Professional Biography
​Andrea Dumitrescu is a 20 year old hardworking and teachable junior chemical engineering student with strong leadership skills developed through numerous mathematics and engineering college projects. Andrea can utilize multiple computer programs to present calculated solutions to mathematical and physical problems using meticulous problem solving skills. The computer applications she also uses consist of Excel and PowerPoint. Her experience in MATLAB consists of data set analysis to examine correlations as well as relationships and coding to solve problems. Andrea is respectful, honest and first and foremost eager to learn in order to increase experience in a professional workspace in preparation for full time employment. Her family emigrated from Romania making her the 1st generation in America. One of her skills is the ability to read and speak Romanian fluently. Lastly, she is also involved in the large Romanian community in the Detroit area.
Analytical Memo
Analytical Memo PDF
Memorandum
TO: Frances J. Ranney
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FROM: Andrea Dumitrescu
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SUBJECT: Effectiveness of Infographics
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DATE: January 15, 2018
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Infographics are a way in which information can easily and quickly be transmitted and taught to other people. Contents, design, and how much someone learns from an infographic directly correlates with the quality of the infographic. These three criteria will be examined when comparing two infographics and will determine which of the two is better and will conclude that infographic number one, “A Dietary Framework for Men and Women”, is better.
Discussion
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The content of infographic number one is made very clear through the title which is at the top of the page, “A Dietary Framework for Men and Women”. The design of infographic number one flows very well starting from the top of the page and continuing towards the bottom. A brief summary is given under the title to explain the solution for a healthy diet. This infographic utilizes key visuals that everyone is familiar with such as a plate and what food groups that plate should consist of, and also feminine and masculine outlines that split the page in two, which shows the difference in the dietary framework between the two genders. It also uses color coding to clearly represent the genders such as pink for women and blue for men. Infographic one minimizes its use of words and the descriptive terms that it does use are terms that everyone is familiar with, such as “fists” and “palms” when describing portion sizes. Because the Design of infographic number one is so clear and uses many clear visuals is makes it very easy for someone to follow and therefore learn from the infographic.
Design is very important when it comes to how successfully an infographic attracts people and how easily it teaches someone. Infographic one uses clear color coding and diagrams to display and teach its information visually. Because infographic one uses many visualize to teach its solution it minimizes its use of words which declutter the poster and creates a clear flow and indication where the reader should look to next. Infographic number two also uses the world map to explain its subject but because it contains multiple long paragraphs that someone has to read it makes it harder to understand what this infographics subject and solution is. Infographic number two is primarily explained through words, and not visually, making it harder to follow and grasp. Infographic number two’s design is then more cluttered with long paragraphs which leads to confusion and not having any clear flow or indication where the person should look to next.
Design heavily impacts a person’s interest in even looking at the infographic and making sense of what it is trying to teach. Infographic number two is primarily explained through words and not visually making it harder to follow and grasp. Because of Infographic number two’s design someone would not easily be able to learn from it and when something requires more concentration to decipher it also lessens a person’s interest. However, infographic number one’s design is much easier to follow and less cluttered which requires less concentration from a person reading it, leading to someone quickly learning what their dietary framework should consist of. Infographic number one is heavily visual and because a majority of people are visual learners it makes this infographic very successful in teaching people about dietary frameworks and uses visuals that many are familiar with(plates, “fists”, “palms”, and colors)
Conclusions
By analyzing the design and content of an infographic the conclusion is that infographic number one was better when compared to infographic number two. It came down to how infographic number one’s information was presented through its design that was clear and guided the reader throw a clear flow of information that was presented visually. The difference in the success of the two info graphs came down to how easy it was for someone to grasp the information/content and that is easier done when the reader is not bombarded with paragraphs of information but instead presented with the solution in a unique that will grasp their attention.
Employment Materials
Cover Letter & Resume PDF
Project Proposal
Project Proposal PDF
Project Proposal
To: Dr. Frances J. Ranney
From: Andrea Dumitrescu
Date: 2/26/2018
Subject: Reducing the Amount of Time a Student Procrastinates
This memo proposes that I research the feasibility of persuading students, specifically Wayne State University students, to reduce the amount of time that they waste in the school year procrastinating. After first describing how common procrastination is among students and the problems that it creates, I will describe the three documents that I will produce for the research project and then discuss the specific audiences for each document or assignment. I then present five research questions that will guide me to correct the problem, determine its prevalence, and its effects. Lastly, I provide a timeline table that shows how I will successfully complete this project and its documents by their individual deadlines. I believe that this project is feasible and will have a positive impact on all students, not only college students, and even people with jobs who suffer from crippling procrastination.
Project: Reducing the Amount of Time a Student Procrastinates
Many students, and even working adults, suffer from procrastination. A study in 2014 estimated that about 87% of high school and college students procrastinate and with every year that goes by the number increases. In 1978 only 5% of the population admitted to procrastinating while in 2007 26% said they did. Reports also show that procrastination leads to getting worse grades. It also effects quality of life, health, work/career, and their emotions. My project will research the causes of procrastination and how to reduce the amount of time spent procrastinating by removing the causes. I will produce three documents, described below, that will create a persuasive argument to end procrastination and to show how to do it and why.
The first assignment that is based on this research will be the instructional materials assignment, which I intend to title “How to Use the Detox Procrastination App to Stop Procrastinating.” I will explain how to download the application, how to open it and how to lock the person’s phone for the amount of time that they chose to.
For the Infographic document, I plan to create (in 8½ by 11 inch format) a poster design that students can use all around their schools, and in libraries, which illustrates common rules and steps that any student can take to get on the right path and avoid wasting time procrastinating. This will specifically deal with how a person’s phone affects the amount of time they procrastinate. I will use specific symbols related to a statistic to show the statistic visually. One statistic I intend to show is how many people, out of 5, procrastinate. Another statistic I will include is the percentage of students that said there was a specific cause for their procrastination. The percentage will be shown, for that reason, and the comments from actual students will go along with the percentage.
I expect to write my white paper for publication in the Wayne State newspaper, the South
End. This paper will specifically address all Wayne State students to convince them of the fact that procrastination is a very serious problem that should be dealt with immediately in each student’s life. Confronting this problem will have a positive effect on their health, mentally and physically, and on their grades. The secondary audience will be teachers, who are exposed to the paper, and possibly even students of other age groups, if this information is passed on to younger siblings or children of the teachers. The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of students at Wayne State that procrastinate or at least reduce the amount of time that they waste.
Research Questions
I have a lot to learn about the causes of procrastination and the number of students that suffer from this problem, and how severely. I have a lot to learn about all age groups and the causes and consequences of procrastination. I will survey and interview specific ranges of age groups to get a sense of the common problems when it comes to procrastination and the common causes and effects. I have grouped these and other questions I must research into the five formally structured categories below:
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How many student currently procrastinate each day in a week?
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How many hours are wasted on distractions in a week?
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What are the most common distraction among high schoolers, college students, and adults?
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How have people tried to help their procrastination problem and where have they failed?
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What are the consequences of procrastination and how common and severe they are?
These questions are made to cover the main bases of my research project and the problem and it is possible that along the way I may be asking even more questions. I have learned from multiple websites already the numbers that I am dealing with in reference to my problem. Just some of these statistics are mentioned in my introduction.
Project Plan
Although this project is substantial, I am only planning to create the three documents that are explained above, which are the instructional materials, the infographic, and the white paper. I am confident that I will be able to complete all the tasks necessary to produce those assignments within the time frames and deadlines of the semester, as the timeline below illustrates:
See PDF for details
