GSIF Fall Week Fourteen

Living an Impact-Focused Life

What’s your Why?

I believe I was put on this earth to:

  • Use my ambition and caring nature to work relentlessly to improve the lives of others, both directly and indirectly

My purpose is to:

  • Use my strengths and experiences to affect positive change

I believe (my core values):

  • Hard work and honesty will be rewarded
  • Everything will work out as it should, as long as you set yourself up for success

The one thing I must do before I die is:

  • Make an unforgettable (positive) impact on someone outside of my family and close friends

My advocates and supporters all believe I:

  • Am grounded in reason and logic
  • Am incredibly determined

The evil I want to eradicate in this world is:

  • Selfishness and apathy toward other inhabitants of the planet (people, animals, ecosystems)

I want to work in order to:

  • Stay intellectually stimulated and grow as a person
  • Learn and understand the world so I can make it a better place

 

Walk the Talk – Your How

If you are truly committed to your Why, you show it in your everyday behavior. It is all air until you do it. Working from your Why, How do you prove that you are true to your Why in all you do?

I always:

  • Take my time, making sure that I’m thorough and have all the facts before acting

I never:

  • Leave a task unfinished (or completed to a substandard degree)

My work style is:

  • Thorough and deliberate

I try to treat people:

  • With respect and kindness

I approach problems by:

  • Trying to understand the drivers and causes that have created the problem in the first place
  • Relying on patience and determination to find the best solution

Victories are time to:

  • Be proud of my hard work and acknowledge my personal growth

If another attacks my point of view I:

  • Rely on logic, reason, and facts to support my point of view
  • Try to understand the reason that they disagree with me

If I fundamentally do not agree with what an organization or person is doing, I will:

  • Present my case and supporting facts as to why they should change, if it’s egregious
  • Not engage

 

Your Credibility – Your Whats

You have just spent some considerable time at Lehigh, and specifically in the Global Social Impact Fellowship, on many whats. Your whats include lab research, formal presentations, writing research papers, engaging with people in other cultural contexts, building prototypes, designing and building systems, raising funds, hiring employees, etc. The whats you have collected along the way are critical to your credibility when you are entering the workforce or applying to the best graduate and professional schools. They signify a credible currency to which organizations can assign value. Create a list of your Whats that are truly reflective of your Why & How.  You did these things because you believe (Why) and you acquired them in the following (How) manner. These are examples you can use in interviews.

What Have I Done List of Experiences, Accomplishments, and Lessons Learned
Degrees, Minors, Certificates, Fellowships  

IDEAS – Materials Engineering, Economics, Environmental Studies

Research Experiences

 

 

 

 

 

Real Food Challenge, Lehigh University Partnership for Sustainable UN Missions, Biopolymers researcher, Iacocca International Internship

 

 

 

 

Inventions and Innovations

 

 

 

 

A new melting process for recycling PET

(Social) Entrepreneurial Ventures

 

 

 

 

PlasTech Ventures

 

 

 

 

Publications

(Formal and Informal)

 

 

Comparing the Properties of PET Plastic Bricks to Conventional Concrete Masonry Units

 

 

 

 

Formal Presentations

(at Lehigh and Beyond)

 

 

 

GHTC conference, Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN, Real Food
Awards and

External Recognition

 

 

 

Dean’s List

 

 

 

 

 

 

Articulating and learning from GSIF-related Experiences. For each of these prompts, we want you to identify one and only one specific and compelling event/incident/experience/moment and identify exactly how you grew personally and professionally through that moment.

Teamwork Experience

(and Lessons Learned)

 

 

 

 

It is important to hold each other accountable but also to be understanding of your teammates. There were times when I was having a particularly difficult week and had to prioritize other projects, but my teammates were always understanding. I was able to do the same, which developed trust and a good team dynamic.

 

 

 

 

Conflict Resolution Experience

(and Lessons Learned)

 

Over the summer, our team disagreed with our advisor about the what the focus of the research for Mountaintop should be. I tried my best to respect the direction that he wanted to take the research but tailored it so that I was still able to achieve the goals that I felt were the most important. He got what he asked for, but I was also able to make what I felt to be meaningful progress.

 

 

 

 

Leadership Experience

(and Lessons Learned)

 

 

 

 

 

Shortly after joining the project, taking the lead for materials research and testing, then moving forward as the lead author of the paper, I learned that I could quickly adapt to new situations and learn a lot about an unfamiliar subject, which made me more confident in myself.

 

 

 

Dealing with Chaos, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty (and Lessons Learned)  

I learned that nobody really knows exactly what they’re doing and nobody is perfect. We’re all trying our best and learning from each other. I came to this realization while talking to industry experts during VentureWell.

 

 

 

 

 

Personally Challenging Experience (and Lessons Learned)

 

 

 

I often struggled with the ambiguity of an entrepreneurial project. I felt that I never had enough information to make a decision and always kept searching for a “right” answer. Eventually, I realized that there isn’t always a right answer and you can’t let yourself be paralyzed by the unknown. At some point, you have to be confident in yourself to follow what you believe to be the best plan of action.

 

 

 

 

Cross-cultural Experience (and Lessons Learned)

 

 

 

It took some time to realize that communication styles are different in the Philippines. I reached out to a company over email but didn’t receive a response. I reached out over Facebook messenger and received a response the next morning.

 

 

 

An experience that helped you connect your GSIF work to your discipline / major.

 

 

 

I was the lead author for a paper that analyzed not only the material properties of PET but also the environmental and health affects associated with using the material. This experience allowed me to understand the connection between my engineering, economics, and environmental courses.

 

 

 

A moment that boosted your sense of agency and self-efficacy – you felt like you can speak for yourself, get stuff done, take on the world and make it better.

 

During one of our team’s early presentations, we received several questions about the feasibility of using plastic as a building material. I was still quite new to the project and hesitant to speak up during Q&A, but I had spent so much of my time researching the material properties of PET that I was confident I was the best person to answer the questions.
A moment where you felt like you truly have a strong sense of purpose and belonging in this dynamic, globalized interdependent world.

 

This summer during the VentureWell workshop, I met with a particularly enthusiastic serial entrepreneur. He was so excited about the prospect of our project and was incredibly encouraging. This meeting reminded me of the potential for impact that our venture has and the importance of my work.

 

GSIF Fall Week Nine

Case 1:

Background: Afghanistan Police

  • Population: 35,000,000 (250,000 Police)
  • Literacy Rate: 27% (2019: 32%)
    • High numerous rate: understand numbers
  • 13 Years later Issue: Billions of dollars have been spent on the police force but there is still poor personnel and payroll data (no verification)
    • Extremely High (Hierarchical) Corruption:
      • 10% “Ghost” Police
      • Commanders get a cut from salaries: each person employed, they get a portion of the salary
    • Poor Morale (from poor salary) → Defection to the Taliban
    • Law and Order Crises; deface public trust

If you are the Chief of Police for Afghanistan, what solution would you develop to pay the cops that are actually working, reduce corruption, and boost their morale?

