Beth Dobbin - Greenhead College
Beth Dobbin - Greenhead College
Beth Dobbin - Greenhead College
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Centre-assessed work<br />
Candidate record form<br />
2010 (version 1.1)<br />
Level 3 Extended Project (9990)<br />
Candidate record form, production log and assessment record<br />
Centre number<br />
Centre name<br />
GREENHEAD COLLEGE<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
Candidate number<br />
Notice to candidate The work you submit for assessment must be your own. If you copy from someone else or allow another<br />
candidate to copy from you, or if you cheat in any other way, you may be disqualified.<br />
To be completed by the candidate<br />
1. Have you received any help or information from anyone other than your teacher(s) in the production of this work?<br />
Yes<br />
No<br />
2. If you have answered yes, give details below and on a separate sheet if necessary.<br />
3. Any books, leaflets or other materials (eg DVDs, software packages, Internet information) used to help you complete this work<br />
and not clearly acknowledged in the work itself must be listed below. Presenting materials copied from books or other sources<br />
without acknowledgement will be regarded as deliberate deception.<br />
Candidate declaration I have read and understood the above and can confirm that I have produced the attached work without<br />
assistance other than that which is acceptable under the scheme of assessment.<br />
As part of AQA's commitment to assist students, AQA may make your coursework available on a strictly anonymous basis to teachers,<br />
examining staff and students in paper form or electronically, through the Internet or other means, for the purpose of indicating a typical<br />
mark or for other educational purposes. In the unlikely event that your coursework is made available for the purposes stated above,<br />
you may object to this at any time and we will remove the work on reasonable notice. If you have any concerns, please contact AQA.<br />
Candidate signature<br />
Date<br />
Supervisor declaration I confirm that the candidate’s work was conducted under the conditions laid out by the specification. I<br />
have authenticated the candidate’s work and am satisfied that to the best of my knowledge the work produced is solely that of the<br />
candidate.<br />
Supervisor signature<br />
Date<br />
This form should be attached to the candidate’s work and retained at the centre or sent to the moderator as required<br />
9900/CRF Page 1 of 18
Record of marks<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the supervisor<br />
Marks must be awarded in accordance with the instructions and criteria in section 2.5.2 of the specification.<br />
Summary information to show how the marks have been awarded should be given in the spaces below in addition to comments in<br />
other pages of this document and any supporting information in the form of annotations on the candidate’s work.<br />
Skill area<br />
Maximum<br />
mark<br />
Mark<br />
awarded<br />
Supervisor’s supporting statement<br />
A01 Manage 10<br />
A02 Use resources 10<br />
A03 Develop and realise 20<br />
A04 Review 10<br />
Total 50<br />
Concluding comments<br />
Outline details of taught skills (specification 2.3 The Taught element of the Extended Project qualification) Record here<br />
details of relevant skills taught in a class/group and details of relevant skills taught individually to this candidate as described in the specification.<br />
Continue on a separate sheet if necessary.<br />
Unless otherwise stated all students will receive or have the opportunity to receive the following :<br />
1. ICT skills are delivered by specialised ICT staff where the students need them. Some students opt to take the<br />
OCR text processing course as part of their enrichment programme<br />
2. Research skills and referencing are delivered by the college librarian She also advises students on an individual<br />
basis in the use of the<br />
a) local University Library<br />
b) internet with special reference to academic search engines<br />
c) Moodle – college VLE<br />
3. Presentation skills are delivered by one member of the team to ensure consistency of advice. Students attend<br />
these sessions in small groups<br />
4. Specific subject guidance is available to students and/or supervisors. We have a subject specialist helping, on a<br />
voluntary basis, in all the subject areas covered by our projects. In addition all students are required to discuss with the<br />
relevant subject specialist whether there is any potential overlap with their A2 studies<br />
5. Project management skills are an integral part of the regular meetings held between the student and supervisor<br />
6. Supervisors meet and communicate on a regular basis<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 2 of 18
Supervisor declaration I confirm that no work assessed for the award of the marks above is also to be submitted, or has been<br />
submitted, for any other accredited qualification(s).<br />
Supervisor signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 3 of 18
Centre-assessed work<br />
Production log & assessment record<br />
2010 (version 1.1)<br />
Contents<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate<br />
Extended Project working title<br />
What are the scientific, ethical and economic implications of consanguineous first cousin<br />
