Elderly Observations

In my neighborhood, there are not much elderly around, but when i visit my grandparents in Yishun, or go our with my friends and family, i have made some observations about the elderly.

Elderly observation 1: When the elderly climb by stairs, they always hold the handlebars at the side of the stairs and slowly make their way up.

Elderly Observation 2: When it comes to crossing roads, the elderly tend to not use the overhead bridges, as it might be a very difficult task for them, and they tend to cross the big road with cars traveling on that road at about 60-80 km/h. These can result in major accidents, and the lives of the elderly could be lost just like that. I feel that the government should install more traffic lights on the road, so that the elderly can cross the road with ease, and not needing to go up a flight of stairs just to cross the road. For them, this could be a very difficult thing to do. However, this solution might cause displeasure to the drivers in Singapore. So, another possible alternative is to educate the elderly that by crossing the wide road just like that, they would risk their lives and they might get knocked down by a car anytime.

Elderly Observation 3: I still sometimes see elderly standing in the MRT trains and on the buses! The government should really encourage the citizens of Singapore to give up their seats for the elderly in Public Transports, so Singapore can be a community the is friendly to people of all ages.

Elderly Observation 4: The elderly like to sit down on benches in shopping malls after they have looked around for products that they want to buy. And yet, in some shopping malls, such as Bishan's Junction 8, there are no benches that are free to the public to be found! If an elderly person wanted to take a seat, they had to head down to the food courts and purchase a cup of drink before they could sit down on a bench in the food court. The management team managing the shopping centre should really consider adding the benches in the mall.

Elderly Observation 5: I have noticed that most of the elderly do not know how to use, much less own even a piece of modern day technology, like handphones, computers, etc. I feel, that we, as young people of the nation, should encourage the elderly to use mobile phones, computers, and especially mobile phones, so that we can keep in touch with them. And they should also learn how to use the computer because like this, we would also be able to email them, so it can be another way of communicating with them.

Elderly Observation 6: Similar to observation 2, I have noticed that the elderly like to cross the road when its clear of cars, even when there is a traffic light installed there. They usually cross the road when it is RED man. This might be dangerous for them as they might get knocked down by a car traveling at a high speed. This could be prevented if the government installed some kind of barrier that rotates. This barrier could be connected to the traffic light pole, and when it is red man, the barrier would be blocking the people, preventing them from crossing the road. And when it is red light, and the cars have to stop, the barrier could then be rotated to block the cars. This not only prevents elderly or youth from jaywalking, it also prevents drivers to go past red traffic lights. ( I have noticed many incidents like that before, and almost got knocked down myself.) This solution could be beneficial to all citizens across all ages.

Well, thats all the observations for now :D

CAI Report Questions

Here are the questions that Mr Irfan posted regarding the CAI report:

• Explain in your own words, the FOUR key recommendations of the report.

The four recommendations are: Housing, Accessibility, Caring and Opportunities for Seniors. The CAI wants Singapore to be a community that encourages and allows the elders to be part of the community. So, the elderly would be offered a wide range of houses, complemented by good support care services. Everything in Singapore should be elderly friendly, like the shopping centers, housing, etc, and that would be complemented by user-friendly transport system for them. There would also be services for people to take care and attend to them, and they would have opportunities to be involved in community groups and activities.

• State ONE way that the CAI report is recommending to make our public housing more elderly-friendly.

The house could be in a specific size to suit the elderly's needs.

• State TWO ways on how we can ensure that the quality of elderly care here in Singapore is affordable.

The government would top-up the less well of elderly's Medisave accounts, so that those elderly would not have to pay the full hefty medical bill. The government also encourages the elderly's family to have a family physician to treat and to do checkups on the elderly.

• After reading the CAI report, what do you are the THREE things that you can do, as an SST student, to help overcome these elderly challenges.

1) We could go to neighborhood community clubs to plan and organize some activities for the elderly to attend, and if there are funds needed, we could get them from either the school or the government if that is possible, or all of the students of SST could do their part by chipping in.

2) We could head down to the community centers/ elderly homes and organize talks or speeches to highlight to the elderly the importance of their health and healthcare.

3) We could spend more time with our grandparents and even our elder relatives, and we should try to talk to them as we might be able to learn lessons from them as they have more experiences than us, so we would not make some of the mistakes that they might have made in the past.

Animation Video if the BALL :D

Heres a video that my group has done during the Animation Workshop in School :D

T2 Wk1 NEWater reflection

1. What are the 3 key takeaways from today’s visit?

I learnt that there are 4 taps of Singapore, what processes NEWater uses to purify and distill the water, and how they do it.

1. Name 2 concepts that you have learnt today during the visit.

NEWater is covers up to 15% of the water demand of singapore, and by 2012, they would be able to supply up to 30% of the demand of water in Singapore. I also learnt that the water that newater filtrates is used water, rather than rainwater.

1. What is the 1 interesting thing that you have learnt today?

Newater is going to supply 30% of the demand of water in Singapore by 2012

1. What are the things that you can do to help with water conservation in Singapore?

We could do our part by conserving water and spreading the word that drinking newater is perfectly fine as it is properly distilled.

BAD DESIGN >:O

Hey Guys :) This is a bad design i have seen so far in my life :)

RRR in SST ( JAN )

Reducing:

I have noticed that the classes in SST have air cons, and also, the pupils in the classes usually on the fans and the air con, at the same time. I feel that we should on just either the fans or the air cons as this saves more electricity by doing so. This even results in people complaining that they are cold and they cannot concentrate well during lessons. This can be prevented if we off the fans in the class, and leave just the air con on as it not only saves electricity, but also helps in the learning of the cold pupil.

Reusing:

I feel that we should make full use of our full-scap papers, using those pieces of paper that we don’t want as rough paper if there is still some space on the paper. We should also keep those decorations for events ( E.g Chinese New Year and Easter Day) for the next year and the following years as this helps to save energy and paper.

Recycling:

I have noticed that the pupils of SST really like to drink bottled sweet drinks, and they usually throw them into the dustbin after they have finished drinking their water. I feel that SST should fold some cardboard boxes and put them beside the dustbins, and those students can place their empty plastic bottles into the box. After that, the plastics collected could be given to the recycling foundations for recycling. I also think those full-scap papers that we don’t want anymore could also be used for recycling. I think there should also be those boxes placed in the classes of SST, as SST is also working towards a goal as “green” school, and by recycling, we can work towards this goal together.

ADMT Photos for Lesson 7