1.  What is Air Quality Almaty (AQA) trying to achieve/hoping to change? 
   • AQA is the first informational and interactive mobile application, committed to providing individualized advice synthesized from over a hundred research papers and case studies. AQA aims to be an app that prioritizes engagement amongst its users and provides guidance through feasible everyday changes one could take to limit the exposure to the dangers that come along with poor air quality. 
2. What is the customer’s incentive for uploading our app?  
   • AQA provides users with a chance to prevent future health issues from the poor air quality around them. 
   • The government will also have an incentive because of the possible decline in health costs due to people engaging in healthier behavior. 
   • Costs of Poor Air Quality and Poor Behaviors: 
     1. Morbidity Cost Estimate: $1.59-1.686 million in Kazakhstan. 
     2. Mortality Cost Estimate: $15.9 billion-$16.86 billion in Kazakhstan.
     3. VSL Range for Almaty: $4.472747 million-$7.44967 million
     4. VSL Range for Kazakhstan: $2.65011 million-$2.8196 million
     5. Total Cost (Mortality + Morbidity): $17.49 billion-$18.372 billion
     6. .01* Cost= $174.4 million-$183.72 million
3.  Who will our partners be?- What will our partnerships look like?
   • AlmatyU– We need to better establish the relationship between the venture and AlmatyU. Kazakhstan residents as partners will greatly contribute to the effectiveness of AQA’s survey. 
     1. The tasks wouldn’t be demanding. Some tasks could include distributing our survey, contributing more data to the venture’s database, and reporting back on any feedback directly from survey takers and users.  AlmatyU team can also give us a better perspective on how to reword our surveys so that it is culturally relevant/appropriate to Kazakhstan residents.   
   • IQ Air– AQA will highly depend on IQ Air sources of air pollution and air quality for Kazakhstan. Since we would need large amounts of data setting up a partnership would help us in.
4. Where do we source our data?
   • Currently we have a Google Sheets database with our customer segments. Over 100 articles and scientific pieces have been synthesized to navigate the best advice that can be given out based on individual characteristics and lifestyles. 
   • We are working towards a better system that effectively works to input data and translate the data into easily understood graphs, charts, etc on our app’s platform. 
5. How do smart cities fit into the project?
   • Smart city technology can monitor, in real time, the air quality of areas and send alerts to people so they may avoid those areas. 
   • Kazakhstan residents will be better equipped to combat the growing issue of poor air quality. Since many of the issues are not an easy change and are embedded in the way society functions, AQA will prioritize individual actions that can be done. 
6. How will we personalize our users’ data?
   • When users first sign up for the app they will take a short survey that obtains basic information about their demographics. As the user continues to use the app they will be asked more questions about their daily habits. Based on the collected information, they will be given specific insights/goals to help them reduce their risk. 
7. How do you incorporate civic action in your app? 
   • AQA can have a feature that will allow users to challenge other users or friends that have not downloaded the app to a challenge measuring who is incorporating the given advice in their daily lives.
   • A reward system that will motivate users to recommend the app to their friends 
     1. Example: Cash App motivates their users to recommend the app to contacts by giving them $5 when the person downloads it. 
8. What role does the government play in AQA? 
   • In the past, citizens have tried to protest against the poor air quality, however the government would jail those involved. One of the main contributors to the poor air quality are coal factories/ coal based heating, which plays a huge role in Kazakhstan’s economy. 
     1. This means our project has to have clear benefits economically for the government.
9. What role does social media play in this venture?
   • Social media can be used as part of marketing strategy, since many citizens already go to social media as a way to raise awareness.
10. How will you market this venture? 
    • Our venture blogs will help build credibility. Our team should promote our blog and share it with AlmatyU. 
    • Creation of a website. It would allow our team to start our online platform which will present information about our venture, our goals, our works, etc. 
    • Creation of an app is an essential part of our venture, so having that on the app store, google app store, etc will allow the public to access it.
    • Our venture needs to pursue publishing a paper or a scientific piece that will build credibility. 
    • Have promotional videos capturing our venture’s purpose and how we’re working on the issues. 
    • Build a social media platform. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter would be great ways to capture attention. Be actively engaged with informational presentations and posts. 
    • QR Code on informational posters placed in relevant public spaces
      1. For example, a playground saying something along the lines of “Hey Mom, Make sure you check the air quality levels before you let your child play in this park”. Then, having a QR code that will direct the audience to our mobile application. 
11. Who will become our long-term target customers?( What customer segment are we going to focus on? )
    • Customers that are the most susceptible to the air pollutions (Asthmatics, elderly, pre- existing health conditions, pregnant women)
    • People that have the least amount of resources to help reduce their exposure to air pollution
    • Customers that are most likely to develop adverse health effects from long term air pollution exposure
    • Note: We are still doing research on these to detect which customer segment or segments we mainly want to focus on
12. What other cities can we use as examples when looking towards solutions?
    • Looking to California and seeing what policies and solutions they implement to tackle the poor air quality from the fires and how covid fits into the situation
    • Other Cities that endure poor air quality due to industrialization
      1. Ex: Beijing, Mexico City, LA, Santiago, etc
      2. See how their governments are dealing w/ the issues, learn from them 
      3. How has COVID factored into dealing with poor air quality and what were the after effects in terms of pollution changes
13. How does your venture compare to other approaches already in the market to solve the air pollution problem in Almaty? 
    • AUA- basically just showcases air quality data
    • IQAir
      1. -tracks air quality through their own air quality monitors that people purchase
      2. Map our air quality trackers on world map that shows distribution of air pollution 
    • We differ because of the personalization in insights we provide along with the data to minimize user’s exposure
14. How can we incentivize community members to come up with solutions and act together to help reduce air pollution and reduce exposure to poor air quality
    • Creating app features that promote community involvement
      1. Having more local farmers markets that are within walking distance
      2. Promoting carpooling 
      3. Promoting bike riding lessons
    • Incentive widespread energy use reductions that allow people to either use less energy or make things more energy efficient
15. Who will be the main engineers of the application?
    • We are going to outsource app developers
    • Hopefully we can partner with IQAir to help with developing our app 
16. How will your venture be sustainable in the future?
    • Our venture will be sustainable through subscription-based memberships  ux
    • If we partner with a larger organization we can get a steady inflow of funds and be sustained through their already existing infrastructure 
17. How can we better utilize NGO organizations and nonprofits in Kazakhstan to help support our ideas and solutions? 
    • Utilize their base for marketing and to gain credibility in the public impact sector
    • Connections / networking with other important stakeholders in the city 
18. What are examples of your insights?
    • Choosing to walk over riding a personal vehicle can reduce your exposure to air pollution
    • Keeping babies inside during poor air quality index
    • Doing prolonged cardio exercise outdoors increases your risk of developing cardiovascular issues
    • Incorporation indoor plants that help remove pollutants from the air
19. How will you fund your venture? 
    • Applying for grants 
    • Partnering with larger organizations like IQAir
    • Funding from venture capitalists
20. How can we better utilize our relationship with AlmaU? 
    • They know how to read russian, so they can translate news articles and government policies for us
    • They are up to date with current events and can help us stay in the loop of what new updates are happening
    • They are more knowledgeable about living in the city and cultural understanding that we can utilize. 
    • They have better cultural understanding that could help us to build relationships with local community 

