Category: Uncategorized

When my friends were on their ELO trips, I visited Tokyo, Japan, to present my review article at the International Young Researchers Conference. There were 20 students in total from several countries around the world, although most of them came from the United States. The day after the presentation, I participated in the Tokyo Explore program, where students could explore Tokyo with medical and dental students from Columbia University.

Overall, my presentation went well. I panicked when it was my turn, but just started talking by looking at the keywords on my laptop screen. My paper was about the gut microbiome and its role in human health– immune function, metabolism, and neurotransmitter production. Compared to other students’ original and in-dept research, mine felt kind of shallow. But after talking with the Columbia students, they stressed to never undermine your work. Watching other students present their work inspired me to conduct my own scientific investigation on topics I am passionate about. I hope to accomplish this sometime in the future, possibly during the summer vacation. Most of the students’ presentations covered topics surrounding microbiology, ecology, and neuroscience. I was especially fascinated with what the students have done to contribute to the field of neuroscience. Some students created mini brain models and used machine learning to identify biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases. So, although I felt accomplished that I had presented my paper, I felt disappointed and motivated to conduct original research.

After the presentations, we played a game where we had to build bridges. A group of five students were then paired with a mentor from Columbia University. After feeling disappointed, this game cheered me up. I met a lot of friends from different backgrounds and shared a passion of neuro with them. Despite our different backgrounds, we had so many common things to talk about, like teachers, IB courses, and science research. Ultimately, my biggest takeaway was to collaborate with other people from all over the world toward a shared goal, such as contributing to the field of neuroscience. I strongly recommend this program to students passionate about science because it give you an actual opportunity to present in front of uni students from prestigious universities and meet students around the globe who are passionate about science like you.

Data collection and visual/financial modelling

Do you feel that your product has met the goals you set at the start of the process?

Our team’s goals were to create a unique and novel snack that appeals to our target audience’s specific preferences and is both international and Chiense. Our target audience are young adults, such as high schoolers. We achieved our goal of making our product unique as this this product has never been created before. By analyzing high schoolers’ food product preferences in our food survey, we were able to identify specific components of our food product that we should mofidy or add. For example, due to the majority votes, we decided to change our filling to black sesame filling and add chocolate. Based on the customer survey results, we also focused on making the texture crispy through an innovative method–frying tangyuan.

Did design choices still fit your target audience?

Yes, our choices effectively reflected the preferences of our target audience. First, we distributed the survey to mostly young adults, our target audience, to investigate their preferences in a food product. Secondly, the final price of our food price and the nutritional facts mostly likely satisfies young adults, such as high schoolers. Since most high schoolers are not independent yet and, thus, do not have a lot of money, they would more favor snacks with low prices. Since 6RMB per a s’more is not an expensive price, it specifically targets the young adults. In addition, because young adults are generally more healthy, they do not have to maintain a strict nutritional diet. So, we prioritized taste over health. Nevertheless, our survey showed that young adults do prioritize nutrition afte rtaste. Since tangyuan has a high caloric density, we are aiming to use graham crackers with the least added sugar and calories.

What would you do if you had more time or resources?

If I had more time, I would love to receive feedback about about product from people. From our survey, many participants told us how not tasting the actual product would make their ratings invalid. So once we have created a final product and made our participants taste it, this will help us identify aspects of our product that still needs modifications. I would have loved to have this process of feedback and improvement because this helps us get closer to creating the most attractive food product.

How would you evaluate your contributions to the team? Anything you’d like to work on in terms of teamwork?

I believe our team collaborated well. Every team member finished their tasks diligently and responsibly, allowing us to make more progress every day. For myself, I think I was effective in contributing to the team, although I missed two classes. Once I returned, I was very flexible because after receiving feedback from Mr. Landrum and the participants, I immediately made changes and re-started the data collection process. Thankfully, our team was able to finish data collection and analysis part the first day I came back.  However, I think I can work on open communication with my team more. We should commuicate with each other more, reminding members about their reponsibilites and tasks. So, what I took away from this group project is to always ensure open communication no matter their absence. I would try to come together and create a goal or deadline to ensure that no member is falling behind.

*I was absent on the week of March 11, so my responses are based on the week after.

What progress has your team made so far? Have any new ideas, questions or challenges arisen from this work?

So far, our team has finished with the financial modeling, nutrition research, and a survey. While the financial modeling part was straighforward, I faced challenges with the consumer survey. Initially, our team and I planned to distribute the survey to better understand our consumers’ preferences of Tangyuan flavors and specific components of our product. Specifically, we wanted to determine their favorite Tangyuan filling and preferred kind of cooking method. However, after we distributed our survey, some our our participants refused to participate–they told us their ratings would be invalid as they have not yet tasted them before. Mr. Landrum told us the same thing. He advised us to make the purpose of our survey tailored to our needs in order for our product to be successful. So, our group had to investigate people’s perception about Tangyuan and S’mores, and preferences on aspects of our product, such as texture, addition of chocolate, and price. Looking back, I am so grateful that we could correct a limitation in our previous survey to better suit our needs.