marriages in the UK?<br />
Planned form of project Either written report<br />
Or<br />
and accompanying written report<br />
This document consists of the pages listed below. Additional journal material, planning evidence, research evidence, presentation<br />
evidence and review material may be added.<br />
Page Title Date completed<br />
1 Candidate declaration<br />
2 Record of marks<br />
3 Contents<br />
4 Record of initial planning<br />
5 - 7 Project proposal and approval (Parts A, B and C)<br />
8 Planning review<br />
9 Mid-project review<br />
10 End-of-project review<br />
11 Summary<br />
12 - 13 Presentation record (Parts A and B)<br />
14 Reflection<br />
Is this extended project part of a group project?<br />
No<br />
Yes<br />
If ‘Yes’, give brief details<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 4 of 18
Centre-assessed work<br />
Production log & assessment record<br />
2010 (version 1.1)<br />
Extended Project final title<br />
What are the scientific, ethical and economic implications of consanguineous first cousin<br />
marriages in the UK?<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 5 of 18
Record of initial planning<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate. This page records initial meeting(s) with your supervisor to agree your project proposal.<br />
Your first idea for topic/title<br />
Should first cousin marriages in British Pakistani families be made illegal in Great Britain?<br />
Your first ideas for research and development of your project<br />
I am firstly going to research into the origins of cousin marriage worldwide and then expand this research to the current<br />
world, delving into first cousin marriages in British Pakistani families. I will next research the areas of Great Britain where<br />
first cousin marriages are most prevalent. I want my project to cover the reasons for and against these marriages from<br />
scientific, ethical and economic perspectives. I hope to use my mathematical ability to look at statistics, and my<br />
knowledge of Biology to explain why first cousin marriages cause an increase in recessive gene disorders. I want the<br />
main focus of my project to be about the recessive gene disorders and how they affect the people who have them and the<br />
effect that they have on the NHS economically. I would like to meet up with scientists who oppose first cousin marriages<br />
and Pakistani families who are both for and against them. I hope to be able to incorporate their beliefs into my project. I<br />
want my project to cover everything in my report but in a simpler way so that people without a scientific background can<br />
still understand the priciples. I am going to make handouts to give out during my presentation to enable people viewing<br />
my presentation to read over information that was covered. I am going to use internet websites, national statistics and<br />
both my college, university and public library to gather information and resources. The main aim of my presentation is to<br />
highlight arguments in the context of social and religious reasoning and economical and ethical problems arising due to<br />
the resultant increase in genetic gene disorders in first cousin marriage offspring - leaving it up to my audience to decide<br />
whether they think first cousin marriages should be made illegal in Great Britain.<br />
Your supervisor’s main comments and advice<br />
My first supervisor suggested that I should talk to one of the chemistry teachers who is a British Pakistani and ask his<br />
opinion on first cousin marriage. She suggested that I could ask him if he is married to his first cousin or if he knows of<br />
other friends or family members that are. She thought that primary sources would be very valuble to me. My second<br />
supervisor suggested that I looked on the website for The Office for National Statistics during the research part of my<br />
project. She suggested that I could possibly talk to local MPs who have been criticised for their views against first cousin<br />
marriage. Another suggestion was that visting larger libraries may be more useful for finding information as my topic is<br />
quite specific.<br />
Changes, clarifications or additions you have made as a result of your discussion with your supervisor<br />
I had not thought of talking to local MPs but after my discussion with my supervisior I think it would be useful. I am<br />
therefore going to email MPs who have been appearing frequently in local news about this controversial topic and ask<br />
them if they would be willing to talk to me about their beliefs and what they are based on e.g. due to the suffering the<br />
recessive gene disorders can cause. I am also going to visit the Central Lending Library in Sheffield and the University of<br />
Sheffield's Libraries to assist with my research and also contact The Office for National Statistics, as well as using their<br />
website, to try to find out the percentage increase of infants that develop recessive genetic disorders from first cousin<br />
marriage compared with the percentage that develop these illnesses from non first cousin marraige.<br />
Supervisor signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 6 of 18
Project proposal part A<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate<br />
Title of the Extended Project<br />
Present the topic to be researched in the form of a short statement/question/hypothesis with clear focus.<br />
