Personal reflection for Semester 2 - The Elderly Challenge

What have you learnt?

I have learnt how to manage my time better as the ADMT project took quite a long time for me to finish, thus I had to reserved some time aside for the ADMT project. I have also learnt the different techniques of generating ideas so as to aid us in our project. This elderly challenge has also taught me how to design things and the considerations to take note of.

What difficulties have you encountered?

I have encountered many problems. One of them is the shortage of time. Most of the days I am very busy and I returned very home very late everyday because of CCA. After returning home, I still have other homework to do, thus time is very precious and its a necessity in doing this project. The other problem is the lack of experience in this area. I do not really know how to do this kind of project and the process is tedious, but it is quite interesting for the part where I can create my own product, which is a walking stick.

How do you overcome them?

As time past by, I gained more and more experience and thus I know what to do and I learnt how to manage my time better. The lessons I went through also helped and guided me in my project.

Reflection - Prototype.

1. What are the difficulties that you have encountered during the process?

The difficulties were that we were new to the topic. At first, we were lost in what to do and did not really have a clear idea of what to do.

2. How do you overcome the difficulties encountered?

After much discussion, we finally got and idea of what to do as each of us contributed to giving suggestions. We compiled our ideas and summarized it to make it short but answering to the point.

3. What are the 2 key takeaways for this lesson?

The two key takeaways are that in designing a prototype one needs to consider a lot on the design. One would also need to test the product either by quantitative or qualitative, whether it would actually work or not.

Ergonomics-(Product description and Idea Trigger)

i) Describe the product. (Appearance, Color, Function, etc)

The above picture is an ice-cream scooper and it is used to scoop ice-cream. It is turquoise in color and t is made up of plastic. It has a metal lever used for releasing the ice-cream from the scoop. The scoop is medium sized and quite light. The handle is rectangular with a half hollow sphere.

ii) What are the design considerations when designing this product?

This product must be able to release the ice-cream from the scoop easily. The product must have a hole deep enough to scoop the users desired amount of ice-cream. The product should be ergonomic so as to prevent injury and provide comfort to the user.

iii) Would an elderly faced difficulty using this product? If yes, what are the difficulties that the elderly would face?

The lever that releases the ice-cream scoop has a high tension so if the elderly was to use it, the elderly may not be able to press the lever without using a lot of strength. The handle is a bit too big and may not be ergonomic to most of the elderly. The shape of the scoop make scooping harder ice-cream difficult.

iv) What do you think can be done to improve on the design of the product to suit the elderly? (Sketch the improved design in your sketchbook and take a picture of it. Post the improved sketch at the end of your post.)

The handle can be sleeker and the lever used to release the ice-cream can have less tension while still performing its intended function, which is releasing the ice-cream. The ice-cream scoop can be sharper in order to dig out ice-cream easily.

Ergonomic 2

1. What is Ergonomics?

Ergonomic is commonly thought in term of product. It means to provide optimum comfort to the user’s to avoid stress or injury.

2. What are the 5 aspects of Ergonomics?

-Comfort

-Aesthetic

-Safety

-Ease of use

-Productivity/Performance

3. For each aspects of Ergonomics, explain with an example of a product that is designed for the elderly, how the product meet that particular aspect of Ergonomics.

Safety -

1. Safety - Medicine bottles: The print on them could be larger so that a sick person who may have impaired vision (due to sinuses, etc.) can more easily see the dosages and label. Ergonomics could design the print style, color and size for optimal viewing.
2. 
   
3. Comfort - Alarm clock display: Some displays are harshly bright, drawing one’s eye to the light when surroundings are dark. Ergonomic principles could redesign this based on contrast principles.
4. 
   
5. Ease of use - Street Signs: In a strange area, many times it is difficult to spot street signs. This could be addressed with the principles of visual detection in ergonomics.
6. 
   
7. Productivity/performance - HD TV: The sound on HD TV is much lower than regular TV. So when you switch from HD to regular, the volume increases dramatically. Ergonomics recognizes that this difference in decibel level creates a difference in loudness and hurts human ears and this could be solved by evening out the decibel levels. Voicemail instructions: It takes too long to have to listen to all of the obvious instructions. Ergonomics could address this by providing more options to the user, enabling them to easily and quickly skip the instructions.
8. 
   