Actions I would take as the Chief of Police for Afghanistan:

  1. Raise the salary of all policemen. 
    1. Differentiation (identifying the problem): Upon examining the problems within the current system of operation in the Afghanistan Police force, I pinpointed the individual issue of poor salary to members of the police force.
    2. Explanation of solution: One of the reasons why there is an extremely high (hierarchical) corruption is due to the fact that the people in the police force are simply not getting paid enough. Commanders who have some power are using it for corruption rather than the good because they need money to sustain themselves and their families. This statement is especially true to policemen who do not have the power to perform such corruption for the surplus income and end up defecting to the Taliban. It is inappropriate to raise the salary of corrupt government officials, however, it is a different story if they are not getting paid well for their service and need to resort to corruption in order to meet their financial needs. As the Chief of the Police for Afghanistan, I need to first take care of my men who are working for the public by providing them the appropriate financial means for survival.
      1. Multifinality & Interdependence: An increase in pay of all the employees within the police force develops a mutually beneficial relationship between the police force organization and its members. The financial needs of the members are being met and corruption within the organization decreases corruption. The morale of the policemen will increase and lead to a fall in the number of cases of deflection to the Taliban, which benefits both the organization and its members as well. The police force meets their goal of obtaining an income that will meet their financial need. The police force system meets its need of decreasing corruption, raising the morale of the officers, and decreasing the number of deflection to the Taliban.
  2. Scan the entire police force and remove all ghost police. 
    1. Differentiation (identifying the problem): A problem within the Afghanistan Police force is that 10% of individuals (ghost police) listed in the police force (system) receive pay.
    2. Explanation of solution: Annually the police force eats 10% of its overhead cost paying for ghost police. A scan of the entire police force to terminate the ghost members is appropriate to eliminate the financial leakage within the organization. The inappropriately lotted money can be re-invested in the first action of raising the pay of policemen (check details above, listed in the first action).
      1. Multifinality: Police organization retains 10% of its overhead costs and eliminates ghost members in initiating the scan/verification amongst its own members. Members of the police force execute the scan and enable the organization to retain 10% of its overhead costs, which will now be applied back to them to raise their salary. 
  3. Have police officers do community service and set up a donation box. 
    1. Differentiation (identifying the problem): Another problem within the current system of operation in the Afghanistan Police force, is the individual issues of (1) law and order crisis and (2) deface trust of the public.
    2. Explanation of solution: Community service allows officers to develop a rapport between them and the community they serve. The personal/communal trust that is established between the individual police members and the public would influence the reduction in corruption. The individual police member that is caught in corruption would lose face and the public may become more active in pressuring the police force to remove the corrupt officer since they would know him. Community service would re-establish both the people’s image of the police force in a positive light and their trust in the police force. The donation box serves as an indication of support/trust towards the police force and provides a source of income to raise the salary of the officers (action 1).
      1. Equifinality: Corruption is decreased through the channel of personally meeting the public. The officers provide community service and develop a personal relationship with the community which will make them less inclined to perform corruption.
      2. Regulation: The donation box serves as a feedback system from the public that reflects their perception of (1) law and order and (2) their trust in the police. The public will only donate money if they trust the police and see that they are maintaining law and order.
  4. Change existing policies to make corruption acts more difficult within the police force: (1) commanders no longer get a salary cut from each person employed and (2) all police are required to present the proof in the completion of their initial training program (perhaps their ID/certificate) in order to receive their pay.
    1. Differentiation: An individual problem within the current system of operation in the Afghanistan Police force is the corruption amongst commanders.
    2. Explanation of Solution: Another solution to eliminate corruption is making the act of corruption more difficult for the commanders who are committing the act. Implementing a policy of eliminating the idea of receiving a salary cut from each person they employ disincentivizes them to employ people for money and would shift their focus on employing people who are fit for the job to make the commanders themselves look good. Enhancing their image and achievements through their subordinates will serve as an alternative means to obtain more money through a raise rather than corruption. The difficulty or extra work in obtaining proof of training also disincentives commanders to perform corruption for a measly small lump of cash.
      1. Equifinality: A decrease in corruption is achieved in an alternative channel from action 1. In this action, the desired output is achieved in eliminating the salary cut bonus, which is made up through the raise in salary from action 1. Commanders will no longer have incentives to simply have a large number of subordinates. In addition, a decrease in corruption is also achieved by making the act more difficult for commanders from requiring proof of initial training.

Case 2:

Facts:

  • Water hyacinth infestation is a problem affecting the shores of Lake Victoria
  • The amount of moss coverage doubles every month
  • Blocks fishermen’s access to lake and results in spread of disease
  • Entrepreneur is profiting from compost and briquettes that she produces from crushed hyacinth
  • Employs four people to cut, crush, and bring hyacinth to her workshop
  • Need for hyacinth increases substantially after two weeks
  • Communities on shore are unhappy that she is making money
  • The members of the community stop her from accessing the hyacinth, so now she needs to get it from somewhere else 

Problem: If you are the entrepreneur, what multi-final solution will you develop so that you succeed, your venture succeeds (takes water hyacinth off the lake), and the people living along the lakeshore also walk away happy. Please be specific on how your solution might function and precisely whom you would work with. For example, refrain from including vague stakeholders like entire communities.

Systems approach:

  • Consider whole structure of related systems
    • Interaction of ecosystem, entrepreneur’s business model, and community members (fishermen, potential venture employees)
  • Looks for interrelationships across systems
    • Hyacinth interferes with fishermen’s ability to conduct business
    • Entrepreneur dependent on sustainable yield of hyacinth to operate business
    • Community dependent on entrepreneur for jobs
  • Understand the long standing causal factors which generate problems
    • Hyacinth causes problems for fishermen
    • Members of the community will always need jobs
    • Removing too much hyacinth is not sustainable for the entrepreneur
  • Identify leverage points which wield influence across the whole system
    • If entrepreneur runs out of hyacinth, her business model is no longer operative
      • Using too much hyacinth is unsustainable, so they should only take half of what is currently growing each month, so when it grows back the original quantity will be maintained
  • Short term and long term impact on all systems
  • Consciously avoids ‘shifting problems’ to other parts of the system
  • Identify resistance sources; reduce resistance rather than increase force
    • Community members are resistant because the entrepreneur is profiting from their problem

Solutions:

  1. Getting feedback from the community (stakeholders like fishermen, leaders of government agencies, common citizens that are concerned about the hyacinth issue) through open discussions
    1. Regulation: the feedback will bring about expectations of the moss removal and what the community feels are the issues with the entrepreneur taking the moss and selling it as her own. The entrepreneur should also openly discuss the pollution and other effects of removing the moss that may increase around the lake, and discuss with them ways to combat any issues so that it results in a win-win situation for all. 
    2. Explanation of solution: Open discussions will facilitate a cooperative discussion and will allow people to express their opinions on moss removal and come up with a solution that all stakeholders are happy with.
  2. Establish a type of permitting system 
    1. Equifinality: the same output of removing the hyacinth (but not too much by the entrepreneur alone) is achieved, with multiple channels of stakeholders being utilized so many different outlets of people can reap the benefits.
    2. Explanation of solution: The permitting system will allow fishermen to collect hyacinth, then they will either be paid a small amount by the entrepreneur or offered a discount on her products; the permits will also ensure that too much hyacinth is not removed.
  3. Sourcing the hyacinth from lakes other than Lake Victoria
    1. Differentiation: identifying individual components of a large system. Identifying other lakes that have hyacinth will lead to less outrage when the entrepreneur profits off of large sums of moss from one single lake. The rest of the moss can be used by other members of the community and even fishermen that collect the hyacinth and sell it to people like the entrepreneur that uses the moss to make products
    2. Explanation of solution: Taking a small portion of the moss from certain locations will lead to less resource exploitation and will allow fishermen and other members of the community to have access to the hyacinth, making it more fair and giving more people a chance to benefit from the hyacinth. Having multiple sources will also allow the entrepreneur to keep up with the demand for the hyacinth
  4. Hiring more community members to help her in the crushing and composting process as the demand for the hyacinth increases 
    1. Holism: the components of the system need to work together to achieve their goal. This benefits multiple components of the system because the entrepreneur has created more jobs and people will be more economically sound and have more opportunities to provide for themselves. The fishermen also benefit from this option because the moss will continue to be removed from their lake, permitting their access to the lake and mitigating the risk of spreading disease 
    2. Explanation of solution: Since community members are outraged that they are not more involved with getting profits from the entrepreneur’s product, a way for them to accept her business is if they are involved and employed in the business, getting a salary.

GSIF Fall Week Seven

Describe at least 5 partnerships with individuals and/or organizations that have been formed to support your project and that impact the success or failure of your venture. Please identify partnerships at the individual, team, and Lehigh/GSIF level.

  1. What constituted the partnership
  2. How did the partner help? How did you help them?
  3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?
  4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?

Team:

  1. University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) HEED program
    1. UPD has a similar program (HEED) as GSIF for their students. When the GSIF decided to take on the PlasTech Ventures project, the project idea was also presented to UPD. Since the project also aligns with the HEED program, they decided to take it on as well.
    2. The partnership enables the PlasTech Ventures team to obtain direct information about the Philippines. In addition, UPD provides a facility for the PlasTech Ventures team to work at during fieldwork. We provide constant updates on our project to UPD and provide assistance within our capabilities upon request.
    3. No, this is not a symbiotic relationship. Our team oftentimes reach out to the UPD team to request for information that would advance the project. However, responses tend to be slow on their end and communication has slowed down significantly at this point in time. During fieldwork, the relationship is symbiotic and they are constantly present when needed to advance the project forward.
    4. An equal level of commitment between UPD and the PlasTech Ventures team would strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable. Since the UPD team is only committed to the project on a semester basis, the constant change in participants on the project resets the communication between them and the US. In addition, the motivation and feeling of ownership over the project never fully develop for the UPD students involved in the project. 
  2. Victor Paterno (7-Eleven Philippines) 
    1. Being that he is a Filipino businessman, the partnership was constituted to help advise us on venture creation and business development aspects.
    2. He helped us with his expertise and guidance on his particular industry and of the geographic area. At the time, PlasTech Ventures was very new so we helped him by sharing our knowledge and ideas to offer a solution to combat the plastic waste crisis.
    3. This was not a symbiotic relationship because at the time we had little to offer to him. We benefited more from his expertise and knowledge that he offered. 
    4. This partnership was initiated in the beginning stages of development and has not been communicating on a continuous basis so we really need to strengthen our relationship by reaching out to Victor Paterno. A more equitable relationship between Victor and us could be him becoming an entrepreneur and establishing a PlasTech Venture in the Philippines through us while also activating as a business advisor for our PlasTech Ventures initiative.
  3. Philippine Plastic Industry Association (PPIA)
    1. This partnership will help the team understand more of the machinery standards for the Philippines and help us implement the necessary operating procedures.
    2. We both have common goals of reducing the environmental damage created by plastic pollution. By having a common goal we can help each other advance the dream forward. Being that they are in the Philippines they can help us specifically because we are not able to be there full-time. 
    3. This is a symbiotic relationship because while we both have the same goal to reduce environmental damage, we also have other specific goals that each side works to fulfill for the other.  When we help them, we will be helping improve the well-being and financial state of their economy and citizens. When they help us, we are gaining more insight and understandings that will help us develop the project further and make it more feasible
    4. Frequent constant communication between the PPIA and us would strengthen this partnership. Exchanges on how PPIA can expand our reputation in the Philippines and how we can contribute to meeting their company goals such as creating employment opportunities would make our partnership more equitable. 
  4. Jill Manapat
    1. Jill Manapat and Khanjan had a previously established connection with one another. Khanjan played a role in inspiring Jill to start up the HEED program for students to work on impactful projects at UPD. As the director in charge of the HEED program (which is similar to GSIF working on impact-based projects), Jill is almost always willing to provide feedback and guidance to the PlasTech Ventures team.
    2. Ma’am Jill helps our team by offering her expertise about in-country operations. Our team is doing a large majority of the hands-on work, which advances the project forward. We offer our resources and information on our research to Jill.
    3. Yes, this is a symbiotic relationship because her advice is very important. She also has a valuable network in the Philippines that we are able to capitalize on with her help. Our team is responsible for much of the forward progress on this project, which will give her insights on how the HEED program can advance their PlasTech Ventures. 
    4. Sometimes communication is slow, which inhibits our ability to make progress. Constant communication between Jill and PlasTech Ventures would strengthen our relationship and make it more equitable.

Personal:

  1. Professor Raymond Pearson
    1. This partnership started due to my connections with the Polymer Science & Engineering department. I already conduct research as part of Professor Pearson’s group, so I felt comfortable reaching out to him when I had questions about the role of plastic in our project. He acts more as an academic advisor than a partner, but has been very helpful nonetheless.
    2. Professor Pearson has been helpful in answering several of my questions about polymer processing. He has also graciously allowed the team to use his labs to conduct our research. He aided in identifying appropriate equipment to carry out the experiments.
    3. This is not a very symbiotic relationship because the team is mostly relying on his knowledge and resources. However, any findings have been shared with him, so he is involved and learning as we do. 
    4. To strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable, it will be important to include him in any publication that results from our lab experiments.

GSIF Fall: Week Six

1. List ten specific ways in which your teaming approach has changed/evolved since you started, teamwork skills you have developed, and lessons you have learned.