What are the scientific, ethical and economic consequences of consanguineous first cousin marriages in the UK?<br />
Provide a brief outline, based upon page 4 of this document, of<br />
<br />
the researched or activity/task to be carried out and sources to be consulted<br />
I am going to be researching into recessive gene disorders, arguments for and against first cousin marriage, where first<br />
cousin marriages in British Pakistani families are most prevalent, and the effect of first cousin marriage on the NHS. To<br />
do this I am going to have to visit city and university libraries to gather information as well as using internet sites and<br />
looking through newspaper achives for articles on the subject. Additionally, I will utilise the statistics available from The<br />
Office of National Statistics either through their website or by contacting them directly to back up or contest points<br />
made. I hope to speak to a variety of people who have strong views on this topic such as, local MPs, scientists, health<br />
care professionals, British Pakistanis against first cousin marriage and British Pakistanis in favour of first cousin<br />
marriage. I am going to make a table containing all my sources in which I can describe what is useful about each<br />
source, the limitations of the source and how reliable I think the information given or inferred is.<br />
<br />
the courses of study or area(s) of personal interest to which the topic relates<br />
I am hoping to study medicine at university next year and so I think what I learn from this project will be useful to me as<br />
first cousin marriage is a very current, controversial topic within the NHS and Government. I also have a great interest<br />
in medical ethics so I will find my research into arguments for and against these marriages enjoyable.<br />
<br />
your proposed action<br />
I have made a plan in Microsoft Excel in which I have laid out all the research I am going to do as well as the tasks I am<br />
going to complete. I have set myself personal deadlines for which I hope to complete each activity and I hope to stick to<br />
this, although I know some changes to my schedule will be inevitable. In my plan I have set out work that I will<br />
complete in my weekly session at college and also work that I will complete at home in my spare time. I will start by<br />
researching all of the areas outlined earlier and gathering sources to use in my written report. After I have completed<br />
my report, I am going to make a presentation in which I will cover all the aspects covered in my report but in slightly<br />
less detail. I will also have to make the information in my presentation easier to understand for those watching who do<br />
not have a strong scientific background. I plan to make little handouts for those watching my presentation so they can<br />
re-read about any areas they found interesting in my presentation.<br />
Provide details of the courses that you are currently studying<br />
Qualification Type<br />
e.g. GCE AS/A, Applied GCE AS/A,<br />
Diploma L3, VRQ, Modern<br />
Apprenticeship, BTEC<br />
Subject<br />
e.g. Mathematics, English, Health, Spanish, ICT<br />
GCE A<br />
GCE A<br />
GCE A<br />
GCE AS/A<br />
Biology<br />
Chemistry<br />
Mathematics<br />
General Studies<br />
Candidate declaration I certify that I have read and understood AQA’s Regulations relating to unfair practice as set out in the<br />
notice to candidates below.<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 7 of 18
Notice to candidate You must not take part in any unfair practice in the preparation of project work required for assessment<br />
and you must understand that to present material copied directly from book or any other sources without acknowledginment will be<br />
regarded as deliberate deception. If you use or attempt to use any unfair practice you will be reported to AQA. If AQA is satisfied<br />
that you have committed an offence you may be disqualified from all subjects.<br />
Candidate signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 8 of 18
Project proposal part B<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the supervisor. Please comment below on the validity and feasibility of the proposal (project proposal Part A) as<br />
an Extended Project (specification 2.4).<br />
Comment on the clarity and focus of<br />
the title chosen<br />
Supervisor’s comments<br />
Indicate the relation to, and<br />
development/extension outside of,<br />
the main course(s) of study or<br />
interest (specification 1.2)<br />
Comment on the suitability of the<br />
proposed initial sources and<br />
research base<br />
Confirm that the project is feasible<br />
in the proposed timescale and/or<br />
indicate any potential difficulties<br />
Outline the scope to produce a<br />
project that meets the assessment<br />
objectives (specification 2.5.3)<br />
Indicate proposed form and date of<br />
the presentation<br />
Indicate the expected format of the project product that will be submitted for assessment<br />
Long written report ....................................................................................................................<br />
Live performance (e.g. music, drama, theatre, substantial presentation) plus written report ....<br />
Electronic format (e.g. CD, DVD, video, program) plus written report .......................................<br />
