The Tipping Point

- Aleksi

Book Read By Edward

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

The book is a mixture of tales, psychology, economics, marketing, epidemiology and more. The principle focus of The Tipping Point is how small changes, can bring about large effects. Instances such as marketing of Hush Puppies shoes, the broken windows theory, Paul Reveres Midnight ride, Word of mouth, Mass hysteria and more. 

Gladwell actually internments the spirit of human acquaintances and the human need to feel part of something. The book is really intended for anyone interested in looking at what moves people and how a small event can result in large response. From my perspective, the argument presented in the book proceeds with a very reasonably and was sufficiently developed and supported by the factual instances. 

 The fundamental argument presented in the books is: According to Gladwell, the tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold and subsequently spreads with incredible speed through society. Many social trends and phenomena follow the same elementary outline as epidemics; that they follow the same identical pattern because they are caused and sustained in much the same way; that the difference between trends that get past the "tipping point" and those that do not may often be one or more very small factors; and that if one wants to create any sort of social trend (whether that be buying a product or committing fewer crimes), it is important to attend to such very small factors.

Through his study, Gladwell found that epidemics have three characteristics in common. First, the thing that spreads the epidemic is contagious. In the case of a product or an idea, Gladwell refers to its sticky quality or ability to lodge in the cultural mindset. Second, small changes in the environment result in large effects on the spread of the epidemic. Third, at some identifiable point the trend tips and causes a dramatic change - an epidemic. Factors that lead to this tipping include key people or promoters and the contexts in which they operate, among other things.

In Gladwell's terminology, stickiness is a characteristic of ideas that are memorable, catchy, and inescapably applicable to a particular situation. In technology education there is no sticky phrase. But from my perspective, I think Gladwell is an insightful observer whose understandings here are original, thought-provoking, and even worthwhile.  

Edward

Visit at Paroc on the 28th of November

Me, Aleksi and Edward went to Parainen to visit Paroc facilities and hear about their business and products. Our Spanish team members were not able to come, so we went just the three of us. We were warmly welcomed and the days started off with a presentation of the company. Our innovation task was not yet revealed to us but we received a lot of information on how Paroc operates and what kind of products they produce. This will certainly help us to think about solutions for their current challenges.

After the presentation and the breakfast, we went for a guided tour inside the factory where stone wool is manufactured.

Paroc is able to reuse part of the waste generated in the process. The fluffy material which is produced in the beginning of the process that we saw surrounding the machines on the floor are partly reused and the rest goes to landfill. Apparently, this is not a big amount of waste because it weighs so little. On the other hand, the extra side edges cut off from compressed stone wool that are generated in the cutting process are entirely recycled. They are shredded and reintroduced to the process. The same thing is done to material that is somehow damaged in the process and cannot be sold as end product. This minimizes the waste treatment and material costs.

However, biggest challenges that Paroc is facing at the moment are related to the treatment of waste. Landfilling costs are becoming higher in all countries where Paroc is operating because of tightening environmental legislation. Even more expensive than landfilling fees are the costs generated from toxic waste that has to be sent to special waste treatments plants. One of Paroc's goals is to create zero-waste plants and they already have one in Sweden. The innovation assignment was not revealed to us yet but I assume it has to do with reusing waste generated in the production, maybe about inventing how to use the dust created in the process because for now, Paroc doesn't have a use for it. The task could also be about optimizing a reverse logistics system for collecting the construction waste from customers because Paroc considers it to be a great competitive advantage, when it can organize a collection of such waste for its customers. In any case, when the innovation camp starts tomorrow, we will probably find out what our task is!









Elina

Outliers - the story of success. Amaia

The article I have chosen to write about is from the New York Times written by Andrew Revkin. This article sums up the problems the United States is going to face unless a solution is proposed to help global warming. This article states that a federal draft report is being written, and once finalized, it will become an official document of the United States government. The article sums up the problems that we are facing/going to face involving agriculture and human health. Global warming is impacting everyone in this world, whether they realize it or not. The strong points on agriculture are as follows: “The rising incidence of weather extremes will have increasingly negative impacts on crop and livestock productivity.” This sums up that the weather patterns due to global warming are hurting our land and food security. Changes in the climate will “affect food processing, storage, transportation, and retailing” as said by the author. As for human health, “Climate change threatens human health and well-being in many ways, including weather events, wildfires, diseases transmitted by insects, food and water, and threats to mental health.” It was mentioned that the U.S. is already undergoing some of these problems in today’s society. 

