GLVSIF_LifeofImpact_Workshop_16 Nov 2020

1. Refine your systems stacks.

1. Based on your refined systems stacks, crystalize your response to four prompts for your semester-end presentations:

– What is your business / operations / sustainability model?

We form partnerships with local environmental education centers and create custom educational VR games that they can use in their teaching to visitors. We have frequent meetings with center staff to provide feedback, then bring the product for testing into schools, then release the games to our partner centers. 

 

– What is your scale-up strategy? Explain with clear financial and social value projections.

We plan to apply for grants such as Unity for Humanity and EPA EE grants as well as leverage our partners’ networks to reach more interested clients to fund our project and increase outreach. By hiring professional full time game developers and acquiring new development tools, we would increase our productivity and product quality. 

 

– What is your implementation plan? What is your “go to market” strategy? Please provide a specific timeline.

Our implementation plan consists of sharing the game software with our partners’s centers for easy storage and local access. In addition we will train the staff at the partner centers to operate the games, headsets, and computers. To add to this, the center staff will provide their own headsets so as to have a better sense of what quality and quantity they will require. Based on success at our existing partner centers, we will contact their networks to acquire more potential partners. We will also continue to present our work at conferences to build connections with other interested organizations. As we are still in our research phase rather than market-ready, we are still developing our business strategy and plan to release our games further in the future. By 2025, our set of 5 games currently under development will be released at every center in our current cluster of partners. 

– What does success look like for all the stakeholders? What are your metrics of success? How will you measure impact?

A success for our client looks like increased visitation, increased memberships, a high proportion of visitors using our technology, and being able to provide exciting experiences for visitors who would otherwise not be included, such as the elderly or people with mobility issues. We can measure the success of our venture through the number of games we create and the physical spread of our product distribution. We can measure our impact with feedback and interest from our partners, as well as participants’ learning performance and experience during testing and release.

Josie Koelsch, Marcos Escobar, Mayra Perez, Udita Agarwal

 

1. Develop the “system stack” for your project a la the examples done in class (see photos posted under Week #10)

Since we are creating a custom game for each of our partners, this system stack is replicated for each of our partners.

2. Read the article “Relevance of Systems Thinking” posted under Week #10

https://coursesite.lehigh.edu/pluginfile.php/5290747/mod_resource/content/0/2013_SPAR_RelevanceofSystemsThinking.pdf

 

3. For each of the systems principles discussed and described in the article, give one compelling example of how your project system describes or encapsulates that principle. Be specific!

 

Tenet 1: Interdependence

Three individual systems: Technology, education, nature centers. These systems exist and sustainably survive within the global marketplace. However, from our venture’s perspective, the Lehigh RiVR immersive learning, these are interdependent systems that help sustain our venture’s model. Lehigh RiVR immersive learning aims to improve environmental education through the distribution of custom designed immersive learning virtual reality games to nature centers. In this case, these otherwise individually surviving systems are mutually dependent on each other. They collectively satisfy our venture’s goal to make learning engaging, enjoyable, and most importantly effective. 

Tenet 2: Holism

Our venture, Lehigh RiVR Immersive Learning as a larger system can only exist and be understood through its subsystems: Technology, improving education, and nature centers. Further, Lehigh RiVR Immersive Learning must understand how these three independent systems will function in relation to each other in order for Lehigh RiVR Immersive Learning venture to meet its objectives.

Our venture, within the context of improving education, will always provide a higher value proposition than its subsystems operating individually.

Tenet 3: Multifinality 

• In our project, from the perspective of 
  • Informal learning STEM centres: our unique games attract more visitors and increases the centres visibility and outreach 
  • Professors: our unique games serve as an exciting topic to conduct research on and positively impact research community 
  • Funders/investors: our games are a novel and exciting project to invest money in and given the rapidly growing VR market, it’s likely to reap high benefits
  • Learners playing our games: our games serve as an engaging, fun tool for them to learn more about the lehigh valley area and actually retain the knowledge learned
  • Game developers/researchers: creating these games is a way for them to expand their skillset and knowledge and positively impact the community around them

Tenet 4: Equifinality

• To reach the end goal of making environmental education engaging and fun for learners of all ages, our venture employs the use of immersive virtual reality games through which learners can learn about their local environment through exciting ways like walking through a mine 100 years ago, playing puzzles, and experiencing a field trip in VR. To make our games accessible to a wide audience so that everyone can benefit from them, we’ve partnered with local nature centres and informal learning centers so that their visitors can access the games as well. 
• While our venture is using VR games to achieve this end goal of making environmental education engaging, this end goal can also be achieved through several other means like making classrooms interactive through engaging activities such as discussions, field trips to the local area, and incorporating different mediums while teaching (like videos, podcasts, and hands-on activities). These means wouldn’t be as efficient as our venture though because these means have their limitations. For example, not every student is comfortable with speaking in classroom discussions. Similarly, students with disabilities/injuries or older learners may not be physically able to go to field trips in person to learn about the local environment. 
• Thus, we believe that our venture serves as the optimal course of action in this rapidly developing, forward thinking world. 

