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Buying your First Home

2013-05-28T09:18:00.001+08:00

IF YOU have a steady income, and you already own a car, then buying a house is the next important milestone. To some people buying a house may signify financial success, it also allows you to exercise your independence as an individual, or as the head of a family.

However, to some people, it may seem like a complicated process. If you are new at buying a property, here are some ideas how to make a good decision.

STEPS

1. Save for the down payment. Buying a house implies making one of the biggest financial investments of your life.

Apart from having a stable job in hand and a good credit history, you need to have saved up enough money to pay the down payment for the house.

It is also advisable to start reading about how exactly mortgages work. To choose the most suitable loan, you must first know the structure, laws, terms and conditions, associated with each of the available options.

2. Only buy a property you can afford. There is a rule of thumb out there that says you should only buy a home that runs roughly two-and-one-half times your annual salary.

There are many online calculators available that can help you get a handle on how expensive a home you can afford.

These calculators will give you information on how your income, debts, and expenses can affect how much you can afford to spend on your new home.

3. Research the mortgage. There is a wide range of mortgage options available for home buyers. Make sure that you research all the options thoroughly and make a sound decision.

Check the exact length, interest to be accrued and monthly payment for each mortgage option. A good research would save you from making a wrong choice.

4. Buy a home that you will love tomorrow. Buying a home is an investment and takes some time to mature, so that you can reap the benefits.

While choosing a house, make sure to select the one that will work for not only your current needs, but also for your future needs.

For instance, going for a house with additional rooms may not seem very important to you at first, however in the long term, it can be a worthwhile decision.

You may want to extend your family in the future, and you may need an extra room for the kids. In short, if you do not want to keep jumping from one house to another, choose a house that you can stick around with for years.

5. Do research. Visit a few open houses to gauge what's on the market and see firsthand what you want, such as overall layout, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen amenities, and storage.

Visit properties you are interested in at various times of the day to check traffic congestion, available parking, noise levels, and general activities.

What may seem like a peaceful neighbourhood at lunch can become a busy place during rush hour, which you will never know if you drive by only once.

6. Pick a good school district. Whether or not you have kids, you should always buy a home located near a good school.

When it comes time to sell your property, being located in good area with proper amenities will help boost your property value, and may be advantageous if you decide to sell.

7. Find an agent. All prospective homeowners are better off using professional real estate agent as there is so much involved, that it can become overwhelming.

A professional realtor can help you with a variety of issues that will surface during the purchasing process.

Find an agent who is familiar with your target area, and who is well-versed in all aspects of evaluating properties and negotiating contracts.

TIPS

Home Buying Tips

* Calculate your current household expenses and income and get prequalified for a mortgage. Prepare and plan before buying a house so that you do not receive any major surprises later on.

* Determine your family requirements. What do you want in the rooms? Do you want large bathrooms or compact ones? Do you need a garden? Do you need home gym or swimming pool, etc.?

* Map the location that fits your requirements, and mark the houses that you are going to visit.

* Find a realtor. Realtor is the mediator between you and the seller. He will play a crucial role in getting you the right deal.

* Always check the years of experience in the business, the number of clients served, and your own specific requirements before choosing the realtor.

* Before visiting any house, just pass by to see its appearance from the outside.

* Never let your emotions get in the way of buying a home. Be as realistic as possible by doing a thorough research before making a commitment.

10 Reasons Why You Should Consult a Dietitian

2013-05-09T09:31:00.000+08:00

A DIETITIAN is an individual who has completed a four-year degree programme and a minimum 800- to 900-hour attachment with a local hospital during training. He/she would have studied food nutrition, biochemistry and other related subjects.

In short, a qualified dietitian is a health professional, and food and nutrition expert.

Dietitian is a professional trained in translating the science of food, nutrition and medical nutrition therapy.

They are responsible and accountable for patient care, and are equipped with the knowledge and skills to conduct nutritional assessment, diagnosis and prescribe medical nutrition therapy, provide dietary consultation for the treatment of diseases in both acute and chronic care.

Most dietitians work in hospitals but they also work in universities, governmental agencies, health departments, health clinics, pharmaceutical companies, food companies, schools, weight management clinics, media and in private practice.

Depending on where they work, they are involved in the formulation of policies, protocols, clinical practice guidelines, planning and implementation of programmes to support healthcare needs of the population.

They promote wellness through smart eating and develop modified healthy meals or recipes for different needs. Dietitians also conduct research and apply evidence-based practice.

Dietitian plays an important role in food services by making sure that a patient gets the correct therapeutic diet and meals that meet his nutritional requirements.

On nutrition matters, she advises consulting a dietitian at your local hospital or medical centre.

Here are 10 reasons why you should consult a qualified dietitian.

