Katherine Chan

2205 Lower Mall,

Mailbox #5

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

April 3, 2022

Niloufar Rohani and Abhijhit Pandhari

Residence Life Managers of Marine Drive Residence

Marine Drive Residence

2205 Lower Mall,

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Dear Ms. Rohani and Mr. Pandhari,

Please find attached a Formal Report on a proposal to improve resident engagement in Marine Drive. This study examined residents’ satisfaction and motivation for participating in programming in Marine Drive residence. This study assessed opportunities to enhance resident engagement in Marine Drive through interviews and a survey. As Residence Life Managers of Marine Drive, I hope these recommendations can be implemented in the near future to tailor future programs and enhance resident engagement in Marine Drive.

Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions or comments regarding my report, please reach out to me via katherine.chan@ubc.ca.

Sincerely,

Katherine Chan

Enhancing Resident Engagement in Marine Drive

For

Niloufar Rohani and Abhijhit Pandhari

Residence Life Managers of Marine Drive Residence

The University of British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

By

Katherine Chan

ENGL 301 99C – Technical Writing

Instructor: Dr. Erika Paterson

ABSTRACT

For many university students living in residence is their first opportunity to develop a sense of community.  Living in residence is a fantastic way for students to meet new people and build valuable life skills during their journey at UBC. This study examined residents’ satisfaction and motivation for participating in programming in Marine Drive residence. In particular, this study assessed opportunities to enhance resident engagement in Marine Drive. The sample included twenty-one residents in a primary survey and interviews with two current Residence Life Managers. The study found that program topic and timing impact residents’ participation in Marine Drive program. Additionally, posters and social media are the most popular method on how residents learn about programs. The major recommendation from this study is to focus on fostering healthy relationships between resident and resident advisors. Resident advisors need to better understand and address the needs and interests of their residents, which will be used to tailor future programs and enhance resident engagement in Marine Drive.

INTRODUCTION

The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a diverse community of students and staff from different cultures, backgrounds, norms and expectations. Student Housing and Community

Services strives to provide a safe and secure living and learning environment for residents via

educational and social programs that promote personal growth and academic success. For over

sixty years, UBC Housing has developed policies and practices through conversations with

residents, resident councils, and residence staff to foster a positive living environment. UBC Student Housing is the largest Canadian university residence with approximately 13,000 residents who come from diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, and demographics. For many students living in residence it is their first opportunity to develop a sense of community. Living in residence is a fantastic way for students to meet new people and build valuable life skills during their journey at UBC. In fact, most first year students are guaranteed housing in designated first-year residences, which have facilities such as dining rooms. Moreover, approximately 27% of the UBC Vancouver students are international students, which makes Student Housing a preferred on-campus living option.

Living in an upper-year residence, such as Marine Drive Residence, is challenging especially during COVID. Upper-year studios and shared units have in-unit bathrooms and kitchens. This is a major transition from first-year residences with communal bathrooms and dining rooms, which encourages students to meet their community and alleviates the responsibility of cooking and cleaning. Currently there is a significant number of students who did not live in first-year residence and transitioned into upper-year residence because the 2020/2021 Winter academic term was virtual. On the other hand, there are students in upper-year residence who have developed an independent routine after multiple renewals of their housing contract. Examples of specific consequences include roommate conflicts over shared common space, cleanliness, and noise due to roommates with different lived experiences.

Twenty-one Marine Drive residents responded to the short survey designed to analyse opinions and perspectives of living in residence and residence programming. Moreover, the survey gauged residents’ interests and potential to increase participation and engagement in programming. Additionally, interviews were conducted with two current Residence Life Managers on their perspective on the high-level needs and expectations of Marine Drive residents in terms of community building.

This report covers four major topics: the background and research behind university and residence life, survey and interview results, conclusions drawn from research, and recommendations on how to enhance resident engagement.

This report concludes by acknowledging the decrease in participating of residents in programs and by recommending immediate solutions to enhance participation.

DATA SECTION

The Benefits of Participating in Residence

Research shows that living in residence impacts a student’s character and university

experience (Schroeder & Mable, 1994). Students living in residence compared to commuter students participate in a greater number of extracurricular, social, and cultural events; interact more frequently with faculty and peers in informal settings; are significantly more satisfied with their university experience; and are more likely to persist and graduate from university (Schroeder & Mable, 1994).

