Year 9 camp was a thoroughfare of bumps and turns that we had to endure. But through the pain and hardship, we learned a variety of valuable life lessons, such as leadership, perseverance and teamwork. By using and improving on these skills, I personally was able to increase my enjoyment of camp and my outlook on it.
The value of leadership was an essential one that I was striving my hardest to use in all circumstances. I utilized leadership during various team activities and jobs around the campsite, on hikes or anywhere that it was necessary. An example of when leadership was shown was when I instructed my cooking group on what ingredients to use, how to use them and with allocating various tasks to each member of the group.
Being perseverant on camp was the only way that I was able to achieve and overcome the many obstacles I encountered on my tour. Somehow being able to get up at 6am in the morning and pack my hiking pack, whilst enduring the freezing cold breeze was all thanks to perseverance.
Lastly, teamwork allowed us to effectively and efficiently complete tasks throughout our groups, whether it came to cooking, setting up tents or other activities. Without this, the many accomplishments and necessary jobs wouldn’t have been finished.
Overall, year 9 camp allowed the values of leadership, perseverance and teamwork to prevail in many different ways across our stay.
Earthquakes are catastrophic natural disasters which have devastating effects on both people and infrastructure. Over time, builders have slowly started to develop ways of preventing damage and loss of life caused by earthquakes. We are tasked with following and designing various improvement methods to create, record and improve our earthquake-proof structure.
Brainstorming Process
Before we started the building process, our group needed to brainstorm and develop various ideas about what features we could possibly add to make our structure as earthquake proof as we could.
The base of this structure intended to almost lift the structure off of the floor to avoid/reduce the damage of the initial impact. Having a foundation/base for a building has been proven to absorb the shockwave of the earthquake and leave the building more intact than if it wasn’t there. By adding this to the structure we will dampen the force of the earthquake on the building and hopefully allow it to withstand it during the test. This is the preferred option to combat an earthquake in our group due to it’s cost efficiency and effectiveness.
Research Stage
We needed to research further into our topic to find the uses, benefits and costs of different features that we were going to showcase in our building. This is some of the research I performed into the different earthquake proof features that we could possibly add.
Over the years engineers have made numerous breakthroughs relating to the earthquake resistance of buildings and different infrastructure. Some of these ideas include, extra foundations and scaffolding beneath buildings to absorb shockwaves, structural supports such as pillars and columns, as well as different reinforcements that can be seen in buildings in our society today.
Foundations:
Different supports, bases and foundations can be seen on many buildings today in our world. Engineers have designed them in order to reduce damage caused to buildings by channeling the energy of the shockwave to the stilts which the building is situated on. In order for this to work, the building is constructed on top of flexible pads which isolate the foundation from the ground. When an earthquake hits, only the base moves while the structure remains steady.
Building remains steady
Energy channeled into flexible pads
Isolates building from the ground
Reduces damage of earthquakes and shockwaves
Structural Supports:
Structural supports have been around for years and have worked effectively in reducing the damage of earthquakes by strengthening the desired structure and keeping to in position and at balance during the event of an earthquake. Supports positioned in an X have been tested and proven by both scientists and engineers to be an extremely effective means of reinforcing a building and reducing the likelihood of it toppling. Supports such as pillars and columns are effective at reducing the impact of earthquakes on taller buildings as they can be placed on almost every storey.
Reinforces buildings
More effective with taller buildings as it can be placed on every floor
Designing Our Structure
This design showcases a variety of different structural and earthquake proof features. These features include, beams for reinforcement along the sides of the structure, and a base located at the bottom. The beams will be added to the build for the purpose of stabilizing and balancing the upper/lower layers when it is in motion. It will also help to reinforce against any breakages that might occur and hopefully keep the upper layers intact if anything were to break. The base will be prioritized to reduce the energy exerted on the other layers.
