NU 1 to 6

Hi Sir,

These are my NU submissions for topics 1 to 6. 

NU 1: New attitude / paradigm

The Green Pill

Whether it be for image, confidence, lovelife or health, there has been a great pressure amongst us to look great and feel great, in other words, to be fit and healthy.

Well, it's easy for someone who has great self-control and takes time to exercise. What about the majority of us who are easily tempted to eat and have no time to exercise or are lazy enough to do so? We eat a lot of unhealthy food for two sinful reasons: to cope with stress and to satisfy our cravings. After eating, we go back again to feeling bad and depressed because we were not able to suppress our appetite and it brings us further away from our goal.

Because of the intense pressure, the lifestyle of the people has also changed. Many have tried and are still trying multiple diet programs such as Atkins, General Motors, and South Beach. Many have also taken different kinds of diet pills and over-the-counter weight-loss pills. There are even those who are desperate enough to buy diet pills online because a friend of a friend who took the pill lost weight. The change in lifestyle can also be evident in the increase in demand for gym and yoga classes offered – from Zumba to Bikram yoga. It can also be seen in the increase in the number of participants who join marathons and other sports.

I completely understand these sentiments because no matter how much I try doing most of those things mentioned above, after all that, it is still how and what I eat. It takes a lot of self-control not to eat unhealthy food and most of the time, I just give in because of the two sinful reasons. Since it is more difficult to reduce stress and fight the cravings, I propose the "Green Pill".  It is the means to healthy eating because it will change the way unhealthy food tastes once in our mouths. Its unpleasantly bitter taste will be triggered once it detects a certain level of sugar, salt or oil in our mouths. This will be an effective health pill because it refrains us from eating unhealthy food and at the same time, it does not push us to drastic measures such as the diet programs and diet pills. It will also help us improve our lifestyle by reconditioning our thinking. We will no longer associate unhealthy food as the answer to our stress and there will no longer be a craving for unhealthy food because we will associate it with the unpleasantly bitter taste of the pill. Lastly, this pill will be in a form of a green translucent softgel to give an image that it is healthy and safe to take.

NU 2: New spending habits / routine

Omnisaver App

Let's face it, all of us want to track our expenses. But, with the possibility of having several credit card accounts and multiple cash withdrawals, it is difficult for us to track our expenses. With our limited time, it is hard for us to list one by one all of the credit card transactions and cash withdrawals we made. Since it is hard for us to track our expenses, most of us are not aware of how much we have already spent until we receive our credit card bills or we cannot withdraw any more money from our ATMs. Our lack of awareness can also result to illegal and incorrect charges made from our accounts.

For convenience, accuracy and security, I propose the "Omnisaver App". This app will be linked to the user's mobile or other web-enabled gadgets. We cannot go an hour without checking our phones or gadgets which makes them the most appropriate source for our tracker. Participation from accredited banks is needed because the user must enroll their bank accounts to this app.  The user's credit card spending and cash withdrawals, which will already be assumed as expense, will be tracked real-time by this app. Since it is synced to the gadget, the user is notified for all of his credit card transactions and withdrawals. He can also set a monthly limit for his expenses through this app so that it will trigger him if he is about to reach his maximum monthly expense. To enforce security, this app would also track the number of views made by the user every month. If it is below a certain frequency, the banks can have an automated system which will send an SMS to the user so that he will know that he is already at risk.

NU 3: Professionalism – new work, methods, practices

www.Mommies-Know-Best.com

www.Housewives-Know-Best.com

It is a little disappointing that there is a population of mothers and housewives who were successful in their youth but now, they do not have a work or even a business to run. Although many may have chosen not to work or have a business in the earlier years, it is still a huge loss of opportunity at their side and even greater at the nation's side. There are three major reasons why women choose to become unemployed. They need to take care of their children, do daily housework or they prefer not to work at all. However, the time will eventually come when their children will grow up or they want to experience something more.

It is even more disheartening when housewives arrive at this point and would like to start to work and find success but it is almost impossible for companies to hire them because of their lack of experience and their age. I believe that they can still find success by doing what they do best – be mothers and housewives, and provide assistance and advice to new mothers and housewives. Since their comfort zone is their own homes and it is the most convenient place for them to earn, I propose an online service business called "www.Mommies-Know-Best.com" and "www.Housewives-Know-Best.com".  Mothers and housewives will provide online assistance or on-call support for new mothers and housewives. This is best for emergencies where the new mothers or housewives do not have anyone else to ask or talk to. They can also have a one-on-one or group chat to discuss issues such as money, housekeeping, depression, problems with the family, husband, or children. Given the experiences of the mothers and the housewives, they will be able to appropriately address the issue based on their own experience and from others and give a wise advice for the caller. Customers will also find the online approach as an advantage for them because they can remain anonymous. They just need to register using any username and they will be charged monthly for their membership.