This is relevant to what we have discussed in class based on the 11th Hour Video. The video made strong points about the effects global warming is/has made on the world already. If a solution isn’t prepared then the world, as we know it, will sooner or later come to an end.

blink book essay javier

Thin Slicing is a term used by psychologist and philosophers, but what does it mean? According to Malcolm Gladwell, “It’s the tendency that we have as human beings to reach very rapid, very profound and sophisticated conclusions based on very thin slices of experiences.” Blink is a book by Malcolm Gladwell explaining this theory of thin-slicing. In the book Gladwell tells us many different stories that have to do with thin-slicing. The book has examples of successful thin-slicing, examples showing how it works and what it accomplishes. It also has stories teaching us, the reader of thin-slicing and how it isn’t all that great and completely accurate as well. Some stories that can teach us lessons, which we can learn from not to make the same mistakes over and over. This book is about the unconscious mind and how we don’t know it but it affects us at every moment whether we notice or not. How the unconscious mind picks up patterns from small amount of information or experiences and we make snap judgments based on those patterns. Which most of the time we don’t notice, unless of course you have trained your mind to recognize these patterns, which there’s an example of in the book. All this thin-slicing has its pros and cons I believe Gladwell’s theory is correct; all his examples are backed up by his theory of thin-slicing. He gives evidence to how it works both positively and negatively. The theory of thin-slicing is that we have the ability as human beings to instantly identify specific patterns from within small amounts of experience or information, and we make instant or snap judgments based upon those patterns. What does this mean; it means that our unconscious holds on to information from previous events. From that information our unconscious recognizes certain patterns from the past and catches similarities in current experiences or events and reacts. This reaction although it may sound a bit complicated happens in mere seconds. 

Inno58h 3D printer workshop

Work done on the last workshop about the 3D printers:


3D Printer -> Consumer ->Service HUBs
                                       -> Sales reps./Agents
                                       -> Universities
                                       -> Diy/Fairs/Shows
                                       ->Publicity chandels -> Internet
                                                                        ->Print
                                       -> Elderly people/young
                 -> Business   -> Demos in companies
                                      -> Diversification of production
                                      -> Road shows/ Trade fairs
                                      -> Advertising/Industrial publications


Advantages: Cost effective



Amaia Gonalez.

IMPORTANT NOTICE!! TEAM MEMBERS TAKING PART IN THE VISIT IN PAROC ON THE 28TH OF NOVEMBER

The names of the team members taking part in the visit:

Aleksi LEINO (aleksi.m.leino@utu.fi)
Elina OJALA (ameoja@utu.fi)
Edward OFORI (edward.ofori@abo.fi)

Working on the blog on the 26th of November

We met with Aleksi, Edward and me on Wednesday to put content in our blog and modify its structure. Unfortunately, the Spaniards couldn't come all the way from Salo to meet with us so they posted their own content later on. We tried to divide the tasks so that the topics that are not covered at the moment, should have more content because it seems that circular economy is dealt with in many posts whereas some topics are not discussed at all.

   

Boys working hard on our blog














Since none of us has ever blogged before we had technical difficulties in making the blog. Luckily, we ran into on IT expert who helped us formulate the structure of the blog so that it is more reader friendly.

