Conner Calzone's Blog

– Who is <name>?

My name is Conner Calzone. I am a junior at Lehigh majoring in Chemical Engineering and Finance. I love to explore other cultures, and travel abroad and I want to make an impact on the world. I pride myself on my determined, hardworking and passionate work ethic as well as my authenticity and humility. I am annoyingly inquisitive as I want to truly understand the topics I learn about. Finally, I am a very hands-on learner. In university, you can easily memorize theorems, but post-university, you will succeed in your field with good presentation, critical thinking and communication skills and by applying the knowledge you have learned outside a classroom setting.

 

– How will you change the world?

I want to be remembered for the impact I make on the world in some way or another. The way to change the world is to help the people in the world. This is a large reason on why I applied to the Sickle Cell Anemia project a year ago. Not only did it align with my Chemical Engineering major, but it also was a fulfilling project that had a great opportunity to change the world. Changing the world does not have to be an individual venture. My Sickle Cell Anemia group is full of like-minded passionate individuals and working with my peers will allow us to think from many different perspectives and create an important neonatal screening program in Sierra Leone. However, this project will not be the only way I look to change the world. I love volunteering and community service, but I will have to balance those with my profession. Although most do not look at Finance as a world-changing field, I want to use my personable skills to help the people I work with. I like the idea of being a Financial Consultant, and for example, if I can help a family save money, I could help them retire early or send their children and grandchildren to college. It may not seem like a huge deal on a broader scope, but it means the world to them. Overall, I just want to help people however I can.

 

– What do you want your epitaph to read?

An epitaph should be short and sweet; it should encompass your personality and accomplishments succinctly. Besides making an impact on the world, I want to be true to myself. I believe family is the most important and fulfilling aspect in an individual’s life, but I want to go beyond the “Good Father. Great Husband. Amazing Person” epitaph category. As aforementioned, I want to do something that impacts the world, and I want to do something I find fulfilling. Therefore, my epitaph would read something along the lines of “He forged his own path on a journey to help his family, friends and others.

Living an Impact-Focused Life

What’s your Why?

I believe I was put on this earth to:

Do something impactful to environment, society and ohers and to do something that makes me feel fulfilled.

 

My purpose is to:

Make an impact on some aspect of society.

 

I believe (my core values):

Humility

Integrity

Being Genuine

 

The one thing I must do before I die is:

Accomplish my goals to be remembered fondly.

 

My advocates and supporters all believe I am:

Hardworking

Inquisitive

 

The evil I want to eradicate in this world is:

People who care about nothing but themselves

 

I want to work in order to:

Support my family, my loved ones and make an impact on people’s lives.

 

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:

Ask questions to fully understand topics, complete my work on time and will always contribute greatly towards something I am truly passionate about. I also try my best to be understanding and empathetic to people and problems.

I never:

Do things just to get them done. Especially if I am passionate about something, I will always put my all into it.

 

My work style is:

Confusing to some people, but it works for me. There are a lot of people who cannot pull off my work hours, but it is a style that has served me well through my academic and working career so far. I am not a procrastinator, but I work best in the later hours of the day.

 

I try to treat people:

The way I want to be treated. My karate sensei has ingrained this mantra into my head since I was little.

 

I approach problems by:

Identifying the stakeholders, looking at the problem from several different perspectives and by brainstorming/bouncing out ideas off my peers before attempting to create solutions. There is a lot that goes into approaching problems before you get to the solution.

 

Victories are time to:

Congratulate yourself for the accomplishment but being ready to push on to the next step/next goal.

 

If another attacks my point of view I:

Use their logic to strengthen my idea or, through listening, realize I may have been approaching a problem from a less efficient angle.

 

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

Call them out on it. I believe that I am a fairly blunt person as it gets things done more efficiently. If I believe something that someone is doing is wrong, I will tell them so we can discuss what they are doing, and if it is wrong, they can change it right away.

 

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	Majors: Finance and Chemical Engineering Minors: Business Spanish Certifications: Yellow Belt Six Sigma Fellowships: GSIF
Research Experiences	Nathan Wittenberg GSIF Sickle Cell Disease Diagnostic Device
Inventions and Innovations	SCD Device Hippo Roller (High School STEM accreditation project)
(Social) Entrepreneurial Ventures	Global Social Impact Fellowship
Publications (Formal and Informal)	BMES, GHTC IEEE
Formal Presentations (at Lehigh and Beyond)	IBE, GSIF, Click Therapeutics Inc.
Awards and External Recognition	Yellow Belt Six Sigma Certification, Deans 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)	At Lehigh University, especially bio/chem engineers, most people have many credit hours of work on top of various extracurriculars. Time Management, as I have learned through GSIF and several other programs, may be the most important soft skill. Tiffany, Maria and I have to balance our time to go to the lab together while Tiffany and I prepare for our next presentation and while Tiffany, Dream and I are working on a poster for a conference. Setting up schedules ahead of time is crucial to successfully managing your time.
Conflict Resolution Experience (and Lessons Learned)	The Sickle Cell Anemia is one of, if not the greatest team I have even worked with. Every member of the group is a smart, dedicated and passionate individual. The only conflicts that ever occur are the discussions when editing a paper or a presentation. I have learned through GSIF that listening to someone’s point and asking for further clarification is the best strategy. The more you make someone explain their idea, you will either realize their point is better thought out than yours, or you’ll see its flaws more clearly.
Leadership Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Often we work in smaller sections in our Sickle Cell group, so collaboration is more important than leading, but being a vocal contributor is something I have excelled at in GSIF. In presentations, I love to answer questions as I am passionate and knowledgeable about the venture, and in the lab, Maria is training Tiffany and I to be the future leaders on that side of the venture as well.
Dealing with Chaos, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty (and Lessons Learned)	The last semester and a half have chaos, uncertainty and ambiguity personified. However, our team maintained regular meetings, worked on many publications during the lab hiatus, and have now restarted lab activities this semester with strict protocols to ensure safety.
Personally Challenging Experience (and Lessons Learned)	When I first joined the group, I had trouble capturing all the information about our venture. It is a somewhat complicated setup and procedure at first glance and there is a fair amount of fancy chemistry jargon used, but after asking many questions, I feel as I have gained a tight grasp on the science behind the project as well as its “Why’.
Cross-cultural Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Unfortunately, as we have not yet traveled to Sierra Leone due to the pandemic, I do not believe I have as compelling of an answer as I would have hoped. When we go to Sierra Leone, I hope to learn about the Sierra Leonean perspective of SCD and learn how we can best help them when implementing the product there.
An experience that helped you connect your GSIF work to your discipline / major.	The lab work I have done as well as the financial models we have created for the GSIF presentations have encompassed skills from both of my majors. Additionally, important soft skills like time management, communication and presentation have been bolstered by GSIF.
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.	For our group meetings this semester, we have had a weekly presenter talk about some aspect of the project to the group in order to ensure they understand it fully. My performance on this presentation, combined with the added work and trust I was getting in the lab made me feel like a leader for the team and made me even more passionate for this project.
A moment where you felt like you truly have a strong sense of purpose and belonging in this dynamic, globalized interdependent world.	I truly feel great with this team. I work well and enjoy the company of my peers and we get things done efficiently and intelligently as a group. I believe in the impact of this project and the entire team wants to see the vision of this project fulfilled.

