Common Behaviours in Singapore:

• It is very common to see people using their mobile phones at the table and not communication with the people they are dining with
• Tipping is not common
• It is typical for food to be brought out when it is ready regardless of whether the other people at the same table have their food

What Values of Singaporean Culture do you think would explain the behaviours listed above?

I think the behaviours can be explain by looking into how, as Singapore is a very industrialised country, Singaporeans tend to value work achievements very highly and a lot of Singaporeans are very work driven and value their income as a form of high reward. This can explain why it is common for tipping to not be common as money that is earned is very valued and not typically shared with others as pressure from parents encourage the value of saving money for the future. Something that may come along with a very work driven population is a more individualistic society as achievements and rewards and kept to themselves, possible explaining how

In class we have been looking into Social Identity Theory, a topic we have recently discussed is how we can use our knowledge to unite people who are in a conflict or have just gone through a conflict to help them help one another. It can be simple ideas such as announcing “All Singaporeans….” or even “Everyone who has been effected….” to help the people acknowledge their commonalities and similarities which will encourage them to see each other as equal and to persuade them to help one another instead of just themselves.

Think of a time that you were very aware of your national or cultural identity. How did that affect your behaviour at the time ?

My views on my nationalities change depending on where I am in the world. Since my mother is Vietnamese and my father is Dutch, I have to opportunity to chose which nationality to tell people I am and that depends on which country I am. For example, if I’m in South East Asia like Cambodia or Indonesia, I choose to say that I am Vietnamese but when I’m in Europe I say that I am Dutch. I think this is because if we are given the option we will more often chose to have more in common with a group(of locals). So, for me my cultural identity depends on the community I am surrounded by, and that effects which side of my cultural identity I chose to adapt in that situation to fit in more.

After reading this article, I think that the ethical problem with animal testing are very significant. I have always view animal testing as a negative and cruel thing to do, I feel that since the animals are not informed and do not know what is happening to them it’s not very ethical to test on them. Since a lot of animal testing is done because it is ‘more unethical’ to do on humans, I feel like it’s wrong to put an animals rights below human rights just because we are the ones in charge, I think it is wrong to put the animals below us and to allow ourselves to do whatever we please to them because we feel we are superior to them. Although I do see the advantages to animal testing and how we can expand our knowledge doing this and how we can try things on animals such as rats, that we can’t test on humans, I still feel it is still a bit wrong to do so.

Charles Darwin & Franz Joseph Gall (Phrenology)

Both Darwin and Gall focused on humans and how we work, but the difference between their studies is that while Gall studied about the human brain and the different functions, Darwin studied about human evolution and how we got to where we are and how we(and our brains) function the way we do. Gall is said to introduce the detailed study of Phrenology, which is the study of the human brain(cranium). Phrenology is based on the concept that the brain is an organ of the mind, each area of the brain has a specific and unique function. Darwin, on the other hand, is most famous for his research, development, and proposition of human evolution. His evolution theory has had significant effects on science and the way we now view life. Darwin is also famous for his idea of animal selection, as before him, many naturalists believed were ‘unchanging’ and were designed for only one specific environment.

Darwin and Gall both collected their research in different ways, while Gall decided to study medicine in the University of Stratsburg and focused his time and research into educating himself and studying. Meanwhile Darwin embarked on a 5 year survey voyage around the world, focusing on a more interactive way of researching his study of the different people around the world which lead him to develop his theory of evolution.