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I am a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. I am working on my doctoral dissertation that explores post-disaster ecological imaginary shaped and performed through data practices in post-Fukushima Japan. My project examines how data practices of citizen radiation detection activities construct and reconfigure the understanding and experience of citizen scientists regarding post-Fukushima “Japan” as part of the ecosystem.  For further projects, I am also interested in the sociocultural role of small data in the era of big data and how small data that represent and intervene in environmental issues are intersected and interacted with big data in various domains. 

I am currently participating in the Transnational Disaster STS COVID-19 project and the COVID-19 and Data group as a subgroup of the project above. As a member of these groups, I am unraveling COVID-19 data practices and the relationships among multiple data actors such as the government, research institutions, media, and citizen scientists in Japan. I am also interested in how differently citizen data platforms have been gaining scientific and political authorities in Japan, the U.S., and South Korea during the pandemic.

I am particularly interested in these questions: 

• What do different disciplines and communities involved in COVID-19 response mean by “good data”?

• How do local, national, and global data intersect, interact, and compete with each other? 

• What is shown and what is revealed or disregarded in COVID-19 data produced about different settings (a particular city, region, or country, for example)?

• How are COVID-19 GIS data integrated with other data forms? What is the role of the GIS data in different COVID-19 settings?

• What is the role of civic data as COVID-19 information in comparison to governmental or institutional data?

• What do people expect from data within the COVID-19 pandemic? 

• How is the data circulated for COVID-19 different from data produced in another pandemic period?

I can be contacted at inahk[at]uci.edu.

I uploaded this article because I believe it’s imporatant that groups are coming together to fight the pollution that the port contributes to. I have hopes that the port will one day be modernized and changed so that its footprint is reduced, because Newark could use some upgrading.

I uploaded this artifact because I believe that reparing Newark’s infrastructure is very important, especially since a lot of it’s economy relies on it. Without the repairs, it would lead to bigger problems such as increasing the cost of maintenance for its residents and the companies that use it daily. This decision made me realize that although Newark is struggling in bringing its economy back, its politicians know that maintaining it’s road is the foundation towards recovering from the recession.

This article presents how Newark is taking precautionary measures to help people affected by incoming Hurricane Sandy.  The city of Newark opened JFK Center as a shelter with the help of the Amercian Red Cross. The city also advised business and home owners how to prepare for the storm to avoid minimal damage to their properties. This display of precaution demonstrates how Newark is resilient to incoming storms during hurricane seasons.

This article brings Newark’s water contamination problem up, specifically the amount of lead found in recent studies. Newark’s water was found to have three times the amount of acceptable lead in its tap water, but no specific locations were give as to what places are being affected by this contamination. Newarks Water Department will be required to take actions such as testing public school water supplies, changing lead pipe lines, and maintaining more accurate maintainence schedules and records. By holding people accountable, Newark is changing its vulnerability towards water contamination 

The presented artifact talks about the pollution management in the Passaic River. The water body has been contaminated from previous manufacaturing companies that would dump toxic material into the river. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "two cleanups of the river have been completed." However, the plan on a third cleanup was created in March of 2016. The state is looking into getting residents back to the river through park creation, education and cultural events which I find great, but a concern of mine is what if the water isn't safe enough? These things have to be taken into consideration because human lives are at stake.