Month: October 2020

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. a) Focus on administrative control and internal self monitoring:

• Pay commanders or supervising officers based on the accuracy of their payroll lists so they would be incentivized to keep track of ghost policemen, also set up a policy of disciplinary action for both higher ups and regular policemen if they reach a certain portion of inaccurate payroll rosters so there are consequences for corruption.
• Use a biometric (fingerprint scan) check-in/check-out system. This would help the individual working schedules without having to involve extra personnel. At the end of the month (or paying cycle) policemen and their superiors would receive their paychecks according to the number of days worked (successfully registered by the biometric system). Should a worker exceed a certain amount of absent days, their paychecks would be frozen until they provided documentation for justifying their absences. 

• Reward workers with percentage pay raise to incentivize policemen who provide (a) daily reports of performed activities, (b) flagging people who do not follow the regulations, (c) flawless biometric record of attendance. 
• An external supervising team that does not belong to the department so they tend to be unbiased and won’t cover the corruption.

1. b) Create transparency measures:

• The mass media has the power to (a) expose corruption by releasing the names of the people who are caught faking as policemen and who are helping the ghost policemen to the public periodically with the internal department checks to improve the public trust and morale through a more transparent policy from the government, (b) discourage people from corrupt actions by propaganda and education about the punishment of violation (public judgement, court), (c) support the police stations for anti-corruption policy, (d) praise and highlight the policemen who are doing well and carrying out their duties appropriately, (e) increase citizen involvement on supervising police misconduct. 
• Once the population can see who the “good cops” are, not only they will start trusting more the policemen in charge, but they can also help hold the good cops accountable if they ever start straying off into corruption again.

1. c) Create a system to build literacy:

• Offer moral & civics education for the policemen as part of their training. For example, they could take classes in a school before being on duty.

• Perform (bi)monthly assessments of ethics and public administration law, so that their scores can serve as data to either promote or demote officers. No permanent benefits or positions.
• More emphasis on corruption control at the selection and training process, with integrity tests and polygraph tests

These changes reflect systems thinking principles of interdependence, multifinality, equifinality, regulation, and leverage points because we are trying to approach the problem from multiple avenues of the individual parts in the whole system by going through various levels of the hierarchy.

The proposed solution also introduces changes that would build an environment of self-regulation and peer-monitoring with consequences that would promote anti-corruption and cross-level accountability. That would make it more worthwhile for the commanders and non-supervisory employees to follow the proper procedures instead of being corrupt, we are taking advantage of leverage points at both the administrative level and the employee level by providing better benefits for “proper” behavior because taking a hard cut, punitive approach may create more resistance from all levels than trying to offer an alternative where every stakeholder is satisfied with the benefits they gain from following the rules of the system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Multifinality:  Designing a system in which the individual actors and inputs, the subsystems, and their interactions all meet their own goals while the system as a whole also meets its own (multiple) goals.

 

Solution:

 

The root of the problem is the dissatisfaction the locals have towards her for taking this thing that “belongs” to everyone and making money out of it. While the communities on the shores of the lake have a problem with her making money on the hyacinth, they do not have a problem with the harvesting itself. Thus, our solution involves some type of profit splitting with locals, using the fishermen as leverage points, and not shifting the issue elsewhere or involving other parties.

 

She should solicit help from the fishermen, who benefit from her harvesting the hyacinth, to involve individuals who live in the communities on the shores in her business. She should hire locals (willing to do the job) to collect the hyacinth as well as pay them for the rights to harvest their hyacinth. 

 

She could also involve members of the communities who live on the shores to help expand her production of the compost and briquettes. She could teach them how to harvest safely and efficiently, and how to control the hyacinth’s growth to a proper amount. She could package her process and sell it to members of the local community for a discounted price.

 

Once she has the production running smoothly, she could look to expand her market for the compost and briquettes. 

 

• We are trying to change the system in order to reduce resistance from other stakeholders because they are also a part of the overall system.
• taking different approaches with the different groups of people as her partners recognizes that while they are separate individual parts, they all have an effect on the overall success of her venture so she should work with all of them for an equifinal and multi-final solution.
• this solution also recognizes the interdependence of the various stakeholders and how they are holistically involved from the water hyacinth being a type of checks and balances for the fishermen, for the owner of the venture, and the locals, it can aid in preventing overfishing and the compost and briquettes that it makes benefits the locals in return as an alternative to coal while being the source of profit for the venture.

 

→ MAJOR PARTNERS: STEM EDUCATIONAL CENTERS & STAFF

 

• Lehigh Gap Nature Center (LGNC),  [organization]

 

1. Dr. Bodzin, our PI, has fostered this partnership and similar relationships through his previous work over the past several years.

ii.

