Month: November 2018
ISTJ-A Personality Type
LOGISTICIAN PERSONALITY (ISTJ, -A/-T)
We took the Myers Briggs Personality Test in PSE today. After answering all the questions, I was given the result of Logistician, also known as ISTJ.
ISTJ stands for Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging.
ISTJ indicates that this person is:
- Introverted – is energized by time spent alone
- Sensing – focuses on facts and details rather than ideas and concepts
- Thinking – makes decisions based on logic and reason
- Judging – prefers to be planned and organized over spontaneous and flexible
Below are some of the results from the website that I feel particularly resonate with me, and that I feel like are accurate to my character.
General Characteristics:
- Logistician personalities can competently tackle any project that comes with a manual. On the other hand, this makes them reluctant to give up responsibilities even when they are overburdened, or when there are better people for the job.
- The seriousness in their approach to work makes them surprisingly sensitive to criticism, leading to a levels of inflexibility.
- Consequently, people with the Logistician personality type often prefer to work alone, or at least have their authority clearly established by hierarchy, where they can set and achieve their goals without debate or worry over other’s reliability.
- While they are unlikely to become friends with substantially different types, they still recognize and appreciate others’ strengths and qualities.
- Value predictability more than imagination
Strengths:
- They respect authority and hierarchy, and have no problem following orders and instructions.
- Punctuality is unlikely to ever be an issue
- While clearly set steps and well-defined responsibilities are needed, they are exceptionally loyal, dedicated, meticulous and patient in completing their work.
Weaknesses:
- Stubborn – They tend to resist any new idea that isn’t supported by them. This factual decision-making process also makes it difficult for ISTJ’s to accept that they were wrong about something
- Always by the Book – They believe that things work best with clearly defined rules, but this makes them reluctant to bend those rules or try new things, even when the downside is minimal. Truly unstructured environments leave Logisticians all but paralyzed.
- They need to remember to take care of themselves – their stubborn dedication to stability and efficiency can compromise those goals in the long term as others lean ever-harder on them, creating an emotional strain that can go unexpressed.
Science Society
I decided to join Science Society because I want to study the sciences in my future, and I was hoping that science society would be a good way to meet others who had similar interests as me. I also thought that it would be a good opportunity to hopefully learn about some interesting new concepts that I otherwise wouldn’t have become exposed to.
The first meeting of Science Society was mainly for introductory purposes: we introduced ourselves and the areas of science we were interested in. We then listened to a presentation and short video clip of the Voyager 1 launch on September 5th 1977. We split into groups to discuss and then make a mini-presentation about a science topic, and my group chose the Wave Particle Accelerator (The formal name: The Large Hadron Collider) in CERN’s research facilities.
Over the past few weeks, we have covered a variety of topics such as Robots and AI, Pulsars, Space Time, and Biomimicry. Each time, we spend the first part listening to a presentation that gives a general overview before then going on the do a small amount of discussion and research in groups to further the discussion. We ask questions about the ethics behind a scientific discovery, or about interesting uses/applications.
For example, this website here has great examples of biomimicry in our everyday lives: including how biomimicry is a part of transportation, structural design (ventilation), and military technology (camouflage).
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/biomimicry-examples/
Riding for the Disabled Association – Global Issues and Ethical Implications
This reflection about the RDA is less about what I do lesson by lesson and more about the deeper implications behind working at RDA and what it means not only for me, but also for the riders that we work with. This reflection is about the global value and the ethical implications that I face while working in this service, and how it impacts me.
LO 6 GLOBAL VALUE (Engaging with issues of global importance)
The largest global issue of working at Riding for the Disabled Association Singapore is working with groups that are outside of the “normal” sphere of society. In current society, there are a lot of issues with Ableism and the way that disabled people don’t have the same opportunities that able-bodied people have. This also means that there isn’t a big connection between the two groups in society, and the groups don’t get the opportunity to interact with one another and work together. As society changes and improves, we’re finding more and more people that face different sorts of disabilities and we’re working to be more open and supportive. Doing this indirectly though is much different from directly working with a group, and that really tests how principled you can be. You have to be able to go from saying “I don’t have that discrimination” to actually displaying that you don’t have that discrimination. So far, I’ve learned a little more about down syndrome (which is the disability that my rider has) but also about cerebral palsy (the disability of another rider I worked with). I know the scientific background of down syndrome, but it’s difficult to actually compare the diagrams in science to a real person. I’ve learned more about how to work with mental disabilities versus physical disabilities, and different ways of interacting depending on what is needed. I think us working with the riders helps them as well. I think that we both don’t know much about each other. I don’t know what they do in their day to day life, I don’t really know what they go through, or what their family goes through. Riding may be the best part of their week, as it was for me, and I hope to help them through. Last week, when I was waiting with my rider for our turn to mount our horse, the rider before us went to mount their horse, and they had the largest smile on their face. I hadn’t ever seen that from this particular rider and it was really heartwarming.
I think that we’ve been taught very little about disabilities. I think that people with disabilities are labelled by their disabilities and not by who they are, and that we can’t see past that. I feel that we’ve been taught to classify them in a different category because they are not as able-bodied/minded as we consider ourselves to be. I’m hoping that participating in this activity forces me to change whatever prejudices are internalized into my mindset and behavior. I’m hoping that I actually act as an openminded person instead of just wanting or thinking that I am one. I’m hoping to learn more about disabilities so that it isn’t a foreign topic and that it’s a comfortable idea to work with.
LO 7 ETHICS (Considering the ethical implications of actions)
The largest ethical issue that I face in RDA is the issue of safety, which can split into a few different subsets. The primary subset is the physical safety of the rider. As a side walker, you are responsible for supporting the rider and keeping up with the horse so that the rider doesn’t fall to either side. This puts an enormous responsibility of safety directly into your hands, linked with your actions. You need to make sure that the rider is steady and that to the best of your ability, there are no falls or accidents. Additionally, you have to make sure that you’re aware of the rider and the horse at all times, and do your best to tailor yourself to each rider. Some riders need more support than others, and some riders want to do things alone. The biggest question for me is how much support do I give? I really worry about the strength and capabilities of myself and my rider, and I’m scared that they could get injured if I overestimate the amount of help they
One of the sessions when I was working with a rider with cerebral palsy, I was extremely hesitant to let go. The instructor kept telling me to only support their ankle instead of their ankle and back and I was very conflicted over this. I wanted to listen to the instructor, as they would obviously know best, but I didn’t want to let go because I thought he would be more likely to fall. Although I did in the end listen to the instructor, I still felt nervous for a period of time after changing my positioning. It was a battle between what would be good for the rider and what I feared could happen.
The second subset is the safety of the rider outside of RDA. We keep information about the rider and their personal details in the RDA facility, and we also do not talk about the riders and their disabilities outside of the people working in our service group. It’s why we blur the photos that we take and is also why, as a personal choice, I do not use pronouns or names, instead say they/their when talking about a rider.