Thursday, October 31, 2019

Discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Discussion - Research Paper Example Both pieces are white and have columns and arches, and are decorated by sculptures. Similarly, they both are examples of representational art. However, the subject matters of the two pieces are different. The Temple of Athena’s purpose is to help the Greeks in war, while the Arch of Constantine celebrates the war that has already been won. The Temple of Athena had a religious function of worshiping the goddess of victory. The statue of Athena inside the Temple held a pomegranate in one hand, which was a symbol of fertility, and a helmet, a symbol of war, in the other hand. In addition, Athena had no wings, as usual. She was depicted without wings in order not to ever leave the city, as the people believed (Ancient-Greece.org, 2013). On contrast, the Arch of Constantine had a social and political function of celebrating, immortalizing and commemorating Constantine’s victory over his enemy. The use of materials from the monuments of Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian and Trajan, who were considered good emperors, also created positive associations between them and

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Principles of Banking and Finance Essay Example for Free

Principles of Banking and Finance Essay What does Sub-Prime Crisis means? Sub Prime lending which is also known as near-prime, non-prime and second chance lending, means lending to people who might have trouble repaying the loan due to income ability or credit ratings which previously would not have been available to them. Credit ratings that might be not favorable to them with the standards set up initially by Financial Institutions slowly dwindle to less strict under-writing of loans. which could also due to an influx of foreign capital making lending easier to these group of people, the investment banks that sold the repackage mortgages to the consumers which is one of the way to fund for capital, and the Housing Urban Development of America policy to ensure that its citizens has access to mortgage loans easily. The cheaper interest rate packaged by the Financial Institutions which seems more affordable for the consumer for the first 1 to 5 years and the thereafter interest rate would have jumped significantly. The loans here generally referred to mortgage loans. The Crisis started or snowball into what it was in 2007 in my opinion was due to greed. Greed into thinking that the property boom would continue in perpetuity so that the borrowers could cash out more from their current property market valuation, with this cash out in terms of personal loan they could fund or finance their lifestyle be it buying a new property for investment purposes, to flip or for rental. For the luxury in life they choose to enjoy now, spending future money. As the economy slowed, jobs are being taken away from corporation in America to other countries which have a cheaper source of overhead expenses and manpower. People are being retrenched thus causing them to start defaulting on their loan repayments. A statistic done has shown that the American households do not have any savings but was laden with debt instead. The housing bubble burst, the market does not have that much capital as it used to have to continue to push property prices up anymore, thus causing the market to slow overall, foreclosures of their properties was happening. Consumers was also unable to obtain a refinancing which they had planned previously to lower their interest rate again when it went up, as financial institutions feel the pinched and controlled its lending. How did the Financial Institutions played a part in this? In the past banks have financed their mortgage lending activities through the deposits they receive from their customers. This has confined the amount of mortgage lending they could do. In recent years, banks have designed a new model where they repackage these mortgages to be sold to the bond markets. This has made it a lot easier to fund additional borrowing from the investors and interest rate was low. But it has also led to abuses as banks no longer have the incentive to check carefully the mortgages they issue to the lenders. The failure to check and curb lending in return for the possibility of profit was one of the causes. The first sign of the sub-prime crisis was as early as 2007 when HSBC Finance which is part of the banks north American subsidiary has to write off 880 million in sub-prime lending. The business has become unsustainable as borrowers started to default. The new model which we have come to know is known either as Mortgaged backed Assets or Collateral Debts Obl igations. The repackage mortgages are being sold to the bond markets, before they can be sold, credit rating agency will determine and give the model a rating. A credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuers credit worthiness example its ability to pay back a loan, and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued. These MBS or CDOs as it has come to know are usually marketed to countries which has a surplus in its balance sheet as it was generally known that Asians believe in savings rather than spending future money thus the products were usually marketed in Asia, It is allege that the rating agencies experienced from