 

• In 2018, LGNC was the first local partner for our proof of concept learning game. This was a result of long-term partnership that Dr. Bodzin has developed with LGNC. 

• Dan Kunkle & Chad Schwartz  [individual]

• Shared longitudinal research about the revegetation process that took place in the Lehigh Gap.

• Provides historic photos, and overall information regarding the institution and their audience.

• Participates in our group meetings at least once a month.

• Provide support to any students that conduct their individual research projects within our group. 

 

iii. LGNC / Lehigh Watershed Immersive Learning is a symbiotic relationship.

 

• By having their institution as the central location of an entire game narrative, we market their work to more (younger) people via the multimodal ways afforded by the immersive VR game. 

• Their institution is the focus of our next game iVR2. 

• We help increase the amount of visitors to the centers, who may consume their products, and even become donors.  

 

1. An increase in the number of visitors/income for LGNC would strengthen the partnership between us because they would perceive it as something reliable and that produces results not only for our venture (with the games), but also for their institution in terms of outreach, public recognition/relations, and indirect gains.

 

 

• Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L),

 

1. 1. 1. Martha Fox [individual]

 

• Dr. Bodzin, our PI, has fostered this partnership and similar relationships through his previous work over the past several years.

• She is an author, speaker, and advocate who shares historical expertise and provided media material for the project such as many historical photos. In turn, we increase her visibility and showcase her work as a historian and author by utilizing her materials in game. 

• Yes, this is a symbiotic relationship because both parties are getting what they need from it. We need the materials and expertise she provides while she gets free publicity and credit as part of our research.

• We could make this partnership more equitable by providing her name to specific photos and or placing it as part of development in our game credits documentation. If we give specific references to her numerous times, more people will be aware of who she is. 

 

 

1. 1. 1. Daphne Mayer [individual]

 

• Dr. Bodzin, our PI, has fostered this partnership and similar relationships through his previous work over the past several years.

• She gave us off-hours access to the Hugh Moore Canal Museum, provided numerous D&L digital trail information signs to be used in the game, and also shares insights on game design at weekly meetings. We help by providing insight into the design process for learning modules such as this game as well as creating a venue for greater public engagement for them with marketing their institution in the game. 

• Yes, this is a symbiotic relationship because we are getting access to the things and locations we need with her authority and providing her with access to the development of the game experience for her organization so she can make requests and changes throughout the entire process. 

• We could make this partnership more equitable by aiding her in promoting the gamified experience when it is complete in order to see concrete numbers of impact. The partnership will be truly beneficial for her only if we are able to make some sort of user survey that proves that our intervention truly helped to increase foot traffic or website traffic for her organization. 

 

 

 

• Nurture Nature Center (NNC)

 

1. 1. Kate Semmens [individual]

 

• Dr. Bodzin, our PI, has fostered this partnership and similar relationships through his previous work over the past several years.

• She participated in numerous virtual meetings, assisted in development of game features, and provided relevant environmental and historical expertise. We help by providing insight into the design process for learning modules such as this game because we explain our workflow during team meetings and give her demonstrations of how we might change each module to fit her specific organization.

• Yes, this is a symbiotic relationship because we are both learning from each other and receiving valuable information from differing perspectives of potential users and developers. The discussions we have allow for better design for usability and accessibility across a wide range of users. 

• This will be more equitable when we begin working together on the module for NNC because then Kate will be able to utilize the knowledge she is getting now about this type of technology and user interface design to create a customized experience for her organization. She will be able to provide input regarding the specific fields of environmental and local historical knowledge for the game too.

 

 

Question 1

1. The need to go virtual as a result of Covid19 has been the most significant change in our teaming approach. We have scheduled 2 weekly Zoom meetings: one to work on our blog and one to work on our project. 
2. Weekly meetings have led us to be more organized and specific with the tasks we wish to complete in the time we have allotted.
3. As our organization improved, we were better able to identify issues with our project or our individual weakness. I had a lot to learn about programming in Unity.
4. The more we worked together the more we were able to use our strengths to overcome our weaknesses. Junior and Beigie are much better at programming in Unity than I am, but Junior is a very patient teacher. He developed YouTube tutorials from our work sessions so I could replay them as many times as I needed to in order to complete my weekly tasks.
5.  Beige is fantastic at summarizing our meetings. I have been watching her as she takes notes on our shared document and it has helped me condense my thoughts before I share them. 
6. I used to write directly into my blog but after I lost two consecutive posts because I didn’t save it, I started writing my blogs in a Google doc and then copy and paste it when I am ready to post my blog. 
7. When we meet with our Faculty advisors and other shareholders, I feel like we really work together as a team to make sure everyone feels heard and satisfied with our work.
8. We have taken very large strides, as a group, to view our venture more globally. When we started in the Spring, it was difficult to see how project could have an impact farther than the Lehigh Valley
9. Our group is so diverse, Beige is a second year undergrad, Junior just passed his oral exams, and I am in my 25th year of teaching high school with one Master’s degree under my belt. We all have a different skill set but it feels like we are always on the same page in terms of our project.
10. We each feel comfortable enough with each other that criticisms are always constructive and made with the goal of the venture in mind. We may disagree occasionally, but I don’t think we’ve ever argued. I have never worked with such a cohesive group. 

