V.A.S.T. Virginia Academy of Science Team

Website Feasibility II

October 23, 2013

The Team

Mark Ben

Raven Jack Jasmine

Peter

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Project Mentor

•Dr. Christopher J. Osgood

•Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

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Outline

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•Introduction

•History

•Who needs the Virginia Academy of Science

•Why the Virginia Academy of Science

•Problem

•Solution

•Software and Hardware

•Conclusion

Problem

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2

Virginia Academy of Science

•Association of Virginia Biologists was original organization5

•April 26th, 1923 Virginia Academy of Science founded, 123 members5

•Dr. Ivey E. Lewis, first president of the academy

•Majority of members were affiliated with Biology

•Dr. Miller, also known as “Mr. Academy”5

•First Secretary-Treasurer

•Held the position for two decades

•Dr. George W. Jeffers5

•In the 70s he recorded all of the known history

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What is the Virginia Academy of Science ?

7

There are nineteen sections of the Virginia Academy of Science

1. Agriculture, Forestry, and Aquaculture     11.    Education

    2.    Astronomy, Mathematics, and Physics     12.    Statistics

    3.    Microbiology and Molecular Biology     13.    Aeronautical and Aerospace Sciences

    4.    Biology*     14.    Botany

    5.    Chemistry     15.    Environmental Science

    6.    Materials Science     16.    Archaeology

    7.    Biomedical and General Engineering     17.    Computer Science

    8.    Geology     18.    Geography

    9.    Medical Sciences     19.    Natural History and Biodiversity

    10.    Psychology

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What do they do?• Provide grants and awards for members that do research in a scientific

area of study

• Publishes the Virginia Journal of Science

• Provide annual meetings

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Virginia Junior Academy of ScienceWhat is the Virginia Junior Academy of Science?

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● 1941 - Virginia Junior Academy of Science4

● A yearly symposium is held4

○ Awards

○ Scholarships

● Scholarships range from $5,000 - $ 14,0004

Why do we need the Virginia Junior Academy of Science?

•To increase awareness in the fields of science

•To provide an economic boost to Virginia by enticing programs and scientists to setup and work here

•To help give access to Virginia’s colleges and universities to young scientists

Who benefits from The Virginia Academy of Science?

● Students● Grades: 6-12● Undergraduate● Graduate

● Faculty

● Teachers

● Professional

● Businesses / Corporations

● Anyone

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Award offered: Best Student Paper Awards - awarded by certain sections for original student research presented at the annual meeting of VAS

Award offered:J. Shelton Horsley Research Award - the highest honor bestowed by the Virginia Academy of Science for original research

US Trust, Bank of America:Jeffress Memorial Trust - to support basic scientific in chemical, medical or other scientific fields through grants to educational and research institutions

Problem StatementThe Virginia Academy of Science does not effectively promote its cause with the use of publicly available information via the Internet.

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Created from Google Trends

State Academy of Science Comparison

State Academy

Clear Navigation

Social Media Links

Drop Down Menu

Membership Login

Able to browse by topic

Events Calendar

Login on Homepage

Link to PayPal for donations

Footer Navigation

Search Engine

Alabama X     X X     X    

Alaska                    

Arizona X       X X     X  

Arkansas         X          

California X X X X X   X   X X

Colorado X     X X   X X    

Connecticut X       X          

Delaware X       X X        

Florida X X X   X       X  

Georgia X                  

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State Academy of Science Comparison Cont.

State Academy

Clear Navigation

Social Media Links

Drop Down Menu

Membership Login

Able to browse by topic

Events Calendar

Login on Homepage

Link to PayPal for donations

Footer Navigation

Search Engine

Hawaii X X X   X X        

Idaho X X     X X   X    

Illinois X     X X          

Indiana X X X X X         X

Iowa X       X         X

Kansas X                  

Kentucky X     X X X   X    

Louisiana X       X       X  

Maine X X X   X X   X X  

Maryland X X X   X X   X X X

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State Academy of Science Comparison Cont.

