About Kate Jang
Hello! I am a rising sophomore interested in the intersection between health, environment, and advocacy. During Laidlaw, I am excited to research the impact of radiation on the Pacific Islands, specifically regarding contamination in local fruit and vegetation of Kiribati island.
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During the first week of the program, I spent much time looking into the history of Kiritimati Island. I discovered testimonies of elders who had seen the bombings first-hand, revealing the horrors and consequences of nuclear testing. The focus of my research has been and remains the people of Kiritimati Island, making sure that their food is not contaminated and safe to consume.
My faculty mentor is helpful as I continue my research, as he has prior experience analyzing nuclear levels in the Marshall Islands. His knowledge of the analysis process and procedure is helpful in defining the objectives of this Kiritimati Island project. Additionally, as my research involved coding a data framework to analyze levels of nuclear contamination, I have found coding tutorial websites and my coding files from previous data analysis projects extremely helpful.
As I approach the one-month mark of the Laidlaw program, my immediate expectations for my research on the MHNY project are to contribute significantly to the digitization and analysis of historical data for Queens. This involves gathering and analyzing census data, georeferencing, digitizing historical streets, and contributing to dataset publications. While I am focusing on 1880 Queens, my work is part of a larger study aimed at expanding our understanding of New York City’s urban development across all five boroughs by the 1940 census. I plan to continue this project, possibly through August/September before the big launch along with one of the RA's who is working on some of our case study stories. Along with my efforts to support the project and understand the street network development, I am curating an open-source annotated reference list on Queens (1850s-1940s) to share for the public to view and contribute to. Lastly, I am trying to participate in my version of a case study that emphasizes town(s) in Queens: Astoria (cultural preservation) & Jamaica (industry and transportation).
My research matters because it explores how demographic shifts and industrial changes have shaped the urban landscapes of Queens. This includes the fact that we directly pinpoint residences and populations in the area to inform on urban planning, and future policies, and understand why certain areas looked and transformed in the ways they look today. Some examples include waves of immigration, changes in mobility, and/or a specific focus on a community. Researchers have already benefitted from Brooklyn & Manhattan and we hope to continue refining these details. I am continuously drawn to this project because it allows me to apply my academic interests in urban studies and sustainability practically, while also learning from a historical lens. I can pick up on GIS to see how reliable and beneficial it is as well as reflect on the nitty gritty visual changes I can trace on maps.
Laila, I admire how you're contributing to the effort to understand New York's boroughs through Queens. I am excited to see what you discover through your case study in Astoria and Jamaica – your research will definitely provide much needed insights into the state we live in.
My research this summer can be seen as the first part of a two-step research process. I am currently recommissioning a food radiation detector and writing a data analysis framework, aspects that will prove important in the next summer. During the second summer of Laidlaw, my group and I will travel to Kiribati in person, collecting radiation measurements in-situ. My other labmates are also working on projects that will all intertwine next summer to provide a complete view of the island, from the radioactive state of the food to elevation levels.At the end of the program, my aim is for a paper/poster about findings on the island.
My research on Kiribati – specifically, Kiritimati Island – matter because there are real, actual people involved. We do not know yet whether these people are consuming radioactive food on a daily basis, rendering this study urgent. Whenever there are implications on real people and real communities, it is undeniable that action has to be taken.
1. One of the main ethical issues in my research involves the use of census records, which historically have not always accurately reflected the entire population, particularly marginalized communities such as Black people. The representation in our data is accurate in that we individually source & compare our findings to ensure our digitization efforts are in real-time. However, to address the lack of knowledge on specific people who were residents of certain NYC boroughs, we are ensuring that our case studies explicitly acknowledge these gaps, highlighting the people and communities who were not captured in the official records (i.e. enumeration districts). Additionally, I am cross-referencing other historical documents and books to fill in these gaps for my personal research goals, aiming for a more inclusive representation of the past.
2. In my research, I have actively considered alternative viewpoints, particularly those from the communities represented in the historical data. I am looking to engage with local historians, archivists, librarians, museums, etc. to incorporate and provide a richer, more nuanced understanding of the demographic and industrial changes in areas like Jamaica, Queens (currently the site I am working on). These perspectives will enrich my research by revealing the lived experiences behind the data, offering a more holistic view of historical urban development. I am eager to explore other methods to support our efforts in making our atlas public for both researchers and the community in a way that has not been done before.
