Ngee Ann Polytechnic Research Articles

What Works in Service-Learning? Achieving Civic Outcomes, Academic Connection, Career Preparation, and Personal Growth in Students at Ngee Ann Polytechnic

What Works in Service-Learning? Achieving Civic Outcomes, Academic Connection, Career Preparation, and Personal Growth in Students at Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Hearing the voices of the voiceless: Service-learning and its impact on aspects of social awareness amongst nursing and optometry students

This study involved nursing (NSG) and optometry (OPT) students from the School of Health Sciences (HS), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), Singapore. It aimed to understand the effect of service-learning (SL) engagements on the social awareness of HSN and OPT students. The study examined two different modes of SL engagement: The first SL activity was a voluntary (outside of curriculum) Health and Eye Screening for migrant workers at their dormitory (N-118). The second SL activity was a compulsory (in-curriculum) social survey of foreign workers (FWs) (N-208) on their rest day outside of their dormitory. The quasi-experimental prepre test design was chosen where the two experimental groups served as their own control groups during the course of the research. The results of the study highlighted that not all SL activities were created equal in their impact on learning. Of the two experimental groups – Experimental Group 1 (compulsory) and Experimental Group 2 (voluntary), the nature of SL engagement indicated that there is a higher positive impact on the social awareness level of the former (Experimental Group 1). The mode of engagement is a very short engagement with the community-in-need (five hours). The results of this study help to throw up for discussion the potential benefits of a high-impact but extremely brief SL engagement by students. Pending further validation, this strategy might be a potential solution for educational institutions juggling the twin tensions of timetabling and meaningful SL activities to further their students’ learning experience.

Interview with Singapore Filmmaker Boo Junfeng

BOO JUNFENG is a young Singapore filmmaker (b. 1983) who came into the media spotlight after his first feature, Sandcastle (2010), was invited to premiere in the International Critics' Week (Semaine de la critique) at the Cannes IFF and to compete for the Caméra d'Or award. At this point, the director already had behind him seven successful shorts and an episode in the feature Lucky 7 (2007). A top student at the School of Film and Media Studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore, he was awarded the Shaw Foundation Gold Medal and the Media Development Authority Prize as the top graduate of his class. His short film debut, Un retrato de familia (A Family Portrait, 2004), produced during his stay on an exchange programme at the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya won the Silver Screen Awards for Best Film and Special Achievement at the 18th...

Insulin-like Growth Factor-binding Protein-5 Activates Plasminogen by Interaction with Tissue Plasminogen Activator, Independently of Its Ability to Bind to Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1, Insulin-like Growth Factor-I, or Heparin

Transgenic mice expressing IGFBP-5 in the mammary gland exhibit increased cell death and plasmin generation. Because IGFBP-5 has been reported to bind to plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), we determined the effects of this interaction in HC11 cells. PAI-1 prevented plasmin generation from plasminogen and inhibited cleavage of focal adhesions, expression of caspase 3, and cell death. IGFBP-5 could in turn prevent the effects of PAI-1. IGFBP-5 mutants with reduced affinity for IGF-I (N-term) or deficient in heparin binding (HEP- and C-term E and F) were also effective. This was surprising because IGFBP-5 reportedly interacts with PAI-1 via its heparin-binding domain. Biosensor analysis confirmed that, although wild-type IGFBP-5 and N-term both bound to PAI-1, the C-term E had greatly decreased interaction with PAI-1. This suggests that IGFBP-5 does not antagonize the actions of PAI-1 by a direct molecular interaction. In a cell-free system, using tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) to activate plasminogen, PAI-1 inhibited plasmin generation induced by both activators, whereas IGFBP-5 prevented the effects of PAI-1 on tPA but not uPA. Furthermore, we noted that IGFBP-5 activated plasminogen to a greater extent than could be explained solely by inhibition of PAI-1, suggesting that IGFBP-5 could directly activate tPA. Indeed, IGFBP-5 and the C-term E and F were all able to enhance the activity of tPA but not uPA. These data demonstrate that IGFBP-5 can enhance the activity of tPA and that this can result in cell death induced by cleavage of focal adhesions. Thus IGFBP-5 can induce cell death by both sequestering IGF-I and enhancing plasmin generation.

Clean technology for treatment of photographic wastes and silver recovery

Photographic industry which is extensively used by the medical and film industries heavily depend on silver. The industry produce large quantities of wastewater containing high concentrations of silver compounds. Silver in all forms is regarded as toxic heavy metal and prohibited from discharging into public sewers. Also silver is an expensive commodity and recovery of silver from these wastewaters and recycling improves production cost. Thus makes the process an environmentally friendly operation. This paper gives an insight of an improved silver extraction process developed at the building department of Ngee Ann Polytechnic to effectively recover silver from photographic wastes and to treat the waste water to standards acceptable for disposal, by the Ministry of the Environment.

