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Critical Reflection

In my opinion, I believe that having good communication skills is important to allow others and yourself to understand information more accurately and quickly. In fact, in a survey conducted in 2016 by LinkedIn, an employment online service, stated that communication is the most sought-after soft skills among employers. Furthermore, having good communication is important as it is to allow others and yourself to understand information more accurately and quickly. When I found out that Effective Communication is one of the modules that I am taking in this trimester, I was a little nervous as I do not know what to expect from his module. However, after a few sessions with Professor Brad, I find it very exciting and fun as I get to learn some writing skills such as how to write a proper thesis statement and how to summarise an article properly, which improves my writing skills. For the group activities that we have in each session, we were assigned to different groupmates for each activ...
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Summary Reader Response Draft 4 (Self- Healing Concrete)

According to Spinks (2015), cement production caused a huge impact to the environment. To tackle this problem, Hendrik Jonkers had come up with an innovative idea to increase the lifespan of concrete and reduce its production. The article also stated the advantages and disadvantages of self-healing concrete and how this concrete is used globally. Even though Rosie Spinks   stated the advantages and disadvantages of the self-healing concrete, it did not sufficiently state how this concrete is used globally, in terms of   where and how is it used. Firstly, Rosie Spinks mentioned did not specify the countries that utilise this concrete. Based on the research I did, I found a number of countries that used this concrete. One of the countries that is utilised this concrete is Ecuador. According to Van Dijk   (2014), a concrete canal in the Andean highlands is facing problems due to constant changes in temperature. As a result, cracks were formed in the canal and it lead t...
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Summary Reader Response 3 (Self Healing Concrete)

According to Spinks, R (2015), she mentioned the environmental impact that cement production can cause. To tackle this problem, Hendrik Jonkers had come up with an innovative idea to increase the lifespan of concrete and reduce its production. The article also stated the advantages and disadvantages of self-healing concrete and how this concrete is used globally. Even though this article did state the advantages and disadvantages of the concrete, it did not sufficiently state how this concrete is used globally, like where and how is it used? Firstly, the article mentioned that this concrete is used in Ecuador. According to Van Dijk, T (2014), a concrete canal in the Andean highlands is facing problems due to constant changes in temperature. As a result, cracks were formed in the canal and it leads to food shortage and crop failure to the surrounding communities due to water leaks in it. Self -healing concrete was used in the canal, which the purpose was to repair the cracks in it and r...
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Summary Reader Response (Draft 2) - Self healing concrete

According to an article “The Self-healing Concrete That Can Fix Its Own Cracks” Rosie Spinks (2015), she mentioned about the environmental impact that cement production can cause. To tackle this problem, Hendrik Jonkers had came up with an innovative idea to increase the lifespan of concrete and reduce its production. The article also stated about the advantages and disadvantages about the self-healing concrete and how this concrete is used globally. Even though this article did state about the advantages and disadvantages of the concrete, it did not sufficiently state on how this concrete is used globally, like where and how is it used? Firstly, the article mentioned that this concrete is used in Ecuador. Based on the article “ Self-healing irrigation canals in Ecuador.” Van Dijk (2014) , a concrete canal in the Andean highlands is facing problems due to constant changes in temperature. As a result, cracks were formed in the canal and it leads to food shortage and crop failure to the...
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Summary Reader Response (Draft 1) (Self- Healing Concrete)

According to an article “The Self-healing Concrete That Can Fix Its Own Cracks” Rosie Spinks (2015), she did mention about the environmental impact that cement production can cause. Furthermore, she also mentioned that Hendrik Jonkers had came up with an innovative idea to increase the lifespan of concrete and reduce its production. The article also mentioned about the advantages and disadvantages about the self-healing concrete and also the how this concrete is used globally. Even though this article did mention about the advantages and disadvantages of the concrete, it did not mention enough on how this concrete is used globally, like where and how is it used? Firstly, the article mentioned that this concrete is used in Ecuador. So, in Ecuador, a concrete canal in the Andean highlands , which supports seven communities in crop production, is facing problems due to constant changes in temperature. As a result, cracks were formed in the canal and it leads to food shortage and crop fa...
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Self Healing Concrete (Summary draft 2)

According to an article by Spinks (2015), Hendrik Jonkers, a microbiologist from Delft University, plans to extend the life of concrete. The main aim to reduce global cement production and reduce the maintenance of the current concrete. Although it comes in many forms and has a lifespan of 200 years, it only can heal cracks up to 0.8mm wide and it cost more than the usual concrete. Nevertheless, according to Spinks, John Alker, director of policy at the UK Green Building Council, mentioned that the success of the self-healing concrete depends on Jonker’s ability to demonstrate it. Furthermore, according to Spinks, Jonkers mentioned that this concrete is being tested globally, especially in developing countries, to show that it saves labour despite its cost. Even though this article explains the targets that the self-healing concrete aims to achieve, it is still not robust enough in explaining how this building material is being used in projects globally. One of the projects that invol...
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Self-Healing Concrete Summary Draft 1

According to an article by Spinks (2015), cement production contributed to 8% of total global emissions. To tackle this issue, microbiologist Hendrik Jonkers, from Delft University, plans to extend the life of concrete. With that in mind, he invented the self-healing concrete, which involves two fields: Civil Engineering and Marine Biology. However, for it to work, bacteria from rainwater or atmospheric moisture must be present. The reason is that it produces limestone to repair the cracks. The cost is more expensive than the normal one, so the cost of building essential infrastructure will be increased. Although it comes in many types, it only can heal cracks up to 0.8mm wide. With Jonkers able to demonstrate a product’s benefit, he pointed out that coastal communities and tropical regions would benefit from this concrete. Furthermore, he mentioned that it is tested in developing countries to profit from this concrete.
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Self introduction letter

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Subject: Self-introductory email   Dear Professor Blackstone, My name is Darren Ho, and I am a year 1 Civil Engineering student in your module. I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 2017 with a diploma in Mechanical Engineering. In 2019, I attended a 3-week AutoCAD course organized by the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) learning hub to refine my AutoCAD skills. After serving my National Service, I helped my father at his own company, which manufacture doors. He got involved in multiple projects such as Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) projects and I had the opportunity to help him with some work related to AutoCAD for three months. This work includes editing and crafting drawings. Furthermore, I also edited the dimensions of the doors in the drawings as well. With this experience, I decided to enrol in this course to learn more about construction and follow my father’s footsteps to get involved in more of these projects to give back to the community. My hobbies include bowling and ...
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The importance of communication skills to engineers

  “Communication skills are an essential component in the education of engineering students to facilitate not just students’ education but also to prepare them for their future careers.”      Marc Riemer, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University (2007) My reflection on this statement: It plays an important role is the curriculum of engineering students because they will learn on how to communicate well with people around them in the future, especially when they are in the workforce, where they need to communicate with people of higher seniority. Therefore, it should be included in student's education.
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