Question 2

• The Big Goal of this project is to complete development of the virtual reality headset game and distribute it to non-formal education centers to inform people of the significance of their local  watershed in the Lehigh Valley. 
• Junior is most likely to be the Implementer and Specialist because he has the most experience with the project and is the one actively doing development work via Unity as well as mentoring new members on how to use the program.
•  Jennifer is the group’s Shaper and Resource Investigator because she leverages her experience in teaching and formal education to bring a new perspective to the project. She also reaches out to collaborative partners for resources such as media/historical photos for our game. She is also a Completer/Finisher because she looks over the text resources and catches corrections and edits. 
• Beigie also satisfies the role of Implementer because she is now contributing to creative and technological development with the game now that she has learned how to use Unity and has adapted to the workflow of the team. She will also be assisting Junior if there are new members to the team so she can also be considered a Specialist. She also does the Recording in the team with minutes.
• The working process of our team is still generally the same. Team procedures for decision making usually switch between coming to a consensus after discussion or deference to experts in the relevant field. Decision making is done at team meetings where we attempt to give everyone a say because this project is not one which might require more authoritative leadership, and it is important that we allow everyone who is a part of this project to voice their opinions. The process of our meetings is generally going over status updates quickly and then reviewing things that require either editing or decision making; everyone has access to the minutes, but it is usually one person making direct edits while others leave comments. 

Communication methods involve Gmail/Hangouts, GSuite, and Zoom, since some platforms are more convenient for different purposes. Whole team meetings occur every one or two weeks for about 1 and a half hours. We meet amongst ourselves two times a week for updates and working sessions together. Responsiveness is very high and not a problem for our team because everyone is very on point with checking their emails; at most, it will take a day for a response due to time zone and location differences.

• Our interpersonal relationships are getting better and better with frequent communication; we’ve come a long way since the start of last semester. We Zoom frequently and also share details of our personal lives with each other so we are very comfortable with working and providing feedback to each other. We recognize each other’s strengths and are leveraging those in a way to make our work flow even better. 

 

Question 3—potential funding source

• Facebook Reality Labs Research Grant Request for proposals on responsible innovation in AR/VR: “Consider Everyone

 

→ General Outline

• Educational technology and STEM curriculum development, designed to also address the learning needs of multiple groups such as children/adults, English language learners, and informal educators. 
• We are creating virtual reality (VR) games that are cross-compatible (i.e., computers and mobile devices, including VR headsets). These learning games have their foundation on active, game-based, and situated learning experiences to immerse learners in aspects of local history, geography, and environmental science of the watershed they live in, in fun and engaging manners.
• Our PI, Dr. Al Bodzin has an extensive history of many years of research in this area 
• We have previously developed a prototype that was tested among 60 students at a local urban high-school.

→ Product description

• Design and Development of  five iVR gaming learning experiences;
• They will focus on promoting users’ spatial knowledge of the Lehigh Valley watershed using environmental case studies which impact the watershed and water quality within it;
• Each will be designed to take 15-25 minutes to complete.

→ Results of Prior NSF and Other Support

Socio-Environmental Science Investigations (SESI) Using the Geospatial Curriculum Approach with Web GIS. (NSF #1614216, August, 2016-July 2020, with one-year no cost extension, $1,199,794). Primary Investigators: Alec M. Bodzin, David Anastasio, Thomas Hammond, Kate Popejoy, and Breena Holland. Resulting publications are noted with an * in the References.
Broader impacts: The developed SESI investigations have great societal relevance since environmental problems have a disproportionate impact on underrepresented groups, and also promote the development of STEM-related skills.

 

→ Expected Outcomes

 

• Educational

 

1. Promote learning regarding the concept of watersheds.
   1. Increase awareness about importance of one’s watershed
2. Systems-thinking and feedback loops;
   1. How a small action (e.g., littering) can have a huge impact on the environment.
3. Changes in affect, behavior towards games to learn.

 

• Research  
  1. Advancing our iVR learning model
  2. Understanding how the iVR learning model impacts interest in the games, engagement, and learning with a full spectrum of users from age 13 to adults.

• Social
  Increase in number of visitors to local nature centers, especially from target groups such as adolescents, adults, and English language learners.