conflicts of interest, as they were paid by investment banks and other firms that organize and sell these structured securities to investors. If there are not to give favorable ratings to these products they risk the underwriter of these securities to another rating agency. It would be hard to sell these products if they are not being given a rating to begin with. Once they are sold the banks have in a way diverted part of the risk to the consumers. Investors should not rely too heavily on these ratings agencies opinions but instead carry out their own homework in the safeness of debt level as well as others related securities. Probably the opinions of the agencies enable them to get a conclusion, however based on past decade of event, it can only be consider as off base when it comes to the risk of credit event. Investors should try to put themselves in the shoes of the product pushers, asking themselves very important points like, why do you need to sell these products? Do you own any of these products yourself? If it is as good as you mention have the private investors bought and participated a substantial amount of their savings in it? Perhaps there need to be some form of intermediaries whereby no conflict of interest will affect their opinion and report of these products. A case study in Singapore itself which has made headlines during this crisis was the minibond saga which was being sold in Singapore by a couple of Financial Institutions. The originator of this series of structured products was the now defunct Lehman Brothers. The Minibond was being illustrated to the local consumer as a bond which is not the case it is actually a Collateral Debts Obligations. The relationship managers in banks are eager to sell the product because of the high commission and the consumer who are eager to buy because the returns are much higher than the fixed deposit being offered by the banks. An estimated of 500 million Singapore dollars was purchased for the Minibonds by consumers. It stirred a series of conflicts with the Financial Institutions that sold these products, the consumers cried fouled into being mis-sold of it, some of the consumers managed to get back part of their investment and vowed not to touch these structured products ever again. We can take a look back into the 1990s where one of the policy set up and enforce by the Housing and Urban Development of America, was one of the cause of the sub prime crisis. With the support of the government, HUD has less mortgage restriction requirements on its borrowers. The mandate was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which was regulated by HUD, was to generate up to 8 million more homeowners in America. It was known as the â€Å"National Homeownership Strategy†. No down payment was required, 100% financing for the property was the norm. This was partly possible due to the influx of cheap money in the market, wit h this cheap money consumers speculated with the market, they kept buying new homes thus the good years of where the appreciation of the property keep going up. Financial Institutions dare to lend due to the market confidence that it can only keep going up, borrowers confidence that the market too can only keep going up. A check with HUD official website, apparently the US government is still supporting home ownership program without first addressing a stable income issue. Only with a stable income can a person make regular commitment to his or her housing loan commitment. Kudos to the Singapore government for taking appropriate actions during the last few years when their economy was recovering, the measures taken to prevent over speculation of the property market in Singapore. Homebuyers with the extra cash were snapping up properties, either for owner’s occupation or for investment purposes. The government either learned from the Sub-prime crisis or foreseen that if it continues the way it is going, a market crash might be imminent or the crash will be too fast and hard, no soft landing for the consumers. As they knew that property market have its up and down. Steps was taken, it used to be 90/10. Whereby the buyer have to come up with 10% cash and the remaining 90% can be financed through a financial institutions regardless of the number of property they currently owned. It was changed to 80/20 rule, 20% of which is the owner’s own cash an 80% through financing. Surprisingly it did not deter the consumers, the market still kept soaring. The next rule implemented was the 80/20 rule for first time buyers, meaning buyers without any current mortgage loan, for buyers with an existing mortgage which was not yet paid up; they are only eligible for 60/40. 