What progress have you and your group made on collecting data? How was it collected? How has that supported your design choices?

Initially, the survey was to be collected by 40 students and 10 teachers. However, after distributing a new survey, we received responses from 13 students and 2 teachers. It was collected by distributing a printed copy of the questionaire to every student and teacher in the Food Science class, and two students outside the classroom. The participants were asked to not write their names and given around 5 minutes to complete it. Then, each paper was anonymously collected. If we had more time, we would have made our final product based on the survey responses and conducted taste tests.

Conclusions fron the survey:

• Taste is the most important component in a food product in our food science class, followed by nutrition.
• A large majority of students in our class like tangyuan slightly to very much.
• 2/3 of students in our class likes black sesame.
• Most of the students responded that they would “maybe” eat Tangyuan S’mores.
• 78% of students have eaten S’mores before.
• Soft and chewy, and crispy texture are most important to our consumers.
• 86% of students prefer s’mores with chocolate.
• Mean price with 50rmb outlier: 9.57 RMB
• Mean price without 50rmb outlier: 6 RMB.

Our final product is fried Black sesame flavored Tangyuan with a drizzle of chocolate. Black sesame was, by majoirty, the most popular flavor among the students. In addition, by frying the tangyuna, we will ensure that the texture of our product is both soft and chewy, and crispy. Although students desire the addition of chocolate, when my team produced and ate it, chocolate overpowered the sweetness of the Tangyuan. Nevertheless, to please our customers, we decided to just put a drizzle of chocolate.

Have you worked on visual or financial modelling? If so, provide some insight into those processes.

We worked on the financial modelling. First, we found the amount of ingredients needed to make 1 s’more. Then, we found the amount each ingredient contained and its unit cost. For example, the package of graham crackers we used had 250g, and it was 20RMB. Afterwards, we divded the unit amount contained in te package divided by the amount we needed for just one s’more. Dividing this value from the cost of the package gave us the cost per s’more. In total, the cost per s’more without chocolate was 0.95 RMB and cost per s’more with chocolate was 1.61 RMB. The optimal revenue price from the Cost of Good Sold (COGS) for the food industry is around 35%, in which our production cost is 1.61 RMB. Thus, the optimal sales price derived would be around 2RMB. However, this price only covvers material costs, not reflecting labor and marketing costs. Therefore, we decided to increase the price of our product to 6RMB, a value agreed upon by our survey participants.

What is your product and who is your audience?

My product is Tangyuan S’mores and we are targeting the children and young adults, who have a sweet tooth. Tangyuan is a traditional Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice shaped into balls that are served in a hot broth or syrup. S’mores are popular snacks in the United States. They are confections consisting of toasted marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker. We combined these snacks to and came up with… Tangyuan S’mores! We will have three kinds of Tangyuan S’mores– Black Sesame, Peanut, and Red Bean. And the tangyuan will either be boiled or fried.

What are your plans for data collection and modelling, as a group of individual?

After we take photos of the different types of Tangyuan, we are going to put them in the consumer suvey. The purpose of the consumer survey for us would be determine what type of filling and cooking method would our consumers most prefer.

This survey will be distributed to 10 students per grade, so we will survey 40 ISB high school students in total. In addition, we will survey 10 HS teachers and some MS students.

For the modelling, we are going to model the price of our product through a chart. Specifically, we are going to calculate the price of one product, ingredient costs, and labor fee.

What is your role in the team?

My role, other than to provide moral support, is to collect data. I have to create a survey and distribute it to 40 students. I have already selected students or participants. I will distribute the survey to students through Wechat or email or offline, because I know many of them at school. Once I have collected all 40 responses, I will create a graph to visualize the data.

What are some potential challenges you may run into over the next three weeks?

I am worried that we might not be able to collect all 40 students’ response in a timely manner. If the students don’t reply quickly, we will have to wait or get new students to participate.

 

21 octubre de 2022

Por mi padre

La ciudad de Tokio es una de las ciudades más activa y colorido del mundo. Tokio está situado en el centroy el este de Japón, un país entre China y Corea en Asia. Específicamente, Tokio está rodeado de muchos los océanos y las montañas.

