FAQ About Singapores Location and History

FAQ About Singapores Location and History Where is Singapore? Singapore is at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It encompasses one main island, called Singapore Island or Pulau Ujong, and sixty-two smaller islands. Singapore is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor, a narrow body of water. Two routes connect Singapore to Malaysia: the Johor-Singapore Causeway (completed in 1923), and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (opened in 1998). Singapore also shares maritime boundaries with Indonesia to the south and east. What is Singapore? Singapore, which is officially called the Republic of Singapore, is a city-state with over 3 million citizens. Although it covers only 710 square kilometers (274 square miles) in area, Singapore is a wealthy independent nation with a parliamentary form of government. Interestingly, when Singapore gained its independence from the British in 1963, it merged with neighboring Malaysia. Many observers both inside and outside of Singapore doubted that it would be a viable state on its own. However, the other states in the Malay Federation insisted on passing laws that favored ethnic Malay people over minority groups. Singapore, however, is majority Chinese with a Malay minority. As a result, race riots rocked Singapore in 1964, and the following year the Malaysian parliament expelled Singapore from the federation. Why Did the British Leave Singapore in 1963? Singapore was founded as a British colonial port in 1819; the British used it as a foothold in order to challenge Dutch domination of the Spice Islands (Indonesia). The British East India Company administered the island along with Penang and Malacca. Singapore became a Crown colony in 1867, when the British East India Company collapsed after the Indian Revolt. Singapore was separated bureaucratically from India and made into a directly-ruled British colony. This would continue until the Japanese seized Singapore in 1942, as part of their Southern Expansion drive during World War II.   The Battle of Singapore was one of the most grueling in that phase of the Second World War. After the war, Japan withdrew and returned control of Singapore to the British. However, Great Britain was impoverished, and much of London lay in ruins from German bombardment and rocket attacks. The British had few resources and not much interest to bestow on a small, far-off colony such as Singapore. On the island, a growing nationalist movement called for self-rule. Gradually, Singapore moved away from British rule. In 1955, Singapore became a nominally self-governing member of the British Commonwealth. By 1959, the local government controlled all internal matters except for security and policing; Britain also continued to run Singapores foreign policy. In 1963, Singapore merged with Malaysia and became completely independent from the British Empire. Why is Chewing Gum Banned in Singapore? In 1992, the government of Singapore banned chewing gum. This move was a reaction to littering - used gum left on sidewalks and under park benches, for example - as well as vandalism. Gum chewers occasionally stuck their gum on elevator buttons or on the sensors of commuter train doors, causing messes and malfunctions. Singapore has a uniquely strict government, as well as a reputation for being clean and green (eco-friendly). Therefore, the government simply banned all chewing gum. The ban was loosened slightly in 2004 when Singapore negotiated a free-trade agreement with the United States, allowing for tightly-controlled imports of nicotine gum to help smokers quit. However, the prohibition on ordinary chewing gum was reaffirmed in 2010. Those caught chewing gum receive a modest fine, equivalent to a littering fine. Anyone caught smuggling gum into Singapore can be sentenced to up to a year in jail and a $5,500 US fine. Contrary to rumor, nobody has been caned in Singapore for chewing or selling gum.

Argument Essay Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Argument Essay - Research Paper Example Furthermore, man is today more interested in using motor vehicles, which have high rates of greenhouse gases emissions. Cycling is perceived as a boring activity despite the fulfilment that it offers to riders. As a result, humans do not take time to interact with the environment and determine the richness and the freshness of the natural world, which is the major cause of environmental degradation. Therefore, the main question is," what is our personal responsibility toward the natural world, toward what we term our natural resources?" Understanding our responsibilities will have a positive impact to the declining natural resources and impart a change of beliefs; people will prefer natural landscapes compared to the built environment. Pearson, in her book The perfect vehicle: What it is about motorcycles remarks, â€Å"Our aim†¦it seem [is] to accumulate goods. At the end of this metaphoric road stand the non-metaphoric Kmart, glistening like Oz and filled to the rafters with a hundred cheap mementos of wildflowers, in forms of candle, air freshener, sachet, cologne, bath bead, potpourri, and incense stick. In its prior life, of course, the ground under the big store bloomed with wildflowers.† Pearson’s statement confirms the human appetite for built environment at the expense of the natural environment. In its natural form, the ground was filled with beautiful flowers and a rich aroma, the true value of nature. On the second view, Mellissa presents the image of a ground that was previously blossoming with flowers, but on which a store stands to facilitate economic activities. In other words, stores emphasize Pearson’s regret, â€Å"our aim it seems is to accumulate goods.† Despite the value of the undefiled nature and its blossoming flowers, humanity has taken keen interests in economic activities and industrialisation, which erodes and degrades the natural aroma of many landscapes. The natural resources are replaced with ston e-built structures that deface the landscape. Therefore, humans are called to take value in natural resources and not to prioritise the built environment at the expense of a natural environment. There is value in taking interest in natural items and taking pride in exploring the natural world due to the contentment they offer Mellissa states that â€Å"riding on a motorcycle can make you feel joyous, powerful, and peaceful vulnerable and back up happy again† (Pearson 20). A motorcycle is the only vehicle that the rider can fully experience the richness of nature as the rider is ‘vulnerable’ to nature;  the rider is in direct contact when riding. In addition, such vulnerability to nature uplifts the spirit of the rider to experience the happiness and peace that comes from the fragrance of natural plants along the riding path. Considering motorcycles do not emit too much pollutant gases compared to vehicles, Mellissa emphasizes that relating directly with nature as one rides a motorcycle offers full contentment. In the above quote, she explains that after destroying the previously beautiful natural landscape, we go ahead to fill the stone built stores with artificial and cheap mementos of wildflowers, in forms of candle, air freshener, sachet, cologne, bath bead, potpourri, and incense sticks. Mellissa suggests that it is possible to find more expensive fragrances than these, in their