 

GRAND VISION: Everyone with Sickle Cell Disease should be able to live a fulfilling life

 

Goals that Support the Grand Vision:

• Incorporating our screening device in neonatal standard operating procedures(SOPs) at all hospitals, clinics, and health posts in Sierra Leone
• Reducing the child mortality of all children of 5-years and below in Sierra Leone
• Providing an affordable, point-of-care screening process
• Having the public know more about SCD, and incorporating indigenous knowledge

SCD Conceptual Framework (Outlining the extant of the problem and highlighting the systemic challenges):

Treatment Framework (outlining the extant of our venture and coalition for addressing the systemic challenges to improve the Quality of Life for our target group):

 

Conner Calzone, Tiffany Pang

1. 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?

Solution 1: Have policemen supervised and their progress monitored – if they fall below the standard, threaten to lower their salaries until they reach the expectations set for them, and if they still refuse to work efficiently, fire them

• • This is a measure of regulation in systems thinking, since it focuses on feedback to lead to the desired outcome of the system, in this case being the performance of the police.
  • This will help everyone work together for the cause of the country, and for themselves
  • This can also be seen as leverage, since their salaries are being threatened, and potentially their jobs.

Solution 2: Offer incentives such as bonuses or extra days off for high performance working cops

• • This could be seen as a leverage point, as the incentive will lead to a shift in the individual policemen, affecting the overall safety of the community due to a better police force.
  • However, we must also understand that more incentives or bribing can hurt the poor when resources are going to increasing incentives for the policemen

Solution 3: Create new policy-sustainable improvement on how the government should deliver services by endorsing sensible rules and practices that ensure change

• • Similarly to enforcing stricter surveillance and supervision on policemen as a regulation, it is possible to gradually integrate new policies that force the policemen to make the guidelines in order to receive certain benefits in an abstract fashion

Solution 4: Keeping the citizens engaged on what is happening at the local, national, interaction and global levels to promote engagement

• • Through holism, changing the communities’ and people’s behavior by teaching them the relevant information/tools to push engagement and participation in their government by identifying priorities, problems and looking for solutions; this allows the power of the people to occur
  • This idea helps indirectly solve the problem at hand, yet it is effective
  • It’s not the best option as it could lead to riots and a mass rebellion with those of extremely high positions versus the people, but corruption is not easy to change 
    • Some real life examples of protests are Hong Kong, Thailand, and BLM protests around the world

 

2. 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.

Solution 1: The fisherman already knows the hyacinth is affecting their fishing business which is also decreasing the overall amount of food resources available for the community. The fisherman, the people in this village knows this and if this continues, they may lose the most efficient/effective way of getting food

• Therefore, the entrepreneur should publicize what she is trying to do. I believe that poster billboards with very explicit images will help the people of the village and the fishermans understand what is going on. I believe that their lack of understanding, is making them unhappy, and causing them to be subjected to think the entrepreneur is only doing this for the money
• In a way, she is also educating the public about the situation and how dire it is to fix and get rid of the hyacinth, before it’s too late, where the plants will start to affect the economic state and lifestyle of the people
• This is Multifinality where resource optimization is happening in this case, thus the fisherman most likely saw the entrepreneur as a competitor since she was earning money. However, if the fisherman saw it like this where the entrepreneur fixes the hyacinth problem earns some money, then the fisherman will be able to earn their money from fishing more now since the hyacinth is gone and then the consumers of the fish being sold at the market will be able to bring home food for their families to eat

 

Solution 2: The entrepreneur can show that she is not competing against the fisherman for who gets the best business and instead her goal is to support and aid their community that is being supported by fishing. She would have to explain and describe that, in order to help the fisherman, she must earn some money to sustain this hyacinth-ridding system she has created. 

• This shows interdependence as they are helping each other rather than competing against each other, hoping to create a symbiotic relationship
• This defines equifinality where the end goal of getting rid of the hyacinth is what both parties want. Both want to earn money to sustain their business, but they have competitive advantages based on each other. If the entrepreneur succeeds in clearing all the hyacinth and restoring these bodies of water, then the fisherman can earn more money by catching more fish and the compost produced from the crushed hyacinth can help families potentially to fertilize their own small gardens or to be used as firewood.

World Hope International

1. 1. WHI is a multi-national non-profit dedicated to alleviating global poverty and improving global health, has been instrumental in providing access to resources and facilitating networking opportunities within Sierra Leone during our team’s developmental phase.
   2. They are actively stationed in countries including Liberia, Haiti and other Sub-Saharan African countries.
   3. Following integration into large hospitals, WHI has interests aligned with our goal to develop education and screening programs for Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) in peri-urban and rural areas
   4. Responsible for developing Community Health Worker (CHW) systems in the Bombali, Tonkolili, and Kareneh districts of Sierra Leone and have excellent ground network to integrate sickle cell education and testing into PHUs and these CHWs work with

We would like to work with WHI to leverage their social capital and their political capital. They have allowed us to access their office space and other practical resources within Sierra Leone. They split the risks with us to help us advance our venture forward. In return, as a symbiotic relationship, we provide passionate goals to innovate impact and implementation of our device, while at the same time, having the ability to conduct in-field research with evidence based approaches. Since WHI will serve as a significant partner to help establish our venture after launch, we must strengthen this partnership by connecting with someone internally within the organization, to have larger discussions about what needs to be done in order to have the device implemented successfully.

 

Sickle Cell Careers Awareness Network (SCCAN)

1. 1. SCCAN is an organization that aims to raise awareness about SCD, treatment and prevention while also offering practical support for those with SCD.
   2. Our team aims to collaborate with SCCAN through SCD treatment efforts. We could reimburse the profits of our product into SCCAN for penicillin prophylaxis and hydroxyurea supplements.
   3. We are part of a coalition working together towards a common goal

With SCCAN we have a symbiotic relationship as they provide the legal cover for our ventures in the country since they are legal organizations as a nonprofit and we can serve as their partners. We bring specific areas of expertise that the organization may not have and possibly additional revenues to be used for SCD treatment. Overall, we have the ability to go out and innovate with evidence based approaches. The team currently doesn’t have close collaboration with someone who is a part of this organization, so in order to strengthen that, we must find contact with someone internally to keep constant contact with in order to see how they can offer support to our venture.

