Grand Challenges in Global Health

Grand Challenges in Global Health has chosen 43 research projects to fight diseases in the poorest countries. The great thing about it is that the projects are designed to provide accesibility to the poor from the beginning. Bill Gates continues his great work in helping the underpriviledged!

Bard's home town goes wireless

Shakespeare's town jumps on to the wi-fi stage!

Islam, Time Value of Money and Entrepreneurship

I was wondering how the islamic banking system works given that they operate on the basis of "zero interest" which implies the loss of time value of money. Investigating a bit I found here that the islamic banks operate more on the principles of venture financing. An interesting topic of research would be to investigate whether this system encourages more entrepreneurship than conventional banking systems.

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish"

That's what Steve Jobs recommends in his Commencement address to Standford students. 'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says and urges to follow your gut and intuition. Listening to one's heart and not succumbing to the opinions of others is the way forward to be able to live one's own life because often your inner voice somehow already knows what you truly want to become.

Environment : Climate

Moving on to the third parameter of the GSG scenario report, environment, I look at the Climate trends and goals. The sustainability goal was set to limit human induced temperature changes to 0.1 degree Celsius per decade till 2100. In order to achieve that a reasonable policy goal was taken to have long term equilibrium target of atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide at 450 ppmv that allowed a cumulatve emissions allowance between 1990 and 2100 in the 640-800 GtC range (5.8-7.2 GtC per annum). The 1995 concentration value stood at 360 ppmv.
In the Reference Scenario the total annual emissions was 5.94 GtC and was forecasted to grow to 10.78 GtC in 2025 and 14.53 GtC in 2050. Per capita emissions increase from 1.0 tC to 1.3 and 1.6 tC in 2025 and 2050 respectively.
The Policy Reform Scenario which assumed stricter control that the Kyoto Protocol forecasted 8.37 GtC in 2025 and 7.3 GtC in 2050. Per capita emissions increase from 1.0 tC to 1.1 in 2025 and then decreases 0.8 tC in 2050.
According to data at CDIAC the carbon dioxide concentration had increased to 378 ppmv in 2004.
The annual emissions in 2002 was at 6.98 GtC at per capita rate of 1.12 tC. Thus we are very much in the Reference status quo scenario.
I believe as every day passes we are limiting not only the margin of manouverability of our generation but also the options of the future generations by not doing all that we can on this very important issue.

Electricity Power Generation Community Networks

According to Self-sufficiency - at what price?, I would think that it is just a matter of time for improvements in the technology and build more awareness (maybe a campaign like the Centrino program in WiFi by a solar panel manufacturer or the government itself?) in order to generate volumes that will drive prices down and make community electricity power generation a possibility. We might soon hear of municipal renewable power generations in the not too distant future. Thinking of it there are many parallels between broadband and clean energy. Both are improvements in current utilities that we need and both have incumbents that are hell bent to defend their current position by killing innovation by lobbying for legislations that prevent smaller players to compete.

Opportunities due to demographic changes

Time to get used to usability identifies the need for improved accesibility design for the elders in all products. This is all the more important as most parts of the developed world gets older.

It's the Entrepreneurs, Stupid!

Rich Karlgaard of Forbes in his article It's the Entrepreneurs, Stupid! blames the lack of entrepreneurs for the woes of Europe. While I do agree that life is tough for an entrepreneur in Europe being one myself, I don't think there is a lack of entrepreneurial spirit in Europe. At least here in Catalonia the regional government has done a lot to encourage entreprenuers and that has produced at least some results. The most limiting factor in my view is the intolerance of failure and the social stigma attached to it. This risk averse nature and intolerance to losses is probably the most important factor why in Europe we don't see an entrepreneurial culture similar to USA.

Tragedy of Commons on the net?

LA Times 'wikitorial' trial halted because of a few bad eggs in the basket.
Is the tragedy of commons inevitable on the net and the blogosphere too? Would that lead to more regulation?

Should we measure happiness?

Can the Tories find true happiness? makes the point that politicians don't usually talk about the success of their policies in terms of the happiness it creates. In fact happiness being an abstract concept is not usually quantified and measured although it is one of the important objectives of our life. It does make you think: shouldn't economic models build in happiness too?

Trade offs and inequalities

The Anglo-French envy cordiale exemplifies the trade offs in the two economic model prevalent today in Europe. If a relatively similar level of quality of life engenders envy, what would the increasing inequalities between the developed and the developing world in a world where communication and information flow is almost instantaneous produce?

