MYP Personal Project

(2020-2021)

Discovering Me
A website exploring my
origins and the factors that led
into shaping my identity as an
adoptee and third culture kid

Student Number: jcl658

Session number: 002730-0049

Date: 21/2/2021

Word Count: 3492

Table of Contents
CRITERION A – INVESTIGATING .......................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION AND DEFINING THE GOAL: .....................................................................................................................................2
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AND SUBJECT SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE: ............................................................................................................2
RESEARCH SKILLS: (SECONDARY RESEARCH) ...............................................................................................................................3
RESEARCH SKILLS: (PRIMARY RESEARCH) ....................................................................................................................................3
CRITERION B – PLANNING ...................................................................................................................................................4
CRITERIA: ......................................................................................................................................................................................4
PLANNING AND RECORDING THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS:............................................................................................................4
DEMONSTRATING SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS: .............................................................................................................................5
AFFECTIVE SKILLS: ........................................................................................................................................................................5
REFLECTIVE SKILLS: ......................................................................................................................................................................5
CRITERION C – TAKING ACTION.......................................................................................................................................6
CREATING A PRODUCT OR OUTCOME IN RESPONSE TO THE GOAL, GLOBAL CONTEXT, AND CRITERIA: ...........................................6
DEMONSTRATING THINKING SKILLS:..............................................................................................................................................7
DEMONSTRATING COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL SKILLS: .............................................................................................................7
CRITERION D – EVALUATING .............................................................................................................................................8
EVALUATING THE PRODUCT/OUTCOME AGAINST THE CRITERIA: ...................................................................................................8
REFLECTING ON HOW COMPLETING THE PROJECT HAS EXTENDED THE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE TOPIC AND
GLOBAL CONTEXT: .........................................................................................................................................................................8
REFLECTING ON THE DEVELOPMENT AS AN IB LEARNER THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT: ..................................................................9
APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................................................................................10
APPENDIX A – RESEARCH PLAN ..................................................................................................................................................10
APPENDIX B - ACTION PLAN ........................................................................................................................................................11
APPENDIX C - CRITERIA ...............................................................................................................................................................12
APPENDIX D - SOURCE EVALUATION ...........................................................................................................................................13
APPENDIX E – DEMONSTRATING SELF-MANAGEMENT/ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS ......................................................................14
APPENDIX F – DEMONSTRATING COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL SKILLS .....................................................................................15
APPENDIX G – DNA TEST ............................................................................................................................................................16
APPENDIX H – WEBSITE MAKING PROCESS ..................................................................................................................................17
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................17
APPENDIX I – PRODUCT EVALUATION .........................................................................................................................................18
APPENDIX J – EVIDENCE OF PERSONAL PROJECT MEETINGS WITH SUPERVISOR AND REFLECTIONS ............................................19
FINAL PRODUCT – DISCOVERING ME, WEBSITE .......................................................................................................20
WORKS CITED ........................................................................................................................................................................21
 Criterion A – Investigating

Introduction and defining the goal:

Identity is an important part of teen development; as a 16-year-old Chinese adoptee and Third Culture
Kid (TCK), this concept is fuzzy due to “undefined” roots and feelings of lacking identity. This inspired my project
as I wanted to find a way to sympathize with others dealing with similar situations and teach others about an
issue that is overlooked. As I began research into this topic (Appendix A), it led me to discover the interest and
eagerness to learn about identity of adoptees from to-be-parents of adopted children, adoptees themselves,
teens dealing with identity crisis etc. therefore, giving purpose/rationale to my project. Through a combination
of personal experiences, factual information, a debate and discussions; the goal was to explore environmental,
economic, social and political factors (SEEP) that contribute to forming the community of Chinese adoptees. I
wanted the final product to be a website with both a blog and information about the topic.
This goal was challenging both psychologically and intellectually as it encouraged me to discover parts of
my past and how it has influenced my identity now. The process of looking through my adoption papers to obtain
dates, researching about the One Child Policy, exploration into my birth culture, ancestors and many more tasks,
was complex yet enlightening. Being able to talk to others with the same experiences, most of whom were older
than me, helped me develop my communication skills and greatly challenged my Spanish speaking abilities, which
is not as fluent as theirs as they were all adoptees based in Spain.
The global context chosen for this project, “Identities and Relationships”, addresses identity of individuals
and human relationships between families, friends’ communities etc. and rights/responsibilities (“LibGuides:
Community Project: Global Context”). Considering this global context, it is evident that the project links to identity
as it explores who I am and where I come from, which is indispensable for “development of an integrated sense
of self” (Evolve). The questionnaire helped me discover that older Chinese adoptees believe that their identity
has been shaped due to both places they grew up in and were born in. Younger adoptees believed it is due to
their place of growth/development. I also explored relationships between the Chinese adoptee community with
society during an identity debate relating to the topic of racism whom many faced because of their difference in
appearance.

Prior Knowledge and subject specific knowledge:

Initially, I had prior knowledge from my ‘adoptive’ parents who have always been extremely open with
talking about this topic thus, resulting to the building of my curiosity. MYP Geography has introduced me to the
One Child Policy, a rule established to control the rapidly growing population, which is a possible political factor
which resulted in my adoption. Art at school has allowed me to cultivate my creativity which has been of immense
help in making my final product. English Literature gave me the skills to be able to write and summarize
information effectively. Last but not least, the Market Research unit in Business and the Statistics in Math aided
me in creating a questionnaire, with a sample size of 20, to collect qualitative data investigating identity through
the eyes of other adoptees.

Research Skills: (Secondary research)

When initially conducting research (Appendix A), I started looking into the One child policy which was
established in 1980 to limit the number of children per couple to one. This led to discovering the horrific
consequences of the policy which included, abandonment of children, infanticide, and long-lasting repercussions
such as the high aging population and gender imbalance due to the preference of having boys over girls. (“One-
Child Policy | Definition & Facts | Britannica”). Curious to learn more about this, I came over a report which
investigated causes for the gender imbalance such as sex-selective technologies, benefits, as women might be
seen now as more valuable, solutions, and information supported with data (Hesketh). I also learnt that boys
were preferred over girls as they carried on the family name and supported the parents in old age. This proved
to be a social factor for Chinese adoptees to be mainly girls as boys were more highly valued by society in China.
To better understand the situation in China, I watched a highly known documentary “The dying rooms”, it was
psychologically/emotionally impacting because of the horrors depicted in orphanages thus initiating international
adoption in China. Willing to learn about adoption in present times, I began searching sources and came across
one which explored adoption in different cultures for example in Middle Eastern culture vs Western culture.
(United Nations, 2009, 23).

