Getting settled in Singapore: How to find a Language School

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If you have decided to settle in Singapore, there are several things that you need to consider like finding a home and a school for the children, buying a car, opening a bank account and learning the language. Fortunately, all of these things are easily available through the internet and it only takes a few clicks on the mouse to search for information. For example, if you are considering a language school Singapore, there are listings according to the languages you want to learn.

language schoolImportant things you have to know about learning a new language in Singapore

  1. There is no dearth for language schools in Singapore because of the great demand coming from students, expats and foreign nationals. Most language schools Singapore are located right in the heart of the city to ensure that is within convenient distance from home, work or school.
  2. There are four official languages in Singapore; English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. If you are not conversant in English or Chinese, it is very easy to enroll in one of language schools that offer English or Chinese courses. Different levels of language learning are available and it is important to determine which of the course levels will suit you best.
  3. When you enroll for a language course, take note that you have many options. For example, if you have no prior English background, you can take the beginner course where you learn to converse in the shortest time possible. If already know the basics, you can take the intermediate course where you are taught business English and correspondence including specialized courses that will certainly improve your English communication capabilities.
  4. Languages courses are usually provided in classrooms with a maximum of 4 to 6 students so that the teacher can give equal attention to everybody. If you cannot attend classroom learning, your option is private lessons where the teacher adjusts the learning process based on your availability. This type of language school Singapore is significantly more expensive because it is like a crash course that teaches you a second language in a customized way. Private lessons are more apt for corporate executives who frequently fly and barely have enough free time to go back to school and learn a new language.
  5. It can be assumed that functional and practical English and Chinese are the more popular languages studied by most expats because they are more commonly used in the workplace and within their communities. However, language school Singapore also teaches other languages like Basic Level Korean, Conversational Mandarin, Beginner French Course, Conversational Bahasa Indonesia and Basic Thai. There is even a Latin course that is not actually a widely studied or learned language.

Singapore happens to be the perfect place to learn a second language because of the many opportunities to practice the newly acquired skills. Whether you are learning English or Mandarin or any other language offered by the schools, there is no dearth for people you can converse with because of the population happens to be composed by different nationalities.

How Singapore and Russia can build stronger Cultural Ties

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Singapore ranks high as global hub for finance and commerce in Southeast Asia. For the past decade, Singapore has gained a reputation as one of the easiest places to do business with. Among the foreign policies of Singapore is to maintain close ties with all the neighboring countries in Southeast Asia as well as the rest of the world. The country’s economic prosperity has been of particular interest to many countries like Russia in recent years. Russia hopes to develop active cooperation with the Asian country.

singapore russiaBuilding closer ties between Singapore and Russia

Although Singapore does not maintain high commission or embassies in all countries all over the world, it has diplomatic relations with at least 186 countries. The Singapore embassy in Russia is one of the 320 foreign representations in Russia and one of the 158 foreign representations in Moscow. Recently, Singapore has turned to an attractive tourist destination for Russians because of its unique science parks and international zones. In fact the Pskov region administration is working towards the creation of an economic zone wherein Singaporean specialists will share their skills, experience and management services. Singapore specialists hope to train the managerial group of the region.

The cooperation with the Tomsk Region is also evolving to deepen the ties between Singapore and the capital of Asia. Singapore is ready to assist in master planning the areas that have been incorporated in Moscow’s city limits. Moscow is especially keen on adopting Singapore’s experience in the creation of productive and highly effective enclaves in its vast territories using advanced methods of administration, management and export-oriented production. Trade agreements with Singapore have also paved the way for Singaporean firms to invest in the development of Russia’s road infrastructures, public transport systems and urban planning projects.

Most of the regions of Russia have discovered that Singapore can be the training ground for its personnel of different levels. It also assumed that Singapore can be the gateway for Russia so that it could foster closer ties and do business with other Southeast Asian countries. Singapore has also helped in building the new airport in Vladivostok that is considered as one of the most comfortable and up-to-date airport terminals in Russia. When Singapore extended its assistance in the building of the airport, it was in preparation for the APEC meeting in the 2012 summit. Since both countries are members of APEC it can be said that their relations are quite excellent.

Again, Singapore in prepared to take part in other Russian projects to develop airport infrastructure including the development of joint agricultural projects. The positive relationships between Russia and Singapore are expected to further expand and intensify in the coming years. Trade and economy can be considered as among the driving forces to build closer ties between the countries. In fact, bilateral trade has exceeded $3.8 billion in terms on investment and scientific and technological cooperation. With cooperation and closer ties between the two countries, it is expected that there will be an expanding and continuing cooperation for mutual benefits.