60% financing for their new property and an increased in the stamp duty to be paid for to the government if it was their 3rd property for Singaporean. The hardest hit was the foreigners who are seeking to invest their money in Singapore properties as they have to pay additional 10% stamp duty which is likely to deter most of them. P rices still kept going up, the latest ruling was much more complex than the previous few. If one is looking at 80% financing one can only borrow up to the age of 65 years old and tenure of not more than 30 years. Which was not the case previously, in previous scenario it was dependent on different Banks guideline in Singapore, they could lend up to the age of 70, 75 or 80. They stepped in and put a cap at 65 as they believe that is the retirement age. If you want to extend your loan tenure your financing amount will drop to either 60% or 40%. I believe the government did this as they knew that the US is going ahead with Quantitative Easing 3, they want to prevent too much hot money from landing in Singapore shore. To sum up, we learned from our mistakes and grow not to make the same mistake twice. A healthy economy is based on real economic goods with value. Hopefully US can still continue to create innovative products like Apple and keep their manufacturing production in US soil, get employment rate up. The citizens have to maintain their expectations in terms of salary wise and spend within their means. Tighten up their way of lending and controlling Banks to a certain extent, a culture that is profit driven but with ethnics. Can heed the investment guru jim roger’s advice to focus on farming as there will be a food shortage in time to come. Induce good saving habits in everyone to save up for a rainy day. http://www.ethicalquote.com/docs/SubprimeMortgageCrisis.pdf http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7073131.stm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_policies_and_the_subprime_mortgage_crisis http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/09/AR2008060902626.html http://www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com/mortgages-with-no-money-down/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2816291/HSBC-hit-by-sub-prime-crisis.html

Sunday, October 27, 2019

How To Build A Personal Brand

How To Build A Personal Brand Anyone who runs a business carries a brand; anyone that has presence online includes a brand. You may not even be aware of it; but whether you wish it, you could have brand. The secret is to cash in your personal branding and make it work for you. In laymens terms, a brand could be the image you project. Its the impression someone gets from you, or better yet it is the impression you give off. Basically, its your personal inventory of promises and expectations. When someone comes in touch with you, they immediately, maybe even subconsciously, form a whole list of expectations and prejudices about you. Whether they are right or wrong, they have formed a list of beliefs about you, and you have not even had to utter a single word. That is your personal brand. For example, consider a sales man. What is the image that you think? I am guessing that it can be of someone whos well dressed, somewhat aggressive and maybe someone who talks fast. You also probably even imagine that this salesman is selling something. This is a brand. Without knowing anything else, you could have formed an opinion, and prejudged. This is why personal branding strategy is crucial or if not used wisely, disadvantageous. A Brand Is Not Just a Product. When you say the word brand, most people think of a product; for example, they might imagine of Kelloggs Frosted Flakes. Well as we discussed earlier, a brand can also be a person. Take an athlete for instance. Why do you think that a star athlete is paid millions of dollars in endorsements? Its because he has successfully created a personal brand. He can sell you shoes, clothes, cars, and even deodorants. And why do you think this is? It is because he represents success, power, and fortune. His personal brand contains a promise. Promise that if you dress like him, drive similar car and use the exact deodorant, you can experience the same success. What is Your Personal Brand? If you havent much considered your personal branding, it is probably time to get it. Because personal branding takes place on the subconscious level, all you contact is forming a prejudice about you. As an example, in case you run into someone who is dressed slovenly with holes and rips of their clothing, you could assume, correctly or incorrectly, that this person is poor, or even lazy. Are you starting to grasp why not controlling your own personal brand is harmful? Okay, so now lets translate everything we know about brands to the internet. Every picture you have ever posted, or article you have written is contributing to your personal branding. The internet is an extremely powerful branding tool. Have you ever tried to Google yourself? The search engine will give several results. This is quite an enlightening experience. One of the best way to target your value is by branding. This will also clarify and improve your value. So you see, the more you know about your brand, the better it will be to change it. Personal Branding: Taking Control over Your Brand Whether you are developing your personal branding for the first time, our image is the key to our success personally. You must discover ways to identify your personal brand, how to show it, and the way to control it. Have you seen some brands, movies, and popular people which are directly connected to you? There are features your brand must possess in order to attract audience. These are quality, creativity, guarantee, and assurance. Your brand will reflect directly to your personality. The nice brand you have, the good person you can be recognized. Why is controlling your brand so important? Because everyone you come in contact with has having access to your brand; your future employer, future wife, or customer. All they need to do is type your name