Artefact (e.g. prototype, model, artwork) plus written report ......................................................<br />
Is the project a contribution to a group exercise? YES NO<br />
If Yes, confirm that there is a defined individual contribution by the candidate (specification 2.5.1 Group Work) YES NO<br />
List other group members below.<br />
Candidate No.<br />
Candidate Name<br />
Candidate No.<br />
Candidate Name<br />
Candidate No.<br />
Candidate Name<br />
Supervisor signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 9 of 18
Project approval part C<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
Supervisor’s full name<br />
To be completed by the centre coordinator<br />
Comment below on the feasibility and acceptability of the proposal (project proposal parts A & B) as an Extended Project (specification<br />
1.4)<br />
Centre coordinator’s comments<br />
Approved<br />
Approved subject to the implementation of the centre<br />
coordinator’s recommendations<br />
Resubmission required<br />
Coordinator’s full name<br />
Coordinator signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 10 of 18
Planning review<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate. This page records your outline plan at the start of your work.<br />
Outline the next steps in your planned research/initial development<br />
I am going to complete my research in sections. I hope to research a few sections a week, for example one section of my<br />
research will be on the origins of first cousin marriage and another will be on religious opinions towards first cousin<br />
marriage. I think this will make the research more manageable. I want to try and get my research done early on so that I<br />
have a lot of time to devote to writing my report and developing a presentation. I want to research each area in depth<br />
using a variety of internet sites and books so that I can gain a really indepth knowledge of my subject. I think by doing this<br />
I will be able to write up my report in one block of time so that I don't have to keep coming back to it and adding a bit more<br />
every few days. At present I plan to complete my report in full and then do my presentation afterwards so that I have a lot<br />
of information to pick from. I want my presentation to cover everything in my report in as much detail as possible. In the<br />
next few weeks I intend to speak to the organiser of an ethics group to see if I will be able to present in one of their<br />
sessions. It will be better all round if my audience is interested in the subject as they will be easier to involve and will get<br />
more out of the presentation.<br />
Your supervisor’s main comments and advice<br />
My supervisor saw no problem in doing the report before my presentation but suggested that I did not finalise it until<br />
afterwards. She thinks that there may be questions that arise during the presentation that make me want to add extra<br />
information to the report. I agreed with this advice so I will come back to the report after the presentation to make any final<br />
changes. Another comment was that I may not be able to complete my presentation just in one session. I think I had<br />
underestimated how long it can take to write a detailed report. My supervisor offered to speak to the ethics group's<br />
organiser for me but unfortunately to group had recently finished for the year. I decided that instead I would just invite<br />
friends and teacher to the presentation as I knew I would not be able to present to any of my classes due to the tight time<br />
constrictions we are under to finish the syllabus. A final comment was that I would need to be more selective of which<br />
topics to talk about in my presentation. My supervisor said that I would not have enough time to cover all aspects of the<br />
report in detail, as the presentation would be too long and I would lose the interest of my audience. I decided therfore that<br />
I would select sections of my report to include which I thought were the most interesting and most important and relevant<br />
to the conclusion and title question.<br />
Changes, clarifications or additions you have made as a result of your discussion with your supervisor and/or the comments from your<br />
centre coordinator<br />
See above.<br />
Supervisor signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 11 of 18
Mid-project review<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate. This page records your outline plan about half-way through your work.<br />
Outline the successes, failures, additions and/or changes you made as you followed your plan at start of project<br />
So far my project has been going really well and I am thoroughly enjoying it and finding it incredibly interesting. I have had<br />
to make changes to my initial plan as I had not really scheduled exam and revision time into my production log so during<br />
the months of December and January I got a little behind with the work. I also then had a chemistry investigation to<br />
complete which again took time away from my extended project. I decided that it was more important that I concentrated<br />
on these first and then caught up with the work on my project in the half term holidays. This worked out well as I was able<br />
to spend long periods of time researching the relevant information and then write up a section that related to it. I decided<br />
