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<title>e pur si muove: Forums: Last 35 Posts</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</link>
<description>e pur si muove: Forums: Last 35 Posts</description>
<language>en</language>
<pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:30:45 +0000</pubDate>

<creativeCommons:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/</creativeCommons:license><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AcidForum" type="application/rss+xml" /><item>
<title>Anonymous on "Getting your degree in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/12#post-197</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 05 Aug 2007 23:14:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">197@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;I need Help!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Hi there &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am looking to apply for PhD studies in the US and serious need some admission advice.  do you have an email or msn?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My bachelor degree is in chem eng and joint master is in NUS/UIUC. I hv worked for abt 4 years now in Ngee ann poly as a lecturer in chemical engineering&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am looking to apply for BME but it seems that the possibilities are little.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;can we get in touch?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Rgds&lt;br /&gt;
Kyle
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Anonymous on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-196</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 05 Aug 2007 23:13:19 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">196@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;I need Help!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Hi there &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am looking to apply for PhD studies in the US and serious need some admission advice.  do you have an email or msn?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My bachelor degree is in chem eng and joint master is in NUS/UIUC. I hv worked for abt 4 years now in Ngee ann poly as a lecturer in chemical engineering&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am looking to apply for BME but it seems that the possibilities are little.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;can we get in touch?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Rgds&lt;br /&gt;
Kyle
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Anonymous on "WHY WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO REFUSE OUR ORGANS TO PAP, MINISTERS"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/7#post-195</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:47:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">195@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;I think tt MM Lee giving his wife preferential treatment was a matter of emergency, that needed to be looked into. Given his powerful position, it was perfectly natural for him to get the best support for his wife. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I know other normal folks might not be able to get such extra help and I'm sorry for them. However, in a matter of severe illness, it was perfectly natural of him to get the best support for his wife given his position. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I experienced similar or almost similar medical condition. When I suffered a major accident in India, leaving me in coma and the doctors didn't have any hope for me, it was my uncle whose a minister who got things on the move. I am not a raven supporter of the Singaporean govt. Like many governments, it has many flaws. But S'poreans shouldn't let such random instances cloud the position of their govt.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Anonymous on "Job4U + MU HOttttt Collection + Win USD 6000 Cash!!!"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/26#post-194</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:52:54 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">194@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Attention to all JobSeeker and MU fans...  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here we help you to find a job and to win another hot MU collection + cash for you to grab... &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Go and try...   All you need  &lt;a href="http://www.freejobsite.com." rel="nofollow"&gt;http://www.freejobsite.com.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;*Term and Conditions Apply*&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;See yaa...
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Anonymous on "Is the government losing interest in the scholarship system?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/9#post-192</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 May 2007 10:01:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">192@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;actually. although the number of psc scholarships given out have declined, i dont believe the number of scholarships have declined, overall. aside from the independent scholarship award organisations listed previously, psc does supply the info of their rejectees to the various ministries that the students indicated interest in, and these ministries then interview those.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;ministries do award overseas scholarships as well. sadly i didnt get one either. byebye uk.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Anonymous on "Should Singapore universities offer financial aid?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/4#post-191</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 May 2007 09:54:58 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">191@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;in fact singapore universities DO offer financial aid -- however not in large amounts, because they can't afford it. while not private, singapore universities are autonomous now, so they are now more able to decide where they want funds to go to. but there is a lack of funds. sadly.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;as for tuition loans, well, banks arent necessarily bleeding hearts. they need to be sure you are able to pay. thus the need for guarantors. but it is harder to find guarantors if your parents are retired, definitely.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<item>
<title>Anonymous on "Is the government losing interest in the scholarship system?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/9#post-190</link>
