The Role of Peer and Tutor

Communications is an essential tool that is being used in our daily lives. In this course, we were able to give and receive feedback among classmates, besides receiving comments from the tutor. Being able to get feedback from a different perspective, it is beneficial for my learning. This course allow us to read our peers' reflection and give suggestive feedback on the their blog post. I was skeptical about this module as I had similar module during my study in Polytechnic. But the method of teaching was single-sided and the students could only receive feedback from the tutor. 

Due to the lack of proficiency and vocabulary in English language, I would reread and edit my feedback on my peers’ blog post. I am afraid I might not be able to provide them with constructive feedback. Receiving criticisms is another way of receiving constructive feedback from my peers. Through the criticisms received during the trial run of the presentation, I become more aware of the importance to maintain eye contact with the audience.

Looking at my peers’ work also allowed me to notice the good points in their writing and to apply it to my own writing. It also gave me a chance to spot the common mistakes made by my peers and cross-reference on my own writing to ensure that I was not making the same mistakes. My peers and I were able to practice our analytical skills when we cross check our work.

Even though I felt dreary half way through this module as other heavier modules started to take its toll on me, I am glad I managed to complete this course. All in all, I am certain that the soft skills gained from this module will definitely help me in my other modules through my time in University and beyond. This module has once again reminded me of the importance to incorporate both written and verbal aspects in communication. 

"Our language is the reflection of ourselves. A language is an exact reflection of the character and growth of its speakers." -Cesar Chavez

They inspired and influence my life

My mother and father have been wonderful parents to me. They have worked hard to provide a stable foundation for my life and future. They taught me invaluable lessons about work, relationships and life. My parent practices the habit of sharing challenges they faced in their daily lives. When I was just a child, my parents and I would have a "sharing" session to discuss and reflect on our actions before the end of the day. I could still vividly remember the day my secondary school form teacher announced my secondary three final exam results. My mind went blank. I was lost and have thoughts of dropping out from secondary school. Instead of the conventional reaction of feeling disappointed and angry, my parents suggested that I should continue with my education. They shared with me the importance education in Singapore. In a competitive society, getting a "paper' is important to secure a job in the near future.  Whenever I faced setbacks, I would always seek them for advice and suggestions. 

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Engineering plays a vital role in our daily lives. Like most engineers, I have always been curious about the functioning mechanisms behind the many objects we use in our daily lives. I love things that move, especially those that are related to engines. My passion in mechanical engineering increased when I learnt about  control systems and automation in technical school. As a mechanical engineering undergraduate, I hope to share my knowledge with my team and propose a solution to reduce Singapore dependency on food imports.

Executive Summary

Food security will always be an ongoing challenge for countries like Singapore that have no natural resources. Even though Singapore has its own local vegetable production, it is not sufficient in the case of emergency. As such, the team is concerned with the current local production and is interested in boosting the production, using existing farming technologies.

The team’s proposed solution, Ecoflex, is to integrate existing technologies into one system and to implement it in locations which are normally empty throughout the day. Ecoflex will help to boost local vegetable production effectively and efficiently as well as to maximize unused spaces. In the internet survey conducted by the team on grocery shoppers, many respondents have indicated that they are likely to choose local production over foreign import.

The implementation of Ecoflex into existing infrastructures will be beneficial to the local community and Singapore will also be one step closer to being self-reliant. This report is separated into three main areas namely current farming technologies that are being adopted in Singapore, Ecoflex system and research methods or procedure. This proposal will include an in-depth explanation of how Ecoflex works, both advantages and disadvantages of it. Additionally, this proposal includes primary and secondary research.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Land)

Faculty of Engineering

Singapore Institute of Technology

10 Dover Drive

Singapore 138683

7 November 2015

Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (Headquarters)

JEM Office Tower

52 Jurong Gateway Road

#14-01

Singapore 608550

Dear Sir/Madam

RE: Proposal for Increasing Local Vegetable Production

This letter is to notify you of our acknowledgement and response to your letter of sanction. It is a great pleasure and opportunity to present you with the following proposal for increasing local vegetable production in Singapore. The report has been prepared in accordance with  creating a new system, Ecoflex, to boost local vegetable production, which ultimately will improve Singapore’s food security.

This report includes an overall view of food security in Singapore, existing technologies used for farming in Singapore and a proposed solution to increase local vegetable production. In addition, both primary and secondary research are also provided for a better understanding of our proposed solution.

We are appreciative for your constant guidance and pointers during this period. We would also like to thank you for taking the time to peruse through our proposition, and hope you will take Ecoflex into consideration for making Singapore a more self-reliant country.