to split my report into a variety of sections to make the project more managable so that I could ensure that I included<br />
everything I wanted to. I had a lot of success finding news articles relating to first cousin marraiges as whilst doing my<br />
research the controversial topic came back into the media. Lord Ahmed spoke out about a connection between first<br />
cousin marriages and sexual abuse crimes committed by Asian men. Baroness Ruth Deech also conducted a series of<br />
lectures on the subject of cousin marriage. I contacted both of these as well as Phil Woolas but only recieved a reply from<br />
the Baroness. She was happy to help me and advised that I watch her lecture online which I did. Initially I had hoped to<br />
speak with Ann Cryer but I could not find any contact information for her.<br />
Outline your planned steps to complete your project<br />
I have now completed my first draft of my report which I have given to my supervisor to look at and offer any advice. I will<br />
then proceed by making any necessary changes to ensure that my report is to the highest standard. My next step is to<br />
create a presentation that I with present to a small group including my supervisor, an ethicist and a chemistry teacher who<br />
has studied genetics. One of my biggest challenges to date will be to present the information in a way that non-biologists<br />
can still understand, which will be very hard considering that a lot of the information I need to share is quite complicated. I<br />
want to make my presentation informative yet enjoyable. I intend to get my audience involved by using white boards and<br />
asking questions. I am still considering whether to make small handouts to give to the audience so that they can do some<br />
further reading on the subject if they are interested. My target date for the presentation is in about three weeks. Before<br />
then I hope to perform a practice presentation so that I can identify any areas of weakness that I may need to develop<br />
before the real thing.<br />
Your supervisor’s main comments and advice at this stage<br />
My supervisor has been very helpful and is pleased with my progress so far. She was the one who suggested that I<br />
practice my presentation before the real thing as she thinks it will help me to perform better on the day. She also helped<br />
me to get in contact with the ethicist who has agreed to come to my presentation. I have yet to discuss with her whether<br />
she thinks that the handouts at the end of the presentation are a good idea as it is something I have just recently thought<br />
of. After speaking to my supervisor about some of the questions that cropped up when I talked about my extended project<br />
at an interview, we both agreed that I should research these areas more and include them in my report. We also decided<br />
that as my report covers a large amount of information it would be best to select the main aspects of my research and<br />
concentrate on these in the presentation as I will not have enough time to cover everything in detail.<br />
Changes, clarifications or additions you have made as a result of your discussion with your supervisor at this stage<br />
One of the additions I have made to my presentation is to include information about the founder effect in my report as this<br />
is something that I was questioned on at an interview. I have done this as I think it is relevant to my explanations on why<br />
recessive gene disorders become more common through first cousin marriage. I have also decided to look into two<br />
recessive gene disorders more closely to use as case studies. I think this will be useful for the members of my audience<br />
who may not have an understanding of the diseases I have mentioned in other parts of the report.<br />
Supervisor signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 12 of 18
End-of-project review<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate. This page records the (near) completion of your project product.<br />
Outline the successes, failures, additions and/or changes you made as you followed the plan in your mid-project review<br />
I did not need to make a lot of changes after my mid-project review as by this time my other commitments had calmed<br />
down so I could devote my time to the project. After the first draft of my report I had a few changes to make. Firstly, I had<br />
not finished my referencing, which is obviously an extremely important part of my report, so this had to be done. My tutor<br />
also thought that I should add another section to my report to inform the reader about the future of first cousin marriage,<br />
and what could be done to solve this increasing problem. I did this as I too thought it would be a valuable addition. I was<br />
really pleased with my finished report as I thought it reflected the time and effort I had put into my research. I continued to<br />
prepare for my presentation also. I decided not to create handouts for my audience but instead to put more effort into<br />
producing a detailed presentation and practicising it. I tried to keep the information on the slides of my presentation to a<br />
minimum and to just used them as a que to explain everything verbally.<br />
Outline any additional advice or comment that you received from your supervisor during this final stage<br />
After handing in the second draft of my report, my supervisor picked up on a few grammatical errors and referencing<br />