right into a search engine, and proof you are branded. You personal branding is not only about setting up good image. An image that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t replicate your personality will always be transparent and genuine. Making a potent personal brand must be necessary. If you want to be recognized, social media can be the best way to build your name. Social media tools are of great help in personal branding and marketing strategies. These are tools on the internet that can be use in promoting your brand. You can create a bridge with your contacts through conversation. Social websites, business networks, blog sites, and photo sharing sites are just some of them which you can advertise your personal brand. Social media networks have become popular to us; chatting with your friends, sharing information of daily our lives and posting updated news about our present world. Beginning to see the picture? If you try to present an expert image, you may want to start making a few changes. For instance, if in case you have questionable posts or pics with a social networking site, take them out, or make the site private. So if what you are portraying online does not match up with what you want it to be, get busy. Consider having both a private and public account. This way you can control your personal brand on the public account, and let loose on your private account. Another word of warning; the internet sometimes tempts us to over share. We want to share everything, all our secrets and all of our dirty laundry. Try not to get sucked in, and remember that every post can brand us. Of course, you are still trying to project a positive and professional image, so go ahead and post. Just be smart about it. Submit intelligent, insightful or witty articles. Write about good things that you have done or have had done for you. You can even be creative. In the end, make your brand work for you. Once you learn to control, you will be able to turn it into a positive, and then good things will begin to happen. To get even more information about personal branding marketing strategies, to obtain powerful training on the best marketing strategies online, including personal branding marketing strategies, and to have access to a fully integrated Internet Marketing Educational Platform, visit http://LeliaRaynal4YourSuccess.com and enter your name and e-mail address in the opt-in box.Then you will receive a gold mine of powerful information.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Ion :: essays research papers

There is a deep sense of realism that lies in the play Ion. The opening of the play arouses an old wrong, the seduction of Creusa by Apollo, which slowly develops into a tangled plot of deceit. The theme of the play is unique in how it is centered on a human dilemma that many can associate with in some way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the beginning, one can only imagine the outcome of Apollo’s seduction of Creusa. To make matters worse she has a child. There is an uncanny feeling of darkness and silence as she is made to keep her lips sealed. It appears that she gave up her son from fear of her parents. Like many young girls today she made a drastic decision in order to conceal her pregnancy. Apollo in this play is given human attributes. He is depicted as a barbarian who truly lacks the goodness of a god. Indeed a critical problem has developed with Apollo’s seduction of Creusa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Apollo from the beginning is perceived as a demanding figure. Creusa is seen as the passive figure with no say in her circumstances. How could a mortal expect to make a god care for a child? This is where Euripides attempts to bind the mortals and the gods together. Apollo and Creusa share a common problem, and each makes different decisions in how they will go about solving that problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Immediately after Creusa leaves Ion in the cave, Apollo rescues him. Apollo’s actions are strange in that he goes as far as to catch the soul of the priestess so that she would care for his son but yet refused to give aid to Creusa. As a youth, Ion is appointed as a guard of Apollo’s gold, then an altar attendant and later the chief caretaker. Ion knows nothing of his birth, and asks no questions because of his deep respect for Apollo. He is happy in his service to the gods never knowing the agony that his mother is suffering as she longs for her lost son. It is critical to recognize that throughout the story no one acknowledges Apollo as the agitator of all the problems. Creusa marries Xuthus and they find themselves unable to have children. While she longs to have a child, she can only regret the loss of her son years ago. Because they desire to have children, they go to Delphi to consult the gods. Ion :: essays research papers There is a deep sense of realism that lies in the play Ion. The opening of the play arouses an old wrong, the seduction of Creusa by Apollo, which slowly develops into a tangled plot of deceit. The theme of the play is unique in how it is centered on a human dilemma that many can associate with in some way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the beginning, one can only imagine the outcome of Apollo’s seduction of Creusa. To make matters worse she has a child. There is