Tenet 5: Differentiation

When putting our project on the large-scale we notice that many of the components that make up our business system are interdependent. To start off, to name some of the interdependent components, we have our partners (informal learning center) who provide to us knowledge regarding the content within the game which is used by our developers in order to create the game. The game will be used at those centers with staff who will be trained by the team in order to fully utilize the technology to its extent. Within this short scope (not all) of our business system, we can see it is made up of very different and distinguishable components. When approaching these components from a holistic view, they all work together to form our system. Taking the game component for example, it’s distinct in the fact that it’s technology, however this technology is the product from whom our stakeholders wish to have in their institutions. And then we have our partners, they are the component that will make up our stakeholders, and thus provide funding to receive such a product (technology). Although distinct and different, these elements work together to create our major system which is our business model.

Tenet 6: Regulation

In order for the project to flourish and to be sustainable in the long run, there needs to be regulation in place that will keep everyone accountable, and thus provide a sense of organization, accountability and progress. One of the ways that our project demonstrates regulation can be seen through our weekly meetings with our mentors. We meet two days every week (Wednesday and Friday) where we discuss our recent progression towards the game and give each other feedback. We also have bi-weekly meetings with our partners on a regular basis to demonstrate the progress to them (our stakeholders). This feedback mechanism ensures a regulated timely delivery of updates which are showcased and thus keeps everyone accountable for their own work. Within the whole system spectrum, these are the steps taken to maintain the project afloat.

Tenet 7: Abstraction

Since our venture’s work often becomes incredibly specific as we try to code a specific function, the concept of abstraction becomes important for us to realize the broader purpose of each small task we do. While one project may specifically require us to model 20th century canal boats, this will fall under the abstraction of software development. Abstracting even further, we can realize that the purpose of software development is to incorporate the educationational content into games for our partners. Abstracting even further, we can realize that the purpose of incorporating this content is to teach visitors at the nature centers. At this point we have reached the core of our project: engaging educational experiences. This thinking allows us to understand the broader purpose of something as small as a canal boat image. 

Tenet 8: Leverage Points

Key leverage points for our venture are our partnerships with local environmental education centers. If these centers are a part of a larger system, a partnership with one of them can be crucial to expanding our reach and forming more partnerships. For example, one of our current partners is Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. This center is a part of the state park system. We can leverage our partnership with them to access the much larger state park system with many more potential partners. When this center obtains the finalized version of our games, we can utilize the interest surrounding their new educational tools and reach out to their state park network to form new partnerships.

 

• Story Elements

 

1. Attention-getters
   1. Rhetorical question→ “Have you ever sat down at a boring lecture? How much did you pay attention? ”
   2. Comic/Graphic of bored kids
   3. Shocking statistic → data (Gallup) “Almost half of students who responded to the survey are engaged with school (47%), with approximately one-fourth “not engaged” (29%) and the remainder “actively disengaged” (24%).”
   4. Video of kids during lecture of info vs while playing game
   5. Snippet of game vs pic of lecture hall → Would you prefer to learn through this or a lecture?

 

1. The Challenge
   1. Have a picture, drawing, or some illustration of bored kids
   2. Video of kids during lecture of info vs while playing game
   3. Shocking statistic → data (Gallup) “Almost half of students who responded to the survey are engaged with school (47%), with approximately one-fourth “not engaged” (29%) and the remainder “actively disengaged” (24%).”
   4. Just saying it: “Learners are not excited to learn. They dread being told information the same way they always are: a lecture. The method of presenting information to learners must be modernized and transformed.”
   5. Quotes from learners stating they do not find class as engaging.

 

1. The Journey
   1. Lectures have been around as long as learning itself. One higher power spitting out information to a “lesser” audience. Cut to 2021: the audience, so bored that even overdosing on caffeine doesn’t help them make it more than 10 mins into the lecture. With all the technology around us, in all our pockets, why aren’t we using it? But there are some who want to make a change, who care about their audiences. These are our allies. We bring the most immersive, engaging tool at our disposal: *drum roll please* virtual reality technology. Working together with these nature centers, we plant seeds of information in an exciting experience that draws in audiences rather than putting them to sleep. They can time travel, walk through mines and production plants 150 years ago, and everything else you can’t do in a seat in a lecture hall.

