Oral Presentation Script

Introduction: Marianne
(START) Slide 1 Good morning teachers and friends, today RJ096 would like to present to you our project on the topic of pet abandonment. I am Marianne and I will give you a brief introduction of our topic. My group mate Yong Yi will talk about the current problem and subsequently, Jia Yao will speak to you about our solution. Last but not least, Shriya will conclude our presentation.

(Click) Slide 2: Introduction

(Click) Slide 3 As I mentioned earlier, we are a Project Work group who decided to try our hand at (Click) tackling the problem of pet abandonment and neglect and we hope to achieve this through (Click) improving access of the target group to information on pet care.

(Click) Slide 4 Why did we choose this topic though? Well, we chose it as we noticed that in recent years (Click) there has been an increasing trend in pet abandonment, which we felt was very worrying.

Just to give you a rough Idea, in 2011 alone, 1027 cases of pet cruelty was reported to the SPCA, which is a 10% increase from previous years. But Im not going to just give you statistics and cold, hard numbers. Because all of us believe that statistics and hard facts are simply insufficient in conveying to you the pain a poor pet suffers at the hands of ignorant and negligent owners. Im going to tell you the story of a Shih Tzu, let's call him Max, whose story has haunted me since the first time I read about it. Before I begin though, I'd like you to look at this picture very

carefully. This is how a typical Shih Tzu looks like. Fluffy, cute and all round very adorable.

And this is how Max looks like. Skinny, hairless and unhealthy. Max can't even see properly or stand up because of the infection on his right eye and has nails that are too long.

But how did he get to this state though? How did a healthy, adorable Shih Tzu get to this state? This is the question I have always been asking myself, and thanks to this project, I feel I now have a rough picture of what happened.

See what happened was that Max's owner didn't know a lot of things. She didn't know that a Shih Tzu's needed to be brushed regularly. She didn't know that they needed their nails trimmed regularly. But most tragically, Max's owner, who thought that raising a Shih Tzu would be cheap, didn't know how expensive it was to bring Max to the vet. And it was because Max's medical costs were so expensive that she was willing to let Max suffer an eye infection, rather than bring him to the Vet. While Max

(Click) Slide 7 BUT WAIT We seem to have a missing link. How exactly did this ignorance lead to health and hygiene issues for Kim? And more importantly, why caused this ignorance in the first place?

Well, we believe that this problem happens as individuals lack information on the responsibilities that pet ownership entails (Click): Because of this, people like Wei don't know about their responsibilities as a pet owner, such as ensuring that their house is pet-friendly, or that they devote enough time to walking their dog. (Click): As a result, they do not factor in considerations such as how much their pet costs, and whether they can cope with the typical BEHAVIORS displayed by

a certain breed or type of pet, just like how Wei was eventually unable to cope with Kims behaviours. (Click): Hence, their purchase is an unplanned one. This means that they may purchase a pet that is incompatible with their lifestyle or they may purchase a pet when their lifestyle is not suited to pet ownership at all (Click): Eventually, they may discover that their lifestyle is incompatible with pet ownership they purchased and thus choose to abandon the pet, which I assume happened to Kim as well. (Click) I just remembered something that is very interesting: One of the most common problems for pet abandonment is "behavioral problems". While this seems like a legitimate reason at first glance, in fact, most of these "behavioral problems" are in fact the typical behaviors displayed by pets. E.g. Many are abandoned because they bark loudly. This is clearly evident of poor planning. Such individuals were not prepared for a dog that barked loudly and in fact, the problem could have been solved with access to information and proper planning. (Click) Now that Ive finished giving you an overview of our project and the story of Kim has come to a close, Id like to talk about our target group and why we chose it. 1. Our research showed that 7-9 year olds were children with a high interest level in

the topic and hence, they would be more receptive to the messages that we are trying to send out. 2. In addition, it is at this age that children are most likely to either purchase a pet or

ask their parents for a pet -> We believe that sending the message of responsible pet ownership to them at this age would thus be appropriate. 3. Now, Id like to pass my time over to my group mate Yong Yi, who will explain to you why such a problem exists.

Analysis of Problem: Yong Yi

(Click) Slide 7 Thank you, Marianne for clarifying the problem to us. I will now explain and analyze why such a problem exists. (Click) Slide 8 We will now analyze the causes of such problem. We divided the causes into 3 portions: mainly the inability of our target group to understand overly detailed information, lack of effort by parents, and little effort by SPCA and other pet welfare NGOs to target this group. (Click) Slide 9 Now, I will move on to explain the (Click) root cause for the lack of access to information on pet care, which is the (Click) inability of the target group to understand complex messages. (Click) Slide 10 Children are unable to comprehend the importance of responsible pet ownership. Being (Click) young and inexperienced, they simply do not understand the implications of owning a pet. (Click) Our interview analysis shows that parents often indulge in the whims of their children, hence showing that children influence decisions made in the household. This proves that children are the main reason for the lack of access to information, due to their inability to understand existing information. (Click) Slide 11 I will cover the (Click) secondary cause of lack of access to information, (Click) lack of effort by parents to educate their children.

