School: MingHu Junior High School
    Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

6 students, ages 14~15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 20, 2005. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): none

Classes and Teachers: Chang Hsing-Hsiang?Yeh Chaur-Yuh?Hsiao Yu-Lun

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.mhjh.tp.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

Within a multitude of police districts in Taipei City, we choose DaTong and ShiLin as our interviewees because they have their distinguishing characteristics.The areas under Datong Police District’s control represent the ostentatiously prosperous Taipei in the earlier generation. Each traditional community keeps deep local culture and history for Taipei City. On the other hand, ShiLin Police District covers a variety of things—night market famous at home and abroad, Tienmu with exotic flavor and Yanmingshan National Park, etc. Habitants are from different levels, too. The public security in a district significantly influences the life quality of people. What we try to explore is how local police district interact and help one another with local habitants.

2. Summary of Our Project

The topic we choose is the police in Taipei, the most representative of Taiwan. We choose police as the target of our project, as local police have the closest relationships and most frequent contact with the people among all civil servants. In our traditional image, police catch criminals, arrest drug dealers, smugglers and thieves, ban those who violate regulations and open tickets. They are “tough guys” to us. However, are they really so “tough?” Can they be warm and gentle? What is their interaction with people in daily lives? It is another part that we are going to explore in our project—the “tender” police that are rarely known to the public. It is our hope to make everybody better understand police and reduce the distance between the police and people. Our topic is not focused on the police’s feats, but on the “trifles” showing how the police interact with the locals and become their carers and friends, which characterizes the Taipei City Police.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:1

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

Each member of the team has ADSL connection at home and it is convenient to send/receive e-mails, contact, search information, and transfer files. Each one did his/her job at home to be arranged for the teachers. In the event of mutual discussion on web page outline and art design, all members gathered at the school computer classroom.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1. Everyone had to go to cram school and it was quite difficult to gather all members together. Appointment was settled at least one week ahead so that members could meet during lunch break or after school. 2. High refusal rate of street questionnaire survey. We kept trying to find the next one who could be “sympathetic.” 3. We could only make personal interviews on Saturdays and Sundays, but police were off, too. We tried our best to interview the police on Saturdays and Sundays when they were on duty. Some of them were touched by our enthusiasm and sacrificed their holidays to be interviewed. 4. We were not familiar with Flash and Dremweaver or have never used it before. Teachers sacrificed much lunch break to teach us, making us more and more familiar. 5. The interviewees were everywhere and much time was spent on the journey. Wendy’s and Robin’s fathers provided two “private taxies” and worked as drivers, saving us a lot of time.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

1. We feel great to work together on individual tasks. 2. Seeing the completion of the work, we fully understand the meaning that “those who sow seeds with tears will harvest with happiness. 3. Behind the “tough guys,” there are many touching and warm stories of ”tenderness.”

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

The harvests from “International Schools CyberFair” are 1. In “language”: We imitated the script reporters reporting characters or events and arranged the interview procedures to replace the common Q&A style. After training for some time, it not only adds readability. We also made a lot of progresses in expression of words. 2. In “mathematics”: We applied the logical thinking in the questionnaire preparation and presented the interview results in graphs. Finally, we made numeric arrangement and analysis and propose our ideas or comments. 3. In “society”: Our interviewees included the police, their family members, chiefs of district, store clerks and passersby, etc. They are much different from our classmates. Not only did they broaden our vision but also improved our ability of social investigation and study through information gathering and interviews. These are experience that we could not obtain at school. 4. In “art and humanity”: Our teachers and parents spent a lot of time teaching us computer art design, layout of web pages, allocation of colors and image processing during the process to transfer the study results into web pages. This benefited us a lot. 5. In “general activities”: Teachers asked us to make plans and design before interviews. Something special is that we prepared different sets of questions for different interviewers for complete interviews. Design of the questionnaires is the fruit after our brainstorming. We came to realize that “two heads are better than one.” After completion of overall planning, our teachers allocated jobs according to everyone’s interest and specialty and set the deadline for finalization, typing and treatment. After participation in this competition, we realized that the basic concepts, goals and objectives appear during our study procedures. They are something we are unable to experience at school. It is indeed a great and memorable learning experience.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

