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In this paper, we have formulated a compartmental epidemic model with exponentially decaying transmission rates to understand the Ebola transmission dynamics and study the impact of control measures to basic public health. The epidemic model exhibits two equilibria, namely, the disease-free and unique endemic equilibria. We have calculated the basic reproduction number through next generation matrix and investigated the spatial spread of the epidemic via reaction–diffusion modeling. Instead of fitting the model to the observed pattern of spread, we have used previously estimated parameter values and examined the efficacy of predictions of the designed model vis-à-vis the pattern of spread observed in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Further, we conducted a sensitivity analysis to determine the extent to which improvement in predictions is achievable through better parameterization.

We performed numerical simulations with and without control measure for the designed model system. A significant reduction in infection and death cases were observed when proper control measures are incorporated in the model system. Two-dimensional simulation experiments show that infectious population and the number of deaths will increase up to one and a half years without control, but it will decline after two years. We have reported the numerical results, and it closely matches with the real situation in Sierra Leone.

The evolution of China’s international investment surge has been analyzed critically over the years, but we still know relatively little about its effect on developing countries. In turn, sub-Saharan African countries have a longstanding history of foreign influences that have had a deeply rooted effect on their people’s sentiment. This research continues to fill the gap regarding how Chinese investment decisions and the underlying intentions are perceived at the local level in Western Africa. For this research, the focus lies on entrepreneurs from Sierra Leone, given the country’s unique economic climate in Western Africa and the position of entrepreneurs as keystone actors toward local innovation, and thus, local economic development. This focus resulted in the following research question: How do entrepreneurs in Sierra Leone perceive Chinese influences regarding Sierra Leone’s local economic development? To answer this open research question, rich data was collected by means of interviewing local entrepreneurs in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Altogether, both comparable and contrasting perceptions on Chinese influences regarding Sierra Leone’s local economic development are presented, resulting in the expansion from an initial thinking model toward an extended thinking model.

The increasingly frequent occurrence of natural, man-made and environmental disasters in recent years has resulted in both a large number of casualties and widespread property damage. To mitigate the damage caused, a lot of emergency supplies are required. However, due to the limited quantity of emergency supplies, the allocation of rescue resources is extremely important. Using the March 2014 Ebola outbreak in western Africa as an example, this paper uses Dijkstra's algorithm to build a system which determines the optimal allocation of emergency resource to cities in Sierra Leone. Each city's weightage is calculated using data provided before Dijkstra's algorithm is applied.