Monday, December 8, 2008
The term has come to an end, I am not eager to know my results for my GPA is going to plunge. The bright side is, I have two more years to pull up my GPA.
I was going to pen down my thoughts on family but the thought sparked a web of inner searching. I have realised that much thought must be given to this and a deeper clarity must be achieved. Therefore i shall ponder and search till i find my answers.
Till we meet again.
Whirled Through 4:48 AM
Friday, November 7, 2008
Finally the whole academic blog bullshit is over. My entries from now on will be solely my thoughts and interests for it is no longer graded. Got a pathetic 75 marks for the work done below..Hmmm..On second thought i do not think that is too bad, i mean taking into account my insufficient posts and comments.
Till i write again..
:)
Whirled Through 8:52 PM
The Challenger space shuttle explosion.
This is an example of a situation where group communication failed. It is essential to understand group dynamics for a variety of reasons. Everyone participates in groups throughout the course of a lifetime, and these groups are often very goal-oriented.bSometimes a condition known as Groupthink can occur in groups that are extremely task-oriented and goal-driven. Groupthink is as "a mode of thinking people engage in when cohesiveness is high. Groupthink leads to poor decision making and results in a lack of creativity. Although Groupthink has been studied extensively, many people are unaware of its dynamics and the consequences that they might induce.
Groups can be beneficial when communication between departments is necessary in a business setting or when the consent of many people is required. Individuals can also benefit from group participation. Many people who work in groups are able to learn new skills, take risks, get feedback, and discover personal strengths and weaknesses.
Janis defines Groupthink as a "a quick and easy way to refer to a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action". Janis further states that "Groupthink refers to a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures". Groupthink can lead to bad judgments and decisions being made. It serves as a simple way to deal with difficult issues.
The symptoms of Groupthink are clear. The "illusion of invulnerability" happens when a group thinks that they cannot go wrong. Confidence among the members of the group is remarkably high and is reflected in the decisions that they make. A "belief in inherent morality of the group" occurs when the group thinks tremendously of their morality. The group believes that it is doing the right thing in all circumstances. "Collective rationalization" is another symptom of Groupthink. Groups who experience this believe that nothing can be wrong with their plan even if there is significant evidence to prove otherwise. Groups often pay little attention to what outsiders have to say, and this can be detrimental.
"Self-censorship" occurs when group members don't share their ideas with the rest of the group because of fear of being rejected. The "illusion of unanimity" explains that silence can often be interpreted as acceptance. All of these are symptoms of Groupthink.
One way of preventing Groupthink is to make each member of the group a "critical evaluator". Group members will attempt to find problems in group solutions by evaluating them individually.
Leaders who assign tasks to a group must be impartial and must not lead the group to believe that a certain outcome is expected. Group members will not attempt to conform with beliefs of the leadership if they are unsure of what the leader wants. Problems arise because the leader often feels that there is no centralized control within the group.
Every group should include a specific member who has the job of playing "devil's advocate." This person should seriously question much of what the group members say. The "devil's advocate" must be willing to vocally share his ideas with the rest of the group. This strategy will force the group to take a second look at every decision that is made.
Having been a part of many groups myself, I believe that the best way to avoid Groupthink is to have an understanding and awareness of it. Groups that constantly question decisions are likely to never encounter Groupthink. Groupthink problems can be recognized by identifying a set of characteristics including an illusion of invulnerability, self censorship, and others.
Janis recommends many strategies for avoiding Groupthink. Groups can assign the role of critical evaluator to each member, divide into subgroups, invite experts to sit in on meetings, and so on. Groupthink is a problem that can have destructive consequences. If group members are aware of Groupthink and are constantly checking for it the damaging effects of this condition can be avoided.
Groupthink! Have you experienced it?
:)
Whirled Through 8:24 PM
Sunday, October 5, 2008
I was 11 when i first heard of this man. I knew nothing about politics except that "PAP IS THE BEST". The reason for me to believe such comes from the fact that i was from PAP kindergarten. Can we consider that early age brainwash? Well it did not take me long to start admiring JB Jeyaretnam or affectionately known as JBJ. My father had a long chat with me, telling me the ideas of JBJ and how he is different from other politicians. I was eleven then, I had no inkling what my father was saying or why he was sharing with me the intricacies of Singapore Politics. As i grew older and started reading the papers i slowly began to understand my conversation at eleven(1997-The year JBJ cleared his bankruptcy YET AGAIN and returned into politics).
Then came the day when i spotted a group of five huddled at the corner outside Centre-Point. I would not have noticed them, had it not been for the odd crowd movement. The walkway was relatively packed with human traffic but near the group of five the crowd seemed to form a buffer zone. This action of avoidance by the public caught my attention. Peering thru the human traffic, i caught a glimpse of an elderly indian man spotting HUGE sideburns and a weathered face. There i was standing infront of JBJ, he was looking straight into my eyes with conviction. Against my friend's pleading i walked up to the man and extended my hand as a form of respect. He grasped it and gave me a firm handshake, i felt like i was in the presence of A Giant of Experience and Valour. Buying his book "The Hatchet Man Of Singapore" was money well spent. Reading rejected political ideas, i began to understand him better.
He gave up what could have been a successful career on the bench to enter the rough-and-tumble of Singapore’s political life with zeal and energy.. Right to the end he remained a fighter, a great warrior for democracy and human rights. He embodied valour and virtue in fighting for a cause he believed in passionately.
He stood proudly and bravely with the ordinary men championing their cause and on many occasions representing their interest without payment. He was there for them – all the time.