Residence as a Learning Community

UBC Housing strives to create and build an inclusive learning community. One of the main benefits of residence as a learning community is that students are more active and engaged in the classroom and informal settings, which enhances the university experience (Tinto, 2000). Through active learning communities, students report a greater coherence in their field of study as well as increase interactions with their faculty and peers outside of the classroom through mentorship and extracurricular opportunities (St Onge, Peckskamp, & McIntosh, 2003).

Research Methods

To investigate this topic further, it is important to investigate perceptions and opinions of current Marine Drive residents. Twenty-one Marine Drive bresidents responded to a short survey designed to analyze residents’ perceptions and opinions on residence life. It was reiterated to participants that their participation is anonymous and voluntary.

Current Marine Drive Resident’s Perceptions and Opinions

Majority of current residents have lived in first-year or another upper-year residence community (86.36%). Of all residents who participated in the survey they ranked their sense of belong in the Marine Drive community as 4.36 where a rank of 1 represents strongly disagree and 5 represents strongly agree. On average the surveyed residents attended 2.68 programs in the past six months. In Marine Drive there are a minimum of eight programs per a month, which equals to a minimum of forty-eight programs in six months.

Figure 1. Residents previous residence background

Figure 2. Residents sense of belonging in the Marine Drive community

Figure 3. Number of programs attended in the past six months

Majority of students (71.43%) are very satisfied with their overall experience with programs and only 4.76% ranked their overall experience with programs as neutral. The most common methods residents’ find out about programs are posters (52.53%) and social media like Facebook and Instagram (36.84%). Intriguingly, resident advisor reach out emails are not as impactful (5.26%) and one surveyed resident (5.26%) was not aware about programs. The residents’ motivation for participating in programs showed the most variation. The most common motivation for attending programs is interest in the program topic (45.45%) followed by program timing fitting residents’ schedule (27.27%). A smaller number of residents are motivated to participate in programs to meet others or build relationships (13.64%). Additionally, some residents are motivated due to the incentives such as food or prizes (13.64%).

Figure 4. Residents’ overall experience with programs

Figure 5. How do residents typically find out about programs

Figure 6. Residents’ motivation to participate in program

Current Marine Drive Residence Life Managers’ Perceptions and Opinions

The two current Residence Life Managers of Marine Drive were interviewed for this project. They have extensive experience managing a total of 1605 residents and 28 Residence Advisors. The most common concerns residents bring up to the Residence Life Managers are conflicts and disruptive conduct by roommates followed by safety and wellbeing concerns for roommates. The most common reasons Residence Life Managers reach out directly to residents are follow-up on standards or conduct violations and disruptive behaviour that impact the community. According to the Residence Life Managers, resident engagement can be improved through good rapport between residents and Residence Advisors. Staff can create a positive environment where residents feel a sense of belonging to the community through active listening and non-judgemental conflict facilitation between roommates. The Residence Life Managers believe residents are motivated to build relationships within the residence community through impactful interactions such as unit visits, programming, and representation and collaboration with other UBC organizations such as UBC Recreation.

Limitations

This study is limited by the small sample size of twenty-one residents in building one of Marine Drive. This can provide only a snapshot in time for a relatively small group of residents who participated in programs in the past six months. Longitudinal research can provide more substantial findings, which can contribute to a broader understanding of the effectiveness of enhanced resident engagement. Additionally, although the survey was anonymous it may be difficult for participants to be unbiased in their feedback because of the author’s current position as a Residence Advisor in the building. It would be interesting to perform the survey later in the term for residents who are moving out of Marine Drive because they may be more inclined to be honest and straight-forward with their responses.

CONCLUSION

Summary and Overall Interpretation of Findings

The primary survey suggests program topic and timing impact residents’ participation in Marine Drive programs. The Residence Life Managers emphasized the importance of healthy relationships between Residence Advisors and residents to collect information and then adjust programming to better assist residents’ academic and social needs. Resident satisfaction can be enhanced by tailoring programming to the current residents’ interests and academic schedule such as midterms and final exams. Moreover, the Residence Life Managers highlighted that communities with more resident-Residence Advisor interactions correlated with higher levels of satisfaction with residence community experience. Therefore, Residence Advisor accessibility and visibility in the community allow more genuine and meaningful interactions. Furthermore, personal investment and the sense of ownership by everyone in the community leads to successful learning communities.

