energy.

There are many exciting ways of how technology has evolved through the years in the aspect of energy. Especially in how some cars have been developed, such as the The Reva, India’s first electric car. The Reva runs on lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries and has been sold in India since 2001. I think that such technology has very progressive impacts on the society especially in the area of environmental problems. Since the Rev runs on batteries, it would not produce any toxic fumes such as carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide that would add onto the problem of global warming or acid rain. Imagine if the whole of India or in fact, the whole world uses such a technology, we would have gotten rid of one possible source that causes global warming entirely. However we must also factor into the fact that more research needs to be done to ensure the effectiveness of these cars and that these cars are able to run longer mileages.

Fact is, many countries are continuing and in research to promote and use alternative sources of energy such as USA, European Union, India, China, etc, with each investing in their plans to develop and explore ways for a breakthrough in technology. And there is a need for such research to quicken and creation of sources that not only benefit ountries financially, but in a way where they can ensure that there are no negative externalities to be suffered. Also I feel that there is a need for developing countries to improve their rate of energy use since at least 60% of the world energies is often used up by these countries, as seen in the reports.

Overall, I feel that this session was a rather informative one, as we looked into energy and how the world has changed causing changes in energy. And we learnt a lot on alternative sources of energy in which countries are walking and developing towards. I would rate this session a 8 out of 10.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Lesson 7

In continuation to last week’s lesson, we learnt another aspect of the bio-business revolution- Agribiology , environmental life sciences and industrial biology. This aspect of technology reinforced to the class another aspect of what sustainable development can be as the world takes on an ever-increasing toll of human population, by as much as 9.2 billion by the 2050. Today, I learnt about the vast impacts of the bio-business revolution and how it integrated it is, as part of our lives and economy. It is such a large market that has formed, not only in contributing to 25% of the world’s GDP or creating job employment for people but the fact that it is an integral part of human life. Ever since the 1990s, research has been carried out, allowing people now to enjoy the benefits such as healthier food options as well as job options. In a time like this, it is hard to say that we haven’t been in contact to genetically modified foods, much less that we haven’t eaten them.

One of the interesting observations that I had today was what food security is. It is a condition where all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. It is safe to say that we are food secure, we simply do not have much to fear about whether we have food on the tables for the next meal, we probably need to fear whether we have the time to sit and eat our meals. Food security however, is affected by a few factors such as physical, economic, socio-political and physiological. As illustrated in one of the presentations, climate change drastically affects food security per se. We are definitely affected by climate change in almost every aspect of our lives. But as humans, we can think of ways and technology to help curb such possible problems and one of such is using technology eg. The wema project for Africa. It is interesting to see how firms invent new technology that is resistant to droughts, avoiding imminent problems to the crops that farmers grow.

Another observation I found interesting during class was the extensiveness of genetically modified foods. I haven’t really realised how large a part that GM foods have been part of our world since the 1990s. And how we have actually eaten them at some parts of our lives even though we might not know it, take for example kiwis. And GM foods usually are better, in the sense that they may have higher vitamin content, protein, are technically more nutritious. However, more importantly is that it can solve the problem of limited food supply especially in this times where the sustainability of foods is at a risk and GM foods can help to solve the above problem to a certain extent, by ensuring that people have sources to turn to and look for.

Subsequently, prof also talked about the different colours of technology, ranging from blue to red to white to green etc, I’m sure the list goes on but it sure is a whole range and aspect of how technology is used in our society these days.

Issues I wished had been given some airtime or discussion as part of the class was that of environmental life sciences technology because it hadn’t been very much addressed in the presentations etc. I feel that waste management is pretty important especially in our context and the kind of lives we lead, there is definitely a lot to the area of waste management that we can look into and how we can help the Earth or ways in which we can.

Overall, I feel the lesson was quite interesting as we explored in what ways are we affected by environmental and other factors and then how people harness technology to turn things around to help ourselves. I’d rate it a 8 out of 10 :)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

BioBusiness Revolution: Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences

Biobusiness is commercial activity based on an understanding of life sciences and life science processes. It has and is an integral part of human life, dealing with areas such as biomedical, agri-veterinary, environmental and industrial. The presentations and slides showed the class a greater insight into the pharmaceutical industry in Singapore and developing countries and mainly, the technology in the area of healthcare. We learnt more how technology has affected the pharmaceutical industry and how it has advanced.

Few of the observations i found interesting was how healthcare systems have transformed and changed according to times. Moving on from disease-oriented healthcare systems from the past to the wellness-oriented healthcare systems presently, it has indeed faced a profound change according to how people’s mindsets and cultures have evolved over the times. As we move into a more advanced times, people are moved to expect, and then to take precautions to prevent possible health problems.

The key takeaways of the lesson is that the BioBusiness revolution will transform our life and economies- in the areas of improving our standard of living, our possible life expectancy and the overall quality of the healthcare system and ensuring that we the best standards of treatment. Hence this very fact itself transforms our life in an aspect that has a direct impact on our lives. For without life, there would not be even a need for people to transform and create more technology. Without health, all the possibilities of how technology can affect or help the human race would be essentially of no use. Also, the BioBusiness revolution indeed is a transformer of the economy because of the very effects that it can bring to the economies and how people require healthcare and biomedical sciences in any aspect of their lives they are at and even more so in the future.

Secondly, is that BioBusiness may well be our best hope in achieving sustainable development. Apart from industrial development as covered in the lesson a few weeks back, the BioBusiness revolution is an integral part of innovation management. Not only do doctors or scientists have to research on how to improve on their existing processes or methods of surgery, there is a need to continue innovating and create substantial breakthroughs in the medical fields and helping other countries with their valuable findings.

Issues that I wished had taken some airtime during class, is on the biomedical aspect of BioBusiness, it would definitely have allowed me to have a greater understanding of the BioBusiness per se.

I’d rate the lesson a 8 out of 10 because I do feel that I have gained a substantial knowledge of how technology affects the medical arena and a greater detail into what BioBusiness is essentially about.