ASK!

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

Editor writes: A very interesting question this is indeed. After much scrounging around, some insightful information was found to shed light on this somewhat contradictory situation.

In the news release by the Ministry of Home Affairs (www.mha.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=276), it was mentioned that:

“Even when conveying persons in urgent need of treatment, ambulance drivers are required to ensure that all other vehicles have stopped and given way, and it is safe if they have to beat a red light. Warning lights and sirens must also be switched on to alert other road users to give way.”

And here’s the official reply from the Traffic Police Department:

“Under the Road Traffic Rules, any emergency vehicle shall have the right of way over all other traffic when on urgent duty call, and all traffic should give way to such vehicles.

Motorists are legally bound to give way to emergency vehicles with their sirens switched on. They should do so at the earliest opportunity in a prompt and safe manner. Motorists should not drive at a faster speed in front of emergency vehicles. Instead, they should draw in as close to the left-hand or right-hand edge of the road as possible to allow the emergency vehicle to pass through. Other motorists in the adjacent lanes should give way to vehicles that are making way for the emergency vehicles. Where necessary, all vehicles should be brought to a stop to allow a clear passage for the emergency vehicle.

In addition, road users should give way to emergency vehicles with only the flashing lights switched on. Drivers of emergency vehicles may sometimes switch on only the flashing lights if they assess that the road conditions afford the easy notice of their vehicle by other road userswithout the audible siren. This practice avoids additional noise on our roads, especially at night. However, the emergency drivers will switch on the siren if they find that they are not able to gain the right of way with the flashing lights alone.

We would like to clarify that emergency vehicles have to observe traffic rules as far as possible. Where time is of the essence and only when it is absolutely safe to do would emergency drivers consider travelling above the speed limit, going through a red light junction, crossing double-white lines, etc. Safety of all road users is of paramount importance, even during an emergency call.”

So, do remember to give way to emergency vehicles when you’re on the road. Those precious few seconds saved by quick driving may save many people’s lives.

Here are some recommended books on emergency vehicles.

Emergency vehicles by Felicity Brooks; designed and illustrated by Hanri Van Wyk; modelmaker, Jo Litchfield
Publisher: London : Usborne, 2007
Call No.: J P BRO -[BA]

Emergency vehicles by Seymour Simon
Publisher: San Francisco : Chronicle Books, c2006
Call No.: J P 629.225 SIM

Emergency! by Ian Graham
Publisher: London : QED Pub., 2006
Call No.: J 629.04 GRA

Wild about emergency vehicles by Caroline Bingham
Publisher: Tunbridge Wells : Ticktock Media, 2003
Call No.: J 629.225 BIN

If you wish to gather more information about emergency vehicles, some useful websites include www.scdf.gov.sg/General/index.html and www.mha.gov.sg/index.aspx

Originally answered by Goh Mei Ming, Children’s Librarian.

All websites were last accessed on 30 April 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use. All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments. If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

I think this question has been lingering in our minds for a long time. I always remember what my friend used to say when I start to panic before the exams – “Fear not! Help is here!” This really sounds like one of those statements made by a superhero. But my friend is one of those kinds souls who are more than willing to help anyone in distress, especially during the exam period. A lot of us used to bug her with questions upon questions during the days when we studied for our exams.   

The exam period is approaching again! Are you so anxious that you start biting your nails? Or you can feel the ants biting on your toes already? Well, you may not have a friend like mine, but you do not have to fear if you can find more effective ways to study for your exams. Look through these resources to find the ones that match your needs.

Resources on the Internet:
i) Revision http://www.cambridgestudents.org.uk/examtime/
revisiontips/index_html#5
ii) Study Skills – Exam Strategies: www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/UFM/effect/436.htm
iii) Managing Your Study Time: www.educationatlas.com/
managing-your-study-time.html
iv) Exam Tips from Students and others: www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/Examtips.htm
These websites were last accessed on 23 April 2008.

