|
1. Description of Our Community
Pedestrian arcade is a unique landscape in South-East China, including Taiwan. The arcade is a part of the first floor inside a building, on which pedestrians can pass, simultaneously getting away from the strong sunshine and rain outside.
Stores sharing the front of their first floor with the pedestrians not only shows their warmth and hospitality, but the people passing by can also see the goods or service in the stores, thus doing some purchases.
Taiwan is drizzling during the rainy season. And there are thundershowers in summer. Both of them happen frequently. The pedestals are often soaked with the rain. Thanks to the arcade, people in Taiwan can freely enjoy window shopping without getting wet or sunburnt.
Therefore, the arcade was really a good sign of friendly culture in the beginning. However, with the change of a city, different stores would reconstruct their buildings in different times, consequently making ups and downs of the arcade connecting neighboring stores.
The uneven and bumpy floor may not be a problem for normal people to walk on, yet they may be a dangerous threat to old and physically challenged people.
Take one grandfather of a member of our team for example, he got seriously injured when walking on the arcade at night, because his eyesight is not good enough to recognize the ups and downs of the arcade.
It’s why we decided to launch the project, aiming to push the government of Taiwan to make the arcade flat again.
2. Summary of Our Project
In recent years, sustainable development and green transportation have become a global trend. Therefore, the arcade leveling plan is committed to create a convenient road environment for pregnant women, people with disabilities, and the physically and mentally handicappers. At present, many Pedestrian arcades in the six biggest cities of Taiwan have been leveled. But there are still problems remaining. For example, the tiles are too slippery for wheelchairs and baby carriages. Also, there are some gaps that make it hard for the weak to pass.
What’s worse, wheelchair users and parents who push strollers cannot use the rugged pedestrian arcade are forced to walk on the road where speedy vehicles are passing by.
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:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
Problems encountered
How to obtain data from credible sources, how to persuade people to fill out our questionnaires and interviews, how to communicate with the government, and how to arrange our limited time are the main problems we have encountered.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
How does our research plan fit the purpose of the International Schools CyberFair?
We are in line with the local environmental issues of the Internet Expo. We focus on the characteristics of Taiwan’s arcade culture and find that the shortcomings of the arcade cause inconvenience to the passers-by. We hope to arouse public awareness to urge the government to improve our pedestrian arcade .
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
We are in line with the local environmental issues of the Internet Expo. We focus on the characteristics of Taiwan’s arcade culture and find that the shortcomings of the arcade cause inconvenience to the passers-by. We hope to analyze the leveling of arcades in counties and cities through this research plan, and To arouse public awareness to urge the government to improve.
| 
