Biodata

Hi all, my name is Mushtaq Ahmed. I am currently in my fourth year in Mechanical Engineering. I am majoring in the field of precision engineering. I am very friendly and outgoing. I have never been a serious person and I am very talkative. I love to crack jokes now and then and even during presentations. My hobbies are playing street soccer and squash. I like to keep myself fit by going to the gymnasium three times a week. I am a huge fan of Manchester United football club. I follow their matches religiously and regularly. During my free time, I like to watch horror and thriller movies. I am responsible in every aspect of my work.

Reflecting on the Research Project Experience

The research project was a good opportunity to get to know my fellow team members better after a few weeks of interacting with them in class. The project we decided to do was on the "Bell Curve" system implemented in NUS. It was an interesting topic we chose to do. The topic was something that is discussed by every student during and after examinations so the "Bell Curve" system was a topic that posed quite a number of challenges for our report.

I had a positive learning experience doing the research project with my fellow group members. We never had any communication problems. We were willing to listen to each other's view on any aspect of the report. We had constructive arguments on the areas we were arguing about. All of were very good team players. Each took on different roles at different times of the project. When one of was leading the discussion, the other two members listened attentively and wrote down notes whenever needed.The research needed for the project was contributed by all the members. We tried the internet and the magazines by NUS. We got a really good source for our research project in a magazine by NUS. We distributed the work evenly among ourselves and everybody had a fair share to do for the research project. We got together a few times and discussed about the various aspects and need for the research project.

We want to carry on with our team ethic of being cooperative and right spirit shown towards the research project. Every one of us was a team player and individual was bigger than the other. All our views was heard and properly discussed. These are some specific principles of communication that we would like to use for our oral presentation. We would like to improve on our research report by doing a good presentation reflecting our view on the research topic.

Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

Effective communication does not stop at just being a good listener or a good speaker in a conversation. It extends beyond that. Being sensitive, alert and understanding cultural differences play vital roles as well and inter cultural communication is an important tool to communicate between people of different cultural beliefs, values and way of life.

After my O level holidays, my family and I went to Thailand for short vacation. Thailand was an extremely cultural rich country and the Thai culture was strongly influenced by Buddhism. A large proportion of Bali's population adheres to Buddhism and thus there were numerous magnificent temples in that country. We were brought to visit one of the temples by the tour guide. I was wearing bermudas and a singlet as the weather was extremely hot . When I was about to enter the temple, I was not allowed to enter the temple. The security guard who was in duty on that day refused to let me in. He said that I was not dressed properly and I was exposing too much of my legs and hands. He advised me to wear the pants and long sleeve shirt which was provided by the security guards there. I told him the weather was really hot and wearing so much clothes would be uncomfortable. He reiterated that I could only enter the temple when i cover myself with the clothes given. He explained to me that I was being rude and disrespectful to their religion if i am not dressed properly. I then decided to just wear the clothes given and join my family with the tour.

In NUS, wearing bermudas and a singlet is a common sight. It did not occur to me when I was packing my luggage that this type of dressing can be deemed so differently in another country. I realize that an ignorance of the culture you are visiting can lead to development of stereotypes and occasionally the causing of offense to the native culture. By having inter cultural awareness can help us as tourists to understand the boundaries when visiting a foreign country and promotes good relations with the native culture. As we can see, being sensitive to inter cultural differences is a need for many people. In a world that is constantly shrinking, coming to know and appreciate the cultural differences between us is paramount so as to ensure peace and harmony. A good thing to do before visiting another country is to get to know their cultural norms and their dos and don’ts through internet or other ways so as to ensure a higher chance of having a good experience there.

Potential Research Project Topics

I would like to talk about the "bell curve" system which is used in NUS to determine the grades for students. The word "bell curve" comes up every semester during the examinations and releasing of results. Is this system fair or is this system the most appropriate way to determine the grades for students?

