One thing I could do to strengthen our presentation is to better cover my slide about why mushrooms offer solutions in Sierra Leonne. There were quite a few comments both by judges and students asking for more explanation which was my job.

A second thing I can do is to have shorter answers to questions that are more to the point instead of elaborating on my answer.

Along with that, a third thing I can do is to not add onto someone else’s answer, and to think more before hand if my addition is really bringing good information.

A fourth thing I can do is to not be frantic to make sure I answer questions solely for the purpose of making sure Marc doesn’t answer everything and take more time to think about a good answer and take the questions I have developed, thought out, efficient answers to.

Fifthly, I could practice my slides more and better compile an outline of what I want to say. In practice, what I said for each slide changed a lot, both in content and order of presenting. With better preparation, I could make sure I cover what I need to in a consistent, logical order.

Sixthly, I could work on my public speaking to better emphasize and communicate the commonly unknown mushroom terms and all of the presentation in general. Stumbling on words detracts from the information so lessening that is a good thing to work on.

Seventhly, I could work on my enthusiasm to better excite the audience on our topic. Specifically, I need to work on ending my slides on an high note as opposed to trailing off and getting softer.

Eighthly, I need to work on my hand gestures to not distract from my speaking and so they look professional and not fidgety or make me look nervous.

Ninthly, I need to work on my language bank. There were a few comments on the use of the word “hopefully” and I don’t know if that was me or not but I need to ingrain it into me to not use words along that line.

Lastly, I need to work on making and memorizing a question bank of questions and answers. We talked about it before hand but never laid out a concrete bank to add too. Being able to review that with more set answers will help to make answers shorter, more to the point, an unnecessary for any group member feel they need to add more after another already answered because everyone would have discussed before hand anyways.

Our work does not require IRB strategy. We are not doing research with human subjects. While we still need to submit a  form to make sure, we are confident that because our work is mushroom production centered, that our project does not apply to the IRB strategy.

A logic model for our venture is with inputs, outputs and outcomes. Our inputs will be funds such as the EPA grant, to fund our research for the best mushroom production process. Other inputs are materials, with getting agricultural waste of rice straw from farmers. Another input is labor. Outputs will depend on our business model. If we sell MSPs, outputs will include mushroom production houses sold. With a central mushroom factory, outputs will be wages paid. For both, a main output will be mushrooms grown. For other outputs, we could measure mushroom production houses paid off, the wages made by the farmer before and after the mushroom house, and how many pounds of mushrooms sold. For outcomes, the goal is a better quality of life, better diet, and better work stability.