I totally agree that engaging with different voices can only make one's research better, breaking pre-conceived notions and contributing to a more inclusive endeavor. It is amazing how you approach your work with cross-referencing and in-depth research in order to create an accurate, ethical depiction of the past. I look forward to seeing what you discover!
As we prepare for our trip to Kiritimati island, I find it important to remember that there are actual people and communities that will be impacted by the findings of our research. This not only serves as a driving source of motivation, but also raises the question of how we can be sensitive to other communities as we conduct research and in-situ radiation measurements. When our group and mentor traveled to the Kiribati consulate two weeks ago, they noted how the community on Kiritimati island may be concerned by our research (especially as the population is quite small and word travels fast).
Although our current research seems to focus primarily on more technical aspects as of right now, such as developing a data analysis framework for the radiation detector, as next summer approaches, we will have to address the ethical questions that will inevitably arise with conducting fieldwork in an area with a pre-existing community and population.
My project is very niche, I am focusing on the development of abortion rights in specific states within the U.S. At first I felt a little suffocated by the hyper specificity of my research, but I've come to realize that the implications of my research push beyond my specific focus. By studying local activism and how it affects policy reform, I am operating within a larger conversation that concerns international politics, philosophy, human psychology, economics, and history. This has only been emphasized during my discussion with other Laidlaw scholars where I am surprised to find similarities in our research, despite any differing methodologies and disciplines.
Ultimately, I have learned that the best way to pursue interdisciplinary research is to facilitate this kind of discussion. Researchers need to understand the motivation for their research and they need to be able to articulate this, when we can do that we can begin to find shared themes and issues within our work and perhaps share our specialized insights. By facilitating an open and candid space for these conversations, we can drive innovation across all fields.
Evangeline, I totally agree that researchers need to understand the motivation behind their project in order to maximize potential innovation! By approaching challenges with multiple perspectives, there can only be room for more creativity and advancement. Your research sounds amazing, especially how you are planning to apply your topic to diverse areas like psychology and economics. I look forward to seeing what you discover!
I really appreciate how Laidlaw features a cohort with extremely diverse interests and projects, as I now understand how intersectional all of our research really is. When tackling global challenges that may seem scientific at its core –like climate change – it seems equally important to study the human impact of the issue in order to foster empathy and a sense of urgency to address it.
Even in my own research, which aims to measure the radiation in the food of the Pacific Islands, I have had to not only work on purely scientific skills, but also understand the societal impacts of nuclear testing. Recently, my research group went to the Kiribati embassy last week to seek approval and advice on conducting in-person research. Here, I found that my research experience fundamentally intersects with politics, history, and social sciences; as my research will be conducted in an entirely new place next summer alongside a different community, my research can definitely be benefited by the historical knowledge of nuclear testing and its societal impacts.
From this week, my understanding of leadership has morphed into a more multidimensional concept than my previous conceptualizations. I found myself questioning exactly why leadership matters, and in this intrigue, I contemplated several answers ranging from power dynamics to understanding human interactions to applying "leadership" within my life. Overall, listening to others' perspectives and continuously questioning the construction of leadership has allowed me to begin noticing the way I can lead in various contexts, while also remaining true to my values.
For this summer on campus especially, I will apply "leading within" and "leading beside" for establishing my research and working independently but also accepting the feedback from my faculty mentor, personal librarian, and graduate student mentor. Most likely, I will apply all four ways of leading to encourage fellow Laidlaw scholars in their endeavors and also take initiative within my own.
I am most excited to read psychological studies on forgiveness and attempt to understand the way this manifests within Asian American communities (I will narrow down a specific group later on as well). Through this summer research project, I intend to not only analyze the work around forgiveness but also possibly learn more about how my culture shapes my ability to forgive.
I find your considerations on what the meaning of leadership in very interesting, and I agree that constantly reflecting on how leadership is constructed is essential in understanding how to lead in our lives. Your research on forgiveness in Asian American communities sounds fascinating, and I am excited to see what you discover throughout the summer!