 

→ Measure of Learning:  

Environmental issues and impacts in local watershed: Open-ended questionnaire prompt about knowledge of environmental issues and impacts in a player’s watershed. (pretest and posttest)

 

→ Timeline

• • Initial funding during the research and dissemination phases will be the University and grants from different organizations whose programs are in line with our venture’s vision. After that, we will be working on building scale with our product from local to regional in order for our venture to be self-sustaining. Ideally, we would be reaching a steady state by two years after launching our product. 

 

Work Plan

Table 2. iVR game design, development and implementation timeline

	Y1 (Aug 20 – July 21)	Y2 (Aug 21 – July 22)	Y3 (Aug 22 – July 23)	Y4 (Aug 23 – July 24)	Y5 (Aug 24 – July 25)
Design and Development	iVR1,
Prototype Testing	iVR1 (LGNC)
Pilot Testing (building capacity)		iVR1 (LGNC) (professional development with staff)
Field Testing		iVR1 (LGNC)
Libraries and all sites			iVR1 1 informal STEM centers 1 public libraries	iVR1, iVR2, iVR3	iVR1, iVR2, iVR3, iVR4, iVR5

Note: Site locations are in parentheses

 

Week 5 Blog–Immersive VR

• Top 20 Basic Questions & Responses

 

• Why did we choose the Lehigh Valley watershed as our subject content/ matter?

 

1. 1. • We chose the Lehigh Valley watershed as our content matter for this venture because the impact, while local, can be generalized to include any watershed around the globe and now the impact is global. → easily scalable
      • Place-based instruction, authentic/relatable material, watersheds function as “circulatory system” of the environment. 
      • Science, especially environmental topics such as watersheds don’t generally attract much interest through traditional teaching methods so it is a good topic to gamify and garner interest in

 

• Why are we focusing on the water?

 

1. • We have chosen to focus on the water because it is an important natural resource. It is critical that individuals understand how small habits (e.g., throwing your water bottle out of your raft) can have large impacts on those natural resources. 

• Water is everywhere, water is one of the most important and easiest topics for developing STEM integrated curricula.

 

 

• What is the focus of our venture, the watershed or the educational technology?

 

1. 1. • The focus of our venture is educational technology. We use VR technology to re-engage the disengaged learner. Digital learners are the future. People are increasingly dependent on technology, instead of fighting to disconnect them, it’s more efficient to engage them with a platform to which they are already inclined.

 

• What are the Environmental outcomes we want our venture to have?

 

1. 1. • Ideally, students come away from our venture with a better understanding of their impact on their environment and more consideration for their future actions.
      • This is not an outcome which will be measured because it is not the primary focus for our venture, merely a bonus.

 

• What are the Social outcomes we want our venture to have?

 

1. 1. • In the virtual space, skills are taught and practiced in a simulated environment.  Not only does it provide a near realistic experience, but the environment is safe.  Additionally, most VR platforms allow learners to continually practice skills and it offers managers and/or leaders the ability to coach to specific skills.
      • As we are currently partnering with local nature centers, the social impact we want our venture to have is to bring more visitors to these sites. 
      • We hope to have a positive impact on the way people view their relationship with their environment, similar to how DARE curricula aims at creating healthy social behavior among teens with drug education

 

• What are the Educational outcomes we want our venture to have?

 

1. 1. • The students are more aware of the environment in Lehigh Valley. Their interest in water and environmental science may be piqued and become more environmentally responsible.
      • “With the popularity of virtual reality and mixed reality, immersive learning has emerged as one of the “hot” educational technologies that are transforming not only the educational system; but also helping companies plan better training programs for their employees.”

 

• How are we measuring success? 

 

1. 1. • We will not be directly measuring the environmental outcome of this venture
      • We will measure the social outcomes of our venture by measuring the traffic at partner nature centers and returning customers to our venture’s business
      • We will be measuring the educational outcomes for our venture by assessing our partnerships with other university students/professors who are utilizing our product to conduct educational research and having our name connected to this line of research where we can act as a connection between researchers.

 

• What are the concrete details we are looking at that will tell us our product is working?

 

1. 1. • Concrete details we are looking at that will tell us our product is working is continued and expanding relationships with the educators using our product; individuals who are better informed about their environment and local resources.
      • More people come to us to make games/use our game to teach about environmental science topics.
      • Sales reports

 

• Currently, what does the market for immersive learning apps look like?

 

1. • https://www.immersivelearning.news/tag/market/
   • An expected market value of about $12 billion through 2022
   • Several Fortune 500 companies, such as Boeing, UPS, and Walmart, have already introduced VR into worker education programs on a massive scale .
   • A report on the global VR market in the education sector, the increased number of VR social spaces has opened up opportunities for growth in this sector.
   • “This was one of the top elearning trends in 2019, and there is a big chance that its influence won’t abate anytime soon.”