Research Skills: (Primary research)

In order to learn about my own place of origin, I did a DNA test to complete research more specific about
my birth culture (23andme) (Appendix G). Primary research was conducted through a short questionnaire to
explore identity through the eyes of adoptees (Appendix F). To ensure the questionnaire was accessed by the
correct individuals, I contacted the organization “ANDENI”, (an adoption organization based in Spain) and asked
them if they could share the link. I collected qualitative data and obtained 20 responses. The questionnaire led
me to identifying an interesting trend where older adoptees considered their birthplace a part of their identity
whilst younger adoptees appeared to not have come to terms with their past. This could have been due to the
difference in maturity between different ages. To expand on this research about identity of an adoptee, I
contacted Irene Rong Gonzalez Nieto, a general health psychologist and Chinese adoptee, through zoom calls. I
ensured she was a reliable source by seeing her professional experiences relating to the topic outlined online on
her profiles. I participated in a debate live on YouTube with her and other adoptees to discuss the topic of identity
(Appendix F). Through this, I was able to gain different perspectives. We discussed negative messages via media
relating to China and how that affects us, how important is adoption in our identity etc. Additionally, to the views
I got on this topic both professional and personal, I most value the sharing of experiences and being able to
enlighten those watching. After investigation into the topic, I researched about creating a website. There were
many things to consider which proved to be very challenging as I had to research about domains, hosts, and
creators. (Appendix H)

Criterion B – Planning

Criteria:
Initially, I created a thorough criteria with an in-depth description to assess my final product, a website
and identified four main aspects that were critical for the products success/quality which included: aesthetics,
content, audience/functionality and coherence/structure (Appendix C). Each description was ranked 1-2 being
limited and 7-8 being significantly above the expectations.
The aesthetics strand mainly focused on the looks of the website such as the color scheme, quality and
number of images, a consistent use of the theme etc. This is an important element to attract attention, ensure
audience engagement and retain visitors.
The content aspect was aimed at the quality of information, how reliable and informative it is. This is
extremely important as information should be relevant to the topic and offer support and knowledge to the
audience therefore sources that are not subjective and/or biased. I created a source evaluation, to identify the
most appropriate sources, which outlined the origin, purpose, value and limitation (OPVL). (Appendix D)
The strand about audience/functionality is how easy it is to use and does it serve its function to the target
audience through the language and style used. Considering this also helps define how the website should be
structured and the overall aesthetics.
Lastly, coherence/structure which relates to the organization of information. This ensured that everything
related to the material before and after. With these criteria as a guide, it has guided me in creating a higher-
quality product.

Planning and recording the development process:

Following the advice provided from last year 11’s, “to start early”, I began collecting information/data
relevant to my project during the summer holidays. Realizing the amount of research to be done, encouraged me
to be consistent and maintain discipline throughout the project. As a guide I used the action plan to set
objectives/milestones for every step (Appendix B). I chose these dates by identifying the official due date and
what had to be done before then. This also allowed me to prioritize tasks thus manage my time. An additional
column was created to do active reflecting on each task, record my development process, and do a brief
evaluation on the process of completing that task. I ensured to have regular meetings to keep my supervisor
updated on my progress/improvements from feedback obtained.

Demonstrating self-management skills:

Though maintaining discipline throughout the project was challenging due to the workload, I used various
strategies and platforms to guide me (Appendix E). The action plan aided me in staying on track, I used the
Managebac to-do list, to ensure all deadlines were met whilst meeting the high expectations set. To keep track
of important deadlines, I used the app reminders synched on all my devices, and set a separate section specialized
for only personal project tasks. This was useful as it often sent me notifications that I still had something pending
and aided me in prioritizing tasks thus, allowing me to balance my time with schoolwork and leisure time. I used
Dropbox to back-up my work and organized my documents by dividing them into subcategories. I ensured that
supervisor meeting was done regularly by setting up meetings, and notes were recorded on Notability to refer
back.

Affective skills:
While doing this project, I was distracted by many things in my work environment and often felt stressed
whilst thinking about the workload. To combat this, I worked on my emotional management by balancing work
with leisure time. Often, I would read articles relating to my topic and other things that interested me for deeper
understanding. An example of this is a report I read written by Therese Hesketh about the consequences of
gender imbalance in China. I found it to be extremely interesting, detailed with a lot of SEEP factors analyzed
(Hesketh). This made completing the project more interesting which helped increase my focus and concentration
hence, becoming more engaged in my work. The organization of the documents and keeping a clean workspace
also helped me stay on task and avoid distractions.

Reflective skills:
Developing my reflective skills has been a key part in the creation of my product. I ensured to reflect on
the development of my project in an additional column of the action plan (Appendix B) which allowed me to
identify the previous “mistakes” to develop new ATL skills and improve. This was done in the “active reflecting”
column on the action plan which also showed my development process. Reflective skills throughout this project
were also very relevant in my process journal in which, much like a diary, I reflected on the obstacles that I
encountered and what I did to overcome them. This was of use in the following tasks as I could look back, identify
my previous strategies and reflect what I could do to achieve a better outcome and be more efficient.

Criterion C – Taking Action

Creating a product or outcome in response to the goal, global context, and criteria:
At the very start of my project, I proposed creating a scrapbook as the product. However, upon reflecting
on the purpose of communication and target audience led me to change my product to a website exploring the
same topic. I concluded this would be the most appropriate means of communication due to my target audience;
adoptees and parents/family of adoptees. Therefore, communication through an online platform better
permitted me to reach my audience worldwide. To develop the website, I went through different stages which
included planning, primary/secondary research, creating a theme/design, and developing the website (Appendix
H).
After vast research about different website creators, hosts and domains, I ended up using wix.com and
set it up to create a theme of casual and easy reading for the general public to make it appear more user friendly.
I was hesitant on the color scheme to choose. Eventually I picked a minimalistic theme with brown and pastel
colors that was maintained consistently throughout. I used high quality images for a more aesthetic look. When
working with primary images, they were taken using a proper camera. On the internet, I looked for photos with
very small pixels for higher quality. Further improvements to the aesthetics of the website were done by including
many visuals varied between galleries, columns, single images etc. This made it more interesting as depending on
the image, the layout changed which enhanced the functions of the site.
The product looked greatly into the global context of identities and relationships, I ensured that the topics
that I wrote about highlighted how these events have shaped people’s identity and the relationships of many
adoptees with society around them, how they feel they fit-in/stand-out.
The next aspect that I developed looked at was the functionality/target audience which ensured that it
was easy to use and that the different pages of the website linked easily to one another in a manner that targeted
a specific audience. A multilingual feature was added to translate the information in English and Spanish. This was
with the aim of reaching more people around the world thus meeting my goal of informing and raising awareness
about an overlooked topic.
Demonstrating thinking skills:
I developed different types of thinking skills including critical and creative thinking skills. Critical thinking
skills were used in terms of the content strand of the criteria, problem solving, being able to organize my ideas,
inquire about what I wanted to learn more about to further enhance my project, prioritizing information, making
inferences to analyze possible SEEP factors relevant to my research, because of the task of discovering the past
is not clear, I sometimes had to relate ideas to come to a conclusion. Thinking skills were also used to overcome
challenges encountered; an example of this was using the multilingual feature effectively on the website creator
which was extremely challenging because not everything could be translated therefore, I had to find ways around
it. To do this, I experimented adding hidden pages that are duplicates of the original page and linking buttons to
transfer from English to Spanish.
Creative thinking skills were used in the aesthetics strand of the criteria when creating the product. I used
the skills gained in Visual Art to create an aesthetic composition using complementary colors so the elements
would match and using my knowledge about positive and negative spaces for a more aesthetic appeal.