 

Dr. Cheedy Jaja

1. 1. Interests aligns with our goals: currently is researching sickle cell disease (SCD), pharmacogenetics and health care disparities.
   2. Has built excellent relationships with relevant stakeholders in Sierra Leone and created partnerships with SCD patient advocacy groups to organize and conduct community advocacy campaigns to increase SCD education and awareness.
   3. Is a PI for the Sierra Leone Sickle Cell Disease Data Collection Project with an approved IRB surveillance and support from the US Department Fulbright Scholar.
   4. Is an expert SCD consultant on the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation Sickle Cell Disease Technical Working Group. The group is currently developing guidelines for clinical management of SCD in Sierra Leone. He represents Sierra Leone on the African Newborn Screening and Early Intervention Consortium.
   5. He has assembled a multidisciplinary team with expertise in multiple areas (nursing science, hematology, implementation science, public health, qualitative methods, and epidemiology) pertinent for successful execution of our proposed study
   6. Our team has been in contact with Dr. Cheedy Jaja and we have developed a plan to begin alpha testing using his patient’s blood under his IRB approval. Our team and Dr. Jaja have similar goals and can use each other’s partnership beneficially.

With Dr. Cheedy Jaja, it is a symbiotic partnership where working with him will expand his connections and relationships with our team and possibly lead up to connecting us with key partners he has established (being the link to other sources). We have been keeping close contact with Dr. Cheedy Jaja, but what could strengthen our relationship is that we can continue to update him with our venture’s plan and where we stand right now, so he could offer advice or suggestions.

 

Dr. Ranju Gupta

1. 1. A local hematologist who works with sickle cell patients at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) for laboratory testing of sickle cell blood samples to determine the device’s accuracy in the current developmental phase. 
   2. Also, looking to receive HbS blood samples from LVHN in the near future

We have a symbiotic relationship with Dr. Ranju Gupta, who provides the validation of our device’s stage for early clinical trials and brings credibility to our device, while we help to expand his connections and participation in SCD-related projects like ours. We can strengthen our with Dr. Ranju Gupta by constantly checking up on him through email and asking about what is the current outlook on SCD patients he’s had so far.

 

Local Blood Bank in Bethlehem

1. 1. Providing us with purified blood samples
      1. Currently we are only approved to accept healthy (HbA) blood samples from the bank, but we aim to accept SCD (HbS) blood from them as well
      2. This relationship is not necessarily symbiotic as we do not provide much value to them, but we do not ask much for them and they generously help us

The local blood banks in a way, provided us validation of our device during the clinical trials stage as we need to test our device with real blood to see if it is functioning as planned. Although the relationship is not symbiotic, as a team we could establish a stronger partnership with them by letting them know what the blood samples are being used for and when we run low on stock, we could become one of their recipients on their database that commonly requests for blood samples.

1.

1. All the individuals on the team are focusing more on being able to complete the main lab procedures independently
2. Personally, I have been taking on more responsibility the longer I have been on the team. Currently, our lead senior in the lab, Maria Lancia, is certifying me to teach the procedures to others on the team, so cumulatively, we can be more efficient in the lab.
3. Additionally, I have become much more adept at working as a team since joining the Sickle Cell Group. Collaborating on presentations and grant papers have allowed me to adapt these skills. 
4. I have always been a keen listener to others ideas, but I have realized to trust my own ideas more as well.
5. I have become more effective in problem solving and problem framing as well. Finding a way towards approaching and solving complex problems is a key skill in the lab, while making presentations and more.
6. Each member of the team has been assigned to present about what the project is about, lab protocols, purpose of our project, and/or protocols to external systems we use like ImageJ. We do this in our weekly meeting with Professor Cheng and our senior member Maria to ensure that everyone is on the same page and absorbing this information.
7. All of our subgroups have to be on the same page to efficiently deliver results. For example, analyzing test line intensities, we need to make a lab schedule, go to the lab and run the experiment while following protocols, then send them to the ImageJ team for analysis.
8. I have realized the importance of having background cultural knowledge. In high school, I modified a “Hippo Roller” to create electricity while being rolled to purify the water inside. I did not take the cultural aspects when prototyping the implementation of this device.
9. Additionally, I have realized that to understand the true scope of our project, we need not only read previous articles from our team, but also previous articles regarding Sickle Cell Anemia and Lateral Flow Devices.
10. I have also improved on my procrastination since joining the group. Many of my team members like to work ahead of schedule, so they have helped me be accountable for completing my work earlier.

 

2. 

Roles:

Our team’s role is to successfully develop and administer a lateral flow immunoassay test strip in order to diagnose sickle cell disease (SCD) in Sierra Leone. The organizations and individuals (listed in “Relationships” below) identified the absolute need for a low-cost, screening device and have shown interest in what our solution proposes.

 

Relationships:

The project has gone through multiple stages of prototype designs to the design we have today with our PI, Professor Cheng, and GSIF coordinator, Khanjan Mehta. The team has also validated this device and has received feedback through the connections we have established with World Hope International, Sickle Cell Care Awareness Network (SCCAN) and Dr. Ranju Gupta together with partnerships within Sierra Leone including Masanga Hospital and Dr. Cheedy Jaja. We would also like to acknowledge Lehigh Global Social Impact Fellowship (GSIF), Lehigh Technical Entrepreneurship, Lehigh Valley Health Network and VentureWell E-team for bringing us this far along our work.

 

Procedures/Work in Progress as of Now:

So far, the team has a successful diagnostic test strip established. The novel device schematics, the “E-junction”, is capable of running on only a single drop of blood without a dilution step. The process is efficient and only takes 15 minutes to run. Currently, the diagnostic device is being tested using purified HbA and HbS, and also HbA blood samples from a local blood bank in Bethlehem. Our team has been awarded the Stage 1 grant of $5,000 offered by VentureWell E Team, the Davis Foundation’s Peace Prize, been selected as finalists for the Global Health track in the John Hopkins Healthcare Design Competition, invited to publish our year’s IEEE article onto a special issue indexed by SCOPUS called Multidisciplinary Sciences and Engineering organized by Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal (ASTESJ), received acceptance for this year’s IEEE GHTC Conference, and received acceptance for BMES 2020 Conference. We are currently under review for the NIH Tech Accelerator Challenge (NTAC) and DEBUT by VentureWell.

In the lab, we are currently running optimization tests to maximize the test line intensities. ImageJ software is used to quantify the test line intensities from these direct binding tests. Variations of the test line position on the test strip, as well as the location of one test line with respect to another test line, are being studied. Three test lines were printed with the HbA antibody on to the test strip at different locations relative to the absorbance pad. By doing this, we are seeing if there are possible indicators that inhibit or decrease the test line intensities. Test line intensities are conducted for the current prototype in order to measure for accuracy analysis with ImageJ software.