A consummate politician who had to go through so many political hurdles during the many years when he waged a long and lonely battle against the PAP to secure the space for democracy and human rights. The mighty PAP gave him one hell of a struggle. They bankrupted him with many defamation suits which they won with hefty awards crippling him financially. JBJ lost his property, he lost his legal practice and he lost his wealth. But he never lost his sanity or his fighting spirit. That was the measure of this great man.
All he had was his unbending will and a determination to stand up for what he believed in. Any lesser man would have thrown in the towel – but not JBJ!
He peddled his party organ, The Hammer, and his books on street corners to raise funds to free himself from bankruptcy. Many, out of fear, avoided him on the streets. Even the bookshops dared not stock his books for sale. It was such a pity that he had to struggle against all odds and all alone.
The great man finally cleared himself from bankruptcy in July 2007 - in spite of strenuous opposition to block him - and died as an honourable man.
When he launched his new party, the Reform Party, in July 2008, he remarked, “I’m not being dramatic but I haven’t got many more years.” Little did he know that he barely had three months of his life left!
In his concluding remarks, he urged the gathering, “Come, walk with me, let us walk together… for peace, justice, truth… fearing no one except God,”
We may not be able to walk with him but we can certainly walk in his path and keep his spirit alive.
Farewell, JBJ. May your Great soul rest in peace.
Whirled Through 12:04 PM
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Its only logical that a good religious girl, with good habits and a decent background dates a good chap. One of the significant factors in relationship formation is Similarity. We tend to be attracted to those who are similar to us,for they offer stability and predictability.
Why then do we see good girls with bad boys?
One of the main reasons for a good girl to be attracted to a bad boy is the sense of adventure she sees in him. She's always played it safe. With him, she sees another part of life that seems fun, and it's working for him--and if it works for him, she thinks it'll work for her! There are however two kinds of bad boys, there are those who like to flirt with danger, and then there are those who are just dangerous. The first type are reformable(something which good girls love to do - helping the bad boy reform) but the latter type are just plain danger.
Dissimilarity can also be attractive, particularly when the differences between the individuals are complementary. It is interesting how similiarities and differences can both be cues for attraction.
Are there any complementary differences between good girls with bad boys (vice versa), or is it just blind attraction?
What is your kind? The same type or the opposite type? :)
Whirled Through 11:02 PM
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Jonas Brothers(rising rockstars) all practice abstinence and wear purity rings to prove it. Here’s a snippet from the very lengthy article on the JoBros featured in Details Magazine:
“On a quiet Friday morning in a dressing room at Madison Square Garden, the Jonas Brothers hold out their hands to show off their purity rings. Kevin(20), Joe(18), and Nick(15) Jonas—the teen-pop trio who stand, at this very moment, on the brink of hugeness—wear the metal bands on their fingers to symbolize, as Joe puts it, ‘promises to ourselves and to God that we’ll stay pure till marriage.’
Rock star celebrities are usually associated with sex, booze and drugs. We now have a new breed of stars who not only abstain from them, but also make a public statement out of it by wearing Purity Bands! Trends are indeed changing, but what has set tongues wagging about this simple statement?
It is the challenge of our perception! While we have been induced to percieve celebrities as rich, moral-free beings here comes a good looking band of brothers who uphold chastity.
Do you not agree that the prototypes of celebrities in our cognitive schemata have been challenged, thus amplifying the decent act by the Jonas Brothers!
Am i right in saying that Figure and ground in organization principals of perception have also come into play here. Against the back drop of "moral-free" celebrities, The Jonas Brothers act of brandishing a purity ring has to be the focus.
I believe that these could be a few reasons for why this(wearing the ring)has become a hot topic in the celebrity world. Anything which challenges our social perception is bound to get people talking!
Whirled Through 12:08 AM
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Thailand Horror films have always had a greater grip of fear on us, for the matter of fact, most Asian horror films all have the same degree of familiarity and intensity of fear for us.
4bia is one such movie, but the interesting change in this production which sets it apart from other Asian Horror films is that 4bia has four different stories, 4 different directors, 4 different plots and 4 times the SHOCK! I shall not do a review of the movie and spoil the thrill for my readers who have yet to catch it. But what i shall do, is bring to attention one particular story, "Loneliness", A young woman, stuck in her apartment thanks to the cast on her leg, communicates with the outside world via cell phone and text messages. She begins receiving text messages from a stranger, who seems friendly enough, and there’s no reason for her to read between the lines when he mentions that he’s currently dwelling somewhere “cramped.” After sending the mysterious stranger her picture, things become spooky.
The use of non-verbal communication in this story astounded me. I felt it not only heightened the fear for me it also lengthened the suspense. In the clip below you will notice the communication between the girl and the ghost.The ghost will be telling her, his location via the messages. This linear form of communication takes its pinnacle when the ghost walks from the front of her flat, up the stairs and into her home. Instead of actually filming the physical ghost's journey into her home,the director very cunningly used lighting. Thats right, he literally used the lighting tubes on the ceiling. As the ghost walked up, each of the passed light tube went off depiciting the movement of the ghost. This interactive model of communication, left everyone in the cinema grounded to their seats.
Watch the clip below and start paying closer attention from 1min 35secs.
Wouldn't you agree with me that the use of lighting instead of actually showing the ghost heightened the fear level? A beautiful exploitation of Non-verbal and Linear communication by the Director.
So the next time you get a message from a unknown number asking to make friends..be more discreet~!
Whirled Through 10:08 PM