<pubDate>Sat, 28 Apr 2007 01:20:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">190@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Elia Diodati and AcidFlask: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Individual stat boards, ministries, some GLCs and even banks have had a history of selecting and getting their own scholars since at least 10 years ago, when PSC was still awarding close to a hundred scholarships a year, which include the Overseas Merit, Local Merit, SAF(O), SPF(O). You must have been very disconnected from the scholarship arena to not know about FIREfly, MAS, GIC, SIA, etc which go through an ENTRIELY separate process from PSC. PSC is now just one of the many independent awarders, albeit the most prestigious one. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So declining numbers for PSC scholars should still reflect a drop in total number of scholarships given out? No - it only reflects a drop in total number of PSC scholarships given out. The selectivity of scholarships from these other organisations have not changed or lowered to make up for that drop in PSC ones.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;look at this: &lt;a href="http://www.rjc.edu.sg/scholarship/alumni-2000.htm" rel="nofollow"&gt;http://www.rjc.edu.sg/scholarship/alumni-2000.htm&lt;/a&gt; and compare it with this: &lt;a href="http://www.rjc.edu.sg/scholarship/alumni-2006.htm" rel="nofollow"&gt;http://www.rjc.edu.sg/scholarship/alumni-2006.htm&lt;/a&gt; . RJC graduates make up the bulk of scholars, and see how the number of Overseas Merit scholars have dropped from about 40 from RJC alone in 2000 to just less than 10 last year. And look at how the other non-PSC scholarships have stayed relatively constant in numbers. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's PSC that has done the cutback. Whether it is to increase the perceived exclusivity and prestige or for the reasons Seah Chiang Nee mentioned, it meant that I failed to get a PSC Scholarship this year. I don't know what to do with my place at Duke University now.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>huangrx on "Meeting up with the Singapore Diaspora"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/24#post-189</link>
<pubDate>Sat, 24 Mar 2007 06:29:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>huangrx</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">189@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Hi folks,&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Spring is here. Would be nice to meet up those that are in N.America if possible.&lt;br /&gt;
I'm currently in the Golden Horseshoe Area in Canada (Greater Toronto Area). Plan to move around a bit in the summer. If interested in meeting up, lemme know.&lt;br /&gt;
email: &lt;a href="mailto:huangrx@gmail.com."&gt;huangrx@gmail.com.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;24/male/single, 1.83m, 78kg, Chinese, doing grad studies in ChE(doing membrane filtration/purification work).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cheers,&lt;br /&gt;
Ray
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>huangrx on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-188</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Mar 2007 22:35:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>huangrx</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">188@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;felumpfus:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;More or less the same here...when the dust clears, I'm looking at 1.5k monthly income.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cheers,&lt;br /&gt;
Trout
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>felumpfus on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-187</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:54:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>felumpfus</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">187@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;the school of engineering and the department collectively offered a 80% tuition subsidy for all the masters students. research advisors would then cover the remaining 20% plus a monthly stipend (rather puny when i was a master's student but i hear it is more generous now). admittedly, this is a rare practice compared with other prominent research institutions. however, this was a big pull factor for me, as well as other prospective masters students. no special scholarship application was necessary.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>Pucao on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-186</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:04:36 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Pucao</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">186@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;felumpfus:&lt;br /&gt;
nice ... university gives you stipend? or a scholarship ?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;huangrx:&lt;br /&gt;
Yea, will be going back for NS in May or June. Sure ! We can meet up in May. I'm done April 24th (last final exam, phew !)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Email me: pucao (at) pucao dot com
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>huangrx on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-185</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:23:13 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>huangrx</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">185@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;felumpfus:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Good for you~~&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Pucao: Ottawa's not a bad place to be too. So I guess you're finishing up already eh? Heading back to Singapore (for NS? Hahahaha, I did go back for NS, and now I'm back again...)? Or do you have other plans? Could move around during May, wanna meet up?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cheers,&lt;br /&gt;
Trout
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>felumpfus on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-184</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:59:58 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>felumpfus</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">184@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;My master's was fully funded... in a well-known US university, in a well-known field.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<item>
<title>Pucao on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-183</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:45:11 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Pucao</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">183@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;I'm at University of Ottawa. =P ... McMaster is a good engineering school wanted to get into that. I got into University of Alberta but didnt go there because I thought it was too cold. heh ... &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Final year undergrad in EE: Microwaves and Photonics.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>huangrx on "Collaborative research with NIHORT"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/23#post-182</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Mar 2007 20:55:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>huangrx</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">182@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Grow Algae!!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Algae Biofuels!
