Introduction

For unit 3, we were tasked to finish conducting our survey results, work on the formal draft of the report, and collaborate with our team members once again to review each other’s reports.

Formal Draft Report

As we approach the last few weeks of the technical writing course, unit 3 was the unit where we were applying all the learnings we have aggregated throughout the course.

I first started with engaging peers to complete the survey I had drafted. I had to ask a lot of friends and even their peers to retrieve enough samples to start the investigation. Because a lot of BCS students had friends who were taking this course, it was difficult to ask as many of them had completed them recently as well. To gain a further understanding of the numbers, I also wanted to conduct an interview to gain more perspective about the data. Therefore, I decided to conduct an additional interview after the survey was complete. Unfortunately, I first had difficulty asking for time from my friends for an interview as most students were busy with midterms. After asking my friend for her time, I was able to get her consent to finish the interview portion of the research.

After I retrieved all the information, I first started by analyzing the understanding the responses. I wanted to make sure that my viewpoint did not interfere in the analysis portion of the research therefore, I focused on looking at the empirical numbers so to objectify the responses. After my analysis of the data was done, I visualized it using excel and started to research some of the questions I had while researching to understand if there were any scholarly journals or articles that I could reference to enhance my understanding of affordable food visibility and affordability of UBC. Through secondary research, I was able to strengthen my arguments and provide a better solution.

Because the report not a short writing, I kept another document where I had the overall outline with the sub-headers and added bullet points beneath to organize my thoughts. Then, I proceeded to write the draft of the report. As I had a lot of assignments in the same week, I was not satisfied with how the draft turned out. Therefore, I plan to make a lot of revisions to the final report.

Peer Review Process

For the peer-review process, I was a bit anxious with Jake reviewing my work as I was unsatisfied with the draft I had written. There were grammatical errors that I knew I needed to improve on and wanted to strengthen my arguments as well. Surprisingly, Jake gave me a positive review of the current draft and also provided me with great suggestions such as removing negatives and adding sections correctly. Just as I did during the past peer review sessions, I learned greatly from this process.

Furthermore, when I was reviewing Jake’s paper, I found out that I could analyze my survey results more and make more figures to support my paper. I learned a lot about current technical students’ hiring process in labs and the current state of shortage as well. Jake also supported his arguments well with his data and I saw the need to incorporate his strengths for my final draft.

Conclusion

Unit 3 was the most challenging task so far. At first, I was confused about where I would start with the analysis and had trouble organizing my thoughts as there were too many data points. I have learned a lot during the peer-reviewing process and am excited to incorporate all the learnings in the final draft of the report.

Introduction

Unit 2:2 consisted of the beginning of developing the Formal Report, the survey, the formal report outline, as well as an additional project on LinkedIn. This project helped me develop my writing skills as well as furthered my understanding of the different functions of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn

For Assignment 2:2, we were tasked to write a blog post for our group on the best practice of using LinkedIn. As a business major and currently looking for a coop opportunity in computer science, I found this task to be extremely relevant for my stage of life. Due to the lasting effects of the pandemic, and as a lot of the roles for software development are remote, the main mode of professional communication is LinkedIn; therefore, I have gained so much applicable insights that I could utilize personally. From the research, I found many tips such as the importance of comments, adding in marketing posts, and how to write a better profile overall. Before this task, I did not associate LinkedIn with a form of social media where I should consider engagements – it was a mere resume. This assignment was a realization that this was a form of social media like Facebook but just more professional. It also helped me realize that LinkedIn was much more personal than I originally depicted. Moreover, I was able to learn how to increase engagement, which could help increase my spectrum of a professional network. I am happy to have researched and learned about LinkedIn.

Drafting report proposal and outline reflection

When I started brainstorming the formal report proposal, I was sitting at UBC nest. As I read the outline required for the formal proposal, I reflected on topics that I was passionate about. Firstly, I am a foodie. Secondly, I am a student with a budget for monthly spending and food. These two components helped to choose the topic with ease as it was an issue that I was passionate about. As it was a daily task pondering what I should eat on campus within a tight budget, I knew that I should draft the formal report proposal about this topic. As a computer science student, I am also thinking about capabilities that the school can develop to help students’ lives. Therefore, I thought about researching the problem and devising a solution where UBC could develop a centralized system that offers all the menu items within different price points. Although I did make a critical mistake in not including the intended audience for the report, I was happy to have written a proposal that taps into my current passions.

After the topic was decided, drafting the outline and the survey was a smooth process as I had thought about this issue previously. I wanted to capture current student’s budget situation and reflect the hardships in the proposal. For methodology, I knew that survey was a great tool to understand current student’s situations without bias. The survey questions were drafted with details that satisfied my personal curiosity for the topic and details that were needed in developing a solution. The outline also helped me reorganize my thoughts and helped me devise an action plan for the following weeks.

Reflection on Ben’s Peer Review for my proposal:

Through the peer review process, and the instructor feedback, I found out that I missed a rather huge portion of my project. I have not added in the Audience Description. When I was adding the audience description, I also noticed that the proposal could be improved by considering components about what the end audience would desire to read and be curious about. After correcting, I was able to add more details that I needed to include. For example, I tried to consider, “why would they care about this research?” and tried to incorporate more details concerning the lack of visibility of affordable options and how it contrasts from their budget to help the end audience understand the gravity of the problem.

