High school graduates should take a year off before entering college Essay Example for Free

High school graduates should take a year off before entering college Essay A woman takes a selfie from a high angle A selfie is a type of self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone. Selfies are often associated withsocial networking, like Instagram. They are often casual, are typically taken either with a camera held at arms length or in a mirror, and typically include either only the photographer or the photographer and as many people as can be in focus, which is more commonly known as a group selfie Contents History The first known selfie, taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839 Robert Cornelius, an American pioneer in photography, produced a daguerreotype of himself in 1839 which is also one of the first photographs of a person. Because the process was slow he was able to uncover the lens, run into shot for a minute or more, and then replace the lens cap. He recorded on the back The first light Picture ever taken. 1839. Early Edwardian woman taking her picture in a mirror roughly 1900 Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia taking one of the first teenage self-portraits The debut of the portable Kodak Brownie box camera in 1900 led to photographic self-portraiture becoming a more widespread technique. The method was usually by mirror and stabilizing the camera either on a nearby object or on a tripod while framing via a viewfinder at the top of the box. Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna at the age of 13 was one of the first teenagers to take her own picture using a mirror to send to a friend in 1914. In the letter that accompanied the photograph, she wrote, I took this picture of myself looking at the mirror. It was very hard as my hands were trembling. The concept of uploading group self-taken photographs (now known as super selfies) to the internet, although with a  disposable camera not a smartphone, dates to a webpage created by Australians in September 2001, including photos taken in the late 1990s (captured by the Internet Archive in April 20 04). The earliest usage of the word selfie can be traced as far back as 2002. It first appeared in an Australian internet forum (ABC Online) on 13 September 2002. Um, drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie. Popularity The term selfie was discussed by photographer Jim Krause in 2005, although photos in the selfie genre predate the widespread use of the term. In the early 2000s, before Facebook became the dominant online social network, self-taken photographs were particularly common on MySpace. However, writer Kate Losse recounts that between 2006 and 2009 (when Facebook became more popular than MySpace), the MySpace pic (typically an amateurish, flash-blinded self-portrait, often taken in front of a bathroom mirror) became an indication of bad taste for users of the newer Facebook social network. Early Facebook portraits, in contrast, were usually well-focused and more formal, taken by others from distance. In 2009 in the image hosting and video hosting website Flickr, Flickr users used selfies to describe seemingly endless self-portraits posted by teenage girls. According to Losse, improvements in design—especially the front-facing camera copied by the iPhone 4 (2010) from Korean and Japan ese mobile phones, mobile photo apps such as Instagram, and selfie sites such as ItisMee—led to the resurgence of selfies in the early 2010s.