IT support guy :)












Elina, Aleksi and Edward

Preparing for the meeting in Paroc on the 28th of November

Me and Aleksi assume that all the Finns know what Paroc Oy manufactures or at least have heard of the company and seen its products wrapped in white and red packages in construction sites. For our international team members, Paroc's web site is a good starting point to get to know the company:

http://www.paroc.fi/

Here is the route planned for Friday:
http://reittiopas.turku.fi/#mapcenter%28kkj3*3240716*6706458%29from%28poi*Tuomiokirkko%2C%20Turku%29to%28address*Skr%C3%A4bb%C3%B6lentie%2014%2C%20Parainen%29timetype%28arrival%29time%280930%29date%2820141128%29mapzoom%281%29


Aleksi, Edward & Elina

Spreading Ideas

How to spread ideas

http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_sliced_bread

Javier tabernilla

Circular Economy

Circular economy

·        Increase recycling/re-use of municipal waste to 70% in 2030;

·        Increase packaging waste recycling/re-use to 80% in 2030 with material-specific targets set to gradually increase between 2020 and 2030 (to reach 90 % for paper by 2025 and 60% for plastics, 80% for wood, 90% of ferrous metal, aluminium and glass by the end of 2030);

·        Phase out landfilling by 2025 for recyclable (including plastics, paper, metals, glass and bio-waste) waste in non-hazardous waste landfills – corresponding to a maximum landfilling rate of 25%;

·        Reduce food waste generation by 30% by 2025;

·        Introduce an early warning system to anticipate and avoid possible compliance difficulties;

·        Ensure full traceability of hazardous waste;

·        Increase the cost-effectiveness of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes by defining minimum conditions;

·        Simplify the reporting obligations and lighten obligations affecting SMEs;

·        Harmonise and streamline the calculation of the targets and improve the reliability of key statistics;

·        Improve the overall coherence by aligning definitions and removing obsolete legal requirements

Javier tabernilla

Inno58h

Towards resource wisdom

Investing in regional resource efficiency increases ecological sustainability, but the benefits also manifest themselves in improved financial and social well-being. Energy efficiency increases, there are lower emissions, the local economy is enhanced and self-sufficiency increases.

 

The decline in natural resources, the growing population and climate change are all factors which are increasingly forcing societies around the world to become ever more efficient and to continue to reduce their emissions. Recycling-based economies, energy efficiency and cooperation between companies to save raw materials become everyday activities. Wiser use of resources is becoming an asset in international competition.

So far, Finland has performed poorly in resource efficiency reviews carried out by the European Environment Agency: compared to other countries, Finland wastes a lot of material. We would need the resources of almost three and a half planet Earths to sustain the Finnish lifestyle. Motiva estimates that just by using raw material more sensibly, companies in Finland could save up to €7 billion.

Resource wisdom must be promoted in Finland, and the flow of resources must be reviewed regionally. In 2013, Sitra will launch this work, and will kick off the "Resource-wise region" project module in Jyväskylä. The goal of the module is to develop a calculation and operating model for regional resource efficiency, which can be applied and replicated in other Finnish cities. The local perspective enables real action.  

The purpose of the project is to promote wiser use of resources and reduce environmental harm, in cooperation with local residents, companies and organisations. In practice, this translates to residents living an ecologically sustainable life, and being able to develop resource-wise operating methods in their residential municipality. Companies will find sustainable success and will become more competitive through synergy between companies. Energy efficiency increases, there are lower emissions, the local economy is enhanced and self-sufficiency increases.

The resource wisdom project will perform several practical tests and pilots. Example themes include renewable local energy, energy saving, staying at the same location through virtual solutions, development of public and pedestrian/cycle traffic, local food, reducing the amount of food waste, local fertilisers, eco-efficiency improvement in public procurement, improving space efficiency, local tourism, and reducing and re-using waste between companies.

Investing in regional resource efficiency increases ecological sustainability, but the benefits also manifest themselves in improved financial and social well-being.


