Intellectual Quotient (IQ) has long been considered in education as the deciding factor in a person's success but have we overlooked emotional intelligence (EI) in determining one's success in life? In my attempt to reexamine the acceptance of EI, I studied the difference in EI between different groups of undergraduates in Singapore in terms of their field of study, gender and university. The sample comprised undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS), with a fair mix of gender and field of study. From their responses to an EI questionnaire, it was found that there was no significant difference in EI between undergraduates who study technical and non-technical courses, as well as between undergraduates of NTU and NUS, although male undergraduates achieved higher EI scores than female undergraduates.

Is there a difference in the dominant leadership style between technical and non-technical superiors? Which leadership style of superiors will give their subordinates more freedom on the job? By using House's Path-Goal Model [1] in a study involving a survey of subordinates of 100 technical and 100 non-technical companies in Singapore, I found that technical superiors tend to adopt a supportive leadership style, while non-technical superiors adopt a more achievement-oriented one. This manifests in significant differences between the two kinds of superiors in the extent of the leader's position power (formal authority), the degree of autonomy subordinates want, and the extent subordinates control their goal achievements.

This article aims to expound the importance of a knowledge of linguistics and the theories of human language to a technical author. Linguistics is often seen as a specialised branch of language for language experts. When technical authors communicate, they do need the tools of linguistics to handle the rhetorical grammar and patterns of technical prose. The linguistic features and semanics involved in technical writing also become relevant, as is visual and graphic representation.