What I learned about reviewing the team’s forum

The peer-review process was a great learning experience. I saw that Ben had multiple solutions to his proposal to improve the quality of accessibility of financial literacy resources available to UBC students. As I only brainstormed, one concrete solution, I wanted to add other solutions for the problem to improve the quality of the report. By reading Ben’s report, I also saw his intended audience which helped me develop my intended audience as well. It was overall a great learning opportunity and a period of self-reflection as well.

Revised: Formal Proposal

Revised: Formal Outline

Peer Review Formal Proposal & P

The last assignment of ENGL 301 was to create a Web Folio that showcased all of our proudest works during the term. I previously never heard of the term, Web Folio, but I came to understand that Web Folio is a tool used to highlight an individual’s work and accomplishments through a web platform. For our particular task, we included our work from the course as well as our personal professional information such as the resume, cover letter, references etc.

When I read the assignment, I first googled the best platform that we could use for the assignment. After reviewing a few options on the web, I realized that I could simply alter the platform we had been using this term – the UBC blog site. After the realization,  I went to alter the current blog. I, however, did not love the pink colour scheme I had and therefore, changed it to a white theme.

Next, I started going through the peer reviews and instructor feedback I had gotten throughout the term and edited my work to make sure I corrected my previous mistakes. It was a great refresher to understand what I had done wrong and what I could do to make my deliverables better.

When designing the flow of my Web Folio, the first and foremost attention I gave was to make sure that when an individual lands on this site, they would know where to navigate. Therefore, I added explanations in the first homepage. I wanted a clean user interface, and therefore, linked all the works for ease of access.

I really enjoyed this last assignment as I was able to review my work, demonstrate creativity by designing a web, and could reflect on all the hard work I had put into this work this term. I was also able to realize that my writing skills, specifically technical writing skills, had improved during the term and felt accomplished at the end.

 

Task: The report is intended to investigate, analyze, and recommend action on a problem, an inefficiency, or a deficiency in a public setting (a workplace, a volunteer or a community organization). We have gathered information and provided an according-to solution.

PDF Link: Formal Report

 

Letter of Transmission

 

1234 Ash Street

Vancouver, BC V1B 3M4

 

March 16, 2022

 

Colin Moore

Director

AMS Student Life Director

1234 Possible Rd. Vancouver, BC A1A 2B2

 

 

Dear Mr. Moore,

 

Please see the attached report for “Analysis of Food Affordability and Visibility

For University of British Columbia Students”. In the report, we have enclosed possible solutions to better the quality of students’ lives by enhancing the food information disconnect between the students and meal options provided on campus.

 

The goal of this report is to introduce the possibility of developing the UBC Food Application for campus food visibility or partnering with food vendors on campus. I am certain that these two solutions will help students with the food affordability problem they have been facing.

 

Kindly let us know if you have any questions concerning the research at 647-965-1234 or kellykim030@hotmail.com.

 

Thank you.

Best,

Kelly Kim

 

Analysis of Food Affordability and Visibility

For University of British Columbia Students

 

 

 

 

For

Colin Moore

Director

AMS Student Life Director

Kelly Kim

English 301 Student

 

 

 

 

Read by

Jake Moh

Member of Jake’s Friends

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 26, 2022

 

Table of Contents

Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………….  4

1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………… 5
2. Background of Students of UBC …………………………………………………………… 5
3. Overview of Problem and Purpose of the Report …………………………………………… 6
4. Scope of Research ……………………………………………………………………………. 7
5. Research Methods .…………………………………………………………………………… 7
6. Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………………. 8
7. Data Demographics…………………………………………………………………… 8
8. Student Survey Investigation of Accessibility and Affordability for Food……………8
9. Student Survey Investigation of Food Information Accessibility……………………. 10
10. Proposed Solution 1– Development of Food Application……..……………………..12
11. Proposed Solution 2 – Partnership with Food Vendors on Campus………………….13

III. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………….… 15

Appendix A: Survey Questions ………………………………………………………………….18

Appendix B: Interview Questions ……….……………………………………………………….19

Works Cited …………………………..……………………..…………………………………. 20

 

 

Figures

Figure 1: Maclean’s Post-Secondary Student Expenses ……………………………..………….. 9

Figure 2: UBC Food Price ………………………………………………………………………. 9

Figure 3: Food Information……………………………………………………………………….11

 

 

 

Abstract

 

Background: The assessment of UBC students’ accessibility to information on affordable meals on campus is based on the critical concern for students who rely on affordable meals to meet their monthly budget.

 

Objectives: If students have more accessible information about cheaper food options on campus, it will lead to improved student quality of life due to less distress from financial concerns, which would help students to focus on their studies and development. Although there may be a short-term cost of implementing solutions, these solutions are cost-effective solutions that will increase the quality of life of current and future students.

 

Recommendations: This report has two recommendations:

• Development of centralized food application for UBC students and faculty
• Partnership with Food Vendors on Campus by adding vendors to the Sustainable Food Access Fund Referendum.