Demonstrating communication and social skills:

Communications and social skills where highly relevant in the creation of my product. Especially for
primary research. Examples of this include when creating the questionnaire, sending and receiving emails from
the adoption agency and other relevant individuals, participating in the identity debate and organizing meetings
with my supervisor. (Appendix F)
I developed my communication skills both in English and Spanish as most Chinese adoptees that I
contacted were based in Spain and then their answer had to be translated to English. These skills also became
essential for primary research with psychologist, Irene Gonzalez and the identity debate. (Appendix F)
While developing my project, I was also able to improve my communication and social skills to
communicate more effectively and ensure there is a two-way communication between the person on the other
end of the email and myself. This was found to be a challenging task as well because of time zones, difference in
countries and language and adapting to the new methods of communication due to the COVID restrictions.
 Criterion D – Evaluating

Evaluating the product/outcome against the criteria:

In order to determine the success of my product, it is essential that the work is assessed precisely with
the marking criteria based on the 4 strands: Aesthetics, Content, Audience/Functionality and
Coherence/Structure. Overall, I believe the outcome is successfully meeting the expectations/requirements of
what I aimed for. The website is highly functionable, aesthetically pleasing, informative and organized. Most
importantly, it serves its original intended purpose. In order to conclude the final grade, I evaluated my work and
conducted a short simple questionnaire to gain various unbiased perspectives. (8 responses) (Appendix I)
Overall, I would consider my website to be within a 6-7 as it effectively combines both personal
experiences, informative content and visual elements to address the topic. I would consider the websites greatest
strength to be the aesthetics and organization. If were to complete a similar project; I would work towards better
specifying the target audience to teens in the process of discovering their identity as I currently talk about both
‘TCK’s’ and adoptees which could be misleading as to which community I am targeting. In regard to the content,
the website successfully provides in-depth information presented differently through survey results, video from
the identity debate, blogs, informative writing etc. To maintain the interest of the reader, new blog posts are
posted and updated continuously to retain visitors. As an improvement, I should have posted weekly starting
earlier on which could have helped me reach more people around the world, hence, better raise awareness about
the topic and fulfill the project goal entirely. I also feel that I could have looked into identity of adoptees through
a more professional psychological perspective by communicating further with Irene Gonzalez, the psychologist.
This could have also helped increase the credibility of my website. In terms of functionality, I could the website’s
multilingual feature could have been in other languages other than just English and Spanish. This would ensure
the site is seen by more people and be of more use. However, if I were to do this, I would also have to ensure
that it is translated correctly by perhaps verifying the translation with native speakers of the language.

Reflecting on how completing the project has extended the knowledge and understanding of the topic
and global context:
This project has greatly helped me to understand more about ‘who I am’. My interest in discovering my
identity has allowed me to share these experiences and offer support to adoptees, teens etc. to overcome their
insecurities throughout their identity crisis. I have been able to expand my knowledge on topics such as the one
child policy and look at its consequences in a more in-depth manner.
The project has also aided me in understanding more about the global context, identities and
relationships, which is the one I thought best suited my project from the very beginning as it has allowed me to
learn more about myself, my past and what factors have influenced my identity. I have created a product that
can possibly help others that might be going through similar situations to get through their ‘identity crisis’ and
have provided useful information for people who might consider adopting. I have learnt in regard to the global
context, more about the insecurities that other adoptees sometimes feel which has helped me in creating more
relationships with other individuals going through the same situation to help discover my own identity better.
The relationships I have managed to create can be seen through the debate that I took part in about identity with
other adoptees. I learnt a lot from them, and I was able to give them my own perspective in a few matters. I have
gained knowledge about who we are as a community of adoptees and the challenges that we share, how racism
can be a recurring problem, social stigmas about adoptees etc.

Reflecting on the development as an IB learner throughout the project:

At the start of this project, I went in unaware of the vast knowledge I would obtain and after completing
it, I have not only obtained this but also experiences and new skills. The main IB learner profiles I acquired are
risk-taker, communicator, and thinker. I have been a risk taker when doing the identity debate as public
speaking/communication is not my strong suite therefore it really pushed me out of my comfort zone. This helped
me develop my communication skills as I exposed myself and my opinions to others through my final product,
the website, and the debate.
Throughout the project I also had to conduct a lot of research and meanwhile, I encountered many issues
that I overcame by using thinking skills. Some of these issues included problems with the multilingual feature as
midway I realized the blog could not be translated, however I quickly managed to find a way around this. Research
and thinking skills were also used in depth when making important decisions about the DNA test, I was going to
take, the website creator I was going to use, the domain name and webhost. This involved a lot of research about
things I had never learnt before with creating a website. It gave me a highly challenging goal to work towards and
I learnt important skills about website building that I can carry on to the future as transferable skills such as using
SEO tools (Search engine optimization) etc. take over. This also tested my work ethic and time management skills
to remain focused in order to finish for the due date despite the challenges faced.
In conclusion, I developed more skills than I initially thought I would. It resulted to be way more
challenging task however, in a positive way that developed my understanding of the topic, unresolved questions
and skills that helped me develop as an IB learner and person.
 Appendices

