THE SPEAKPRENEUR: LOCATING OPPORTUNITIES IN A VOLATILE SOCIETY ...BY...

THE SPEAKPRENEUR: LOCATING OPPORTUNITIES IN A VOLATILE SOCIETY ...BY...:         We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work” -THOMAS EDISON

7 Things You Didn’t Know Were Invented by Kids

Check out brilliant everyday inventions that came from children

By Olivia Putnal

Anyone who’s gotten to know a child knows how incredible they can be. Sure, they blurt out embarrassing observations in public, but that’s because they don’t filter their thoughts. And yes, they occasionally ruin wallpaper with crayons or finger paint, but that’s because their creativity knows no bounds. Here are seven examples of children whose imagination and ingenuity produced something extraordinary.
 

Toy Truck

In 1963, 6-year-old child inventor Robert Patch created a convertible toy truck. Patch had two goals for his truck: one, that it could easily be taken apart and put back together; two, that it could transform into all sorts of different vehicles. After drawing up a sketch, the boy got a patent for his idea, and the rest was playtime history. Photo by Shutterstock.
 

Trampoline

In 1930, when George Nissen was a 16-year-old high school gymnast, he began tinkering with an idea for a bouncing apparatus to train on. But it wasn’t until 1934 that Nissen and his University of Iowa tumbling coach Larry Griswold built a device that actually worked. Then, in 1937, when Nissen was traveling the carnival circuit, he came across the Spanish word
trampolin, which means “diving board.” Adding an “e” to the end, he trademarked the name for what was to become a backyard family favorite. Photo by Shutterstock.
 

Snow Mobile

In 1922, when Canadian Joseph-Armand Bombardier was 15 years old, he was tinkering around with his dad’s old Ford Model T motor and decided to attach it to a sled to see if the machine could power through the snow. He enlisted the help of his brother to steer while he took control of the motor, and the first inklings of a powered snow machine were born. Fifteen years later his device, the B-7, was the first snowmobile to hit stores. Photo by Shutterstock.
 

Television

Just about everyone owns a TV, but did you ever dream that a teenager came up with the idea? In 1920, 14-year-old Philo Farnsworth first conceived of it, supposedly while he was plowing a potato field. In 1926, he and his business partner founded Crocker Research Laboratories (later named Farnsworth Radio and Television Corporation); only one year after that, the first-ever transmitted images were sent. Photo by Shutterstock.
 

Popsicles  

 In 1905, when Frank Epperson was 11 years old, he was trying to concoct his own version of soda pop. One particularly cold night, he left his beverage—a glass filled with soda water powder and water—outside on the porch by accident, with the mixing stick still in it. The ingredients froze overnight and Epperson was inspired. In 1924, after the young inventor had some success in the real estate business, he applied for a patent, naming his creation the Epsicle. Later, it was changed it to the now well-known Popsicle. Photo by Michael Rosenfeld / Getty.
 

Earmuffs

Chester Greenwood grew up ice skating in his native Maine. One day in 1873, the 15-year-old finally became so annoyed with how cold his ears became outdoors that he asked his grandmother to sew fur onto a two-loop wire he created. Soon he had a patented and approved model of what he originally called ear protectors. The state of Maine is so thankful for his invention that every December 21 is celebrated as “Chester Greenwood Day.” Photo by iStockphoto.
 

Braille

Born in France in 1809, Louis Braille was blinded by an injury when he was only 3 years old. In 1824, while he was a 15-year-old student at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, he created a type of reading that involved raised, imprinted dots organized in a pattern to facilitate learning. The first Braille book was released in 1829—and Louis Braille went on to become an instructor at the school where he had once been a student. Photo by Shutterstock.