9. Aesthetics - Signs in the workplace: Signage should be made consistent throughout the workplace to not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also so that information is easily accessible for all signs.

Ergonomic 1-Question 3

3. What are the considerations that should be taken into account when designing a workplace that is suitable for the user?

Lighting, desk space, the design of the chair, the position of the computer, a room specially designed for its purpose.

Ergonomic:

-Comfort

-Aesthetics

-Safety

Ergonomics 1-Question 1

1. Compare the 2 different workplaces, state your observations.

In the first scene, the person seems to have difficulty in settling in the chair and looks very uncomfortable and rigid. The table is unorganized and messy. He had difficulty in typing into the keyboard as the space is confined and the chair cannot accommodate to his comfort. The computer on his desk is situated at a corner and the man have to put on a pair of glass to read the things in the computer screen. Even so, the person still have difficulty in seeing the things in the computer screen and have to use a magnifying glass for a better view . The lighting there is not very good. The height, length and the width of the chair is too small and the person was literally squeezing into the chair. As a result, he could not move his arms properly and knocked down his cup of beverage.


Vice verca, the other person in the other scene has a neat and tidy table. The things on the table are well organised and the person does not have not have any difficulty in settling in the chair. The chair allows the person to adjust to any height for maximum comfort and can support the person sitting in it ergonomically. The person does not have any difficulty in reaching out for the keyboard and typing onto his computer. The computer can be adjusted till he can see the things on the computer screen and the lighting at the desk is good, allowing the person to see clearly on what is on the computer screen.

Holiday work - Part 2: Deepening your learning experiences(Forth part)

When I go to shopping malls, I notice that there are very little elevators built in the shopping malls and some are quite difficult to locate. This makes physically disabled elderlies difficult to move around the malls and they would be ‘discouraged’ to come to shopping malls int the future. I suggest that the authorities build more elevators in the shopping malls and have signs to indicate where are the elevators located in the shopping malls.

Elderly-friendly room

1) Notice there are railings along the side of the room. This is to let the elderlies hold on to it for support so as to prevent any injuries.

2) The cabinets are pretty level so the elderlies will not have to climb up the chairs or stretch their body to get and store what they want.

3) The bed is slightly lower than normal ones to prevent the elderlies from having any serious injuries in case they fall and roll down the bed.

4) The sofa is soft and can cushion the elderlies. They will feel more comfortable when sitting on it.

5) The television is a 52 inch LCD television. It is that big to accommodate to the elderlies failing eyesight.

There are much more to add into the room that a elderly would like and need to have but those are pretty much the basics of a elderly friendly room.

Holiday work - Part 2: Deepening your learning experiences(Third part)

Have more clinics situated in those HDB flats which are inhabited mostly by elderlies so that when they are sick, they can get help easily and not having to travel a long distance just to get medical help.

Ps. Sorry for the late work!

Holiday work - Part 2: Deepening your learning experiences(Second part).e

Some of the traffic lights turn into red light too fast and since the elderlies walk slower than younger people, they often cannot cross the road in time and are at risk of being knock down by the oncoming cars. I suggest that the authorities reprogram the traffic lights to accommodate to the needs of the elderlies.

Ps. Sry for all the late work.

Elderly Challenge Observation 1

The elderlies requires more ‘elder-friendly’ structures especially for those who are on wheelchairs or have physical disabilities, such as more gentle incline slopes rather than steep flights of stairs or incline slopes, if permits. This is so as to reduce the effort and make going up a gradient more convenience.

Holiday homework- Part 1: Understanding the ‘The Elderly Challenge'

Four key recommendation of the report:

1) Provide a Elder-adapted residence for the elders.

-Have different housing choices like the size, types, cost and where is it situated so as to offer the elderlies with more option to choose from to meet the needs of their requirement.

2) Have a barrier free community.