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>huangrx on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-181</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Mar 2007 20:39:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>huangrx</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">181@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;oei Acid, &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Could you ask Steven Chan to add me to linked-in? I knew him during NS, in SMM. Ask him about how he was a personal slave to 2WO Sara...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cheers,&lt;br /&gt;
huangrx
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
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<title>huangrx on "Graduate School in the US *without* government scholarships"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/11#post-180</link>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Mar 2007 20:36:45 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>huangrx</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">180@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;hi Pucao, &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I'm at McMaster (one of the lesser schools, hehehe). I'm guessing you're in UBC, U of T, Alberta or McGill?&lt;br /&gt;
I had a 3.84/4 (I think, or could be calculated as 3.9-3.94 if I fudged with some assumptions, hahaha, my uni used a 12 pt GPA system) GPA...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Doing research in environment-responsive membranes for multi-component separations.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
</item>
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<title>SeeWee on "Joint partnerships with prestigious universities - is it worth the while"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/22#post-179</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:16:43 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>SeeWee</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">179@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Apparently, the SMA program has gone through some changes since I last checked. If I remember correctly, it used to be that after you complete the masters program, to get into the SMA PhD program, you go through a qualifying examination like any graduate school in the US by submitting a these proposal and defending it. After looking through the SMA website again, I believe that the current format is similar to what Spute described; a joint masters and you can then apply to a PhD program in NUS, NTU or MIT.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I think the SMA and the UIUC-NUS joint graduate degree program in chemical engineering  are the two programs that have been around the longest. They will probably serve as the best benchmark for success of such programs. However, I am not sure if we have seen enough PhD students that come out of the programs to make a good assessment yet. Most students I know of from both programs leave after their masters.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>twasher on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15/page/2#post-178</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>twasher</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">178@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Dr Dee:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My motive in bringing up English football fanaticism wasn't to say that it makes some greater point about the Singaporean mentality --- evidently such football fans exist in every country, and I don't think it's particularly severe in Singapore. I was just responding to what I had mistakenly thought was SeeWee's suggestion that supporting sports teams was a good sign that people weren't apathetic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I don't know how many times you tried your library experiment, but my experience in a top Singapore JC paints the same story. Femtoflyer, I agree that the library experiment would turn out the same in most libraries in the world. However, I was very disappointed as a JC student that the so-called 'cream of the crop' of Singaporean students turned out to be nothing more than grade-grubbing machines. A lot of my classmates were extremely bright in things like math and physics. Yet none of them were interested in discussing anything besides the usual gossip, pop culture, and how to ace the next exam. These same people weren't even interested in science --- they were just studying it because it was the most 'practical' (some of these people are now A* scholars, isn't that wonderful?). Needless to say, they had no opinions on the humanities and social sciences either. In fact, there was a prevalent atmosphere of mocking students who had an interest in those issues --- the Humanities students, for example, were often mocked by science students for being pretentious, simply because at school forums they would actually put forward cogent arguments. The same way, people would make snide remarks if they found me reading an 'intellectual' book. This sounds pretty much like a typical American high school, but I expected much more from a so-called top JC.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Also, I don't think knowledge of Buddhist philosophy is very much more prevalent than knowledge of Hume. I don't expect knowledge of either in a non-philosophy university student (though it would of course be a good thing). I did use to expect, though, that students would at least be curious about it. It's the attitude, more than the knowledge they possess, that I find dangerous. It's more important to know how to think than to know that such and such is the truth. From what I've seen of my peers, most of them don't know how to think, and they are happy to remain that way. I should emphasise again that I think this is true for most people in other countries as well. What I find alarming is that it is not true for the best students in America (say), but it is true for the best students in Singapore.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>Anonymous on "Joint partnerships with prestigious universities - is it worth the while"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/22#post-177</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:08:15 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">177@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;I have friends in the program. I see the SMA program being partially successful.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Consider this: NUS/NTU students have difficulty gaining admission to MIT PhD programmes (unless they're rank 1 in their cohort). So they chose the SMA route and do a 1-1.5 year Masters with SMA (and they spend 7-8 months in MIT for Masters research).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Upon graduation, they return to Singapore and then begin applying for admission to MIT PhD programme. Their chances will be greatly boosted because they are able to get admission letters from MIT Faculty.