Seaming Minds

Ending credits

2008-11-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

I can imagine that few months later after I graduate from NUS, there will be three things that I will remember from this module: the experience with the people, the exercises in professional writing and the importance of intercultural understanding.

This is the module in which I have experienced the most interactions with the lecturer and the classmates. This came out under the wonderful guidance of our lecturer, Brad. He is willing to connect with everyone in the class and even ‘match-makes’ us so that we interact with all of our classmates. Furthermore, our classmates are friendly and out-spoken. Not to forget my fun and creative group mates, Xiao Tong and Bao Qing, whom we formed a kind of rapport through all the discussions and imaginative jokes.

After doing so much writing over and over again, I become immune to the boredness of writing. Frankly speaking, I found writing to be quite boring when I first started writing the blog posts. In the end, I am not so afraid of writing anymore and went beyond. I tend to check my writing with the 7 C's whenever I write. Perhaps, that is we repeated the writing exercises over and over and over again. Practice makes perfect.

Brad has demonstrated and challenged us to see things in a different perspective. He reminded us that the different cultures in the world are just different, and that no culture is superior to another. We have to be more sensitive and be more open-minded to understand other cultures. This mindset is extremely important in Singapore, as we have people of different nationalities and different ethnicities constantly interacting with each other.

In short, I have learnt what I wanted to learn in the module. And I have to thank Brad, my group mates and all my class mates for making the learning process so fun and meaningful. Thank you everyone!

Who is Sea Ming

2008-10-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

I always wanted to study Food Science but as I missed the application deadline, I transferred in at my second year and extended a semester to satisfy all major modules. This reminded me the value of determination and perseverance. In addition, I was actively involved in NUS Buddhist Society and became the vice-president during my third year. On top of people management, event organising and marketing, I have learnt many life philosophies from Buddhism. As a bubbly person, I also never forget to have fun. All in all, I believe that balance is the key to happiness and success.

Reflecting on Research Report's Rewarding Results

2008-10-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

Actually I find it quite awkward to post the report writing experience on the blog, when the report is actually not really submitted yet. But by thinking deeper, probably this is for us to share our opinions and experience when it is still not too late. If there is something that still needs improvement, we can still make up.

Reflecting on our communication process, our thoughts were quite clear among each other. We tried to make use of our time during class as much as possible, so that we did not have to meet up outside of lessons. We assigned tasks and deadlines of each week during class. If there were any changes or announcements, we kept each other informed in time through emails and smses.

One thing that I am happy about the group is the interpersonal relationships that were formed. Xiao Tong and Baoqing not only had rational thoughts and opinions, they did not forget to have fun during work. Although sometimes we were forgetful, thanks to Xiao Tong who was more alert and the other two of us who kept on supporting, we managed to keep ourselves on track. Baoqing, on the other hand, would say things that made the environment more relaxed and not so boring.

On a personal basis, I have learnt that we have to make use of time as much as possible to save time. Planning the whole research process right at the start may even out the workload between the members and give everybody a clear idea of their job scope and deadlines. On the other hand, this report writing process did help me in my thesis writing, like the format of pie-charts.

Thanks Xiao Tong and Baoqing for being so cooperative and fun. I enjoyed being with you all.

(Half-)Packaged Tour

2008-09-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

View from top of Dong Shan aka East Mountain

Beach at the east coast of Hai Nan

Intercultural scenarios are most experienced during traveling, when you are the “outsiders” of the foreign land. It is common that with the development of the tourism industry, many locals “exploit” this opportunity by selling their souvenirs at a much higher price, or swarming to tourists to promote their merchandise.

Our family went to Hai Nan Island for vacation few days ago. When we touch down Hai Kou (the capital city of Hai Nan), we booked a 2-day packaged tour at a local tourist agency. The package was supposedto cover all of our meals, transportation and entry tickets to scenic destinations. They even claimed that we did not have to prepare any more money during the tour.

But… it turned out to be absolutely not true.

At every destination we went, we had to pay additional money in order to get the full experience. If we refuse to pay and participate, they will become slightly unfriendly to us. For example, we have to pay for the cable car in Dong Shan Ling (The East Mountain), if not you need to climb all the way up to the mountain; for the VIP guest service at the Li ethnic village, which only then you can see their houses, eat their specialty food and take pictures with them, etc.

Our family felt cheated, as the things that had been promised were not given. One of them felt so disappointed and claimed to not go back to the country again.

For me, I believe there is a different level of emphasis on honesty between us. My Malaysian family believed that honesty was very important, while the tour agency obviously did not believe so. This may be their working culture, of which even all the consumers may already have been aware of that.

There is no right or wrong though, these are just differences in perspectives. When we say “Why can they be so dishonest?”, they can also do the same by asking, “Why can they be so naïve?”

