Alvin Tan

Generics, general statements about categories, are believed to transmit essentialist beliefs--the idea that things have a hidden true nature. Research suggests that people essentialize natural (biological and non-living) and social kinds, but not artifacts. Previous studies using small datasets found that generics are often used to describe animate beings in speech to children. Using a larger corpus of children's books and parent speech, we examined a wider range of kinds and generalizing statements (including habituals and universals). Our results show that generics are more likely used for biological kinds than artifacts and that their use increases in parent speech as children age. However, generics weren't more likely used for non-living or social kinds than artifacts. Habituals, at least in speech, were more likely used for social kinds than artifacts. Generalizing statements were more likely used for about non-living natural kinds than artifacts. These findings inform the debate over whether generics transmit essentialist beliefs.

The long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis fascicularis) is a non-human primate species that is native to Singapore. From mid-2020, the Nanyang Technological University campus witnessed a sharp increase in the number of human–macaque encounters. In this article, we will first identify a set of technological tools that we have developed to guide decision- and policy-making on the wildlife management front and mitigate human–macaque conflict. Thereafter, we will describe how we applied these tools to the activity log cataloguing the macaque activity on campus and offer an analysis of the trends in macaque behaviour that may be shared with members of the public and affected residents. Among the results that will be discussed are the following: a significant decline in the number of macaque sightings at Student Residences over the weekend, a majority of the reported macaque sightings occurring in the early evening, no significant difference in the damage and proximity scores over time, and a trend in observed macaque activity at critical sleep-relevant time intervals and areas on campus. We hope that our approach will promote, through an improved and data-driven understanding of macaque behavioural trends, technology-assisted decision-making and a more harmonious co-existence between humans and macaques on campus and in Singapore. Last but not least, we anticipate further extensions of our approach with respect to other forms of wildlife.