Books for Thoughts:
1) Revision sorted by Kate Brookes.
Publisher: London : Hodder Wayland, 2002.
Call No.: J 371.3028 BRO

2) Mind maps for kids : rev up for revision : the shortcut to exam success by Tony Buzan.
Publisher: London : Thorsons, 2004.
Call No.: J 153.1083 BUZ

3) The art of studying : from school to university and beyond by Anthony W.H. Lee.
Publisher: Singapore : Eightseas Technology, c2002.
Call No.: Y 371.30281 LEE

4) Exam skills by Kate Brookes. 
Publisher: London : Hodder Children’s Books, 2002.
Call No.: Y 371.30281 BRO

You can check the availability of the above titles through our online catalogue.

Posted by Ms Adeline Tan
Librarian
Children’s Services

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ASK! about Singapore

At the intersection of Finlayson Green (opposite One Raffles Quay), you might have noticed this spanking new colourful sculpture, shaped like a Christmas tree. Commissioned by the developers of One Raffles Quay for 2 million dollars, this painted steel sculpture is named ‘Momentum’.  

The sculptor, David Gerstein, said that Momentum “is based on the idea of a structure of society and definitely represents Singaporeans who are constantly trying to achieve better things.” He added that “the layers of cold steel, blended with bold colours also stands as a tribute to the high energy and strength of Singapore’s past and present generations.

 If you wish to see more of Gerstein’s works, you can visit his website.

Information extracted from Business Times, 11 January 2008 & TODAY, 26 December 2007. 
Images extracted from www.davidgerstein.com

Question answered by Ms Lynn Koh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

 Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services

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ASK! about Fiction

Every month, the library comes up with a booklist. The topics varies from subjects such as holiday activities to reading recommendations for teens. This month’s booklist is ‘Quirky mysteries’ – not your average mystery novels. Indeed it is, from a feng shui detective to solving cases about missing library books, this booklist is bound to satisfy all your mystery cravings!

  The boy detective fails by Joe Meno

30-year old Billy Argo was a boy detective. Released from a mental institution, he attempts to unravel the mystery of his sister’s death and cope with life as a grown-up. The book shuffles between Billy’s memories of himself as a brillant sleuth, and his current experience with washed-up supervillians, headless bunnies and other curiosities. Surreal, and strange, yet ultimately heart-warming.

  Motherless  Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

Lionel Essrog’s mentor is murdered. Lionel now has a killer to find. Lionel, ‘The Human Freakshow’ just hopes his Tourette’s doesn’t get in his way. Lethem ignites every page with crackling prose that startles like singeing synapses through frayed nerves. With maniac energy bristling throughout, this is a book shaking on the cusp of uncontrollable outburst — Read me! it screams.

  The Athenian Murders by Jose Carlos Somoza

Unravelling the layers of mystery this title leads one down a metafictional path, where solving the enigmas does not end the murders — it is quite literally the end of the book that does it. The narrative appears to be an ancient Greek mystery with footnotes by a translator. Be prepared to get implicated, for this book is acutely alive until one finishes the last page.

  Death By Chick Lit By Lynn Harris

Who would have thought that the light, fluffy and saccharine world of modern-women fiction could have its own silly li’l life-threatening dangers? No one, until popular authors start getting “written off” (read: slaughtered) ‘chick-by-chick’… Seriously, this is, like, awesome and hilarious stuff beyond its snazzy title!

Read more »

Kids ASK! about Science & Technology

The speed of hair growth is roughly 1.25 cm or 0.5 inches per month, being about 15 cm or 6 inches per year. With age the speed of hair growth might slow down to as little as 0.25 cm or 0.1 inch a month.

Cell division is responsible for the hair growth cycle. The new cells push the hair forward to make it longer, so the new hair is added at the root. There are about 100,000 hairs on a healthy scalp of hair. Each of these hairs will, in normal healthy conditions, last for 1 – 6 years. People lose about 100 hairs per day, in normal conditions. The fallen hairs are replaced by new hair. Baldness occurs when new hairs are not produced anymore.

