Thursday, January 25, 2018

5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

“UCF students wary after assault attempts - After 3 incidents, some fearing for their safety after dark” by Michael Williams of the Orlando Sentinel
·      In this article, the author talks about the fact that UCF students, specifically females, feel unsafe as they walk through campus at nights. Many students cite incidents of assault on campus, specifically in the parking garages. The women that give their testimonials feel that, although UCFPD is doing their best to counteract the situation, adding more lights and cameras throughout campus would be beneficial in finding the assailants.
·      The problems: Assaults on UCF’s campus, specifically in the parking garages that have little lighting and insufficient security cameras.  
·      The people: Young women that attend UCF

“Parties settle lawsuit over TV 'fat shaming' allegation” by Jose Lambiet of the Miami Herald
·      This article summarizes the lawsuit between the TV station CBS4 and one of their photographers, Muhamad Hassan. Hassan claims that he was fired from the station for photographing one of the reporters from a bad angle, making him look fat. Hassan also claims that he suffered verbal abuse from coworkers because of his religion.
·      The problem: The problem is Hassan’s claim of unfair treatment and abuse in the workplace.
·      The people: The photographer, Muhamad Hassan, and CBS4 employees and higher ups.

“Crime on campus increases” by Jeanette Wright of the Clackamas Print
·      In this article, the author lists crimes that occurred on Clackamas Community College’s campus. Some of these crimes include car battery robberies, hate crimes, and drug trafficking. While campus security is attempting to implement new measures, like giving radios to all officers on campus, to solve these crimes, many of these crimes are going unsolved.
·      The problem: Many students don’t feel safe on campus due to the rise in the crime rate.
·      The people: There are two groups of people who have the problem. One group of people is the students that feel unsafe on this campus. Another group is the campus security that is doing their best to counteract these crimes.

Videos of Border Patrol inspecting Florida bus anger groups” by Adriana Gomez Licon and Gisela Salomon of the Associated Press News Service
·      The article tells the story of an elderly Jamaican woman who was taken off a Greyhound bus by Border Patrol. Passengers say they were on the bus to Miami when they were suddenly stopped. Border Patrol agents boarded the bus and went to every passenger and demanded to see documentation of their legal status or proof of the reason for them being in the United States. The Jamaican woman, who was in the US visiting her granddaughter, was removed from the bus and her granddaughter has not heard from her since.
·      The problem: Border Patrol should not have boarded this bus and ambushed the passengers with questions as to why they were in the states and demands to see their US documentation as they did not have a warrant to board and search this bus.
·      The people: The people facing the problem here are the Jamaican woman who was removed from the bus and her family who have not heard from her since.

“Public forums continue on arming campus police in Kingston” by Audrey O’Neil of the Chariho Times
·      The University of Rhode Island is currently debating whether or not to arm its campus police officers. Police officers say that if a threat were to arise on campus, they would not be equipped to defend the students and faculty. This sparked a debate, with some people saying there should be “prevention plans” put in place to combat against campus attacks rather than arming officers.
·      The problem: Police officers say they cannot defend the students of the University of Rhode Island from gunman if they are not armed themselves, however some people say they should look into a better option than a firearm.
·      The people: There are multiple people facing a problem here. The students are facing problems because they could potentially be unprotected if there was ever an attack on campus, as police say they are unable to protect them. The police have a problem because they don’t feel they are given the appropriate equipment to do their jobs of providing safety on campus. Finally, the people that are opposed to giving the police firearms are facing a problem as they don’t want to have guns on campus, yet they are not proposing another solution.


4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

As students go into their upper-level, more difficult classes, study resources that are available for them start to diminish. Coming into the University of Florida as a freshman, most of the classes I was taking my first year had tutoring supplements from Study Edge or Smokin Notes. This created a dependency for these study tools. Now that I’m in my higher-level engineering classes, there are little to no tutoring sessions available. I feel that classes I was taking as a freshman were significantly easier than classes I’m currently enrolled in, yet there are no extra study tools to help me now. I believe that most sophomores, juniors, and seniors feel this unmet need. I don’t think this need is new—classes always increase in difficulty as the years go on and study resources diminish. Students now are trying to exhaust all the resources they can find online such as Khan Academy, but there is only so much one can do on their own. I would say I’m 60% sure the opportunity exists to create more study resources for students that are in higher level classes.

