#4 - Fostering Intercultural Communication

For this blog post, I will touch on the issue of reserving seats in local hawker centres with the use of tissue packets. It is our cultural norm to reserve seats in hawker centres this way despite it being a much contested method, especially since tissue packets are ambiguous in proving ownership.

Last weekend while on a casual lunch with my family, I noticed a group of middle-aged housewives combing the grounds of my neighbourhood hawker centre for seats. Due to the large weekend crowd, it was fairly difficult for a big group to find seats. One of the ladies exclaimed excitedly when she finally found an available table. Upon acknowledgment, two of them whipped out a packet of tissue each and placed one on the table and another on the seat, and signalled to the rest of their clique to proceed to order their lunch. Not long after, a Caucasian lady spotted the same empty table and gladly took a seat to wait for her friend. I could only dread the situation that would arise when the group of housewives return. Before I knew it, they returned with their trays of food only to be outraged by the unexpected ‘guest’ at their table. A horrid confrontation took place, with the poor Caucasian lady being accused of ‘stealing property’. Added miscommunication was inevitable as there was a language barrier between the two parties. Subsequently, the Caucasian lady apologised and left feeling extremely bewildered by the way the housewives justified their seat reservation via tissue packets.

Being a Singaporean, I can only feel sorry for the Caucasian lady and admit that this ‘tissue paper’ practice is impractical and unfathomable. This situation is definitely not going to help Singapore move closer to being a civilised and gracious first-world society. Fortunately, the Caucasian lady was aware that she was on the losing end and backed out of the situation humbly before serious physical/verbal attacks arise. I would not blame ignorance as this practice of using tissue packets for seat reservation is unique only to Singapore and even so, many locals still loathe the fact that it is such a commonly-practiced (uncivilised) act.

#3 - Potential Research Project Topics

In this research project, I will be investigating whether the frequency of the internal shuttle buses in NUS affect the punctuality of students, especially during peak hours. This topic will appeal to the staff and student body of NUS because the shuttle buses are part of their welfare benefits and helping students arrive punctually for classes will not only benefit their learning, it will also enable lecturers to start/end their lessons on schedule.

One objective of this report is to make known the fact that many students cite crowded shuttle buses as the main reason for their lateness. Not being able to board the buses prevents them from reaching their destination on time. Another objective is to convince the management that this problem can be alleviated by increasing the frequency of shuttle buses especially during peak hours (10am – 2pm).

An attitudinal survey will be essential so that I can analyse if the regularity of the buses is the main reason for lateness, or whether other factors (e.g. Release time by previous lecturer/tutor, students’ own lack of urgency, extra time spent navigating around the NUS campus) play a bigger role.

Questions asked will include:
1. Are you normally late for classes? If yes, specify how long.
2. Do you think that the frequency of the NUS internal shuttle buses is sufficient?
3. What is your main reason for arriving late for classes?