Appendix A – Research Plan

Question Answer Type of
source/Citation
Investigating causes for adoption
What is the A rule that was established in China to control the rapid increase of the population by limiting the number of children families could have to one. Secondary - (“One-
One child It was implemented in 1980 by the Chinese government. Previously, there was a voluntary program set in place in the late 1970’s to encourage Child Policy | Definition
policy? families using incentives to only have one child. However, population kept increasing and by 1980, the one child policy was officially established, & Facts | Britannica”)
and every family was expected to abide by the strict rules.
There were however some exceptions such as parents with ethnic minority groups, or those whose first child was handicapped. In this case families
were allowed a second child. The enforcement of this policy varied between different communities. In some they were more lenient than in others
where there were stronger measures set in place such as forced abortions and sterilizations.
What were Because of the one child policy, there was an increase in the number of children that were put up for adoption, infanticide, abandonment. The Secondary - (Deutsche
the one child policy also contributed to China’s current gender imbalance due to social factors that included the preference of male children over Welle (www.dw.com)
consequence females. This population also consists of a high number of elderly people due to the sudden drop in births and increase in longevity. Many
s of the one Children were also hidden and unreported from authorities which led to them finding it harder to obtain an education and employment. Secondary - (“One-
child Child Policy | Definition
policy? & Facts | Britannica”)
Reasons for The gender imbalance in China has been a consequence of families having preference of boys rather than girls as they are the ones that can carry Secondary - (Hesketh)
the Gender on the family line as women are “married out” to join their husbands and can take care of their own parents in their old age. This preference for
imbalance in boys has led to an uneven ratio between boys and girls which results in males not able to find partners and eventually have a family in a culture Secondary - (Branigan)
China and that gives high importance to this. For the girls, some families commit infanticide which is the killing of newborn or abandonment/given up for
how this has adoption. Further consequences that are predicted is increase sexual violence, social instability, and higher crime rates. Throughout the past few
affected the years, the gender gap between males and females has continued to increase as ultrasound scans has allowed families to identify a baby’s gender
country? which leads to sex selective abortion.
What are the A couple that wishes to adopt must go through several different processes, these include: Identifying the country to adopt from, look for an Primary - Eva Ramos –
processes organization that is specialized in the country of adoption, understanding the implications of adoption, seek a psychologist authorized to do an Mother of adoptee
you have to analysis for adoption, social worker comes to see the living conditions of the couple, autonomous government gives stamp of approval, files are Secondary - (ANDENI)
go through sent to country, baby is assigned to family, medical information is obtained about the child, the child is picked up with birth register and
to adopt? passport. After all these processes, social worker comes and checks on you after around 6 months.
Exploring Identity issues
How do With 20 responses obtained ranging from individuals adopted between the years 1997 to 2005, exactly 75% of the sample responded that they Primary
other have been interested in discovering their birth origin. From these 20 individuals, 55% answered that they consider their identity to be formed due
adoptees to both where they were born and where they grew up. The other 45% considered their identity to be purely based on where they grew up.
feel about A trend can be suggested from this data in which there is a correlation between the age of the adoptee and their feelings about their identity. It can
their be seen that most older individuals who have passed their teenage years have voted that their identity is due to both “nurture” and “nature”.
identity? Meanwhile, younger candidates, voted that their identity is only due to the place in which they grew up in. This raises the question of “Are older
and mature adoptees more accepting of their birth culture than younger adoptees?”
What Questions debated: Primary – Identity
identity Is the country-of-origin part of an adoptee’s identity?? Besides political, environmental, economic and social factors, the identity of an adoptee debate
conflicts has been a consequence of various different factors that vary between individuals. Older adoptees feel a strong connection to their place of birth Secondary - Generation
might which is prevalent in their lives and which they feel is engraved in their identity. However, some have a positive mindset about this whilst others Mei Ming documentary
adoptees neglect this part of their past life. Do negative messages transmitted through social media about the country of origin of an adoptee influence
face? their identity. E.g., Denying their country of origin because of reputation? Most responded that they do not feel personally attacked as they do
not associate their nationality with that of China. However, adoptees themselves might experience some sort of racism or social exclusion
because of these negative messages.
Do adoptees preserve their biological name as a middle name? If so, how do they feel about this? In the debate, many adoptees preserved their
given name by the orphanage whilst some appreciated that their adoptive parents kept this part of their name, others felt social pressure, racism,
name calling etc. due to having a Chinese name in a European country. It was discussed that being called by the Chinese name from a young age
facilitated growing up with that name and not neglecting it however, when an adoptee does not identify with that name because they have never
used it, they end up disliking it.

Culture
What is my 100% Chinese and South East Asian Secondary - (23andme)
DNA - 72.7% Chinese
composition - 23.7% Chinese Dai
? - 1.3% Vietnamese
- 2.3% Broadly Chinese and South East Asian
What does it Third culture kids, a term that is used to describe individuals who were raised in a culture different to the ones of their parents’ or their country Secondary - (Mayberry)
mean to be a of Nationality and also live in a different environment during an important part of their development years as a child.
third culture Individuals that have lived in various places throughout their lives might experience feelings of rootlessness, anxiety, stress etc due to their
kid and how inability to have one place which they can call “home”. “Home is everywhere and nowhere”, (Mayberry). This quote shows how many of the
do they feel problems faced by third culture kids comes within their concept of “home” as they have grown outside their culture. This can have many impacts
about their on the individual’s sense of self and identity as they are not able to place themselves anywhere.
identity?
Creating the product
How to To create a website, you need to do a variety of things. You need a webhost, domain name, website creator. The domain name is composed of Secondary - (“What Is a
create a two elements, the name of the website and then the extension. Example: .com/.blog/.org etc. I you want to have your own domain name that is Domain Name?
website personalized, you have to buy one. A web host is the platform through which the website is accessible to the rest of the world. Finally, the Domains Explained for
website creator is the platform that allows you to create the website. Beginners”)
What is the The domain name is different to the webhost, the domain name is a link to the website that consists of the website name and an extension. In
difference order to get a customized domain, you have to pay a certain amount every year which depends on the domain name that is picked and the
between the extension. Customized domains make websites look more professional instead of having the name of the website creator.
domain and The web host is the platform through which the website is available to be accessed world-wide and seen on different search sites such as google,
host in yahoo etc.
website
creating?
 Appendix B - Action Plan
Objective/Action Priority Deadline Start date End date Duration Status Active Reflecting
Key: Extended the task, Issues completing the task, Made changes
Brainstorming/Initial stage
Brainstorm possible ideas for
Medium 29/4/20 21/4/20 26/4/20 5 days Done Created a mind map to identify my interests
the project
Decide final idea and link to
Medium 30/4/20 26/4/20 27/4/20 1 day Done I made changes to the initial final idea
Global context
Brainstorms final products Medium 30/4/20 21/4/20 28/4/20 7 days Done I decided that I was going to create a website
Complete circular inquiry map High 30/4/20 22/4/20 27/4/20 5 days Done Used template provided and made a concise
Submit personal project idea High 10/5/20 9/5/20 10/5/20 1 day Done explanation about the why it relates.
I created a grading criterion to assess the
Create grading criterion High 31/8/20 2/7/20 24/8/20 53 days Done success of my project
Criterion A – Investigating
There were many pros and cons for each one,
Research DNA tests High 5/7/20 31/6/20 4/7/20 4 days Done so it was a challenging task
Identify which test to take and I had to change the chosen DNA test as it was
High 6/7/20 5/7/20 6/7/20 1 day Done
order it online not available
Identified main questions to help with the
Email to “ANDENI” Low 12/7/20 11/7/20 11/7/20 Same day Done email
Look through important
Time consuming because of the large number
documents in the adoption Low 12/7/20 5/7/20 5/7/20 Same day Done of documents
folder
Do DNA test and send it out to DNA is collected from a saliva sample which
High 28/7/20 28/7/20 28/7/20 Same day Done
obtain results then has to be sent back to a laboratory.