Javier tabernilla

The second Tool is Lotus Bloosom

Lotus Blossom When to use it Use it when you want to develop creative ideas. Use it when you are having problems creating more ideas. Use it when you are trapped by a single mode of thinking. Use it to create seeds of ideas that can trigger further good ideas. Quick X  Long Logical X  Psychological Individual X  Group How to use it Describe the problem Start with a description of the problem you are facing. Write it on a card or Post-it Note and put in in the middle of a large working area. If you are working in a group, this works well with a vertical work area, such as a wall or large pin-board. You can also use the floor or a large table top. Surround it with ideas Use other tools for creating ideas to create a set of ideas on how to solve the problem. These should be as different from one another as possible. Write each idea on a card or Post-it Note of its own and place it around the problem description. Eight ideas fit neatly, as below. You can also do six, in a hexagonal shape. In placing the ideas around the original problem, you can put them down in a 'knight's pattern'. This helps mix up the ideas and generate more different thinking. When you are working in a group of people, engage everyone. Perhaps they could each create a different idea. Idea 6 Idea 1 Idea 4 Idea 3 Problem Description Idea 7 Idea 8 Idea 5 Idea 2 . Unfold the lotus blossom Make a copy of each of the idea cards and place them radially further out from the cluster (the stamen and pistil of the flower) that you created in the previous steps. Now repeat the previous step of the process, surrounding each of the copied idea cards with secondary ideas, using only the copied idea cards as stimuli. This should result in ideas which are further removed from the original problem. This can lead to many ideas, as in the diagram below. You do not have to fill in every space - if ideas run out, you can move on. Also, if an idea seems to be leading somewhere, you can repeat the whole process ad infinitum until you get somewhere or nowhere. When you are working in a group of people, you can rotate them around the lotus. Thus a person puts one secondary idea against a copied idea and then moves on to the next copied idea. This creates a dance around the ideas, moving the thinking on at each step. Idea 6.6 Idea 6.1 Idea 6.4 Idea 6.3 Idea 6 Idea 6.7 Idea 6.8 Idea 6.5 Idea 6.2 Idea 1.6 Idea 1.1 Idea 1.4 Idea 1.3 Idea 1 Idea 1.7 Idea 1.8 Idea 1.5 Idea 1.2 Idea 4.6 Idea 4.1 Idea 4.4 Idea 4.3 Idea 4 Idea 4.7 Idea 4.8 Idea 4.5 Idea 4.2 Idea 3.6 Idea 3.1 Idea 3.4 Idea 3.3 Idea 3 Idea 3.7 Idea 3.8 Idea 3.5 Idea 3.2 Idea 6 Idea 1 Idea 4 Idea 3 Prob- lem Idea 7 Idea 8 Idea 5 Idea 2 Idea 7.6 Idea 7.1 Idea 7.4 Idea 7.3 Idea 7 Idea 7.7 Idea 7.8 Idea 7.5 Idea 7.2 Idea 8.6 Idea 8.1 Idea 8.4 Idea 8.3 Idea 8 Idea 8.7 Idea 8.8 Idea 8.5 Idea 8.2 Idea 5.6 Idea 5.1 Idea 5.4 Idea 5.3 Idea 5 Idea 5.7 Idea 5.8 Idea 5.5 Idea 5.2 Idea 2.6 Idea 2.1 Idea 2.4 Idea 2.3 Idea 2 Idea 2.7 Idea 2.8 Idea 2.5 Idea 2.2 Seek practical answers to the problem Look around the many ideas you now have and seek to link some of these back to the original problem, using them as stimuli for more practical solutions that may be implemented. Example I have a problem of how to keep water from seeping around the edge of the bath. I surround this with ideas such as 'Silicon seal' and 'Move the bath'. These seem a bit tame, so I unfold the lotus by surrounding these further. For 'silicon seal', I come up with 'greasy fish', 'squeezed blubber' and 'rubber coat'. Bringing 'rubber coat' back to the original problem, I coat both the bath and the wall with a silicon layer, such that simply pushing the bath up against the wall forms an automatic seal. How it works The Lotus Blossom works to stretch thinking away from the rut that can surround the original problem by using ideas as triggers for further thinking, thus asking you to move further way from the problem than you might otherwise go.

Edward

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY: FROM CONSUMER TO USER

Edward

Researching Circular Economy!

Aleksi, Edward & Elina

Circular Economy

This is a clear overview of circular economy and I thought of sharing with those who have no idea about what it is... Enjoy.....

What is a circular economy?

Since the industrial revolution, waste has constantly grown. This is because our economies have used a “take-make-consume and dispose” pattern of growth – a linear model which assumes that resources are abundant, available and cheap to dispose of.