Sustainable development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sustainable development - Essay Example As a result, their distinction and level of importance can only be understood with defined hierarchies or system levels. Though the choice of level is always dependent upon the observer, he may attach different importance to different hierarchies. The system levels, anyhow, defined will make it convenient to differentiate systems from sub-systems for not being merely sum of their parts. Besides this, they will facilitate the interaction between these systems and subsystems. The idea of system level or hierarchies in the system practice, therefore, makes it easy to develop structures conducive to exploring a system of interest. Similarly system levels or hierarchy is also essential in sustainable development. The domain of sustainable development comprises of individuals with some course of action, some sphere of thoughts or some situation. Hierarchies and system levels within a domain make it easy to recognize a system and the interrelations of the components within it. However, different individuals or groups involved in the sustainable development carry different system of interests or sometimes joint system of interest. Sustainable development is a complex domain activity that recognizes several senses as the area of activity of a person, a sphere of thought or opinion and the situation where something is applicable. All of these elements are interconnected in terms of the boundaries, environments and systems. The boundaries, systems and the environment are crucial in the understanding of the concept of sustainable development tackling the complexity systematically and thus the concept of sustainable development as a main domain through system practice is relevant to the T306 course. One sensible way of engaging the domain of sustainable development is through system practice where the domain is further divided into sub-domains or subsystems like ‘information system’ and ‘organizations’.

Crafty madness Essay Example for Free

Crafty madness Essay Hamlets situation in the play concerning family and love for Ophelia is obviously going to affect him, however the term madness has been questioned as too dramatic and perhaps a more accurate condition to describe Hamlets behaviour is melancholic behaviour. Melancholic behaviour is a condition causing emotional insanity accompanied by extreme depression. Many incidents and speeches of Hamlet are similar to melancholic behaviour: King: Was not like madness. Theres something in his soul, Oer which his melancholy sits on brood. (Act 3, Scene 1) Although this term is not commonly used these days, in the past and still in Shakespeares period melancholic behaviour was a recognised condition. Further support that melancholic behaviour was commonly termed in the 16th century comes from Timothy Brights: Treatise of Melancholy (1586): The perturbations of melancholy are for the most part sad and fearfulas distrust, doubt, diffidence or despair sometimes furious and sometimes merry in appearance, through a kind of sardonic and false laughter as the humour is disposed that procureth these diversions. Therefore not only would Shakespeare be familiar with this behaviour but the audience of the time would also identify it. This condition could be identified by symptoms Hamlet shows for example, Hamlet with good reason displays suits of woe, he sighs and his: dejected haviour of the visage (Act 1, scene 2) In particular after Hamlet has spoken to his fathers ghost he begins to feel paranoid, he even distrusts the ghost at first not only that but the purity of Ophelia and his own inability to act. Other relevant symptoms include the fury towards his Mother because of her marriage and his sardonic joking with the players from The Murder of Gonzago and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The theory of melancholic behaviour is suggestible and rational especially as it was a recognised condition at the time the play was written, however, it doesnt explain enough of Hamlets behaviour or the language, which is used to portray it. In some parts of the play Hamlet talks to other characters and appears to be mad when he is obviously not. For example in Act 2, scene 2 Hamlet seems to patronize Polonius by answering his questions in a way he is clearly in control of: Polonius: Do you know me my Lord? Hamlet: Excellent well, you are a fishmonger, Hamlet obviously knows Polonius, but as Polonius has asked him this question as if he were mad Hamlet answers as if he were mad, but clearly just to humour him. This is supported by Hamlets statement as Polonius leaves the room: These tedious old fools (Line 219) Hamlet also taunts Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and leads them astray by what they realise as, Crafty madness. To add to this the way in which Hamlet expresses his feelings to his Mother all suggest his behaviour and the way he talks to people isnt madness but excuse to act how he feels and speak his mind in a court where no one speaks the truth. This style of Hamlets is allusively presented in his language which also through his madness is allowed to be more rich and creative rather than aristocratic like the other characters. Hamlet uses many proverbial sayings and puns in the play. The authenticity of Hamlets madness is a mystery that cannot be solved, this is perhaps why the play is enjoyed by the audience so much, the huge sense of mystery and uncertainty surrounding Hamlets madness is a main attraction of the play. It is possible that Hamlet is suffering from madness of some sort as my essay suggests perhaps melancholic behaviour, or the anger and jealousy Hamlet feels is just too much for him to conceal. However it is also possible that Hamlets behaviour is madness put on by himself, there is evidence to support this theory as everyone in the play who states that Hamlet is mad has like himself got reason to imply this. Hamlet has stated that he would consider putting on an antic disposition as a disguise to conceal his revenge plot against Claudius. It is also a very significant point that the play of Hamlet is not a true story and consequently Hamlet is not a real character/personality in real life, therefore Shakespeare was able to present him and make him seem however, he wished to. It is possible and likely that Shakespeare intended to present Hamlets madness in this ambiguous way giving almost equal reason for Hamlet to be genuinely mad as there is for him to be acting mad.

