Living an Impact-Focused Life

What’s your Why?

I believe I was put on this earth to:

To help people. To change the way we look at each other. To bring value to humanity.

 

My purpose is to:

Serve humanity. To help people as much as I can. I don’t feel entitled. I don’t much to offer, but I have my personality, my care, my heart, and passion to make others well and smile.

 

I believe (my core values):

Leadership

Discipline

Passion

Love

Education

Getting Along

 

The one thing I must do before I die is:

Visit Another planet. Know there is more to life than just on earth

 

 

My advocates and supporters all believe I:

Democracy. Humanity First.

 

The evil I want to eradicate in this world is:

Ignorance from powerful leaders.

Poverty.

 

 

I want to work in order to:

Get my family out of poverty. Have a good full filling career.

 

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:

Envision the future. I am curious. I take initiative.

 

I never:

Do things without passion

My work style is:

Work hard. Play hard. Enjoy Life

 

I try to treat people:

With great respect. Because you never know what others may be going through. Adding just a simple act of kindness can go very far.

 

I approach problems by:

Creating more problems.

 

Victories are time to:

To look around those that fought with you and celebrate. But never keep your guard down

 

If another attacks my point of view I:

Actively listen and stay calm. I keep my guard up and avoid a major conflict.

 

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

Whistle bowl.

 

 

 

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	JP Morgan- Municipal Finance Summer Intern Morgan Stanley- Market Risk Controller Intern GSIF
Research Experiences	Mountain Initiative Fellowship
Inventions and Innovations	Not yet.
(Social) Entrepreneurial Ventures	Air Quality Almaty
Publications (Formal and Informal)	N/A
Formal Presentations (at Lehigh and Beyond)	Business competitions. Junior Achievement of New York Student of the Year 2018 Gala NYC
Awards and External Recognition	Junior Achievement of New York Student of the Year 2018 Gala NYC

 

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)	Internships. Other retail jobs
Conflict Resolution Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Family issues and being able to work around them
Leadership Experience (and Lessons Learned)	I am a peer leader so I lead, encourage, and motivate all the time.
Dealing with Chaos, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty (and Lessons Learned)	Losing my citizenship because a relative threw them out. I recently got to the U.S at 5 years old and to know years later I lost the rights to freedom because of someone’s hatred and jealously. The amount of money, sweat, and blood my parents lost was a heavy weight I felt when I grew up. Now I have my citizenship and I am following the dreams of college, a career, and success for my parents. For our future.
Personally Challenging Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Being homeless and living in a shelter. Growing up with nothing has allowed me to enjoy life much better. I help others and and serve every person with respect and care because we all have a story. This has come with a cost from the trauma I’ve faced in my childhood. Many of my skills come from my lowest moments in life because I persevered with my parents. Helping people can brighten their day, so I do my very best to serve everyone I come across.
Cross-cultural Experience (and Lessons Learned)	My significant other is Bengali and is Muslim. I am Colombian and raised in a Christian home. I love her and we don’t care about our differences. I’ve learned more about the world through her as there are billions of Muslims in the world. While I am not religious, her faith in Islam has allowed me to be happy because I value many of the values Islam has. My view on the world has changed positively because of her. I always been a good person, but I am slowly finding my purpose. Despite my past challenges and hardest moments in life, I grew out of negative holes of hatred to start liking and loving the world much more.
An experience that helped you connect your GSIF work to your discipline / major.	Mountain Initiative Fellowship
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.	In High School. I learned I have value and I am worth something if I can work hard and run for my dreams.
A moment where you felt like you truly have a strong sense of purpose and belonging in this dynamic, globalized interdependent world.	As I mature and grow in this cold world, I see many parts and people have lost their humanity. I want to serve people and change the way the negative thoughts we had.