 

 

Introduction

 

Background of Affordable Food Information Necessity in UBC

 

The University of British Columbia is located in Vancouver, one of the most expensive cities in Canada, according to the 2021 Mercer Cost of Living Survey ranking. Furthermore, January inflation reached 5.1% on annual basis, the highest it has been since September 1991, due to an increase in Gasoline prices (Statistics Canada, 2022). The cost of grocery prices has also taken a hit, rising 6.5% in January.

In addition to record-high inflation in January of 2022, on February 24^th, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine leading to a huge increase in gasoline prices in Vancouver, resulting in the record-high gas price of $1.99 a litre. With the recent developments of high geopolitical risk, the energy market is “confused”, which brings growing concerns about the anticipated increase in future consumer goods and steeper inflation as a result.

Specifically, post-secondary students face pressure with increased expenditures with fixed expenses – tuition and compulsory fees, accommodations, and weekly groceries – and decreased income because of COVID. According to a 2020 poll conducted by CIBC, 7 out of 10 students admitted their income had been affected by the COVID-19.

Food insecurity is prevalent and according to Statistics Canada, 10.4% of 20-34-year-olds are food insecure compared to 7.8% of the general population (Statistics Canada, 2013).

As a result, with a limited budget for food, students relying on government loans or allowances from parents, are concerned about whether they will fully pursue their current degree without a full-time job. When looking for food on campus, they increasingly seek affordable food options that will fit their budget.

Overview of Problem and Purpose of Report

Beyond tuitions fees, after rent and groceries, food on campus takes third place in the average annual cost of post-secondary students, based on 23,348 students surveyed for the Maclean’s study. Figure 1 shows that apart from rent, grocery spending and food on campus account for 19.1% of all expenses. According to the 2018 University of British Columbia tuition consultation report, it was reported 90% of all respondents experience “a great deal of financial stress” with the top three financial stress attributable to housing, (82%), textbooks (63%) and food (61%).

Research on the topic of food insecurity has been conducted for post-secondary students and was determined that the group experiences food insecurity. University students particularly suffer because of their limited earning potential, high tuition fees, and lack of financial support from parents. (Farahbakhsh et al., 2015). With high financial stress, 27% of UBC students become food insecure (Nguyen, 2019) which resulted in them compromising their food quality.

As such, the purpose of this report is to raise awareness about the limited and hidden affordable food options for University of British Columbia students and to provide short-term and long-term recommendations to address these affordability issues at UBC.

 

Scope of Research

The scope of the report is focused on international and domestic students at the University of British Columbia Vancouver Campus.  Given such restraints, the two objectives will be investigated:

• The food affordability issue of UBS students by identifying the gap between students’ financial needs and the current campus food price range. How do they experience it, and how does it affect their daily lives?
• Determine accessibility and visibility of affordable food options on campus and develop recommendations to address students’ challenges.

 

Research Methods

The primary data collection took place in the form of surveys distributed to University of British Columbia Students in an online format from March 8^th to 14^th, 2022. The survey was conducted anonymously through Google Survey. Throughout the research, objectivity was kept as the survey questions were carefully crafted to not include any personal bias.

Another form of primary data collection was an interview form. Rather than a group interview where the opinions of the mass may persuade one another, an individual one-on-one interview technique was utilized to eliminate any bias. To recruit the sample from the target population, I asked in a group chat with 80 members of Bachelor of computer science students if there was an interest in an interview without disclosing the topic of the research. One person volunteered, and she was invited to answer the survey questions in more detail to improve our understanding of food affordability and visibility situation for post-secondary students. The interview lasted 15 minutes and the questions were both quantitative questions from the survey with an additional three qualitative questions.

After the primary research was completed and the results were analyzed, secondary research was continued to analyze the scholarly articles and publicly available data accessed through the Google search engine. To identify the objectivity of online journals, data sets, and research, publications were carefully selected by verifying that the research was completed less than a decade ago and by checking reliable authorship.

 

Data Collection

Data Demographics

University of British Columbia students have completed the survey. Out of 20 students, 80% were domestic students and 20% were international students. 80% of the students were pursuing their second bachelor’s degrees and 20% of the students were in their first undergraduate degree.

Additionally, an individual interviewed was a domestic student pursuing her second degree in computer science.

 

Student Survey Investigation of Accessibility and Affordability for Food

Beyond tuitions fees, after rent and groceries, food on campus takes third place in the average annual cost of post-secondary students, based on 23,348 students surveyed for the Maclean’s study. Figure 1 shows that apart from rent, grocery spending and food on campus account for 19.1% of all expenses.

To understand the definition of “affordable meals” for students, it was important to understand the financial budget of students. Figure 2 shows the budget per meal that students have the “ability to pay” versus the price paid. So how much are students available to pay? According to the survey, the average budget paid per meal on campus is $10.4. In contrast, the average food price paid is $11.25, about 8% higher than the average student budget.

 

During the interview, when asked the same questions, she mentioned she usually expects around $9 for a meal but she ends up paying around $12 realistically. The interviewee added, “the campus meals are more expensive than what I can afford and the food costs at UBC are concerning for me.” From the results in a discrepancy between the budget and paid price, and the interview discussion, it was deduced that UBC students currently experience on campus a lack of affordability.