During its life a hair goes through 3 phases of growth: the anagen, the telogen & the catagen. The catagen is the 1st phase with new hair growing in the hair bulb. The anagen is the following phase when hair stops growing because the cell division stopped. The telogen is the final phase. New hair starts growing in the papilla & finally the old hair falls out.

[Source: http://www.hairfinder.com/hairquestions/
how_fast_does_hair_grow.htm]

The hair cycles for the eyebrows, eyelashes, arms, legs & pubic region are much faster than the cycles for scalp hair. The growing stage (anagen) of the cycle for these areas is only a few months. The growing stage for scalp hair is 2 – 6 years. That’s why scalp hair grows very long whereas hair on other areas of the body does not.

[Source: http://www.hairloss-reversible.com/discus/
messages/3/157.html?1028824142]

Additionally, you may wish to read more on hair from these books:

It’s true! : your hair grows 15 kilometre each year, by Diana Lawrenson
Publisher : East Melbourne : Allen & Unwin, 2004.
Call No. : J 612.7 LAW

The skin and hair, by Katherine Goode.
Publisher : South Yarra, Vic. : Macmillan Education, 1999.
Call No. : J 612.7 GOO

Originally answered by Ms Norlizah Mohd Juffri, Librarian, Children’s Services

All websites were last accessed on 21 April 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
Images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.allenandunwin.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please use our library catalogue.

Posted by Galvin Soh
Librarian
Children’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Kids ASK! about Anything & Everything

According to a few websites (such as this, this and this), these are some of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language:
- accommodate
- acknowledgement
- commitment
- definitely
- formaldehyde
- grammer
- indispensible
- judgement
- liaison
- license
- lieutenant
- mischief
- perseverance
- seperate
- weird

Did you spot the words that were misspelled in the above list? Check the end of this entry for the answers!

Do not confuse words such as color, realise and traveled as being wrongly spelled. These words have American and British spellings due to dictionaries written by different people – Samuel Johnson, a British, and Noah Webster, an American. In Singapore, we follow the British spelling system, as Singapore was once under British colonial rule and hence we inherited British Commonwealth educational and legal legacies.

Here are some books on spelling you may be interested in:

Spelling, by John Butterworth
Publisher : Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999.
Call No. : J 428.1 BUT

Spelling and grammar, by Audrey Daly
Publisher : Loughborough : Ladybird, [1997].
Call No. : J 428.1 DAL

I can spell! series, by Rod Campbell
Publisher : London : Campbell Books, 1994.
Call No. : JP 428 CAM

I can spell! : with consonants b c d f g h, by Rod Campbell
Publisher : London : Campbell Books, 1994.
Call No. : JP 428 CAM

100 words every high school freshman should know, by the editors of the American heritage dictionaries
Publisher : Boston : Houghton Mifflin, c2004.
Call No. : 428.1 ONE

Painless spelling, by Mary Elizabeth Podhaizer
Publisher : Hauppauge, NY : Barron’s Educational Series, 1998.
Call No. : 372.632 POD

The misspelled words were indispensable, judgment, separate and grammar.

All websites were last accessed on 18 April 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Posted by Galvin Soh
Librarian
Children’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

So.. You may ask.. “What on earth is this RSS actually?”

Watch the following video and you’ll know a little more about RSS

RSS stands for Really Simply Syndication. It is a family of Web feed formats that is used to publish frequently updated content. It is generally used for blog entries, news headlines, podcasts and vidcasts. Besides RSS, other terms used are RSS feeds, Web feeds, or just simply, feeds.

Using RSS is like requesting for a subscription for newspapers, the newspapers will be delivered to your doorstep instead of the need to go to the store to buy the newspaper. By using a RSS reader, you can subscribe to sites that provide RSS feeds and the new content will come to your feed reader instead of you having to visit all the tens or hundreds of sites that you may have bookmarked.

The feed reader could be an online application (such as Google Reader, NewsGator or Bloglines) or a desktop application (such as FeedDemon [Free - Windows] or NetNewsWire [Free - Mac]). If you are adverse to installing too many applications on your computer, then the latest web browsers such as Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Firefox, Flock, Safari and Opera all have a RSS reader built into them.