 

Week 10 Animation

Police Chief- 

 

To first address the issue of corruption from the police in Afghanistan 

 

Systems Thinking Challenge 1

“If u were the top police chief how would we deal with this problem”  blog post question- 

1. Differentiation: 
   1. Local government
   2. Taliban
   3. Policemen
   4. Overall population
   5. Ghost Policemen
   6. Commanders
2. Interdependence: 
   1. Police provide protection for the overall population
   2. Local government funding the ghost policemen are creating a low moral in the police force
   3. Commanders are getting cut of salaries from the ghost policemen
   4. Taliban feed off policemen with low morals
3. Holism: 
   1. People are upset because there are ghost policemen that are getting paid to do nothing. This lowers the overall morale of the entire police force and creates public distrust in the government.
4. Multifinality: 
   1. Goal of police force members: They just want to keep their paying job and to keeping serving their people 
   2. Goals for the public: They want to have a safe city and an uncorrupt government that cares about them
   3. Goals for the police chiefs: They want the corruption to continue because they are getting a free check out of it
5. Equifinality: 
   1. Desired goal is for the ghost policemen to be eliminated, but there is no incentive for the top down government officials to fix the issue because they benefit with a free check.  
6. Regulation: 
   1. An implementation of a verification system, that verifies if you are actually a police officer, eliminating the ghost policemen.
7. Abstraction: 
   1. Not having a verification system is problem for the policing system and for other industries that don’t have verification for their workers
8. Leverage Points: 
   1. High government- if the national government of Iraq would adopt this verification system and spread information about its benefit
      1. This would raise morale in the population restoring trust in the government. Additionally, it would create accountability measures. 
   2. Figuring out who is putting the “ghost” policemen on the payroll
      1. By identifying this person, the chief of police can either remove them or keep a closer eye on them so that they aren’t putting more people on the payroll that shouldn’t be getting paid.  They can be replaced with someone more trustworthy.  

 

How to solve the problem: 

Our solution will consist of a verification system implemented by the federal government that will require weekly sign ins, in order to receive a check.  Additionally once a month the sign in list will be examined and will check to see if there is anyone on the payroll that hasn’t signed in.  Then there will be a followup with that person as to why they haven’t been coming to receive their checks/ coming into work. It is important that the regulation comes from the top down government, because no one will listen to the community citizens since it’s the police chiefs that are the most corrupt.  Additionally, It is also important for morale so that people can be held accountable and that the people feel there is something being done to address the problem.

 

System Thinking Challenge 2: 

 

1. Differentiation: 
   1. Community members
   2. The lake (Lake Victoria) 
   3. Habitat (
   4. The moss (Hyacinth)
   5. The employees (the four employees that the entrepreneur hired and the future employees that can be hired in a possible other system that falls under the larger system) 
   6. Entrepreneur (Foreigner)
   7. Compost and Briquettes (Block of Biomass from the Hyacinth)
2. Interdependence: 
   1. The entrepreneur is taking the moss that is causing problems for fisherman and health consequences and making something (with the profits) that has economic value and possibly further cleans Lake Victoria 
   2. The entrepreneur is providing job for four employees from the village 
   3. Create more jobs for further people
3. Holism: 
   1. Community members are upset that she is selling the compost and briquettes for profit off of a natural substance in the lake
4. Multifinality: 
   1. Goals of the community members: They don’t want an outsider profiting off their land, however they want the moss in the lake cleaned up so that the fisherman can continue to fish and to avoid any possible health consequences 
   2. Goals for the employees: They want a job so they can make money and support their families
   3. Goals for the Entrepreneur:  Wants to help the community with their issue while also making a profit
5. Equifinality: 
   1. Desired output is that all parties want the moss extracted from the lake, but the community members want it gone to improve fishing while the entrepreneur wants it gone to generate profits
6. Regulation: 
   1. There should be direct communication between the entrepreneur and the community to make sure that whatever is being done with the moss and whatever the plans are for expansion of her company also aligns with the communities goals
7. Abstraction: 
   1. The process the entrepreneur created can be used in other areas where the moss grows
8. Leverage Points: 
   1. Ecosystem- By marketing the business right, the entrepreneur can inform villagers and locals about the negative effects of the water hyacinth (decreases biodiversity, spreads diseases, evenness in the water, blocks boats, disrupts fishing) so she can gain the approval of them. By gaining their trust and communicating well with the villagers, she can have a more prosperous business. 
      1. Assuring the locals that the entrepreneur has motives that go beyond the profits 
   2. As the entrepreneur’s need for hyacinth increases, she might be tempted to artificially control the moss level to profit more and not actually get rid of it. That might disturb the community and the fishermen. In the short run the entrepreneur will probably want to solve this issue of the water hyacinth infestation, but in the long run she’ll realize this business has sustained her and her employees. The radical decision would be to control the growth of the water hyacinth and her business to turn it into biomass. 
      1. To prevent this from becoming a monopoly or disruptive business, the entrepreneur must expand to other regions and consumers. Price would be a major factor in how this would sustain the community and her business. 