  1. I have become more confident in expressing my thoughts in group meetings because my materials ‘expertise’ has become more critical to the project
  2. I have learned how to hold other team members accountable
  3. I have learned that it is more important to be transparent about being unable to complete a task and needing an extension than to under-deliver on the deadline
  4. I have learned about the importance of delegating tasks based on skill-set
  5. In a similar vein, I have learned that it is important to step outside of your comfort zone (and skill-set) to take on tasks that will advance the project forward
  6. I have learned how to communicate with people on a multidisciplinary team, who all have different academic backgrounds
  7. I have learned that it’s always better to go the extra mile because any work will advance the project forward
  8. I have learned that not everyone on a team will have the same standard of “completeness,” and sometimes you will have to add on to someone else’s work but other times someone will add on to yours
  9. I have learned that bonding outside of the project setting is very important for strengthening the team dynamic
  10. I have learned that it’s important to be patient when your teammates need extra help with something because sometimes you’ll need their help with something
  1. During Spring 2020/Week 7, your team developed a Collaboration Plan for your team clearly articulating your goals (Small g and Big G), Roles, Procedures, and Relationships. Provide an updated collaboration plan.

Goals:

  • What are the personal goals (small g) of each member on this team?
    • Laura: Use the technical skills I’ve developed through my coursework at Lehigh to  make positive change on global scale
    • Susan: To change the way people currently live to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly through my mechanical engineering and product design background.
    • Kelly: Using my experience to manage the distribution channels of plastics to ensure there is consistency in the types of plastics used, so that the bricks ultimately can be of high quality to the population of the Philippines.
  • What is the project GOAL (big G) we’re all committed to achieve together?
      • To provide a clean environment for Filipinos to live in by diverting solid plastic waste from landfills and decreasing plastic pollution in the oceans.

Roles:

  • Team leaders
    • Prototyping – Andy
    • Material Testing- Laura
    • Paper Development- Kelly
    • UPD Outreach- Ellie
  • Team scribes: Andy and Susan
  • Company sponsor interface: Susan
  • Financial manager: Kelly
  • Final brief editors: Susan → Laura → Andy
  • Liaison to shops, labs and other support persons:
    • Woodshop: Susan
    • Packard Shop: Andy
    • Whitaker labs: Laura

Procedures: 

  1. Decision Making – What process shall we use: consensus, majority rules, deference to expert, default to the loudest, or?
  • Decision making will result from mainly a team consensus. So far, no situations have arisen where there has been enough disagreement among the team to warrant alternative strategies. In areas where a majority of the team lacks knowledge, we tend to defer to the ‘expert’ on the team.
  1. Effective Meetings – Focus on key, timely decisions together vs. status/update (offline);
  • Meetings occur every Friday where each team member presents their work for the past week. The team analyzes the result of all the team members’ work and determines the next steps as a group. The team then divides and conquers the tasks needed to achieve the next steps by next week’s deadline. If any changes occur throughout the week that relates to the deliverable set for the upcoming week, the team member will notify the student team via Slack and develop any necessary backup plan.
  1. Meeting roles: scribe, facilitator, timekeeper
  • Andy and Susan will collaborate as the main scribes during the meeting. Any other members are free to chime into the effort. The team will go through the list of deliverables that was agreed upon the previous week and ask the designated team member to present their efforts on the specified deliverable. Brian acts as the facilitator based on the information presented during the meeting. Both he and other faculty advisors will ask key questions throughout the meeting to push the team forward. Deliverables will be determined and assigned to each member at the end of each meeting as a group consensus. 
  1. Communication – FTF: frequency, time, location; type of technology: (Googledocs, Zoom, Hangout, etc.); expectations for responsiveness; ‘best time to work’ (AM, PM, weekends?)
  • The general meeting between the team, advisors, PI, and sponsors occur on Fridays from 12pm-1pm on Zoom. The student team will be in constant communication with each other through Slack throughout the week and expects a response within an hour to one day. A weekly brief will be sent out to all the faculty advisors prior to the weekly general meeting to provide a quick update on the team’s efforts and progress during the week.

Relationships:

  • Team Diversity – What is the diversity on our team? Disciplines to tap for solutions;  individual learning styles for the stages of invention; overall team learning style strengths and places to supplement;  cultural backgrounds , work experience, dreams to leverage for scope & impact of goals, new roles, better procedures; languages for more diverse customer set, bigger market;
    • Currently, our team is composed of people from all kinds of backgrounds that have contributed to advancing PlasTech Ventures forward. First, the majority of the team is pursuing a different major. Andy and Susan are Mechanical Engineering majors (Susan also has a product design minor) and have been really involved in making various designs of wall systems and the machinery to produce the wall systems. Ellie is an IDEAS major (Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Science) who has been investigating UV degradation on plastics to understand how the wall systems will be impacted by the sun over a long period of time. Laura is an IDEAS major (Material Science & Engineering, Economics, Environmental Studies) who is leading the efforts in conducting research on the compressive strength of recycled plastics at different contamination levels. Lastly, Kelly is a supply chain who plays a major role in determining the movement of plastics in the Philippines and is currently leading efforts in the development of our most recent paper.
  1. Listening – Notice my binary thinking, auto-rankism, and go beyond it.
  • As the team is faced with numerous tasks ranging from prototyping machinery to material testing, the team decided to divide and conquer! During the start of the Fall 2020 semester, PlasTech Ventures was divided into the prototyping group and the material testing group. At the very start of the semester, the research team was fumbling their way through obtaining accessibility to testing facilities, sourcing the PET flakes, determining the experimental procedure and equipment, etc. Understanding that the prototyping team was busy with their tasks, such as machinery investigation, the research team had every intention to shoulder the heavy duties that were laid upon its members. The prototyping team listened to the researcher’s team progress and knew they needed help. They immediately proceeded in aiding the research team and spent at least a week in investigating the appropriate specimen mold for the experiment. 
  1. Team Name–What’s a team name that captures who we are and what we’re going to do?
  • PlasTech Ventures! The team is utilizing technology to create products out of recycled plastics in order to diverge plastics from the landfill and ocean. The business model that the team is currently developing will provide entrepreneurial opportunities to Filipinos.
  1. Identify a real potential funding source for your project. Seek sign-off from your faculty mentor and develop a detailed outline for the proposal with specific insights, arguments, and accomplishments.