-Provide the elderlies with an environment that will not impede them from traveling or access to some places. This will facilitate the elderlies and thus making their life easier and this will encourage them to participate in social activities more often.

-Make the buses more accessible by the elders by having no steps for wheelchairs and a low floor. This will not only benefit the seniors, but young parents, children in prams and those with physical disability.

3)Have affordable healthcare and eldercare

-Top up the Medisave accounts of those who are not well-to-do when there are budget surplus, which means whenever the government have left over from the expenditure of the country development, it will go into the Medisave accounts and this will defray the cost of the healthcare costs.

-Family physicians should take care of the elderlies more and look into their matters comprehensively.

4) Active lifestyles and well-being

-Promote more programmes and services for the seniors so as to have them significantly contribute to Singapore, their family and the society.

-Build on family ties to ensure that the elderlies still have their family members as their front line of support.

State ONE way the CAI is recommending to make our public housing estate more elder-friendly .

-The Government is considering specific measures to facilitate the development of retirement housing by the private sector, in particular, varying the length of land leases to lower land costs, to cater to seniors who desire such lifestyles.

State TWO ways on how we can ensure that the quality of elderly care here in Singapore is affordable .

-Have the qualification for being a doctor higher so as to raise the standard if the doctors in Singapore, providing a better healthcare for everyone, including the seniors. Encourage more people to save for their retirement age for we will get sick more often when we are old. More people will save if the interest rate is higher with no risk.

After reading the CAI report, what do you are the THREE things that you can do, as an SST student, to help overcome these elderly challenges?

-Invent a type of wheelchair that can go up and down the stairs more easily, reducing the effort needed to go up and down the stairs. SCAMPER can be applied to this idea and this type of wheelchair will also benefit people with physical disabilities.

-Ask more people to donate to the poor elderlies so as to help them financially and give them more support in terms of physical needs, like helping them to climb the stairs or guiding them in shopping malls voluntarily.

-Have more activities organised for the seniors so as to expose them to the outside world and not just to stay at home all day long watching television or reading books. This will also strengthen them physically and help them to keep fit if the activity is on sports.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is launching the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore Aug. 14-16, 2010. Archery will be one of the 26 events contested at the multi-sport youth event. The international event will attract at least 5,000 athletes and officials from the 205 National Olympic Committees. The archery athletes will be between the ages of 17 and 18.

Cited from: http://usarchery.org/blogs/blog-for-robby-beyer/posts/1550-singapore-2010-youth-olympic-games

ADMT-Photographs

Looks like there is something interesting going on. Shawn seems to be amused while joshua looks bored, leaning against the pillar.

Nice smile you got there, Bryan!Seems like you are in a good mood today.

The plants are well cared by the person in charge as they seems so beautiful and arranged in a neat way

The best time to take a photo

In the early morning and late afternoon, when the sun is low, the light is gold and orange, giving your shot the warmth of a log fire. Professional photographers call these the 'magic hours' and most movies and magazine shots are made during this brief time. It takes extra planning, but saving your photography for one hour after sunrise, or one to two hours before sunset, will add stunning warmth to your shots.

Cited from: http://www.photosecrets.com/tips.p05.html

Prime factorisation(continues...)Textbook p9 #25 and #26

Qns 25:The Prime factorisation of a number is 2^4 X 3^5 X 7^2 X 11.

Write down 3 factors of the number that are greater than 100.

(Hint: 16 X 11 = 176, which is a factor.)

2^4 X 3^5 X 7^2 X 11= 2 095 632

The number is 2 095 632. The factor of the number: 2 095 632 divided by 2=1 047 816 (a factor)

2 095 632 divided by 3=698 544 (a factor)

2 095 632 divided by 4=523 908 (a factor)

So after we divide the number(2 095 632) by 2,3 and 4 we have three factors, which are 1 047 816, 698 544 and 523 908. They are all greater than 100.

Ans:1 047 816, 698 544 and 523 908

Qns 26:The Prime factorisation of two numbers are 2 X 3^2 X 7^3 X 13 and 3 X 7^2 X 13^3 X 17.

Write down 3 common factors of the numbers.