 

How should she solve the problem: 

She should try and make her compost and briquette process one that also benefits the community as a whole and not just benefits them by getting rid of the moss.  The entrepreneur should have an open discussion with community members about their expectations of moss removal and what they feel is becoming an issue with her company’s extraction of the moss. In addition, the entrepreneur should also address the possible noise and sight pollution that will increase around the lake. The employers that she hires should be members of the community so that the community can benefit from increasing it’s employment numbers.  Her moss extraction also needs to take into account how it is affecting fishermen. If the demand of the moss compost and briquettes is increasing, then the increased demand in moss will make the entrepreneur want more moss in the lake to extract, which can hinder the fisherman’s ability to catch fish.  She should look for other communities that are also having similar issues with the moss so that she has multiple sources of resources and not just Lake Victoria to avoid resource depletion.  Lastly, the community members might also not like that an outsider is coming in and making a profit off their land and resources.  She should find a way to give back to the community for the ability to take free resources from the lake and make a growing company that will likely make profits in the long run.

 

Another factor that needs to be considered is possible oversight on the entrepreneur and her business because we do not want depletion to occur which can lead to an unwanted outcome backfiring on the group that initially benefited which were the fishermen. According to “Water Hyacinths are crucial for animals and fish in aquatic habitats”, the moss is what helps feed some of the life within the lake and is a major contributor to their diet.  If too much moss is extracted then it could affect the ecosystem and harm the aquatic life and fisherman’s ability to collect seafood.

 

Water Hyacinths are crucial for animals and fish in aquatic habitats. 

http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/extension/4h/plants/Water_hyacinth/index.html

 

Water hyacinth- Native to Amazon, South America

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/national_invasive_species_awareness_week_water_hyacinth_bohling16

 

GSIF has helped me become a better communicator, presenter, researcher, and entrepreneur. While working ion this venture I’ve realized how many of my skills have become stronger and how my relationship with others to work on a business has grown. I feel much more confident to later on pursue on another venture project or business. My relationship with my partners and peers is a good  network that has become useful for my education and college career. Wen make a really good team in that we can assess each others strengths and better organize to do work more efficiently. Every Friday we have a meeting with our Venture Mentor Professor Dinissa Duvanova Duvanova. Our group comes together to discuss findings and report on progress of venture. My critical thinking skills have been sharpen by the Tuesday lectures as well by diving on complex issues and working around them to not simply solve, but improvise. I like learning about real world problems and issues and bringing out ideas to help decrease the damage of these issues. 

Big Goal G:

 

• Decreasing the people’s exposure to air pollution and the amount of health diseases and deaths associated with cardiovascular and lung diseases in Almaty and improving overall quality of life 

Small Goals:

 

• Strengthen our relationship with AlmaU to better understand the students and people there.  

• Creating our survey to identify our prime customer segments.

• Recruitment passionate students to continue working on our project

• Better understanding of the financial side of our project

 

Scaled to our resources and constraints? 

