TWC session 2!

Today marks the start of the second week of school for me. It wasn’t as bad as what I expected it to be because currently the workload is still quite manageable for me. But like what prof said, a country shouldn’t rest on his or her laurels and be complacent if not she will just go down on a decline from there. I think this applies to each and everyone of us students too. Today prof addressed two main issues, first Technology, Society and Global Dominance and secondly Technology and Human development. Technology society and global dominance looked at how countries gain and lose dominance while Human development examined how technology affected the development of the human race. We also had a few of our fellow classmates presenting. This was quite refreshing and I really admire their confidence and composure! Hope im able to be like them when its my turn.

Now for the key take away messages from this session.
Has technology increased the inequity in Singapore.
During a discussion on Technology and Human development, Prof stated that the inequity now in Singapore is greater than as compared to the 60s and 70s. Yes it is true that the spoils and benefits brought about by technology is not evenly distributed to the rich and poor hence resulting in the rise of inequity to a certain extent in Singapore over the past few years. However I would like to disagree with this point as I feel that the playing field in Singapore has gradually leveled over the past few years. Why do I say so. Firstly our nanny state has implemented Compulsory Education in 2003, making it compulsory for any kid who is above the age of 6 years and who has not yet attained the age of 15 years to attend school. Compulsory education ensures that kids study up to Primary 6 as this is considered the minimum period of education for all Singapore children. This results in a common level of education and knowledge amongst the younger generation and hence allowing them to start off on the same level of competency. Hence in the long run, these kids who benefited from the CE program will be able to ride on the long-term benefits of technology. For those that were not able to benefit from the Compulsory Education, the government launched an experimental workfare program that gave low-wage earners bonus pay of up to $780. They are also considering making this a permanent program. This will thin the ranks of the working poor, tilt the balance in favor of the poor and ultimately reduce the inequity in Singapore.

How do we build societies companies that are dominant leaders in their respective arenas? I am very intrigued by this question posed by Prof. What I feel about this is that in order for a society to be dominant in their respective arena, it has to be the forerunner and keeper of new technologies. For example, east European countries withheld their technology by containing the manufacturing sector to their own countries while the only task given to other countries were the supplying of raw materials and agricultural commodities. Examples of such technologies were steel steam turbines, boilers and pharmaceuticals. The ability and know hows were not passed to other countries hence enabling them to retain their dominance. For any society to remain dominant, it has to have a open perspective and a constant hunger to learn from others. It cannot rest on its laurels because if it do so, it will become secular. It has to be keen to invest in new ideas as well.

Change is inevitable and often necessary the transition process can often be difficult or painful. Some push for change while others are resistance to change. When there is change there will be a transitional period and this transitional period will certainly affect someone in one way or the other. For example the advent of technology brought about huge changes and during the transitional period, effects such as environmental degradation and technological disasters have contributed to social imbalance. The environment is suffering from pollution and non-consequential uses of its natural resources. The rate at which technology is trampling on mother earths is much higher than the natural rate which earth can repair itself. Also, Technology has made it possible to create biological and nuclear weapons, both of which possess the ability to tip the balance of humanity in a matter of seconds. The world is currently facing a threat like never before. These are painful changes to those that are at the receiving end but for the wielders of today’s most advance technologies, these are merely changes for the betterment of their profit driven organizations.

It would be nice if Prof dedicated more time to part 2 of the lesson, technology and human development. I believe that it was due to the presentations that resulted in the lack of time for the second half of the class and hence the lack of coverage. To be specific, the topic which I want to talk about would be technology and woman's development. It was quite intriguing when prof said that when you give education a man you teach one person, however when you give education to a woman you teach the whole family. This sparked my curiosity in how technology has has liberated or emancipated woman as this is not a very commonly discussed topic.

Overall, i would rate this session 8 out of 10 as it was refreshing to see some of our "guest speakers" present infront. At first when prof said that we will be having "guest speaker" i thought he was referring to real full time speakers who are professionals in that field of study. but i guess its a pleasant surprise after all.