Perception of elderly people in Singapore

Perception of elderly people in Singapore Singapore is rapidly facing ageing population where the proportion of residents aged 65 and above increased from 14% of the resident population in 1998 and this is set to rise to 27% in 2015. An increase in life expectancy has led to the increase in proportion of elderly people. Other reasons were due to the ageing of the baby boomers, decrease in infant and early childhood mortality rate and low birth rates. In todays society, our perception of elderly people is often that of dependency, slow and disregarded. Misconceptions arise about ageing, leading to stereotyping and social discrimination. A common stereotype states that most elderly people are either unhealthy or ill. When elderly people are unsure of themselves, they are considered to be senile. They are also accused of being old when they forgot a sentence. It was the older generation who worked hard and they deserve to be respected by society. With more and more people becoming old, it is important to pay attention to the legal issues surrounding elders. We need to confront such concerns now so that people are able to look forward to enjoying their old age in peace in the future. Addressing the problem of discrimination in Singapore is therefore a key step in further developing and building up our nation. Through undertaking these suggestions, we can hope towards a better future for Singapore, one free from discrimination and abuse of human rights. Therefore, it is vital that companies and individuals change their mindset and be more supportive towards older generation. Hence, this report will highlight the issue on discrimination against elderly people especially in the workplace. Measures taken at the company and national level to combat this social discrimination against the elderly people are also discussed. Many people discriminate elderly people and this is prevalent in the workplace. Age discrimination occurs when older worker is discriminated against by an employer because of their age. A recent survey by Kelly Services discovered that majority of the 1,500 respondents polled in Singapore, experienced some type of prejudice when applying for a job in the last five years and the main reason for discrimination, which contributed to 29 percent, was age. Majority of the older workers did not complete their secondary education due to limited educational opportunities. Hence, they have a lower skilled job. As firms seek higher productivity, current jobs are being automated and improvised, resulting in multiple and higher skills requirements. This eventually leads to older workers, with low education and holding unskilled jobs, being retrenched. Even if low skilled jobs are available, older workers still face competition from younger and cheaper foreign workers. Many companies are biased against older workers and still prefer to hire younger employees. Such discrimination fails to tap fully the older workers contributions. In addition, due to the high cost of hiring older workers and perception among employers that they are less productive and open to new ideas, many firms are less likely to hire them. As such, employers may encourage early retirement or layoff disproportionately older workers. This is usually seen in computer and entertainment industries. As a result, we often see older workers picking up empty cans or selling tissue papers. Other stereotypical old-age occupations that come into mind will be cleaners and servers at fast food restaurants. Age discrimination has a negative effect on the economy and society. Discriminating age is harmful to a company because older people are full of experiences. By not hiring them, it deprived them of securing a job. The effect on the economy is evident in older workers depleting life savings which were meant for retirement. Borrowing money from financial institutions and maxing out credit cards may be the only solutions for some unemployed people to survive. Medical needs either go unmet or the unemployed person must seek help via subsidies to pay for medication. Depression also rises when people become discouraged from the loss of a job, a home and a livelihood. However, we have Central Provision Fund (CPF) and Medisave which our Singapore government have implemented to provide Singaporeans with a retirement income to meet their basic needs in old age. Another example of discrimination against the elderly people was due to their deteriorating intelligence, they are incapable of making independent decisions such as owning financial property, or living independently. People see this as a negative attitude which is often translated into their ageist actions. There seems to be a trend for the elderly to live on their own, away from their children. It is because some people feel that elderly people is a burden as they are often sick and dependant. Therefore, they will put them in the care of caregivers in the elderly homes, thinking that they have provided them the best in terms of basic needs. However, they are wrong as they have unnoticeably discriminated against them by having a perception that they are a burden, slow, and dependent. United Kingdom (UK) also faces discrimination against the elderly in the workplace. However, older people want to work beyond state pension age and employers are positive about retaining them. Various surveys show that there is a keen attitude amongst older employees for flexible working and flexible pensions. The government encourages older workers to continue working and employers recognize them as a valuable resource. Instead, we should appreciate old age and understand that there is nothing wrong about growing old. We should not identify old age with imagery of despondency. There is a need to rethink on how we can care for the elderly and combat this social discrimination. Under Singapores laws (with some exceptions), the government cannot fine or take any legal action against employers who choose to discriminate. Individuals also cannot sue employers. Recognising the need for older workers to remain employed, the government has come up with various measures which include the extension of the retirement age to 62, reduction in the costs of employing older workers, Back-to-Work programs