Virtual Reality (VR) in education

1. 1. • “The intense adoption of VR in education is partly due to the increased demand for experience training. By taking the learning process beyond the classroom, VR facilitated the growing trend toward the independent learning path. For example, the medical realities platform employs VR technology to help medical students watch live broadcasts of mock surgeries, providing real-world experiences – something they would not normally have access to until the end of their education.”
      • “According to our latest report on the global VR market in the education sector, the increased number of VR social spaces has opened up opportunities for growth in this sector.”

 

• What is our target demographic for users? 

 

1. 1. • Our target demographic for users are people from ages 13-80 in non-formal education settings

 

• Who is our market that will invest in the product?

 

1. 1. • We have several markets who will invest in our product: alternative learning environments like nature centers; non-traditional schools; virtual learning environments
      • Given the “new normal” of education during Covid, virtual learning environments are the best way to keep students, teachers and the community safe

 

• How is this different from what is already on the market? 

 

• Most of the products on the market are developed for different subjects, not environmental science
• Engaging educational material is hard to find; our product includes both a lesson plan and the materials necessary to implement 
• We lower the barrier of adoption by providing the technology ready to go and other assistance services such as tutorial videos

 

• How do you see the future market for this product? Is this just a fad?

 

1. 1. • We believe that the market for this product and similar technologies will continue to grow in the future. While gaming has always been seen as a form of entertainment, it has also been used to incorporate lessons such as strategy and critical thinking. For example, Go or chess. Today, gamification is already being incorporated into multiple sectors of our lives to motivate higher user engagement with interface designs such as unlocking “levels” in commercial activity when you spend a certain amount in a year.
      • Educators will be looking for ways to keep their students engaged when not in the classroom. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, every classroom (and workplaces) became non-traditional learning environments. VR has demonstrated its potential to bridge the distance gap while engaging the learner, providing the sense of presence. Thus, it is unlikely that VR will be just a fad.

 

• Why are we using VR as our platform? 

 

1. 1. • “Humans learn best by doing, and VR is designed to espouse this principle.”
      • “VR provides an immersive experience anchor to the theoretical part of learning.”
      • “Its ability to support distance learning is a well-timed intervention, especially in the modern workplace where remote work is the new norm”. With the social disruption caused by COVID-19, it seems that Virtual Reality is the only safe Reality.

 

• What are the benefits compared to the high cost?

 

1. 1. • In terms of cost, it is more expensive to organize a trip down the Lehigh river for a group of students than it is to take them on the same tour virtually. In addition, in the virtual environment, we can take learners back in time so they can “see” the effects of past behaviors. We can’t actually take them on a trip down the river in the early 1900’s on the maiden voyage of a canal boat.

 

• What exactly are we doing that makes this gamified and will make students more engaged?

 

• Creating compelling narratives that are place-based (i.e., real locations, relatable to the audience) 
• Creating immersive learning experiences with elements of gamification and the theoretical framework of game-based learning. 

 

“This is different from game based learning. Game based learning is an approach of learning where students learn experimentally through playing in a game context. Gamification is slightly different in that it is taking game elements such as points or achievements and applying them to a non-game environment. It’s a form of user interface design that increases engagement through manipulating what makes people drawn to games in settings that are not. We apply this type of design to our product where users are unlocking achievements through exploring the built environment. This creates a sense of accomplishment and recognition for what they are doing which encourages further activity.”

 

 

• What is our expertise? Why are we qualified?

 

• Instructional Technology from Lehigh University.
• Diverse/interdisciplinary team of students and professors. 
• Our team has significant experience in areas that include design and implementation of iVR learning, game-based learning, instructional design, research in the area of science, learning with novel technologies, environmental content, and spatial understandings.
• Our project mentors Bodzin, Anastasio, and Hammond have an established track record of prior success with implementation and management strategy on related projects (see for example, Bodzin, Anastasio, & Sahagian, 2015; Bodzin et al., 2015, Bodzin et al., 2016; Carrigan et al., 2019; Hammond et al., 2018).

 

 

• What are the risks associated with using VR headset technology, if any? 

 

Health hazards:

– Motion sickness, nausea. 

– According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) (2020) too much screen time can harm the amount and quality of sleep as well as lead to other physical and social problems. Since VR easily provides high levels of engagement and triggers flow state, one must be mindful of the amount of time they spend with their headsets on.

 

Other related risks:
– A group of scholars (see Makransky, Terkildsen, & Mayer, 2019) have been conducting research based on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) and their preliminary findings point to immersive VR being a possible source of less learning when compared to more traditional instructional media.

 

 

• How are these risks being addressed?

