Saturday, September 27, 2008

#4 Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

A few years back I was out shopping at Plaza Singapura with four female friends, two of whom were Muslims. At the basement, my friends stepped into a store selling female footwear, while I remained outside to finish up a half-eaten ice cream cone.

While the girls were browsing and trying on different footwear, I suddenly heard loud gasps and immediately turned to see my Muslim school mates put down the shoes in their hands abruptly. Within seconds, they were racing out of the store frantically and then disappeared along a corridor leading to what must have been the restrooms.

Bewildered and shocked by their action, I quickly approached the other girls still in the store. It happened that my Muslim school mates had unknowingly touched footware made of pigskin, and upon realisation, had ran off immediately to clean their hands.

One of the girls, a Chinese, then commented: "They are crazy. Such a huge reaction, zoomed out so fast. Really so dirty? There's no harm what."

It was a misktake she made the statement, because the Muslim girls had returned from the restroom and they overheard her comment. The next few moments were awkward for us. After a few retorts, my Muslim school mates left us on a rather unpleasant note. Upon their departure, however, the girl who made the comment continued to grumble that there was no need for them to react so strongly to what she said.

Personally, though slightly taken aback by their somewhat 'strong' reaction, I could understand the girls' behaviour. According to Muslim beliefs, pigs are considered 'unclean' and hence Muslims should not be in contact with these animals in any way. This is also the reason that Muslims do not consume pork.

As for my friend who had unintentionally offended with her words, she should learn to practise sensitivity when expressing herself in such situations. This is essential especially in multi-cultural Singapore, where it is a well-known fact that Muslims should not be in contact with swine.

Since I've hit on this topic, I would just like to elaborate further.

As a non-Muslim, I am priviledged enough to have made Muslim friends and gained invaluable insights and understanding towards their cultural norms. However, I realised that many still do not have full understanding towards their eating habits. Some believe it is acceptable so long as the food stall states 'No pork, no lard'. In actual fact, Muslims can consume only food that has been certified 'Halal'. From what I had gathered, Halal food are prepared by Muslims with the involvement of prayers.

Therefore, the next time we have Muslim accquaintances amongst us, I hope we would be sensitive and keep in mind to suggest Halal eating places.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Survey: Powernap House on Campus

Click Here to take survey

Our Final Research Topic

Have you ever experienced coming to school early in the morning for 8 am lectures, then having to wait for 6 hours for your next lecture at 4 pm? Based on this observation and problem that some students face, our group has proposed to research on having a 'Powernap House' on campus.

The 'Powernap House' is an air-conditioned lounge where students can visit between lectures/tutorials for a short nap to recharge their batteries. There will be chairs (as shown in the survey) where students can sleep on in 2 rooms one for males and one for females. We believe that by doing so, students would be able to concentrate better in classes and hence absorb the new knowledge more efficiently.

However, although we feel that this concept house may benefit students in general, we would like to limit this project to NUS at the moment. Also, to enhance the development of this concept house, our group would like to conduct a survey and research to find out if this idea is generally welcomed by NUS students, and what ideas/suggestions others could give us to improve on the concept. Lastly, we would like to obtain answers to our queries on certain issues through the survey.

Proposed Title
A Powernap House within NUS

Research Question
What are NUS student's response to a proposed Powernap House? Do they think it is feasible and benificial to them?

Hypothesis
NUS students welcome this idea of a Powernap House and it will provide students a place for rejuvenation, hence helping them concentrate better in class.

Problem Statement
The objective of this study is to determine if NUS students welcome the idea of a Powernap House and whether they are able to concentrate better in class after taking a power nap.

Audience/readers
Mr Joseph Mullnix (Deputy President, Administration), The Dean of various Faculties, NUSSU, any other student welfare societies.

Purpose statement
One of the objective of this report is to inform relavent management and welfare committes of the student's views of having a Powernap house. The second objective is to convince these targeted readers that having such a concept house enhances student's productivity in class and the final objective is to encourage the implementation of this service.

Methodology
A survey would be conducted to obtain student's opinion on this idea. We would like to obtain a target of 100 surveys. Apart from the surveys, our group would conduct research through the internet on the benefits of having power naps.


RSJ

Friday, September 5, 2008

#3 Potential Research Project Topic

I got inspired as I struggled to keep awake during lectures.

My Brainchild:


A 'Powernap House' on campus. An air-conditioned lounge to check in for quick beauty sleep in comfortable chairs as these (there is nothing unglam) :

Hence, no more sore necks or red patches on cheeks from hard desktops:

This lounge could be run by students. Males and females share individual resting rooms. To prevent heavy sleepers from hogging the chairs, charges or time restrictions could be implemented. Students are responsible for finding means to wake themselves up in time to avoid missing lectures - set the alarm, wake-up call from a friend etc. Essentially, Powernap House allows students with long hours on campus to get rest between breaks and get refreshed for more lectures to come.




Potential research topic:

NUS sudents' response to a 'Powernap House' on campus.

G
eneral research question:
What do NUS students feel about the proposed service? Do they think it is a feasible idea?

Possible Hypothesis:
NUS students welcome and need such a lounge for quick naps, especially during days with long hours on campus.


An attitudinal survey is much needed in this research topic, since the proposed service targets NUS students. From the survey results, we would be able to find out if such a service is needed and welcomed by the student body. In addition, knowing the views and concerns of the students allow the proposed idea to be refined accordingly. Suggestions derived from the survey also allow changes to be made to better facilitate students' needs.