 

 

Grassroot diplomacy: A set of delicate and deliberate techniques for working harmoniously and effectively with diverse entities to catalyze social change

 

Prompt: Grassroots Diplomacy Case 9/8/2020

Part 1: Ethical Decision-Making

 

Step 1: Determine the facts

•  ~35% of the children is stunted due to poor nutrition
• Traditionally, maize and bananas are the items most commonly made into gruel and fed to infants at 2 months of age
• Gruel is used to complement breastfeeding until approx. 24 months
• Mothers in East Africa believe gruel is beneficial to children, but studies show it has little nutrition
• HIV/AIDS are prevalent in the region
• World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding until infant is 6 months of age
• The longer a HIV+ mother is breastfeeding, the higher the risk of transmission
• Received grant to establish a women’s cooperative in region to improve children’s nutrition and livelihood of households
• Funds from women’s cooperative can produce a nutritiousness, shelf-stable porridge made from local produce that is intended to wean children off of breastmilk around 6 months 
• 500 women from three sublocations have indicated interest in joining cooperative, but they are skeptical about the porridge 
• Cash crops in region will be used to make the porridge, but they are grown with pesticides which can cause adverse growth for infants

1. B) Clearly state the ethical issue/issues (seesaw problem)

• Prolonged breastfeeding in the area could potentially lead to the child being transmitted of HIV virus
• Pesticides are used on many crops, and there is a possibility of pesticides being in the foods produced for infants/young children
• Not a lot of women are being tested, diagnosed or treated for viruses such as HIV/AIDS
• Early introduction of supplemental foods for infants’ diets introduces the chance of endangering the child’s health
• (Compare the harm) Traces of Pesticide VS HIV