errors but apart from that she thought my report was really good. I corrected these errors and have now handed in my<br />
final report. By practicing my presentation with my tutor I made quite a few changes. These are explained in 'Presentation<br />
record part A'.<br />
Changes, clarifications or additions you made as a result of discussion with your supervisor in this final stage<br />
See above.<br />
Supervisor signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 13 of 18
Summary<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate. This page records the nature of your project product (abstract).<br />
Outline (50 – 150 words) the nature of your final product, its main content and your conclusion<br />
My final product was in the form of a report. I tried to report on all issues surrounding my project title “What are the<br />
scientific, ethical and economic implications of consanguineous first cousin marriages in the UK?” however I mostly<br />
focused on the scientific (genetic) and ethical implications. In addition, I have discussed the origins of first cousin<br />
marriage, UK Law, the views of a variety of religious groups on the subject, arguments for and against these marriages<br />
and what the future holds for first cousin marriage. I have concluded that I think first cousin marriage is an issue that<br />
needs to be addressed however controversial. Something needs to be put in place to stop first cousins reproducing,<br />
whether it be a law forbidding it or mandatory genetic screening to detect an individual couple's risk. I believe the risk of<br />
offspring developing a recessive gene disorder has too severe consequences for us to allow these relationships to<br />
continue.<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 14 of 18
Presentation record part A<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate. This page records your presentation and its preparation.<br />
Planned nature of your presentation (e.g. timing, audience, use of visual aids, slides, use of notes, etc.)<br />
I have decided to use Microsoft Powerpoint to produce my presentation. This will be used more as a support and visual<br />
aid rather than the base of my presentation. I am going to have a slide for each section I talk about that will just contain a<br />
bullet point summary of what I am saying and relevant images. I am also going to use this to display some maps that I<br />
want to refer to during my presentation. Although I originally wanted to present to an ethics group this wasn't possible so I<br />
decided to personally invite friends and tutors to watch. This wasn't ideal as I would have prefered an audience with a<br />
better knowledge of Biology so that it would be easier to explain the genetics. I invited about ten people in total but<br />
unfortunately only six people could make it. I had invited my Assistant Headteacher who is also an ethicist but<br />
unfortunately he could not attend either. I still had a specialist though as I invited one of my tutors who had studied<br />
genetics. My presentation was to be about fifteen minutes long with a five minute question and answer session at the<br />
end. I made my presentation up from information I had gathered and my report. I used whiteboards to involve my<br />
audience.<br />
Briefly list the main content of your presentation<br />
I started my presentation by introducing why I had chosen this topic to look into and why it is so controversial. Next, I<br />
explained the UK law and the rules outlined by the key religions present here. I asked the audience to write down on their<br />
whiteboards which religions they thought would allow first cousin marriage and which religions they thought forbid it. I did<br />
this before I explained to them the facts. I next did a short introduction to genetics as I was aware that not every member<br />
of my audience had studied Biology to A-level so I was concious that they could beocme confused later on if I didn't do<br />
this. After I was confident my audience understood the basics I moved on to talk in more detail about how recessive gene<br />
disorders are inherited and why the risk increases the closer relatives the parents are. I answered the question of why<br />
recessive gene disorders are not a big issue in Pakistan by explaining "The Founder Effect". After the genetics had been<br />
covered I began to talk about the reasons given for and against first cousin marriage. I tried to relate back to news articles<br />
I had read during this. I finally concluded by giving a number of options for how this problem can be solved and the<br />
problems associated with each. After finishing my presenation I opened up for questions.<br />
Changes, clarifications or additions you made as a result of rehearsal and/or discussion with your supervisor<br />
I did two rehearsal presentations. In the first presentation the big issue was timing! In the time we had to practice I only<br />
managed to get through half of my presentation. My supervisor though that my slides were good but that I needed to be<br />
more concise in what I said and speed up the pace somewhat. She thought that I especially needed to spend less time<br />
discussing the religions as this was only background information and did not answer my project title. She suggested that I<br />
