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Personal Reflection

Through the journey of Effective Communication, I have seen myself learning something new each day I step into Professor Brad’s class. Prior to the module, I have set 2 goals in mind to achieve at the end of the day - to polish my writing skills and present myself confidently. Personally, I feel that this module has many takeaway points that I could apply in the coming years. To start off, I have learnt the proper way of writing a summary, formal email and technical report. This module emphasized on the significance of proper in-text citation and referencing. The constructive feedbacks that Professor Brad and my classmates have given me through peer evaluation has allowed me to learn from my mistakes and grow as a person. Writing has always been my weakness in language due to insufficient exposure to good English words. The links given has been very practical and useful in my writing. I am grateful for this blog writing as a platform to enhance my learning. The constant reminders o...

Annotated Summary

Marr L.C, Tang J.W, Mullekom J.V, Lakdawala S.S (2018). Supplementary material from "Mechanistic insights into the effect of humidity on airborne influenza virus survival, transmission and incidence". Journal of the royal society interface, Volume 16(2019), Issue 150.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2018.0298 The recent article written by Marr L.C, Tang J.W, Mullekom J.V, Lakdawala S.S in January, is a study that evaluates the relationship between humidity and human health. In this article, it elaborates on how the atmospheric moisture can cause influenza virus survival and the methods used. The authors stated that humidity being one of the primary factors played a major part in contributing to infectious diseases including the influenza virus. According to the article, studies have claimed that absolute humidity (AH) was responsible for influencing influenza virus survival along with the transmission. However, through the evaluation of study cases, the authors observed tha...

Technical Report #Draft 3

1. Background Introduction This report is developed in response to a call for proposals to recommend engineering solutions in a particular area of focus. The team decided to work on mitigating the effects of a warm and humid climate, that members of the university committee are currently experiencing in the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) Dover campus, for the up and coming Punggol campus. In recent studies, the rate in which Singapore has been heating up is double that of the world at about 0.25°C per decade (Ng & Tang, 2019). The temperature in Singapore is expected to increase gradually to 40°C between the years 2045 and 2065 due to the amount of greenhouse gases the world continues to emit (Low, 2019). In addition to the rising temperatures from climate change, Singapore is forced to contend with high humidity levels throughout the year (Ng & Tang, 2019). Being geographically located near the equator, the island experiences a tropical climate. Furthermore, Singapor...

Technical Report Draft #2

1. Background Introduction This report is developed in response to a call for proposals to recommend engineering solutions in a particular area of focus. The team decided to work on mitigating the effects of a warm and humid climate, currently experienced in the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) Dover campus, for the up and coming Punggol campus. In recent studies, the rate in which Singapore is heating up is double than that of the world at about 0.25°C per decade (Ng & Tang, 2019). The temperature in Singapore is expected to increase gradually to 40°C between the years 2045 and 2065 due to the amount of greenhouse gases the world continues to emit (Low, 2019). In addition to the rising temperatures from climate change, Singapore is forced to contend with high humidity levels throughout the year (Ng & Tang, 2019). Being geographically located near the equator, the island undergoes a tropical climate. Furthermore, Singapore is surrounded by ocean where the heat and...

Technical Report Draft #1

Background Information In recent studies, the rate of Singapore heating up is double than that of the world at about 0.25°C per decade (Ng & Tang, 2019). The temperature in Singapore could increase gradually to 40°C between the years 2045 and 2065 due to the astronomical amount of greenhouse gases the world continues to emit. In addition to the rising temperatures from climate change, Singapore is forced to contend with high humidity levels throughout the year (Low, 2019). Being geographically located near the equator, the island undergoes a tropical climate. Furthermore, Singapore is surrounded by ocean where the heat and wind will convect water into the country through the breeze and rainfall (Billy Aircon, n.d.). Hence, the high humidity levels as a result of rainfall and temperature from climate change may cause people to be more susceptible to heat-related health dangers (Ng & Tang, 2019). According to National Climate Change Secretary (NCCS, 2018), water resources is one ...

[#Draft3] Summary - Summary_ReaderResponse: "Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic"

In the article “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) emphasized on the use of advanced range of smart technology to improve the traffic system in Singapore over the years. Since Singapore’s independence, its main challenge was to accommodate the transportation system to the increasing population with limited space available. According to the article, the 1975 Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) was implemented to tackle congested traffic. Tay claimed that even with progression made in road traffic, ALS was unable to meet the demands of complicated road systems of the 21st century. The author also mentioned that Land Transport Authority (LTA) approached the issue by introducing an automated system, Intelligent Transport System (ITS) with Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) as one of the main developments. The article stated that ITS helped in controlling the traffic system and would maximize road networks to ease users’ road journey. With this, Tay concluded that Singapore planned to strive...