Economic Growth

Continuing my study of the GSG report Bending the curve, today I look at the second critical trend that they used in their model, economic growth. The refence scenario was characterised by quadrupling of the world economic output with respect to 1995 and income (GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity) growth of 150% in 2050. Also the world would be characterised by increasing inequality. The average annual growth rate of the world GDP was projected to be 2.7%, growing from $33.4 trillion in 1995 to $145 in 2050. The absolute difference in income between OECD and the developing countries was expected to increase from $17,000 per capita in 1995 to $47,000 per capita in 2050.
The policy reform scenario envisaged similar economic growth but with more equity both at the national and international level.
In 2003 the world GDP (PPP) was $51,8 trillion and the annual growth rate of the world GDP was 3%. The difference in per capita GDP (PPP) between the advanced countries and Africa was $26,110.
While economic growth is impressive inequality both at the national and international level are increasing and it is quite evident that we haven't shown a lot of political will to change the status quo. Hopefully things take a small but significant turn at the Gleneagles G8 summit.

Fab Labs as launch pad for social entrepreneurs

Recenltly I read How to make (almost) anything, the vision of Professor Neil Gershenfeld about the future of devices that manipulate atoms and molecules in the same way as the PC manipulates bits and bytes. What struck me most was his Fab labs and the tremendous potential they can have, specially for the developed economies where new inventions and innovations are desperately needed to avoid cost based competition with developing countries. I also see them as a great launching pad for social entreprenuers apart from their utilities in schools and universities.

Relative or absolute incentives?

Working With Pay Pals finds that absolute incentives encourage more productivity than relative incentives. The reasons for this are attributed to either altruism or collusion among the workers. It is still not clear which is the main reason and would be the subject of further research by the authors.
To me this makes sense from the point of view of human nature. I believe that one must measure the improvement or achievement of an individual in all sphere life based on his/her past state and not based on what others have achieved or are capable of achieving. While the achievements of others should serve as benchmarks, it should not be used to reward or penalize (explicitly or via social pressure). You can almost always find someone who is better than you are and this often creates a sense of anxiety and unfulfilment that leads to lower self confidence, self belief and consequently worse performance.

On more human economic models

The Mysterious Disappearance of James Duesenberry talks about the increasing receptiveness of economists to insight from other social sciences. It is only logical that it happens in a subject which is after all not a hard science. Putting in the rigor and methods of scientist is well and good if we don't forget that the bedrock of this subject is human activity and understanding human beings is extremely important to gain deeper insights and develop better theories. More reasons for having multidisciplinary curricula!

Flipping without Flopping

This article by Prof. Roderick Kramer made it to the top of the HBR list of "Breakthrough Ideas for 2005". It demystifies the macho image of a leader always sticking to his course, unwavering and decisive to the point of inflexibility. Of course these characteristics are very important but not so at the cost of renouncing learning. Flip-flopping here does not signify vacillating or being indecisive. It is a more long term phenomena. It means the ability to change course due to new information which changes the original belief or vision. In other words it is the ability to adapt and be flexible. Of course doing it too often and without preparing the audience could be detrimental to the image of the leader. So it is necessary to manage these changes through expectation management, good communication policy and building credibility.
Often the problem of not being able to change courses is not just what the public would think rather it is the ego of the leader. This I believe is a bigger problem than damage to the image that the leader gives.

Technology for the underpriviledged

Next Generation Communications: Next up in Internet evolution – servicing the illiterate among us, is an interesting article and provokes a lot of thoughts on a variety of issues. No doubt education is key in eradicating poverty but it is also important to makes sure that basic needs are met, especially that of hunger, habitat and access to clean water. Once that is done the poor will be more motivated to go to school regularly. I think there are a myriad of technologies available to improve the educational experience. What we need is more will on the part of the society and the governments. Having said that I believe governments in developing countries (or donor countries to them) should strive to make available wherever possible devices like the 100$ laptop and as the author rightly points out cheap mp3 players with audio lessons.

Brush up on your nanotechnology

Inventions at the nanoscale follows the evolution of inventions at the macroscale starting with brushes.
Brush up on your nanotechnology reports the creation of these brushes from carbon nanotubes at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Population Growth : How we are performing?

Today I will compare how we are faring on population growth almost 10 years on since the Global Scenario Group report, Bending the curve: Towards Global Sustainability. Some key indicators of 1995 were:
1) World population of 5.7 billion.
2) 85% in non OECD countries.
The projections for 2050 in the reference scenario were:
1) World population of 9.4 billion (over 50% growth).
2) 89% in non OECD countries.
The projections for 2050 in the policy reform scenario were taken roughly to be 95% of the reference scenario, i.e., 8.9 billion.
According to World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision:
1) By July 2005 the world population would be 6.5 billion.
2) 95% of the growth in the developing world. 81% in non OECD countries.
For 2050:
1) World population of 9.1 billion (range of 7.6 - 10.6 billion based on future fertility rate).
2) Population in developed country practically unchanged (1.2 billion), i.e, 87% non OECD.
I think its fair to conclude from the comparison that efforts have been done to move towards a more sustainable world through improvement of the lives of the poor, active family planning et cetera though there is still a lot to do.