This proposal will provide the mothers and housewives an opportunity to be and feel successful and worthy again and, at the same time, provide a better future for the new mothers and housewives because they can already learn from the past.

NU 4: New processes at work and study

Installation of Efficiency Widget in PCs and Laptops

Social networking sites, websites for streaming series, and online games have become so prevalent since their existence that it has already caused great inefficiency from employees and students. Instead of working or studying, the employee or the student unconsciously spends most of his time to these distractions.

Because inefficiency can never be a good thing for companies and studies, I propose an installation of the "Efficiency Widget" in every computer and laptop being used in the office or by a student. This widget will track the time spent by the employee or the student on the sites and online games. Once the time limit has been reached, the widget will trigger the computer or the laptop to block the non-work/non-school programs. For employees, the company can set the limit to the number of minutes allotted for every employee to get a break. For students, the parents can set the limit. It will be reset again on the next working day for employees and in the morning for students. This widget will be a strong reinforcement for efficiency and it will also discipline the employees and students. It will also lessen the dependency and attachment of the employees and students to the time-consuming sites and games.

NU 5: New products / product improvements

Huh? What Gum?!

Singapore is known for its gum laws, forbidding anyone from selling or consuming gum in the country. It may already be easy for those who have lived almost all of their lives in the country but what about those who transferred for work or education? For someone whose routine includes chewing a gum, it is very difficult to comply to their law. There have already been many cases wherein people were arrested because they have gums in their pockets. Even with the gum law, there is a demand for gums in Singapore, they are just prohibited.

The gum law of Singapore creates an opportunity for a special kind of gum, a water-soluble "gum". For this to be successful, the water-soluble "gum" should have the same consistency and texture as a normal gum but should be able to dissolve slowly when being chewed, similar to a candy. It would be classified as a candy but would be marketed as a gum-substitute.

NU 6: New business ideas

Water Lily of Life

Everytime I go to AGSB, I always pass by the Pasig river. The sight of the immense number of drifting water lilies never fails to amaze me. It is such a waste that that kind of volume is being ignored. Although water lilies are being used by Filipinos for making handicrafts, wouldn't it be better if they are used for more practical and beneficial causes?

My curiosity led me to different innovative uses of water lilies.

The most practical idea is a simple but delicious and healthy soup for the homeless and less fortunate. A feeding program can be tied up with the government or NGOs since it will benefit the nation – feed the hungry and maintain our river.

3 Steps for a Fast and Easy Water Lily Soup:

1. Stems of the water lilies will be boiled several times to make sure that these are already edible and to remove the bitter taste.

2. For the soup base, boil rice water with tamarind or kamias, fish sauce and onions.

3. Combine the clean, sliced water lily stems to the soup base

On the business side, the medicinal uses of water lilies can be developed and profited from. The market is still small for medicines that use water lilies. This can be the perfect opportunity to introduce a new medicine using an unconventional plant – one that has been ignored but present at all times.

Just some trivia… Did you know that water lilies (specifically Nymphaea odorata) can be used to treat diarrhea and inflamed tissues, gums, mouth and throat?  From this trivia already, various products can already be formed. Since it can treat inflamed gums, mouth and throat, a mouthwash that has water lily as its main ingredient can be developed. Water lilies will be boiled and mixed with mint flavoring. This can be sold at a cheap price to local dentists and small clinics. In partner with a pharmaceutical company, a medicine similar to Diatabs can also be developed to stop diarrhea.

Another product that can be developed is an herbal tea made out of water lily extracts. To make the herbal tea, the water lily will be dried and crushed. There is a market for herbal tea drinkers and a water lily has a natural bitter taste which can be associated with tea. It will have the same medicinal benefits as the water lily medicine but it will have a significantly lower concentration so that it can be consumed daily.

References:

• DeVries, L. (2010). Water Lily. Retrieved February 2013, from Medicinal Herb Info: http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/WaterLily.html
• Tan, R. (2001). Water Lily. Retrieved February 2013, from Naturia: http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/water_lily.htm
• Water Lily. (2013). Retrieved February 2013, from Herbs 2000: http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_water_lily.htm
• Wild Rose College. (n.d.). Water Lily. Retrieved February 2013, from Wild Rose College of Natural Healing: https://www.wrc.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=141&Itemid=536