P.S.: Hai Nan is not bad! Located at the same latitude as Hawaii, she has many HOT stuffs to offer, like the dead volcanoes where you can walk on them, the hot weather, the hot springs and the hot beaches!! Our Hainanese chicken rice is their Wen Chang chicken 文昌鸡, they looked and tasted a bit similar.

Are YOU doing it?

2008-09-06T03:20:00.000-07:00

Introduction
Green campaigns are gaining momentum in NUS. Now our campus printers print double-sided print-outs by default and our air-conditioners are set to a default energy-saving temperature of 25^oC, thanks to the campaigns by NUS Campus Sustainability and NUS Students Against Violation of the Earth (SAVE).

However, are these campaigns bringing any effects on the actual daily life of the students? Do the students reduce their frequency in taking away food? Or reuse the blank side of every paper before bringing it to the recycle bin? If not much effect has been brought on, what are the obstacles in cultivating these ‘green’ habits?

To understand the views and actions of NUS students, a survey is crucial to collect the information. NUS students are focused as the subjects in this study, rather than the general public of Singapore. This is because they represent a group of people with many years of academic education and they will soon move in to society after graduation.

Problem statement
The objective of this research study is to determine how effective the green campaigns are in NUS on improving the ‘green’ habits of NUS students.

Purpose statement
The objective of this report is to identify the opportunities and challenges on establishing ‘green’ habits in NUS students, so that more effective actions can be taken by the campaign leaders.

Research question
1. Are NUS students aware of the green campaigns both in campus and outside campus?
2. Are there any changes in habits on recycling after knowing these campaigns? Why?

Sample questions
1. What are the green campaigns in NUS that you are aware of?
2. From where did you get to know these campaigns?
3. After coming in contact with these campaigns, how often do you bring your own food container when ordering for a take-away?

The Lord of Labelling - Now Showing

2008-08-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

Genre
Laboratory Drama

Runtime
6 Months

Cast
Amelie: An honours student who will stay in the lab for 10 months.
Louis: A 3rd year postgraduate and Amelie’s mentor.
Zack: A 3rd year postgraduate. Together with Louis, they are in charge of the purchasing and maintaining lab supplies.
Janice: A foreign postgraduate who comes to the lab for an 5-month exchange programme.
Dr Boss: The principal investigator of the lab.

Synopsis
Set in a professor’s laboratory in a university, the story is about one postgraduate who keeps common lab items to himself and how this act affects the progress of other lab members.

After 4 months of working in the lab, Amelie notices that Louis keeps many common-use reagents and lab consumables to himself and does not share them with anyone else even when the supplies are low. He even labels several machines with his name and disallows others to use them. Consequently, Zack and Janice’s experiment progress are suspended for 3 months, and they become unhappy with the situation.

When Amelie tries talking to him, he angrily claims that it is other lab members’ fault for not maintaining the lab supplies. Amelie is also afraid that if she tells Dr Boss directly about the problem, Louis may treat her bad revengefully in the remaining months.

How should Amelie deal with the situation to make things better for everyone?

Review
In this story, the main possible cause may be that Louis is so concerned of his own experiment progress that he ignores the needs of other lab members. He may also be excessively worried about not having enough lab supplies for his experiment. On the other hand, neither Louis nor Zack makes frequent purchases for their experiments and therefore, lab supplies often run low.

Drama Rating
3/5 stars

Learning to seam

2008-08-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

Effective communication is a need. It is like temporarily seaming the thoughts of two minds together, where both people achieve a common understanding of each other's ideas. As human beings live in packs, it is an important skill for people to achieve their basic needs of life and also what they want.

How is effective communication important to the main aspects my life?

1. Work
We need to work and to gain money in order to fulfill our basic survival needs like food, stay, transport and clothings. Convincing resumes and interviews may land you in a job you prefer. Articulate speaking and active listening allow teams to accomplish their tasks in a shorter time without too many mistakes. Achieving the right balance between active socializing and silence may lessen the effects of office politics.

2. Relationships
According to a survey of 18,000 undergraduates in 39 countries, the most important factor in happiness is good interpersonal relations--with friends, family, lovers, etc (1). If the next thing we want to achieve in our life other than fulfilling survival needs is happiness, then this is it. People gather together to have fun together and to be loved. Even if we can't express our love directly, at least avoid creating more misunderstandings between our loved ones.

3. Learning
Of course, we learn throughout our life. In schools, to be able to catch key points during classes save us time from the need to revise textbooks or watch webcasts again. Group projects is a common assignment, where we are required to work with people we don't know. No one likes to be sarcastically teased for his/her own shortcomings, but would rather welcome a warm and encouraging advice.

Needing to survive, wanting happiness, I guess I just have to continue learning. *grin*

Reference
1. John Reich and Ed Diener. The Road to Happiness. Psychology Today. Jul/Aug 94. Last reviewed 30 Aug 2004. Accessed 22 Aug 2008. http://psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=19940701-000025&page=1