2 X 3^2 X 7^3 X 13= 80 262

3 X 7^2 X 13^3 X 17= 5 490 303

The two number can be divided by 3,7 and 13, so these are the three common factors of the two numbers.

Ans:3,7 and 13

Prime numbers textbook page 8 #24

A mathematician proposed that "Every even number greater than 2 can be expressed as a sum of prime numbers."

Do you agree? Why?

Ans: I agree. Even numbers have several ways to be the sum of two prime numbers. For example, the number 36 can be shown as '5+31', '7+29', or '17+19'. By looking at these examples, it appears that the higher the even number, the more pair of prime numbers there are that add up to it.

There is an assumption that says that every even number can be expressed as the sum of two prime numbers at least in one way. This assumption is called as Goldbach's conjecture, afterChristian Goldbach, a Prussian mathematician who propounded it. it remains to be one of the most ancient problems that is yet not completely solved in the field of mathematics. The conjecture basically states that every even integer that is greater than the number 2 can be expressed as the sum of two primes.

Cited from : Blurtit

Difference between Isometric, Oblique and Orthographic Drawing.

Oblique drawing:

Isometric drawing is a type of axonometric projection. It is a method of visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions whereas Oblique drawing is a two dimensional images of three dimensional objects.Isometric projection is one of the projections used in technical and engineering drawings.

Orthographic drawings are views (front, side, top, and so on) of an object. An orthographic view is only one side. It takes several views to show all the objects.

Cited from: Wikipedia and Google Image search

Isometric drawing:

Orthographic drawing

ADMT-Environment

An environment is what surrounds a thing or an item. The environment is the surrounding. It could be a physical element - physical environment, that includes the built environment, naturual environment like air conditions, water, land, atmosphere etc or it could be human environment - people surrounding the item or thing.

Adapted from: WikiAnswers URL: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_of_an_environment

In my opinion, environment is the surrounding, something that affects the creatures and non-living things from time to time. We are living in an environment of urban city, with trees and other plants grown around them.

ADMT Lesson 1: Personal Reflection

1. What does ADMT means to you?

Ans: It means using media and technology to design art visually without using any student writing materials with paper.

2. What are the attitude that an ADMT should have?

Ans: They should be interested in art and technology and do their work seriously ,paying attention to the teacher even if they are interested subject or not.

3. What are you aspiration as an ADMT student?

Ans: I hope to become good in doing art work using the laptop and hope this would help me in my future career.

4. How do you think you can achieve your aspiration?

Ans: I can achieve it by working hard and practicing what I have learnt I ADMT.

Communication

1 Why is communication important?

Ans: Yes it is.

2 What is/are your favourite form/s of communication? Why?

Ans: My favorite form of communication is using the telephone as you can get to the person you want to talk to instantly and can talk to each other openly regardless of the distance between both person.

3 How do you decide which form of communication to use in a situation?

Ans: If I want to talk to a person far away from me I will use a telephone while if I want to communicate with a person that is overseas I will write a letter to that person.

4 What difficulties do you face in communicating with others?

Ans: When talking with a person my pronunciation is not that good so sometimes the person could not hear what I am saying clearly and I have to repeat what I said.

The amazing race: Reflection

I understand that expanding our learning network is to go beyond my comfort zone and learn things outside the school instead of learning at school all the time. This value is important as learning things somewhere else can allow us to know more things beside the stuff we learn at school, enabling us to expand our knowledge even broader. This value will help our learning experience by enriching us with more knowledge.

Team Building Challenge: Personal Reflection

I undertand that we must strive to succeed in order to ' Forge Excellence' and never give up. I learn things a bit slow but once I grab the concept of that particular subject I do really well in it and would always try to do even better. I think I should be more focus in learning so that I would excel in things that I do. In order to contribute to help my class succeed I can teach those classmates who are weaker in their studies.

Bridge Building Project:Reflections

I feel good working with my team on the project though sometimes my team would argue over sme things. The interactions with my team members was quite well except for some disagreement over some things. I have learnt that I must communicate with my team more and in the future I will give more ideas to my team members. I do not experience anything working with my team as they work well with me.