Hay muchas actividades que hacer en Tokio.  Si quieres hacer senderismo en Tokio, se puedes ir a la montaña Fuji en Tokio. El Monte Fuji es la montaña de la forma perfecta más alta de Japón y es el símbolo de Japón y es el lugar histórico. Tokio es famoso por la montaña Fuji porque la montaña es muy hermosa en todas estaciones. ¡Debes visitar el Monte Fuji¡

Si te gusta las escenas románticas, deberías ver las flores de cereza en la primavera. Tokio es muy famosa por sus flores de cereza. Cada primavera, puedes ver los pétalos rosados en todas las calles. Las flores de cereza son muy bonitas y románticas. Por lo tanto, las flores de cereza en Tokio son una visita turística famosa.

LO PEOR DE VIVIR EN TOKIO

¡La comida en Tokio es indescriptible!

Lo único de Tokio es la deliciosa comida. En Tokio, hay muchas las comidas japonesas. Por ejemplo, hay sushi, sashimi, ramen, y mucho más. El sushi no solo es sabroso sino también saludable para ti. Se dice que el sushi es muy fresco y salado. Por eso, puedes comer los platos con una variedad de alimentos saludables. Además, Tokio está lleno de las tiendas convenientes con la tanta comida barata y rica.

¡El transporte público en Tokio es increíblemente conveniente!

Lo mejor de Tokio es el transporte en Tokio. Mas específicamente, el transporte en Tokio es más famoso del mundo porque es muy moderno y conveniente. Por mi parte, muchos los transportes públicos en Japón son rápidos y elegantes, no son tranquilas. Así que, es fácil moverse a la escuela o la compañía. Yo creo que un buen transporte público en Tokio mejoraría tu vida.

Por supuesto, Tokio es la ciudad centro de las artes.

Las personas de todo el mundo visiten a Tokio para ver las artes gráficas, por ejemplo, el anime. Si eres encantas el arte de anime, ven a vivir en Tokio. Los colores y los gráficos están en todas partes en Tokio, incluso los baños son bonitos.  ¡También, hay tantos lugares donde se filmaron las películas de anime! Entonces, Tokio te espera.

Usted puede disfrutar del ambiente animado especial en Tokio.

Tokio es una ciudad con muchas atracciones. Tokio está lleno de los parques de atracciones y las cabinas fotográficas. Adicionalmente, lo más importante es que Tokio tiene muchos los centros comerciales. Por lo tanto, los habitantes de Tokio pueden tomar buenas fotos, comprar la ropa barata con la calidad excelente y pasar el tiempo en los divertidos parques de atracciones. Por eso que los habitantes de Tokio disfrutan de su estilo de vida extrovertido y divertido. ¡Tú también puedes ser uno de los habitantes!

LO PEOR DE VIVIR EN TOKIO

El costo de vida en Tokio es feo.

Se dice que el costo de la vida en Tokio es tan caro. La renta por los apartamentos es muy cara, y estos apartamentos son pequeños y feos. Además, tú necesitas comprar los muebles mismos. Todavía, muchas personas no pueden permitirse los apartamentos pequeños o las casas minúsculas. Así que, si no tiene dinero, puedes dormir en el suelo de Tokio.

Tienes que tener cuidado en los todos momentos en Tokio

Lo peor de Tokio es que hay muchas los desastres naturales. Es más común para desastres naturales en Tokio porque Tokio está situado en el anillo de fuego de pacifico. Por lo tanto, hay muchas las posibilidades de que su casa y usted puedan estar en peligro. Sin embargo, la tecnología avanzada nos ayuda a comprender los desastres naturales. Aunque que los tsunamis y tornados dan miedo, la gente de Tokio sabe cómo vivir en las tormentas.

Sobrepoblación es un aspecto negative en la Ciudad de las maravillas.

Tokio es una ciudad con muchas atracciones. Mucha gente animada de todo el mundo vive en Tokio para Para el exclusivo estilo de vida de Tokio. Como Tokio es tan famoso, hay demasiadas personas viviendo en una pequeña ciudad. Por lo tanto, los transportes públicos y las calles están muy abarrotadas. También es muy fácil robar las cosas de alguien o perderse en las calles.

 

El clima en Tokio damiedo.

El clima en Japón es muy extremo y dramático porque el clima de Tokio es diferente cada estación. Por ejemplo, el verano en Tokio es demasiado caliente y algunas veces tanto húmedo. Por otro lado, el invierno en Tokio es demasiado frío. Debido a que Tokio es una isla, el clima cambia mucho. Por lo tanto, las personas que viven en Tokio tienen problemas de ira y se estresan debido al clima. El clima en Tokio nunca es templado. Si vives en Tokio, es posible que siempre necesites un paraguas o botas.

¿Te han convencido nuestros motivos para vivir en Tokio? ¡Deja un comentario abajo!

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