1. C) Steps 2 & 3: Define the stakeholders and assess their motivations

• Mothers in the area
  • Personal: they want healthy babies, they do not want to spread HIV/AIDS to their babies 
  • Professional: n/a
• Members of the womens’ cooperative
  • Personal: want to provide nutritious, locally grown baby supplement to wean children off of breastfeeding at 6 months, want better livelihoods for themselves and other women, may just want to feel good about themselves, want to keep their jobs
  • Professional: may want to enter a career in this field, want this venture to be successful so that it can continue to get its funding and they can stayed employed 
• The donor (secondary bc they are not directly involved to solve this case)
  • Personal: may just want better health/livelihoods for these women, improve nutritional status of children, status of donating 
  • Professional: may be doing this to get in the public’s good graces for their career
• You (leader of cooperative) 
  • Personal: may just want better health/livelihoods for these women, improve nutritional status of children, status of building it 
  • Professional: increase skills/resume build for career, wants to push for a career in nutrition/public health
• Children (secondary)
  • Basic needs of being fed (personal motivation)

 

Step 4: Formulate alternative solutions

*Who’s going to pay? Would it be organizations such as WHO, health administry or etc that we can partner with? 

Community health workers or volunteers are highly needed, so it is hard to work with them in this issue, unless there is a way to incentivize them.

1. Solution: hold information sessions to show the benefits of this new supplement and the cons of the traditional method alongside trusted community members (teach them first and maybe have them be the main hosts/info givers)

• • Pros:
    • People will no longer be relying on hearsay but rather, will make an informed decision based on facts 
    • Trusted community members hosting the information session will minimize reluctance to trust new supplement
    • Babies get the nutrition needed and do not have to increase risk of hiv from prolonged breastfeeding
  • Cons: 
    • People may still be skeptical due to pesticides 
      • Show them that the risk of possible presence of pesticides does not compare to the risk of possible exposure to HIV/AIDS 
    • Pesticides still pose a real risk to the health of the baby
      • Remove crops on there that are known to commonly sprayed with pesticides and replace with other sources that specific nutrient
      • Or go to farmer that does not use pesticides and get verification to show mothers
    • How does it save face of those involved?
      • Everyone is trusted and informed
  • Implications on relationships: bond between womens cooperative and the general community will strengthen both long and short term because there is an atmosphere of communication, trust, and education
  • Implications on the venture:
    • Short Term: venture might struggle to lift off to due either misunderstand, miscommunication, or the extra time it takes to teach the community hosts as well as the mothers
    • Long Term: stronger bond centered around communication, trust, and education will allow the venture to proceed smoothly and more effectively. Community will be better informed on the science behind nutrition rather than maintaining that misinformation and us simply working around it

2. Solution: Partner up with a food distributor that does not involve or provide weaning food that has been recently sprayed with pesticides

• • How does it solve the problem?: 
    • They must have a record of when the crops were last sprayed
  • Pros: You are able to track the right timing of when the crops can be harvested, where the pesticide will not affect who consumes the product. If there is a waiting period for the pesticide to dissipate, this can help lessen the risks for children.
  • Cons: If crops now took longer to wait and harvest, this takes up time for the farmers, who just want to earn money from their crops in the market. Not all crops are completely free of pesticides, so even after a waiting period, there still may be some left
  • How does it save face of those involved?: 
    • Farmers can experience increased profits. Those consuming the crops can have a smaller intake of the pesticides. 
  • Implications on relationships:
    • Short Term: The 500 women will likely cooperate more often if they knew about the pesticide cycles.
    • Long Term: More women will begin to participate in the cooperative, once they see
  • Implications on the venture:
    • Short Term: 
    • Long Term:  

3. Solution: Sanitary efforts on the food being used to produce the porridge

• • How does it solve the problem?:
    • This can help get rid of any extra traces of pesticides on the surface of the food that remains. (Ex: washing food carefully and peeling the skin of some fruit)
  • Pros: 
  • Cons: 
  • How does it save face of those involved?: 
  • Implications on relationships:
    • Short Term: 
    • Long Term: 
  • Implications on the venture:
    • Short Term: Mothers will learn how to wash their produce carefully when they learn how to produce their own shelf-stable porridge
    • Long Term: Partnerships with local supermarkets to have commercial vegetable and fruit washes

 

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

• Ethics
  • Injustice – it is unfair that not everyone got a regular gift. Who is to say one child is more deserving than another?
• Previous cases
  • In the times of coronavirus, health care professionals faced the ethical dilemma of who to save due to the limited supply of ventilators. Doctors and nurses needed to accurately assess and prioritize those with the best chance of survival and use their resources accordingly. While this case is more of a life or death situation, it emphasizes that predicaments such as these can occur on any scale.