What we need is a more circular economy.  This means re-using, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products. What used to be regarded as ‘waste’ can be turned into a resource. All resources need to be managed more efficiently throughout their life cycle.

Using resources more efficiently will also bring new growth and job opportunities. Better eco-design, waste prevention and reuse can bring net savings for EU businesses of up to EUR 600 billion, while also reducing total annual greenhouse gas emissions. Additional measures to increase resource productivity by 30% by 2030 could boost GDP by nearly 1%, while creating 2 million additional jobs.

Moving towards a circular economy is at the heart of the resource efficiency agenda established under the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The main ideas on how to do more with less are being taken further in the EU's Environment Action Programme to 2020.

The European Commission's 'Generation Awake' campaign on resource-efficiency  focuses on what each one of us can do in our daily life to save water, energy and other natural resources, and turn waste into a resource.

Circular economy, saving resources and creating jobs are the main themes of Green Week 2014, the biggest annual conference on European environment policy.

Reference: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/

Edward

Zero-waste lifestyle

I came across this interesting article about a girl who hasn't made any waste for 2 years. This sounds incredible!

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/11/23/she-hasnt-made-any-trash-in-2-years-this-is-what-her-life-is-like/

Elina

Workshop on 3D Printing on the 14th of November

Finally, we met our Spanish colleagues for the first time on Friday on the 14th of November. The working day started with the presentation of 3D Tech Oy's CEO Tomi Kalpio. Then, we were divided into groups to work with the help of innovation tools that we had been looked up for the class. First tool we used was some kind of word association tool. Working with that tool was pretty easy: we chose the first word that someone suggested and everyone said out loud words that were associated with this word and those words were written down. Our word was "food" and we came up with a long list of words. However, this list of words didn't lead to any practical innovations and we ran out of time. We realized that some other working method could work better than this random word association method.

For the next exercise, we decided to combine our efforts and work together with the other two groups. I presented the next tool which was Lotus Blossom Technique. We chose 3D printing as the focus and then all groups gave 8 industries which 3D Printing could be related to. Then the industries were divided between the goups. We took clothes and playgrounds. The plan was to invent 8 ideas for each 8 industries.

Some circles were left empty so the groups decided to help each other to fill in the blanks with new ideas. I think that the Lotus Blossom Technique was a very good method for working on this case because we were able to come up with so many ideas on how 3D printing could be used in different industries.

After the exercises, we decided to continue working together with other groups to brainstorm on the challenge of creating a 3D printing trend.

 Basically, what we suggested was different ways of increasing the awareness on 3D printing in order to enhance its attractiveness among both businesses and consumers. For the business market segment, the main emphasis ws on sales representatives going to companies to present the benefits of 3D printing for industries and organizing seminars for companies. Similarly, consumers could be targeted with different awareness raising campaigns, such as presentation in fairs where consumers can try out 3D printing for free. For the consumer market, the main emphasis would be on offering 3D printing as a service instead of selling the printers to households.

Elina 

Basics of 3D Printing

Information on 3D printing

Our task was to find information on 3D printing before the next class. I have to say that the concept of 3D printing was not very familiar to me so searched Wikipedia and the following site to see what it is all about:


http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/

Elina

Construction waste

CONSTRUCTION WASTE

I looked up information about construction waste which was annonced to be the industry our team would be concentrating on in our case project. Here's few denitions and links to pages where we can find more useful information on this field:

"Responsible management of waste is an essential aspect of sustainable building. In this context, managing waste means eliminating waste where possible; minimizing waste where feasible; and reusing materials which might otherwise become waste. Solid waste management practices have identified the reduction, recycling, and reuse of wastes as essential for sustainable management of resources."

Whole Building Design Guide (US) http://www.wbdg.org/resources/cwmgmt.php

"Construction and demolition waste has been identified as a priority waste stream by the European Union. There is a high potential for recycling and re-use of CDW, since some of its components have a high resource value. In particular, there is a re-use market for aggregates derived from CDW waste in roads, drainage and other construction projects. In addition, technology for the separation and recovery of construction and demolition waste is well established, readily accessible and in general inexpensive."

European Commission http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/construction_demolition.htm

Elina