Interestingly, resident advisor reach out emails were not as impactful as posters and social media posts regarding upcoming programs. A possible explanation is that email is a more formal method of communication compared to social media such as Facebook or Instagram. Moreover, posters in the hallways and lobby are a more personal approach, which is more valued by the residents.

Recommendations

UBC Housing need to focus on fostering a learning environment by emphasizing consistent communication and healthy relationships between resident and resident advisors. Resident advisors need to better understand the needs and interests of their residents to tailor programs to support the academic, social, and mental wellbeing of the community. For instance, financial literacy knowledge is an important life skill and one of the most successful programs this year was a tax workshop. The tax workshop was successful with many registrants (n = 80) and high attendance rate (n = 57, 71% turnout rate). Furthermore, this program was hosted in March during tax season.

Another recommendation is highlighting resident advisors’ majors and extracurricular involvement such as clubs or sports on social media. This can help foster a sense of connectedness by highlighting mutual interests and career goals in the larger residence community.

APPENDIX

Survey Questions

• Besides Marine Drive, have you lived in first-year or another upper year residence?
  • Yes
  • No

• How would you rank your sense of belonging in the Marine Drive community (1 = strongly disagree; 3 = neutral; 5 = strongly agree)?
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
• How many Marine Drive hosted programs have you attended in the past 6 months?
  • None
  • 1 – 3
  • 4 – 6
  • 7 – 10
  • More than 10
• How would you rank your overall experience with programs (1 = very unsatisfied, 3 = neutral, 5 = very satisfied)?
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
• How do you typically find out about programs?
  • Posters in the hallway
  • Resident Advisor reach out emails
  • Marine Drive Facebook and Instagram
  • I am not aware about programs
• Why do you participate in programs?
  • I am interested in the topic
  • The program meets a particular need for me
  • The timing works for me
  • I am looking to meet others or build relationships
  • The program has incentives (for example: food, prizes)

Interview Questions

• What are the typical concerns for residents?
• What are the typical expectations of residents?
• How can resident engagement be improved?
• How can staff create an environment in which residents feel a sense of belonging to the community?
• What do you think fundamentally motivates residents to build relationships within the residence community (roommates, Residence Advisor, professional staff)?

Link to Survey: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_agxkT64hN1MbaMm

WORKS CITED LIST

Schroeder, P., & Mable, P. (1994). Realizing the educational potential of residence halls. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

St. Onge, S., Peckskamp, T., & McIntosh, J. (2003). The impact of learning communities on residential communities and the roles of resident advisors. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 32(1), 16-23.

Tinto, V. (2000). Learning better together: The impact of learning communities on student success in higher education. Journal of Institutional Research, 9(1), 48-53.

To: Ali Hasan, English 301 Student Writer

From: Katherine Chan, English 301 Student Reviewer

Date: March 26, 2022

Subject: Peer Review of Formal Report Draft: Analysis of Fully Remote Employment Model

Thank you for submitting your formal report draft on Analysis of Fully Remote Employment Model. This formal report convincingly argues the mental, physical, environmental, and economical impacts comparing working from home and in-person setting. The primary research is particularly impressive and very relevant to our current workplace environment. Please find below my thoughts and recommendations.

First impressions on content:

• Proposal presents a strong argument for the various impacts of working remotely and traditional in-person model
  • Very informative
  • Each section is relevant to the overarching analysis
• More details regarding:
  • “How working remotely at home and using electricity can still have negative impact in a way (in the Environmental Impact section)
    • Contradicts later statement that working remotely allows “individuals to save money for other things rather than spending it on commuting to the office” (in the Analysis of Findings section)
      • Clarify if it’s a net gain or loss when comparing saving on commuting and spending more on electricity due to working from home

Organization:

• Overall document layout and design is neatly organized, which allows the reader to clearly identify and understand elements of the formal report
  • Great flow and readability because it is logically laid out
  • Mental, physical, environmental, and economical impacts are defined and well supported
  • Report is clearly connected
• The table of contents is not correctly formatted
  • There are heads and sub headings with underlining and bolding
  • However, it is manually applied instead of using the proper Formatting function in Microsoft Word
    • Remember to also use a sub section for the visual components
• Lacking a fluid transition between primary research and survey results
  • Missing visual components and survey questions
  • Difficult to understand the connection between the various impacts and the perceptions of the surveyed audience