State AcademyClear

Navigation

Social Media Links

Drop Down Menu

Membership Login

Able to browse by topic

Events Calendar

Login on Homepage

Link to PayPal for donations

Footer Navigation

Search Engine

Massachusetts

X X X X X X X X X X

Michigan X X X X X     X X  

Minnesota X X   X X X   X X X

Mississippi X X X X X X       X

Missouri X       X          

Montana X   X             X

Nebraska     X X     X      

Nevada   X                

New Hampshire

                   

New Jersey X   X              

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State Academy of Science Comparison Cont.

State Academy

Clear Navigation

Social Media Links

Drop Down Menu

Membership Login

Able to browse by topic

Events Calendar

Login on Homepage

Link to PayPal for donations

Footer Navigation

Search Engine

New Mexico X X                

New York X X X X X       X X

North Carolina X                  

North Dakota X     X X X   X X X

Ohio         X       X X

Oklahoma X X     X          

Oregon X   X   X       X  

Pennsylvania X   X   X X     X  

Rhode Island                    

South Carolina

X     X X X X      

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State Academy of Science Comparison Cont.

State Academy

Clear Navigation

Social Media Links

Drop Down Menu

Membership Login

Able to browse by topic

Events Calendar

Login on Homepage

Link to PayPal for donations

Footer Navigation

Search Engine

South Dakota X       X       X X

Tennessee     X   X          

Texas X   X   X     X X  

Utah X         X        

Vermont X       X       X  

(Current) Virginia

        X          

Washington X   X   X X        

West Virginia X                  

Wisconsin X X X   X X     X  

Wyoming X     X X   X X    

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Comparison Conclusion

Clear Navigation

Social Media Links

Drop Down Menu

Membership Login

Able to browse by

topic

Events Calendar

Login on Homepage

Link to PayPal for donations

Footer Navigation

Search Engine

# of States That Implement This Design: 41 16 19 15 37* 16 6 12 18 12

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* The only design Virginia Academy of Science utilizes on their website

Current Process I (Becoming a Member)

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Current Process II (Document and Journal Storage)

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GoalTo restructure the Virginia Academy of Science

offerings and information to clearly promote

their cause to the targeted audience, while

providing contributors an easier method to

update via a custom content management

system.

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Objectives• Define target audience• Demonstrate specific advantages to said

target audience• Show these benefits in an attractive manner

on the site• Allow interested members to sign up

electronically• Give the option for Virginia Academy of

Science admins to submit member only content

• Simplify content approval and addition process via an updated back-end

• Store pertinent information on a database for retrieval by interested Virginia Academy of Science members

• Create a tiered admin system with varying privileges

User Role Hierarchy

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Solution Process I (Becoming a Member)

Solution Process II (Document and Journal Storage)

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Major Functional Components

Hardware Software● Web Server (Bluehost)

● Database Server

● PHP

● MySQL

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Major Functional Components

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Marketing Strategy

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Objectives

Objectives• Promote the Virginia Academy of Science

effectively through social media• Have up-to-date content• Target specific age groups• Engage our audience• To trial new ideas• Attract and recruit new members• Protect our brand

Content Management System

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• Joomlao An open source that maintains and stores website

content o Easy to update

No technical skills are required

• Used by business corporations, non-profit organizations, educational facilities and more

Solution Problems

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• Maintenance o Updating the website should be straightforward

• Participation is not guaranteedo Will the website attract new users?

• Increased interest also not guaranteedo Are people still interested to this day in learning about

the Virginia Academy of Science?

Summary

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The Virginia Academy of Science does not effectively promote to a targeted audience.

Feasibly corrected with:• Proper content organization• Clean designs• Improved backend system for contributors

References

1. The virginia journal of science. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2013 from http://www.vacadsci.org/vjs.htm

2. The virginia academy of science. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2013 from http://www.vacadsci.org/

3. The constitution of virginia academy of science. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2013 from http://www.vacadsci.org/constitution2.htm#commd11

4. The virginia junior academy of science. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2013 from http://66.147.244.216/~vacadsci/vjas-1.htm

5. Staggers, H. J. (1968). A history of the virginia academy of science. The Virginia Journal of Science, 19(1), 61-83. Retrieved from http://www.vacadsci.org/history1.htm

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