create a slide for each religion briefly summarising their rules on marriage. I decided not to do this as I thought this could<br />
infact take even longer if I had to allow sufficient time for my audience to absorb what was on the slide. I did however cut<br />
down significantly the amount of information I would give on the rules of each religion. Another suggestion I was given<br />
was to be put the two maps I was comparing on the same slide. Unfortunately this was not possible as it distorted the<br />
images and made them hard to interpret. Also relating to the graphs, my supervisor thought that I should point out that<br />
there were some anomolies to the trend such as Spain and Italy. Spain and Italy are traditionally Catholic countries but<br />
have about 10% cousin marriage. I had also made a mistake in thinking that Henry VIII had married his first cousin which<br />
was luckily picked up by my supervisor. After some more research I found that he did marry his cousin but not his first<br />
cousin. The final point made during my first rehearsal presentation was that I should use ready made inheritance<br />
diagrams. My supervisor said that "whilst the hand-drawn diagrams is a nice touch, I still think a pre-prepared pp image<br />
could speed things up considerably". I took this advice on board and created an extra slide containing a pre-prepared<br />
inheritance diagram. At home, after doing more practices by myself, I decided to make some cue cards to prompt me just<br />
in case nerves got the better of me and to ensure I stuck to the key points to maintain time.<br />
In the second rehearsal I was not really given many changes to make. My supervisor just suggested that I made clear<br />
that I was using the word "inbreeding" as a genetic term and not in a derogatory way. She also said that I should state<br />
that for first cousin marriages there is a lower number of "reported" domestic abuse cases.<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 15 of 18
Presentation record part B<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the supervisor. Record and comment below on the delivery of the presentation (specification 2.5.1 presentation)<br />
The nature of the audience (include<br />
numbers of staff, students and<br />
others present)<br />
Supervisor’s record / comments<br />
The nature of the presentation<br />
(include use of notes, use of display<br />
items, and use of presentation<br />
software)<br />
Comment on the content and<br />
delivery of the presentation<br />
Comment on the response of the<br />
candidate to questions that<br />
demonstrated understanding and<br />
grasp of the project and/or its<br />
production (give examples where<br />
appropriate).<br />
Outline the nature of any additional<br />
presentation evidence that the<br />
candidate might add (e.g. speaker<br />
notes, handouts, presentation<br />
slides, recording).<br />
Supervisor signature<br />
Date<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 16 of 18
Reflection<br />
Candidate’s full name<br />
Candidate number<br />
BETHANY ROSE DOBBIN 2260<br />
To be completed by the candidate. This page records your own evaluation when you have completed your project product and given<br />
your presentation.<br />
Briefly summarise your main learning from completing this project. You might include new knowledge or expertise that you enjoy or find<br />
valuable, a consideration of your planning and organisation, changes you would make if you undertook such work again, advice you<br />
would give to others undertaking such a project.<br />
I have found the Extended Project Qualification to be an interesting and engaging addition to my A-level studies. Having<br />
the freedom to research in depth an area of interest has encouraged me to expand myself to look more deeply into<br />
Biology taught at A-level and think critically about ethical dilemmas. It has forced me to look outside my subject areas and<br />
broaden my general knowledge, for example by looking into different religions and their views on first cousin marriage. It<br />
has been refreshing to control my own learning and steer it towards a subject I find entralling.<br />
I was pleased to find that the skills I had aquired when studying for the DiDA ICT qualification in Year 11 were of great<br />
use to me and easily transferred to this project. During DiDA I had three seperate projects to complete so was already<br />
used to organising my time. I was able to produce a detailed project plan using a similar format to that which I had used in<br />
Year 11, adapting it slightly to meet the needs of my project. These skills benefitted me greatly as they allowed me to get<br />
straight into the content of the project rather than having to worry about the organisational side of the project.<br />
Although I had gained organisational skills in DiDA, I had never before produced a detailed report as was expected of me<br />
in this project. In fact, I had never done any piece of writing longer than about 2000 words. I found this quite difficult<br />
especially as I had not been required to do an extended piece of writing since GCSE so had lost touch a little with the<br />
technique. I think I was very naive to think that it was the sort of document that could be completed in one session. The<br />
report itself took me almost the whole of February half-term to complete.<br />
I think through completing this project I have become much more open-minded to the opinion of others and I believe I am<br />