 

Current Goals and Milestones:

As our lateral flow device is improved and developed over time, our team plans to write publications. To do so, we are looking into journals to understand what our targeted audience wants to see from our research. For instance, in-depth concepts about our diagnostic device’s design, outcome, specificity, and sensitivity. Our experiments will be planned based on our target journal and two main focuses discussed in our publication will be design versus clinical tests versus field considerations. Some publications the team is considering as of right now are Lab on the Chip, and the Journal of Hematology. 

Another goal the team is looking at is quality control. As a team, we must figure out the shelf-life and storage of the test strips (by itself or with the blood sample + running buffer + antibody). Possible storage we are looking into is the development of a casing. Other aspects to consider are also the effects of humidity, temperature and other possible constraints (dehydration). 

After establishing quality control, we are currently working on optimizing the production of test strips. An automated repetitive system for the printing mechanism has been slowly developed alongside the diagnostic device. The system will consist of a conveyor belt and functionality programmed by an Arduino with Matlab. The goal is to create a motor-driven belt in which it could transport the strips of Nitrocellulose membranes down the conveyor. The Nitrocellulose membrane strips will reach a point, where it will trigger a light sensor (Photocell or Light Dependent Resistor Sensor), causing a chain reaction to enable an attached syringe press (propped up by a 3D printed stand) to pump the antibody solution onto the strip.

 

Next Steps and Larger Goals:

We aim to return to Sierra Leone in August of 2021 in order to conduct the alpha testing phase of the diagnostic device. To conduct this testing, we aim to collaborate with Dr. Jaja who has IRB approval to run studies on current SCD screening devices, SickleSCAN®. As we work under his guidance, an estimate of 10-20 devices will be tested to validate its usability. 

We are planning to launch our product in Sierra Leone in Summer 2023. By cross-referencing a population density map and a map of all the public hospitals in Sierra Leone, we have constructed an ordered list of hospitals where we will introduce our device. One year after launch, we expect to be implemented in 10 densely populated hospitals encompassing many areas of the country. Two years after launch, we expect to be in 25 hospitals, and three years after launch, we expect to be in at least 50 hospitals diagnosing 75% of the newborns. 

The device will be implemented into the standard operating procedures (SOP) of care in target hospitals where the hospital staff will issue the single-step test for SCD and Sickle Cell Trait (SCT) when a child is born. 

Five years from launch, the venture will be sustainable and autonomous from our input as we will shift our focus to look at the intellectual side: strategic gaps, false positives/negatives. The project will be absorbed into the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health which will continue screening for SCD/SCT for newborns because they have the authority and funds to sustain our venture.

 

Conner Calzone, Tiffany Pang

9/24/20

Develop Top 20 FAQs for your project.

 

• Identify the most important questions, building on the referee Qs/

• Why? What? How? How well? How exactly? At steady-state?

• Provide concise and precise responses to each question

 

 

What is the specificity and sensitivity of your device?

1. 1. We have not yet determined the specificity and sensitivity of this device, but we are planning to test increasing the sample size of the test line antibody selection experiment and using purified HbA and HbS, in order to maximize the specificity and sensitivity. 
   2. (follow up answer) However, our test strip utilizes a direct binding lateral flow mechanism (sandwich structure) that is more analytically sensitive with a range of 98.2-99.5% compared to the competitive binding structure, with a sensitivity of 90%.

 

What approvals are needed to market this device and how long would they typically take?

1. 1. Sierra Leone Pharmacy Board: 5-6 months of consistent contact with them, and sending them our concept papers to read.

 

Why don’t you think that something like (our venture) has not been brought to the field before?

1. 1. Other ventures implemented in LMICs were too time consuming and expensive, our venture is a point-of-care and an affordable solution that can deliver results in 15 minutes because of the optimized use of reagents and materials, and the fact that we do not need a constant supply of electricity.

 

What are the core innovation of the device?

1. 1. So, our core innovation of our device is that it’s affordable, simple to use and eliminates a dilution step. It reduces the hook effect which will cause a false negative when the results should be positive due to an oversaturation of the hemoglobin bound to the test strip. 

 

(follow up question): How does the E-junction work? (refer back to slides and show the diagram)

1. 1. Arm 1 is where the blood is distributed, arm 2 and arm 3 is the wash buffer+blue latex beads. As can be seen, the second wash step eliminates the extra hemoglobin, allowing the two checkpoints (sandwich structure): the conjugated bead and spotted antibody with the HbA analyte to produce the diagnosis.

 

Once the device is distributed to the hospital, how will the device be implemented?

1. 1. We will sell a bulk amount of the test strips to clients (hospitals and clinics) and the staff will undergo the requisite training to use it. It will be implemented into the SOP’s of the hospital, where the diagnosing will be directly administered during the labor routine, right when the baby is born.

 

What do you plan to do with the money earned from sales? (giving back to SCD-related services; penicillin therapy)

1. 1. So, from these sales we plan to give them back to SCD-related services such as penicillin therapy. It is recommended for all children younger than 5 with SCD to take prophylactic antibiotics daily. The earliest treatments possible have been proven to show the best benefits to reduce child mortality rates.
2. Are there any SCD devices implemented in Sierra Leone right now?
   1. There have been a couple of tests such as the dried blood spot (DBS) programs, which involve collecting samples from newborns in high-risk areas and sending them to centralized laboratories for isoelectric analysis. These programs were initiated in Angola and Uganda, but were time-consuming and expensive with costs estimated to be around $9 to $15 per test.

 

Are there any SCD devices implemented in Sierra Leone right now?

1. 1. There have been a couple of tests such as the dried blood spot (DBS) programs, which involve collecting samples from newborns in high-risk areas and sending them to centralized laboratories for isoelectric analysis. These programs were initiated in Angola and Uganda, but were time-consuming and expensive with costs estimated to be around $9 to $15 per test.

 

What expenses must we consider to execute our plan?

1. As shown in our income statement, expenses to consider include networking, communications, transportation, advertising, start-up, raw materials, packaging and shipping.

 

What makes a hospital our target?

1. We will implement our product anywhere where they want it. We have identified the top 80 or so hospitals by overlaying GIS data with a population density map, but we will look to target pop-up clinics as well.

 

How do you plan to fund your venture? And who’s going to pay?

1. We will be pursuing grants for our project and donations from those doing work in or want to do work in Sierra Leone. Donors like NGOs, WHI, WHO and UNICEF will pay the extent of our launch costs.

 

How will you validate the usability of your device? 