Design:

• Missing graphics
  • Visuals will effectively integrate the primary research and survey results
• Insert indentations to paragraphs and spacing between subheading and content can help make the report more visually-appealing

Elements of the Formal Draft:

Introduction:

• Excellent work on providing a well thought out and extensive background section
  • Effectively illustrates the various impacts of work from home versus in-person model
• Repetitive phrases like “in another study” and “in this study”
  • Suggestion: “Researchers found that…”
• Use more concise language
  • Example: With this in mind, even
  • Suggestion: Remove “with this in mind” and start with “Even…”

Data Section:

• Missing appendix with survey questions
• Missing visuals
  • More difficult to understand the survey results
• Limitations asserts that small sample size make the study not generalizable
  • In the beginning it is noted that that individuals from study come from “wide range of backgrounds, job titles, age, genders, and more” (in Results section)
  • Then it is stated that the “majority of these participants were my friends who are students or on a co-op work term” and “this can be seen as strictly focusing on one demographic’ (in Limitations section)
    • These are contradictory

Conclusion:

• Repetitive phrase “it has been shown” in two back-to-back sentences
  • “it has been shown through studies”
  • “it has also shown in studies”
  • Suggestion: “On the other hand, researchers have found that…”
• More details regarding the feasibility and implementation of hybrid work model
  • Applying a case study or example of hybrid work model and the benefits and drawbacks

Works Cited List:

• Great job with using MLA style citation

Grammar and Typos:

• Several instances where period is incorrectly placed
  • Example 1: The results of the study determined that remote work was associated with a decrease of psychological and physical stress responses. (Shimura, 2021).
  • Revision 1: “The results of the study determined that remote work was associated with a decrease of psychological and physical stress responses. (Shimura, 2021).”
  • Example 2: “free assistance and mentorship”.
  • Revision 2: ““free assistance and mentorship.”
  • Example 3: “financial gain/savings”.
  • Revision 3: “financial gain/savings.”
• Be careful with spacing
  • Example: the perfect balance”, “useless”
  • Revision: the perfect balance”, “useless”

Concluding comments:

Thank you for sharing an informative formal draft. This formal report is a great first draft and with some suggested revision it will be exceptional:

• Applying proper Formatting to Table of Contents will increase flow and readability
• Correcting periods and spacing are necessary
• Inserting visuals and appendix will improve clarity and maximize impact
• Amending and clarifying contradictory statements will maximize impact and strengthen formal draft’s claim

I hope my recommendations are helpful as you complete this assignment. Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

Enclosure: Ali Hasan – Formal Draft

Letter #1 – Complaint Letter

Katherine Chan

2205 Lower Mall

Vancouver, BC

V6T1Z4

katherine.chan@ubc.ca

March 13, 2022

Starbucks (Life Building)

6138 Student Union Blvd

Vancouver, BC

V6T1Z1

Telephone: (604) 822-8036

Attention: Senior Supervisor

Subject: Incomplete order (transaction ID: 229687575)

To Whom It May Concern,

I am a loyal customer of Starbucks and have been a Gold Reward Cardholder since 2012. I choose Starbucks because of your company’s dedication to consistency and stellar customer experience. However, I was very disappointed by the order I placed on March 3, 2022 (transaction ID: 229687575), which consisted of 4 coffee travellers. Please find my receipt attached to this email.

I expected cups, creamer, and sugar for 80 servings, which are included in the order. I received none of these items on March 5 at 5:00 PM. The order was placed for a coffeehouse event in Marine Drive residence. We were unable to serve coffee efficiently to our attendees due to the lack of supplies and ingredients. Moreover, coffee is a vital component to the event’s theme and we received negative feedback from attendees. The next day I called your store and spoke with the weekend supervisor, Hannah, regarding this incident. Hannah reassured me that the Senior Supervisor would reach out to me on Monday, March 7. I have not received a follow up call.

Overall, I am dissatisfied by the incomplete order and lack of follow up. I am formally requesting a full refund. As a long-time customer I trust that Starbucks will remedy this situation by granting my request. Thank you for your assistance and I look forward to your reply.