GSIF Fall Week Five

PlasTech Venture FAQs – Laura Marsiglio, Susan Cheng, Kelly Mulvaney

  1. How do PET bricks compare to concrete bricks as a building material? 
    1. Our team relied on ASTM Standards used in the construction industry to validate the properties of PET. Using a finite element analysis, PET was predicted to have a compressive strength greater than 12.4 MPa, which is the minimum specified for concrete masonry units.
  2. Flammability is a concern if using plastic as a building material. What research have you done to ensure it is a safe material? 
    1. Our team is not able to conduct flammability testing in Lehigh’s labs. However, our research indicates that PET is less flammable than other common polymers, evidenced by the use of polyester fibers in children’s pajamas. We have also looked into the possibility of flame retardant additives to increase the safety of the material.
  3. Are VOCs a concern when using plastic as a building material? 
    1. The chemical structure of PET makes it less likely to release VOCs than other common plastics. In one study, PET was found to have the lowest quantity of VOCs released when exposed to a month of artificial weathering, compared to other plastics commonly found in the recycling stream.
  4. How do you plan to recruit entrepreneurs? 
    1. We intend to recruit entrepreneurs by utilizing our in-country resources. Our hope is to partner with NGOs that may have insight into the potential workforce. By opening and operating a pilot facility for some amount of time before relinquishing control to entrepreneurs and opening franchise facilities, we will be able to gauge the dedication of potential entrepreneurs. This will also ensure that we recruit individuals who will build a good name for the venture.
  5. How much overhead will be required in operating the recycling facility? 
    1. An overhead of 2.5 people will be required to operate the facility. We will need a sales person and the facility manager as the full-timers. An additional part-timer will be necessary to assist the facility manager from time to time to manufacture the bricks. 
  6. How do you make sure that an entrepreneur doesn’t take your idea, run with it, and undermine your venture? 
    1. In offering the business in a box product to entrepreneurs, they will have to rely on us to provide: the instruction and training to operate the machines in a safe manner, the machinery itself, and the extensive support network which include suppliers of PET and distributors of the PET bricks.
  7. How will individuals in the Philippines, which is known to be a low/middle-income country, secure funds for the initial investment? 
    1. We plan to connect potential entrepreneurs with established microfinance institutions in the Philippines and develop a system where we would help guarantee loans and make them less risky for the MFI. MFIs would take a share of revenues the entrepreneurs earn from selling bricks as loan repayments.
  8. What do the distribution channels for current brick manufacturers look like? 
    1. Prescon, Holcim, and Republic Cement and Building Materials are currently the top three suppliers of cement bricks in the Philippines in terms of sales revenue. One or many of these types of bricks can be found at most construction supply stores in the Philippines. More research needs to be done on how exactly these distribution channels are set in place and if there are any intermediaries that the bricks go through before reaching the end consumer. 
  9. What market validation have you done to confirm consumer’s interest in PET brick? 
    1. We have conducted research on similar existing products in the Philippine market. We found a company known as Green Antz who is producing ecobricks from sachets. Their success story indicates to us that there is a demand for PET bricks.
  10. How do you plan to enter the market and establish credibility for your brick? 
    1. We plan on launching our first recycling facility in the Summer of 2022 and building a house out of our own PET bricks in order to market our brand, our products, and our credibility in the Filippino market. We will utilize our existing connections and partnerships, such as UPD, to expand our platform.
  11. How do you plan to source the recycled PET? Is there enough plastic PET to support your production rate? 
    1. We plan to obtain raw materials by having a kiosk in the recycling facility where scavengers/locals come to exchange plastics for money. After reading through a barangay’s waste management plan from one of our connections at UPD, it was found that about 20% of most waste streams are comprised of plastics. which means there is plenty of PET in the waste stream to support our production rate. PET bottles specifically are one of the most valuable forms of plastic in the Philippines and are the most retrieved due to its high predicted value after consumption.
  12. How much waste can a single facility divert in a year? Are you even going to make an impact on the plastic waste problem? 
    1. A single facility will be diverting 3200 lbs of plastic from the landfill per week. Three years after launching our first recycling facility, we expect to support 20 recycling facilities that will be diverting 64,000lbs of plastic from the landfill per week. Our goal is not to solve the plastic crisis, but to be a part of the solution.
  13. What is the ROI of your venture? Is the return on investment in a fair time frame that would make it financially accessible to entrepreneurs in the Philippines? 
    1. In our most recent analysis, we concluded that the ROI would be approximately a little over 8 months. Our ROI meets our goal of a max ROI of 12-18 months for entrepreneurs in the Philippines.
  14. Where will the profit that is generated from your venture go? 
    1. Profit generated from our venture will go towards maintaining the operation of our venture in providing the training, machinery, and support network to entrepreneurs. Profits will also be used to further market the venture to increase the number of recycling facilities in the Philippines.
  15. What is the processing capacity of your ideal facility? 
    1. The ideal processing capacity of the facility will allow the entrepreneur to achieve an ROI in 12-18 months. With our current estimated processing capacity of the melter, this is a production rate of 13 bricks per hour.
  16. What are the health implications on the workers who will be operating the machinery and melting the plastic? 
    1. OSHA does not classify PET as hazardous, and it has not been found to be carcinogenic. However, when it is melted, it has the potential to emit small amounts of volatile organic compounds that could potentially irritate people’s eyes, nose, and lungs. To mitigate the risk of worker injury, strict safety precautions will be put in place and proper safety gear will be distributed to workers.
  17. Why did you take a community-scale approach? (What are the drawbacks of current industrial-scale facilities in the Philippines?)  
    1. The limiting factors of the current industrial recycling systems include their high operating costs, as well as the high costs associated with transporting recyclable materials to the facility. Their size and capacity also require significant initial investments that may take 2-5 years for investors to see a return. We expect community-scale recycling facilities with the most optimal combination of technologies (specifically, the melter) to see a return on their investment in 8-9 months, and the localized facilities would require significantly less transportation and operating costs. 
  18. What is the production rate for your bricks? What does that look like in the impact you are trying to make? 
    1. Our current estimated production rate is 13 bricks/hour with the melter. We have not done in-lab testing yet, so this is subject to change. This production rate will allow one facility to divert 107 tons of plastic per year.
  19. Which molding will produce the highest throughput? Is this one also the one that is the most expensive? How much energy will your machine use? 
    1. The melter allows for the highest production rate. This method is actually less expensive than larger scale compression or injection machines. The melter uses 1.12 kW of electricity, which is lower than the compression molder our team looked into. Assuming 5 hours of operation, 5 days a week, for 50 days a year, this is 1400 kWh yearly.
  20. Besides using the PET bricks to construct homes, what other ways can they be utilized? 
    1. During the Venturewell Phase II workshop, we spoke with experts that recommended positioning our products to other markets rather than keeping it limited to just housing materials. We see the potential for these bricks to be used for gardening/landscaping and/or artisan purposes as well. 
  21. How do you plan to scale/expand into other geographic areas to combat their plastic pollution issue? 
    1. In July of 2019, members of our team did fieldwork and found that the entire community was energized by the venture and fully supportive of it. With 897 barangays across Manila, there are tons of opportunities for us to gain traction as a venture, especially since the team was approached by many of these neighboring barangays during fieldwork. Not only this, but other countries with the same issue of excessive plastic pollution could benefit from our approach as well, as community-scale recycling generates extra income opportunities for people in middle-low income countries.