1. We hope to return to Sierra Leone in Summer 2021 to begin alpha testing to validate the usability and basic accuracy of the device. To conduct this testing, the team has collaborated with Dr. Cheedy Jaja who currently has IRB approval to run a study on two other SCD screening devices, including the Sickle SCAN® device. Through Dr. Jaja, the team aims to carry out 10-20 trials for the device. These tests require no additional recruitment of human subjects beyond Dr. Jaja’s current patients.

 

How are you running future clinical trials?

1. Future clinical trials will emphasize establishing a treatment program at hospitals with health care workers and a follow-up study.

 

What are the metrics of success for your venture?

1. In the short term, within 5 years from launch, we can save over 5,000 lives per year, and reduce the percentage of under-five deaths in Sierra Leone due to Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) from 4.2% to 0.2%. In a steady state, 5-10 years in the future, our team wants our project to be absorbed into the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health and strictly control the intellectual operations of the project. 

 

What determines our selling price per unit? 

1. A price that makes the device affordable for donors while allowing profits to be invested into SCD treatment methods like penicillin prophylaxis supplements.

 

How do we plan to integrate our devices into the hospitals?

1. Our relationship manager will gauge interest, and if interested, we will have our training expert come to the hospital’s hematology labs for the staff training. This allows us to integrate the device into their SOPs, not be involved directly.

 

1. How will we help patients throughout diagnosing sickle cell?
   1. The success of this project will not only be labeled by the completion of the screening device, but by the strengthened attitudes of communities’ towards the idea of diagnosing SCD. We have recognized the indigenous knowledge, traditional beliefs, and practices, hence our device is being customized to be non-disruptive to the current Sierra Leonean lifestyle. Therefore, the educational curriculum is aimed to provide locals with information on where and how to receive treatment.

 

1. What has been our plan to cope with the COVID-19 situation?
   1. Currently, there is a small team of us working hybridly at our on-campus lab to run tests, while in the meantime, we will also continue writing proposals for grants and competitions. 
   2. Some pieces we have worked on are the NIH Tech accelerator, DEBUT, GHTC IEEE and BMES. We also have plans to submit an article to either Lab on the Chip or the Journal of Hematology.

 

1. Why is this research important? What’s so significant about what you are doing?
   1. Everyone with sickle cell disease should be able to live a fulfilling life, BUT this is definitely not the case around the world right now. As mentioned before, in sub-Saharan Africa about 50-90% of individuals with SCA will die before the age of 5. Therefore, we make it our goal to promote early awareness of the disease’s presence and diagnose all children of 5 years or younger to lower child mortality rates.

 

1. Who is our main target consumer?
   1. For all children under the age of 5 who have sickle cell disease, our SCA diagnostic device is capable of identifying whether you have healthy blood, sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait, so they can take the necessary steps to get treatment.

 

Team Members: Gabriela Alves, Conner Calzone, Rebecca Gjini, Kendall Prime

 

Ethical Decision-Making Methodology 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue. 

• • 35% of the children are stunted due to poor nutrition
  • Maize and bananas are the items most commonly made into a gruel and fed to infants beginning at ~2 months of age to 24 months of age
  • Mothers believe that the gruel is good for kids, but science says it lacks some key nutrients
  • High rate of HIV in mothers create risk of child getting HIV during prolonged breastfeeding
    • WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until an infant is 6 months of age
    • This increases the risk of the children having the HIV transmitted to them
    • They aren’t able to identify who has HIV and who doesn’t
  • We received a grant to help combat the poor nutrition of children in the area 
    • has sufficient funds for the women’s group to process and market a nutritious, shelf-stable porridge made from a large mix of locally grown produce
  • Nutritious porridge is supposed to wean children off of breast milk at 6 months of age
  • The foods used to make the porridge contain pesticides that can affect the health of infants
  • We need to figure out how to develop the cooperative
  • Women are skeptical because the porridge is something they haven’t used before (new product) 

 

• Ethical issue: We are choosing whether to potentially infect the children with HIV and/or run the risk of being nutritiously deficient with the gruel versus a better nutrition but potentially adverse health side effects from the pesticides that may be in the porridge, which is also a product that is not a cultural norm.  

 

 

Step 2 & 3: Define the Stakeholders and assess their motivations (personal and professional)

• Me (Grant Recipient): 
  • Professional: Wants a successful and sustainable venture to be achieved to boost credibility and improve reputation in the field (good publicity).  Want to earn money from grant
  • Personal: To improve the nutrition of children and the livelihood of households.  
• Donor : 
  • Professional: Gives the donor a good reputation of trying to do something impactful
  • Personal: The donor’s intent is to simultaneously improve the nutritional status of children and improve the livelihoods of rural households
• Women in the Cooperative: 
  • Professional: women’s group to process and market a nutritious, shelf-stable porridge made from a large mix of locally grown produce 
  • Personal: Want to improve the overall quality of life for their communities children and mothers
• Mothers: 
  • Professional: Work and revenue opportunities
  • Personal: Healthy children and to improve their livelihoods
• Infants: 
  • Professional: N.A
  • Personal: The children need to be given the proper nutrients from a young age while limiting their risk of contracting HIV.  Want to also prevent health effects from pesticides. 
• Farmers: 
  • Professional: Can make more money from selling produce to make the porridge 
  • Personal: Helping out the health and livelihood of mothers and children in the local communities

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide Approaches 

1. Having the women of the cooperative take part in the porridge production, farming the crops without pesticides.
   1. Pros: 
      1. The women can make money from growing their own vegetables 
      2. The food they feed their children will be more nutritious 
      3. There won’t be any pesticides in the food or there will be significantly less depending on if the women can completely supplant the other cash crops 
      4. Reducing the children’s chances of getting HIV
      5. Less expensive to fund the production of food if the women are providing the crops
      6. The women will not need to breast-feed as much, reducing the chance of HIV being transmitted being transferred to the babies
   2. Cons: 
      1. There might be more inconsistency with crops
      2. The crops are more susceptible to infestation and can go bad
      3. There might not be enough women to farm to help grow crops 
      4. The women may not be as well trained to grow crops as the farmers
   3. Ethical Principle: The women are still feeding their children with nutritious food that will help their children reduce the chances of getting HIV and being affected by the impacts of pesticide consumption.

1. Use market power to pressure farmers to stop using pesticides by advertising certified pesticide free porridge
   1. Pros: 
      1. No more pesticides which are unhealthy for the infants and may cause further growth stunting
      2. This creates long term change around farm culture and pesticide use, making vegetables safer for the entire community
      3. Empowers women in our cooperative by showing the power of cooperative, making more women interested in joining
      4. The women will not need to breast-feed as much, reducing the chance of HIV being transmitted being transferred to the babies
   2. Cons:
      1. The women in the cooperative may not be able to penetrate the established crops market
      2. Farmers may lose sales due to this shift in technique
      3. Farmers might lie about pesticide usage for the sake of selling crops
      4. This is more of a long term movement, and does not satisfy immediate need for pesticide-free vegetables
   3. Ethical Principle: This is duty based thinking because it is our duty to deliver safe nutrition to the children of the mothers in our cooperative.