Best regards

Katherine Chan

Enclosure: Starbucks Receipt

Letter #2– Bad News Letter

Starbucks (Life Building)

6138 Student Union Blvd

Vancouver, BC

V6T1Z1

Telephone: (604) 822-8036

Katherine Chan

2205 Lower Mall

Vancouver, BC

V6T1Z4

katherine.chan@ubc.ca

March 14, 2022

Dear Ms. Chan,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your experience. We would like to apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment that you experienced in your recent order on March 5. We assure you that your feedback will be communicated with our management team to help us improve our service and prevent similar problems from reoccurring.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a full refund to your order. Instead we would like to make it up to you by offering a $50 gift card, which you can expect to delivered to you by mail in two weeks.

Once again we appreciate your loyalty and apologise for our failure to serve you well. Your feedback is valuable to us and we hope to serve you again the future.

Thank you,

Jane Doe

Senior Supervisor

MEMORANDUM

TO: What The Spell Writing Team

FROM: Katherine Chan

DATE: February 22, 2022

SUBJECT: Ten Best Practices for Professional Networking on LinkedIn

The purpose of Assignment 2.2 is to research and share network and resume building strategies on LinkedIn. LinkedIn can help professionals stay connected, explore job opportunities, and advertise their resume. Please find below ten best practices that can strengthen and maximize connections on LinkedIn.

1. Use a professional photo (Shore).
   • The profile picture should be high-quality with flattering lighting. Additionally, it is important to project a neat and professional appearance.
2. Add a background photo (Deehan).
   • The background photo is at the top of the profile page and can engage the audience’s attention.
3. Keep updating profile (Shore).
   • Review each section to make sure the current job, skill set, and professional details are updated. This is especially important before connecting with other LinkedIn users.
4. Promote positivity and professionalism (Dodaro).
   • Keep in mind that LinkedIn is a professional social network. Therefore, consider the audience and use judgement when posting personal opinions and pictures.
5. Be intentional with connections (Shore).
   • A brief message accompanying a connection request can help create a great first impression. Additionally, a message with an introduction highlighting mutual interests or similar backgrounds is a great conversation starter (for example, same alumni or follow same blog).
6. Transform the summary into a story (Deehan).
   • Integrate character into the LinkedIn summary by writing a personable story instead of listing skills and job titles. It’s an opportunity to be memorable and showcase unique personality traits.
7. Reciprocate endorsements (Deehan).
   • Identify connections that merit endorsements and practice writing feedback and compliments. Moreover, initiate endorsement requests from others by politely requesting from valued connections. Proactively manage the endorsement list by selecting endorsements that highlight current relevant skills.
8. Be active (Dodaro).
   • Promote conversations by posting regular status updates and sharing valuable articles and videos. This increases visibility on LinkedIn and fosters community engagement.
9. Pursue professional development (Deehan).
   • There are a variety of courses on LinkedIn Learning, which can be showcased in the Learning History section. Leverage this opportunity by sharing updates on course progress.
10. Build relationships (Dodaro).
    • Pay attention to newsfeed to trigger events and reach out to connections to build rapport (for example, congratulating a new job or promotion).

Understanding LinkedIn best practices enable professionals to successfully build their resumes and networks. I hope the ten tips I shared above will help you on your journey. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have feedback or questions.

Citations:

Deehan, Jane. “20 Steps to a Better Linkedin Profile in 2022.” LinkedIn, 1 Jan. 2022, https://www.linkedin.com/business/sales/blog/profile-best-practices/17-steps-to-a-better-linkedin-profile-in-2017.

Dodaro, Melonie. “LinkedIn Etiquette and Best Practices [20 Do’s and Don’ts].” Top Dog Social Media, 20 Apr. 2021, https://topdogsocialmedia.com/linkedin-etiquette-and-best-practices/.

Shore, Jennifer. “17 Linkedin Marketing Best Practices.” Inbound Marketing Agency, 16 Jan. 2020, https://www.smartbugmedia.com/blog/17-linkedin-marketing-best-practices.

MEMORANDUM

TO: Evan Crisp, UBC Student

FROM: Katherine Chan, Engl 301 UBC Student

DATE: Mar 9, 2022

SUBJECT: Best practices in writing e-mails to professors

Dear Evan,

I have reviewed your e-mail request to be added to a full English class. Great job on demonstrating initiative and being proactive in reaching out to the instructor. Please find attached suggestions on how to improve e-mails to professors.