Complete research about the Used the information to analyze the

High 14/7/20 10/7/20 13/7/20 3 days Done
one child policy consequences it had on the country
Researching adoptees feeling about their
Create a survey Medium 13/10/20 9/10/20 10/10/20 1 day Done possible lack of identity.
I completed all research to put it in the final
Complete all research High 30/8/20 5/7/20 25/8/20 51 days Done product.
Finish Criterion A draft essay High 15/10/20 6/10/20 14/10/20 8 days Done
Criterion B – Planning and Designing
Identified main pieces of information needed
Create outline for website Medium 7/7/20 4/7/20 5/7/20 1 day Done for the website.
Brainstorming ideas for the Looked at existing websites to refer to. Drew
Low 9/7/20 5/7/20 5/7/20 Same day Done
theme/overall design an outline.
Finish Criterion B draft essay High 5/10/20 28/8/20 4/10/20 7 days Done
Criterion C – Creating the product
Purchase webhosting and
Medium 21/11/20 17/11/20 20/11/20 3 days Done
domain The homepage includes a lot of elements that
19/11/20 relate to the topic and that are relevant.
Make a creative homepage Medium 21/11/20 23/11/20 2 days Done
23/11/20
I put both secondary and primary information
and added blog entries. I also planned the
Insert base information High 4/12/20 22/11/20 4/12/20 13 days Done following pieces of information that can be
implemented later on.
I worked on the multilanguage feature and
Do the finishing touches of the proofread everything. I encountered some
Medium 1/9/20 8/1/21 10/1/21 2 days Done
product complications as the blog could not be easily
translated.
Finish Criterion C draft essay High 6/12/20 2/12/20 6/12/21 4 days Done
Criterion D – Reflecting and Evaluating the outcome
Create a form to evaluate the By using google forms I was able to obtain
Medium 15/1/21 1/2/21 2/2/21 1 day Done
success of the website unbiased views about my final product.
Finish Criterion D draft essay High 17/1/21 12/1/21 17/1/21 5 days Done
Bibliography/Citations
I used a MLA 8 guide provided on
Do MLA 8 citations Medium 18/2/21 2/2/21 4/2/21 2 days Done
Managebac to do this.
Analyze sources using OPVL High 18/2/21 6/2/21 8/2/21 2 days Done
Final Report
This was done through a virtual exhibition
Prepare for exhibition High February February February Same day Done
which was overall successful.
Done I looked through and addressed my feedback
provided by my supervisor. I had to cut down
Structure/re-draft the report High 18/2/21 17/1/21 20/2/21 34 days words and make it more specific to match the
grading criteria for a high-quality report. It was
very time consuming but overall, I am proud of
18/2/21 the end result.
Submit Final report High 21/2/21 21/2/21 Same day Done
21/2/21
 Appendix C - Criteria
Goal To create a website investigating the factors that contributed to my identity as an adoptee and third culture kid.
Global Context Identities and Relationships
Level Aesthetics
0 The product does not meet any of The product does not meet any of The product does not meet any of The product does not meet any of
Unacceptable the specifications mentioned
below
i. The website is not appealing
1-2 with only 1-2 images of poor
Limited quality overall.
ii. The website has a very limited
(10-25%) use of elements
matching the theme.
iii. The website contains only 1-2
different colors that are not at
all consistently used
throughout
i. The website has a satisfactory
3-4 appeal to it with around 2
Satisfactory images of poor to medium
quality overall.
ii. The website has about 40
percent of elements matching
the theme.
iii. The website contains around
3-4 different colors that are
rarely consistently used
throughout.
i. The website shows an
5-6 appealing display with at least
Substantial 10 images of medium to high
quality overall.
ii. 70 percent of the website uses
elements that consistently
match the theme.
iii. The website contains around
5-6 different colors that are
somewhat consistently used
throughout.
i. The homepage of the website
7-8 is demonstrating a consistent
Significantly excellent use of at least 5
Above high-quality images which are
laid out carefully to create an
excellent composition.
ii. At least 90-95 percent of the
website uses elements that
consistently match the theme.
iii. The website contains a variety
of colors that are consistently
used throughout in an artistic
way.
Content
the specifications mentioned
below
i. The website states a very
limited amount of information
about the economic,
environmental, social and
political factors (SEEP).
ii. The website provides little to
no information about the
processes of adoption and
DNA testing.
i. The website states a
satisfactory amount of
information about the
economic, environmental,
social and political factors
(SEEP) and they are briefly
analyzed.
ii. The website provides an
acceptable amount of
information about the process
of adoption and DNA testing
as well as own personal
experiences.
i. The website discusses a
significant amount of
information that is relevant
and from recognized sources
about the factors contributing
to adoption.
ii. The website provides a good
amount of information about
the processes and personal
experiences with DNA testing
and adoption processes.
i. The website thoroughly
examines a great amount of
information that is highly
relevant and from recognized
sources about the factors
contributing to adoption.
ii. The website provides an in-
depth analysis into the
processes and personal
experiences with DNA testing
and adoption processes as
well as research about third
culture children.
Audience/functionality
the specifications mentioned
below
i. The website has an unclear
target audience which shows
hardly any engagement with
the intended audience.
ii. Only about 20-40 percent of
the language and style used is
targeted towards the
appropriate audience.
iii. The website is difficult to
navigate through therefore
does not make it easy to use.
i. The website somewhat targets
the intended audience of
people with the interest of
adoption and the social
culture of the country (ages
³13) and has elements that
helps engage the audience
ii. There is an acceptable amount
(40-60%) of language and style
that is used to target towards
the specific audience.
i. The target audience of the
website is identified as there is
in-depth information that is of
interest to people wanting to
find out about the culture of
china, adoption, DNA testing
etc.
ii. There is a good amount
(>70%) of language and style
that is used to target the
intended audience. (ages
³13).
iii. The website has a multilingual
language feature and is
somewhat functional.
i. The target audience of the
website is clearly identified
through the information
provided that is of interest to
the intended audience.
ii. The language and style used
on the website remains
consistent throughout (>95%)
to match the intended target
audience (ages ³13).
iii. The website has a multilingual
language feature and is easy
to use.
Coherence/Structure
the specifications mentioned below
i. The information hardly follows
the specific structure of
providing information and
personal experiences in an
orderly manner and therefore,
difficult to follow along.
ii. Only a very limited (<20%)
number of sections include a
heading that states what is going
to be covered.
iii. The pages in the website are
rarely (10-20%) structured and
therefore the information is
mixed and un-ordered.
i. There is an adequate amount of
information that follows a
specific structure of information
and personal experiences which
make the website more
interesting to the viewer.
ii. There is a substantial (>20% -
60%) number of sections that
include a heading that states the
information that will be
provided in the section.
iii. A satisfactory number of pages
are organized in a specific
structure which shows
coherence.
i. The information is mostly
consistent (>60%) in the
structure of having a mix of
personal experiences and
information set in a blog like
format.
ii. Almost all sections include
headings that are clear and
concise providing more than
adequate information about the
topics to be covered.
iii. A significant number of pages
are organized which makes it
easier to follow.
i. >85% of the information is
consistent in the structure which
helps make the website more
interesting for the reader.
ii. All (100%) sections contain
headings that are clear and
concise which help provide
information to the reader about
the topic being covered.
iii. >95% of pages are organized
into a chapter like structure
which makes it easier for the
reader to understand and
follow.
 Appendix D - Source Evaluation
Source Origin
(One- A scholarly online article written
Child by Kenneth Pletcher a senior
Policy) editor for Encyclopedia
Britannica. It is a form of
Secondary research that was first
published in 2010 and recently
updated in 2020.
(Child It is a report written as a
adoption: secondary source by the United
trends Nations. The source is credible as
