Smart vs. Useful Academic

Reading the news articles recently, sometimes make me wonder why even though we are armed with good education, we still do not think critically, become savvy, intelligence and flexible...

The promise of smart is to have a way to talk about quality in a sea of quantity. But the problem is that it becomes the competitive of the university, aiming not for the cultivation of intelligence but for individual success in the academic market.

It was the taste of those who talked and thought in similar ways. The danger of smart is that it confirms the moves and mannerisms of a new and perhaps equally closed network.

"Smart," is a designation of mental ability, seems a natural term to distinguish the pursuits of higher education. I would prefer the things that I read to be useful and relevant, and my institution to be fair. However, suggested cooperative values are not rewarded in a field that needs being smart.

Millions are spent every year on sustaining the scholarship program – many of these scholars after finishing their academic tenure are integrated into the various institutions with the hope of ensuring peak individual and organizational performance.

But I think schools teach us to be book-smart, instead of street-smart. Why? Because students have been raise through a 'standard' studying over a very long period of at least 16 years, from Primary School to University, growing up within the confines of a society of generally submissive and subservient people.

The really smart ones are those who survived through countless and persistent difficulties over a prolonged period of time.

The scholar system here in a way our knowledge is defined, regulated and placed a value upon, and thus intellectual is channeled and directed rather than given free flow. When this happens and many disciplines are prized above others, selected types of knowledge are valued more than others, it has become difficult to truly become a “knowledgeable” and “educated” person.

Is the smartness trend tied to "academic groupthink?

How do you see this?

What makes an evil man?

This is the question which I have been thinking recently - of whether mankind is basically good or basically evil. It was a point of interest from recent articles.

Life is between good and evil, and is about making the right choices. Everything in life is about choices. I believe that choices make you who you are. When someone makes decisions that hurt people, it's usually not malicious. It just benefits him for some reason. But when you make those choices, they shape you into the person you are.

A lot of people believe that we are essentally born who we are , and it's not changable. If you try to be different, you're "fake". That isn't true. Life is about choices. "Evil" people are just people that have given up their choice for good, and have submitted themselves entirely to the side that is evil.

We become who we are through the various influences we have from all around us. These influences are the means for us to turn evil in some degree or another.

I don't necessarily mean that evil people seek only to cause harm. I believe more so that people seek to better themselves at the expense of others. How many people in this world are genuinely altruistic? Everyone is motivated by power to an extent. People with power just want more power. Power over others, power over material goods, etc. To get to that goal, evil people are willing to do what it takes - manipulate others as needed, bend the rules, “be evil.” (The word “evil” here to me means general wrongdoing).

Which are we? Good humans with a basic tendency to do what is right? Evil person driven to fulfill own selfish wishes at any cost? I don't know. What do you think?

"As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities." - Voltaire

Rewarding employees

Point of view: Bosses must face the reality that people don't work out of any obligation towards the company. We work hard; we should be rewarded for our efforts. And yet;our job is not the most important thing in our lives. It is for the betterment of our family that pushes us to excel in our chosen field of work. - Quoted from Today's reader

Nobody works for nothing. That is to say, people work because there’s something in it for them. It could be financial reward, prestige, recognition, pride, a sense of doing the right thing.

The rewards for a job well done vary from person to person. But the need to get something for one’s hard work is universal.

Employers cannot simply expect their employees to do their best work, day after day, year after year, without some sort of meaningful acknowledgement. They must understand that to get the most from their people, they got to recognize their accomplishments in ways that serve to reinforce hard work and encourage continuous creativity and innovation.

To reward employee excellence: (My views)

• Show the money. Reward your high achievers in accordance to their worth.
Compensation (eg. bonuses) based upon results achieved, rather than tasks performed.

• Offer sincere thanks. A well-deserved pat on the back, a written letter of commendation, some private (or public) words of appreciation and recognition.

• Provide meaningful perks. Offer some extra flexibility to work from home where feasible. Give your high achievers the afternoon off from time to time.

• Help them keep up the momentum. A motivated employee will relish the opportunity to work on a challenging, new project. Success breeds success.

• Develop them. Mentoring, coaching, and advanced training. Invest your time and dollars in your top performers. That's the way to accelerate the growth of your strongest performers.

Remember this all leaders and Boss: Always ask. What better way to engage them in the process, show respect, and provide meaningful and impactful reward for outstanding performance.