1. On spot interviews:We interviewed personally the Directors of the Precinct, policemen, their family, police stations and local residents to see the external side of the tough guys as well as the inner tender side of the police. 2. Questionnaires: We prepared questionnaires ourselves in the hope to look at the police from the viewpoints of the police and residents and see if there are any differences. 3. Digital cameras: We took pictures and video to record the interview procedures. 4. Recording pens: We used recording pens to record during interviews for information arrangement and confirmation. 5. Desktop computers and Notebook: We wrote articles, made web pages, contacted and transmitted files with computers. 6. The Internet: We searched relevant web pages to enrich the content of our special topic, communicated and discussed with friends over the Internet. 7. Scanners: To process images we collected with scanners. 8. Printers: To print out the information for perusal. 9. Telephones and e-mails: To contact with our interviewees and members of the web page design team via telephones and e-mails 10. Computer software: Flash Mx, Dreamweaver MX, PhotoImpact 7.0, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and cuteFTP

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

Most of the impressions of the public come from TV and newspaper reports. Then, there is the contact making negative impressions—people being banned, receiving tickets, being examined temporarily on the road, etc. From our questionnaires, as a result, the police did not get high scores in people’s minds. Nevertheless, maintaining good public security is not the police’s job only. People have to cooperate to have better results. To understand that the police are not really that “tough,” we did not search information on the Internet or quote reports from magazines and newspapers. Instead, we decided to maker personal interviews to understand the true side of the police. We did not interview famous police and what they did never appeared in the media. Nevertheless, they did all these things silently everyday around us. We would love to be ambassadors and present you the firsthand reports and it is our hope to make the relationship between the police and the public more harmonious through the bridge of our special topic.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

We had many first times. The first to interview strangers on the roads, the first to follow police cars patrolling, the first time to experience the temporary examinations on the roads and some members had their first time to go to a police station. Such many first times brought us a lot of impacts—there are a lot to learn outside school. These experiences did increase our knowledge. To help us become independent, our teachers participated in no interviews. That pushed us from flushing and murmuring at the beginning to composure and talking with assurance at last. Everyone seemed to grow up a lot during the time. At the beginning of December, we uploaded part of the completed works on the school website (available at the homepage of Taipei Municipal MingHu Junior High School) for everyone to have a look. Fortunately, we received many messages of criticism, suggestions and encouragement. We felt very touched.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

55% from Students : preparing questionnaires for interviewees,recording,interviewing the interviewees,writing interview script,design, investigation, statistics and analysis of questionnaires,Web page management and opinion arrangement, meeting ecapitulation,completing the progress table and preparing registration,information collection 20% from Instructors : holding meetings,drafting special topic name and outlines,information study and analysis on the special topic,technical instruction on web page making skills 15% from Voluntary Parents : picture taking,drivers and bodyguards,contacting the interviewees,technical instruction on web page making skills,modification on scripts 5% from Police : providing information and pictures,assistance in contacting the interviewees being interviewed, 5% from Family of the police, community residents, li clerks, store manager, students of MingHu Junior High School : being interviewed,feedback from the Internet(criticism, encouragement and cheering)

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Discoveries : As long as you do not offend against the laws, police are not dreadful at all. Actually, they are quite tender! Lessons: We still remember that it took us two hours to complete only 3 questionnaires at the very beginning (2 of the 3 respondents are mothers of our classmates). After discussion, we decided to “ignore our images and just go ahead,” the results were much better. We learnt a lesson—“nothing can be unconquerable if you insist.” Surprises: The works were being accumulated piece by piece. Looking back at these works, we were surprised if they were really what we did? Members of the team were surprised how they could do this! After careful investigation and discussion—it is true!