Session 6

For Session 6, the topic of discussion was the Biobusiness Revolution: Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences (Past, Present and Future). Dr. Shahi posted some facts of Biobusiness to us which included how “Biobusiness already constitutes over 25% of global GDP and employs some 40% of the world's labour force”. However it is also inferred from these figures that a large number of this labour force draw relatively low wages, such as those engaged in “subsistence level farming in developing countries”. This would include 60% and 70% of China and India respectively.

The problem with the medical industry and other businesses for that matter is the obsession with the bottom line. Companies simple cannot solely focus on social responsibility and ignore profits. The swine flu mortality rate was 50%¹. The first case of swine flu was reported in Mexico in April 2009 and on October 2009, 7 months later, a vaccine was developed. This of course affected many developed countries and as such the economic benefits for developing a vaccine would be high. There was also an urgency to develop a vaccine. However contrast this to the problem of malaria in Africa and we see that although its mortality rate is between 85-90%², there is not as much urgency involved in the research and distribution of the treatments and this problem continues to linger. I could be wrong but I would feel that the reason behind this would be the lower economic benefits that a company might have by investing in this field.

With the completion of the Human Genome Project as presented by Danica, the treatment of diseases and other forms of ailments is now viewed from a different perspective. Instead of curing the disease, it would be possible to stop the disease from arising altogether just by altering one's DNA. This of course brings about the age old debate on whether it is right for man to play god. From my point of view, if by inserting or removing a certain gene would eradicate the possibility of a person contracting a particular disease, then this course of research should be pursued. However, if the purpose of such research would be for aesthetic reasons or an “enhancement of the human condition”, I would be against it. The issue that I am concerned about would be the eventual “mixing” of these genes. Assuming that such treatments were to exist, a wide array of people would have their DNA altered with a different gene altered for each specific ailment and yes, this might be a very effective cure for certain diseases. However, the thought that I find troubling would be the genetic make up of future generations and the implications that might arise as a result. There might not be any side effects when such treatments are introduced to a patient at first. But the problem lies in the future generations and if implications really do arise, a large number of people would be affected.

I felt the topic on digitalized medical records could have been discussed further.

Personal Rating: 8/10

1http://www.howtodothings.com/health-fitness/how-to-cure-swine-flu

2http://www.babyboomercaretaker.com/funeral/mortality-rate/What-Is-The-Current-Mortality-Rate-Of-Malaria.html

Session 5

From session 5 onwards, we would be going into more in-depth discussions on specific issues that have brought about world change. The topic that we have covered this week was Information and Communication Technologies and how it has affected the world. Certain areas that we looked at included the mass media, internet and interactive telecommunication.

Our class started off with a viewing of a clip which focused on the possibilities of interactive telecommunications at present. Among other things, the clip presented the idea of being able to hold up a document to a web-cam or other related device and it would then be able to recognize the document and take a scan. However I feel that this might not be very practical in future context. Even today, most companies are moving towards the digitalizing of their files, doing away with additional paper work and the bulk that comes along with it. As such this might not be such a feasible implementation.

The one that I felt was very relevant was “Cloud Computing”. From the point of view of a business, this would mean having to do away with mainframe servers and moving towards internet based servers. Therefore, corporate executives would be able to excess information and run related software where ever they might be as long as they have an internet access. In the recent years, we have seen the sales of storage devices that have been steadily growing larger in capacity, from gigabytes to terabytes. However, I feel that as the concept of “Cloud Computing” starts to trickle down to the mainstream consumers, we would gradually see the idea of “cloud-based” storage spaces start to grow increasingly popular and eventually the fall in demand for devices such as hard drives altogether.

One point I felt could have been discussed more in class was how advances in ICT might help the people in developing countries.

Personal Rating: 8/10

Session 4

The two topics, Drivers of World Change and Change Management and Change Leadership, were covered in the 4^th Session. Some of the various Drivers of World Change were covered in part 1 and these included factors such as the environment, competition, scientific discovery and technological innovation just to name a few. We also discussed how the plague in the Dark Ages led to Europe being more open to new ideas. In part 2, Change Management and Change Leadership, several models such as the Pessimism Time Curve and Geoffrey Moore's “Crossing the Chasm” were introduced to us.

The “Crossing the Chasm” model I felt was particularly interesting. Geoffrey Moore describes in his model that there is a chasm between the enthusiasts and the mainstream consumers for high tech products. Whenever such products are released in the market, the enthusiasts would be the first to purchase the product which is a relatively small number compared to the mainstream consumers. The manufacturers would then have to come up with ways to market or modify the product such that it would “cross the chasm” and attract the mainstream consumers. I feel the iPad is a good example here. The concept of a Tablet PC has been around for years but it has failed to attract the mainstream consumers due to its practicality. However Apple took this concept, made it more user-friendly and practical for the mainstream consumers.

Based on the presentation of consumer expectations as a driver of world change, I agree that, with forums and other related websites, consumers now would be able to make a more informed decision. They would also be able to make convenient purchases on the internet and products would be delivered right to their doorstep. However, with this in mind, what would the society and the world be like in 20-30 years time? In embracing changes and improvements in technology, is there a line that should be drawn to hinder society's increasing addiction to technology? These are a few questions that I thought could be discussed further in class. Also, the movie “Surrogates” provides us with an interesting insight as to how society would be like in the future if there were an over reliance on technology.

Here's a link to the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwkkB2aDQM4

Personal Rating: 7/10