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This scenario is a real one: I have friends who went via this route.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>femtoflyer on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15/page/2#post-176</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2007 08:37:34 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>femtoflyer</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">176@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Doc D:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Aren't you making too many generalisations here, based on one conversation with one stranger in the library?  Intellectual discussions cover a whole gamut of areas; what's interesting to one person may be utterly boring for the next.  Or, it could simply be that one may not know a particular topic well enough to debate over it.  There could be a cultural factor to it; one may have never heard of Hume, but may very well be deeply familiar with Buddhist philosophy, for instance.  In any case, once you have a situation where there's a disparity in interest/knowledge, it's not surprising that everything will boil down to the lowest common denominator: simple, everyday survival (= material wealth).  I'd wager if I were to do your one library/one stranger experiment in most other parts of the world, I'll get a similar response to yours.  And what's to say either side was not unconsciously steering the topic towards material wealth anyway?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On other other hand, I've had some pretty stimulating discussions with strangers fishing next to me at the jetties in Singapore, ranging from the finer points of fish physiology to local immigration policies.  Intellectual topics?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  But eye-opening to both sides, no less.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>Anonymous on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15/page/2#post-175</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Feb 2007 06:14:27 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">175@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Dear Twasher:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I do think there is some sort of "colonized" mentality among a number of our Singaporean youths.  You rightly pointed it out in their exclusive following of English teams playing in the EPL.  Granted that we were colonized by the British, our media's slant towards British football for instance has an effect in the minds of our youths.  You can try joining a bunch of youths for soccer, and you find that there are more Steven Gerrard-wannabes than say the other top stars from the other continents.  They also try to copy the English style of play.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You pointed out a valid viewpoint about Singaporeans, which is their shying over from intellectual discussion.  Is the typical Singaporean a pragmatic one, whereby only the 5 Cs matter?  Is chasing the elusive pot of gold their topmost priority and focus of their mindset, as opposed to doing mental gymnastics in intellectual discussions?  I have tried this experiment before.  I went to the library, walked up to some stranger and tried to strike a conversation about some intellectual topic.  Inevitably, the discussion would come to the pursuit of material wealth. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I would also like to add on that many Singaporeans have this "follow-the-crowd" mentality, which explains why you have this large crowd of Singaporeans supporting British teams.  If the entire crowd wants status quo from a political perspective, status quo will be the end product.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;                        Yours sincerely,&lt;br /&gt;
                          Dr Dee
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>twasher on "Collaborative research with NIHORT"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/23#post-174</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:43:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>twasher</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">174@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Fascinating, a different brand of Nigerian spam.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>Anonymous on "Collaborative research with NIHORT"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/23#post-173</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:24:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">173@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Collaborative research into citrus (citrus sinensis,citrus lemon, tangelo, nocatee, orlando and ortanique), fruits (magnifera indica, carica papaya, avocado, ananas comosus) and so no so forth.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>Anonymous on "Collaborative research with NIHORT"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/23#post-172</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:06:47 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">172@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;This is an opportunity for interested organization to collaborate with National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) Nigeria on tropical horticultural crops of interest to both EU countries and the rest of the world. In case any organization is interested, please contact me on the following address:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Alabi Olakunle Oladipo&lt;br /&gt;
National Horticultural Research Institute.&lt;br /&gt;
P.M.B 5432 Jericho Reservation Area,&lt;br /&gt;
Idi-Ishin,Ibadan.&lt;br /&gt;
Oyo State,&lt;br /&gt;
Nigeria.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thank you so much for your anticipated cooperation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Research areas include: Ornamentals, Citrus, Vegetables, Fruits and Spices.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>twasher on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15#post-171</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 23:28:46 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>twasher</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">171@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;If you ask a NTU or NUS graduate, what is most significant event during his or her undergraduate days, I wonder what the answer will be? What can he or she identify with other than a piece of paper? Is it that surprising that they don't care about anything else?&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I agree that it is a problem, separate from the empowerment issue, too. In a sense the fact that they don't treasure anything else from their undergraduate days is partly due to their own lack of enthusiasm for learning and for activities other than grade-grubbing. But that situation is also maintained by institutional factors and social pressures that encourage grade-grubbing over more meaningful pursuits (though of course one's conformity to social pressures is theoretically something under one's control).