Good or bad, the system has its advantages and disadvantages. Let’s look at the advantages first. It is really advantageous for students who find a certain paper very difficult. If he does really badly, he might fail the paper and this would be a huge dent on his hopes to get a good degree as it will affect his overall cap. With the “bell curve” system, his grade is determined by the highest scoring student for that paper. Instead of predetermined grades for predetermined marks, his grade will be determined by the highest scoring student for that paper. So if everyone found the paper difficult, every single student might not be able to score really well for the paper. The mark to determine an A is lowered and the grade to get a D is also lowered. If the A is predetermined at 90 marks and the highest scoring student has got only 85 marks, he would be deprived of an A. With the “bell curve” system, the grade for an A is brought to 85 marks and the student will receive and A for the module. For a student who does really badly, he would not fail the paper as the passing mark is also lowered at the same time the grade for an D has been reduced.

Let’s look at the disadvantage now. For some modules, the scoring for the module is really easy but with the “bell curve” system, the grade A is determined by the highest scoring student for that paper. For example, the student would not get an A grade even though he scored 92 marks for the module as the highest scoring student would have scored full 100 marks for the module. So only students who scored 100 would get an A, the student who scored 92 will probably end up with an A- or a B+. So the student loses out in this system as he would get an A+ if the grade is predetermined for the mark of 90.

There will always be debates about this “bell curve” system. I have given my views on it. What do you all think about this system? Please feel free to comment.

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Interpersonal conflicts between people are a fact of life and it is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, a relationship with frequent conflicts may be healthier than one with no observable conflicts. When a conflict occurs, the bond may be weakened or strengthened. Thus, a conflict is a critical event in the course of a relationship or a friendship. Conflicts can cause resentment, hostility and perhaps the ending of the relationship. If it is handled well, conflicts can be productive – leading to deeper understanding, mutual respect and closeness. Whether a relationship lasts or not depends not so much on the number of conflicts between participants, but on how the conflicts are resolved. I have done various group projects with people from all walks of life and characters. All the group members might not look at the same angle when deciding the theme for the project.

There was an incident when I had to do a project with a good friend of mine. Since he was a good friend of mine, I really thought the project would be smooth sailing without any problems but I was wrong. We couldn’t see eye to eye on many issues which led to many differences between us. We approached the project the way we are as friends and not as group members doing a project together. We discussed the project like the way we spoke to each other. This led to many disagreements between us. So how did I resolve this conflict between us?

The problem occurred when we failed to use cooperative approaches consistently in our discussions with each other. To prevent it from happening again, it was important to identify the ways in which I contributed to the disagreement. One way which I thought of doing this was to identify a specific, recent conflicted situation, recall what I said, and then think specifically about how I could have used more effective language. Then I realized I could have used different words to express my ideas instead of stressing on it. I then explained to my friend about the way we interact with each other. He too then realized it and it was smooth sailing from then onwards.

ES2007S - Effective Communication Skills

Communication is the process of passing information or an interchange of thoughts, ideas and feelings in an understandable way. Communication in a proper way is the path to forge proper relationships and friendships. It has helped me to prevent disagreements and misunderstandings.

There are two types of communication skills. One is to speak and the other is to listen. When I speak, I make sure that I am clear and loud so that every single word is understood. I also make sure I have a proper body language and my choice of words must be very professional and respectful towards the other party as effective communication is also about how you portray your body movements and use them to express or state your point.

I also try not to be long winded and monotonous. I get to the point immediately and take a conscientious effort in making sure that I maintain eye contact all the time as such skills are needed to ensure the other person's attention is attained when you are expressing yourself. These skills are also part of effective communication.

When I listen, I try to see their point of view. In a conflict, most of us primarily want to feel heard and understood. We talk a lot about our point of view to get the other person to see things our way. Ironically, if we all do this all the time, there’s little focus on the other person’s point of view, and nobody feels understood.Thus effective communication is important so that the other person's view is heard and he/she feels involved in the conversation.This will also ensure they will have a conversation with you again in the future .

I stay focused when I listen. I make sure that I do not think of anything else other than listening carefully when the person speaks to me. People often think they’re listening, but are really thinking about what they’re going to say next when the other person stops talking. This has to be avoided at any time when we listen. Effective communication is about being spontaneous as well as being careful/thoughtful when communicating. Thus gaining the skills necessary for effective communication is important for an individual....it lasts a lifetime and makes sure you have fulfilling and lifetime relationships with people despite what the future may hold for you....