Day 8: Dr. Davin, Tommy Ngai and Hagar

I submitted the following questions to be Hagar and Dr. Davin,

As for Hagar's end, they have been having issues with optimizing sand sifting techniques and producing sound user practices. After learning that, we have confimed the overarching goal of ours is produce novel solutions for unmet needs of the villagers using the filters. We think it would be helpful if ethnographic interviews can be conducted with the villagers that you are
working with to try to gauge their unmet needs. This would help everyone understand not only whether they are getting the quality water they desire, but also whether there are subtle but overwhelmingly uniform failure in the cleanin practice, water storage practice, dissatisfaction with volume output, etc. Once a defined need is identified, we would come up with solutions for them.

Topics to discuss:

Attitudes toward using water filter

What do you like best and least about using the water filter?
What may be hindering you from paying partly for a water filter?
Is the water quality that you are getting dissatifactory, no opinion, satisfactory?
Do you feel that you would use the filter if it has the same cost as bottled water?

Pre filtration behavior

How you involve family members to help with attaining pretreated water?
What information would help you adopt sound pretreatment behavior?

Post filtration behavior

How often do you clean the filters?
What causes you to not clean this as instructed?
How do you store your water?
What impact, if any, do health education have on your pre and post treament habits?

New ideas

What could a filter installation team feature in its product that could faciliate sound user practices?
Do you see value in video tutorials for product setup and importance of hygiene and cleaning?
What factors of the water filter prevent you from doing that?
What feautures of the current education about filters is useful and what is excessive?


Before the storm?

After presenting some leading questions, I discussed the possibility of doing ethnographic research with his subjects. Dr. Davin said the social aspects of filter usage is difficult to control while Hagar is fairly interested in getting answers to that question.