GSIF Fall Week Four

PART ONE

STEP 1: Facts

  • We’ve received a grant to establish a cooperative in East Africa
  • ~35% of children in this area have stunted growth due to malnutrition
  • Mothers typically feed infants a gruel made of maize and bananas starting at ~2 months to supplement breastfeeding. This gruel is missing some key nutrients
    • WHO recommends children are exclusively breastfed up to 6 months of age
  • HIV/AIDS is very prevalent in the region
    • Testing is rare and not readily available
  • The longer an infant breastfeeds, the higher the risk of HIV transmission to the child (If the mother is HIV+)
    • Testing is still scarce, so many with HIV don’t know they have it
  • We aim to replace the gruel with a shelf-stable nutritious porridge that will meet all the nutritional requirements and will be made from locally grown produce
    • Many of the crops are grown with pesticides
    • Mothers are skeptical of the use of the porridge
  • Porridge aims to wean children off breastmilk at 6 months of age
  • There is a high number of women (500) interested in the cooperative’s porridge idea 

Ethical Dilemma- finding the balance between either feeding the kids food grown with pesticides or increasing their likelihood of contracting HIV due to prolonged breastfeeding

  • Are both problems of the same magnitude?
    1. Most women breastfeed until at least 2 years
    2. How bad is HIV in the long term? How bad is exposure to pesticides?
  • Leverage points – 6 mos vs 2 yrs

STEP 2/3: Stakeholders and Motivations

  • Entrepreneur/Researcher
    • Professional
      • Good publicity and credibility
      • Build up a track record of successful projects
    • Personal
      • Aiding the decrease of stunted growth rates
      • Improving the nutritional status of the children
      • Support livelihoods of the mothers
  • Children (secondary)
    • Too young to have independent motivations; desires reflected in the motivations of their mothers
  • Donor (secondary)
    • Professional
      • Recognition/ Good publicity
    • Personal
      • Improve nutritional status of children
      • Improve livelihoods of rural households
  • Government (secondary)
    • Professional
      • Reduce prevalence of HIV by preventing transmission from mothers to children
      • Improve health of population by giving children access to proper nutrients from infancy, reduce stunting rates
      • Promote agricultural biodiversity and the development of value chains for produce
  • Women/Mothers
    • Professional
      • Want to improve their livelihoods without risking the health of their child
      • Increased income
    • Personal
      • Want to source food that is pesticide free / safe to consume for their infants
      • Want to stick to traditional breastfeeding practices they are comfortable with
      • Reduce risk of HIV transmission to their children
  • Farmers
    • Professional
      • A good work opportunity/ paycheck
    • Personal
      • Helping out their community

STEP 4: Solutions

  • Introduce this porridge options as a supplement for the mothers, assuming that better nutrition for the mother will be carried over to the child as well.
    1. Ethical Principle
      1. Beneficence – Attempting to reduce harm potential by asking the mother to consume the porridge because pesticides are less harmful to adults because they have a larger body mass 
      2. Non maleficence – balancing risks and benefits of promoting the new porridge that may increase exposure to pesticides with reducing risk of potential HIV transmission.
    2. Pros
      • The amount of potential pesticide contaminants consumed by the child will be reduced because the mother is directly consuming the porridge
      • The child will still receive proper nutrition and supplement as the mother’s diet is improved
      • This prolongs the amount of time that the mother can breastfeed, so the child can be weaned on they have grown more and are less susceptible to harmful pesticides
    3. Cons
      • The pesticides will still be present in the porridge
      • Mothers may still be reluctant to eat the porridge
      • Longer breastfeeding increases the risk for HIV
  • Involve community health workers, local religious leaders to establish trust and educate women in a culturally-appropriate manner. Use package labelling to include important information as well.
    • Ethical Principle
      • Autonomy – we are providing the information they need to make an informed decision. We are involving key community members to help inform our venture and provide information in a culturally appropriate way 
    • Pros
      • They help validate our intentions and can communicate to women better about our project
      • Parents receive the information they need to make an informed decision about risks of both options (i.e., HIV transmission vs. pesticide exposure)
      • Community health workers can teach about nutrition and how it impacts child development
    • Cons
      • There might not be a community health worker/ leader
      • The porridge may cause worse issues for the children
      • Despite being informed, may stick to traditional breastfeeding practices
      • Additional financial costs that were not originally planned for 
    • Recommend that the gruel is introduced in small quantities until the child reaches a developmental stage that minimizes risks associated with pesticide exposure but does not increase the risk of HIV transmission. This leverages the window typical for breastfeeding.
      • Ethical Principle
        • Non-Maleficence – 
      • Pros
        • Reducing stunted growth rates and exposure of HIV
        • Takes into consideration that women typically breastfeed anytime up to two years. The WHO recommends breastfeeding until 6 months, so that leaves a large window to introduce this porridge.
      • Cons
        • This does not eliminate the risk of HIV transmission to the baby and does not guarantee perfect nutrition for the child.

STEP 5: Additional Assistance

While the WHO recommends breastfeeding until at least 6 months, it will be important to read the other recommendations. More research would also be helpful in weighing the risks from pesticides to the risks of HIV transfer to the baby.

STEP 6: Best Solution

The most ethical solution, in my opinion, is to give the women all the proper information and ultimately allow them to make the decision themselves. Breastfeeding is a personal and intimate relationship between the mother and her child, so ultimately allowing the woman to make the best choice for herself and her child seems best. The risks of transmitting HIV through breastmilk and the risks of pesticide exposure to young children may not be known, so relying on community health workers and proper labelling the porridge will be critical to properly informing the mothers. The risks of pesticide exposure may be reduced if the mother consumes the porridge, which will still ensure proper nutrition of her child; however, this does not reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Alternatively, the mother may choose to wait until the child is six months old and completely switch to porridge because she weighs the risk of HIV more heavily. Permanent developmental issues may result from pesticide exposure, but there are known treatments to lessen the impact of HIV. Assuming these treatments are not yet widely accessible, it is best to properly inform the mother and allow her to make the choice she is most comfortable with. It is likely that this method will not be effective in addressing either risk in it’s entirely, but it gives the mother the proper information to weigh all the benefits and risks herself.

STEP 7: Impact on Venture

The economic cost to the venture will be low if education is the only real action taken. Printing information on the product itself will be very low cost because a label is already necessary. Partnering with community health workers will have a higher associated monetary cost but may be more effective. Providing information instead of providing specific recommendations may eliminate some legal risk from the venture if a child is harmed by pesticide residues in the product because the porridge is introduced at too early a developmental stage. There are not really any environmental implications for the venture, unless they were somehow able to convince all the farmers in the region to switch to organic farming, eliminating pesticides all together; this is unrealistic.