#1 SECOND SEMESTER SOPHOMORE, FEMALE, AGE 20

-How many classes would you say had Study Edge or Smokin Notes in your freshman year?

Pretty much all my classes freshman year had Study Edge or Smokin Notes. They really saved me.

-How many classes would you say had Study Edge or Smokin Notes in your sophomore year?

I think I had Study Edge for two classes first semester and there aren’t any Study Edge or Smokin Notes for the classes that I’m taking this semester.

-Do you feel that the classes you were taking freshman year were easier or harder than the classes you’re currently taking?

Looking back, they were definitely easier. The professors expect a lot more from us now too, so they go at a faster pace and assume we understand what’s going on, but that isn’t always the case.

-Do you feel you have the same access to tutoring resources in your higher-level courses?

No, I definitely don’t have the same access. Things would be a lot easier now if I did.

-What resources are you using in place of Study Edge and Smokin Notes if these services aren’t available for your classes?

I try to go to office hours as much as possible, but sometimes they conflict with my other classes. If I really don’t understand something I’ll try and find videos online to clear things up.

-If there were study resources for the classes you’re enrolled in now that don’t already have them, would you use them?

Absolutely. If I had Study Edge for my classes I would 100% use them; things would be a lot easier.


#2 SECOND SEMESTER JUNIOR, FEMALE, AGE 21

-How many classes would you say had Study Edge or Smokin Notes in your freshman year?

I think I had about three classes that had Study Edge.

-How many classes would you say had Study Edge or Smokin Notes in your sophomore year?

 About the same, so three.

-Do you feel that the classes you were taking freshman year were easier or harder than the classes you’re currently taking?

Freshman year was much easier.

-Do you feel you have the same access to tutoring resources in your higher-level courses?

No, it’s harder to find tutoring resources now that I’m getting into classes that are more specific for my major.

-What resources are you using in place of Study Edge and Smokin Notes if these services aren’t available for your classes?

I don’t really use anything, just the notes the professor provides in class.


-If there were study resources for the classes you’re enrolled in now that don’t already have them, would you use them?

Yeah, who wouldn’t?


#3 SECOND SEMESTER SOPHOMORE, MALE, AGE 20

-How many classes would you say had Study Edge or Smokin Notes in your freshman year?

I think two.

-How many classes would you say had Study Edge or Smokin Notes in your sophomore year?

 I’ve had study edge for three classes this year.

-Do you feel that the classes you were taking freshman year were easier or harder than the classes you’re currently taking?

Oh gosh, freshman year was so much easier.

-Do you feel you have the same access to tutoring resources in your higher-level courses?

Well, I’m still taking my Gen Ed. classes so yes, I have the same access to tutoring resources.

-What resources are you using in place of Study Edge and Smokin Notes if these services aren’t available for your classes?

I read the textbook every now and then if I really don’t understand something.

-If there were study resources for the classes you’re enrolled in now that don’t already have them, would you use them?

Yes.


Reflection: I think it was pretty consistent across the board. All the students believed that the classes they were taking freshman year were easier and that there were fewer resources available to them now that they’ve progressed into sophomore year. Everyone that I talked to was very clear that if their classes had study edge or something like it, they would take advantage of that resource. It is clear that there is a need for a study resource like Study Edge for upper level classes. There really wasn’t anything surprising that I learned; it is a clear fact that Study Edge and Smokin Notes are very popular among students.



Summary: Most of my opportunity is still there. I think if there were study resources for upper-level courses, students would definitely take advantage of that. My interviews really just confirmed this thought. I think it’s good to take customer feedback into consideration—obviously if something isn’t working and there is a consensus amongst customers as to what that is, it wouldn’t hurt to adapt to their needs.