 

• It may not be suitable for everyone so general precautions are to use the technology for short periods of time and see if you have any adverse effects to it. Also, we are targeting the population from 13-80 in which they are above the minimum age advisory for the technology. There is a desktop VR version for those who are unable to use the standalone headset.

 

 

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

 

• Initial funding during the research and dissemination phases will be the University and grants from different organizations whose programs are in line with our venture’s vision. After that, we will be working on building scale with our product from local to regional in order for our venture to be self-sustaining. Ideally, we would be reaching a steady state by two years after launching our product. 

 

Nice work! Good thought into everything. Grade: 10 

Week 4 

Jenn Nester Beigie Lam Spencer Moros Ugochi Amadi 

Questions:

What is our role in the cooperative? Are we on the ground (making, selling, educating)?

• We’re developing the whole cooperative
• Malnutrition team is a good example of people who are doing what we want to do

Are there any crops that aren’t using pesticides? 

• No, practically all use pesticides.

 

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

• Livelihoods of rural households
  • 500 women want to join the co-op
  • They are skeptical of the porridge because it is new
• HIV/AIDS and breastfeeding
  • HIV+ should wean early
  • Not everyone knows if they are HIV+
  • Access to supplements that prevent spread of HIV through breast milk more prevalent
  • Nutritious alternative really a good supplement
• Pesticides on produce
  • Cash crops
  • Subsistence crops
• Childhood nutrition is a problem b/c local gruel is not providing all key nutrients
  • 35% of children have stunted growth
• Breastfeeding can spread HIV from mothers to infants 
• Want to reduce risk of spread of HIV by using new porridge formula for children instead of breastfeeding
• Porridge formula is using locally grown crops in a different way (as opposed to traditional gruel)
• Mothers usually give gruel from ~2 months to 24 months
  • Skeptical of using new formula because it’s not something they’re used to, the traditional gruel is cornmeal
  • Not something they’ve done before
• The WHO recommends breastfeeding until ~6 months but the longer time of breastfeeding with HIV means greater risk
• Reduce risk of HIV/AIDS by having children eat the porridge → Formula for new nutritious porridge is made from locally grown crops → locally grown crops have high levels of potentially harmful chemicals from pesticides / porridge can be sold to improve women’s livelihoods
• Don’t know who has HIV or not, there is now aggressive plan for testing of HIV and most people who have it know that they have it

Ethical Issue: Is it better to expose the infants to the risky chemicals from the pesticides from the crops or spread HIV through prolonged breastfeeding?

 

Step 2: Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome / Step 3: Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders 

• Mothers
  • Give their child the best food
  • Have their child grow safely & healthily
  • May have mixed opinions about the effectiveness of the porridge formula
  • Want to improve their livelihoods
  • Not risk giving HIV/AIDS to their children
  • Make some money – growing/selling the cash crops
• Children 
  • Stay healthy (not get HIV/AIDS)
  • Get good nutrition / be fed
• Cooperative Participants
  • More participants, lessen burden on individuals
  • Make some money – growing/selling the cash crops, getting some form of return from their investment be it labor or something else
  • Bring more success
• Cooperative Organizers/researchers
  • Respect local traditions and culture
  • Attract women to join
  • Build reputation and credibility to gain more funds and resources for future
  • Reduce malnutrition, improve nutritional status of children
  • Increase livelihood of households
  • Reduce transmission of HIV/AIDS
  • Make venture financially successful/sustainable
• Donors of money for the projects (secondary)
  • Improve nutritional status of children and livelihoods of rural households

 

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

 

Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action] 

• Potential solution: Have women give children the traditional gruel from 2-6 months, then market the porridge as “stage 2”, 6-12 months wean children off breastfeeding entirely. Educate women as to why this is best for their children 
• Ethical Principle or code: Consequence based thinking & ethics of care
• Pros:  respect local traditions while supplementing nutrition, while child is eating gruel they have supplemental nutrients from breast milk; would be less financially costly for the venture
• Cons: Children are more at risk for acquiring HIV/AIDS (breastfeeding to 12 months instead of 6 months suggested), children are exposed to pesticides, 

 

• Potential solution: Have mothers switch to the porridge formula or some diet of both the formula and traditional gruel after ~2 months of breastfeeding and Educate women as to why this is best for their children  
• Ethical Principle or code: consequence based thinking
• Pros: Reduces risk of passing HIV to child in timely manner by cutting short the breastfeeding period, new formula compensates for key nutrients in infants’ diet, improve livelihoods with increased sales or production of porridge
• Cons: May not convince a lot of mothers who don’t believe that the new formula will provide enough nutrients for their child, would expose children to more pesticides from the produce, would be more financially costly for the venture

 