PART TWO:

STEP 1: Facts

  • Cooperative is thriving six months after launch
  • Women working for nine hours a day earning KES 300 ($3)
  • Women have opportunity to sell their produce to the cooperative at the prevailing market rate
  • Cooperative gives the women a strong sense of community and identity, so they are happy
  • Women are forced to turn over income to husbands, brothers, or fathers who spend it on alcohol and frivolous things
  • This upsets the women because they want to use the money to feed their children
  • As entrepreneur, one of seven members on leadership committee that oversees operations
  • Committee is elected annually, and after six months, you practically leave entirely
  • Other six members are local women who want things to change, but are not necessarily upset that the men are taking their money 

STEP 2/3: Stakeholders and Motivations

  • Entrepreneur
    • Professional
      • To see success of business
      • To build good publicity for the venture
    • Personal
      • To see the women happy and their hard-earned money being used to feed their children
    • Women/Mothers
      • Professional
        • To improve their livelihoods by earning a wage
      • Personal
        • To provide proper nutrition for their children
        • To enjoy the community of the cooperative
      • Men
        • Personal
          • Maintain the status quo; having access to the wages the women bring home
          • Have money to spend on “alcohol and frivolous things”
        • Women on the Counsel
          • Professional
            • Keep the cooperative running smoothly
            • Make decisions beneficial for all members of the cooperative and community
          • Personal
            • Make sure the women all have money to feed their children

STEP 4/5/6: Best Solution

In my opinion, the best solution is to provide the women with 1/3 of their daily wage in cash to take home each day, along with a few servings of porridge. The other 2/3 of the earnings will be kept as equity in the cooperative, allowing it to grow and expand. This opens the potential for the opening a store owned/run by the cooperative that would reduce the distance that needs to be walked to the nearest market. After the women have earned some amount of money ($100 or so), they would be allowed to cash out. Alternatively, they could use their earnings to make purchases in the cooperative store at a discounted rate. This solution addressed the motivations of all stakeholders. The women are able to feed their children because they are provided with appropriate servings of porridge each day. The status quo is maintained, so the men will still see a portion of the earnings every day. This allows the men to make purchases of their choosing, maintain their social status, and will lower the likelihood that women experience domestic violence because they are not providing. There are some downsides because it is possible that the men will be upset that they are not seeing the full wage immediately. Even after the women cash out their money, it is possible that the men will still spend all of it on unnecessary purchases, but a larger lump sum decreases this likelihood. All parties are able to save face because no great societal upheaval is occurring, and a new exciting store will be introduced which will be positive for the community. It will be important to consult community leaders and ask the men for input to determine the specifics of the plans, ensuring that all parties are satisfied and willing to cooperate. In the long term, the mission of the venture will be achieved with this strategy. It is a sustainable model that will achieve the twin outcomes identified as goals of the venture because the women will be able to feed their children, but the habits of the men will not be upended. 

STEP 7: Step-by-Step

  • Convene the council to discuss a strategy for expanding the cooperative using equity built by members, potentially building a store.
  • Present the strategy to the women in the cooperative, asking for feedback and suggestions for change. Make sure their primary need, feeding their children, will be met.
  • Once the women are on board, hold a larger town meeting. Present the change as a strategy to build a store, which will be closer than the market and sell alcohol for the men. Explain that in order to grow the cooperative, some wages will have to be withheld daily, but a portion will still be sent home along with porridge.
  • Offer the men an opportunity to get involved in the cooperative by doing some of the traditional male labor. This will be essential to build the store. The men will then have some of their own wage and credits to be used in the store, like the women.

GSIF Fall Week Three

Step 1: Facts

  • Children living in youth center in Kenya
  • Children ages 3-14 years old
  • Youth center received gifts from donor
  • Gifts already allocated for specific children, Jack is meant to distribute gifts
    • Four children did not receive gifts
    • Staff unconcerned about these children that didn’t get a gift
  • Black hats are distributed as an alternative
    • These children are unhappy with Jack and feel excluded
  • Assumed cultural difference between Jack (who is American) and the Staff (who are Kenyan)
    • It may be a cultural normal that when gifts come to the center, not every child gets a gift every time
  • Black hat assumed to have some sort of negative stigma

Step 2: Problem & Stakeholders

Problem: Four children at the youth center didn’t receive a gift from the donor because there weren’t enough. They were given black hats to supplement, but now it looks bad that Jack didn’t get them a similar gift. The children are upset, but the youth center staff do not view this to be a problem. Jack feels the need to preserve his relationship with both the children and the staff.

  • Children Without Gifts
  • Children With Gifts
  • Jack 
  • Youth Center Staff 
  • Donor of Gifts

Step 3: Personal vs Professional Motivations

  • Children Without Gifts
    • Personal: want to feel included in the gift ceremony, are upset that they did not receive a “real” gift 
    • Professional: N/A
  • Children With Gifts
    • Personal: might make the children without the gifts feel bad; want to keep their better gift
    • Professional: N/A
  • Jack 
    • Personal: doesn’t want the kids at the youth center to hate him; wants to be “the good guy”
    • Professional: doesn’t want to upset the staff by blaming the mix up on them or overstepping with his solution; concerned about well-being of children; doesn’t want to set a precedent he cannot uphold
  • Youth Center Staff
    • Personal: want be trusted and liked by the children; want to be “the good guy”
    • Professional: want to be respected by the children and not to be taken advantage of; want the operation to keep running smoothly
  • Donor of Gifts
    • Personal: make kids happy
    • Professional: reach as many youth centers as they can

Step 4: Solutions

  • The children can share the gifts so that no child goes without a gift. This solves the problem by combining all gifts for use by any child at the youth center. Assign gifts on a number system each week (to mitigate the effect of cons).
    • Pros: no child will feel excluded, and each child can have access to a variety of gifts rather than one gift. It will instill a positive lesson in the children, as sharing is important for the kids to learn. Jack will save face providing a quick solution to the imminent issue involving the shortage of gifts. 
    • Cons: children may fight over the gifts, some gifts may be neglected because the children choose others. In this situation, it is likely that the children will want something that they can call their own. Asking the children to share the gifts they were given as individuals may take away some of the feelings of pride of ownership. Not all gifts may be appropriate for all children due to the range of ages.
    • Saves Face: No child will feel completely left out anymore and everyone will be able to play at some point
    • Implications on Relationships: In the short term, some of the children might be upset they have to give up their personal gift for everyone to share, but in the long term all the children should be happy because they now have more gifts overall to play with.
    • Implications on Venture: The youth center will have to monitor when each child can play with each toy to allow everyone to play equally, so it is a little more work in the short term. But long term, hopefully everyone is happier.
  • Jack can tell them their gifts were lost, delayed, give them the hats for now. Get the children gifts at a later date.
    • Pros: eventually all children will have a gift, everyone is leaving with something at the time (although some just have hats).
    • Cons: children will be disappointed until they receive their actual gifts, may not be as interested in the gift at the later time, have to go out and acquire additional gifts.
    • Saves Face: Jack doesn’t blame any specific person for the children not receiving their gifts and promises them that they will get the same gift eventually so hopefully saving his relationship with them.
    • Implications on Relationships: Children will be unhappy until they receive their gifts, putting more responsibility on Jack to make up for shortcoming. Once they receive their gift they will be happy with Jack after that.
    • Implications on Venture: Short term the youth center (or Jack) will have to spend money out of pocket to get the children their gifts. The children will potentially be upset until they get the gifts. But long term everyone will receive a gift of the same caliber.
  • Jack can take the children who received the black hats aside and make up a fun story to tell them about why the hats are special and how they can use them to play a game of some sort. Make modifications to hats to make them more appealing, add a fun experience to the gift.
    • Pros: This will make the children feel better about not receiving one of the other, more exciting, gifts. It will allow Jack to preserve his relationship with the children. It will avoid setting a precedent or creating a conflict with the staff at the center. This also preserves Jack’s status with the children, which will prevent them from walking all over him because he acts too sympathetically.
    • Cons: The children may see right through the act, making them still feel left out. The staff may be wary that you have chosen to act when they did not perceive a problem. Making decorations on hats requires additional resources- sets precedent. Kids without hats feel excluded.
    • Saves Face: Children will feel better about not getting the other gifts and they will still like Jack. Jack will make them and their gifts seem special.
    • Implications on Relationships: This is a “goldilocks” approach that will not completely satisfy the children because they are still without a conventional gift, but it does not cause conflict with the staff. By acting in this way, Jack is able to preserve relationships with the children and the staff for the long term.
    • Implications on the Venture: By preserving relationships with all parties, the motivation of the venture is saved. If partnerships were strained by the decision made by Jack, they may be less likely to continue working together. 

