Month: November 2012

In the discussion today, we were given a worksheet to fill in ideas on potential environmental issues in UBC and ways to be more environmentally friendly. Our idea was to increase the fees for parking. As many students choose to commute to school by driving instead of busing, it is highly polluting the environment with the high emission of carbon dioxide. I know people who drives to school just for the sake of “looking cool” and to show off their proficiency in driving, to their friends. The surprising fact is that they do not even live far from the campus and are within fast busing distance.

UBC is spending a grand amount of money to make the school more sustainable. It is unfair for students to abuse the effort of UBC and continue to increase their carbon footprint. Therefore, it is reasonable to increase the parking fee to make up for the sustainability projects and to lower the chance of students driving.

Picture from: http://www.clker.com/clipart-6863.html

According to the reports from Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, tuition for undergraduates have risen by 6.2% annually since 1990. In Canadian universities, it costs an average of $6,186 per year, for a student, not including books, food, and residential fees. From the growth rate, the amount may be increased to $7,330 in four years.

Although students could get student loans, it is extremely difficult for them to repay their loans unless they find an occupation with sufficient salaries. The average debt of $27,000 for students after graduation is rather large and is not a good way for graduates to start their career path.

This puts pressure on the families of students as they have to take out second mortgages to help pay off the debt or even delay their retirement. The government is more willing to lend out more loans than lowering the tuition fee. In my opinion, I believe it is because some families do not apply for loans and pay the tuition themselves. These include families with higher income and international students. Therefore, the Canadian government will attain a higher return from tuition fees.

Article from: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/09/11/tuition-fees-ballooning-in-canada/

Picture from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2008/05/15/f-highereducation-tuitionfees.html

During class, we were given the assignment to make a phone app for chocolate. Our idea was to use the measurement technique. Our app begins with a page with pictures of all the chocolate that the company manufactures. When the picture is clicked, consumers will be able to see information about that specific chocolate such as what the ingredient is, how the chocolate is made, where the different ingredients came from, etc. It is essentially an app that gives the consumers information about the components of the different types of chocolate. However, the actual point of the app is to see which image of chocolate appeals to consumers the most. Do most consumers like white chocolate? Dark chocolate? Round? Square? Flat? Our ultimate goal is to extract those data from the amount of clicks from consumers in order to determine which chocolate design is more appealing.
      

Images from:

http://parents.mit.edu/s/1314/04-parents/index.aspx?sid=1314&gid=31&pgid=252&cid=4331&ecid=4331&crid=0&calpgid=61&calcid=4329
http://www.umassmed.edu/healthyheart/chocolate.aspx
http://032304b.netsolhost.com/WordPress/?p=644