Eric Clapton :: essays research papers fc

Eric Clapton Eric Clapton is an innovative guitarist, basically the first to combine blues and rock, which in turn popularized blues. Because of his skill and ever- evolving style, his music is a lasting contribution in itself. Eric Clapton made his recording debut with The Yardbirds, the British group that also featured guitar virtuosos Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Together, they created a whole new blues/rock sound that many of the famous ‘60s and ‘70s bands copied. Clapton left The Yardbirds when he felt the band strayed too far from their blues roots towards pop music. E.C. then joined British keyboardist, harmonica player, singer/songwriter John Mayall and his band, The Bluesbreakers to work on an album. Clapton, with the fresh, up and coming band, made a pure blues album that many blues fans consider to be his best. After the one-album stint with The Bluesbreakers, Clapton formed a new group called Cream with bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. The trio made four highly successful albums together in the next few years. Their more rock like interpretations of old blues songs made blues more popular to the mainstream, much more so than with The Yardbirds. Cream had several top 40 hits, including "Sunshine of Your Love", "White Room", and "Crossroads". Towards the end of the ‘60s Cream split up. Eric Clapton joined the band Blind Faith in '69 and did fairly well with it, but the group broke up quickly after the release of their only album. It was then that Clapton launched his solo career. For A few years in the early ‘70s Clapton played with backup band "Delaney and Bonnie and Friends", and made a few pretty successful albums, but nothing in comparison to the popularity he had with Cream. This was the start of a period of time (basically most of the ‘70s) where Eric Clapton would switch around from backup band to backup band. In doing this, he had to play differently with each one, so it kept his style fresh and ever changing. In the ‘70s Eric took more of a departure from blues and went on to basically playing rock and pop. An exception to this would be when he covered Bob Marley's song "I Shot the Sheriff" and took a stab at reggae. He did excellently with it, too, it was a big Top 40 hit. The eighties saw Eric Clapton make fewer albums. Although this was the low point in his career, he still made albums that were quality by any standard. They also saw a more mature Clapton. The Eric from the sixties with his endless,