[#Draft2] Summary - Summary_ReaderResponse: "Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic"

In the article “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) emphasized on the use of advanced range of smart technology to improve traffic system in Singapore over the years. Since Singapore’s independence, its main challenge was to accommodate the transportation system to the increasing population with limited space available. According to the article, the 1975 Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) was implemented to tackle the congested traffic. Tay claimed that even with progression made in road traffic, ALS is highly incapable to meet the demands of complicated road systems by 21st century. The author also mentioned that Land Transport Authority (LTA) has approached the issue by introducing an automated system, Intelligent Transport System (ITS) with Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) as one of the main developments. This helped in controlling the traffic system and maximize road networks to ease users’ road journey. Tay concluded that Singapore is striving to develop better urban mobility t...

[#Draft1] Summary - Summary_ReaderResponse: "Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic"

In the article “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) emphasized on the use of advanced range of smart technology to improve traffic system in Singapore over the years. Since Singapore’s independence, its main challenge was to accommodate the transportation system to the increasing population with limited amount of space available. According to the article, the 1975 Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) was implemented to tackle congested traffic. Tay claimed that even with progression made in road traffic, ALS is highly incapable to meet the demands of complicated road systems by 21st century. The author also mentioned that Land Transport Authority (LTA) has approached the issue by introducing an automated system, Intelligent Transport System (ITS) with Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) as one of the main developments. This helps in controlling the traffic system and maximize road networks to ease users’ road journey. Tay concluded that Singapore is striving to develop better urban mobili...

[#Draft2] Summary Article "Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic"

Summary of "Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic" Draft #2 In the article “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) emphasizes on the use of smart technology to improve traffic system in Singapore over the years. Since Singapore’s independence, its main challenge is to accommodate the transportation system to the increasing population with limited amount of space available. According to the article, the 1975 Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) was implemented to tackle the congested traffic. Tay claims that even with progression made in road traffic, ALS is incapable to meet the demands of complicated road systems by 21st century. The author also mentioned that Land Transport Authority (LTA) has approached the issue by introducing an automated system, Intelligent Transport System (ITS). This helps in controlling the traffic system and maximize road networks to ease users’ road journey. Tay concluded that Singapore is striving to develop better urban mobility and enhance tra...

[#Draft1] Summary Article "Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic"

Summary of "Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic" Draft #1 In the article “Tapping Tech for Smoother Traffic”, Tay (2018) emphasizes on the use of smart technology to improve the traffic system in Singapore over the years. Since Singapore’s independence, its main challenge is to accommodate to the increasing population with limited amount of space available. Tay claimed that the current system, 1975 Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) requires intensive manual labor which can be physically exhausting. The case study mentioned that Land Transport Authority (LTA) has approached the issue by introducing an automated system called Intelligent Transport System (ITS). This helps in controlling the traffic system and maximize road networks to ease users’ road journey. Tay concluded that Singapore is striving to become a more liveable city and provide better quality living by enhancing road journey for its citizens. As traffic in Singapore is getting complicated, advancement in technolog...

Assignment 1: Self-Introduction (Formal Letter)

Introduction Formal Letter Subject: Self-Introduction Dear Professor Blackstone, I am writing to you this letter to formally introduce myself, a student from one of your effective communication classes. My name is Tiara, taking up a degree in Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Building Services) in Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). Prior to my degree studies in SIT, I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in Clean Energy Management. I had never imagined myself as an engineering student due to my interest in science. People around me have influenced my thinking towards engineering being a masculine culture that requires physical abilities. However, going through the journey as an electrical engineering student changed my perspective and interest in engineering. Pursuing this degree is a huge step for me to enhance my knowledge in the engineering field, transitioning from electrical to a course that now focuses more on mechanical. Personally, I v...

Task 3: The Importance of communication skills for engineers

"Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can't get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even matter." -Gilbert Amelio, President and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp From the quote above, I personally agree that it is vital for leaders to cultivate good communication skills. Communication skill is a fundamental factor to grow as an efficient leader. Leaders need to be convincing communicators to effectively gain the attention of their audience. Having the ability to communicate fluently with confidence enable leaders to put across their point distinctly without any misunderstandings. I believe that communication is not just a transmission of ideas or messages but a medium to connect and inspire with our audience. With poor communication ...