1. Create a gruel product that has additive nutrient supplements with the key nutrients the current recipe is lacking. We can create this gruel in place of the porridge, but still keep operations running.
2. 1. Pros:
      1. Already a loved product by the community, so there is no need to convince the community to feed it to their kids
      2. Nutritional supplements can be easily added to any food and does not have any flavor
      3. The kids will finally have the nutrients that the original gruel was lacking
      4. Mothers won’t have to buy separate ingredients for the gruel; it will be premade with the added nutrients
      5. The women will not need to breast-feed as much, reducing the chance of HIV being transmitted being transferred to the babies
   2. Cons:
      1. Similarly, the villagers may be skeptical of these premade products
      2. Mothers may want to just keep making gruel on their own instead of buying one that’s premade
      3. Depending on the grant funding, there might be an issue with buying the vitamin supplements if they are expensive (typically inexpensive, though, but since we don’t know the amount of the grant, there’s no way to know for sure)
      4. It may be hard to supplement this wide-spread
   3. Ethical Principle: Once again, we are using duty based thinking to try to provide the infants with nutritious food. In this scenario, we can use the unflavored additives to allow them to stick to their established routine while limiting HIV transmission risk and giving infants the proper nutrients.

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection

• Peers: The malnutrition team has discussed adding supplements to some of their recipes to make them more nutrient rich
• Inner reflection: the risk of HIV is in my opinion, worse than the risk of lacking some nutrients
• Engineering Code of Ethics: Our solution needs to follow the given ethical standards for an engineering/entrepreneurial venture 
  • Integrity, Objectivity, Professional Competence, Confidentiality and Professional behavior

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values. Explain reasoning and justify. Discuss your stance vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in the class.

• In my opinion, alternative 3 is the best option, because it does not go against any cultural norms and delivers the proper nutrients to the children to wean off of breastfeeding.
• The mothers will already know what the product is and have it implemented in their day to day, so there is no introduction period.
• I chose alternative 3 in place of alternative 1 mainly because the women are hesitant to give their children the porridge. They would have to try something new and different to what they are currently using, which is the main reason the mothers are hesitant to switch from gruel to porridge. Also, alternative 3 does not change the taste of the current food product that is being given to the children; it simply adds to the nutritional value. 
• I chose alternative 3 in place of alternative 2 because there is no guarantee that using market power will effectively pressure the farmers to not use the pesticides. Even if it does, the lack of pesticides does not change the fact that it’s a new product that the mothers don’t want to try. Alternative 3 allows us to keep the gruel, but just fortify it. 
• One of the downsides to alternative 3 is that the mothers may be hesitant to purchase premade gruel. They may prefer to make it on their own. A possible solution to this hypothetical situation is to have the women in the cooperative all watch the making of this nutrient-fortified gruel and see for themselves that it’s extremely similar to the current gruel. Once they see it’s essentially the same, they will be inclined to use it on their own children, and tell others about it. Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to advertise in African countries.
• If alternative 3 is not affordable by the terms of the grant, alternatives 1 or 2, whichever the women of the cooperative prefer, would be great solutions. It would require the families of the community change their nutritional substance from gruel to porridge, but if that is the best option, that change will have to be made.

Step 7: (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture?

 

•  Economic:
  • Money would be coming in for the cooperative due to the sales of gruel
  • The families may be able to make more money due to the extra time they will have, however, the cost of buying gruel may be higher than the raw materials and making of the gruel
• Social:
  • Less work for the mothers since the gruel is already premade
  • Children will receive the nutrients they need
  • Mothers don’t need to change what they are currently doing, so there is no expected cultural change
• Environmental:
  • The amount of pesticides used in the process can be limited and no additional pesticides will be used, unlike in the scenario where porridge was produced.

 

Part 2: Grassroots Diplomacy 

 

Grassroots Diplomacy Strategy Development Methodology 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible 

 

• The women work for about nine hours every day and earn KES 300 (about $3)

 

• They have the opportunity to sell the produce grown on their small farms to the cooperative.
• The women like this arrangement because it saves them a trip (time + money) to the village market to sell their produce. 
• When a woman brings her hard earned money home, she has no choice but to turn it over to her husband, father, or brothers.
• The men do not use this money on their family, and spend it on frivolous things such as alcohol
• Social outcomes of the venture are not being achieved (improve women’s livelihood)
• I am one of seven members on the oversight committee this year and I have 6 months left of my position
• The other six members on the committee are also women and want things to change
• Women are convinced that this is the way things are and don’t see this as an issue that their money is being taken but:
  • They are upset their hard earning money is not used to feed the children

Step 2 & 3: Define the problem and the stakeholders, and their personal and professional motivations – 

• Me (the entrepreneur): 
  • Personal: Want the women to be happy and for their money to spent on their children, not frivolous things
  • Professional: Want to improve the venture so the women aren’t upset
• Women in the cooperative:
  • Personal: Want their husbands to stop spending money on frivolous things, want to spend their money on their children and other necessities
  • Professional: Want to get through each day on the job, they are enjoying their current jobs and want to keep them
• Oversight committee: 
  • Personal: They also want their children to be fed nutritious food and to prevent their husbands from overspending on alcohol or their friends families from being subject to alcoholism 
  • Professional: Some may want to get reelected, some 
• Families
  • Personal: They want their families to improve their overall quality of life by reducing how much the husbands are drinking and spending on alcohol
  • Professional: The women in the families want to continue working in the cooperative