Some Web feeds that you might be interested in are as follows:
- NLB RSS Feeds
- Channel NewsAsia
- BBC News
- CNN

You might also be interested in the following tutorials:
- Rai, Preetam. “Using Bloglines (or How to keep up with dozens of blogs everyday)”. (April 25, 2005). Retrieved April 14, 2008 from http://preetamrai.com/weblog/archives/2005/04/25
/bloglines-how-to-keep-track-of-hundreds-of-blogs-and-some-news-and-
some-podcasts-and-some-flickrs-photos-etc-etc/
- Wibbels, Andy. “How to Use Google Reader” (video) (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2008 from http://andywibbels.com/flash/google_reader.htm

And, finally, some printed materials that you can borrow from the public libraries:
Secrets of RSS by Steven Holzner
Publisher: Berkeley, CA : Peachpit Press, c2006
Call No.: English 006.76 HOL-[COM]

Developing feeds with RRS and Atom by Ben Hammersley
Publisher: Sebastopol, CA : O’Reilly., c2005
Call No.: English 006.76 HAM-[COM]

Syndicating web sites with RSS feeds for dummies by Ellen Finkelstein
Publisher: Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley, c2005
Call No.: English 005.276 FIN-[COM]

Sources:
- RSS. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)
- What Is RSS? RSS Explained. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2008 from http://www.whatisrss.com/
- What Is RSS? on USA.gov. (August 1, 2007). Retrieved April 11, 2008 from http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Libraries
/RSS_Library/What_Is_RSS.shtml
- Help | RSS | News feeds from the BBC. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2008 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/help/3223484.stm

Posted by
Mr Justin Tan
Librarian
Adult and Young People’s Services

Contributed by 
Mr Isaak Kwok
Librarian
Adult and Young People’s Services

Kids ASK! about History

2 April is celebrated as International Children’s Book Day, ICBD, in commemoration of Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday. It has been celebrated since 1967 and its aim is to inspire a love of reading in children and also to call special attention to children’s books.

This event is sponsored by The International Board on Books for Young People, IBBY, and a different National Section of IBBY will have a chance to be the international sponsor of ICBD each year. A theme will be decided by the international sponsor and a prominent author from the host country is invited to write a message to the children of the world. Posters promoting this event will be designed by well-known illustrators. Together, these materials are used in various ways to encourage reading and the love of books in children.

Source: International Children’s Book Day. Retrieved April 1, 2008, from International Board on Books for Young People Web site: http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=269

Here are some recommended fairy tales written by Hans Christian Andersen.

The nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen; illustrated by Igor Oleynikov
Publisher: New York : Purple Bear Books, c2007
Summary: “When he learns that the nightingale’s song is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world, the Emperor of China sends his courtiers to find the bird and present it as a guest at court. The nightingale can speak to humans and agrees to come, but when the Emperor receives a mechanical nightingale covered in jewels, he discards the real bird, which flies back to its home.”
Call No.: J P 398.2 AND -[FOL]

The steadfast tin soldier by Hans Christian Andersen; illustrated by Gianni de Conno
Publisher: New York : Purple Bear Books, 2006
Summary: “The perilous adventure of a toy soldier who loves a paper dancing girl culminates in tragedy for both of them.”
Call No.: J 398.2 AND -[FOL]

The ugly duckling by Hans Christian Andersen; illustrated by Roberta Angaramo
Publisher: New York : Purple Bear Books, 2006, c2005
Summary: “An ugly duckling spends an unhappy year ostracized by the other animals before he grows into a beautiful swan.”
Call No.: J P 398.2 AND -[FOL]

The little match girl by Hans Christian Anderson; with pictures by Květa Pacovská
Publisher: New York : Minedition, 2005
Summary: “The wares of the poor little match girl illuminate her cold world, bringing some beauty to her brief, tragic life.”
Call No.: J P 398.2 AND -[FOL]

Not forgetting digital resources, here are some websites related to Hans Christian Andersen and International Children’s Book Day as well.