 

• Our Project goal is scaled to our resources and constraints. Our venture is still in the early stages of development. We have an ultimate goal and know how we want to approach it, which is through a mobile app that will provide individualized advice. Our advice will guide people through better behaviors that can be taken to decrease the chances of getting a chronic illness associated with cardiovascular and lung health. 

 

What are the metrics for success for what we’re producing?

 

• Decrease in the morbidity and mortality rates from conditions related to cardiovascular and lung diseases 

• Decreasing the medical cost related to poor health

 

Roles

Who is responsible for which deliverables?

 

• Alondra, Josue, Hugo – responsible for developing the survey and sending it out. 

• Rebecca, Nathaly, Ulan – responsible for figuring out the financial portion of the project, identifying the funding sources.

• Everyone – responsible for writing a research paper, finding ways to make our project sustainable in the long term, and connecting with the partners from AlmaU.

 

Which deliverables that require collaboration, subgroups & individual work? 

 

• All of our deliverables require collaboration because they are fundamental parts of our project. 

 

Who does each person depend upon to succeed?

 

• Everyone depends on one another for various things. We know what our strengths and weaknesses are and use them to our advantage. 

 

Do we need a project manager to coordinate? 

 

• No, we do not need a project manager because we all keep each other accountable. 

 

Procedures

Decision Making

 

• Consensus/majority rules

• If there is a tie in votes, our advisor’s vote will break the tie

 

Effective Meetings

 

• Everyone comes with updates on their progress with their deliverables

• We review goals and methods to progress towards them

 

Communication- Zoom

 

• Weekly meetings with Advisor and team on Fridays @ 11:30 AM

• Weekly meetings with only team members to work on deliverables together and update one another

• We send messages to update one another on our progress and where we may need help

• Email advisor with updates on progress

 

Relationships

Team Diversity – What is the diversity on our team? 

 

• Our team consist of a range of disciplines from computer science/ engineering to environmental studies/ economics/business

• Disciplines to tap for solutions;  individual learning styles for the stages of invention;  overall team learning style strengths and places to supplement;  cultural backgrounds , work experience,  dreams to leverage for scope & impact of goals, new roles, better procedures;  languages for more diverse customer set, bigger market;

• Alondra→ Invested in learning about the environmental issues being faced globally. Learns mainly from social interactions

• Hugo- Learns mainly from reading. Enjoys learning about other cultures and

• Ulan – Comes from the same cultural background as the region our project is based on, fluent in their native language

• Nathaly- Passionate about environmental issues and helping disadvantaged groups. Learns by doing and seeing.

• Rebecca- Well versed in research and computer science. Is a great listener and synthesizer

• Josue- Is a quick thinker and has a business mindset.

 

Team Name

 

Air Quality, Almaty  

Jack is an American student who lived at Kenya, working on his social venture

Kids were under 14 years of age

Jack was asked by the staff to hand out the gifts during the ceremony

Jack took the credits for handing out the gifts, but did not want the credits for not bringing enough the gifts for all the kids.

Jack did not give the black hats (attached at the bottom of the boxes containing the gifts) to the 4 kids that did not receive the presents during the ceremony

The 4 kids that did not receive a gift each got the black hat from the staff after the ceremony.

One kid stared at him, but Jack interpreted that the four kids felt “left out” and upset about the incident, and brought this issue to the staff.

The staff acknowledged that it was not their fault and should not be blamed for this trivial issue.

Jack was told by the staff that if Jack thought that incident was a problem, then he should go and solve it himself.

The staff were also kids that grew up through the program, so they are not evil

As an intern at the youth center, Jack is basically an outsider and has little power/ influence

Culture expectation: maybe it’s the norm in Kenya that not every kid should get the presents every time, and the kids can be expected to receive the gifts next time

Assumption: there is a difference between Jack’s American culture norm and Kenya culture norm

Assumption: the staff do not care whether who gives out the gifts and who gets the credits for giving out the gifts

Ethical issue: Jack has to decide how to solve the “forgotten gifts” accident while keeping good relationships with the kids (both got the gifts and did not get the gifts), the staff, and save faces for himself and his affiliated organization.