Read more: Cool Inventions - Everyday Things Invented by Kids at WomansDay.com - Woman's Day

SHELL RECRUITMENT DAY 2013

A shell recruitment day is one of two routes into shell:

Step One- Online application

• create an account, or login via an existing account
• Next, search for available opportunities s by selecting the region and country of work locations
• Apply and upload the latest version of your CV/resume
• Before submitting your application, you will asked to submit an online questionnaire

*When searching for opportunities, please check your work eligibility in that location

Step two- Online assessment
There are two parts to the online assessment.
*Note that each part must be competed and submitted within 7 working days before the links within the email you receive will expire
Part one: a series of competency-based questions
This will take approximately 20mins to complete and will not be timed. once completed you will receive an email notification with the outcome.
part two: consists of two tasks: a decision-making and a problem-solving task. you will need to complete both
*Note that the decision-making task is not timed, but the problem-solving task is timed and you will have 18mins to complete it
The decision-making task assesses how you respond to common situations that shell graduates may face, and the problem-solving tasks assesses your capacity for solving numerical reasoning problems.
In total, part 2 of the online assessment should take approximately 45mins to complete.

Step 3: An interview
The interview will take place either face to face or over the telephone. This is an opportunity for you to tell us more about your motivations for applying, your achievements, the challenges you've faced and how you've demonstrated the qualities we're looking for.

Step Four: Shell Recruitment Day
Following success in the first-stage interview, you will attend an afternoon of non-assessed, interactive activities where you will be given further insights into our global businesses.
The next day you will complete a range of assessed exercises which includes an online simulation exercise, a written task, group discussion, self-reflection interview, presentation-based case study and final interview.

Step 5: An offer
Upon completion of assessment, Shell will let you know on the final outcome for suitable places on their Graduate programme.

*note that an email notification would be sent to you for every stage completed.

To apply now, click here

The Making of Charisma in Music

What is Charisma?
What is this magical mysterious quality that attracts us with such a powerful magnetic force? Is it possible to teach and learn charisma? Musical pundits describe it as a pure, mystifying gift – unobtainable unless you’ve somehow always had it. However they are perhaps better at describing what it is not, agreeing that it cannot be created by mere virtuosity and flawless technique. However, the question remains: as performers, is our charismatic appeal automatically created – or constrained – by some intangible force of nature arising at the time of our birth?
I don’t think anyone has completely unravelled the mystery, but my teaching experiences have shown me that many of the contributing factors can be taught and learned, giving rise to authentic charismatic performances. Some of the factors are surprisingly simple.
Beyond the music, we have to learn and practice the art of performance until it became spontaneous and natural. It led me to ask myself: can we teach young players and singers to perform with charisma? Now I truly believe so. For genuine charisma to emerge, important skills must be learned and practiced in addition to the music. In other words, the right ingredients must be there first.

• PREPARE THE WAY

Interviewed in her film, Portrait, Anne-Sophie Mutter recalls von Karajan’s response to her audition to play (at 13) with the Berlin Philharmonic as, “come back in a year” or words to that effect.

 For professional musicians, the first obvious step is to make sure the piece is relatively perfect – confidently accurate at the right tempo and securely memorized. For this reason we choose solo pieces that the student has been playing well for some time; at least 6 months. A year is better. Then I ask the student to play the piece for me and some of the other teachers, in the presence of the parent. If we all agree the student is ready, we conduct a series of mini masterclasses with them, working mainly on musicality and expression.

• MOVING AND SHAKING

Times have changed. Almost any body movement when playing was once considered excessive and showy, but music is not just sound, it is also visual. It comes from living musicians who move and breathe with the music. But there is also a cultural factor – take a look on Youtube at the contrast between the way Yehudi Menuhin and Janine Jansen move in the Mendelssohn Concerto in E Minor. We resolved to teach students to move with the music from the beginning. Even 3 year olds love to move. Over time it becomes a natural part of expression, amplifying emotions such as drama, energy, calm, pathos and humour in the music.

• DRESSED TO THRILL

Because charisma has such a strong visual component, wearing the right clothes helps to spark it off. Take time in selecting clothes to suit the performance. It’s no accident that the most charismatic performers dress well. On the other hand, many professional musicians turn up on stage poorly dressed – too conservative or with wrong shapes and colors, exaggerating the body in an odd way. Perhaps they should ask a Parisian – or at least someone who dresses well. Don’t choose your own clothes.