Trends and opportunities of algal biotechnology in the Asia-Pacific region

The Second Asia-Pacific Conference on Algal Biotechnology: Trends and Opportunities was held at the Rasa Sentosa Resort Singapore between 25-27 April 1994. The conference was organized by the National University of Singapore, the Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the Primary Production Department. The Asia-Pacific region covers a vast area around the Pacific Ocean, including temperate as well as tropical countries. Partly due to tradition and partly due to geographical and climatic conditions, many of the activities related to algal biotechnology today are located in the Asia-Pacific region. The diversity of interests and activities is reflected in the number and variety of papers presented at this conference. The scientific programme was divided into five sessions, each highlighting a different aspect of algal biotechnology. Altogether, 66 papers were presented at the Conference. All submitted papers were peer-reviewed and the selected papers are printed in this issue of the Journal of Applied Phycology. The aim of this Conference was to bring together personnel from research institutions and industries with common interest in algal biotechnology and to stimulate and encourage exchange of knowledge and experience. It was our hope that an effective algal biotechnology network would evolve from it. Indeed, an association, the Asia-Pacific Society for Applied Phycology, was formed at the Conference

Collaborative Learning—A New Direction in Educational Computing

In early 1994, an electronic classroom was designed in the Multimedia Training Laboratory at Ngee Ann Polytechnic to support collaborative strategies for learning. It features a network of 20 multimedia personal computers. Text, graphics, sound, animation, and digital video are shared on the network, thereby enabling instructors to distribute class notes, assignments, and assessments. The electronic classroom provides an unusual opportunity for investigating the application of hypermedia-based courseware and collaborative groupware. This paper discusses the pilot project currently being undertaken by 20 students on Multimedia Design and Development, a subject that is receiving a lot of publicity in Singapore. It also looks into the current and future information technology of collaborative learning.

Quality Control in the Education Service ‐ A Singapore Experience

Excellence in education through the provision of a high standard of education services is the philosophy of educational institutions in Singapore. Quality control in the education service forms an important evaluation process in tertiary institutions. The exercise of quality control in education service has even been extended to the incorporation of quality control concepts in the curriculum. Students in the institutions of higher learning are encouraged to form quality control circles to acquire the various techniques to practise problem solving and monitoring of quality of work. Highlights some quality control measures practised in the Ngee Ann Polytechnic of Singapore in ensuring that the highest standards are met in the provision of educational services which train high‐quality graduates for the supervisory and middle‐management workforce.

Computerisation of library operations in Singapore: An overwiew

This paper traces the development of computerisation of library operations in Singapore from 1970–1989. Two levels of computerisation are examined, namely: 1. (i) institutional level, and 2. (ii) network or national level. At the institutional levels, the National Library, National University of Singapore Library, Nanyang Technological Institute Library, Singapore Polytechnic Library, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Library, the Law Libraries Consortium, the Education Libraries Consortium and the ECOMNET Libraries Consortium are among the major libraries examined. At the network level, the development and progress, functions and organisation of the Singapore Integrated Library Automation Service (SILAS) are outlined. The author concludes that computers and related technologies are becoming increasingly important in the library scene of Singapore and that there is no perfect library computer system and upgrading is a necessary continuous process.

A Problem-based Approach to Learning Economics: An Experiment in Progress at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic

ABSTRACT Employers want workers with the skills of life-long learning and problem-solving. Recent efforts emphasize the value of having learning skills embedded within the total curriculum. The problem-based approach to learning has been found to encourage the development of these skills in students as well as to foster in them a deep (as opposed to the surface) approach to learning. The problem bared approach is also seen to foster confidence and initiative, and in some instances the development of teamwork and communication skills. This paper briefly describes the problem-based approach and the attempt currently being made to introduce the approach to business studies students at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in the context of an Economics course. Preliminary results indicate that students had been stimulated to show initiative, and that a large majority found self-learning, communication skills to be a major benefit of the course.

Socio-Economic Problems of the Malays in Singapore

This paper focuses on the socio-economic status of the Malay community in modern Singapore as reflected in educational attainment, occupational status, and home ownership. It also examines the historical context in which the socio-economic problems of the Malays have emerged and then reviews the various efforts made by the Malays to resolve their problems. The Malays in Singapore constitute about 15 per cent of the population (380,800 out of 2,558,000 persons [Department of Statistics, Singapore, March 1986, p. 3]). Almost 90 per cent of the Malay population comprises people of direct Malay ancestry while the remaining 10 per cent are of Indonesian descent, such as the Javanese and Boyanese. Educationally, the Malays fare poorly compared to the other ethnic groups. In 1980, the Malays had the highest percentage (86.3 per cent) of persons aged ten years and above who had less than a secondary school education (79.2 per cent at the national level) and the lowest percentage (13.7 per cent) with secondary and higher level education (20.8 per cent at national level). Enrolments at various institutions of higher learning were also low. In 1983 there were only 384 Malay undergraduates in the National University of Singapore (NUS). For the year 1982/83, there were 291 Malay students in the Singapore Polytechnic. In the Ngee Ann Polytechnic there were only 106 Malay students in 1982/83. However, in 1981, there was a significant number of Malay students in vocational institutes, totalling 2,263 or 25 per cent of the total enrolment of 8,974 (Hashima Johari 1984, p. 80).

Planning a communications system

One of the many important considerations in the design and implementation of a computer integrated factory is data communications. It has a great potential effect on the efficiency of any system and its introduction must, therefore, be planned properly. Cheng Leong Ang, lecturer at the Department of Engineering, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore, describes the steps involved.