Best practices for writing emails to professors

• Using UBC student email account instead of personal email account to contact professor.
• Addressing the instructor (eg. Professor Lambert) in the initial line.
• Introducing oneself with full name, student number, and major establishes rapport.
• Proof reading for grammar and proper format (eg. Subject Line) to increase ease of reading.
• Omitting unnecessary personal information (eg. disliking 8:00 AM alterative course, plan to go to the beach at 3 PM, trying for over an hour to register for class).
• Focusing on a professional tone and communicating specific interest in course.
• Acknowledging request is not guaranteed and thanking instructor for considering force add into the course.
• Signing off in a professional manner by using full name.

Emailing is an essential tool in professional communication. Following the above best practices can assist in writing successful e-mails to professors. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback at katherine.chan@ubc.ca.

Best regards,

Katherine Chan

To: Dr. Erika Paterson, ENGL 301 Instructor

From: Katherine Chan, UBC Student

Date: March 4, 2022

Subject: Proposal for Enhancing Resident Engagement in Marine Drive

Audience description

The intended audience of my Formal Proposal are Residence Life staff and residents of Marine Drive. There are 1605 residents and 28 Residence Life staff members (2 Residence Life Managers and 26 Residence Advisors) in Marine Drive Residence.  My target audience will have varying expectations, perspectives, and concerns regarding resident engagement. In particular, Residence Life staff members have the authority to act on the final recommendations provided in the Formal Report.

Introduction

UBC Student Housing is the largest Canadian university residence with approximately 13,000 residents who come from a diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, and demographics. For many students living in residence is their first opportunity to develop a sense of community.  Living in residence is a fantastic way for students to meet new people and build valuable life skills during their journey at UBC. In fact, most first year students are guaranteed housing in designated first-year residences, which have facilities such as dining rooms. Moreover, approximately 27% of the UBC Vancouver students are international students, which makes Student Housing a preferred on-campus living option.

Statement of Problem

Living in an upper-year residence, such as Marine Drive Residence, is challenging especially during COVID. Upper-year studios and shared units have in-unit bathrooms and kitchens. This is a major transition from first-year residences with communal bathrooms and dining rooms, which encourages students to meet their community and alleviates the responsibility of cooking and cleaning. Currently there is a significant number of students who did not live in first-year residence and transitioned into upper-year residence because the 2020/2021 Winter academic term was virtual. On the other hand, there are students in upper-year residence who have developed an independent routine after multiple renewals of their housing contract. Examples of specific consequences include roommate conflicts over shared common space, cleanliness, and noise due to roommates with different lived experiences.

There are two major implications to this problem: first, Marine Drive residents have a range of life experiences and consequently varying expectations of community-building in residence; second, Marine Drive residents have a diverse aptitude of transferable life skills (examples include budgeting, grocery shopping, and meal planning).

Proposed Solution

One possible solution is to enhance resident engagement in Marine Drive through activities that support healthy community and lifelong learning. Extracurricular activities have been shown to be a significant contributor to academic success and student residence can foster a positive and inclusive learning environment. Residence Life aims to host programs that support community building, life long learning, and self discovery. Examples of programs that support these values include table tennis tournaments, National Day of Truth and Reconciliation march, and tax workshop respectively. Interviewing Residence Life Managers and surveying residents will highlight the expectations, needs, and opportunities to enhance residence engagement in programs in Marine Drive.

Scope

To assess the opportunities of enhancing resident engagement in Marine Drive, I plan to pursue four areas of inquiry:

1. What type of programs would residents be interested in participating in Marine Drive?
2. How satisfied are residents with the current activities hosted by Marine Drive?
3. What transferable life skills are residents learning and developing through residence?
4. How can Marine Drive create a sense of community and inclusion among residents?

Methods

My primary data sources will include consultations with Ms. Niloufar Rohani and Mr. Abhijit Pandhari, who are Residence Life Managers of Marine Drive. Residence Life Managers are professional staff who oversee the safety and well-being of the residence community. I will also interview the four Senior Residence Advisors, who are team leads for each building in Marine Drive. I will round out my primary research with a survey among the current residents in Building 1.

My Qualifications

I have lived in multiple UBC residences for over five years. In August 2021 I became a Residence Advisor in Marine Drive. I am familiar with student services and engagement as a Project Assistant in Enrolment Services. My association with Marine Drive Residence and UBC Housing gives me the opportunity for an in-depth study.

