Preparing a survey to implement in a country in another continent requires us to make some assumptions about our target audience for the survey that need to be validated.

We assume that:

1. Sierra Leoneans will consent or agree to participate in our survey.
2. Sierra Leoneans will be able to sufficiently comprehend our survey to properly answer questions (if we do not use a translator)
3. Our target audience will give us accurate data because there could be stigmas surrounding Ebola
4. We will have enough time to collect significant data in-country
5. Health officials and politicians will want to make time to meet with us
6.  We can form partnerships with an organization that can continue to collect data once we leave
7. We can form the connections that would enable us to get into schools to administer the survey
8.  The rural populations are the ones at highest risk and therefore the population we should be surveying.
9. The population will perceive the work we are trying to do as being positive and beneficial to them
10. They will be willing to participate in the survey without material compensation

We also have hypotheses our of project that need to be tested during fieldwork.

We hypothesize that:

1. That bat to human contact is occurs significantly enough to be able to accurately model it
2. Main risk factors include behaviors that are fairly common in SL culture like burial rituals or eating bushmeat are responsible for spreading ebola
3. School-aged children will know enough about Ebola and have traceable behaviors that we can link to socioeconomic factors.
4. Transmission from bats to humans are not a result of chance accidents and can be traced to identified behavior patterns.
5. Ebola is transferred directly from bats to humans versus from another animal
6. Ebola prevention methods are more prevalent now than before the outbreak and people are more knowledgeable about the topic.
7. Bushmeat markets may be a major transfer point from bats to humans.
8. The risk factors can actually be correlated and integrated into our models successfully enough to predict future outbreaks
9. School aged children may have fewer of the social barriers and social stigmas surrounding Ebola and will be willing to talk to us more openly than adults about the epidemic.
10. Hunters and those exposed to wooded areas are at higher risk for Ebola because of their direct contact with potential transfer species.

 

I think that I bring level-headedness to my team as well as the ability to see many perspectives and listen closely. I tend to be more of a listener than a talker unless I have an insight or disagree with a talking point. I also can be a mediator because I like to understand and empathize with new ways of looking at a situation. I think at the beginning of the semester I was a little more shy with my opinions and insights but after getting to know the people in my group better and having a more complete knowledge of my project I have become more vocal. From the start I have been a weaker public speaker and it is probably the main thing I would like to improve when it comes to what I bring to my team. I think that confidently interacting with an audience can make a big difference in presentation quality and can bring new opportunities for our project.