Category: Week 1

I have lived in Zimbabwe for my entire life. A country plagued by macroeconomic volatility, corruption, and what can be deemed a human-induced famine, whose consequences have only been exacerbated by the effects of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Through my observations of the disparities between people and their food security, as well as the consequences of poor sustainable management my interest in environmental justice peaked. Given the large intersections between agriculture and mining- Zimbabwe’s largest economic sectors, I hope to deepen my understanding of their shared impacts on the environment. More specifically, through the Digital Scholarship Student Research Fellowship, I hope to deepen my understanding not just of the country, but also gaining the skills and knowledge on the best practices for the digitisation of information, and the processes that improve the accessibility of information.

My research project (in its current iteration) is titled “Sustainable Development: A Concept or Feasible Reality for Zimbabwe”. By researching Zimbabwean Environmental Policy I hope to enrich my understanding of what educated these governmental systems but also how they manifest in Zimbabwean society. Case studies of both urban and rural sustainable development and green architecture will be used to evaluate their applicability within the country, but also help determine how these “foreign” solutions interact with already indigenous practices of environmental stewardship. I hope to view sustainable development as not only a solution to climate change at a global scale but also impactful to individuals at an interpersonal scale through food sovereignty, urban greening, women’s empowerment and the economic opportunities held within the various sectors in Zimbabwe. For example, one of the current environmental problems faced by the country is wetland depletion. Both poor environmental management, infrastructural development, and waste management systems have led to wetland collapse. Despite many individuals’ heavy reliance on this ecosystem for various purposes.

Though I acknowledge that growing up in a low-income country has hindered my access and proficiency with substantial amounts of software, I equally acknowledge how this presents an opportunity for me to grow abundantly throughout the summer. I look forward to potentially applying my interest through this project and improving the accessibility of information that is highly pertinent to Zimbabwe, and the entire African continent today. Helping individuals realise the potential of the country in its ability to progress.

My interest in the Digital Scholarship Summer Research Fellowship initially steamed from my eagerness to conduct research outside of natural sciences, along with the ability to conduct research on a subject I am extremely passionate about. This semester, a new minor in humanities was presented to the student body which is health humanities. I have a strong belief that in order to be successful being a physician, it is important to put both STEM, and humanities requirements on the same level of importance. This also ties along with being a human being coexisting with others. I believe that humanities is critical for coexistence as well. With that being said, other than my interest in pursuing a minor in humanities, I wanted to also conduct my own research about my culture incorporating humanities, while working and learning from others in my group. The Fellowship program fulfilled all of my desires which is what drove me to be interested in applying for it. Digital humanities also opens up a new world for many individuals who have been underrepresented statistically throughout history. With new and improved technologies and methodologies, many minority groups, specifically those who do not reside in America, can no longer be left out. Overall I am grateful to be apart of this amazing opportunity!

My project is based on studying the demographics of Cape Verdeans in America, with both a primary and secondary objective. For some background knowledge, I am a Cape Verdean-American with little knowledge about our history when it comes to demographics. I was born in Boston MA with a large populations of both Cape Verdean-Americans and Cape Verdean immigrants. Throughout my lifetime, I have noticed that whenever I travel out of Boston, and tell locals my ethnicity, they have no idea what Cape Verdeans are. I want to investigate this further and understand why we are primarily located in Massachusetts other than our homeland. With that being said, my primary objective is to understand the current demographics of Cape Verdeans, including gender ratios, age distribution, ethnic backgrounds, and geographic distribution, both within Cape Verde and in the diaspora. My secondary objectives throughout this study is to analyze trends over time in migration patterns, population growth, employment sectors, and educational attainment.

Throughout this amazing fellowship opportunity, I plan on using a humanistic approach to learn more about my culture, as I have already learned many new things about it just in this first week. I also plan on coming out of this with a new perspective on my identity, along with learning more about the backgrounds of my group mates as we are a diverse group of people with many stories to tell. Many tend to generalize black individuals under one category when in reality, we all have unique cultures and stories which differentiate us from on another in beautiful ways. I want to bring light to these statistical disparities, along with the generalizations placed upon black people now through history, specifically Cape Verdeans. I am extremely excited and looking forward to seeing where this opportunity will take me!

I am interested in the Digital Scholarship Student Research Fellowship because being part of this Fellowship provides ample opportunities to interact with students from diverse academic backgrounds on a more personal level and the opportunity to explore topics of mutual and eclectic interest in the presence of cross-disciplinary perspectives. Interacting with other students during the Fellowship will enable me to improve my communication skills, learn new skills from my teammates, improve my creativity, and develop a sense of accountability. Interacting with fellow scholars from different disciplines will strengthen my social skills. Working collaboratively with peer scholars will help me accomplish my research and group goals more quickly than working individually. The first week has been splendid as my interactions with other fellows and the fellowship coordinators have encompassed cheerful banter to informative sessions that have left me expectant and anticipating our meetings.

My project is on Clustered, Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, abbreviated CRISPR. It is a gene editing technique that has revolutionized the field of medicine. I will begin by describing what sickle cell disease entails, its symptoms, and its effects on individuals, families, and friends, followed by a vivid description of CRISPR, how the treatment is administered, and the statistics of its success. The project focuses on the pros, cons, and ethical concerns about gene editing. This project is dear to my heart as in my country, Kenya, many children die young and do not get to reach adulthood as they succumb to the adverse symptoms of this disease. CRISPR technology provides a cure for these children, giving them a fighting chance and an opportunity to grow into adults. CRISPR is, however, very expensive because it is a gene therapy technique that makes it impossible for most sickle cell patients to afford it, and the majority are in the dark about a potential cure for sickle cell. As a fellow, I  will have ample time to delve into the research of how CRISPR  will be made available to the public and its downside, thus the efficacy of CRISPR in treating Sickle Cell Diseases and whether it is feasible for this treatment to be made available to the demographic that mainly needs it, is among the main focuses of the project.

I have learned how to write and post a weekly blog in WordPress. I hope to learn how to narrow my research topic to the scope of questions that I need to answer about my research topic. I look forward to learning about mapping tools, timelines, tableau, and project management tools.