now more empathetic to situations different to mine. In my opinion the development of skills and qualities like these are<br />
much more valuble than any learnt knowledge and will be more beneficial to me next year when I hopefully become a<br />
medical student. In the future as a doctor I will ecounter situations in which I will need to try to understand a person's<br />
beliefs and culture in order to help them in the best possible way and I think this project has enabled me to do this. I have<br />
realised that behaviour can be not only down to religious views but also upbringing and nationality.<br />
Building on the skill I developed in Year 11, I can now effectly produce a detailed plan and now know to always consider<br />
what else will be happening in your life between certain days so as to account for this. Initially I did not plan around<br />
exams and revision which was a definate flaw but it something I will not forget from now on. Two very important skills<br />
learnt that will be vital when studying at university are how to conduct research and how to reference. Before doing the<br />
project I had never done these properly and would not have known what sort of websites can be trusted and which are<br />
less reliable. I have realised that no matter how much research is conducted prior to writing a report, there will be new<br />
information that will come to light and need researching when writing it. With regards to writing a bibliography, I now<br />
realise the importance of recording sources throughout the project and not leaving this until the end as it can be difficult to<br />
find the websites used. Although I did this for most of my sources, there were a few websites that I forgot to list and I<br />
deeply regret this now as it took me a long time to find them at a later date. I am really pleased to now be able to<br />
reference as this means that I will not stuggle to learn at university on top of all my other work. Looking back I would also<br />
have added references to the final report as I went along as it was more of a challenge leaving it all to the end and having<br />
to scan the whole product.<br />
An invaluble asset to my project was having a supervisor to guide me through and give me constuctive critism. Having<br />
someone other than myself to judge each section of the project and suggest changes helped me to get the most out of<br />
the project. Some of the things that my supervisor, Maggie, saw I hadn't thought of but immediately agreed with. I think it<br />
Level 3 Extended project (9990) Candidate record form, production log & assessment record (version 1.1) Page 17 of 18<br />
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is a lot harder to be critical of yourself when you have worked so hard on something and are really proud of. Although<br />
Maggie never suggested anything drastic I think her advice helped me to make my project that little bit better.<br />
If I were to make improvements to my project, the main thing I would suggest would be to use more primary sources.<br />
Although I gather lots of personal opinions from people in the press I never had the opportunity to speak to anyone<br />
directly. I did try to contact numerous MPs and a law and ethics lecturer, Baroness Ruth Deech, they were unable to meet<br />
me due to their busy schedules. I would have loved to have spoken to British Pakistani individuals to ask for their<br />
thoughts on the matter but I didn't know if this would be a good idea due to sensitivity of the topic. I was fearful that I<br />
might offend or upset someone if I did this. I think looking back I could have maybe advertised for individuals to speak<br />
with me so that those interested could approach me, rather than me having to approach them.<br />
In conclusion, I am very pleased with my performance during the project and I am delighted with the finished product. I<br />
can now tackle ethical dilemmas with an open-mind and confidence and can look at an issue from differing points of view.<br />
I have learnt how to conduct research, reference and write an indepth report which are all useful skills I can take with me<br />
to university. I now feel I have a thorough understanding of first cousin marriage, its history, its future and the issues<br />
surrounding it. I understand the UK law on marriage and also which relationships are forbidden in Islam, Christianity,<br />
Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism. If I was to offer any advice to future Extended Project Qualification students it would<br />
be to firstly set out the targets/aims you want to meet by the end of your project and then decide how you are going to do<br />
this. I would also say plan carefully, stick to deadlines that you set yourself and consider all advice given to you by your<br />
supervisor and others. I think these factors make the difference between failing and suceeding. Although the project can<br />
seem very time consuming and the workload daughting at times, it is regarded highly at universities and often referred to<br />
at interview. I actually think that being able to talk about my project in detail and with obvious interest and passion was<br />
what tipped the balance and got me an offer from the University of Oxford, as it demonstated the skills and attitude they<br />
were looking for.<br />
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