Class 02 Prompts
As you read about the eight different stakeholders, did you find yourself identifying or disagreeing with any of the positions? Did your relationship change as you read additional perspectives? Why or why not?
- Just reading the overview of the issue at hand, I was leaning towards siding with the scientists who were operating the GMO research, since I feel like GMOs are more widely accepted today than they were in 2012. What pissed me off about the GMO research was the system of "intellectual property rights and the corresponding privatization of public goods." I think the privatization of what should be publicly available is the scourge of our country and many other countries on earth.
- It's quite possible that the scientists working on the GMO research fully intended their research to be used positively, like to help end world hunger, but it's unfortunately true that anything that can be capitalized on will be, as Easterbrook points out with the Monsanto case.
Thinking about your own research and topic, have you encountered any systems? Any stakeholders? If not, can you imagine a few? [NOTE!] Briefly describe one system that intersects with your research. Share who the stakeholders are within the system, and what their stakes are. (It’s ok to say you’re not sure! Just explain your thinking.)
I have not yet encountered any specific stakeholders, but obviously two large stakeholders would be the engineering firms that design and build bridges and the cities or towns who decide where bridges are needed. Another stakeholder might be environmentalists who are either for or against a bridge.
I found this company called GPI that has an extremely prolific portfolio of bridge work, having done repairs on the Tappan Zee, Williamsburg, and Manhattan bridges. Looking at their press releases, I'm seeing lots of corporate jargon, but also some environmental impact analysis.
Additional findings on research
This is kind of dark, but I've been pretty interested in bridge suicide statistics and prevention. There is a bridge in Scotland called the Overtoun Bridge that is known as the "Dog Suicide Bridge" because of dogs' proclivity to jump off of the bridge. Eyewitness accounts claim that their dogs acted out of character, leading them to believe that there is some paranormal force guiding their dogs off of the bridge.
This Atlas Obscura list has a bunch of haunted bridges that might be interesting to look into as well.
When I’m meeting with Margaret
I haven't met with Margaret yet, but I scheduled a meeting on Monday the 30th. I know this is after the deadline, but it was the earliest day I could schedule. When we meet, I'm planning on maybe talking about folklore related to bridges. I'm also kind of interested in just getting as many statistics that I can (bridge failures, collapses, renovations, etc) just to see if anything jumps out.