Furthermore, according to the survey, when the question – “Purchasing budget-friendly food on campus is: 1) Easy and convenient. 2) Sometimes difficult and inconvenient. 3) Always difficult and inconvenient.” – was asked, 75% of the students answered that it is sometimes difficult and inconvenient, whereas the remaining 25% answered that it is always difficult and inconvenient.

The interviewee also hinted that there is difficulty in finding affordable foods on campus. “We need to find a quick and easy meal between classes but usually the affordable options have a huge queue so we resort to skipping or just going for higher-priced but more accessible options. Tim Hortons always has a long line.”

This response touched not only on the accessibility issue for affordable meals at UBC but also shows that students “skipped lunch”, therefore compromising their health to meet their financial situations. According to a survey conducted by Cengage, 43% of American college students interviewed skipped their meals to pay for their textbooks (2018). Moreover, the survey conducted by Meal Exchange has shown that 39% of Canadian students who have food insecurity established the top three factors that make their financial budget difficult to keep being the food costs, housing costs and tuition fees (2016).

 

Student Survey Investigation of Food Information Accessibility

Another round of questions was asked to see if there was a disconnect between students’ knowledge of the availability of affordable budget meals on campus versus the actual budget meals that are offered. What if there is an abundance of affordable meals offered on campus, but students were just short of knowledge?

When the student interviewee was asked where she ate the most she answered, “I usually eat at Tim Hortons because it is cheap and more accessible. There are always long lines though.” The answer indicated that students not only consider price but also accessibility and convenience. Next question was, “What app do you use to find food on campus?” and she stated either Yelp or word of mouth.

 

Consistent with her response as indicated in Figure 3, the research tool used by students were Yelp, Google Map and word-of-mouth in order. The Yelp app and Google Map are phone applications that list the restaurants according to distance and different price points according to search criteria, along with the reviews. Surprisingly, the survey results showed a high number of students relying on word of mouth for the search for new restaurants on campus.

Upon further research, the shortfall of the apps was identified. The menu choices and their prices were not updated for small items or budget-friendly options that students seek. For example, it only indicated broad $ signs of how expensive the overall restaurant’s meals were but did not indicate which menu items there were and which affordable options there are in order. As a result, students need to click on individual restaurants to view the menu options. The difficulty in navigating these apps has led to students relying on either word of mouth or resorting to the same selections every day. It also led students to believe that there are not many choices on campus.

According to research done by the University of British Columbia, budget meals are provided by the university. UBC has a three-tier pricing system in place run by the UBC Food Services to help students budget their food spending. These cafes offer meals ranging from $5 to $15 to make more budget-friendly meals. There are cafes such as Agora and Sprouts that offer below-average food prices. Agora offers $6.75 combo meals with sandwiches priced at $4.50.

Although below-average budget-friendly meal options are offered, are students aware of these options? The survey showed that the students use word-of-mouth and yelp as their main mode of the search when finding food options. Unfortunately, the student budget-friendly option, Agora, is not listed on Yelp.  The seasonal items that were common in small cafes were not listed; therefore, there was limited information for students who search the meals on app platforms. Hence, due to the disconnect in the information that is accessible by students and the meal options available on campus, students feel that there are not many options on campus to fulfill their needs.

Proposed Solution 1 – Development of Food Application

Based on our findings, our action-based recommendation is to develop an Android or iOS Food Application for UBC.

Unlike the current app platforms that exist like Yelp or Google, the idea centers around helping students to identify food options according to individual menu price points instead of restaurant price points. If all the individual items, that are for example $4.75 per sandwich can be filtered by individual menu price, students will be able to find affordable meal options more easily rather than looking through individual restaurants one by one. Also, there need to be more active involvement by restaurants in updating their menu items so that information about restaurants’ affordable lines can be more accessible to students in the new app platform.

Typically, the development of a food application costs per feature included in the app. The average ordering of the software will cost $12,000. However, UBC also can host hackathons for undergraduate or graduate students to develop food applications. As an actionable item of the university, these are the proposals:

• First, contact the Computer Science Department to run a hackathon to develop a food app for the university.
• Second, the hackathon winner would be prized for the development of the software and a set of students would be hired to upkeep the software.
• To see the app tested and deployed amongst students, UBC AMS (i.e. Cole Evans – President of MAS) can partner with the UBC Computer Science department (i.e. Steve Wolfman – Director of Bachelor of Computer Science) to elucidate this idea.
• Third, UBC should receive feedback for the app for further steps to better the application platform.

In the coming two years, the collaboration between students and the university will lead to the successful development of a food application that can be widely used to foster food retail growth in UBC and help with the improvement of food affordability for students by bridging the information gap.

 

Proposed Solution 2 – Partnership with Food Vendors on Campus

According to secondary research, campus-wide efforts by UBC to enhance food affordability were apparent. For example, “UBC Wellbeing Strategic Framework” outlines the campus-wide goal of an increasing number of food-secure individuals on campus (UBC Wellbeing, n.d., p.13). However, there is a shortfall that the framework did not determine the target reduction plan, a concrete timeline, or any specific project deliverables.