and it was written by a world known
policies) organization whose credentials
can be verified online.
(YouTube) A debate exploring the identity of
Debate – international adoptees. A primary
“Who am source of information which was
?” live on YouTube of the 6th of
February 2021.
(Hesketh) A report written, secondary
source, by Therese Hesketh. The
authors credentials are shown on
the report. She has worked with
the non-governmental and
United Nations organizations in
China, Indonesia, Cambodia and
Laos.
(23andme 23andme is an accredited
) DNA test American company founded in
2006. It provides individuals with
DNA tests to discover more about
their genetic composition and
possibly discover about their
ancestry as well as providing
health reports.
(Google The survey is a form of primary
forms) research through a
Survey questionnaire. It was created for
a minority group of Spanish
adoptees from China and
received a total of 20 responses.
(ANDENI) An official website of an adoption
agency based in Spain. The
organization specializes in
adoption in China. Its credential
are indicated in the website.
ANDENI is a non-profit
organization which also aims to
protect the rights and well-being
of adoptees. This is a secondary
source of research
(wpbegin It is the largest WordPress
ner) resource site for beginners. It was
last updated on the 4th February
2020. The author of the site is not
clearly specified. It is written by
“Editorial Staff”
Purpose
This article was written with a purpose of
informing people interested in the topic
about the one child policy and the
consequences that followed this
“political reform”. The author is trying to
convey a factual perspective and
therefore the information does not
appear to be biased or subjective.
The purpose of writing this report is to
explore child adoption and make it
known to the general public. It covers
many different topics such as adoption in
religious/traditional societies, history and
evolution of adoption, adoption laws etc.
The aim of this debate was to explore
different points of view from
international adoptees about various
topics ranging from racism to identity
etc. It also served as a platform for
people to openly ask questions in the
comments in order for them to be
answered during the debate.
The article explores the gender
imbalance of China and its causes and
consequences. The author provides a
purely factual view supported with a lot
of the graphs and data. It is not a
propaganda piece and the information
can be backed up through other sources.
The purpose of this website is to provide
information about the individuals genetic
composition after having taken the DNA
test. It is aimed at anyone who is willing
to purchase the test and is interested in
their ancestry or their genetic
composition
The aim of this survey was to identify
opinions about the identity of adoptees
from China and providing information
about what they think is the main causes
for their adoption relating to SEEP
factors (social, economic, environmental
and political).
It was written as source of information
and reference for individuals in Spain
that wish to adopt from China. It
provides information about the
processes that one must take to carry
out the adoption and additional
information. It is factual and not
opinionated or as a source of
propaganda.
The purpose of the website is clear. It
aims to provide information to beginners
that are starting to use WordPress to
build a website. The information is not
generally opinionated or biased as it tries
to provide purely factual information for
individuals to choose between
wordpress.com and .org. However, there
is some opinion given.
Value
The source is not biased or and not intended to
sway the audience’s opinion towards a certain
view. It is informative in providing information
about this topic as it is written by accredited
writers for a scholarly article. It can be applied to
my project as it explores an important political
factor as a cause for adoption. The information
can also be supported and reviewed in other
sources further making it a reliable source.
It was of use for this project for the topic of
adoption in religious/traditional societies and
obtaining a professional viewpoint about the
topic as the source was written by a highly
reliable organization. The report is written in a
neutral manner and does not intend to sway the
audience’s opinion, nor is it intended to be
propaganda. The information can also be
verified and reviewed on other websites.
The different viewpoints obtained allowed me to
make connections with others that have faced
similar experiences to me. It also gave a
purpose/rationale for study as the questions
asked made me realize how important it is to
discuss these topics.
The report provided a great amount of
information about the topic which was highly
relevant in my project in the section about
exploring the social factors. Why were boys
preferred over girls and the consequences? The
report has been written by an author that has
specialized in similar topics therefore is a
credible source. The large amounts of data and
statistics included also provide a solid foundation
for the report.
This website is of use for me because it gives
specific information about what I need for my
project which is identifying my possible
birthplace. 23andme is an accredited American
company that has many different samples of
DNA from people in different countries which
allows it to be compared with one another to
identify the place of origin of a specific person.
This type of primary data collection allows to
collect information about identity of adoptees
from China. This data was of use to me in my
project because it gave purpose to the relevance
of my research as it demonstrates majority are
interested in their birth origins and in the causes
for many children in China being given away for
adoption.
The source is highly relevant to my project as
part of the research about the processes of
adoption. Because the information comes from a
credited source, the information has been
reviewed and is accurate. The information can
be verified in other sources however, it may vary
slightly as each adoption organization might
have minor differences in their specific
processes. However, the general process is
similar amongst other sources.
The source is relevant to my project as initially
when I was selecting a web creator, I was
indecisive between several and this website was
extremely helpful to do make my decision. The
information was updated last year which
ensures that the information is not outdated.
Limitation
The information on the article could be outdated
because it was first written in 2010 and since then
it appears to not have been updated. Some of the
information could have changed referring to the
impact that the policy had on the population in
China currently.
It is a very long report therefore, finding
information is challenging. The source was also
written in 2009 therefore, the information could be
outdated and not currently relevant. It is also
difficult to identify how the author reached the
conclusion of each topic, as they could have based
it upon other conclusions or not taken primary data
etc.
The information obtained from others might not be
entirely representative of the population of
international adoptees as only 5 individuals
participated in the debate. Information could be
bias/subjective therefore sway the audience’s
opinion in some way as it was taken from personal
experiences and thoughts instead of through a
complete professional/neutral opinion.
Because the report was written in 2009, the
information could be outdated thus affecting the
reliability of the report. The report could also have
a biased opinion as it talks about sex selective
abortions which could be interpreted in a bias way
by the author.
Because 23andme is an American company, they
might not have a big enough sample size from East
Asian countries thus, possibly providing inaccurate
data as the company does not have anything to
compare unknown DNA with people of known
ancestry.
The information in the questionnaire might be
inaccurate at times due to answers being over
exaggerated or participants not being completely
honest when answering. This reduces the reliability
of the questionnaire.
It is a reliable source as it is an official website from
a certified adoption agency. The information
provided is not opinionated or biased. Though
there is a basic outline of the adoption procedures
etc, the information is not extremely detailed
therefore, there are some pieces missing. The
information also outlines the processes of adoption
from one organization; therefore, some
information may vary slightly depending on the
organization and country.
Because the credentials of the author are not
shown, the information might not be completely
reliable, this however can be verified with another
website.
 Appendix E – Demonstrating Self-management/Organizational skills