to encourage the economically inactive to enter the labour force and re-training and skills upgrading of older workers. To reduce the cost of employing older workers, the employers CPF contribution rate for older workers aged 55 and above has decreased and employers can cut wages of workers aged above 60 by up to 10%. Employers have moved away from the seniority wage system and turned to a performance-based wage system. An SHRI (2007) survey revealed that only 14% of Singapore employers use a seniority wage system, while 61% are offering a performance-based wage system. Thus, this enables older workers to be hired because the wages increase with age using a seniority wage system. In the workplace, employers are encouraged to employ older workers and to job redesign. An example will be NTUC FairPrice where they hired older workers and assisted them in job upgrading and career transitions. Older workers can also enrol themselves in training programs to upgrade their skills and this ensures their employability. This is especially so in an increasingly knowledge based Economy. For older workers, learning should not only be seen as an advantage for employment but also for self enrichment and fulfilment. The raising of the retirement age to 62 also enables older workers to secure jobs. Employers have to rethink their attitudes towards employing older workers and make the necessary adjustments e.g. modification of work processes to accommodate older workers. For example, in McDonalds, icons of hamburgers and fries are printed on the cash registers to help older workers key in the right orders. However, their success still depends heavily on employers because it is important that they change their attitudes so that they do not employ employees on the grounds on age. Recently, a tripartite committee (consisting of Singapore National Employers Federation, National Trades Union Congress and the Ministry of Manpower) was set up. They have come up with a set of guidelines on Non- Discriminatory Job Advertisements to discourage employers from adopting discriminatory criteria (such as race, religion, or age) in their recruitment practices. They should avoid stipulating age as a requirement for employment. Public and private sector employers also have to pledge to comply with the non-discriminatory practices. The implementation of the guidelines was successful as there was a significant drop in the percentage of newspaper advertisements stipulating discriminatory criteria from 30% in February to less than 1% in April this year. In Singapore the approach used is more promotional and educational than through legislation as it would be too rigid. This is in contrast with countries such as United Kingdom (UK). UK employment equality law combats prejudice in the workplace as it prohibits discrimination against people based on gender, race, religion, sexuality, disability and age. In UK, It will be unlawful to discriminate against an employee under the age of 65 based on age. Employers are unable to specify that a new recruit should be above or below a particular age. In addition, employers who sack workers or deny them the same training opportunities as their colleagues on age grounds will break the law. The governments also promotes the employment of older workers through re-training programmes, job referrals, career advice, promotion of community service employment and subsidies to employers. Australia: The Aussies have very strong anti-discriminatory hiring practices. When a jobseeker sends in his resume, he can choose not to provide details like address, race, gender, age, religion and photograph. The employers will only decide to interview the candidate based on his working experience and qualifications. In fact, older workers are valuable. Some have argued that they are slow in acquiring new skills. However, older workers perform well in a learning environment involving more hands-on practices, usually those which require customer-sales relationships. The growing importance of services industry in Singapore will expand its employment of older workers as the nature of work will be more dependent on soft skills e.g. in service delivery. In conclusion, government policies can have an impact on the hiring of older workers. Most importantly, it is still the older persons themselves who want to work and employers who provide them with opportunities. As quoted by Ralph B. Perry, Age should not have its face lifted, but it should rather teach the world to admire wrinkles as the etchings of experience and the firm line of character. Why affects society and important? How it creates inequality? Source Citation Elderly Rights. Global Issues in Context Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Global Issues In Context. Web. 26 Apr. 2010. Palmore, E.B. (1999). Ageism: Negative and Positive. Published by Springer Publishing Company, USA. http://books.google.ca/books?hl=enlr=id=Cg4_DTUuV4ICoi=fndpg=PR3dq=ageismots=82vyBdgdhisig=9aWPYcDpexnP2k2UZNBHEYAUY6g#PPT11,M1 http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/03/employers-still-discriminating-against-older-workers/ http://www.sma.org.sg/smj/3810/articles/3810e1.htm http://find.galegroup.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/gic/docRetrieve.do?inPS=truesearchPageType=BasicSearchFormprodId=GICdocId=CP3208520212userGroupName=ngeeann http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/themes/people/popinbrief2009.pdf http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/01/time-to-get-tough-on-job-discrimination-part-one/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_employment_equality_law http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5378876.stm http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=954240 http://www.eu-seniorunion.info/en/activities/againstviolence/default.htm http://www.helium.com/items/819264-age-discrimination-and-its-effect-on-the-economy-and-society Effects of Discrimination in the Workplace http://socyberty.com/issues/discrimination-in-singapore/#ixzz0nLydnLU3 http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/About-Us/Intro/Intro.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718436.stm http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/dvsequl/agedisc/ageandemp.htm?IsSrchRes=1