 

 

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. Mention also its possible negative implications.

 

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

 

Part 2: Grassroots Diplomacy

Instead of money give them something else as payment so their husbands don’t take the money and waste it

Step 1: Determine the facts

• Women work for about nine hours every day and earn KES 300
• They have the opportunity to sell the produce grown on their small farms to the cooperative 
• Transaction is conducted at a prevailing market rate which helps the woman make some money on the side
• The arrangement of being able to earn money from selling their produce to cooperatives saves them (time+ money) to the village market in order to sell them

1. B) Clearly state the ethical issue/issues

• The woman does not get a say in keeping their own money, as the men in her family have power over that
• The twin social outcomes of improving the nutritional status of children and the livelihoods of rural households is not being achieved

1. C) Steps 2 & 3: Define the stakeholders and assess their motivations

• The Entrepreneur
  • Enjoy the publicity and connections with the community, but wants to help solve this issue, however this issue has been ingrained in the community for a while
• The women in the communities
  • Just want to feed their children and save some of the money to support their families
  • Grow and sell the best produce to the cooperatives
• Children 
  • Just want to be fed
• The men in the women’s families
  • Personal motivation to enjoy life, drink alcohol and do frivolous things

 

Step 4: Formulate alternative solutions

 

1. Solution: give women a portion of their earnings ($1.50) in cash so that they their husbands could have something while the rest can be given out in gift cards OR credit at the cooperative, which would reduce their incentive to cash it out themselves (swipe in and the amount of money increases per day in the gift card)

• • Pros:
    • Most of the money is stored for the family to use later for their children
  • Cons: 
    • They’re going to ask where the rest of the money is, might still get mad
  • How does it save face of those involved?: 
    • Saves face for both wife and husband
  • Implications on relationships:
    • Short Term: 
    • Long Term: 
  • Implications on the venture:
    • Short Term: 
    • Long Term: 
• Solution: Cooperative however, lets you grow your money, you cash out when you received a certain amount of money, you take it out when you need it for emergency, cooperative is made that way to save people’s money and build up on the capital

Credits in cooperative, instead of money they can get credit hours, she can use it in the store of the cooperative worth $6 per credit, but if they want the cash they would be getting $3

• • How does it solve the problem?:
  • Pros:
  • Cons: 
  • How does it save face of those involved?: 
  • Implications on relationships:
    • Short Term: 
    • Long Term: 
  • Implications on the venture:
    • Short Term: 
    • Long Term:  
• Solution: The women would get a side incentive along with the money they are earning from the cooperative, which would be alcohol, 
  • How does it solve the problem?:
    • so the money can be saved for the children
  • Pros:
    • Both parties have something
  • Cons: 
    • husband might still buy other things with the money other than alcohol
    • Husband will sell on black market
  • How does it save face of those involved?: 
  • Implications on relationships:
    • Short Term: 
    • Long Term: 
  • Implications on the venture:
    • Short Term: 
    • Long Term: 

 

 

(Lesotho Water Sources)

• Compensation of community members?
• Beneficence, respect of persons, justice (belmont report)
• How will this help the people involved?
• Does this sound like a hit and run researcher
• How can the process be conducted such that it would be more fair or create more good/ positive impact to the community?
• How would you communicate what you’re doing and the basis of your research to the locals if they don’t know about it or understand what you’re doing?
• How is the water being tested? In the lake or collecting samples to take it back for study?
• Are you being culturally sensitive and respecting the local customs? For example, if the areas you wanted to study were sacred or important
• Is this approved by a university or organization, do you have IRB approval
• Stakeholders:
  • University
  • Researchers
  • Funders (research funding agency like NSF organizations)
  • Locals that help you with the study
  • Locals of Lesotho (big picture)
• After the study is published, what are you doing, what can you do to create benefit for the community
• We are trying to negotiate entry for this study
• Khanjan thinks this is how most research gets done, would probably be ethical, research should be on a free to see platform so it is not behind a $130 firewall

 

Step 1: Facts

• There is a disease-causing pathogen only found in a small region of Lesotho 
• The testing is simple, but the trip/equipment will cost money, and community assistance is required
  • We are studying the life cycle/characteristics of a certain pathogen
• The people in Lesotho know where (all?) the water sources are 
• We are expected to write some publications on what we find from our research
• Characterizing pathogens can help further research into how to make water safer to drink
• Do we know if the pathogen is specifically present in the community water sources? 
• Do we know that there is no risk of further water contamination from the studies we are conducting?
• What are Lesotho’s environmental government policies on water treatment, dumping, and anything else related to water.
• Assumptions: Got IRB approval, and approval from Lesotho to do research there