Family Centered Approach

The family center approach believes a child’s family is very important to the cognitive and social development skills. Our family defines who we are as a person and oftentimes is a reflection of self. Our family defines culture, economical, race, values and beliefs. A child’s first teacher is the parents, and without parental guidance a child would lack important skills to become successful in society. In this paper I want to explain how educators and parents can work hand in hand to promote desirable behaviors in preschools in classroom and in home setting.The focus to the educator in family center approach is not only the child, but on the family as a whole. Attachment One important behavior I want to discuss is attachment. Attachment is an emotion that a child will experience within its first years of life and continued throughout its whole life span. We often associate attachment with the heart, but actually it is very much needed for the development of the mind, or intellectual development (Gonzalez, 2009). Positive, nurturing attachments helps a child to become secure and promotes a sense of well being. Attachments are formed when there is trust in a relationship.Children that are abused and neglected grow up seeing the world as cold and unwelcoming. Sure we all have our own issues of trust, but children that grew up in a hostile environment have a harder time coping with trusting others as adults. And adults who were neglected and abused as result grow up seeking the caregiver that never met their needs, often forming co-dependant relationships. Others will deal with the problem successfully if the people involved in their lives are responsive to their needs. Family Center approach teaches staff in child care centers can make an impact in that child’s life.The frame work that can be used is called â€Å"protective factors† this is used to reduce the risk of abuse and neglect. Its purpose is to strengthen families and protect c hildren. The goal of the program is to build trusted relationships with the parents and assist them while they are going through difficult times. This type of attachment is different to what just normal staff provides to a child. Getting attached to someone else’s child is a very delicate subject. You could be the first one to sense abuse, and you could also be that important influence in that child’s life.It is important, however, to make sure that you do not look down on the child’s parents, or even attempt to outdo the parents. It is very important to identify those tendendencies, if they do occur, set them aside. It is your job to support the parents. If you look down on them, then you cannot support them. Keep in mind that your attachment is important, but it is only temporary. Be caring and compassionate but also keep the attachment at a professional level. One of the first signs of attachment and independence in a toddler is when he/she begins to say the word no.The first word out of the mouths of most toddlers is the word NO, because this is the word that is most said to them while they are learning their limits and boundaries. Parents tend to use the word NO because they think it gets their attention and they stop for a brief second. But in fact the word No is used so often the toddler thinks it’s ok to say the word No for everything. We have problems with children in our two year old room telling the teacher No and in the next breath they want what the teacher offered them. The word No is there first thing that comes to their mind.As teachers we have to teach the children when to use the word No at the appropriate times. Toddlers need the opportunity to learn how to make choices and see how their choices affect their surroundings. Self-Help Skills Another behavior for growing autonomy is self-help skills. A child has a natural curiosity of its surroundings, and continually wants to explore. How an adult responds to this wi ll conclude the child’s behavior as an adult (Ramming, 2006). When a child is restricted, they often lose their curiosity and willingness to become more independent.Cultures vary on whether they want their child to be independent or interdependent. In our American culture we want our children to explore and be as independent as possible, we push for that. But is some cultures, such as Japan, want the child to be more interdependent. The culture would rather the child to feel more like a family unit than an individual. As a professional educator it is very important to have a better understanding of culture, and to respect the parents view points, even if it may be different than your own. It is very hard on a child to have two conflicting approaches.Do not find yourself in an argument with the parent over your point of views, but practice good communication skills instead. Self help skills are very important in the life of a toddler. We can let Children learn self-help skills are by letting them feed themselves with a spoon or put on their own shoes to help them gain control and develop their self help skills. A toddler wants to be in control of things around them. As teachers we need to encourage toddlers to do things that they can do for themselves. Toddlers are learning new things everyday and need to use what they learn to gain some control over their environment.For example: children need to learn to take turns with toys and what it feels like when a child takes a toy from them. As a teacher we can ask the child to share with their friend and find times when the friend can share with them. This will show the child that they have control over sharing and by sharing, friends will share with them. A child needs many choices throughout the day to help them gain the confidence in her self help skills. This attitude of teamwork makes the toddler feel a little less rebellious because the adult is sometimes seen as a partner rather than as an adversary.Thi s gives the child empowerment over their surroundings. Empowerment Self help skills are a way to make a child feel empowered. Empowerment is a way of making the child feel part as and that he/she is worthy of respect (Yoo,2010). It is important to allow a child to be as independent as possible. An example would be allowing a child to eat finger foods, and feeding herself. Sure it will be messy until the child gets older and learns to be neat, but this allows the child to feel more in control of her world.Giving the child chooses as to what to wear, and eat is an approach that is suppose to help the child to learn to make chooses in life. With choices you also have to set limits on what will and won’t be accepted. Children will often test limits. That is why when a parent set boundaries they must always remain consistent. Not being consistent with boundaries only lets that child know that it isn’t a real limit, and if the child is persistent enough the child will get hi s/her way. Providing security and empowerment to a child you must set limits and stick to them.Family Center Program also gives the families chooses. Like what activities they want to pursue in, how they want to be involved, and what type of help they need, are just some examples. This program, focus on the families wants and not on what the program feels they need. This type of empowerment has been proven to be successful and there is more participation with the families. Pro-Social Skills It is also very important that families and educators teach children social skills. The earlier they start interacting with other children the easier it is for them in the long run.It is also necessary to teach a child good problem solving skills (McArthur, 2002). The must not only learn how to interact with children, but also how to maintain relationships. Another way to install this into children is by teaching them how to help out and be a part of something. It makes the child feel important a nd that they belong to something. Another good way to teach a child’s social-skills is by having good role models in its life. Children will learn and adapt to their environment. It is very important to have the child surrounded by people who has faith that things will work out and that life has meaning.It is very important for families to help the child develop a sense of responsibility and learn not only leadership skills but also follower’s skills. Self Esteem Often times in our society we believe that a child might have â€Å"self esteem issues†. We think that all the child needs is to be uplifted or given compliments and praises. As often, there are conflicted theories on where self esteem derives from. Some theorist will say that esteem comes from â€Å"nature† such as a human biologist that will tell you that esteem in form of our â€Å"DNA† while others, such as Marxists will describe self such as social-economic or â€Å"nurture†.Ho wever, in my research I am going to describe self in relation to relationships with people, because that is the â€Å"self† that is often broken, and the only one that can be fixed. A baby's experience with self develops at an early age. Often the reflection of the caregiver or the image of themselves in the mirror is their first experiences (Luxmoore, 2010). Later on the baby will reflect â€Å"self† without the need of another person. Relationships are very important in developing a child's self-esteem early through life.Poor parenting can affect the child’s development of self. Too often do we wait until a child is 14 or 15 when a professional tries to get involved with â€Å"self esteem issues† and the damage has been done? Too much heartache has happened for another adult to make an impact on the child's life. Often children’s experiences that deal with â€Å"self esteem† projects into the child's environment. When a child's self esteem is low, their feelings towards their environment are also negative. Parenting plays a big role in the development in a child's self image.Sometimes the people in the child's life that are expected to be the nurtures can be very disappointing leaving the child feeling misunderstood. As caregivers it is our job to make sure our children are safe. We can let a child be in control of their feelings and help them gain self help skills and build self esteem as long as the children are safe and are in the right environment. For example, when a child does not know how to make the right decisions and keeps trying to bite their friends we have to take control of the situation and make sure she does not have opportunities to bite friends.I would stay around the child and make sure they did not have confutations with any of their friends. If I had to walk away to do something the child would come with me. Children need limits and boundaries so they will understand what is right and what is wro ng and can make good choices when learning to get alone with others. In my community we have toddler behavior specialist who does trainings on what to expect out of toddlers and how to enable toddlers to be themselves and be independent children. These trainings are for teachers as well as parents.Caregivers are given lists of age appropriate characteristics to give to parents so they will understand why toddler’s act the way they do and how they can help the child grow. In the conclusion of this paper we have discovered how important it is that the Family Center approach helps the child’s development and sense of self by empowering families to become more involved. This has been proven to eliminate child abuse and neglect. It has also provided ways to help families network in the community. This program has taught the importance of parent/child relationships and how educators can better support the family.