Gauss Guns :: physics gauss gun

The theory behind gauss guns is that you can take electrical energy and convert it to kinetic energy by using an electromagnetic energy storage field. In essence, you take a ferrous object (the projectile) and place it at one end of a hollow solenoid. When electricity is applied to the coils inside the solenoid, a magnetic field is generated which pulls the projectile towards the center of the coils. As the projectile reaches the center and continues, the magnetic pull decreases and eventually reverses. Before this happens, you need to either shut off the field, or reverse it. This will allow the particle to continue out the opposite side of the solenoid and beyond, thus being a "gun". This system cannot make for a very powerful projectile without becoming prohibitively draining in terms of power for the coils. But it is possible to line up multiple coils and by carefully timing electrical pulses fire the projectile with much more acceleration. However, in terms of a man-portable "gun", anything beyond a single stage would be too heavy, while a single stage gun that is portable cannot generate too much force. Thus, there are no soldiers carrying Gauss rifles. The formula for Projectile Force from a Gauss Gun F = A*N*I(((ÃŽ ¼0*N*I)/(2*(c)2))+(1/CL)) Breakdown of Formula: F = Final force of projectile, in Newtons A = Area of cross-section of barrel, in meters N = Number of turns in solenoid coil I = Current through coils, in Amperes ÃŽ ¼0 = The permeability of free space (12.5663*10-7) in Teslas c = (ra/2b) Found from measurements in figure 1 C = Quantity of electric charge, in Coulombs (A/s) L = Length of barrel, in meters Using this formula and the mass of your projectile, you can determine the acceleration your projectile will have when exiting the gun. (F=ma) There are too many variables to ever find a perfectly efficient setup for a gauss gun, but it is possible to find various setups that provide a very high level of efficiency. If you are looking to see a gauss gun being used as a weapon, your best bet is too run out and buy some futuristic video game. At this point in time, there are no known (unclassified?) portable weapons that fire with electromagnetic forces. However, some prototype, tabletop sized models have been built, and below you can find some links to see some current experiments in Gauss Gun technology. Sam Barros's POWERLABS currently has built a nice single stage Gauss Gun and there are also developing a powerful multi-stage gun.

Cold War :: essays papers

Cold War Discuss the Cold War events of the 1950’s. The 1950’s full of events and conflicts, the main one being the Cold War between the USA and the USSR. Events that lead up to the extreme tension during the cold war, were relations with the Vietnamese. The Vietnam War took place over a battle for communistic prevention. The fear of communism spreading tied in with the relations dealing with the USSR’s communistic society. In Europe there were revolts against communism as well. East Germany was revolting in 1953, along with Poland and Hungary in 1956, who got crushed by the Soviet army. The American government did not interfere with these conflicts for fear of starting a war. The Cold War also took place in the Middle East. Both Jews and Arabs proclaimed it as their homeland. While supporting Israel, the American Government worked to prevent other stronger, oil-rich countries from falling into communist rule. In addition to this was when the American and British forces, cut off aid to Egypt, due to the fact that the ruler that was seeking Soviet support. In 1956 British and French forces attacked Egypt to gain control of the Suez-Canal. Reacting to this situation the USSR, threatened the US and Britain, so Eisenhower persuaded his allies to withdraw. The Cold War also took place in Latin America. USA spread their influence into South America, setting up American organizations in South American, the US could stick a foot in the door of communism. When the Americans overthrew the Guatemalan government, the Soviet Union got furious. They felt that the American Government was escalating the Cold War. In 1958 Fidel Castro overthrew the present Cuban dictator, resulting in the United States becoming angry again.

Creative Essay: Why Are There Poor People -- essays research papers

Creative Essay: Why Are There Poor People   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Looking back on my childhood, I realize how lucky I was to be blessed with the family I have. Knowing what I know now, I have come to understand that not every kid had the same life that I had. Not every child had a living room full of gifts on Christmas morning, or a family to share a birthday with. I was lucky enough to have all of the luxuries that so many children yearn for. So many children take for granted the fact that they eat three meals a day, while so many others are lucky to find a scrap of bread in a dumpster.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It wasn't until I was about nine or ten when I realized that there were poor people in the world. My family and I had been on our annual trip to New York City to see ...