an uncanny feeling of darkness and silence as she is made to keep her lips sealed. It appears that she gave up her son from fear of her parents. Like many young girls today she made a drastic decision in order to conceal her pregnancy. Apollo in this play is given human attributes. He is depicted as a barbarian who truly lacks the goodness of a god. Indeed a critical problem has developed with Apollo’s seduction of Creusa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Apollo from the beginning is perceived as a demanding figure. Creusa is seen as the passive figure with no say in her circumstances. How could a mortal expect to make a god care for a child? This is where Euripides attempts to bind the mortals and the gods together. Apollo and Creusa share a common problem, and each makes different decisions in how they will go about solving that problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Immediately after Creusa leaves Ion in the cave, Apollo rescues him. Apollo’s actions are strange in that he goes as far as to catch the soul of the priestess so that she would care for his son but yet refused to give aid to Creusa. As a youth, Ion is appointed as a guard of Apollo’s gold, then an altar attendant and later the chief caretaker. Ion knows nothing of his birth, and asks no questions because of his deep respect for Apollo. He is happy in his service to the gods never knowing the agony that his mother is suffering as she longs for her lost son. It is critical to recognize that throughout the story no one acknowledges Apollo as the agitator of all the problems. Creusa marries Xuthus and they find themselves unable to have children. While she longs to have a child, she can only regret the loss of her son years ago. Because they desire to have children, they go to Delphi to consult the gods.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Research on Pulau Ubin in Singapore

HH2001 Singapore: The Making of A Cosmopolitan City-State Research Paper Ong Wei Xiu Janine U1230453D Introduction The purpose of this essay is to find out how Pulau Ubin played a significant role in the development of Singapore since the late 1800s until today. I shall begin by giving a brief introduction of Pulau Ubin and go on to elaborate about how the island played a significant role in helping Singapore’s development in various aspects. This topic shall be investigated according to two main categories – granite quarrying and adventure island.I will then conclude the essay by commenting about whether Pulau Ubin will continue to play a significant role in Singapore’s development in the near future. Brief Introduction On Pulau Ubin Shaped like a boomerang, Pulau Ubin is the second largest offshore island of Singapore. Measuring a distance of about 7 kilometres across and about 2 kilometres at its breadth with area of around 10 square kilometres, the island lie s towards the northeast of the city-state in the Straits of Johor.It is a stone island mainly â€Å"composed of igneous rocks of granite that are believed to be more than 200 million years old. † Since the founding of Singapore by the British, the island has been known for its vast resource of granite. The first two lighthouses of the country were built with granite from Pulau Ubin. Subsequently, granite was fashioned for various purposes throughout the city-state’s history, including the building of the iconic HDB flats on mainland Singapore.The exposure to sea, abandoned quarry lakes and secondary forests make Pulau Ubin a â€Å"natural choice for training†. The trend of adventure training on the island took flight when the Outward Bound School set up its first site on the island while answering the government’s call for the creation of a â€Å"rugged society† that could withstand the rigours of sudden nationhood in 1967. Other adventure campsite s and facilities were later developed around the island to cater to the needs of outdoor adventure enthusiasts. Granite QuarryingAfter the British founded Singapore, vast amounts of granite were found on Pulau Ubin. Works began in 1848 to extract the granite for building Singapore’s first lighthouse located in Pedra Branca, a small island 56 kilometres to the east of mainland Singapore. Captain James Horsburgh, a hydrographer who surveyed and chartered seaways and large bodies of water, realised that as Pedra Branca was a small rocky island that was not easily recognizable from a distance and it made the island a hazard for ships passing by.Hence, John Turnbull Thomson, a British civil engineer, built the Horsburgh Lighthouse (named after Captain James Horsburgh) in 1847 using bricks and mortar. However, it was not strong enough and could not last. Thomson then turned his eyes onto the granite stones of Pulau Ubin and had it fashioned in 1848 by stonebreakers and cutters to b e used for the construction of the lighthouse. This helped Singapore to also claim ownership of the island that was often disputed for by the surrounding region.Subsequently, a second lighthouse located in Pulau Satumu, the Raffles Lighthouse, was also built using granite from Pulau Ubin to mark the southernmost tip of Singapore’s territory. It proved to be of huge importance as it served as a safety marker for â€Å"one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes† in the â€Å"narrowest section of the Singapore Strait. Apart from these two lighthouses