Is spaying / neutering your pet consider cruel?

What is written in this blog serves no right or wrong from my point of view but how do you see this?

Recently there has been news articles on spaying or neutering pets in Singapore and how owners feel about the whole issue. Some say it is cruel to do that to you pets, while others say it is cruel not to.

Let's look at the What Do "Spay" and "Neuter" Really Mean?

Female dogs and cats are spayed by removing their reproductive organs, and male dogs and cats are neutered by removing their testicles. In both cases the operation is performed while the pet is under anesthesia. Depending on your pet's age, size, and health, he or she will stay at your veterinarian's office for a few hours or a few days. Depending upon the procedure, your pet may need stitches removed after a few days. Your veterinarian can fully explain spay and neuter procedures to you and discuss with you the best age at which to sterilize your pet.

The above prone outcry from owners as they feel what right do human have to remove organs from animals.

However, owners who agree to sterilize their pets feel that they are saving their pets from e.g mammary cancer in female dog. (see below)

Why is spaying / neutering good for your pets?

1) Spaying and neutering helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives.
2) Spaying and neutering can eliminate or reduce the incidence of a number of health problems that can be very difficult or expensive to treat.
3) Spaying eliminates the possibility of uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the incidence of breast cancer, particularly when your pet is spayed before her first estrous cycle.
4) Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of prostate disease.

However, there are countries where spay and neutering pets is not the norm, vets do not automatically recommend spay/neuter unless the (eg. dog) has some kind of problem that can be correct through surgery, and most reputable breeders would prefer if their puppies were not spayed/neutered by their new owners. However they do not have hordes of unwanted puppies, because pets' owners know how to handle intact dogs. Dogs are not dropping like flies because of cancer and the vast majority of them lead long happy lives.

Whatever, your views may be, always be a responsible pet owners.

Those will the days... in Singapore

Is some of them familiar to you?

Work done by a friend from Hotmail

Singapore landscape - and National Day here we come!

This was taken at dawn

This was taken in the morning.

P.S. My boyfriend took the photos.

Hungry for success - The rich & the poor

I was reading the papers today and came across the article that mentioned about 'that scholarships should be given to candidates who come from poor background because such students are more 'hungry for success'.'

The papers mentioned about the students that are given scholarship are all from a middle-class background. That keep me thinking what happen to those poor background students that need it the most. I consider here that sometimes the poor students have to stop or drop out from school as they do not have the choice not because they do not want to be successful in life. Who won't want that?

Sometimes students who came from well to do family do get what they want easily. However; what their parents wanted them to be when they grow up was not what they wanted in life. That could be the situation to some students and if they will to pursue their dream on their own, then the scholarship will help them greatly.

Often students who come from a poor background suffer more as they couldn't even pursue the path or dream that they wanted. Some dropped out at primary school and have to work to support the family or siblings. And its not by choice that they are eventually only to be given the chance to study at the later stage of their life on their own accord. Then where is the helping hand mentioned in the papers or the scholarship that will suppose to help the the one that most needed it?

One of the scholars actually said this when asked about giving scholarship to the poor background students who are 'hungry for success', :'I've seen a lot of people who are rich and are hungry for success.'

Nothing wrong with his statement but he failed to realise the poor background students do badly wanted to pursue their dreams as well but their situation do not allow them the choice to do that. So are we missing out the most critical issue here?

At the end of the column, President S R Nathan quoted '...Remain humble and be open to views and ideas that are different from yours.. Never be out of touch with the ground, however far you may rise in your career.'

I think as human we do forget where we come from.

Your say on tattoos

Your car, partner, home, hair dye or clothes say a lot about your life and personality. But tattoos are forever and they are personalized. Everyone has a life story to tell. A tattoo is a snapshot of the owner's life and it could be done during emotionally negative scenes to emotionally positive ones. A tattoos could marked the healing from the grief and often people judged that person according to their tattoos. However often some may find themselves in a situation where because of visible tattoos on body; they are unemployable in certain circumstances. How can a tattoo be considered unprofessional? Its just like saying a birth mark is unprofessional. Tattoo's should be accepted and respected at work and these does'nt make them unprofessional. And I think tattoos revealed the individual particular scenes and the culture within their lives.

My boyfriend has several tattoos; he is proud of them and I love them too.

Whatever the reasons or life you have; if tattoos are done tastefully and you lead a beautiful life ahead; I would say "live freely."