Conclusion

Clearly, there are opportunities to strengthen social and interpersonal skills through resident engagement. By addressing the four areas of inquiry mentioned earlier, I can determine the needs and expectations of Marine Drive residents. With your approval I can begin research at once. Thank you for your consideration.

MEMORANDUM – Progress Report

TO: Dr. Erika Paterson, ENGL 301 Instructor

FROM: Katherine Chan, ENGL 301 Student

DATE: February 28, 2022

SUBJECT: Progress Report – Formal Report on Enhancing Resident Engagement in Marine Drive

Thank you for approving my formal report proposal. As requested in Lesson 2:3, I have completed a progress report of my formal report on enhancing resident engagement in Marine Drive Residence. Please find this progress report below, which includes the audience, purpose, significance of the report, research plan, and writing schedule. I have also attached my outline, survey questions, and interview questions that I intend to use as primary data for my formal report.

Intended Audience

• Ms. Niloufar Rohani, Residence Life Manager of Marine Drive
• Mr. Abhijit Pandhari, Residence Life Manager of Marine Drive

Purpose of Report

The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations for enhancing resident engagement in Marine Drive Residence.

Significance of Report

This report will highlight recommendations to enhance engagement in Residence Life. Involvement in residence is an excellent opportunity to learn and build valuable life skills to complement the academic journey at UBC. The recommended implementations benefit Marine Drive residents by promoting community building, self discovery, and life long learning.

Research plan

• Identify the expectations and needs of Marine Drive residents through a survey
• Identify the interests and preferences of residents through a survey
• Investigate the opinions on resident engagement of Residence Life Managers through interviews
• Data analysis of surveys and interview
• Produce visuals based on survey data
• Study secondary literature on benefits of residence participation on university students

Writing schedule

Mar 1 – 2: Post Unit Two Reflections Blog and Revised Report Proposal

Mar 3 – 10: Upon instructor approval, administer survey and conduct interviews

Mar 11 – 13: Collect and synthesize primary and secondary data (Data Collection), analyze data and create visuals based on data

Mar 14 – 16: Formal Report Draft

Mar 17 – 19: Revise and edit Formal Report Draft by incorporating Peer Review feedback

Mar 20 – 22: Post Unit Three Reflections Blog

Mar 22 – 26: Post Revised and Final Draft of Formal Report on Team Forum as pdf

Enclosure: Formal Report Outline

Enclosure: Survey

Enclosure: Interview Questions

TO: Ali Hasan

FROM: Katherine Chan

DATE: Feb 5, 2022

SUBJECT: Peer Review / Term: Programming

Thank you for submitting the definition assignment for 1:3. Great work on a clear introduction. Please see the review below for some suggestions.

Initial Impressions:

Great job introducing the assignment and succinctly establishing the situation and defining the purpose.

Organization:

• Good spacing between definitions.
• Bolding the headings will increase readability and flow.
• The title for the figure does not follow the example in the textbook.
  • For example, include source citation below the figure title.

Expression:

• Overall, the assignment is well-written and concise.
• There is an opportunity to remove redundancy. For instance:
  • “Lovelace used programming to write an algorithm for her project, the “Analytical Engine”, where it was the first computer program.”
  • The previous sentence states that “…the first programming language was created by Ana Lovelace.”
  • A possible suggestion is to the remove “where it was the first computer program.”

Content:

• The assignment is complete and includes all the requirements. Excellent work!
• The three citations are professional web sites. Implementing a journal article can increase the reliability of the assignment.

Visuals:

• Enlarge the figure because it is difficult to read.

Works Cited List:

• Correct APA style is applied.

Grammar and Typos:

• There are a number of errors using periods. For example:
  • “Lovelace used programming to write an algorithm for her project, the ‘Analytical Engine’, where it was the first computer program. (HP 2018)”
  • This needs correction with the period at the end of the in-text citation.
  • Additionally, a period goes inside closing quotation marks. For example:
    • ‘Hello World’.