that helped to mark out significant territorial points of Singapore, the granite from Pulau Ubin was also used for the construction of the Causeway between Singapore and Malaysia over a pan of 5 years from 1919. With more quarrying works to be done because of the large amount of granite needed by the British to build infrastructure on mainland Singapore, population started to rise on Pulau Ubin. Soon, the island became a major supplier of granite for the building industry. The local Malays also tapped onto the resources and started â€Å"selling polished granite slabs, stone tombs and granite grinders. † The British constantly saw the need for an in-depth study about the vast amounts of granite that could be extracted for construction and roadworks.They eventually came up with a â€Å"[r]eport on the availability of granite on Singapore and the surrounding islands† in 1950 to find out exactly where and how much granite could be extracted on the various parts of Singapore (of which, more than twice the number of areas identified were from Pulau Ubin). There are a total of five granite quarries on Pulau Ubin. Despite having quarries like Aik Hwa Granite Quarry which produced about 160 to 180 tonnes of granite per month and support up to 40 percent of what was needed for the construction works in Singapore, there was a shortage in granite supply in the early 1990s.This caused the grani te suppliers to think of ways to increase their productivity. Resources Development Corportation (RDC), one of the quarries on Pulau Ubin, even looked into installing a new crusher plant. Eventually, all the quarries on Pulau Ubin and mainland Singapore was made to close down by the Public Works Department (PWD) in order to protect the natural environment as well as to free up the land â€Å"for better economic use. † Adventure IslandIn 1967, Dr Goh Keng Swee, the then-Minister for Defence and Interior asked for the setting up of an Outward Bound School (OBS) to build a â€Å"rugged society† in light of the challenges faced by a young nation that was just denied of being a part of a large domestic market. By putting participants through trainings on land and at sea, OBS hoped to train and help them to realize the value in themselves and others, as well as discover their strengths in order to be free from fear and self-doubt.The ‘rugged nature’ of the wild terrains on Pulau Ubin was a natural choice for it to become an optimal site for OBS. Having the capacity to train 23,000 people (comprising children, youths and adults) a year and having been â€Å"pivotal in the training of young Singaporeans to meet the changing needs of society†, OBS has made an impact in the nation of Singapore through running its range of programmes on its two Pulau Ubin campsites.Apart from bringing out the best in the people of Singapore, the experience of training in OBS was also vital in training budding leaders of the country. Singapore’s current Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong (the son of the then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew), had much to testify for when he spoke of his fond memories of how he blended in with everyone else, realized that he could â€Å"push himself to the limit, and do things [he] never thought he could do† during an OBS’ course back in 1967.He went on to praise the OBS for being â€Å"one of the best Outwar d Bound centres in the world†. All these could not have been possible, if not for the initial efforts of volunteers who passionately set up the logistics and ran the courses ceaselessly on Pulau Ubin. The Ministry of Education (MOE) also realized how Pulau Ubin was an ideal location to place two major campsites for promoting a rugged lifestyle in training student cadets from National Cadet Corps (NCC) and National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC).Dr Tay Eng Soon, the Senior Minister of State (Education) then, announced the plans to build these two sites back in 1990, citing that the reason for doing so was to get children â€Å"out of their flats and come closer into contact with nature, as Singapore is now highly urbanised. † The government had plans of developing Pulau Ubin as an â€Å"Adventure Island† since 1990. The island was suitable in supporting an array of outdoor activities, residential amenities and adventure facilities while putting disturbance to the natur al environment to the minimum.Singaporeans have also demonstrated an interest towards a life of adventure on the island of Pulau Ubin, creating a kind of ‘top of mind awareness’ about the island being the iconic site for adventure-enthusiasts currently and in the future. Conclusion Having put down its status as one of the major granite suppliers for Singapore since the 1990s, Pulau Ubin has transformed its image from being an island that churns out tonnes of granite for construction on the mainland to being an ideal sanctuary away from the bustling city with a holistic variety of adventure activities waiting to engage the city dwellers of all ages.Whether it is the experience of being a part of the nation-building process during the heydays of granite quarrying or the memories forged by having attended various camps and outdoor activities conducted on the island, Pulau Ubin seems to have played a significant role in the development and progress of Singapore as a nation, as well as in the hearts and minds