Is Social Media Controlling the Political Game?

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The power of social media to influence politics has never been more apparent than in the US Presidential Elections of 2008. President Obama has started the trend of using Facebook to connect with the people. Recently, the president has also used Instagram to promote his agenda on climate change. He posted a photograph of a mountain he has taken from the window of Air Force One while on his way to Alaska on the popular picture-sharing network. The photograph quickly gained thousands of likes.

Then again, this year’s presidential candidates are taking a leaf from President Obama’s book. Ted Cruz has his appearances live-streamed on Periscope while Marco Rubio makes use of “SnapChat Stories”. Hilary Clinton and Jed Bush prefer to fight over student debt on Twitter while Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham are making of use of video-sharing site YouTube. Old Bernie Sanders was able to attract two million likers on his Facebook page. New York Times took notice and called him the king of social media.

social mediaDonald Trump knows how to dominate online discussions by being the first candidate to be optimized for Google’s News algorithm. Adept at using inflammatory comments, Trump sent out a typical tweet describing Clinton’s aide as a major security risk. The provoking message immediately gained Trump 4 million followers on Twitter while giving reporters something hot to discuss about.

The glow on Trump’s face may eventually fade particularly if he does not win as president but his ability to control the agenda says a lot about the changing dynamics of political races. In traditional print and broadcast media, candidates need to be stable and coherent figures but on social media they have to be as relevant as the latest tweet.

However, the more established has not yet recognized the strong influence of social media and this particularly true with Clinton and Bush. Their Twitter tiff was an exception as they do not generally present themselves as offensive in social media. They are playing it safe by providing an image of reliability without any misstep that can create a controversy. Social media feeds of Bush promote his appearances while Clinton’s posts have been equally bland.

Today, with majority of the public owning smartphones, the presidential campaign is becoming a social media stream that intertwines with other streams that flow through the devices. Social media is changing what the country expects from its leaders. That is why when Bush launched that Twitter attack on Trump, it immediately became big news.

In social media, the more visceral the message; the more that it generates attention. There are many instances when emotionalism triumphs over reason. The fiery populist has suddenly become more desirable and worthy of attention than the cool wonk. Social media has become the new venue that has completely transformed politics. Social media has become the perfect messenger.

Social media allows people to follow and befriend a future leader. It is no longer surprising why politicians bicker on Twitter instead of traditional platforms; they gain more mileage from social media exposure.

Online Apps Might be Putting Company Data at Risk

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In the workplace, an average employee uses at least 27 applications as part of a modern business ecosystem. However, web security has not evolved fast enough to cope up with the explosion of web apps. IT departments are facing increased pressure to provide employees with secure web access so that data will not be compromised.

Most employees tend to download the latest apps to share and access data but unknowingly, these apps tend to have damaging implications on the company’s more valuable assets – its intellectual property or simply called brand reputation. According to data breach statistics from IBM, 43% of employees on the C-level are quite negligent to whatever existing threats to their sensitive data. For example, Dropbox can be easily downloaded and used and it is technology that is not going to disappear anytime soon. However, many employees download Dropbox without following IT security regulations which means they are putting sensitive company data at risk.

data riskThe problem with online apps is that they are generic and developed for the mass market. These apps only have a basic level of security. In order to cope up with the exponential use of apps, companies have the option of cloud solutions to replace the on-premise legacy systems. Potential security risks can be better controlled by applying cloud applications for greater visibility and control of enterprise data.

There are also existing web security solutions that include cloud application control (CAC) capabilities to augment traditional security functionalities. Through cloud application control, companies can ensure the security of their sensitive data including the way that apps are used.

Ideally, these web security solutions must have the built-in cloud application control capabilities that will monitor all the actions of end users. Rather than acting as a forensic post-event tool, cloud application control will analyze the risks as well as audit and log in all usage in order to maximize visibility when an issue occurs.

Cloud application control should be a ubiquitous part of core business functions from sales and marketing functions to Human Resources and accounting. Not only will CAC protect a company against data loss; it is in compliance with company policies. For example, cloud application control can intervene if an employee tries to save sensitive data that is marked as a confidential document. CAC can also protect a company against an employee who is planning to send confidential credit card information through his Gmail account.

CAC can also control the acts of employee who want to post malicious and derogatory comments about the company. It can also be used to prevent employees from posting libelous statements that are detrimental to the company’s reputations. CAC can simplify security and can quickly provide a list of apps that the employees are using in the workplace. With these information on hand, the company can control privileges for internet applications.

As cloud application controls continue to gather momentum, companies tend to enhance their productivity. Policies can be established that will control access to social media sites and video-sharing sites during working hours.