Step 5: Additional Info

  • I have many younger cousins, so in my experience, children just want to feel special and singled-out in a positive way. By offering a story about the hats that makes them more interesting or special, the children may be satisfied

Step 6: Best Action

  • Personally, I feel that the best solution is to simply take the children aside and tell them some sort of story about the hats. It is important that the story is culturally appropriate, and Jack could potentially make up a game of some sort to be played with the hats. This solution would preserve his relationship with the staff because he would not be overstepping, but it still allows him to make the children feel better and maintain his positive relationship with them. This helps Jack to save face with all parties. It is possible that the children would see right through the story, depending on how old they are, and still be upset that they did not receive one of the other gifts. It is also possible that the children who received the black hats would begin to exclude the others if Jack’s story is too exciting. This could cause more disputes that Jack and the staff would have to handle. Unlike the other solutions, this does not set any sort of precedent that could lead to Jack having more responsibilities than previously. It also does not make him seem too “soft,” so the children will not walk all over him. In the long run, preservation of relationships with the center will allow the venture to continue their work.

Step 7: Sequence of Action

  1. Distribute available gifts to children, along with hats to those without gifts.
  2. Take the children who received the hats aside.
  3. Speak to the children to establish special quality of hats, telling a story that creates a game or makes them seem more exciting.

GSIF Fall Week Two

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation

  1. There is a unique disease-causing pathogen only found in water sources in Lesotho
  2. A team of ten academic researchers will be travelling to communities in Lesotho for two weeks
  3. Assistance from community members is required to understand where the water comes from and places/methods for storing the water
  4. The goal of the research is to understand the life cycle and characteristics of the pathogen
  5. Several publications are expected
  6. A more thorough understanding of the pathogen may allow for the development of chemical additives that could make the water safe for drinking

The ethical problem: Is the participation of the community members ethical? Do they need to be compensated for their participation? How should they be compensated? Which individuals should be chosen to participate? How should they be chosen?

Steps 2 & 3: Define the stakeholders and identify their motivations

  1. Researchers
    1. Understand the life cycle of the pathogen
    2. Disseminate the newfound knowledge to the greater academic community
  • Possible personal motivation to help the community (?)
    1. Likely not primary motivation for research
  1. Meet their funders’ expectations/deadlines.
  2. At a personal level, one research may be driven by selfless goals, but others might be driven just by the professional aspect of it (e.g., getting their paycheck, obtaining an advanced degree)
  1. University
    1. Wants to be represented well (i.e., positive publicity), increasing reputation
    2. Advance the research, write manuscripts,
  • Be involved in a major breakthrough for solving a healthcare problem.
  1. Funders
    1. Wants to be represented well (i.e., positive publicity), increasing reputation
    2. Advance the research, write manuscripts,
  • Be involved in a major breakthrough for solving a healthcare problem.
  1. Community members
    1. Eliminate the pathogen in their water supply
    2. Build relationships with foreigners
  • Risks: community members may tell you what you want to hear; may be overly helpful to the point that they gain nothing from the interaction; may not want to acknowledge existence of disease
  1. More tourism if water is cleaner, which would grow local economy
  1. Government bodies
    1. Improve public health
    2. Decrease cost for health care
  • Forge partnerships with the university
  1. Increase knowledge of local pathogen harming their water
  2. Learn how to develop education/prevention programs.
  3. If Lesotho exports their water to South Africa, they would be interested in receiving the research to be completed and possibly improve the quality of their water.
  1. Academic Journal
    1. Further general body of knowledge
    2. Develop positive publicity for their brand
  • Establish prestige

Step 4: Formulate three alternative solutions

  1. Conduct the research as it is
    1. The researcher is not obligated to solve the problem directly
    2. Simply publishing their research will allow other, more well-equipped, entities to address the problem and implement it in the most culturally appropriate manner
  • No compensation for community members is necessary because the future benefits to the community resulting from the research will be adequate
  1. Volunteers will assist the researchers
  1. Schedule an audience with the local authority
    1. Ask authority to call a town meeting to recruit individuals
    2. Provide community members with all details of the study
      1. What you’re studying, why you’re studying it, what help you need, the qualifications of the ideal individual to help, the anticipated time commitment, the compensation
  • Community members who are selected will be compensated with a meal during the time which they are helping the researchers
  1. Educate community about pathogen and provide temporary solutions for avoiding the associated diseases
    1. Tangible compensation is not necessary
    2. Providing the community with an interim solution is sufficient

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate

Additional assistance could be sought from local academics or professionals that would have the knowledge and connections necessary for a smooth entry. By partnering with groups or organizations already addressing the effects of the pathogen on the community, the researchers could more confidently promote a future solution for the towns.

Step 6: Select the best course of action

Solution A assumes that the study is inherently ethical because there is no harm done and the solutions resulting from a better understanding of the pathogen will be enough benefit. Solutions B and C both increase the ethical nature of the study, so I believe the best course of action is a combination of all three solutions. Combining all of these solutions provides the most good because community members are being compensated for their participation, the researchers will get the most accurate data from the best-suited individual, and the community will have new strategies to handle the pathogen. Compensating the individuals that show the researchers the water sources is a generous (virtuous) thing to do and will maximize the total benefits of the interaction for the locals. Even though the study is ethical without compensation, the financial cost to the researchers is low and increases the benefit to the community members. By combining the solutions, the motivations of the researchers and the locals are achieved directly, but this course of action also indirectly meets the motivations of the other stakeholders. Asking the community to select the best-fit individual to identify the water sources will ensure the study is successful, which will satisfy the university, the funders, and the academic journal. Additionally, educating the locals so they are able to minimize risks associated with the pathogen until a more permanent solution can be developed increases the benefit to the community. The researchers are assumed to be already educated about the pathogen to an extent, so sharing the knowledge with the community would be simple and beneficial.

Step 7: What are the implications of the solution?

By compensating the locals, some monetary cost will be incurred. A courtesy meal as compensation will allow the community members to build relationships with the researchers and the associated cost will be small. By compensating the community, a better social relationship will be developed. This will make it seem less like a “hit and run” study that just exploits the suffering community for the benefit of the researchers.