The rich agree on some relief for the poor !

Four weeks before the Gleneagles summit G8 reaches deal for world's poor, with 100% debt write off for the poorest country backed by more fairness in trade (improving infrastructure and removing protectionism), doubling aid over the next ten years, help on AIDS treatment (universal treatment by 2010) etc...
The aid is aimed towards providing and improving infrastructure of health, education and eradicating poverty. Transparency is an absolute necessity for continued aid and debt relief to tackle corruption.
No decision on the IFF has been taken (with opposition of the US) though there are possibilities of pilots with Germany and France. It would include countries that have pledged for their aid to reach 0.7% of GNI and would work in partnership with the Bill Gates foundation and the WHO.
The sale of gold by the IMF has been reserved for the future, rather a commitment by the donor members of the IMF to provide the extra resource required has been proposed.
According to Gordon Brown in his press conference, the agenda for the Gleneagles summit would be aid, debt relief, climate change and trade justice.

Is Bush waking up to the reality of pollution?

Bush doesn't seem to be as oblivious to the problems of fossil fuels as we might think. The article, The rise, fall and rise of Brazil's biofuel, quotes him as seeing biodiesel as an interesting opportunity. Let's hope he changes his mind on climate issues sooner than later.

Agreeing on Africa, up to a point

Seems like Blair has at least achieved some of his goals. But Bush continues to hold his ground on aid and climate issues.
Agreeing on Africa, up to a point

Could pulling Wi-Fi improve discourse and create intellectual pursuits?

Could pulling Wi-Fi improve discourse and create intellectual pursuits?
I believe the underlying issues are much more complex and probably cultural. Just pulling WiFi from coffee shops is not enough to reverse the increasing trend towards less and less interaction among people. And it isn't as if spending time online means not interacting. Chat rooms, messenger and email do allow people to interact and in future it will be probably much more closer to the real thing, face to face conversations. Also, probably this phenomena is more a anglo-saxon thing. Out here in Spain you don't find a lot of cafes that have people with laptop or people not chatting animatedly.

Is a "Level Playing Field" a Good Thing?

Is a "Level Playing Field" a Good Thing? asks Jim Heskett in response to suggestions by Thomas L. Friedman that the 21st century will produce a more level playing field among the haves and have nots in his book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century.
Before answering that question, which could be yes, I think the world needs to strive to reduce the gap between the haves and the have nots first. We humans seem to care more of what others can take away from us rather than what we can give. I believe the haves of the world have a similar attitude and take the developments of some of the have nots, like China and India, as a big threat. Of course there is no denying that they could be threats but is it the most important concern for the haves? Maybe the most important concern of the haves should be maintaining their living standards and not just expecting and aiming for the linear increase in worldly comforts as has been the case till now. There will be no level field if the obsession of the haves is to maintain the distance they have with the have nots.

Big push for a new world agenda

Let's hope that Blair is successful in his Big push for a new world agenda. Although he has a formidable adversary in his close ally.

Environment Day

I hav been recently reading the trilogy of work on future scenarios by the Global Scenario Group. I intend to investigate in the following weeks how we have progressed on the critical trends that their work envisaged: population growth, economic growth, technological change, decentralization of authority, equity trends, resource depletion, pollution and global environmental change.
There is still no indication of broadbased change of values in people and institution. Of course this is very difficult to start let alone implement. However many developed countries are doing a lot though we are still a long way off in the global context. Initiatives like, Environment Day spotlights cities, which talks of events across 100 countries promoting the idea of "green cities" are encouraging. People awareness and participation are key and I believe there is a lot to do in that regard.

Changing planet revealed in atlas

The United Nations Environment Programme has launched - “One Planet Many People” Atlas to Mark World Environment Day 2005.
The pictures in the article Changing planet revealed in atlas and here speaks for themselves.

Cairo's devoted refuse collectors

Cairo's devoted refuse collectors is a good example for other countries, specially India, to emulate. As is quoted in the article they are doing a "huge service" to the city and in time it will surely evolve into a more mechanized system like in developed countries.

How can we combat climate change?

How can we combat climate change? is a collection of opinion on a very critical and important issue. While there is a certain truth in that we can't control nature we can definitely become more conscious about the effect our actions have on nature and how we can help, at least in not accelerating the inevitable changes, understand why and try and manage (or maybe if possible reverse) it better. Economic gain should not be the only measure of the society like it is in major societies these days. We need to define other criterias of improvement and popularize them.

Can Executives Job Share?

Can Executives Job Share? is an interesting case of two executives sharing a top job. I am not very optimistic about this being popularized in the industry. I think it is a great achievement for these two executives (certainly being women helps in that they are probably more empathic and have less ego issues) to be able to do what they have done. But replicating it as a commonly ocurring phenomenon will be quite difficult. Definitely it is a novel way to improve professional-personal life balance.