Assignment- Project Proposal: Research into a Potential Project

Length: 1000 words (excluding reference list and title page).

Marking criteria See link in ‘Assessment Overview' Page, in the CUC106 Learnline site.

The listed criteria represent the highest standard achievement.

Task overview In this assignment, you will present research surrounding a design project for the Sambo district communities in Cambodia based on one of the EWB (Engineers Without Borders) Challenge design areas. It will include background information about the underlying issue and a summary of your research informing your suggestion for a possible solution.

Completion of this assignment will equip you to contribute well informed ideas about the logistics of one possible project option. You will bring these ideas with you when forming a design team, which will assist you and your team to decide which project will be a viable one.

Task details Your assignment should contain the following:

• A title that describes the specifics of the project you are exploring. It should contain: the area context of the design (e.g. Sambo district communities,Cambodia), the issue being addressed, and the scale of the project (e.g. household or village level).

e.g. ‘Investigating innovative irrigation techniques for household vegetable gardens in Sambo communities, Cambodia.'

• Background about the current situation and justification of the need for the project. This includes information about the community, the region, the way of life, and why improvements are necessary.

• Asummary of your research findingsinforming the possibilities for the design. This is where you presenta summary of relevant information found in three credible sources relating to your project. At least two of these sources must be found using the CDU library databases.

• One possibledesign solution.

Outline/structure

Body of Assignment Use the following guide to structure your assignment:

• Title Page

o Design project title
o Your name and student number

• Body of Assignment

• References

• Marking criteria

Your assignment should include the following sections which should be numbered as indicated in report style.

1. Introduction

In one or two sentences describe the purpose of this assignment.

For example: This assignment will investigate a design response to small-scale road maintenanceissues in communities of the Sambo district of Cambodia. It will provide justification of and research informing the project and a description of a possible design solution.

2. Project background andjustification:

One or two paragraphs that set the scene for your project and why it is necessary. This must contain a detailed description of the issue or problem your design is looking to address. Make it clear that you understand the current situation and the requirements of the community. Describe who in the community the design is for, and what they are doing currently with regard to the issue/problem, and what needs to be improved and why. You should include references to back this up. (NB Much of your information for this section will be sourced from the EWB website but you should also seek further information elsewhere. Ensure you use in-text referencing where required.)

3. Preliminary research:

Find three relevant, credible sources (at least 2 from the CDU library database, and not including the EWB website) that tell you more about the problem in one design area, the community, and the region. Then summarise and comment on each of the sources of information you have chosen and present these in the form of an annotated bibliography, as follows:

For each source, write approximately 200 words containing:

• A heading - consisting of the bibliographic details for the source in APA format, in bold type

• A summary paragraph - which summarises the source's main points that relate to your design area, the community or the region,

• A relevance paragraph-an explanation of how this informationrelates to the development of a suitable design.

(NB In-text referencing not required in this section.)

4. Design concept

Identify one potential design solution,give a brief overview of the design solution and describe how it could solve the problem related to your design project.(Recall, design projects are selected from the EWB Design Brief).

For example: This design for a water purification systemoffers a solution to improve water sanitation in the Sambo communities. By providing a water purifier for each individual household water borne diseases in the community will be greatly reduced.

4.1 Description

Briefly describe the design: its structure and parts and how it would work.Include a simple sketch or diagram if appropriate. Include in-text references where necessary.

For example: The water purify consists of a simple clay cooking pot modified to include a spout and materials for filtering the water, as shown in Figure 1.

The filter materials consist of locally sourced charcoal and sand. The spout made of bamboo is inserted into the bottom of the pot as indicated. The lid consists of a heavy piece of cloth (in-text reference).

4.2 Issues for further Investigation

List the main questions or issues that need to be investigated further in order to develop your design into an appropriate solution. These could be economic, environmental, technical, or cultural issues.

5. Conclusion

A conclusion should sum up the information you have provided in this document.

References

Compile a reference list in APA format including your research summary sourcesas well as any other references that you have used and cited in the document.

Formatting Your document needs to be presented professionally, using the following format (look up Microsoft ‘Help' for formatting instructions):

• Single document, MS Word.
• Margins: Top & Bottom (3.00cm), Left & Right (2.50cm)
• Body text: Times New Roman, 12pt size, left alignment with 1.5 line spacing.
• Paragraph spacing: 0pt ‘before' and 12pt ‘after'.
• A header and/or footer should be included, with details of the unit code, Assignment number, and your name.