Currently, AMS has established a Sustainable Food Access Fund to better the affordability of four critical campus food outlets – UBC Sprouts, Agora Café, Roots on the Roof and UBC. The referendum allows these selected food outlets to receive funds to achieve the goal of providing UBC students with affordable meals. The current shortfall of the program is the scale of the initiative compared to the large portion of UBC students currently facing financial stress. Therefore, by increasing the vendors associated with this referendum, UBC Students would be able to benefit from discounted campus foods. These partnerships will lead to synergy effects for both the vendors and students.

Therefore, the university should:

• First, establish more robust partnerships with food vendors by communicating the long-term effect of the synergetic effects of the referendum. The applicable parties include the UBC Food Services (Colin Moore – Director), and respective food vendor owners.
• Secondly, a robust partnership referendum should be drafted and agreed upon by the vendors and university. It is expected that students will largely vote in favour of the referendum just as the precedent was passed in 2016.
• Lastly, through the referendum, the students will be able to access more options for food options on campus and enjoy an enhanced quality of life.

 

Conclusion

Summary of Findings

After the primary research with students’ surveys, conducting an interview and completing the corresponding research on secondary data exploring scholarly research on food insecurity by students, and accessibility of affordable food options on campus, it was concluded that there was a gap between affordable meals on campus and student’s knowledge on choices available. Furthermore, students felt that the food on campus was not affordable with led them to sacrifice their food quality. This shed light on the two solutions – the need to close the gap of knowledge by developing a centralized food application for the UBC campus and the need to expand the 2016 referendum to provide more variety of affordable meals for student meals.

The limitations of the research provided the survey and interview were that the research was conducted amongst a small number of samples. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents of the surveys were second bachelor students, who would have had more savings than the majority of the post-secondary bachelor students who rely mostly on parents’ allowances and government subsidies.

In summary, the app development and referendum expansion will alleviate current UBC students’ distress concerning food affordability and will contribute to the overall betterment of students’ quality of life.

 

 

Appendixes A: Survey Questions

1. This means during the day do you mostly purchase on the UBC campus?
   1. Breakfast
   2. Lunch
   3. Dinner
2. What time on average do you purchase a meal on the UBC campus?
   1. 8 AM – 10 AM
   2. 10 AM – 12 AM
   3. 12 PM – 3 PM
   4. 6 PM -8 PM
   5. 8 PM – 10 PM
   6. 10 PM – 12 PM
3. What is the average price budget per meal?
   1. $ 6-8
   2. $ 8-10
   3. $ 10-12
   4. $ 13-15
   5. $ 15-18
   6. $ 18+
4. What is the average price paid per meal on the UBC campus?
   1. $ 6-8
   2. $ 8-10
   3. $ 10-12
   4. $ 13-15
   5. $ 15-18
   6. $ 18+
5. Purchasing food on campus is:
   1. Easy and convenient
   2. Sometimes difficult and inconvenient
   3. Always difficult and inconvenient
6. Purchasing budget-friendly food on campus is:
   1. Easy and convenient
   2. Sometimes difficult and inconvenient
   3. Always difficult and inconvenient
7. Are you able to purchase food promptly?
   1. Easy and convenient
   2. Sometimes difficult and inconvenient
   3. Always difficult and inconvenient
8. What method of research tool do you use to find affordable meals on campus?
   1. Yelp
   2. Google Map
   3. ubc.ca
   4. Reddit
   5. Word of Mouth
   6. If other, kindly write the source of the research tool used on the next question.
9. What method of research tool do you use to find affordable meals on campus?

(short answer)

10. How satisfied are you with the variety of meals offered on campus?
    1. Very satisfied
    2. Satisfied
    3. Neutral
    4. Dissatisfied
    5. Very dissatisfied
11. How easy is it to find new food options on campus?
    1. Easy and Convenient
    2. Sometimes difficult and inconvenient
    3. Always difficult and inconvenient

 

Appendixes B: Interview Questions

1. Which meal during the day do you mostly purchase on the UBC campus?
2. What time on average do you purchase a meal on the UBC campus?
3. What is the average price budget per meal?
4. How long does it take for you to purchase a meal?
5. What is the average price paid per meal on the UBC campus?
6. Purchasing food on campus is?
7. Purchasing budget-friendly food on campus is?
8. Where are some of the restaurants you go to?
9. Are you able to purchase food promptly?
10. How much time do you give yourself to find and finish a meal on campus?
11. What method of research tool do you use to find affordable meals on campus?
12. How satisfied are you with the variety of meals offered on campus?
13. How easy is it to find new food options on campus?

 

Works Cited

 

Farahbakhsh, Jasmine. “What Is the Food Security Status … – University of Alberta.” What Is the Food Security Status, Self-Rated Health, and Diet of Students Using a University-Based Food Bank?” , https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/631f514b-fab7-451f-8380-fc7dc8edc015/view/7ff4d21f-6d73-4a4b-9b00-a6dcd08144b8/Farahbakhsh_Jasmine_J_201505_MSc.pdf.

 

“New Survey: College Students Consider Buying Course Materials a Top Source of Financial Stress.” Cengage, 30 Apr. 2021, https://www.cengagegroup.com/news/press-releases/2018/new-survey-college-students-consider-buying-course-materials-a-top-source-of-financial-stress/.