 

 

STEP 2: Define the stakeholders

Jack (primary stakeholder)

Professional

Being a new worker, he wants good relationships with staff and kids

Decent pay

Save faces/uphold the reputation of his associated organizations (university/institute/funding agency, etc).

Personal

An outsider coming into a new country, he might want to do all he can to make the situation better for the affected stakeholders. (i.e., this would help Jack ‘look good’ as a ‘good samaritan’ or something like that.)

Does not want to be hated by the kids

 

Kids (between ages 3 – 14) — the ones who did not get the gifts

Personal

They are just kids.

Want gifts!

Want to be acknowledged and celebrated as the other kids were.

Professional

N/A

Staff

Professional

Wanting to get paid

Getting the job done

Concerned about Jack becoming a children’s activist

 

Personal

Avoiding taking part in an unnecessary problem.

“Nothing is wrong with what happened”

They were saving face. Keep things running smoothly.

 

The social venture

Professional

Improving the lives of the children

Maintain rapport with other stakeholders

Getting good press/ recognition

 

Personal

Getting good press/ recognition

 

Donor organization (secondary stakeholder)

Personal

Attempting to reach as many children possible

 

Professional

Reinforcing their relationship with the social venture.

 

STEP4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solution

 

Potential Solution 1: Following the staff’s approach in looking past the issue

How does it solve the problem?

We are staying on good terms with the staff,

Pros

We remain on good terms with the staff

The rest of the kids are happy

Jack will be on good terms with the staff, because they are not too concerned about him being a “child right activist.”

Cons

1 of the kids is upset with Jack

Jack personally feels upset about the situation

 

How does it save face of those involved?

The staff might be saving face by looking past the issue to keep additional conflicts from arising

Jack

 

Implications on relationships

Short-term: The staff will not think different about Jack, at least 1 kid will be upset with Jack

Long-term : Jack remains on good terms with the staff and a larger portion of the children by saving face

Implications on the venture

Short-term:

Jack does not have to worry about fraying his relationship with the owners of the facility/ staff

Long-term

Jack’s good image will continue throughout his stay

 

Potential Solution 2: Reframing the values of the black hats with the 4 kids that did not get the gifts through social/team-building activities

 

How does it solve the problem?

It adds value which will make the kids with the black hat feel special unlike before.

Pros

Fix the relationship with the children

Provide a sense of ceremony

Jack gain face with the kids (and consequently with the staff)

Cons

If Jack changed the value of the hats, it might cause other kids to feel bad / underserved.

The staff might still be concerned about Jack being a “child right activist”

How does it save face of those involved?

Jack does not have to since he is making up the act with the kids.

Implications on relationships

Short-term: The upset kids will be happy

Long-term : The staff might believe Jack will act up/ overreact again

Implications on the venture

Short-term: Jack’s image changes to the staff

Long-term:

Potential Solution 3: market the gift as a community gift — toys are for everyone, for their community

How does it solve the problem?

The left-out kids will feel included because the toys will be shared now

 

Pros

Creates a sense of community and socialize kids with each other

They will have access to more toys instead of only one

Cons

The kids who got toys might feel like their toys were taken away from them

200 hundred kids would feel like that, and Jack would need to

 

 

How does it save face of those involved?

You are saving face by making the toys a community thing. You are saying that now everyone must share.

Implications on relationships

Short-term: The upset kids will drop their grudge with Jack

Long-term : staff will dislike jack for the mini chaos he will collapse

Implications on the venture

Short-term: help out the venture but then cause problem

Long-term will cause issues since the kids will fight over toys

 

 

Potential Solution 4: Hold the second ceremony with everyone (kids and staff) and maybe have a conversation about the values of toys

 

How does it solve the problem?