Step 4: Formulate an alternative solution

1. Cooperative acts as an equity bank for the workers so that they can cash out directly, or through other products (family needs) and establish a general store that takes workers credit. This store is open to the public and the cooperative gets another stream of income. The store offers beer for credit but quota is 2 six packs a week. Caveat AND incentive for saving: you can only take out one third of your savings at once (unless reason for emergency)
   1. Pros:
      1. Incentivizes men to not take money because they get more if they wait
      2. Creates a long term savings plan for women’s livelihood
      3. By offering beer for credit but establishing a quota, the men are still satisfied and get their beer, but don’t overspend on it. This way, there is money left to be spent on necessities in the home
   2. Cons:  
      1. Women aren’t receiving all their money at once so it might be harder for them to trust the process of splitting their income up into thirds
      2. Limits spending to one-third of their savings, which can be good or bad.
   3. Saving face: 
      1. Me: This helps give a solution that caters towards the women on the committee while also benefiting women that are working in the cooperative
      2. Women in Cooperative: This helps the women keep some of their money without having their husbands waste it on alcohol.  It allows them to not have to hide the money from the husbands and feel like their money is being protected from not being in a bank.
      3. Oversight Committee: The oversight committee saves face as they are allowing women to access their money while still allowing them to spend within a finite range. 
      4. Families: This benefits families so that they can utilize the money being made by the women in smarter way and improve the overall quality of life for the family
   4. Relationship short-term implications: 
      1. Me:
         1. I am at first nervous to pitch this idea to the committee because I’m worried about how they may react. Once the committee approves, I will tell the other women in the cooperative about the decision – I’m assuming the women will like the idea but the men will be hesitant, so there may be a slight awkwardness in the beginning.
      2. Women in Cooperative:
         1. The women in the cooperative are happy because their money will be going towards their kids more. They are happy with me and the oversight committee for making this decision.
      3. Oversight Committee:
         1. The oversight committee also wants things to change, so my relationship with them is still great. They are excited that things are going to be different, especially because they thought they couldn’t do anything about it.
      4. Families:
         1. The families may feel some tension amongst themselves since the men won’t be able to spend their money frivolously anymore and will be upset about it.
   5. Relationship long-term implications:
      1. Me:
         1. My term on the committee ends on a good, successful note and I leave with a great reputation and long lasting relationship with the women on the cooperative. 
      2. Women in Cooperative:
         1.  They are  not to blame for the lack of spending money for alcohol and their kids are fed from their credit in the general store. They maintain a good standing within their home and the husbands do not take their aggression out on them for this new change. The women have the opportunity to save their money up and are able to plan for their future longevity. 
      3. Oversight Committee:
         1.  This decision demonstrates the committee’s role in the local community and if it does not go over well it could hurt the local interest in the cooperative, causing blowback on the committee. 
         2. If this decision works, the committee has proven their ability to adapt to the needs of their workers and they strengthen the relationship between them and the cooperative community. 
      4. Families:
         1. Since not all the money is immediately spent, families begin to save their money and build their fortunes up. Children are provided for and more healthy, and the mothers get to keep their earnings in the cooperatives equity bank to save for a better future for their children. At first, the men are angry about this change but they come around to it when they get used to having two six packs a week. Overall, the families begin to see the cooperative as a larger part of the community since they now shop at the general store. 
   6. Venture short-term implications:
      1. Me:
         1. The community reaction to this proposal can essentially make or break my reputation. Since it was my idea and my term is almost over, the committee might place the blame on me if this goes wrong. This venture can end my career if it fails. If it succeeds, however, my namesake will be passed on to the next committee and I will have a lasting impact on the cooperative.
      2. Women in Cooperative:
         1. In the short term, the women will have access to less money as their credit goes. They will still have enough for their family to eat, but this might put stress on their household in the earlier weeks of this change. 
      3. Oversight Committee:
         1. The oversight committee is put in a tense spot. This change affects the income of their workers and the family dynamics within the community. There is a tension towards the committee in the beginning, seeing that there is uncertainty in its impact.
      4. Families:
         1. The men will have less access to alcohol, which could make them take out their anger on their families. However, since we clearly explained the saving process they might be incentivized to wait longer before pulling money out of the equity bank for their drink. This means that there might be disturbance in the beginning of the venture that should be monitored, but it should level out in the long term.
   7. Venture long-term implications:
      1. Me:
         1. When this succeeds, my career flourishes and I write a publication on this grassroots cooperative management system which is featured in conferences across the globe. Once I leave my position as a chair I have no trouble getting a job in a similar field with my past experience.
      2. Women in Cooperative:
         1.  The women have more financial savings for their families. They are able to afford better healthcare and nutrition for their children. Since their families have more money they can afford better healthcare. Some of the women even get their HIV treated. 
      3. Oversight Committee:
         1. The oversight committee remains vested in its two goals and it begins to expand the cooperative as the credit system flourishes. Since they have a new stream of income, they begin to grow more of their own ingredients without the use of pesticides. The committee begins to have a more direct relationship to the community since they included that voice in their decision making. 
      4. Families:
         1. Families are healthier and wealthier. Men don’t spend as much of their wife’s money on alcohol and begin to see the incentive for keeping the money in the bank. Since the cooperative has grown and this decision strengthened the relationship between families and the cooperative, the product is more normalized and it has widespread use among the families in the community so baby’s are getting the proper nutrition.

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 

• Inner Reflection: If I were in their shoes, I believe that sectioning off money available to spend would be the most efficient way to get all the needs in the house without overspending
• Engineering Code of Ethics: Our solution needs to follow the given ethical standards for an engineering/entrepreneurial venture 
  • Integrity, Objectivity, Professional Competence, Confidentiality and Professional behavior

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

1. Validate the idea with the council
2. Validate the idea with 25 men and 25 women one on one or in smaller group settings with people in the cooperative
3. After the idea is validated, we will announce the new system and get general feedback at a community meeting to directly engage community voice
4. We will implement the idea by obtaining funding for opening the store and obtaining vendors to supply the store. 
5. Then, we will hire workers for the store  and finalize the credit system with the women of the cooperative and do a trial run of the solution. 
6. If everything goes smoothly, we can open it up to the public.

Problem Statement: Jack is an American student who lived at a youth center in Kenya while working on a social venture. In this role, he lived and interacted with the children at the center and worked closely with the staff. One Saturday evening, kids under the age of 14 years were to receive presents that were sent by an international donor organization. A staff member at the youth center had picked up all the gifts the previous weekend and they were finally going to be distributed this Saturday. When it came time to give the gifts out after dinner, the staff members called Jack up to the front – as he was a guest – to assist in the gift-giving ceremony. The staff members had allocated the gifts for the children and labelled them – Jack’s job was to hand out the gifts to the kids. The only problem was that four children did not receive gifts and the staff members did not appear to be concerned about the four forgotten children. As kids began leaving the hall, they thanked Jack for the gifts. The kids were convinced that Jack had gotten the gifts for them. Jack felt a little awkward but at the same time reflected that a good relationship with the kids would help him in several ways during his five-month stay at the center. 

At the bottom of the boxes containing the gifts, there were a few black hats. The kids that did not get a present were brought over to the box and given a hat. However, they were upset about the fact that they were not given the hat as ceremoniously as the other kids. The staff gave them their hat and shooed them on their way as if they had some fault in this situation. As one of the little boys who did not receive a gift left the hall, he walked past Jack holding his black hat, and gave him a stare that clearly indicated that he blamed Jack for not receiving a gift. Jack met with the staff and discussed how the four kids were very upset and felt ‘left out’ after the incident. The staff did not acknowledge the problem and were a little piqued that they were being blamed for such a trivial matter. They were convinced that Jack was making a big deal out of the situation and were concerned that Jack would become a ‘children’s rights activist’ and create unnecessary problems for them. The only response they gave Jack was – “If you think there is a problem, then you go ahead and solve it”. If you were Jack, how would you proceed? 

