Day 3: Launching Our City Study (by Sage)

     Today Claire, Sarah and I started the city study project. The city study project is a study in which we are using a survey to collect a data set we can refer to in the future to answer questions about Falmouth. It is important to note that prior to emancipation, Falmouth had one of the largest ports in Jamaica, in terms of imports and exports. This was due to the cheap labor provided from the slave trade. However, after emancipation, the port started to decline, until the 1950's, when the port completely collapsed. With the port responsible for most of the economy in Falmouth, the town entered a period with a very weak economy. In 2010, the Royal Caribbean cruise line constructed a new port in Falmouth that brought hundreds of thousands of tourists through Falmouth. This new port is reviving Falmouths economy. Due to the growth of the economy, Falmouth has been going through many social changes. Hopefully, using the data we collect we can recognize these social trends and understand how these changes potentially have and can impact the people of Falmouth. The idea is that we will collect data each year we visit Falmouth so that, let's say ten years from now, we will have a large number of responses we can use for research. The survey itself is only fifteen questions and asks respondents questions such as: "Which parish were you born in?" and "Which political party do you most closely identify with?". Using this data, future Post Oak students could also answer questions about correlation between X and Y. For instance, they might wonder if there is any correlation between age and political affiliation or what area someone is from and what religion they practice. They would be able to answer those questions, using the data we have begun to collect.