This week we have been asked to analyse our team, how we slotted into Belbin team roles and our strengths/weaknesses. Our team had a total of 5 members; Joel, Ami, Rose, Virginia and myself. We found each other via the forum and then created a facebook page which was then our primary form of communication. Finding a team to work with was basically decided by our location, we 5 were all within the Manawatu region and therefore united.
Joel was very enthusiastic and came across very confident. He slotted into the role of "resource investigator" quite well as he brought forward several good ideas and was very good at communicating. Unfortunately, Joel was unable to attend any of our meet ups where a lot of decisions were made. He did supply some input along with great research, although once that was done, he appeared bored or withdrawn from the team. He pulled through again at the last minute though and helped with the editing of the final product.
Ami is an amazing woman. She is self driven and very focused. She took on two roles, one being the "Shaper", the other the "Implementer". She took on the bulk of our assignment, taking bits and pieces of information that we threw at her and making sense of it all. It became slightly difficult to get information to her as she had limited internet access but she made up for that by putting in long hours and more hard work than anyone else in the team.
Rose became our "Coordinator". It became apparent right from the beginning that she was able to take charge. She was always the first to communicate, always at meet ups and consistently following up on our progress. She was willing to be the "big bad wolf" but did so in a very professional manner that made us move our asses (excuse the language) without coming across confrontational. She definitely has a bright future ahead.
Virginia was our plant". She has innovative thinking and creative with her expression. She was able to absorb information like a sponge, facts and figures and marking schedules were her specialty. She was always willing to help and very eager to participate, often arriving early to our meet ups.
I feel I was the "Team Worker". I was indecisive about decisions being made and was happy to just go with the flow. Once the decisions were made, I was willing t do whatever tasks were handed down and tried to keep a positive vibe within the team.
We were lucky to have such a diverse group of people in our team. There were no major conflicts though time management was a bit of an issue. For a group of complete strangers, all with different goals, opinions and personalities to write a report of this nature is very difficult and I believe we can be proud of our efforts.
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Disease at Disneyland
This week I have been reading a lot about vaccinations. The topic caught my eye after seeing a report that claims nine cases of measles have been confirmed in the states of California and Utah, plus three more suspected.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be transferred easily from person to person through coughs, sneezes and other airborne aerosols, as well as direct contact with an infected person. The result can be fatal though with modern medicine and vaccinations it is all together preventable.
The outbreak in the states is believed to have spread at Disneyland. With a daily average upwards of 40,000 visitors, it is lucky there were only 9 reported victims. The small volume of casualties can be attributed to vaccinations. If vaccinated a person is 90% less likely to contract the disease. By vaccinating the majority of a community you decrease the likelihood of a outbreak. This method aided greatly in the eradication of smallpox.
In the California/Utah case it appears that most victims had not been vaccinated. While there could be any number of reasons for not having been vaccinated, for two of the Disneyland victims, it was simply due to their young age. It is uncommon for children younger than twelve months old to receive the Measles vaccine as they may have antibodies from their mothers immune system which can hinder the effectiveness of the vaccination process.
There are many people around the world that oppose vaccinations, here in New Zealand we have the option to deny the vaccine though it is encouraged by our government. Those who choose not to receive vaccines can fall under a blanket of protection provided by those who have. The community becomes less susceptible to disease but ultimately the risk is still present.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be transferred easily from person to person through coughs, sneezes and other airborne aerosols, as well as direct contact with an infected person. The result can be fatal though with modern medicine and vaccinations it is all together preventable.
The outbreak in the states is believed to have spread at Disneyland. With a daily average upwards of 40,000 visitors, it is lucky there were only 9 reported victims. The small volume of casualties can be attributed to vaccinations. If vaccinated a person is 90% less likely to contract the disease. By vaccinating the majority of a community you decrease the likelihood of a outbreak. This method aided greatly in the eradication of smallpox.
In the California/Utah case it appears that most victims had not been vaccinated. While there could be any number of reasons for not having been vaccinated, for two of the Disneyland victims, it was simply due to their young age. It is uncommon for children younger than twelve months old to receive the Measles vaccine as they may have antibodies from their mothers immune system which can hinder the effectiveness of the vaccination process.
There are many people around the world that oppose vaccinations, here in New Zealand we have the option to deny the vaccine though it is encouraged by our government. Those who choose not to receive vaccines can fall under a blanket of protection provided by those who have. The community becomes less susceptible to disease but ultimately the risk is still present.
Saturday, 20 December 2014
Printing Ourselves a Better Life
Recently, I have been seeing a lot of articles in newspapers, magazines and even on the television, glorifying 3-D printing. It seems to have popped up almost out of nowhere and taken the world by storm. I have come across reports of footwear, jewellery, guns and even prosthetic limbs being created by this new wave of technology. I had to know more.
In simple terms a 3-D printer is like the ink printers we all know and use. We send an electronic file to the machine, the machine starts spiting out ink on the desired spots as described in the electronic file, Ta Dah! We have a printed page. The 3-D printers that are commercially available follow the same basic idea only instead of spitting out ink at a piece of paper, it spits out polymers in layers that are fused using UV lasers. Simple.