Create
We have created our structure using multiple pasta sticks seen at the base, and higher amounts of blu-tac at key areas to keep the structure sturdy. This beginning prototype will require some adjustments such as making the higher levels tighter, rather than wider so that the tower will be more structurally sound, and won’t be weighed down on one side.
Our creation features a base, and multiple storeys with cross beams for reinforcement. Our research around these features helped us to better design them, and understand why throughout the creation process. All that is needed to be added is the top beams, and the 5cm x 5cm square at the top of the building.
Testing and Evaluating
During the testing phase, we discovered many flaws with our design which resulted in our structure not being as effective. Our structure being previously damaged also played a part in making our structure not as sturdy. The base managed to hold up during both the p waves, s waves as well as the surface waves. The base helped to stabilize and keep the structure on balance, however the structural supports gave out and resulted in the building starting to topple towards the end. One idea we considered but never completely finished was double stacking pasta sticks.
This would have been beneficial during the test because it would have helped to reinforce the flimsy upper layers and would have possibly stopped them from collapsing during the earthquake. Although many parts of our structure failed during the test, we were given an idea of what to change and what to keep the same in our final and improved design.
Improvements
Using prior information from our initial testing, we were able to fix and redesign different aspects of our structure so that it will be better suited for another earthquake. The 2 design features that we decided to improve on were the cross beams on the upper levels, and the reinforcement of certain areas. During the initial test, we could see that the lack of beams on the upper levels was causing the top to wobble frequently, these upper layers later collapsed from the stress of the earthquake. Our idea to improve this involved simply adding the beams in a X shaped pattern on each side all the way to the top.
From our research this was shown to be an effective and viable means of keeping the structure stable. What we realized from the test was that the pasta sticks were much too flimsy and brittle which often resulted in them snapping from the stress and force of the upper layers during the shockwave. We have decided to combat this by double stacking pasta sticks on key points to increase the sturdiness of them.
Reflection
What went well?
What would you do differently?
Our idea of including a base into our structure proved vital in keeping our structure bound and balanced throughout the duration of the testing period.
Our allocation of resources, more specifically how much blu-tac we use for each conjoined part.
Our collaborative skills as a whole improved and we were able to expertly divide the workload between one another.
Double stack the pasta and add the pasta cross beams to every part of the structure to reduce bending and shaking towards the top.
Lastly what worked well was the parts of the structure which we added the ‘X’ beams crossing diagonally. These helped to keep the structure stable and was a pro in our build.
Finish building and test earlier so there is more time to redesign and improve on the structure.
Australia’s legal system is based upon the principles of justice however, In the Andrew Mallard case the principles of justice were almost completely compromised. It was upheld in the aspect that the judge allowed evidence to be presented in the court however vital evidence for the case was held back by police which compromised Andrew Mallard’s right to a fair hearing. Andrew Mallard also suffered from a mental illness (schizophrenia which impaired his perception and judgement of reality) and was offered no support in the hearing. In this hearing the police did not remain impartial in the fact they withheld evidence and changed witness statements made to convict Andrew Mallard of the crime which undermined Andrew Mallard’s right to a fair hearing. Andrew Mallard did also not receive a reasonable appeal until 12 years later, and his multiple bids for a re-trial were denied meaning that his right to a reasonable appeal was not upheld. Andrew Mallard was treated equally in the case by the judge and court personnel however he was not by the police who withheld evidence which weakened the principle, all individuals are equal before the law.