• Potential solution: Refer all of the mothers to a place where they can be tested for HIV/AIDS in order to identify the most at risk children
• Ethical Principle or code: Consequence based thinking & duty based thinking
• Pros:  Many at-risk children are identified as early as possible, targets problem at root by identifying mothers who should switch to porridge from breastfeeding, allows mothers to learn if they have the virus and what measures they should take for their own health, 
• Cons: Invasion of the privacy of the women, not many women get tested so there may not be many testing sites/facilities/resources, adds more stress on the venture as a whole, morally obligated to educate about HIV/AIDS if test positive, identifying at risk children puts a target on some mother’s backs

 

Other possible solutions: 

• People might be reluctant to use the new formula
• Have information sessions to inform the locals about the harms of pesticides and HIV and educate them about what the porridge’s benefits vs consequences are so they can make decisions for themselves
  • Who will pay for that?
  • Who will organize and make these sessions happen?
  • Way to make money with this cooperative is to scale up with this product so it gains traction and spreads 
• Partner with other entities to aid with product development
  • Put information labels or tags on the back or packaging of the porridge
  • Community health workers (need incentives)
  • Do partners have something to gain from working with you?
• Focus on tackling HIV problem by providing infrastructure to fight HIV epidemic
  • Better sex education by focusing on impact to children
  • Very expensive because they have deep ingrained beliefs
• Partner with Health Ministry and WHO to leverage introducing the porridge product as a second stage diet product for infants
• Focus on scope issues which is this cooperative that sells porridge for infants after 6 months of breastfeeding
• Profit by making this product shelf stable and with low production cost that can sell for higher prices
• Source input locally when practical but go to the open market if it is more efficient

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

• Malnutrition Team
• What accountability structure do you make in order to incentivize people but also have people join for the right reasons (might be second part)
• Look at long-term effects of either side of the problem to decide which problem is more impactful (e.g., pesticides may not be as bad as HIV)
• How do you start as close to the solution as possible?
• Addressing skepticism isn’t the biggest issue (in terms of an ethical issue)
• https://www.azurihealth.co.ke/ 

 

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. 

The best course of action is to have women give children the traditional gruel from 2-6 months, then market the porridge as “stage 2”, 6-12 months wean children off breastfeeding entirely. Educate women as to why this is best for their children. This course of action satisfies the highest core ethical values because it respects the traditions of the community (using the gruel to supplement) while also introducing a newer, more beneficial product. The women of the community are already supplementing with solid food, so rather than criticize the quality of the gruel, we simply step in with our “stage 2” nutritional supplement for older babies. This will decrease the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission and improve the nutritional status of the babies while respecting local traditions.

Step 7: (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture. Explain the impact of your proposed solution on the venture’s technology, economic, social and environmental aspects.

• Since we are using community resources to source and produce the porridge, there stands to be significant economic, social and environmental benefits. Economic benefits include increased trade for a healthy, nutritious and affordable dietary supplement. The social implications include elevating the role of women in the community by helping them make a living for themselves. The environmental benefits include educating the local producers of the produce in more healthy, organic methods of farming, since the use of pesticides will reduce the quality of the final product. 

 

Part 2

Issue: women work and the men take the money and spend it on things other than food for the family.

 

Step 2: Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

• Mothers
  • Want to improve their livelihoods
  • Make some money – growing/selling the cash crops
  • Don’t want the money they earned to be wasted
  • Want the money to go to their children’s benefits
  • Use the money to feed their children
• Cooperative Participants
  • Make some money – growing/selling the cash crops, getting some form of return from their investment be it labor or something else
  • Improve livelihoods of rural women

 

• Cooperative Organizers/researchers
  • Respect local traditions and culture
  • Build reputation and credibility to gain more funds and resources for future
  • Reduce malnutrition, improve nutritional status of children
  • Increase livelihood of women in rural households
  • Ensure the added wealth is going towards feeding the children
  • Make venture financially successful/sustainable
• Donors of money for the projects (secondary)
  • Improve nutritional status of children and livelihoods of rural households

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. 

Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action]

 

• Potential Solution #1: Offer “store credit” rather than cash so the women can use their money to feed their families.
• How does it solve the problem? 
  • Pros: Money goes where the earner wants it to go, there is no risk of it being taken away by the husbands or being sold off, more value if they use it as credit instead of cashing it out
  • Cons: Might cause domestic issues; go against traditional hierarchy
• How does it save face of those involved?
  • • Women don’t have to worry about the money being misused
• Implications on relationships
  • Short-term: Women can get more food for their children, might create mistrust between the men and the cooperative organizers/researchers
  • Long-term:  
• Implications on the venture 
  • Short-term: mitigate the issue of mismanagement of funds
  • Long-term: make women more independent; close the gender gap 