Orton, Tyler. “Why Canada’s Inflation Is Driving Cost of Living in BC  – Vancouver Is Awesome.” Vancouver Is Awesome, 16 Feb. 2022, https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/bc-news/inflation-hits-highs-not-seen-since-1991-as-rent-drives-up-costs-in-bc-5069884.

Reporter, Staff. “Metro Vancouver Gas Prices Tipped to Drop 15 Cents Overnight to Less than $2 a Litre | Vancouver Sun.” Vancouversun, Vancouver Sun, 11 Mar. 2022, https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/gas-price-drop-vancouver.

 

“SFAF.” Agora Caf, https://blogs.ubc.ca/agora/sustainable-food-access-fund/.

Wellbeing Strategic Framework, https://wellbeing.ubc.ca/framework.

 

Silverthorn, Drew. Hungry for Knowledge – Communist Party of Canada. https://cpcml.ca/publications2016/161027-Hungry_for_Knowledge.pdf.

 

Yee, Cameron, and Cameron Yee                 on December 2. “Financial Aid Guide for University and College Students in Canada.” MoneySense, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.moneysense.ca/save/financial-aid-guide-for-university-and-college-students-in-canada/.

 

Task: As the last peer review of the term, we were required to review one of our team member’s draft proposal report.

To: Jake Moh, Member of Jake’s Friends

From: Kelly Kim, Member of Jake’s Friends

Date: March 19, 2022

Subject: Peer Review of Formal Report First Draft

Thank you for submitting your first draft of the Proposal for Improving the Recruitment of Volunteers at Visual Cognition Lab.  This is a really well-written report with compelling arguments. Please note a few areas for improvement below.

 

First Impressions

• The objective of the report was very well defined.
• The data explanation is well-formed and thoroughly researched.
• The research addresses a prominent concern for the members of the lab and brings validity to why new members should be added to the team.

Organization

Overall, the report is well-organized with the introduction, the information about the data that was researched, the explanation of the data and concluding remarks. Following are suggestions to improve the organization of the report:

• Elaborate more on the recommendation. Other parts of the report are well detailed whereas the conclusion portion has only points.
  • It is only currently bullet points, “Hire Paid Developers”. Please identity why, how, and the affects of hiring paid developers.
• The fonts change in the table of contents and in the data selection portion as well. There needs to be consistency.

Title Page

The title page includes all of the required elements and the title describes the objective of the research.

Table of Contents

The table of contents is well organized and displays the outline of the report. If the figure numbers and its respective pages are also added, it would become a better table of contents.

Introduction

The introduction provides a clear context of the research. Why the research is being conducted and the lab environment that the team functions in. It also successfully outlines the hiring process for the coding team.

• The interview with the lab manager and programmers are part of primary data. Secondary data would be scholarly articles or journals.

Data Selection

• The survey is well organized to address the concern.
• The data is portrayed in graphs that can be easily understood to show why the numbers of this data is important. Graphs add to the context. Very nicely visualized overall.
• Number of Backlog Experiments:
  • Well written with a good summary of why the question was addressed. It clearly shows why there needs a call for action to hire new programmers.
• Number of additional programmers:
  • A description of the definition of active members would be beneficial to understand the analysis.
• Project of higher priority:
  • What is the objective of this question? Difficulty understanding why there needs to be a question for understanding which projects have priority. The link between hiring and understanding priority between two projects are missing.
• Desired Skills
  • Good interpretation of the data in this section
  • An interesting insight is that although the team is looking for a coding programmer, the majority favour behavioural skill and interest more than technical skills.
• Technology
  • Clearly shows which programming language skills are desired for the team.
• Years of Experience and Number of Programming Courses Taken
  • This portion seems repetitive with the desired skill and technology.
  • The part, “for a qualified applicant, the average year -” portion has been mentioned in previous sections.
• Method of Advertisement
  • Concise and explains effectively the mode of advertisement that would be used.
• Time of Recruitment
  • Concise and clearly shows when the best timing is to effectively hire new programmers.

Conclusion

• Conclusions are very succinct.
  • Recommend elaborating more on the solution
• More details about the cost of hiring paid developers could be beneficial in strengthening the report.
• More information about how it would benefit the current lab members if hiring was conducted. Though adding new members, who would benefit? How efficient would the project perform? Providing more future-oriented effects of the solution.

Grammar and Technical Errors

There were a few grammatical errors throughout the report.

• Instead of “this” in page 7, change to “The”
• Need bibliography
• Abstract and letter of intent should also be added in the beginning.

Concluding Comments

This report was well written, straight to point, well-explained and a pleasant read. The survey and data points support the argument seamlessly and portray why the solution needs to be implemented. There are a few suggestions:

• Kindly check the grammatical errors
• Expand on why some of the data was relevant for the solution
• Expansion of solution provided and how the solution will solve the problems currently.
• Further elaboration on the impact of solution is needed.

 

Task: The students were tasked to write a “You Attitude” email in a setting of conflict and the corresponding response.