 

Ethical Issue: 

• Is this study just an example of hit and run research or does this research actually help the people of Lesotho or have social value in general?
• Balance between ethics and rigor, not doing study rigorously enough is an ethical issue too

 

Step 2: Stakeholders

• Researchers (academics)
• The University of the academics
• Funders of the research/Government Agency
• Villagers of Lesotho
• Healthcare System/Providers (secondary/tertiary)
• Academic Journal

Step 3: Motivations

• Researchers -> academic clout😤😤😤, maintain jobs, create positive impact through their research/findings
• The University of the academics -> maintain their reputation globally, advancing knowledge & delivering value to society
• Villagers -> obtain clean water supply, stay healthy, not have their lifestyle completely disrupted, lower risk of contracting disease, building connections and relationships, possible economic development w/ cleaner water in tourism and exporting water to South Africa
• Funders/Government Agency -> stake in developing an additive or water cleaning system, obtain more grants for future work, research might help their projects and development, creates a positive image of corporate social responsibility, develop their brand in this area
• Healthcare system/providers in Lesotho -> less burden from waterborne diseases, more resources to devote to other conditions
• Academic Journal -> acquire new research (groundbreaking) that adds to general knowledge of pathogens, build reputation
• Build a relationship with the locals. Future developments and research can be 

Step 4: Solutions

• Conduct experiments on how the pathogen affects health. Experiments would include testing the water with pathogens on rats. 
• Select guides which are knowledgeable of water sources; typically women
• Test water from multiple sources; in villages with different socioeconomic statuses.
• Only collect the water samples in vials when doing on ground work; test the water later in labs.
• Educate the villagers of Lesotho about your findings while you are there about things they can do in their capacities & after the water has been tested, and help them towards finding a solution to any disease-causing pathogens you found
  • Sharing information and results that would benefit the people of Lesotho (+those downstream of Lesotho) after the research gets published 
  • Email the papers to the heads of communities to show that something came out of the research they assisted in 
  • Maximizing clinical value & making sure there is positive social impact/return
• Identify the source or the pathogen. Where/how is it contaminating the lake.
• Conduct simple examinations on locals to identify symptoms and effects from drinking the lake’s water. 
• Drink the water. Be your own subject of testing. 😤😤😤
• Attempt to provide a temporary cleaning solution or import purified water.
• Scan the area of the lake. Identify behaviors from the locals that could be contributing to the pathogen. 
• Request the right to access the water sources from legislation/leaders of each village and explain what you are doing/plan to do/and how you are testing, negotiating for access
  • Appeal to community health workers in Lesotho who understand what you are doing and can explain it to the community 
• Negotiations and incentives are a way of reducing what you are taking personally and providing a return which addresses the issue of beneficence
  • Also addresses the rigor of the study because you’re making sure you contact and get information from people who are educated about your research and who can provide you with accurate information
  • Ensuring that you do the study right, focus on legitimacy

Step 5: Additional

• NSPE Code of Ethics: This legislature enforces that engineers “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” in their work. Hence, an engineer need note this when debating the ethics of this study.
• Who has approved the study? The university? Has it received IRB approval?
  • IRB Ethics:
    • Social or Scientific Value
    • Scientific Validity
    • Fair Subject Selection
    • Favorable Risk – Benefit
    • Independent Review
    • Informed Consent
    • Respect for Potential and Enrolled Subjects
• Belmont Report -> beneficence, respect for persons, justice
  • Are you protecting the anonymity of the volunteers if they wish for it?

 

Step 6: Best Action

• How do we make this study ethical? How can we compensate the community members (material or immaterial) in order to justify the inherent risks of this study?
• Integrating some educational compensation seems like a requisite for this study. The researchers are going into a foreign country claiming to be researching a disease causing pathogen. Some of the locals may not know/believe where disease comes from and may attribute it to witchcraft or a higher power. The researchers should either educate the locals on water purification procedures (and giving them any necessary equipment), educate them on the specific pathogen they are researching, or both!

 

Step 7: Venture Implications

• Improve community health
• Opportunity to market water treatment / cleaning solution
• Adding to knowledge of waterborne pathogens
• Potential positive or negative environmental implications if water treatment solution is derived from this research and introduced to the community
• Potential employment/volunteering of locals into protecting the lake and working with our venture apply our solutions.