The Extended Essay or EE, will be an exciting journey because of the fact of choosing a topic you are passionate about and writing about if in a lot of words. The topic I have chosen is a world studies EE where my interdisciplinary focus is on DT and ESS. The research question is
How have design principles of Tesla car designs and its fundamental environmental ideology, been so successful in Norway despite the influence of Big Oil and auto manufactures on politics and our society?
I might change the wording a bit, but the idea is that I would need an environmental and design perspective to see why Tesla has been so successful in a country like Norway despite and due to the conflicting perspectives between the oil industries that made Norway prosperous and the environmental values important in Nordic culture.
Reflection 1 (May 1): So today I had a quick catch up on how the EE process is going and the outline as well. Going forward, first steps would have to be to really decide upon the three or four detailed concepts that I will be exploring and delving into and put these concepts in a structured and detailed outline of a plan. So sort of a paragraph by a paragraph of what evidence, topic sentences and analysis/points that I want to add so I have a very clear picture on not only my research but when I start the 1000 words. Other than that, a key thing to remember is to not make too many assumptions (so evidence to back up points), paint the picture clarity of the context and having an equal balance between ESS and DT. It can’t just be ESS and DT side points. So far I do not have any worries but that may change as time goes on. I feel like I have lots of thoughts all whizzing around already, and as I mentioned, the key thing is to focus all this down. My main worry is if I am able to fit everything I want to in the EE all from the case study in Norway and some of my insights on Norway and the rest of the world in terms of EVs, Climate change and even insights on culture, religion, fears and more than critically relate to the world studies issue. Also, since it is a world study extended essay, I need to have a balance between the two subjects. For instance, on the ESS side, I could examine through EVS, politics, pollution, human systems, human resources use, climate change, energy production, atmospheric systems and societies, and lots more topics. On the DT side, I can focus in on green technology, psychological and physiological factors, sustainability in terms of resource management and production, materials, innovation and design, classic design, UCD, markets, commercial production, business and more. My main worry is if I am able to fit everything I want to in the EE and having a balance between DT and ESS.
EE writing day (May 12th): This was a great opportunity to get headway onto my EE where I did a lot in terms of writing more than my first 1000 words, getting the momentum and for the first time visually seeing how my essay will turn out. The difficulty now is that I realise the 4000 words can come quite quickly and what I need is to really focus on the most important aspects of the topic I want to discuss and make sure to cite the sources while having a clear a coherent structure.