Letter 1 – Complaint

 

Kelly Kim

6688 Ash Street

Vancouver, BC V6P 3K4

Canada

 

March 12, 2022

 

Axis Hair Salon

1234 Burrard St.

Vancouver, BC 91234

Canada

 

Attention: Customer Service Department

Subject:  Unsatisfied Hair Result

 

Yesterday, I had an appointment with Liv Amsterdam for a balayage appointment. Although we had a pleasant conversation throughout the session, I was unsatisfied with the end result and therefore, I am writing a request for a partial refund.

 

During the appointment, we noticed that when we started drying my hair after toner was done, the bleached portion was green when I asked for light brown. Although we tried to use a different toner after, I noticed when I came home, my hair became drier as there was an extra toner step, and the colour was lighter than I requested.

 

Although I appreciate that Liv tried to fix my hair during the appointment, I would like to request a partial refund as the result was far from what I requested originally.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

 

Best,

Kelly Kim

 

Letter 2 – Bad News

Axis Hair Salon

1234 Burrard St.

Vancouver, BC 91234

 

March 12, 2022

 

Kelly Kim

6688 Ash Street

Vancouver, BC V6P 3K4

Canada

 

Dear Ms. Kim,

 

We sincerely apologize for the unsatisfactory result of your balayage session. Our salon prides in bringing the satisfactory result to all our clients. Therefore, we will try to partially compensate for the unsatisfactory balayage result.

 

After we received your letter, we have consulted with Liv to understand what had happened. Unfortunately, because Liv is a new junior stylist, she did not have as much experience with colouring Asian hair in the past. We have communicated your concern and have dedicated more resources to train Liv.

 

To accommodate your feedback, we will refund $200, the value of the toning session. The amount will be refunded back to the account that you have paid automatically within 4 to 5 business days. Please let us know if there are any other concerns.

 

Best,

Kimberly Shin

Manager, Axis Hair Salon

To write an effective email, please follow:

• The professional style of the email is used to assure the reader that it is not spam email.
• The subject line is imperative as it provides a summary of the email or directs the reader if urgent attention is needed. Furthermore, if it is for a course, it could be a courtesy to include the class code as the professor may teach multiple courses or sections.
• Writing with a positive connotation rather than a negative connotation is beneficial. The tone dictates the chance of receiving a positive response from the professor to get into the course.
• Email should be written with respect. Also, please remember that it takes time for professors to read and reply to your message.
• Address the professor by their title. By addressing the professor with their title, it maintains a professional manner.
• Eliminating any grammatical mistakes and incorrect layouts is important as it signifies tardiness and indicates that the email has not been proofread before being sent.
• Avoiding imperative statements is also necessary. The email should not be demanding or come off as commanding.
• Signature block containing your information and full name is needed at the end. It signifies you are polite and that you look forward to communicating and responding to the professor.

Emails are a central form of communication with your professor. It should always be written with professionalism and reviewed with precision. By following the above steps, there is a more likely chance that you could be able to secure the seat and receive a positive response. Hope the best and please contact me if you have any questions at kk030@student.ubc.ca.

Task: This assignment required students to research on best practices of LinkedIn. We shared all of our research with our teammates to also learn from each other.

Memorandum

To: Jake’s Friend, Students of ENGL301

From: Kelly Kim, ENGL301 Student

Date: February 22, 2022

Subject: 10 Best Practices of Growing your Professional Social Media Account on LinkedIn

 

LinkedIn has been widely used as a professional source of social media to self-market yourself and to develop and publish your professional brand online. Although sometimes, LinkedIn can be deemed to be egotistical, we also miss a big job or networking opportunity if we don’t utilize the platform – especially, during the pandemic. To efficiently develop and utilize your LinkedIn profile, here are 10 ways to grow your professional network:

 

Personal profile:

1. Choose a professional profile picture for your LinkedIn: If you are seeking an opportunity in Securities or Investments, a professional photo shot may be best fitting to attract the recruiters. For the tech industry, a more warming and welcoming headshot could be fitting. As it is the first introduction to your profile, one must remember that the photo will govern their first impressions.
2. Add buzzwords to your deadline and summaries: One tip to keep in mind when choosing the buzzwords is to make sure that the adjectives chosen are not overused. For example, ‘leadership’, ‘passionate’, expert’, etc. are words that have been used too much that people do not value those words anymore when they read the profile. Therefore, adding in creativity and care writing descriptions is imperative.
3. List the relevant skills: The skills mentioned should be relevant to you. A long list of skills not relevant or not the core of who you are should not be part of the profile and be cleaned periodically.
4. Take a skills assessment: LinkedIn offers multiple certificates and courses. Adding verified skills to your profile will display your strength. moreover, data shows that verified skills are 30% more likely to be hired for the roles they apply for.

Networking:

5. Request recommendations: Endorsements verify from the third person’s point of view, your character and visual sense of who you are. They are a great reference that employers or your potential connections would want in getting to know you on a personal level.
6. Add Comments: By adding comments to your shares, you give yourself a greater prominence within your feed and your connections. Sharing your opinion, although should be shared with caution to not offend your connections, raises your profile across LinkedIn.
7. Grow your network: LinkedIn network allows you to sync your email to your profile. This enables LinkedIn to determine people that could potentially be part of your already known network. By adding connections, you can also visit your connection’s connections which could help you gain more connections within the professional industry.