(Click) Slide 12 (Click) Parents are responsible when it comes to (Click) inculcating values, such as the importance of responsibility. This applies to pet ownership as it has been mentioned that children hold considerable influence over their families decision to get a pet. (Click) According to our interviewee, Mrs Sebastian of SPCA, parents are not proactive as they feel that it is the schools responsibility to discipline their children in responsible pet ownership. However, teachers already face time constraint in school. The problem is further exacerbated as parents do not spend time explaining concepts to their children. Moreover, although parents are seen as the main educators, they are usually apathetic to such issues. Hence, parents apathy hinders childrens access to information on pet care. (Click) Slide 13 Lastly, we will now focus (Click) another secondary cause known as (Click) target groups of campaigns run by SPCA and other related pet welfare organizations in Singapore. (Click) Slide 14 (Click) Current campaigns are mostly targeted at (Click) parents instead of children as only parents have the purchasing power in making pet purchases. Clearly, there is a (Click) lack of effort in targeting children in campaigns. As such, children are unable to understand the consequences owning and abandoning pets, seeing them as toys instead. Hence, we can see that children cannot understand such messages in the first place, hence making them the root cause of the problem. The fact that parents and pet welfare organisations do not spend effort in getting children to understand important concepts worsens the existing problem. This means that our target group has a lack of access to relevant information and this results in

the increasing trend of pet abandonment and cruelty that Marianne mentioned earlier. (Click) Slide 15 (Click) From our secondary research, we realized that children have the (Click) ability to retain messages that were introduced to them at a very young age. However, we also found that children would (Click) encounter more problems in understanding complex and mature messages, such as pet ownership and responsibilities that entails as they are in the midst of mental development. (Click) Slide 16 We were therefore able to generate a few learning points from past initiatives by SPCA. (Click) Firstly, campaigns need to target children directly instead of teachers or parents as it is more effective for children to acquire such information straight off. Trusting teachers to impart knowledge may not be effective as they would rather spend more time in class to complete MOEs syllabus. However, parents could be involved in teaching their children the value of pet ownership by adopting a family-based approach instead. Children are put in the drivers seat, hence empowering them to reinforce important concepts. Additionally, (Click) we need to ensure that information is packaged in a more concise manner. Children only need to understand the crux of the message. Children learn better with easy concepts presented in simple language. Lastly, (Click) visual appeal captures childrens attention. Research shows that children are more likely to associate emotions with colour. Information should be presented in a colourful manner. By playing with their senses, it increases childrens ability to retain information. Information must be able to evoke enthusiasm among the children. This way, they will be able to grasp concepts that will remain ingrained in their minds.

I will now hand over the time to our next speaker, Jia Yao, who will elaborate more on our groups action plan.

Solutions: Jia Yao

(Click) Slide 17 Thank you Yong Yi. I shall now propose on behalf of my group, a series of solutions that we feel will alleviate this trend (pause) by resolving its root causes.

(Click) Slide 18 Through the Pets Fur Life Learning Experience (pause) we hope to reach out (Click) to young, potential pet owners aged (Click) seven to nine years (pause) via a (Click) family-based approach that builds upon the existing educational framework previously introduced by Yong Yi. Parental participation (pause) in addition to (Click) visually appealing materials and follow-up activities would (Click) work together (pause) to enhance the learning of children. The action plan would consist of (Click) three main phases, with the (Click) first phase of circulation involving the dissemination of the resource pack. This would ensure that we reach the largest possible pool (pause) of potential pet owners. (Click) Phase 2 (pause) Educate (pause) addresses the root cause of the aforementioned trend by educating children (pause) the main drivers for the purchase of pets. The (Click) last phase is facilitation, which wraps-up the learning experience, and ensures proper understanding (pause) and application of the information learnt, by the children themselves.