of Singaporeans in general. However, the future of Pulau Ubin may not be anything like its past.In the government’s concept plan presented in the parliament, there seems to be plans of linking Pulau Ubin to the mainland through MRT line extensions as well as developing the island in light of the situation of land scarcity on mainland Singapore. Though these were just some of the hints gathered from a book by the Government’s Concept Plan back in the 1990s, one cannot deny that Pulau Ubin has always maintained an important status in the minds of the state’s planners, and will probably always be, in the years to come. Reference: The Causeway, A Great Engineering Work Completed.. † The Straits Times, June 27, 1924. Alexander, FES. Report on the availability of granite on Singapore and the surrounding islands. Singapore: Government Publications Bureau, 1950. Chua, Ee Kiam. Pulau Ubin: Ours to Treasure. Singapore: Simply Gree n, 2000. Boonzaier, Jonathan. â€Å"Raffles remains beacon of light in Singapore Strait. † Trade Winds, April 13, 2013. Yum, Shoen Liang. â€Å"Govt should study further its plan for Ubin and Tekong. † The Straits Times, The Sunday Times edition, sec.Forum, March 02, 1991. â€Å"Granite quarry owners seek to resume blasting. † The Business Times, June 18, 1990. â€Å"Granite suppliers step up production to meet demand.. † The Business Times, , sec. Business Times Singapore, September 13, 1990. â€Å"Keep Ubin as it is, says Chok Tong after touring ‘Adventure Island'. † The Straits Times, The Sunday Times edition, October 09, 1990. â€Å"Long-term development plans for Tekong and Ubin revealed. † The Straits Times, The Sunday Times edition, sec. Home, February 25, 1991. Of Courage and Character.Outward Bound Singapore: The first 40 years. Singapore: People's Association, 2007. â€Å"Two big campsites to promote the rugged life on the c ards. † The Straits Times, The Sunday Times edition, sec. Home, June 01, 1990. Waller, Edmund. Landscape planning in Singapore. Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2001. http://books. google. com. sg/books? id=L5kLBHwUwfEC;pg=PA48;lpg=PA48;dq=hdb quarry;source=bl;ots=EEUo_IR_5h;sig=twpNwCT89Xnc30TpJrtKsk3zxxI;hl=en;sa=X;ei=d8dqUbvvMu-ViQeC8oD4DA

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Satellite Offices Help Improve Work-Life Balance

Satellite offices to help improve work-life balance TAN WEIZHEN – 09 MARCH SINGAPORE — To support the quest for better work-life balance, the Government will be carrying out various initiatives to support working from home, such as the introduction of satellite offices located nearer to homes. These Smart Work Centres will come with facilities and will be shared by employees of different companies, said Minister for Communications and Information Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, who also announced improvements to infrastructure for services like  [email  protected], during his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate yesterday.Noting that several Members of Parliament (MPs) had called for greater use of technology to boost productivity, Dr Yaacob said home-based work â€Å"can help Singaporeans better balance their work-life commitments and minimise travel during peak hours†. Singapore’s economy would also benefit from the increased labour force participation, w hile businesses could derive long-term cost savings in office space rental. The Infocomm Development Agency (IDA) is working with the National Library Board to pilot such centres at selected libraries.The Public Service will also be piloting this concept at several ministry buildings, including the Treasury, for use by public officers from participating agencies. The agency has also embarked on pilots for home-based work with six companies from the healthcare, education and telecommunications industries. Among them is home-nursing care provider Rasa Sayang, which allows nursing staff to access assignments and information on patients remotely.Meanwhile, the capacity and speed [email  protected]  will be ramped up and its login process simplified. Instead of having to repeatedly enter one’s login information, the improved network will be able to recognise registered users through the SIM cards in their phones. The IDA will also be revising the Code of Practice for Infocommu nication Facilities in Buildings to ensure buildings set aside adequate space to support quicker deployment of mobile services.Telcos have long had issues with building owners who either delayed the process or rejected such requests, leading to a slowdown in works to improve the mobile networks. Five MPs yesterday called for the greater use of ICT to help businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, to boost their productivity, as they undergo restructuring over the next few years.Mr Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir) said: â€Å"This can include a one-stop training centre to equip SME staff with the skills to use ICT, as well as getting SME owners to adopt ICT in their business in a holistic way, so as to overcome the current and near future manpower crunch. † Mr Low Thia Khiang (Aljunied GRC) added that internet speed is critical to home-based work initiatives, and questioned why speed is not part of the IDA’s quality standards. Responding, Dr Yaacob said the minis try does its own studies for broadband speeds. Tan Weizhen