Renewable Energy

This weeks reading consisted of multiple case studies regarding energy sources. In class tonight we discussed the innovation of renewable energy in China, India and Brazil. We highlighted "new energy" sources such as Wind, Solar, and Coal power. While wind and solar are much more efficient and cleaner than coal, coal is much less expensive. China for example has mainly employed clean coal technology, but is also one of the world leader's in solar production. Also, China has become an industry leader in producing electric and hybrid vehicles. India, on the other hand, has had very little concentration on wind power and has focused their country's attention to the future of their solar power industry. The environment in India makes for the perfect solar power industry. In Brazil, we saw that rather than wind or solar, their main sources of energy were hydroelectric power and ethanol. We also discussed the issue of deforestation. With most of these industries we saw common themes and government regulations that promoted domestic markets. While these renewable energies can be costly, they produce a lot more energy. Without question, renewable energies are the future of energy use in the world. The question is how these technologies will be developed and deployed in certain areas of the world. While companies have made lucrative businesses out of these technologies, there has been very little commercialization and controversy has arisen. Why won't China adapt cleaner energies compared to their heavy industrial coal use? Why is wind power better than solar power in some places (and vice versa)? what are the economic, social, and political benefits on new energy technologies? Renewable energy remains a question of the future and only time will tell how societies adopt different types of energy.

An Edible History of Humanity - Tom Standage

In class, November 22, we discussed Tom Standage’s report, An Edible History of Humanity. In the reading, Standage introduces the invention of ammonia on the industrial scale and research on crossbreeding of crops to help increase the crop yield. These innovations significantly helped reduce world problems such as starvation and malnutrition, which serve the first Millennium Developmental Goal. With a continuation of research and development in the agricultural industry, we could alleviate greater numbers of people starving and malnutrition. Some of the questions posed in class pertained to how India has adopted the new agricultural method years ago but why are so many people in India starving of hunger? Also how the heavy usage of fertilizers is contaminating rivers and streams with chemicals, how can people fix this problem?

Health Technology Access and Diffusion

This week’s readings focused on access to health technologies in developing countries and the hierarchies involved in the adoption of these new products. Architecture, availability, affordability and adoption are four determinants of access that must work simultaneously to ensure success. Several “findings” were mentioned in the reading, a few of which are the following: The success of a product depends on its support by a product champion that constructs and manages the architecture of success. Product champions must also create expert consensus about health technologies. Producers in general should greatly consider users’ adoption of technologies, focus on being cost effective and employ supply side strategies to increase availability. Overall, for a technology to be successfully implemented and sustained, solid infrastructure must be present, the technology must be affordable and easily accessible, and “consumers must have the desire and knowledge to use this technology”. The latter portion of our reading looked into the individuals and organizations that play a role in influencing the adoption or refusal of new technologies. The input of hospitals, manufacturers, doctors, public regulators and private parties make sure that a product put on the market is well received.

Design Challenge: Latrines

Proper containment of waste is one of the problems plaguing developed countries. The challenge was to make model-scale latrines.

Economist Reading

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 r     Tuesday's reading from The Economist  discussed how cellular devices are facilitating the lives of third world citizens. Access to cell phones allows these citizens to voice their opinions on human rights, learn more about political candidates, gain vital information for profitable business ventures, and  provide their families with financial capital through cellular banking. The reading also discussed how micro-financing has played a large part in the cellular boom and that small scale businesses have rapidly expanded due to increased access to cell phones. One of the most alarming statistics for this article was that 10 phone calls for every one-hundred people in developing nations adds an additional .8 percent GDP per citizen. The article also highlighted the success of Chinese and Indian telecommunication models through the newly applied strategies of tower sharing, off-shoring, and dynamic transferring. The article concluded with a forecast predicting that the future of cell phone technology in developing nations lies in internet accessibly: an area that would further alleviate citizens from their financial shortcomings.  

Business vs Aid

Over the semester, we have had several conversations about the role of technology in economic development. Access to technology, appropriate or more advanced seems to be key to the economic take-off that developing countries are yearning for. The aid community is promoting the adoption of technologies but questions remain about the sustainability of these initiatives. Would private companies be a viable alternative then? Can big multinational companies contribute to the adoption of technology and thus help the poor? We are not talking about philanthropy here, we are not talking about short term projects. These companies are seeking profits at the bottom of the pyramid, viewing the poor as potential customers. The class was quite skeptical. Here is another reason for skepticism: these companies have shown in the West that profits take priority over human rights and local economic growth. Over the last decades, the frequent lawsuits against Walmart remind us of the essential role of regulatory checks and balances. Developing countries not only lack these legal boundaries, but they are also desperate for economic growth, a disastrous combination!

How can we promote technological innovation?

In class we began with a quiz on the Hojo Colliery and innovation readings. Then Professor Dressaire gave a lecture on National Innovation Systems. We discussed recent approaches towards innovation and how it is working in countries such as China, Thailand, and even developed countries like the U.S. After that we took some time individually to formulate a paragraph on how to improve national innovation systems in Russia.

Following the writing session, we had a discussion on academic writing and how it is different from high school to college. We also talked more about transitioning academically into college. Lastly, we read an article on new business models from The Economist.