Managebac to-do list – shared with supervisor.

Reminders Desktop App – I used this as my personal to-do list

The feature on my
laptop desktop, stickies,
was used for important
quick reminders with no I showed self-management skills
deadline. I also used this and responsibility. I organized my
for quick notes or any personal project documents in
changes that I had to several folders that were all
remember. This showed grouped into a drop box folder.
organizational/self- This ensured that should anything
management skills as I happen to my laptop; my personal
ensured that I wrote all project files are saved.
my day-to-day task to
avoid forgetting about a
supervisor meeting,
important deadlines etc.
for the day.

Process Journal Entry (6 October 2020) I also used an app on

I had my first Personal Project meeting today with my my iPad, notability to
Supervisor. I introduced the topic for my project and received make handwritten notes
feedback on my objective and the way it links to my chosen after my meeting with
global context, Identities and Relationships. We discussed my supervisor. Within
ways in which I can narrow down my project goal so that it is these notes, I wrote
shortened and more specific to the global context and the down the
subject that it relates to. improvements/EBI (even
better if) that my
After the meeting, I know I have to improve my objective by
evaluating what is truly important and what is not so that I can supervisor and I
focus on making what is relevant as best as possible. I have to discussed so that I could
find a way to link everything that I have so far in a way that later evaluate and
reflect more in-depth in
links my personal experiences with the SEEP factors that
order to develop my
influence adoption, processes of adoption, and exploring my
skills further.
third culture kid identity.
 Appendix F – Demonstrating Communication and social skills

Extract from Process Journal Entry (2 January 2021,

Saturday)
After obtaining sufficient amount of primary data from the
minority group of Spanish Chinese adoptees, I analyzed the
information obtained to understand more about the
experiences that other people go through. Initially, when I
sent out the survey, I only obtained 9 responses but later on
expanded to 20 with individuals ranging from ages 15 – 26.
Itwas very difficult to connect with others part of this
community as it was a very specific sub-group that I was
looking at for information.
In search for more individuals to complete my survey, I
discovered a video on youtube, a debate about racism in
relation to adoptees. They interviewer was an adoptee
herself, Spanish, and she led the debate, immediately, I
reached out to her to gain more insight. Turns out, she is a
psychologist that studies identity issues within
adoptees. She offered me about this opportunity to take
Some of the questions and answers from the survey
part in the next debate about identity with other adopted
girls.
After evaluating these results, I found an interesting trend Contacting ANDENI Nacional (an
and correlation between the year of adoption (thus adoption organization). Because they
implying, the age of the individuals) with their feeling of are a Spanish organization, I
communicated with them in Spanish.
identity. Most older adoptees said that they felt their
identity was a result of both their country of birth and The results of the survey have been
nationality, whilst younger individuals said that they felt translated to from Spanish to English
for the purpose of the product creation.
their identity to be formed by their country of nationality.
This makes me hypothesis that older people might have
developed more confidence and acceptance with the fact
that they are different. Meanwhile teens face more of an
identity crisis.

Exchanging of emails with Irene Rong, General Health psychologist and Masters in Family and couple’s therapy. I used
communication skills to set up the debate about identity.

Email to my personal project

supervisor to schedule a
meeting for feedback of report
draft.

During the debate we discussed topics ranging

from identity crisis, to racism throughout our lives,
to the term of "abandonment" and how we dealt
with this. The debate lasted 2 hours and was During the online debate on YouTube live
broadcasted lives so the audience could ask
questions. I showed communication skills as I
discussed extremely sensitive topics with the others
and listened to the audience’s feedback.
 Appendix G – DNA test Process journal entry – 4 July 2020, Saturday
I did some research on the different types of DNA tests that exist
in order to identify which one I should order. This task was
surprisingly challenging as there were many to choose from, each
with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Most of the DNA tests were based in the United States and
therefore they did not have a lot of samples of DNA from Asian
countries to compare data. Many reviews and videos that
I watched complained that they went through so much trouble
to find the perfect test and eventually disappointed with the
results because it simply told them data that they already knew
such as the fact that they were for example, from China.
During this process of researching the most suitable test, I not
only had to keep in mind the most popular test, I had to keep in
mind the number of reference bases the company had from East
Asia so that the results would be as accurately as possible. I also
had to identify what the end results contained and for this I had
a look at some sample reports. This was an important step as I
already know that I am part Chinese however, I want to identify
what ethnic group or subgroup I am from such as Miao, Yi, Hui
etc. I also looked at the type of test that had to be taken. One of
the test which is from a company called Teloyears, the test was a
home blood test while the other ones you would have to simply
take a sample of saliva.
Evaluating the advantages, disadvantages and prices of DNA tests.
It is yet to be decided what test to order however, I will decide in
the coming days so the results arrive as soon as possible to be
able to implement them as part of my final product.

Taking the DNA test – Saliva sample:

The test was shipped to me in Spain after
ordering it, and then after doing it, I shipped it
back to.

DNA relatives – this

shows the percentage
of DNA test that is
shared with others
therefore being
potential relatives.
Every time someone
new takes a DNA test
and has a possible
DNA match, it adds to
relatives list. I can then
make contact with
them.
 Analytics overview:
Appendix H – Website making process
Process Journal Entry – 18 January 2021, Monday
During the past week, I have been working hard to ensure that the basis of my website is up and published
publicly. In order to do this, I had to go through many processes that took a lot of time and effort. More
than I originally expected. The first part of the development of the product was buying the web host,
domain, and web creator. This involved a lot of research and thinking skills which helped me develop
these ATL's. This also allowed me to expand my current knowledge on website making. Within choosing
the webs host, I was indecisive about which one to choose. The main options web hosts I picked
were: wordpress.com, wordpress.org, and wix.com. In order to choose, I create a table to evaluate the
Editing the
strengths, weaknesses and the price in terms of how long I would have access to the subscription.
website to see on a
Eventually, I chose wix.com as it included a web host, domain name, and web creator with one price. phone
After choosing how I was going to create the website, I chose a base template to work with. This would
help the process of creation. However, I was free to pick the color scheme and theme and there was a lot
of freedom to move elements around within the website. This challenged my artistic skills as I had to pick
which colors would best suit. I constantly looked back at the grading criteria to ensure that in terms of
aesthetics, it met all the criteria.
After putting all the information of the website and adding some blog posts with a message of
introduction to my site, I took additional steps towards publishing it. With this process I learnt about the
SEO tools and how to be able to get searched on web searches such as google. Whilst in the process of
publishing, I looked for a way to create a multilingual site. This was complicated and time consuming as
even though the web creator had a multilingual feature, not all parts of the website could be translated. I
had to use thinking and problem solving skills in order to overcome the issues I encountered which
included not being able to translate the blog posts. I found a way around this as I created additional Evaluation of webhosts
buttons and linked them to different pages and URL's that I kept hidden from each site in either Spanish
and English. I duplicated pages to be able to do the translation. It was not 100% perfect however, the
way I solved it served its main purpose.
Overall, the process of creating the main structure of the website was successful, now additional
information can be added and the website can frequently be enhanced to improve it.

Website editor

Multilingual feature

SEO tools
 Appendix I – Product Evaluation
(See Appendix C for highlights of each strand)

