Week 2

My research question brainstorming paper.

1. 3 Accomplishments

   1. This week, with the help of Dr. Stan, we created a practice map on QGIS to test out pluggins, vectors, uploading Excel sheets with tags, and symbology, among other things. At one point, the map crashed, but that was also a practical lesson in the importance of saving. I am unable to upload it below, but here is a screenshot of what it looks like. This map tracks instances of crime in the united states according to subjects tagged in the CWRGM project, accessible at CWRGM.org.

   

   QGIS Map - Practice

   1. Below, you will find my biggest accomplishment this week: the first draft of my research question and its sub components.

      1. "RQ1. To what extent did the African American male population in Mississippi or adjacent states experience homelessness or housing insecurity because of the existing social infrastructure (for housing and financial support for housing)?

         1. RQ1.1. Specifically, how many of these African American men who were labelled as homeless face discrimination for being vagrants under the 1865 and later amended 1866 Mississippi vagrancy law?

         2. RQ1.2. How many of these citizens were enslaved or recently emancipated at the time of their homelessness, and does their status as enslaved affect their ability to receive financial assistance?

         3. RQ1.3. What language did they use to petition for assistance from governors of Mississippi to ameliorate their housing insecure status?

         4. RQ1.4. Is there a region or county where homelessness is more prevalent as a result of a high population of enslaved people or formerly enslaved people?"

   2. Among our many workshops included one on AI and machine learning (ML). Below you will find an AI I trained to recognize my movements. One of the classes was me without an orange, and the second was me with an orange. The AI is supposed to discern me with vs. without an orange, and determine which of the two was in front of the screen through a live feed of my movements. AI like this will, in part, make an appearance in my final project.

tm-my-image-model.zip

Download ZIP • 2.25MB

2. 3 Obstacles

   1. My ankle injury and my inability move quickly and (somewhat) freely will be an inhibition until it heals, but this does not prevent me from doing work stationary.

   2. I am still having difficulty comprehending how AI will have a function in this project, despite understanding how it can have a function in certain projects, but I think this fact will be illuminated in the coming weeks.

   3. With my research question, I ran into slight issues with concision and breadth. Although I know this is a first draft, and I am happy to at the very least have a specific topic, I would like to continue running this question through review until it is near perfection in relation to the scope of this project.

3. 3 Things Learned

   1. I learned how to properly begin to write a research question using acronyms such as FINER, and I learned how to extrapolate a question from my current research.

   2. I learned how to check material out of the library and find online materials on the library catalogue, and successfully organize them. I am using these materials as secondary sources or supplements for the research I am doing with the letters.

   3. Finally, I learned how to navigate the basic components of QGIS: importing a base map, importing sheets, navigating symbology and layers, and other things.

4. What's Next: Project Updates

   1. I began by looking in depth at all letters and putting their locations of origin in order, but next I want to investigate all the names mentioned in the letters in both CWRGM and otherwise.

   2. I also want to read all my current secondary resources and begin my annotated bibliography (with the format given) and literature review.

   3. Next week, I hope to completely finish my introduction which is already well underway.

   4. Finally, I hope I can finally design this website to look slightly less basic!