The possibilities for 3-D printing are endless. Already it has proved life changing to many industries as well as individual people. I came across article that talks of how NASA has used the new technology to email, yes email, a wrench to the international space station. Thus saving weeks, months or possibly even years by not needing a rocket to be sent up.
While scouring the internet for more details, I stumbled across a heart warming story of an adorable dog named Derby, who was born with malformed front legs. His foster family sought help from scientists, who create new limbs for him using 3-D printing. I have attached the video and I highly recommend watching it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRmoowIN8aY#action=share
Technology advances at such a rapid rate in this day and age. If this is where we are at now, printing things from every day items to life changing equipment, the future can only be brighter.
In simple terms a 3-D printer is like the ink printers we all know and use. We send an electronic file to the machine, the machine starts spiting out ink on the desired spots as described in the electronic file, Ta Dah! We have a printed page. The 3-D printers that are commercially available follow the same basic idea only instead of spitting out ink at a piece of paper, it spits out polymers in layers that are fused using UV lasers. Simple.
The possibilities for 3-D printing are endless. Already it has proved life changing to many industries as well as individual people. I came across article that talks of how NASA has used the new technology to email, yes email, a wrench to the international space station. Thus saving weeks, months or possibly even years by not needing a rocket to be sent up.
While scouring the internet for more details, I stumbled across a heart warming story of an adorable dog named Derby, who was born with malformed front legs. His foster family sought help from scientists, who create new limbs for him using 3-D printing. I have attached the video and I highly recommend watching it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRmoowIN8aY#action=share
Technology advances at such a rapid rate in this day and age. If this is where we are at now, printing things from every day items to life changing equipment, the future can only be brighter.
Friday, 12 December 2014
Web of Mayhem
With the first assignment now out of the way, it is time to sit back and relax! Just kidding, its straight into assignment two. This assignment involves working in groups which I would usually be ecstatic about but as we are all distance learners, organisation is going to be difficult to say the least. I am glad that I have a friendly group to work with though, two of my fellow classmates came over for a bit of a meet and greet.
After meeting the girls, I realised how different our reasons for studying this particular paper are. The diversity in our set goals range from phycology to sports and even computing.
When I think of science, I have a very narrow mind. My mind trends towards lab coats and test tubes, big machines and long complicated reports. It often surprises me how vast the subject really is.
Not only is the subject of science a web of interlocking mayhem, everyone has a different take on it. While we are all doing our chosen field of science for a different purpose, there is still a common theme. Whether it be to better care for our surroundings, or to hack into the governments computers we all see science as a way forward.
From my own personal experience, having worked in laboratories for 6 years, the industry as whole is being slingshot forward. Technology is constantly upgrading, ideas and techniques are multiplying but the one thing that remains universal is the need for communication. Without communication we get left behind and at the rate the world is moving, one slip up and you fall into a black hole of return.
And on that note, it is time to get back to work before my boss catapults me into a black hole of her own...
After meeting the girls, I realised how different our reasons for studying this particular paper are. The diversity in our set goals range from phycology to sports and even computing.
When I think of science, I have a very narrow mind. My mind trends towards lab coats and test tubes, big machines and long complicated reports. It often surprises me how vast the subject really is.
Not only is the subject of science a web of interlocking mayhem, everyone has a different take on it. While we are all doing our chosen field of science for a different purpose, there is still a common theme. Whether it be to better care for our surroundings, or to hack into the governments computers we all see science as a way forward.
From my own personal experience, having worked in laboratories for 6 years, the industry as whole is being slingshot forward. Technology is constantly upgrading, ideas and techniques are multiplying but the one thing that remains universal is the need for communication. Without communication we get left behind and at the rate the world is moving, one slip up and you fall into a black hole of return.
And on that note, it is time to get back to work before my boss catapults me into a black hole of her own...
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Time to get Opinionated
For my position paper, I have the task of trying to sway my readers into agreeing with my point of view. I was given a list of topics, from which I decided on; All drinking water in NZ should be fluoridated. It seemed like a simple enough task, there has been a heated debate about the pros and cons for years now. Surely I could just pick a side and roll with it, fake it till you make it kind of thing. Man, was I wrong!
There are so many papers and journal articles out there telling us that if we fluoridate our communal water supplies, we will see an increase in dental health. As we are only human, we of course ask what the cost is going to be, or more to the point, which costs less? After reading several articles claiming that the prevention of dental decay (by means of adding fluoride to a communities water supply) is more cost effective than the treatment of dental decay, I found some useful figures based on a scheme in Quebec; for every $1 invested in the scheme, up to $82.83 could be saved in dental costs (Tchouaket, Broussell, Frasi, Dionne, Bertrad & Fortin, 2013). That would be a fairly good incentive for local governments to take action, think of how many extra biscuits could be supplied at meetings with each $83 spared!