Psychology and New Technology Program Essay

ABC Corporation has made a decision to purchase a new technology program for their employees. Because this technology program is new, employees ranging from age 17- 70 needs to be train. Training must be complete with six months. Before training is implement, four fundamental principles of adult education, including psychological, sociocultural, biological, and cognitive must be analyze. Because of the age range it would feasible to divide the employee into two groups. First group is Young learners (YL) age group 17-25 and the second group is Adult learners (AL) age group 26-71. The AL group will require multiple sessions because of the number of employee in this group. Before training begins, both groups must prepare for learning, therefore an open discussion regarding the new technology program, training plan process and how it will affect the employees will be discuss, this discussion will gain support and full participation from the employees. After analyzing both groups, the biological factor for the YL group will not have a strong impact. Most young learner between the ages of 17-25 is computer knowledgeable and is familiar with the 21st century social media and is open for change with new technology. YL group would benefit from Web-Based Training (WBT) instead of the traditional classroom forum. Many young leaners prefer a teaching method that would keep them engaged, and eager. WBT is the delivery method for the YL group. The adult learners (AL) ages 26-70 may not be a computer literate and would benefit from the traditional classroom approach. The AL group would require the adult educator to have patience, slow lecturing, plenty of hands on exercise, and frequent breaks. Hands on exercise are a memory factor that would benefit the AL group two months after been train. Most adults learners tend to forget what they have learned. Information that goes into adult leaner memory is memorize if the learner practices remembering the information soon after he or she learns it. Psychological factors deals with individuals’ way of thinking and learning. Separating the groups would allow the employees to learn and collaborate within their age group. Developing two groups will allow the learners to relate to each other, and feel comfortable learning. Training both groups together would be challenging for the adult educator as well as the employees. The possibility of redundant questions would slow down the class, which could result in less participation. Cognitive factor is the process of obtaining knowledge through experiences. The Adult learner (AL) is in charge of their own learning. They focus on what will advance their career and life circumstances. The Young learners (YL) rely on others to tell them what they should learn. Both groups learning environment has an impact on how well they comprehend the new technology program. The YL group would benefit from a self pace, web base training module or a stimulation module with active interaction of practical and theory scenarios. Each module will require an assessment and a passing score of 90% or higher to advance to the next module. This learning style would allow the YL group to continue to make use of 21st technology. The AL group would not benefit from web base training. Most adult learners are not comfortable learning new technology, in this case the employees does not have an option. The AL group who is not adaptive to change would find it challenging to learn a new technology program via a computer; this would be an internal factor that may take time to overcome. The job of the trainer is to make the learner apart of the learning process, by asking for volunteers, or asking experiences related questions. The AL groups are concern with why and how to apply this new technology. Sociocultural deals with how adults deal with individual learning and how learning takes place. Dividing employees into separate groups will be beneficial at the end of training. Both groups can relate to their own learning team. The YL group want experience classroom group interaction with their team. Web-based training (WBT) is similar to distance learning. There will be online discussion, and e-mail dialogue. The AL group will build possibly new relationships, interact more, discuss challenges, and success. In conclusion, in order for the ABC Company to be effective with the new technology program, the recommendation is to divide the employees into separate groups, and categorize them as Adult Learner (AL), Young Learners (YL). This approach would be beneficial from the adult learner perspective and applying the four fundamental principles, simplifies the training plan and the assurance that training will be complete successfully within six months. Afterward employees will be able to apply the new concepts, and best practices of the new technology program.

Michael Obi Essay Essay

Michael Obi in Dead Men’s Path is an excitable young man who gets a chance to get his hopes of progressing the Ndume Central School fulfilled when he is appointed headmaster. His obsession with â€Å"modern ways† and extreme eagerness to make changes negatively affect his decision making on how important the path is to the town’s natives. His dismissal and refusal to acknowledge the tradition is the inevitable means to the end of the story. Obi is so focused on his assignment of bringing the school into the modern world that he is blind to how important the traditional tribal ways and beliefs are to the townspeople he needs to work with in order for the school to be successful. He is very stubborn and refuses to keep an open mind about the path. His only focus is making the school as modern as possible and to stamp out anything old and traditional. He ignores the warnings from the fellow teachers and signs from the villagers about the path. When another teacher warns him about how there was â€Å"a big row† the last time someone attempted to close the path, he brushes it off and decides to block it off anyways. Even when the village priest calls on Obi to tell him how much the village depended on the path and how important it is to their tradition, he would still not listen and respect what the priest has to say. After a young woman dies during childbirth Obi finally has to face the consequences of his stubbornness to compromise with the villagers. Obi shows an inability to compromise with the villagers because of his complete belief in modern ways and his negative attitude towards the â€Å"primitive† (as he sees them) beliefs of the villagers. Obi will not allow the villagers to make a highway out of the school. He feels that his goal  with the school is to teach students through â€Å"modern ways† to laugh at the idea of tradition. He doesn’t think that students can be taught in these modern ways and still respect their ancestors tradition. This ultimately leads to the school’s downfall. Conclusion In the end, Michael Obi is not able to accomplish his goal of creating a modern school from an unprogressive one. He is so focused on his goal that he will not listen to the villagers or respect their cultural tradition. He ignores the warnings teachers and villagers give him about the importance of the footpath and shows a complete inability to compromise with them because of his attitude towards their beliefs. This in the end leads to the destruction of the school and Michael Obi’s dream with it.