 

• Potential Solution #2: Give the women the option to get paid in essential items as opposed to cash, make them accept part of the wage to the product that they are making and the rest will be cash or credit, buy in bulk things like goats that cooperative members can get for cheaper than market price so they can take it directly home
• How does it solve the problem? 
  • Pros: builds livelihood of families because the members can save money and keep producing with things like goat milk and cheese, can bring the men in because it makes them money in the long run, production of things will build towards feeding the children
  • Cons: only about 20 women will actually be working in packaging the porridge so it’s unrealistic to create an entirely separate system of distribution of goods
  • How does it save face of those involved? The women don’t have to worry about the men using the money they earn to buy things other than family necessities. The men won’t seem weak, unable to take the money their women make.
• Implications on relationships
  • Short-term: Gender equality
  • Long-term: Women entrepreneurs are able to thrive 
• Implications on the venture 
  • Short-term: might be some kickback from the men if they think their wives are holding back money. Needs to be seen as a benefit for the men 
  • Long-term:Develop a reputation for improving the lives of local communities 

 

• Potential Solution #3: Act as a bank for the workers, hold the workers’ wages and let them grow and only let them cash out when they reach a certain amount or emergency
• How does it solve the problem? 
  • Pros: allows people to save and build capital, free as opposed to banks that need you to pay to make an account, allows women to save and improve their livelihoods because it prevents the money from being taken away by the men
  • Cons: Social implication that the men may get angry that the women are working without making anything, may still take the money after it gets cashed out
• How does it save face of those involved?
  • • No domestic issues related to the earning/spending of money
• Implications on relationships
  • Short-term: helps families use resources efficiently
  • Long-term : teach individuals how to budget and save
• Implications on the venture 
  • Short-term:farther reaching implications in terms of other communities requesting our services.
  • Long-term: fiscally responsible individuals lead to a strong economy 

 

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

• Maybe only 20 women will be working with the cooperative to grow/sell crops
• Cooperatives emerged as a way for people to save money and collect capital
• Research indicates that men are less likely to take all of the money that’s saved compared to a weekly wage
• Women aren’t upset men are taking the money, they’re upset about their misuse
• Don’t cut off the entire money source (maybe leave like 5% or something)
• How to establish a banking system
• Sporadic bigger rewards (e.g., every three months can buy a goat)
• Bring together a group of people who have clout in the community

• Get people with clout including men and religious leaders so that they can deal with this issue and consider taking ⅓ of the wages in cash while the ⅔ is going back to the cooperative as an investment so they can grow it
• Have the council agree on what products they think the cooperative should make available to use the credit for such as goats, etc..
• Address nutrition issue by having women who work in the cooperative walking away with a small amount of the porridge everyday that can feed two people
• Elderly people are a big customer section for the porridge
• Validate the solution by telling it to the other 6 leaders on the committee, also go out to men and other leaders (maybe 25 people one on one) and get them on board with the way to tackle the issue → bring people together to talk about the problem and let the people discuss and come up with their “own” solution → create a contract or system of more equitable bylaws that everyone involved will agree with and enforce in the community → go towards developing this in the community so they adopt it 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face and has the best short term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class. 

 

Combine solution 1 and 3 where the cooperative can act as a bank where the women can keep their wages as credit and build capital until they reach a certain amount to cash out or want to cash out. Keep a portion of their wages as immovable credit and maybe cash out about 5-10% directly so that the men can have something to spend. Have the cooperative act as a distribution center or “store” for alcohol and cigarettes at lower than market price so that the men are incentivized to spend at the cooperative instead of outside markets. They are only allowed to spend that certain amount of money on these types of goods or entertainment and the rest is saved so that women can keep it for buying food stuffs or other necessities. The cooperative can act as a source of goods that the members can get stuff from for a better price based on the women’s needs and the men will feel motivated to save as well if they realize that saving for a couple months will actually build more value for them. 

 

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

 

1. Find out if women would want a banking system
2. Make sure the men are also on board with the banking system
3. If general consensus is yes, the banking system would be established
4. Work with women to decide how much of their wages go between store credit and entertainment (make 3 options: 70-30, 80-20, 90-10)
5. Establish the banking system
6. Find out the most pressing needs of the women (specific foods, clothing, household items, etc) with which to stock the “co-op” store.
7. Find out where to get those resources in bulk to keep prices low enough to incentivize purchasing in the co-op.
8. Get those resources and stock the store.

 

Other possible solutions: 

• ⅓ of the wage is the porridge 
• Keep your cash in instead of spending it
• Instead of money or full amount of money, they can get something that creates value

 

Banking system: 

portion of wage=store credit (stored in every week)

-portion of store credit=saved in the bank

portion of wage=entertainment (given out every week)