On the 23rd of May 1994, a woman by the name of Pamela Lawrence was found dead inside of her jewellery store in the city of Perth. She was discovered to have been murdered, caused by blunt force trauma to the backside of her head where she was knocked unconscious and was later pronounced dead in hospital. After the death of Pamela Lawrence, a citywide manhunt was conducted to catch the murderer in which 136 suspects were found. Of them there was Andrew Mallard, who had been marked as a suspect due to his consistent mental struggles and an attempted burglary where he disguised himself as a police officer. Andrew Mallard was taken from the mental hospital at which he was staying. Andrew Mallard was then questioned by police where they recorded a video tape and got a written confession on his theories regarding the murder. The Andrew Mallard court hearing began on the 2nd of November 1995 in the supreme court in front of both a judge and a jury. In the court hearing Andrew Mallard pleaded not guilty for the murder of Pamela Lawrence, however the police however used evidence from the unlawfully conducted interview against Andrew Mallard during the court case. Vital evidence to the case was also withheld by police as to change the verdict of the trial. Witness statements were also tampered with, this resulted in the judge as well as the already biased jury being sided towards the prosecution. On November the 3rd 1995, only a day after the trial, Andrew Mallard was found guilty of the murder of Pamela Lawrence and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment without a chance of parole. While Andrew Mallard was serving his time in prison, he lodged multiple appeals to the court of criminal appeal who rejected his pleads numerous times. Eventually Andrew Mallard was able to convince the high court of Australia to hear his case and he was released, but only after spending 12 years in prison.
The principle of justice which is, all individuals are equal before the law, was compromised in the Andrew Mallard case through a variety of factors during the court hearing, investigation and questioning. Andrew Mallard was taken into questioning after the murder of Pamela Lawrence because of his previous mental struggles and an attempted burglary. After Andrew Mallard made the suspect list, he was taken unlawfully taken from his mental hospital for questioning by police where he did not receive a lawyer or guardian to explain the legal system or assist him with his mental illness. Through this the police were able to get a “confession” from Andrew Mallard by recording a video tape of his theories regarding the murder, as well as feeding him information to repeat back to them. This violated the principle of all individuals are equal before the law because inadequate resources were allocated to Andrew Mallard during both the questioning and the court hearing to help him with his schizophrenia. These examples demonstrate that the principle of all individuals is equal before the law was not upheld in the Andrew Mallard case.
The Andrew Mallard case involved the principle of justice, Individuals have the right to reasonable appeal which was violated in the case because of different aspects and elements of the court hearing and questioning that were overlooked and not dealt with adequately by the judicial system. In The Andrew Mallard case, he was given only a small number of chances to appeal, to which all of them were rejected by the criminal appeal office. It was not until 12 years later that Andrew Mallard’s plead reached the high court of Australia, and they were able to review it and grant Andrew Mallard his freedom. This was a huge miscarriage of justice and the fact that Andrew Mallard stayed up to 12 years in prison, because appeals and pleads were rejected due to unreasonable ground and circumstances violated this principle of justice. This incident and violation of Andrew Mallard’s right to reasonable appeal signifies the importance of the judicial system upholding societies rights and highlights the substantiality of this principle of justice on the case and impact to Andrew Mallard.
Right to an unbiased and impartial judiciary was another important principle of justice that was undermined in the Andrew Mallard case and was determined by underlying key factors and influence. An example of this is during both the questioning and the court hearing, the police were completely biased towards to the prosecution. They conducted unlawful and unethical questionings to Andrew Mallard through which they forced him into revealing untruthful evidence that they used in court to convict him. Witness statements during the court hearing were also changed as well as other vital evidence that would have changed the direction of the entire court hearing and verdict. These examples of bias and unlawfulness in the judicial system demonstrate and indicate that Andrew Mallard’s right to an unbiased and impartial judiciary was not upheld and was compromised in almost every aspect of both the trial and questioning relating to the case.
Lastly, Andrew Mallard’s right to a fair hearing was mostly upheld in the court of law. During the court hearing, Andrew Mallard was granted equal opportunity to present his case to the both the judge and jury and was equal to the prosecution. And although Andrew Mallard was given an unexperienced lawyer during the hearing, he was not condemned and was granted the right to speak freely and plead his case. Andrew Mallard’s past criminal record did not impact the court hearing at all, and it did not influence the judge and juries’ decision which allowed for this aspect of the principle of justice, all individuals have the right to a fair hearing to be upheld in the case. Andrew Mallard’s equal opportunities to present his case as well as not being condemned by the court system demonstrates that the principle of justice, all individuals have the right to a fair hearing was upheld in this court hearing and allowed some aspects of justice to be upheld for Andrew Mallard.