This is a long-term solution because you have to wait until the second ceremony

 

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

Potential Solution 6: Wear a black hat for a few days and move on

 

How does it solve the problem?

Khanja’s style of hat

Do not talk or debate with staff → still get on good terms with them

Wearing the black hat for a few days → can help make the 4 kids feel that the black hats are important

 

Pros

Less work and move on fast

Save faces for mostly everyone

Respect the culture norm in Kenya and in the youth center

Cons

At least 1 kid might still feel upset

Jack himself might still feel upset

 

 

How does it save face of those involved?

Wearing a black hat for a few days → help to amend the relationships with the 4 kids (if things go well; if not, Jack can move on and look past the issue)

Jack respects the cultural norm in Kenya → get on good terms with the staff and kids in youth term

Jack does not have to apologize for anything → move on easily

Implications on relationships

Short-term:

Long-term :

Implications on the venture

Short-term:

Long-term

 

Potential Solution 5: Dance performance with black hats (Michale Jackons’ solution)

 

How does it solve the problem?

Hold a dance feast in the youth center and teach the 4 kids some special moves to dance with the hat, then ask other kids and staff to join together in the dance performance.

 

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

STEP5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate

 

Jack might get in touch with his American superiors or advisors for learning better how to navigate the situation.

(if possible) Jack could reach out to former interns to ask about if they could share any insights on the customary behavior of the staff members. Anecdotes sometimes help one to make their mind into (not) doing something.

 

STEP6: Select the best option.

The best solution is to not do anything. The kids that didn’t get a toy is not a big issue, but can become one as they grow one. This constant treatment of pleasure from receiving toys and to sometimes not getting one can grow tensions. Next time, its best to not give toys at all if there aren’t enough for every child. As for the adults and the management team, this shouldn’t start a problem with each other because at the end of the day they’re children and toys. Maybe don’t centivise giving out toys, but instead earning them or asking who would be interested in having one. 

STEP7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement the solution

 

There are a few steps to implement this solution. All Jack must do is carry on and save face. He has to continue to go with the flow because he is new and is not in the position to create problems. By carrying on he is creating good long term benefits because the staff will remember that he does not go out of line. This may appear like a lazy solution, but truthfully it holds the best outcome in the long term for all stakeholders.

 

Identify partnerships at the individual, team, and Lehigh/GSIF level

1. AlmaU
   1. They agreed to partner with us from the beginning of the project.  The partnership helps provide funding to both sides, allowing for them to use us as a resource and allowing us to use them as a resource when applying for grants.  
   2. They help us gather information from the country that we wouldn’t be able to learn and access, especially since we didn’t have any field work.  We help them
   3. Yes, because they want to fix the air quality issue for cleaner air in the city and we benefit from their research inputs
   4. To help strengthen this partnership it would be helpful to have clearer communication and incentives because they went MIA over the summer when they took their summer break
   5. They provide cultural and societal norms background information which can help our team make appropriate decisions 
2. Almaty Urban Air  (AUA)- 
   1. We’re working to solve the same problem. 
   2. They have helped us with software, because their app is already created
   3. We help them by offering them a different perspective and knowledge
   4. This partnership would be stronger if we could find a way to integrate both our
3. IQAir
   1. We will use their air quality data
   2. It has helped us justify the reason for needing air pollution mitigation plans to help reduce exposure
   3. They help us with our data collection and we can help them spread their product to more Kazak residents that might want to track their air quality
   4. Our partnership would strengthen if our app was directly paired with their company  
4. Arnika 
   1. Environmental NGO that has connections to other non profit environmental groups
   2. They have awareness projects based in Kazakhstan that we don’t have access to.  They also have relationships with the government and connections to resources that we don’t have available.  
   3. Yes this is a symbiotic relationship because we can utilize their connections and we are helping solve the issue they are interested in
   4. It will be strengthened once we have a usable model of our application because there will be something tangible to talk about.