Aesthetics Content

Audience/functionality Coherence/structure

Criteria Strand Reason for grade awarded Grade

awarded
Aesthetics I would consider the aesthetics aspect to be a 7/8. According to the survey, the website was obtained an average of around 8.5 therefore
it was rated highly aesthetically pleasing. There was one response that rated a 6 based on aesthetics however, this strand is very dependent 7
on the likes of the audience therefore I calculated an average for more accurate results. The website is also highly consistent with the
theme, all the elements are consistent throughout. The images used were mainly voted a 5/5 in quality therefore enhancing the
visual/aesthetic aspects. I made sure to use a variety of colors whilst maintaining consistency with the theme. Overall, I believe this strand
to be a 7/8 based on both my personal opinion, in regard to the set criteria, and the point of view of others in the questionnaire.
Content The website reaches its main goal which is to explore social, environmental, economic and political factors. All participants in the survey
rated the quality of the content to be higher than a 7/10 therefore putting it on the higher end of the scale. However, for the individuals 6
that rated it a 7 could mean that they considered the website as informative as it could have been and that there is more room for
improvement. More information about each of these factors could have been explored as well as other topics of interest. Whilst there was
a great amount of detail included about the personal parts/experiences, I believe that more professional opinions could have been
obtained thus I believe this strand to be a 6/8.
Audience/functionality Based on the survey results the strand aspect of audience could have been improved. 37.5% of the participants responded that the target
audience was mostly identifiable, and one said that the target audience was not clear. However, the aspect of functionality was still of high 6
standards, the website is easy to navigate through and the multilingual feature appears to be extremely useful. All the buttons are
functionable and take the viewer from one page to another to keep them engaged. Overall, the website serves its basic function to help
enlighten the audience however, further efforts could have been done to make the target audience clearer. The objective/purpose of the
website can be seen however on the about me page which serves as an introduction and explanation of why I started this project. This
however cannot be seen directly from the homepage.
Coherence/Structure In terms of structure, coherence and how effectively the information is organized, I awarded the website an 8/8. All the pages and blog
posts of the website include headings and subheading to immediately inform the topic to be discussed. I also divided the website into 8
two sections which include the blog posts and the informative pages, the blog explored topics through my personal point of view, and
the informative pages explored topics from a more factual point of view. This division of information was clear and aided to organize the
website effectively.
Overall Overall, I would consider my website to be a 7/8. Throughout this project I worked extremely hard to ensure each strand meeting the high
expectations set for myself. And whilst there are improvements that can be made in terms of the target audience and a bit in content thus 7
justifying why it is not an 8/8, the website still meets majority of the strand in the 7/8 category and serves its main goal/objective to inform
and support individuals facing identity crisis.
Appendix J – Evidence of Personal Project meetings with supervisor and reflections

__________________________________________________________________________________________

6 October 2020, Tuesday

I had my first Personal Project meeting today with my Supervisor. I introduced the topic for my project and received feedback on my
objective and the way it links to my chosen global context, Identities and Relationships. We discussed ways in which I can narrow down
my project goal so that it is shortened and more specific to the global context and the subject that it relates to.
After the meeting, I know I have to improve my objective by evaluating what is truly important and what is not so that I can focus on
making what is relevant as best as possible. I have to find a way to link everything that I have so far in a way that links my personal
experiences with the SEEP factors that influence adoption, processes of adoption, and exploring my third culture kid identity.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 November 2020, Sunday

In the second personal project meeting that I had with my supervisor, we discussed shortly about my Criterion A draft. I was given
feedback, commendations and next steps in order to be able to guide me towards the final report.
According to the comments, the prior skills and knowledge, the goal that I have chosen and explanation about the global context are all
written very well. I showed good understanding of my topic and the skills I need to use to develop it.
In working towards the final report I have to ensure that I specify more about the survey that I did as well as a stronger link to the global
context and the idea behind why I think it was important for all the adoptees I surveyed to know about their past as a lot of them where
already aware of this. Therefore I have identified my areas of strengths and weaknesses which will help me on to doing my final report.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

25 November 2020, Monday

During the personal project meeting with my supervisor regarding Criterion B, we identified the strengths and the weaknesses of my
report. In general, my criterion B report is successful and well written. There are however some minor improvements in terms of the
structure for the criteria paragraph. I have to ensure that each criteria strand has a different paragraph so that it is better organized.
I should also try and justify why I have set these dates as my timelines based on the due date on managebac for the actual task. This will
help show my organizational skills and how I set myself smaller steps and goals to work more effectively towards my final outcome.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 January 2021, Monday

During the meeting with my supervisor after submitting the criterion C draft, we discussed some improvements that could be made. The
main ones included:
1. Explaining why I changed the product outcome from a scrapbook to a website, how does it best suite the intended purpose for creating
this product.
2. Reasons for creating the multilingual website in in both Spanish and English.
With this feedback given from my supervisor, I aim to address it before the submission of the final report to create the final draft.
For each of these points, I explained to my supervisor the reasoning behind both the change in final product and the multilingual feature.
I made the change to my final product as it better suited the target audience that I needed to reach. A website has the ability to reach
many people around the world.
In the case of the multilingual feature, it also highly relates to the target audience and ensuring that it reaches as many people as possible.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Final Product – Discovering me, Website

Link to website: Home page

https://www.discoveringmeidentity.blog/ Multilingual feature
Modified page to be accessed Menu
through any device

Informative pages

One child
policy
informative
page:
Example
layout

Data from
questionnaire
presented in site
 Works cited
(Organized in alphabetical order)

“Adoption in Religious Laws and Traditional Societies.” Child Adoption: Trends and Policies, United Nations,

2009, www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/policy/child-adoption.pdf.

ANDENI. “ANDENI - Asociación Nacional En Defensa Del Niño.” Andeni.net, 2018,

www.andeni.net/paginas/index.php. Accessed 18 Jan. 2021.

Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com. “How Has the One-Child Policy Affected China? | DW |
19.07.2018.” DW.COM, 2018, www.dw.com/en/how-has-the-one-child-policy-affected-china/a-
44749604. Accessed 27 Jan. 2021.

Hesketh, Thérèse. “Too Many Males in China: The Causes and the Consequences.” Significance, vol. 6, no. 1,
Mar. 2009, pp. 9–13, rss.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1740-9713.2009.00335.x,
10.1111/j.1740-9713.2009.00335.x. Accessed 27 Jan. 2021.

“Home - 23andMe.” 23andme.com, 2021, you.23andme.com/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2021.

“How Do I Cite a Survey Using MLA? - LibAnswers.” Fairmontstate.edu, 2020,

ask.library.fairmontstate.edu/faq/84995. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.

http://facebook.com/syedbalkhi. “WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Which Is Better? (Pros and

Cons).” WPBeginner, 4 Feb. 2020, www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-
free-wordpress-com-infograph/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2021.

“Identity of adoptees.” Google Docs, 2021,

docs.google.com/forms/u/1/d/1aOZIVr1x8fxnOQTo5m3dIt0FYsUst_KySDQ58JH6zQk/edit?usp=forms
_home&ths=true. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.
“LibGuides: MLA Citation Guide (8th Edition): Primary Sources.” Libguides.com, 2015, columbiacollege-
ca.libguides.com/mla/primary_sources#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20using%20an,Website%2C%20Publi
cation%20Date%2C%20URL.. Accessed 27 Jan. 2021.

Mayberry, Kate. “Third Culture Kids: Citizens of Everywhere and Nowhere.” Bbc.com, 2016,
www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20161117-third-culture-kids-citizens-of-everywhere-and-nowhere.
Accessed 19 Jan. 2021.
“One-Child Policy | Definition & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2021,

www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy. Accessed 18 Jan. 2021.

Video Disorder. “The Dying Rooms - Chinese Orphanages Documentary (1995).” YouTube, 17 June 2019,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY5sMNIBcD4. Accessed 21 Feb. 2021.

“What Is a Domain Name? Domains Explained for Beginners.” Hostinger Tutorials, 15 June 2018,
www.hostinger.com/tutorials/what-is-a-domain-name. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.