Monthly Archives: October 2019

2nd reflection

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In the first two weeks of  service we did nothing much but got to know each other better as well as sat together in small groups to brainstorm ideas pertaining to how we were going to render our service to the seniors.  We worked our  heads around ideas involving the methods we could use to collect the stories, some of the  prompts we could use and the resources we could access (source of photographs, of interactive games, conversation starters)

The following screenshots show the ideas that we brainstormed together using a shared Google Doc.

In memoirs of  the pioneer generation we normally work in pairs when doing collaborative tasks such as brainstorming and exchange of ideas.  The person i was working with was always friendly and more interactive thus it made it easier for us to liase with each other and come up with sound ideas. It is however worth noting that i am one person who takes some  time to adjust to new ways of doing  things therefore from my own personal opinion the extent to which i was collaborative was not up to the standard i expected. My partner used to be the most dominating during some information sharing sessions which i was not comfortable with so i intend to loop that hole a bit to ensure equal contribution.

 

 

2nd reflection

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In the first 3 weeks of the instrumental teaching program, i had to learn the fundamentals prior to any complex stuff.

There are 4  types of  saxophone. The Alto, Tenor, Soprano and Baritone saxophone. The type i play is called the Alto Saxophone. I chose to play the alto saxophone since it is less heavier and more manageable.

The saxophone consists of four fundamental parts: the neck, the body, the U-shaped bow, and the round, flared bell. Along the length of the instrument, there are 25 tone holes.

First, I learned how to assemble the mouthpiece which involved the following steps;

  1. Moistening the reed by placing it on my tongue.
  2. Lining up the curved tip of the reed with the curved tip of the mouthpiece.
  3. Sliding the ligature onto the mouthpiece and over the reed. …
  4. Tighten the ligature by twisting the screws.

After perfecting the  mouthpiece assembling, I then learned the following;

  • how to insert the neck into the body and the fully assembled mouthpiece into the neck.
  •  how to wear and adjust the neck strap accordingly
  •  the correct placement of my fingers on the bell keys
  • the correct posture

The embouchure was the most challenging part where i had to learn how to position my mouth on the mouthpiece. This entailed resting the lower part of the mouthpiece on the lower lip and teeth on the upper part. i had to do this such that more than half of the mouthpiece was covered by my mouth for increased efficiency when producing musical notes. Instead of doing exactly what i mentioned above, i placed the lower side of the mouthpiece just beneath the lower lip and held the upper side of the mouthpiece with the upper lip.

I was able to produce the notes as required but the fact that i was not able to do the right embouchure posed serious problems in terms of the efficiency of the notes i played. That meant i had to put all the effort i could into perfecting the embouchure as it was the most prominent step to playing the saxophone.

Below is a picture of me holding a fully assembled saxophone in the right posture;

2nd Reflection

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By the time the cross country season kick started my level of endurance had already sky rocked quite significantly thus i coped quite well with the training especially since we ran about 6km instead of 5km. However it was not after long that i started getting a strange feeling that something sinister was going on with my right leg. I pretended i did not feel anything and continued training for three more consecutive weekly sessions.

Unfortunately i could not make it into a few other following sessions as it turned out that i sustained the so called shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome).

Shin splints is basically an inflammation of the bone tissue, tendons  and muscles  surrounding the tibia. The pain typically  occurs along the inner  border of the tibia where muscles  attach to the bone. This was exactly what was the case with  my poor right leg.

The cause of the injury was clear. The  fact that i have  never  done an activity as strenuous as cross country before but then overtrained at the beginning constitutes the  reason why  i sustained  this dreadful  injury. Accordingly,  i should have prepared with less  strenuous  and  easy  jogs or  preparatory exercises and  then gradually  increased the intensity till it reached  the standard i aimed for. My muscles  were  not  quite ready for the sudden high-pressure activity like this and so got  overused that they could not bear the pressure. The major problem  was that i  wanted to get quick results even when i had only just started the activity.

Having  gone to the gym on a daily basis to run 5km  plus  the training sessions  that we attended  three times a week  where i ran 6km are a valid  account for the mess  that i got my leg into. All  that was left for me to do was to give my leg a period of recuperation before resuming the training sessions. That was highly imperative because shin splints are so  dangerous that if not taken into consideration can develop into a  full-blown  stress fracture of the tibia  which  would take months to recover.

Preparation

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I did not just sign up for cross country and wait the entire two weeks without any preparation. Instead, I found it fit to start taking part in the 5k park runs offered at the East Coast Park as a way of getting myself ready for this incredible sport that I have always been curious about. I did about two park runs before the actual training sessions for the sport commenced. Not to forget I also made sure to leverage the opportunity of having the gym in the college by going to the gym almost every day to run a distance of 5k on the treadmills provided. I invested excessive effort into preparing for this activity that I actually saw it much easier the time the season started.

Below are some of the pictures of mine at the end of the 5k run at East Coast Park prior to the start of Season One of CAS:

    

Here is a picture of me that was taken when I went to the gym every day to run 5K in the Treadmill;

I ran a distance of 5k at an extended speed ranging between 15 and 18km/h on a daily basis.