Concluding Comments:

Thank you for sharing thoughtful and informative definitions. The assignment is a great first draft and with some suggested revisions it will be exceptional:

• Bolding headings will increase flow and readability
• Correcting periods and figure title and source are necessary
• Amending redundancy will improve clarity and maximize impact

I hope my recommendations are helpful as you complete this assignment. Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

Introduction

The objective of this assignment is to practice writing a parenthetical definition, a sentence definition, and an expanded definition of the same term. The objectives of the assignment include:

• Appreciate the importance and role of definitions in technical writing
• Understand how audience and purpose indicate the need for definition
• Differentiate between the levels of details in definition
• Select the right level of detail according to the situation

The term, object recognition, is relatively complex. It used in both neuroscience and computer science in the study of deep neural networks.

The reading situation is a graduate student explaining the term object recognition to a study participant after taking part in an eye tracking experiment.

Parenthetical definition:

The graduate student explained how object recognition (the ability to identify objects in an image or video) is tested in their eye tracking experiment to the study participant.

Sentence definition:

Object recognition is the process of identifying and categorizing objects in an image or video.

Expanded definition:

• History

Object recognition has been a goal of deep neural networks to apply artificial intelligence in daily life such as self-driving cars, face recognition, and various technology. Object recognition, the process of identifying and categorizing objects in an image or video, is better understood in brain mechanisms. Researchers have identified regions of the brain, such as the perirhinal cortex, as the neurobiological basis of object recognition memory.

• Analysis of Parts

Object recognition is the process of identifying and categorizing objects in an image or video. Object recognition has been a goal of deep neural networks to apply artificial intelligence in daily life such as self-driving cars, face recognition, and various technology. Deep neural network is a type of machine learning where a computer is programmed to learn something such as object recognition. The ideas behind deep neural network are similar to the neurobiology in humans and can be analyzed in parts:

1. An image is presented to the computer.
2. A set of features are extracted from the image.
3. The information is pooled in a manner based on learned patterns.
4. Feature extraction and pooling are repeated for many layers.
5. A top layer is created and the program determines the likelihood the patterns match a specific category and identifies the object.

• Visual

The following visual is a deep neural network demonstrating object recognition by identifying an image of cow. The visual below accompanies the previous analysis of parts:

Figure 1. A deep neural network demonstrating object recognition by identifying a cow.

Source: Wolfe, Jeremy M., et al. Sensation & Perception. Sinauer Associates Is an Imprint of Oxford University Press, 2018. 

• Examples

Object recognition in deep neural networks have increasing impact in our daily lives. For example, deep neural networks can use object recognition to classify and diagnose skin cancer.  Researchers used a dataset of clinical images to train a deep neural network and demonstrated that artificial intelligence is capable of classifying skin cancer as well as expert dermatologists.

Conclusion

Object recognition is a complex task for a computer system; however researchers are using connections between neuroscience and computer science to advance their knowledge. There is promising research in the field, which can help humans solve everyday problems.

References

Please find below highlights of my best work. A huge part of the success of these projects is due to the collaboration with my writing team. Thank you for your tireless effort and feedback!

1. Revised Definition Assignment
2. Revised Peer Review of the Definition Assignment
3. Revised Formal Report Proposal and Progress Report with Surveys
4. Revised Proposal Memo
5. Revised LinkedIn Best practices memo
6. Revised Memo to Evan Crisp
7. Revised Complaint letter and Response letter
8. Revised Peer Review of a Formal Report
9. Revised Formal Report

2205 Lower Mall,

Mailbox #5

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

April 20, 2021

Abhijit Pandhari

Residence Life Manager

UBC Student Housing and Community Services

2205 Lower Mall

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Subject: Reference Letter Request – Katherine Chan

Dear Mr. Pandhari,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to ask if you would feel comfortable writing a letter of recommendation to apply for the position of Graduate Project Assistant in Enrolment Services.

As a Resident Advisor on your team, I believe you could effectively vouch for my research and administrative abilities. I thoroughly enjoyed my time applying for the UBC Recreation MOVE U Grant and planning the Table Tennis Tournament in February. During that time, I extensively strengthened my leadership and communication skills by acting as the team lead.

I appreciate you for taking the time in considering my request for a reference letter. Please find

enclosed the job posting along with my updated resume and cover letter. I am aware this is a

busy time with summer hiring and I understand if you are unable to grant my request, so please

do not hesitate to let me know.  If you have any further questions or require any additional

information, please let me know via email at katherine.chan@ubc.ca.

Sincerely,

Katherine Chan

Enclosure: Job posting, resume, cover letter

PDF Version: KatherineChan_Reference Letter Request 3