1. You have diabetes, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia or kidney problems.

* Collaborate with the dietitian to learn more about the diseases and develop a healthy and acceptable diet.

* The meal plan should meet the needs of your diagnosis.

2. You have been recommended to have a gastric bypass surgery.

* Prior to the surgery, talk to the dietitian to learn about the post-op changes to your routine.

* After the surgery, develop an eating plan to get enough nutrients to meet your needs, learn signs of food-related problems and nutrient timing.

3. You have digestive problems or an inherited metabolic disorder.

* Talk to the dietitian and your doctor to develop a diet that identifies and eliminates food intolerance or allergies.

4. You are trying to get or are pregnant

* The dietitian can recommend the right diet to prepare you for pregnancy and to ensure adequate nutrients for you and your baby.

5. You are breastfeeding

* Work with the dietitian and a lactation consultant to get the nutrition you need and ensure adequate supply of key nutrients. Learn feeding clues, eating readiness, transitions and food-related problems from your and your baby's diet.

6. You have a eating disorder

* Consult the dietitian and the doctor to develop a plan. Remember you are not alone.

7. You are struggling with weight issues and you need to gain or lose weight

* Eating can be a pleasure when you work along with the dietitian to reduce weight.

* Your dietitian can guide you on eating cues, energy needs, hunger, fullness, exercise, portion control, calorie control, meal replacement and foods triggers for weight management.

8. You are caring for an ageing parent

* The dietitian can help you with changes in taste, swallowing, chewing, calorie needs, absorption, hydration, nutrient drug interactions and special diets.

9. You want to eat smarter and stay fit

* Work with a dietitian to learn about labels, fad diets, misinformation, eating out, cooking healthy, budget cooking, food combinations and menu planning.

10. You want to improve your sports performance

* When you are just starting an exercise plan or preparing for a marathon, a dietitian can tweak your diet to improve performance.

Libraries : A Rich Source of Knowledge

2013-04-02T12:35:00.000+08:00

By Anushia Kandasivam ; NST

LIBRARIES have existed almost as long as civilisation. The first libraries in the world were archives, consisting of published public records - commercial transactions and inventories. Societies soon started keeping standardised practice texts for scribes, copies of religious teachings, records of discoveries in science, lists of words, and bilingual vocabularies.

A modern library contains books of history, literature, science, philosophy and everything in between, including fiction. A good one will contain public records, sound and video archives, and electronic documents. A great one will run reading and learning programmes for the public, helping to guide its members on their quest for knowledge.

The first experience with libraries that most children have is in school. The function of libraries is such that even a child in kindergarten will be able to gain from using a library. School libraries perform three broad functions. As a fiction resource, including the provision of fiction books supported by professionals, a library can capture the child's interest so that reading becomes a positive and enjoyable experience. A library should provide a differentiated non-fiction collection that supports all aspects of the curriculum with structured support mechanisms that facilitate independent learning. Finally, there should be general interest resources for children wanting to spend purposeful non-directed time in a safe and welcoming space. Resources in this category do not need to focus on curriculum.

In today's wired world, though, almost any information is just a click away. Wikipedia knows everything, children are able to google or bing information, and the fact that these names can be used as verbs speaks to the ubiquitous nature of these search engines. Many people suggest that libraries are becoming outmoded by electronic resources and all the information available on the Internet.

But the complexities of people's exposure to this information explosion make both physical and online centres managed by information professionals ever more important for children, especially as they acquire independent learning skills and knowledge navigation, says Robert George, chief librarian at The Alice Smith School. Modern librarians are information professionals.

It is school libraries working with the school's teaching staff that will transform today's children into the information- and digital-literate adults of the future. Libraries have never been more crucial than they are now.

Most Malaysian adults have experience with libraries, if only when they were in school. It is safe to say that many take with them a neutral feeling about libraries; chances are the school library was just a place to sit in during a free period, with a few resources that a child may or may not use, and a small and cheerless collection of fiction.

A modern school library should be the first place a child goes to gather information - a welcoming 'open all hours' operation that embraces the whole school community. Schools like Alice Smith are making an increasing investment in libraries, recognising their importance as a focal point in an educational institution. Their primary libraries are in three separate spaces that divide roughly as early years, lower primary and upper primary. Each of the spaces supports both fiction and non-fiction resource.

eBooks and electronic resources are inevitably an increasing consideration in libraries in many schools, and not just for older students. Children as young as four are able to use computers nowadays. Alice Smith, for example, looks to support modern technologies and integrate them where possible with their Virtual Learning Environment platform, which is accessible to all students. Despite the prevalence of online resources, though, most school libraries' fiction provision will continue to be dominated by hard copy books due to expense and the lack of uniformity in electronic reader platforms. Also, the feeling of a book in the hand is still special for most people.