 

 

 

 

Memoirs of the Pioneer Generation

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INVESTIGATION

It was after living under the same roof with a person in her early seventies that i got deeply motivated to join Members of the Pioneer Generation. I would never at any  point in my life turn my back on or entirely forget about her given the pleasure and instinctive motherly love that she expressed to me. The funny fact is i do not know how i am related to her but all i am certain of is that she is a mother to my uncle’s wife. She told me various stories, cracked jokes every time i was in a horrible state of boredom and even taught me more about politics. Sometimes we went for a walk together in the mornings after running household errands and guess what, we always bursted into spasms of laughter from the moment we left the house till we arrived back from the walk. The neighbourhood was so astonished by how much we were close and even envied us a lot. I do not at all mean to derail from the topic but that is a brief story of how my heart got attached to the elderly.

In Memoirs of the Pioneer Generation, we deal with seniors (typically aged 65 and above) in Singapore. All we do is formulate effective relationships and facilitate the lives of these people in a wide spectrum of ways to ensure they live an active and meaningful lifestyle. We do these by playing games with them, interviewing them about the history of Singapore, learn more about their life stories and many other ways. During the process we put this information together into documentaries for future references. With the interpersonal skills i learned from interacting very well with my elders as explained in the above brief story, i undoubtedly believe that it will be much easier for me to get along well with seniors and work together effectively and efficiently.

I hope to further extend my interpersonal skills such as Communication, Empathy, Respect, Caring etc. In addition to these i will be able to develop critical thinking and mental flexibility when dealing the elderly with patience coming at the top. Patience will be one of the most prominent personal qualities since seniors are typically underprivileged in terms of memory, fitness and strength. All in all, it is highly paramount that seniors are well taken care of because they are in every way the foundation of the society from we came from. They influenced our lives in numerous ways and thus turning our back on them should never, not even a bit, be our reaction whenever we hear about them. One day i will be in their position and the question i never ceased to ask myself was, ” who will be there to look after me when i am almost at the peak of my life?”.

 

 

 

Initial Reflection

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I was once a member of the Jazz Band back in my home country although that was a couple of years ago. Chances are that i might have forgotten some few vital basics but that would never undermine my current skill level. To be more specific, i am incredibly passionate about Wind Instruments, both Brass and Woodwind. Speaking of which, i once played brass instruments such as Trumpet, Euphonium and Cornet. I then found it fit to widen up my musical skills a bit and learn to play this other beautiful woodwind instrument called SAXOPHONE. I firmly believe that it  will be much easier for me to learn how to play a saxophone since i already have some good background of wind instruments.

Playing a musical instrument requires a lot of brain involvement. As such i aim to enhance the functionality of my brain  in terms of structure, reaction time, memory, attentiveness and concentration. These can be very beneficial to me when it comes to my performance in academics and other relevant aspects. Music is also a perfect tool for conquering emotional feelings such as stress, depression and abrupt changes in mood.

As an ITP student, i would have to spend some time to learn the basics and work towards perfecting my skills prior to applying or showcasing them to the community which normally happens in a group. Thus, i look forward to improving my collaborative skills, team work, empathy and other social values as i play music with others.  It will also take patience, commitment and self discipline to play music very well. These will further enhance my personal growth and development.

The identity of women

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To what extent does the representation of women in advertising reflect or challenge the identity of women?

Consider how both explore the conceptual question: To what extent does the representation of women in advertising reflect or challenge the identity of women.

Consider:

  • What values/stereotypes/attitudes are being conveyed?
  • How are the adverts similar/different in conveying this?
  • How do they provoke thinking about global issues?
  • How does the craftsmanship (refer to the guide document) of the text explore the ideas of representation and identity?

Global issues: Culture, identity and community; power, politics and justice; beliefs, values and education; art, creativity and imagination; science, technology and the environment

 

The two advertisements convey women’s obsession with beauty. They are stereotyped as not being able to care about anything else but solely their physical appearance. The ad on the left depicts that in the past women were extremely mindful of their appearance more especially in terms of their facial beauty. In the opposite ad, women are now represented as having transformed from only making their faces look as elegant as possible to ensuring the beauty and fitness of their entire body.

the left ad communicates that women are surbodinate to men and that they have limited power in terms of  politics or leadership. This is potentially because they invest most of their time trying to beautify themselves before their husbands or the community at large. Despite the fact that women are seen to partake in politics nowadays, leadership is still not very common among women nowadays as they are still found to care much about their appearance and other aspects of life not illustrated in the ads.

In some cultures, women were expected to obey and render absolute respect and dignity to their husbands. As one of the ways to fulfil these values, they tend to ensure that they are as appealing as possible before their husbands. In the present world, although women have other things to do, they still hold beauty as their core value thus they tend to be sensitive about their appearance so they can be admired by other people.

The wording in the ads is written in capital and also bolded to catch the attention of the audience. The yellow colour(right ad) that is used in the background as well as the swimwear is a connotation of freshness, happiness and energy. It also makes the ad as bright as possible to attract the attention of the audience as well to allow for the wording used to be as clear and appealing as possible. In the left ad, the picture of the woman is placed in the center with words surrounding her to describe everything in the picture and provide clear details. Some words in the left ad have been bolded to attract the attention of the audience towards them since they hold most of the weight of the ad.