Yours Sincerely,

(Team)

Cherlynn

On Behalf of Team Obama

Reader Response Draft 4

In the article “Why the Climate Fight Needs Engineers”, Shah (2015) shares that Asia’s development is susceptible to a hostile environment. Global warming increases the awareness and desperation of a de-carbonised economy. The author indicates that with the growing demand to transform into a ‘sustainable urban’ and monetary system, engineering solutions will see a peak in both local and regional areas. Experts face hurdles in their attempts to integrate individual technology into a single system. The ‘Engineers Progession Pathway Progamme’ was setup by National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and Insititute of Engineers (IES) to help young engineers improve on their specialised skills. I agree with the author that engineers have a crucial role to play in solving sustainability challenges because cutting down the emission of carbon will mitigate some of the effect of global warming.

Engineers can make the world less susceptible to climate change by reducing carbon footprints and global warming. El Niño is climatic phenomenon caused by a long-term increase in the Pacific Ocean surface temperature (Ho & Koh, 2015). It wreaks havoc on the weather conditions causing unpredictable rainfall. The amount of rainfall can reacts to ‘hot and dry weather that promotes sparking forest fires,’ which cause haze. Contributing to the severity of the haze, palm oil companies in Indonesia use unscrupulous methods to clear vegetation. Due to the huge amount of carbon stored in the tropical peat soils during deforestation, heat trapped in the soil have contributed dramatically to global warming. Palm oil, paper and logging companies have a very intimate relationship, as they are responsible for the deforestation in Indonesia. In the webpage, “5 Ways To Fight Haze”(n.d.), the author states that to alleviate the situation of deforestation, corporations from the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) adopt sustainable palm oil and paper in their product. In another article “Palm oil waste put to work”, the author mentions that engineers in Singapore found ways to fully utilize palm oil production by converting its waste into industrial use. Without engineers, these valuable resources would be wasted or buried in the ground.

With the help of engineers, development of new technologies will help the Singapore gain sustainability. Singapore has one of the world’s highest carbon emissions per capita, states Kitten (2015). To tackle this issue, ‘renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy efficiency’ are a few of the initiatives carried out by the Singapore government to becoming a green economy. Singapore’s very own water sustainability, NEWater, is the result of today’s water treatment technology. It greatly reduces the reliance of importing water from Malaysia. In the webpage, “About BCA Green Mark Scheme”(n.d), reveals that Singapore government launched the ‘BCA Green Mark Scheme’ in January 2005 to encourage Singapore’s construction industry towards a more environmental friendly building. The scheme fights to reduce the cost in utility bills and scale down the emission of carbon. Absence of these initiatives would not materialize without sustainable technology.

In Singapore’s context, energy is a vital resource because we are almost completely dependent on external energy sources to support economic activity and growth. Furthermore, due to our alternative energy disadvantaged city-state, there will be limitations to the reductions of carbon emissions. The Singapore government educates local citizens to purchase electrical appliances that are more energy efficient (NEA, 2015). This effort can promote energy conservancy and capability. Consumers can have a clearer and better understanding on the energy performance of the appliances they buy that will transform into cost savings. Energy efficiency is also a key means to diminish greenhouse gas effect. As the world faces noteworthy planetary issues, for example, an Earth-wide temperature boost, sea fermentation, biodiversity misfortune and urban movement, it is clear that the engineering profession has a huge part to play in influencing the eventual fate of our planet.

In conclusion, climate change is a global issue that requires engineering solutions. Although Singapore have alternative energy disadvantages, through the aid of sustainable technology, Singapore is one step closer to transform into a green economy. Global warming increases the demand of more engineering solutions to reduce the emission of carbon. Therefore, engineers plays a crucial role in solving sustainability challenges.

References

A Star Research. (2013, November 20). Palm oil waste put to work.  Retrieved from http://www.research.a-star.edu.sg/research/6809/palm-oil-waste-put-to-work

BCA (2015, 25 November). About BCA Green Mark Scheme. Retrieved from

http://www.bca.gov.sg/greenmark/green_mark_buildings.html

National Library Board. (2015, 25 August). Haze Pollution. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2013-08-30_185150.html

NEA Research. (2015, November 23). Tick Rating. Retrieved from http://www.nea.gov.sg/energy-waste/energy-efficiency/household-sector/tick-rating

PM-Haze. (n.d.). 5 Ways to Fight Haze. Retrieved from http://pmhaze.org/be-a-haze-fighter/5-ways-to-fight-haze/

Union of Concerned Scientists. (n.d). Palm Oil and Tropical Deforestation. Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/stop-deforestation/palm-oil-and-forests.html#.Vh0k_hOqqko

Union of Concerned Scientists. (n.d). Benefits of renewable energy use. Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/public-benefits-of-renewable.html

V.Shah. (2015, June 8). Why Climate Fights Needs Engineers. Eco-business. Retrieved From http://www.eco-business.com/news/why-the-climate-fight-needs-engineers/

Edited 5/12/15

Oral presentation reflection

Before the actual day of presentation, we were given an opportunity to conduct a trial run. I am very nervous during the trial run as it was the first time I am presenting to my classmates. I was given some pointers to reduce the use of pause fillers in my speech. To prevent the presence of pause fillers, I prepared a script and rehearsed on my own.