Marketing:

8. Share media or marketing collateral: LinkedIn can also be used to market your business or your company. By sharing new products or even your personal experiences, it helps people to understand you or the company you work for. It also demonstrates passion and commitment.
9. Make a custom profile URL: When you first generate your profile, you automatically generated an URL, one with string and random numbers. Having a more professionally cleaned name-only URL is much easier to find and share. It can be changed by going into settings.
10. Add projects or work that you have published: You can add them in the “Featured” section. They will pop out, look good, and stand out for the recruiters.

 

I hope everyone can benefit from these tips and apply them to their profiles!

 

Borsellino, Regina (2021). “The 31 Best LinkedIn Profile Tips for Job Seekers.” themuse. https://www.themuse.com/advice/linkedin-profile-tips

 

“LinkedIn Pages Best Practices (2021).” LinkedIn Marketing Solutions”. LinkedIn Corporation.  https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/linkedin-pages/best-practices.

Task: In this step of writing the formal report, we were tasked to write a memorandum to Professor Erika Paterson to introduce the topic, the research proposal itself, the intended audience of the proposal, and the summary of what the formal report would include.

Topic: Enhancing Visibility of Affordable Meals options for UBC students

To: Dr. Erika Paterson, Instructor ENGL 301 Technical Writing UBC

From: Kelly Kim, ENGL 301 Technical Writing Student

Date: February 15, 2022

Subject: ENGL 301 – Research Proposal for a Formal Report

The formal report will be pitched to the representatives of the AMS Student Life Committee and the AMS Advocacy committee.

Please find the attached formal report proposal to investigate the accessibility of affordable meal options for UBC students on campus. The main intention of this research is to raise awareness to the audience, MS Student Life Committee and the AMS Advocacy committee, about the lack of knowledge of diversified and affordable food options amongst students as the in-person lectures commence.

In summary, the attached research proposal includes:

• An introduction to the food costs students face as they come back to campus
• A summary of the lack of visibility of affordable food options.
• A proposed solution of providing a centralized menu of affordable menu options
• Scope of the proposed study
• Method of research with primary and secondary sources
• Personal qualifications highlighted

Kindly let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Best,

Kelly Kim

Research Proposal

Task: After the formal report proposal was approved, we were then tasked to create an outline for the report, provide a timeline of the research and report to be written, and provide survey questions to also be approved by Professor Erika Paterson.

 

MEMORANDUM

To: Dr. Erika Paterson, Instructor ENGL 301 Technical Writing UBC
From: Kelly Kim, Student ENGL 301 Technical Writing UBC
Date: February 28, 2022
Subject: 301 Formal Report Progress Report: Proposal to Enhance Visibility of Affordable Meals options for UBC students

Please find this as an update to my formal report proposal posted previously. Attached to this memo is a copy of survey questions to be asked to UBC students.

Purpose and Significance of Report

As there are limited avenues to find the menu options and is extremely difficult to find affordable options on campus, the purpose of the research is to find or develop a centralized board where price points and restaurants offering the menu are easily accessible.

Intended Audience

Mitchell Post – Student Services Manager at AMS of UBC Vancouver

Report Objectives

The purposes of this report are:

• To raise awareness on the concerns of students in finding affordable meal options on the UBC campus
• To provide cost-effective recommendations on how we can increase the visibility of affordable food options already on campus
• To find affordable means to distribute the collected information

Significance of Report

The report provides potential solutions to benefit the UBC students who have limited avenues to find affordable meal options on campus. It also provides an insight into the food affordability situation for students.

Methods

1. Primary data collection via UBC students. Attached is the link to the survey questions being used to gather data:
   https://forms.gle/GECqGrz5eBU5WS4g7 
2. Secondary sources will include article or blog post research conducted on the web.

Research Method:

In order to research ridership efficiency and provide effective recommendations, I plan to:

• Review concerns of food affordability on UBC campus
• Compile primary data source through surveying students to identify preferences of students.
  • What is affordable for students?
  • Investigate if there are current avenues students take to find affordable meals on campus
• Interview UBC students to inquire about current affordability of meals on campus.
• Data analysis of surveys and compare results with secondary research findings and resources
• Compile a report on potential recommendations to improve the student experience.

Scope of Research: The scope of the report is focused on international and domestic students at the University of British Columbia Vancouver Campus.

Writing Schedule:

The following is the schedule for the coming months:

• March 1: Formal report outline/progress report for a formal report
• March 7: Collect research and reports on primary data
• March 10: Compile initial report with data
• March 14-16: Formal report draft
• March 17- 19: Peer review formal report draft
• March 20 – 22: Peer review edits
• March 22-26: Post revised and final draft of the report

Thank you for taking the time to review the progress of my formal report. Kindly let me know if there are suggestions to better the survey questions or the research process if needed.

Survey Link: https://forms.gle/GECqGrz5eBU5WS4g7

Formal Research Proposal Link:https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99c-2021wc/2022/02/15/email-memorandum-formal-report-proposal-2/

Formal Report Outline: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99c-2021wc/2022/02/28/assignment-23-formal-report-outline/