Sounds great doesn't it? Everything looks good from a certain angle. If we take a hop, skip and a jump to the other side of the spectrum, there are also a lot of papers and journal articles saying that the dental rewards do not out weigh the hidden dangers. For instance, one article I read, using rats as test subjects, found that the World Health Organisation's recommended dosage can be nephrotoxic (Martin-Pardillos, Sosa, Millan & Sorribas, 2014). Cure one problem but cause another. Using big words that sound scary, like "nephrotoxic", this article encouraged me to swap my crystal clear tap water for a dirty brown ale from a slightly different tap.
With arguments both for and against the fluoridation of water, its been very eye opening for me and only made me delve deeper into the nitty gritty details.
References:
a. Martin-Pardillos, A., Sosa, C,. Millan, A., & Sorribus, V. (2014). Effect of water fluoridation on the development of medical vascular calcification in uremic rats. Elsevier, 318, 40-50.
b. Tchouaket, E., Broussell, A., Frasi, A., Dionne, P.A, Bertrad, E., & Fortin, C. (2013). The economic value of Quebec's water fluoridation program. Zeitschrift fur Gesundhertswissenschaften, 21 (6), 523-533.
There are so many papers and journal articles out there telling us that if we fluoridate our communal water supplies, we will see an increase in dental health. As we are only human, we of course ask what the cost is going to be, or more to the point, which costs less? After reading several articles claiming that the prevention of dental decay (by means of adding fluoride to a communities water supply) is more cost effective than the treatment of dental decay, I found some useful figures based on a scheme in Quebec; for every $1 invested in the scheme, up to $82.83 could be saved in dental costs (Tchouaket, Broussell, Frasi, Dionne, Bertrad & Fortin, 2013). That would be a fairly good incentive for local governments to take action, think of how many extra biscuits could be supplied at meetings with each $83 spared!
Sounds great doesn't it? Everything looks good from a certain angle. If we take a hop, skip and a jump to the other side of the spectrum, there are also a lot of papers and journal articles saying that the dental rewards do not out weigh the hidden dangers. For instance, one article I read, using rats as test subjects, found that the World Health Organisation's recommended dosage can be nephrotoxic (Martin-Pardillos, Sosa, Millan & Sorribas, 2014). Cure one problem but cause another. Using big words that sound scary, like "nephrotoxic", this article encouraged me to swap my crystal clear tap water for a dirty brown ale from a slightly different tap.
With arguments both for and against the fluoridation of water, its been very eye opening for me and only made me delve deeper into the nitty gritty details.
References:
a. Martin-Pardillos, A., Sosa, C,. Millan, A., & Sorribus, V. (2014). Effect of water fluoridation on the development of medical vascular calcification in uremic rats. Elsevier, 318, 40-50.
b. Tchouaket, E., Broussell, A., Frasi, A., Dionne, P.A, Bertrad, E., & Fortin, C. (2013). The economic value of Quebec's water fluoridation program. Zeitschrift fur Gesundhertswissenschaften, 21 (6), 523-533.
Thursday, 27 November 2014
The Book of Rules
For my first assignment, if you exclude this rambling blog,
I am to write a position paper.
I have focused on “how to” this week; how to find sources of
information, how to come up with a thesis, how to argue your thesis, how to
defend your thesis, basically, how to produce an interesting yet scholarly
position paper. I have collated all these “how to’s” into what I now refer to
as my Book of rules.
My Book of rules tells me to research my topic in order to
develop a background on the subject and provide myself a list of pro’s and
con’s before deciding which side of the argument to support. Thanks to the handy-dandy
internet, I was able to search for books, journals and helpful webpages. The
hard part was picking out sources that were not only relevant but genuine.
There is so much garbage online these days. I found the task a lot easier when
I sneakily used my work computer. As it turns out, I have access to thousands
of reputable journals that have been weeded out from the rest, not to mention
an entire library of books that have been used in previous studies on the
subject! Someone did half the work for me, JACKPOT!
I have resources sussed and feel more at ease about this
paper… until I remember the Book of rules and how I never quite go to the last "how to". How to make sense of
it all?!
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Welcome to my world
This blog has been set up to track my progress as I attempt to return to tertiary study. Previous study lead me to gain my "National Diploma in Science" and land a job at a local laboratory (Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Landcare Research, for those interested). While I enjoy my day-to-day work and especially the people who surround me, a group of misfits with strong opinions all bunched together to create a lively and somewhat dramatic atmosphere, I feel it is my responsibility to progress myself for the good of my career. I can have you on the edge of your seat in anticipation as I give a theatrical step by step replay of the days events, yet when it comes to conveying ideas or concluding my work, my brain turns to mush.
"If you aren't going forward, you are going backwards" a direct quote from my line manager which I translated to mean "Doing something, anything, is better than doing nothing". As a result of my over thinking, along with a life long fear of the English language, I now find myself enrolled in summer school under taking a communication paper. Cross your fingers and toes that I make it through this alive and if you are seriously committed, say a little prayer that I might even pass.
"If you aren't going forward, you are going backwards" a direct quote from my line manager which I translated to mean "Doing something, anything, is better than doing nothing". As a result of my over thinking, along with a life long fear of the English language, I now find myself enrolled in summer school under taking a communication paper. Cross your fingers and toes that I make it through this alive and if you are seriously committed, say a little prayer that I might even pass.
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