The Education System Of Ukraine - 1500 Words

Weakened Education System People from all around the world strive to make their country the best in every possible way, but in order to accomplish this they must have high quality education, which can lead to smart citizens. Ukrainian Ministers of education want everything to be perfect. They want all the people to be like robots with the same way of learning, thinking and working. Because of this, Ukrainians lose interest to study in any Ukrainian institution. The Ukrainian education system is an example of minister’s faults as there are many wrong basic points that should be addressed to improve the education system. One hundred years ago Ukrainian educational standards were probably perfect, but time changed and Ukraine has to move†¦show more content†¦The educational system in Ukrainian colleges and universities should be improved by giving students the right to create their own schedule, taking students outside of the classes and letting them learn the way they w ant. Ukrainian students might feel better if they will have the right to choose the time, teacher and class they want to be in. In today’s world, Ukrainian students are getting information easily about every college and university in the world since they are tired of the education system in their home country. It doesn’t mean that Ukrainian education is bad, it is extremely good, but because of the way students are getting this education they want to stop or change to a country where to study in a different way. â€Å"Ukraine is often thought of as a country that has a good education system and, more importantly, good access to education. It looks true on the surface, but there is trouble brewing underneath† (Podvysotska 1). First of all, students don’t have a chance to choose classes they would like to be in. Whenever students come to the university the first day, they must know what is their major then after that they are getting classes they are going to ta ke. Usually Ukrainian students have at least eleven classes per semester, and if a student doesn’t pass one class, he or she automatically fell all the classes. As if it happened in Ukraine the student is dropped from University and there are no chances to retake one class.