(Click) Slide 19

(Click) Carrie, Your Canine Friend is a mobile exhibition that ensures accessibility, with large numbers of people being exposed to the message that we aim to project. A (Click) mascot attracts the attention of children, and serves as a memorable symbol for the message that we would like to drive across. Furthermore, the resource packs will be distributed at (Click) public libraries, which are frequented by large numbers of families and children. The (Click) combination of the use of a mascot (pause) and public libraries, would ensure (Click) access to proper information and hence, resolve the root problem. (Click) Slide 20 If you recall what Yong Yi said earlier, despite their enthusiasm (pause) children may not be able to understand complex information on pet ownership. Hence, we designed the (Click) Pets Fur Life booklet for children (pause) as a guidebook that details their responsibilities as pet owners. (Click) The booklet has three parts. (Click) Part 1 ensures that children understand the responsibilities involved in owning a pet, and that they are fully committed before making the choice to purchase one. (Click) Part 2 provides useful information for the target group to prepare for their new pet, with responsibility charts giving clear expectations of the role that each family member would fulfill. (Click) Lastly, part 3 details how children can fulfill their roles in caring for their new pets (pause) with various technical guides enabling children to become knowledgeable and responsible pet owners. As Yong Yi stated earlier, (Click) a high use of (Click) colour (pause) and (Click) illustrations ensures that children can (relate to and) absorb the information, and it is organized in a way that children may comprehend it, thereby (Click) improving their ability to access information on pet care.

(Click) Slide 21 The follow-up activity consists of (Click) the detachable hardcover of the booklet, which serves as a variation of the Snakes & Ladders board game. Children generally remember (Click) 80% of what they use and do, therefore (pause) the game also includes (Click) question cards based on information drawn from the booklet. (Click) (Click) Ultimately (pause) our target group will be better able to understand and assimilate the information provided. (Click) Lastly, the ability of this board game to teach children information of increasing complexity would further pique their curiosity (pause) and encourage our target group to learn more about the topic.

Hence, (Click) this proposed variation of the Snakes & Ladders board game serves as an effective wrap-up activity for the Pets Fur Life Learning experience (pause) by facilitating continued learning (pause) as well as application of the knowledge that our target group has already absorbed.

I have introduced our proposed solutions. I will now pass the time on to Shriya, who will be further evaluating and analyzing them.

Conclusion: Shriya
(Click) Slide 22 Now, I am going to show you how the implementation of the Pets Fur Life Learning Experience would reduce the impacts of a lack of access to information. (Click) Slide 23 First, we make use of a (Click) family-based approach, which we do through dissemination of information by a mascot as mentioned by Jia Yao, rather than (Click) a school-based approach, which is the common method used to reach this target group. However, this is ineffective as the school does not have a vested interest in the outcome, and completing the curriculum takes priority in limited lesson time. However, with a family-based approach, the parents have an interest in ensuring that their children are responsible pet owners since owning and caring for a pet is expensive, and so the purchase and subsequent abandonment of a pet would result in a waste of their money. As a result, parents are more likely to address the situation than the school would be. Additionally, research by eminent child psychologists Dr Nolasco and Dr Venkatasubramaniam indicates that parental supervision and participation in an activity can greatly enhance their learning. Hence, (Click) a family-based approach is a better alternative than the school-based approach. (Click) Slide 24 Secondly, in (Click) all parts of the action plan, the solution (Click) directly addresses the root cause of lack of access brought up by my second speaker, which is (Click) the inability of the target group to understand information that would enable them to become responsible pet owners. Children aged 7 to 9 years are unable to fully comprehend

highly detailed information when it is presented all at once. So, information in the Pets Fur Life booklet is modified to suit our target group in two ways:

(Click) Slide 25 Firstly, as Jia Yao mentioned, it caters to their aesthetic needs through (Click) large, readable fonts, and with (Click) high amounts of colour and illustrations. (Click) Secondly, (Click) it caters to their linguistic needs. First-person points of view enable children to relate to the needs of pets, while simplistic sentence structures enable them to fully understand the messages we want to communicate to them.

(Click) Slide 26 Finally, in Phase Three, the board game is created to be at just the right difficulty level for our target group to make certain that they will not get frustrated or bored and stop playing halfway. The (Click) simplicity of its traditional counterpart, Snakes & Ladders, which Jia Yao already demonstrated to you earlier, as well as its (Click) proven track record in developing arithmetic and memory retention skills means that it would (Click) be useful in teaching children new concepts, such as responsible pet ownership. Hence, the board game is able to effectively reinforce concepts learnt from the booklet.

(Click) Slide 27 Ultimately, the Pets Fur Life Learning Experience works by educating our target group on responsible pet ownership. Children learn whether they should even own pets in the first place, upon which they have the information needed to help them decide what sort of pet they should buy. After they decide to buy the pet, the booklet also educates them on how to best prepare themselves for the challenges of pet ownership. Upon purchase

of the pet, the target group also has information on how to care for it. And so, the booklet serves as a guide for them throughout their pet ownership journey. So, in the beginning, we saw the world as a cold, bleak place for many pets. Being purchased was no guarantee of happiness, since it was highly likely that they would be abused, neglected, abandoned. However, through the Pets Fur Life Learning Experience, our target group would become more educated on pet ownership, hence enabling them to make better decisions on whether or not to buy a pet, and on how to care for the pet once they claim ownership of it. In this world, more pets reach homes where they will be cared for, and children know that pets are for life.