A time when I had a fixed mindset was when our class was learning about rates and ratios, I struggled at first with conversions but eventually, I was able to get the hang of it.
Growth
-Swimming
Swimming is a sport that I really enjoyed, so I practiced it regularly and now I am better at swimming and participate in races for the carnvial.
At the beginning of term 3, we read a book called the giver which was a dystopian fiction novel which the people thought of as a perfect world. I then began to learn about the livability factors which were environmental quality, climate, infrastructure, safety and stability and access to healthcare and education. After that I learnt about sustainability and that was when Harry and I built our sustainable house where I learnt about water and energy saving features and behaviours in science which helped me to build a more sustainable and livable society.
Our Sustainable House Backyard of our sustainable house
Designing/Planning
Before I could start designing, I had to fill out different sheets explaining the details of our Utopia for example where our utopia was located. After I had finished those 3 worksheets we were put into groups with 2 other people where we then started planning and mapping out how our Utopia would look and where everything was located so that we knew what we were doing when we started constructing. We did a few draft designs before we could move on and start making our final copy.
Mapping out our UtopiaLinking the global goals
Construction
We had to make a choice if we wanted to create a physical model or create a virtual model in co-spaces. We decided to make a physical model and moved onto creating our actual Utopia. We used the laser cutter down in the hangar to create our houses and buildings and plaster-cine to make our ocean, beach, parks, grass, and agricultural areas. The members of our group learnt how to operate the laser cutter and how to piece it together. As a group we had to consider how we were going to fit everything into the black cardboard plate we had been given. This taught us how to conserve and manage space appropriately and how to deal with limited room.
Birds-eye view of our Utopia
Accreditation/UN global goals
Accreditations were little slips of paper, each represented 1 of the 17 global goals for example no poverty, good health and wellbeing, quality education and so on. These slips were handed out to students who had defined, addressed, and stated the impacts of it on their community. After doing this the student would be eligible to apply for accreditation to 1 of the 5 accreditors who would decide if they deserved the accreditation. This benefited my learning because I learnt about all of the UN global goals and learnt how to address them in our Utopia. This also benefited my presenting skills when applying for accreditation. For the duration of the Utopia project our group achieved 4 accreditations, Climate action, Good health and wellbeing, Quality education, and industry, innovation and infrastructure.
UN global goalsOne of our accreditation sheets for good health and wellbeing
Oral Presentation
The oral presentation was a speech that was based around livability, sustainability, and the UN global goals that me and my group members had to present to the class. It helped me improve our presenting skills for example PVLEGS, which stands for Poise, Voice, Life, Eye contact, Gestures and Speed. This activity also assisted us in memorising most things in our Utopia so that we were better prepared and knew what we needed to improve on ready for the showcase. Being able to see other groups presentations benefited our Utopia because it gave us new ideas which my group hadn’t thought of before.
My groups oral presentation
Constitution
As part of our Utopia presentation my group and I created a constitution containing the fundamental principals that outline structure, purpose, and powers of the people in our Utopian society. In creating this constitution, I learnt about the importance of the constitution and the many different aspects that make it up. I also learnt about the different ways that people run a country for example, a Democracy, Dictatorship, Monarchy, Republic, and Communism. At the showcase we had to talk about our Constitution which aided my presenting skills.
Our constitution Planning our constitution
Conclusion
Overall Project Utopia huge benefit to my learning in many areas considering that it linked into Humanities, English, Science, and Innovate ED. Lastly the Utopia Project helped me to feel more confident with my presenting skills and being able to answer questions without having to refer back to notes.