 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue.

• Jack, an American student, is a guest at a youth center in Kenya that is helping in giving out gifts during the ceremony
• Kids in the youth center are expecting gifts, the left out kids believe they are equally deserving of gifts
• Four children did not receive gifts, and with their level of maturity at this age, it is assumed that they will not be able to realize that it was a mistake.
• After the staff distributed the black hats, they did not further respond to the children who we assume are still upset from not receiving gifts.
• The kids blamed Jack for not getting gifts, even though the staff allocated the donated gifts.
• Jack discussed with the staff the kids felt upset and left out, but they didn’t acknowledge the problem at all and believed it was Jack’s problem
• Jack wants to accommodate the kids who did not receive gifts, but this may be a part of Kenyan, or the youth center’s culture, where some kids do not receive gifts.
• It is assumed that the black hat is not as good, or as special of a present as the other gifts

When Jack told the staff the children were disappointed, they did not seem to care. Jack implicitly took some credit for getting the gifts, even though he did not contribute to the gifts, which is why he took the blame. Now, Jack has to figure out how to solve the problem.

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

• Jack:
  • Personal: Jack believes the kids who did not get gifts need to be compensated better, unlike the staff; wants to maintain amiable relationships with the kids and staff, wants to do something for the kids
  • Professional: wants to continue his social work at the youth center, does not want to upset the staff nor the children, wants to save face
• The four children who did not receive presents:
  • Personal: Unhappy with their gifts, they believe Jack is to blame for this. They may be made fun of for not getting a gift, although it was an accident. They want to be included.
  • Professional: Children do not have professional motivations
• The children who received presents:
  • Personal: Happy to get a good gift, they believe Jack is a great person for “getting them” their gift
  • Professional: Children do not have professional motivations
• The Staff
  • Personal: Trying to save face by keeping blame on Jack. Many of the staff members grew up in the center themselves so they have personal ties to the center/families.
  • Professional: wanting their next paycheck, getting their job done every day. They do not want Jack to get out of control with his savior complex and they want to work within their limits.

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide 

• Potential solution 1: Have a private (calm) discussion with the staff members involved being honest in a respectful manner. Kindly remind them what the big goal is, (the kids), and the best way to go about things
  • Ethical Principle or code
    • Fidelity and Responsibility, Justice, Respect for Persons and Dignity
  • Pros 
    • Private setting and calm environment allow for civilized, honest discussion
    • Hopefully will allow for a diplomatic, calm resolution
    • Stern reminder of nature of venture and that tension will only impede that goal
  • Cons 
    • Invitation to a private conversation could be seen as threatening
    • The kids still may not understand the problem and may still be upset
    • This does not directly help the fact that four kids did not get gifts and will feel neglected.

Implications on relationships/venture:

• • • • Short Term: Hopefully this will result in less tension between the staff and Jack and the children and Jack. This would be a good move for the youth center overall, but may be frowned upon in the short term.
      • Long Term: This conversation will hopefully lead to a long term solution that will satisfy all parties involved. Everyone’s voice can be heard in this discussion. 

2. Reach out to a donor organization like WHO and see if they can get gifts for the students

• • Pros: 
    • Jack would not have to pay for the gifts 
    • The kids would receive gifts 
    • The integrity of the youth center can be as Jack can save face, and the kids would no longer blame Jack
  • Cons: 
    • The gifts may not be personalized for the kids
    • It would take time for the kids to receive the gifts
    • The four gifts are not that costly. The organization may not uphold this request because of the lack of relevance and cost.
  • Implications on relationships/venture:
    • Short Term: Jack’s relationship with the staff may be tarnished due to his extreme efforts to get the children gifts. This would also be extra work for the donor organization which they may be unhappy about. However, everyone saves face overall
    • Long Term: In the long term, Jack solved a small problem for the youth center, and the staff will end up being grateful.

• Potential solution 3: Jack can purchase four presents on his own for the four children who were left out
  • Pros:
    • The children will get their presents
    • The children will continue their positive relationship with Jack
  • Cons: 
    • The children will not receive the same public receiving of the gifts like the other kids.
    • Jack has to pay out of his own pocket for the toys, which is a con for Jack
    • The other kids might see this as special treatment
    • The staff might feel uncomfortable if Jack does not tell them, feel as if he is taking matters into his own hands.
  • Implications on relationships/ venture:
    • Short Term: Kids will be happy they got gifts. Jack helps the youth center save face by fixing the problem. He will also not receive the blame anymore.
    • Long Term: Youth staff might appreciate Jack more for helping solve the problem, but this is not guaranteed, Jack saves his own face and the kids end up liking him more. The kids who did not receive presents will no longer feel excluded.

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection

• Ethics Principles (autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice, and fidelity)
  • The kids without presents are being unjustly treated in comparison 
  • The Engineering Code of Ethics does not apply here
• Inner Reflection: If I put myself in a kid’s shoes, I know that I would feel excluded if I did not receive a gift. I would feel as if I did something wrong. 
• Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. As an extension of Inner Reflection, you would feel neglected if you were one of few who did not receive a gift

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values. 

Best Solution: Combination of 1 and 2 or 3. The staff and children should be explained of the problem, and should have an open conversation about the solution. Jack can purchase the four gifts himself, or a donor organization could pay for the gifts. This is the long term goal. In the short term, Jack can wear the black hat in order to make the four kids feel included in a group.

This is the best solution (ethically and tangibly) because:

1. Kids that were neglected are given both an explanation and a comparable gift (Justice, Respect for Persons and Dignity). This means that they obtain a valuable learning experience and will eventually receive a gift.
2. The stakeholder relationship with the staff  is re-established and tension is diplomatically resolved (Fidelity and Responsibility)
3. A long term solution, not just a band aid fix
4. All stakeholders are satisfied, able to apologize and explain while allowing stakeholders to save face

Some Consequences may entail;

1. It may be incredibly difficult to get in contact with an organization who would donate toys to Kenya or even for Jack to get toys himself of the center is remote and far away from anywhere that would sell toys (However, in this case, he could make toys out of wood) 
2. Depending on the cost of the gifts, Jack may have to pay a significant amount out of pocket.
3. The ROI may not be worth it if using the donor funding route
4. The social impact of getting toys for the kids would be positive. The economic and environmental impact variable is negligible.

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

1. Find another donation center or pay out of pocket for 4 comparable gifts
2. Give to 4 children and explain that no one was meant to get hurt, it was an honest mistake and all parties are sorry while giving them some sort of public recognition without it seeming forced or special.
3. Mention the resolved situation and outcome to the staff members and have a diplomatic conversation to settle tensions and create a better understanding for the future
4. With these steps, all stakeholders have a clear understanding of the situation and next steps to solve the problem if it were to happen again.