It is undoubtedly important to encourage a strong reading culture from an early age. Much of this love of reading is ideally inculcated through school mechanisms, but the impact will inevitably be greater where it overlaps with families who value literature.

For a school's library to be successful, there need to be mechanisms that get exactly the right book into a child's hands at the right time so that their enthusiasm is maintained. Another significant challenge is to try to avoid the children sticking too much to a single genre. Scheduling weekly library visits during the teaching day, as done in Alice Smith, is a good way of reaching this goal. Here, opportunities are also provided for children to borrow books at break, lunch and after school with their parents. One of the targets of Alice Smith's library lessons is to encourage diversity both in terms of genre and balance between modern authors and the classics.

Maintaining an attractive and sophisticated library whether in a school or for the public is tough. They are expensive to keep in this condition, but unless they are attractive and sophisticated they will not be sufficiently patronised - a catch-22 situation. Malaysia's neighbour Singapore has already blazed a path in this direction, becoming one of the world leaders with the National Library Board's modern, well-stocked libraries. Singapore, of course, has a small high-density population and uses English as its national language, making this task considerably easier.

Malaysia's multicultural nature creates complex language issues, says George. From a library perspective it would seem that any holistic library would need to support all main national language strands - Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Tamil and English. Stocking publications in English would certainly improve Malaysians' grasp of sophisticated English. In fact, as reading improves language skills, a child that reads extensively in any language will benefit.

Nowadays books face serious competition from 21st century pastimes. A library thus has the responsibility of ensuring that each child gets a positive experience with a book so that they are able to value what libraries can offer them throughout their school careers, and develop an enthusiastic lifelong reading habit. The acquisition of knowledge is one of the noblest pursuits of mankind; a library is the best place for a child to begin this journey.

Great libraries across the world

ANCIENT

The Royal Library of Alexandria

Also known as the Ancient library of Alexandria, this was the largest and most significant great library in the ancient world. It was charged by its royal patron to collect all the world's knowledge and is the first known library to gather a serious collection of books from foreign countries.

It was so well-funded by royal mandate that librarians were able to travel to book fares in Rhodes (Italy) and Athens (Greece). It also had a rather aggressive policy of taking books off every ship that came into the port, making copies of them and giving the copies to the owners while retaining the originals.

Containing works from the past as well as contemporary works in subjects such as mathematics, physics, astronomy, and natural sciences amongst others, the library was host to many international scholars and part of the Musaeum of Alexandria, a famed research institution.

Tragically, the library was accidentally burned down in 48 BC by Julius Caesar, who had set fire to his own ships while trying to fight back a march on the city.

CURRENT

The British Library

The national library of Britain, the British Library contains one of the largest collections of books and other materials in the world. Created in 1973, it turns 37 today. Despite its young age, it contains comprehensive historical collections, the core of which is made up of the foundation collections, donations and acquisitions from the 18th century that include manuscripts from King George III.

The British Library benefits from the practice of legal deposit, a principle that automatically entitles it to receive a free copy of every book and electronic document published in Britain and every book published in the Republic of Ireland. A significant part of the library's collections is the Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections, which include the India Office Records, a large collection of documents relating to the administration of India spanning the period of British rule there.

The British Library Sound Archive contains more than a million discs and 185,000 tapes from all over the world, covering the entire range of recorded sound stretching back more than 100 years, from music, literature and drama to oral history and wildlife sounds.

MODERN (DIGITAL)

National Diet Library

The only national library in Japan, the National Diet Library was established 1948 as a research facility for members of the Diet of Japan (Japan's legislature). It uses the practice of legal deposit, collecting copies of all publications in Japan. Because of its purpose as a research library, it also contains an extensive collection of materials in foreign languages.

The library provides exhaustive online databases accessible from a detailed website in both Japanese and English. The National Diet Library Online Public Access Catalogue allows users to search the library's entire collection remotely, obtain certain materials through interlibrary loan and provides a reproduction service for overseas scholars. The library's entire collection of Meiji era (1868-1912) books, about 60,000 volumes, has been digitised and the database also contains images of these materials. Its rare book collection includes images from 37,000 illustrated books published before the Edo Period (1603-1868).

PROGRAMMES

Queens Library

The public library for the Borough of Queens in New York, the Queens Library has become one of the largest public library systems in the US. It is the second largest in the country in terms of the size of its collection. It serves more than 2.2 million people, including a large immigrant population.

Queens Library has a myriad of programmes aimed at children and teens, and even some for adults. The most popular is BOOST, the Best Out Of School Time programme, which provides homework materials and tutors for school children. Teens are able to tutor younger children, and may even get any fines on their library card waived for their service.

There are various learning and play groups for young children, including bilingual ones that include caregivers and family. Programmes aimed at adults include language classes and workshops, arts and crafts activities, parenting workshops that target specific needs (such as Parenting Using Sign Language), and even yoga.