Jada Parker
Sun Feb 1
CODES
Reflection 1
My project is centered around a website that will provide resources to the residents of Cahokia heights. My part specifically is to generate a list of government funded agencies that I feel will be most useful to the residents. To ensure that I am providing useful resources or if I feel a revision may be needed due to the ones that I have not meeting certain requirements or have what I think the residents of Cahokia heights may be looking for, I must ask myself a serious of questions such as: how is this agency different from the rest? What makes it stand out? How quick will I receive a response back? Will I even hear back from them? What steps must I take to get what I’m looking for? In order for me to answer these types of questions I must put myself in the shoes of a person that’s from Cahokia heights. Some secondary sources that I need to explore to help bolster my previous research is government documentation, this could be the EPA inspection or the City of Cahokia heights planning records, I can look into news coverage or community responses to look at quotes from residents or officials. As I said before my targeted audience is the people of Cahokia heights and while doing this research I find it very important to put myself in their shoes. If I go in as myself, my research won’t feel as raw and authentic and I won’t feel like I’m reaching and impacting the people of Cahokia heights the way I should be. So when I do my revisions I want to make sure that everything that I’m including is useful to them in some way. I say this because I know that they have done a ton of interviews and surveys before mine and I’m pretty sure I won’t be the last person, but I want my audience to be fulfilled. That’s why I need to be strict on the type of research that I do, the things that I input into this project must matter not only to me but to them as well because the whole point of this is for them.
Reflection 2
My targeted audience is the Cahokia Heights community. Since my main focus is coming up with resources for the residents that are affected by the poor water infrastructure and contamination my stake holders would be the residents. They are the ones who are negatively impacted by these issues. They rely on the water for cooking, drinking, and bathing. They shape my work by influencing which resources are most important to focus on, such as access to clean water, health support, and infrastructure funding. Government agencies like FEMA , the EPA, and HUD, contribute to shaping my research because they provide the programs, funding, and assistance that communities can realistically access. Our research partners would also be our stakeholders because they also are here to assist with coming up with ideas and solutions for the water issues in Cahokia. My goal is to make sure that residents have access to reliable, government funded resources that directly address their current situation, while also presenting the information in a clear and easy to understand way. They help me focus on resources that are realistic, useful, and connected to the community’s needs. Since my stakeholders are the residents of Cahokia , their situations guide which types of government funded agencies I prioritize. Government agencies and public health departments shape my research by setting the standards for water safety and offering programs that Cahokia residents can actually apply for. Overall stakeholders help ensure that my research is not just informative, I also want to connect people to the most relevant and accessible government funded agencies through our website.