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>SeeWee on "Joint partnerships with prestigious universities - is it worth the while"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/22#post-170</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 23:24:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>SeeWee</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">170@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Is there anyone who has been in these programs or know of local students in the programs. For SMA, all I know from my classmates that enrolled, is that it was extremely difficult to get into the PhD phase and they had video conference lessons at obscene hours to accomodate MIT. Unfortunately, I don't know more since they left after Masters phase. It will help to know more about the experiences of people who are actually in the programs.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>SeeWee on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15#post-169</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:27:59 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>SeeWee</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">169@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;This maybe be a little off the topic. Sports does have an incredible ability to unite and fire up people. I still remember when Illinois played UNC for the national championships. If you ask a NTU or NUS graduate, what is most significant event during his or her undergraduate days, I wonder what the answer will be? What can he or she identify with other than a piece of paper? Is it that surprising that they don't care about anything else?
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>SeeWee on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15#post-168</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:53:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>SeeWee</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">168@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Twasher,&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I believe I have been misunderstood. I just used support for school sports as an illustration of a person committing himself to an ideal other than himself and in a way people can easily identify with. I agree with you that the amount of money involved in college sports nowadays can be appalling. I was referring to the times when we were younger, when schools team play for their team mates and for school pride.I don't think you can made a difference to a match thousands of miles away where the players and coaches earn millions of dollars. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As I said easier, I don't believe that blind faith in the ideals of a political party constitutes interest either since it does not provide for any intellectual discourse. But in all cases, moderate or fanatical, you have to believe that you can make a real difference. Isn't democratic voting based on the principle that every vote counts?
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>twasher on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15#post-167</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:58:46 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>twasher</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">167@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;abc:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's not just politics. I don't think feigning an interest in philosophy or history or literature, for example, is a good way to get laid. In my experience US students tend to be more interest in "outside" (non-self-centred) issues in general (which is not to say that they are more selfless), and interest in politics is an offshoot of that. Or again, perhaps that's an artifact of my limited sample size.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;SeeWee:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I actually don't regard fanaticism about university sports teams as a good sign (I think varsity athletics is a colossal waste of money antithetical to the purpose of universities, but that's a whole other debate). I think it's a quite different thing from caring about social issues. It seems to me that the kind of fanaticism that you describe has its analogue in football("soccer")-crazy Singaporeans. They have a similar commitment to their favourite English Premiership teams. Probably because they have nothing to cheer on in Singapore. Though at some level many people support political parties the same way they support sports teams, I don't find it worrying that Singaporeans don't support political parties that way --- in fact that might be worse than supporting no one. Rather, I find it disturbing that most Singaporeans have no desire (or even ability) for rational discussion of socially/intellectually but not personally important issues.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>SeeWee on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15#post-166</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:14:16 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>SeeWee</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">166@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;Trasher,&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I agree that it is related to our personal experiences. Personally, I have been surpised people with a fanatical devotion to a particular party in a way that the party can do no wrong. I am not sure I will classify them as politically interested since they are not open to other ideas. I guess that is why swing votes are so important for the US elections. Heard this from somewhere before, "40% of Americans will always vote democrat, 40% will always vote republican, you just need to convince the last 20% to vote for you to win." &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I limited my discussion to the undergraduates, but  it can be extended it further downwards. It is just that I find that there is at least more passion and more pride in the institution, there were great school rivalries where students show up to support their friends. Maybe it is just that we are more naive when we are younger. At that time, we believe that standing in the rain while cheering your friends on meant something. Superficial it may be, but at least you believed in something. It is a sad day when you believe that nothing you do actually means anything. I think apathy stems directly from that.