Professor Holland

1. 1. She is a professor that has invested her research in air pollution and understanding how air pollution affects the health of cities.  She is an expert in her field and is a good resource for how to combat air quality issues
   2. She helped us by giving us information on how to jump start our venture and what types of problems we should look at.  We can also rely on funding for each other so if we get a grant that allows us to get air quality monitors she can utilize them and vise versa. 
   3. The relationship isn’t necessarily symbiotic because she was willing to give her expertise for no personal benefits.  She was also willing to pay for us to use handheld air quality testers in country when we were originally planning on going
   4. If Professor Holland had more stake in our project then it would make our project more equitable because she has a good name for herself in the research field
   5. She’s a key factor in keeping our relationship and communication with AlmatyU active. She keeps track for the AlmatyU and their progress. 

 

Questions to keep in mind: 

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

 

Visual of coalition and how it works 

 

https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/dair-dream-cleaner-future-your-city

Airkaz.org

https://ccacoalition.org/en/content/funding

 

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. 

 

While trying to develop a low-cost syringe for the developing world context, you (the designer) hit a cross-roads. Constructing the syringe to auto-disable after a single use, an important safety feature, significantly adds to the cost of the design – making it potentially unaffordable for some hospitals and clinics. However, if you don’t add the safety feature, you are enabling the potential for the spread of disease. How do you as a designer proceed? 

 

Step 1:

Problem 1: Without the auto-disable safety feature, it might be possible for people to misuse the syringe, enabling the potential for the spread of disease.

Problem 2: If the safe syringe is too expensive, it won’t be used for those for whom it was developed.

 

Step 2:

Hospitals/Medical centers

Doctors/nurses

Patients

Designers

 

Step 3:

• Hospital/med center admin
  • Trying to help as many people as possible within the budget
  • Reputation, 
  • Bring in Profits
• Designer
  • Making sure our design is safe, accessible, helpful
• Patient
  • Easily accessible
  • Easy to use
• Doctors/nurses
  • Do no harm
  • Help as many as possible

Step 4: 

1. Forego the single-use feature and invest in user-focused education
   1. Ethical Principle: If the syringe is too expensive, they won’t get to the individuals who need them most
      1. Pros: less expensive, more available
      2. Cons: Risk of using inappropriately increased; risk of infection

 

1. Offer incentive to users to return syringe after single use for a cheaper replacement 
   1. Ethical Principle: People who need the product can afford it
      1. Pros: cuts down on medical waste, encourages recycling/ safe handling of medical waste
      2. Cons: Risk of using inappropriately increased; risk of infection
2. Pair the single use syringe with a medication and allow users to return the syringe for a refill of the medication (single use epipen return for a refill of the med)
   1. Ethical Principle: Eliminate the risk of inappropriate use
      1. Pros: no risk of spreading infection for misuse of syringe
      2. Cons: largely dependent upon relationship with drug companies, need for method of returning

Step 5: 

• What incentives to doctors/hospitals/medical facilities have for collecting “sharps” already
• How well does recycling work for other things (paper, plastic, etc)?

Step 6: 

The best course of action that satisfies the highest core ethical values is to forgo the single-use feature and replace it with a cheaper reactant paper that changes color once the syringe is used. Then offer the user the incentive to return the syringe after only a single use for a less expensive replacement. The money saved by forgoing the single-use safety measure should be used to: educate the users of the potential risks of using the syringes more than once; simple, inexpensive method for return; and cost-effective replacements in lieu of misusing the single-use product.    

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. 

A single use syringe will help reduce the spread of infections because the model would visually show a reactant paper attached to the spring marking it used. This will benefit the society. The simplicity of the reactant paper to mark the syringe used is low cost effective adds a technological advantage. Our single use syringes will allow our users/clients to obtain a new one with an incentive that if a used one is brought back, we will reduce the cost of purchasing a new single use syringe. Educating to the people will be the most important element to make our venture work because informing them on how the single use syringe is safe and convenient. An effort to continue educating locals will help pass the significance of our venture and how it works.