1) The Hans Christian Andersen Centre – Established in 1988, this centre focuses on all research and information related to Hans Christian Andersen.
2) International Children’s Book Day, Thailand, 2008 – http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=826, a message written by Chakrabhand Posayakrit, the Thai author invited to spread the love of reading to children around the world.

All websites were last accessed on 2 April 2008.
Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
All book summaries were taken from the book descriptions.
All images were extracted from www.amazon.com and www.bn.com.

For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.

Posted by Ms Elizabeth Lee
Librarian
Children’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.

Just yesterday, some of my fellow colleagues brought to my attention on two newspapers articles from The Straits Times: “Caller ID shows 999? It’s not the police, it’s a fraudster” (1 Apr 2008) and “Court summons scam: 35 complaints filed“ (27 Oct 2007)*.

Essentially, these two articles tells us about the same story — That people (gullible perhaps) are falling victims to tricksters in swindling our money thru either telephone or Internet means.

It is by far and large, impossible to nab all of these fraudsters. One may be caught, but yet others will emerge very soon. The only realistic way of protecting ourselves against these scams is to be armed with the necessary knowledge of how the Internet works and of the various ways to prevent (or at least minimize) such security lapses.

We have prepared a pathfinder on ways to surf the Internet safely. Please feel free to download it but do note that the materials and their copyrights belong to NLB, and the downloads are for personal use only. Drop us an email at ask@nlb.gov.sg for further enquiries.

Safer Internet pathfinder
(downloadable)

In the meantime, do watch your back (or rather watch your front)!!!

If you have any enquiries or comments, please drop us an email at ask@nlb.gov.sg and we will reply within 3 working days.

*To retrieve the newspaper article, you can access the electronic database “Factiva” at terminals in NLB Library branches or also remotely from home. (Select the header “eResources” and the option “eDatabases” from NLB’s homepage)

Posted by
Mr Justin Tan
Librarian
Adult and Young People’s Services

ASK about Health & Fitness 

21 March has been officially earmarked by the Down Syndrome International (DSI) to be World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD).

Why 21 March? The inspiration comes from the genetic sequence of people with Down syndrome. Generally, an extra copy of chromosome 21 occurs, leading to three chromosome 21 (see picture above). Thus 21 March symbolises this phenomenon, called Trisomy 21.

Instead of 46 chromosomes, people with Down syndrome have 47.

This is just the scientific face of it, but what about the human and social aspect of the condition? Have you come across anyone with Down syndrome? What comes to your mind when you do? Do you really believe that they can lead a good life, or do you say it out of pity or political correctness?

Whatever you may feel, everyone is unique. There are many stories of Down syndrome individuals leading typical lives (you may have heard of one yourself). To get a glimpse of their lives, take a look at these blogs and websites:

- Blog for Down Syndrome  A blog by a parent whose child has Down syndrome and autism.

- Down Syndrome Life A parent shares stories of his family and his youngest child who has Down syndrome. He writes: “I have created the “Down Syndrome Life” blog in the hopes of sharing a father’s everyday thoughts and experiences of raising a family of four children, one with Down Syndrome. My contributions will be of the good, the bad and the ugly.” This blog, both personal and intimate, will move even the hardest hearts.

- World Down Syndrome Day Check out the congratulatory messages and links to other international websites for Down syndrome.

- Down Syndrome Association Singapore Look through this website for related programmes, facts, and publications.

Reference:

“Down Syndrome”, Medline Plus Medical Encyclopaedia, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html, 1 April 08, URL: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000997.htm

“Down Syndrome: Trisonomy 21, Trisonomy G”, www.merck.com/, Merck Manual Online Medical Library, 01 April 08, URL: http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec19/ch294/ch294b.html

Image from Mayo Clinic.com, Children’s health: Down Syndrome “The genetic basis of Down Syndrome, 6 April 2007, retrieved: 14 March 2008, URL: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/down-syndrome/DS00182/DSECTION=3

Posted by Ang Mei Jun,

Librarian, Adult & Young People’s Services

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If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.