On the actual day of presentation, I was nervous yet excited to share with my classmates what I have research and concluded on my project. When I was about to end my concluding statement, I couldn't remember what was the statement that I want to share with the class. My mind went blank at that moment, however, I manage to recover back the information that I want to present. Personally, I felt that in a presentation the flow of the presenter is very important. It tells the audience that the presenter is well prepared in his/her speech.

Based on this presentation, I found my strength which is also my weakness. I had the ability to present on a blank slide but at the same time I lost focus on my script. 

Reader Response Draft 3

In the article “Why Climates fight needs engineers”, Shah (2015) shares that Asia’s development is susceptible to a hostile environment. Global warming increases the awareness and desperation of a de-carbonised economy. The author indicates that with the growing demand to transform into a ‘sustainable urban’ and monetary system, engineering solutions will see a peak in both local and regional area. Experts face hurdles in their attempts to combine integrate individual technology into a single system. I agree with the author that engineers have a crucial role to play in solving sustainability challenges because cutting down emission of carbon will mitigate the effect of global warming.

With the increase of carbon footprints and global warming, the world has become susceptible to climate change. El Niño is ‘climatic phenomenon caused by a long-term increase in the Pacific Ocean surface temperature’. This phenomenon wreaks havoc on the weather conditions, for example, causing lesser rainfall. This reacts to ‘hot and dry weather that promotes sparking forest fires’ which cause haze. Contributing to the severity of the haze, palm oil companies in Indonesia use unscrupulous methods to clear vegetation. Due to the huge amount of carbon stored in the tropical peat soils during deforestation, heat trap in the soil have contribute dramatically to global warming. Palm oil, paper and logging companies have a very intimate relationship, as they are responsible for the deforestation in Indonesia. In the article (5 Ways To Fight Haze), the author states that to alleviate the situation of deforestation, corporations from the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) adopt sustainable palm oil and paper in their product. In another article (Palm oil waste put to work), the author mention that engineers in Singapore found ways to fully utilize palm oil production by converting its waste into industrial use.

Singapore has one of the world’s highest carbon emissions per capita, states Kitten (2015). To tackle this issue, ‘renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy efficiency’ are a few of the initiatives carried out by the Singapore government to becoming a green economy. Singapore’s very own water sustainability, NEWater, is the result of today’s water treatment technology. It greatly reduces the reliance of importing water from Malaysia. The government launched the ‘BCA Green Mark Scheme’ in January 2005 to encourage Singapore’s construction industry towards a more environmental friendly building. The scheme fights to reduce the cost in utility bills and scale down the emission of carbon. Absence of these initiatives would not materialize without sustainable technology. With the help of engineers, development of new technologies will help the world gain sustainability

In Singapore’s context, energy is a vital resource because we are almost completely dependent on external energy sources to support economic activity and growth. Furthermore, due to our alternative energy disadvantaged city-state, there will be limitations to the reductions of carbon emissions. The Singapore Government educates local citizens to purchase electrical appliances that are more energy efficient. This effort can promote energy conservancy and capability. Consumers can have a clearer and better understanding on the energy performance of the appliances they buy that will transform into cost savings. Energy efficiency is also a key means to diminish greenhouse gas effect. As we face noteworthy planetary issues, for example, an Earth-wide temperature boost, sea fermentation, biodiversity misfortune and urban movement, it is clear that the engineering profession has a huge part to play in influencing the eventual fate of our planet.

In conclusion, climate change is a global issue that requires engineering solutions. Therefore, engineers plays a crucial role in solving sustainability challenges.

References:

Vaieshi, S. (2015, June 8). Why Climate Fights Needs Engineers. Eco-business. Retrieved From http://www.eco-business.com/news/why-the-climate-fight-needs-engineers/

Resources:

Benefits of renewable energy use. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/public-benefits-of-renewable.html

5 Ways to Fight Haze. (n.d) Retrieved from

http://pmhaze.org/be-a-haze-fighter/5-ways-to-fight-haze/

Palm oil waste put to work. (2013, November 20). Retrieved from http://www.research.a-star.edu.sg/research/6809/palm-oil-waste-put-to-work

Palm Oil and Tropical Deforestation. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/stop-deforestation/palm-oil-and-forests.html#.Vh0k_hOqqko