• STAGING THE WALK

Your performance begins whilst you are still off stage. Walking on to stage you are already communicating with the audience. If you step confidently with a welcoming demeanor, the audience will be with you – even before your start singing or playing. Practicing the walk on to stage also minimizes and eliminates nerves.

• TAKING A BOW

The friendly unrushed bow on center stage is the musician’s opportunity to greet the audience with genuine appreciation for their presence. It is more natural to look towards the feet when bowing. It is preferable to  hold for a count of three, before arising quickly with a smile.

• POSTURING

Too many performances are tainted by poor and unusual posture. Drooping instruments, strained necks, open mouths are ingrained habits practiced unknowingly and can be an unwelcome distraction to an otherwise good performance. There’s little point in trying to fix them up on stage. Attractive playing posture is an integral part of studies. Play in front of a mirror sometimes.

• PROJECTION

The ability to project well into a large space takes practice. Musicians know that making a larger sound means practicing for more tone resonance either in singing or playing. Professional soloists work hard to produce a big and beautiful tone, one that has the power to reach the far corners of any auditorium. They can then adjust their projection to suit the space.
This leads me to related point. Rehearsing in the actual performance space is good professional practice, because the hall or room space forms part of your voice or your instrument's, with a large influence on your sound and confidence.

• FINISHING

A good finish is as important as a good beginning, e.g. Is the ending dramatic, graceful, or fading into silence? As with every consciously acquired ability, they are achieved by mindful and guided practice, one skill at a time. Stars are made, not born. (Just ask their parents.) We are born with our personality, our view on life, our take on the world, to colour our star in our own unique way, illuminating our music with our own distinctive light.

What size of violin does my child need?

A lot of people must be asking the same thing, either for their young beginner, or for a student who has grown a bit bigger.
Either way, it's important to answer this question correctly. A properly-fitting violin will help ease a student's studies, making the instrument easier to handle and hold.
We're actually lucky that violins come in various sizes! An octave on a piano is always an octave, no matter how small the hands attempting to play it! There are seven typical "fractional" sizes for violins, from smallest to largest: 1/16, 1/10, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full-size. I'm going to give you instructions on how to measure your child, and then a little chart to determine what size instrument you need.
First, you need to measure the child's arm, from his or her neck to the line on the wrist where his or her hand starts.

Have your young student stand upright, holding out his or her left arm, palm facing up. Gently measure the distance from the left side of the neck out to the line where his or her wrist meets the hand (in inches or centimeters). At left is a picture of that natural line at the wrist, which have I darkened with pen, so that you can see what I mean. You can use a tape measure or a yardstick.
The chart below will tell you what size violin is appropriate. I find these measurements to be extremely accurate -- more so than the old trick of having the child attempt to grasp the scroll. If you are a private teacher or a school teacher, you easily can make your own "Fiddle Stick," with a yardstick (or meterstick) and some permanent markers. (If you are feeling like collecting some goodwill karma, make one for your local overworked and underpaid public school teacher!)
Measurements in Inches:
1/16 size: 13 1/4 inches or less
1/10 size: 14 1/4 inches
1/8 size: 15 1/4 inches
1/4 size: 17 1/4 inches
1/2 size: 19 inches
3/4 size: 20 1/2 inches
Full size: 21 1/4 inches
Measurements in centimeters:
1/16 size: 33 1/2 cm or less
1/10 size: 36 cm
1/8 size: 38 1/2 cm
1/4 size: 44 cm
1/2 size: 48 1/2 cm
3/4 size: 52 cm
Full size: 54 cm
GUIDELINES: Always err on the side of getting the smaller violin. It is tempting to get the bigger size, figuring, "Oh, (s)he'll grow into it," but it is extremely frustrating for a child to work with an unwieldy violin that is too big, and importantly, too heavy! You want the child to feel in control of the violin. A too-big violin may actually hurt to hold because of its weight, and it may throw off the mechanics of playing because of its size.
If you are getting a violin for the first time, all the best on your new musical journey! If you are up-sizing, enjoy the new (likely improved) sound of a bigger fiddle