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>Anonymous on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15#post-165</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:19:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">165@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;"Actually, I find that US students are much more interested in politics than Singaporean students."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Feigning interest in politics is a great way to get laid -- every US student knows that.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>Fox on "Joint partnerships with prestigious universities - is it worth the while"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/22#post-164</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:05:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fox</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">164@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Thus, arises the question, how much do we benefit in terms of name (from the prestigious partner or if we are better off building up our own name instead) and content (quality of our research)?&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;One purpose of such collaborations is to raise the profile in Singapore universities. For example, if I remember correctly, the SMA programme itself costs something like $20 million of government funding per year in its first phase and probably much more now that it has entered the second phase. I wager that NUS and NTU's international reputation have grown significantly since 1998 when the programme was started. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Of course, we are paying for the name association. It IS a shortcut per se for growing Singapore's reputation. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We could not do this and build up Singapore's research by actually improving the quality of research but that is going to be very very hard. Firstly, Singapore has trouble attracting very capable people - established scientists, budding researchers, postdocs, graduate students, etc. It's possible to attract these people but very difficult. You have to admit that Singapore just isn't a very attractive locale and that capable people will come to Singapore because of the association with the MIT brand.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>twasher on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15#post-163</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:20:41 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>twasher</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">163@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;seewee,&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Actually, I find that US students are much more interested in politics than Singaporean students. But I suspect that we are each speaking from our own experiences with our own universities, which don't together constitute a huge sample size. However, my university is supposed to be one of the more phlegmatic campuses around when it comes to politics -- I have the impression that students at traditionally left-wing places like Berkeley and Harvard are far more fanatical.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I agree that the general problem stems from a lack of empowerment, but at all levels of society. In fact, I think they are resigned to disempowerment long before they enter university -- my JC classmates I found disgustingly disinterested in anything that did not affect their material or immediate hedonistic desires. So I don't think the phlegmatism of students gets propagated into politics -- rather, it's the social and political environment they've been marinated in since childhood that gets propagated into their school life. Sure, there are institutional factors in the local universities that are disempowering, but for what it's worth, I think a lot of the student empowerment at US universities is really superficial, and that students there also have no power -- but still they think it worthwhile to protest policies they dislike, even if that means standing outside the admin building for hours in the depths of winter with no result to show for. Such futile gestures, however, would not even occur to most Singaporean students.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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<title>SeeWee on "Why are our university students politically apathetic?"</title>
<link>http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/topic/15#post-162</link>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:52:11 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>SeeWee</dc:creator>
<guid isPermaLink="false">162@http://diodati.omniscientx.com/forum/</guid>
<description>&lt;p&gt;As a local graduate, I will offer my two cents worth. To me, the crux of the issues lies with empowerment. Life in NUS is very much a microcosm of life in Singapore. Policies that affect the student populance are rarely implemented with consultation with the student body. Although I have not been in the student union or the faculty clubs, I doubt they have any say on policies of any importance. In this case, why would the average student care about anything? Most will go through their three to four years in university, with nothing more than to go to school, go home, study, go out with their friends. The importance of getting a degree foremost is so deeply ingrained. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Unlike secondary school or JC, there is not real binding threads between students and university. I guess the university also treats it alumni as such, no more than a source of donations. I find that it is hard to find any sense of belonging or pride in the university among our undergraduates. Without a sense of ownership, I can see why no one cares about the ongoings in the university. The vicious cycle of apathy gets propagated into politics. This is why I think singapore student are apathetic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;However, I do agree that political interest among average american students might not exceed that the average singaporean student. Maybe it is a generational disease. At least, the students are willing to drive to another city to support their school teams, I doubt there is much interest in the inter-varsity games.
&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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