1. The Battle
   1. With our allies, we transform an era of boredom into a world of exciting possibilities. 5 nations united, nature nurture center (NNC), Lehigh gap nature center (LGNC), Delaware and Lehigh National Corridor (DLNC), Jacobsburg environmental education center (JEEC), and RiVR Learning, suit up to find a solution to this tyranny.  After years of development, so thoughtfully laid out, and so awesome, they cried of joy. They deliver custom-designed, immersive learning virtual reality games to make education engaging for all who walk through their doors.
2. The Change
   1. Video of kids during lecture of info vs after playing the game
   2. Survey or assessment taken before the game to establish knowledge baseline and after the game to assess information absorbed 
   3. Quotes from learners (example: kid not taking out his phone, even when it buzzed)

• History of the Future

1. 1. What will the world look like if your project fully succeeds? What will people be doing differently? How will they feel differently?
      1. If our project succeeds the field of education will match the modern, technological world around us. Learners will feel excited to learn new content. They will stay engaged, bid boredom goodbye, and likely retain information better. We also increase access to education. Learners who are physically disabled or distant from the centers of education can access our tools and learn in a way they were not able to before. We will also be providing tools to educators, and drawing attention to our partner nature centers in the process. This will allow them to push forward their missions of environmental awareness. 
   2. What will the world look like if your project fails? Who will notice? Who will feel the effects?
      1. If our venture fails, the pattern of disengaged learners persists. Learners are not realizing their full potential, and they may be discouraged from future or higher education. They are not exposed to exciting learning tools, so their interest in education declines. Learning remains undesirable, and the world will feel the effects of this as its future workers remain unmotivated to push the boundaries of their understanding. As for learners who are physically disabled or unable to attend learning centers, they will continue to be excluded from the same learning experiences that abled people can access. Educators like our partner nature centers will continue to feel a lack of motivation from their learners, and this barrier of engagement and attention will remain.

Visualized partner network: Partner Network

How it works:

Phase 0: Research and Development

• We hold routine meetings with our partners to update them on development progress and document content they want included in our games. Using this content, we develop and improve the games in Unity until we have a working prototype.

• Partners for providing funding/technology: Lehigh University, potentially Unity for Humanity and EPA Environmental Education Grants
• Partners for knowledge/educational content: our partner nature centers (Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Nurture Nature Center, Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor)

Phase 1: Testing and Revisions

• We bring our games into schools for testing in a controlled environment. We document all feedback and incorporate the improvements to be made into our current prototype. 

• Partners for access to test users: school districts which contain our partner nature centers (Northern Lehigh School District, Easton Area School District, Pennsylvania Department of Education)

Phase 2: Release to Partner Informal Learning Centers

• After addressing the issues brought up in testing, we will release the final versions of our game to our partner informal learning centers in both desktop and headset VR for visitors to use.

• Partners for access to end users: our partner nature centers and 6 public libraries

Phase 3: Expand Social Capital for New Partnerships

• Using the attention brought to our partner nature centers, we will contact similar organizations who would be interested in a unique learning tool of their own for their locations. 

• Partners for access to new partners: our partner nature centers’ broader circles/network (For example, Jacobsburg is connected to the State Park system)

→ Repeat as we gain more partners

 

Informal Learning Centers:

– Why should they partner with you?

• Informal learning centers like Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, Nurture Nature Center, Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and public libraries should partner with us because we’re creating exciting immersive virtual reality games on topics relevant to these centers. These centers impart education on environmental and conservation issues which is what our games aim to do as well. We plan to implement our games in these centers. Through that, the visitors to these centers would not only gain exposure to novel experiences but also learn educational content in a fun, engaging way. Through our immersive game design, they would be able to retain the information better as well. The centers would gain more visitors and overall visibility. 

 

– Inputs: What they contribute/invest?

• Informal centers like Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, Nurture Nature Center, Lehigh Gap Nature Center, and Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor would invest their time. From the very beginning of game development, they would fact-check us and provide us with their expert feedback. They would mentor and guide us to ensure we’re imparting accurate information in our games. 

 

– Outputs: What do they receive in return?

• They will receive the opportunity to implement our games in their centers. This would increase the footfall of visitors and give their visitors a new exciting experience. Many of these centers already have educational curriculums on topics related to the environment. Our games would be an excellent additional learning tool to supplement their curriculums. Moreover, since our immersive game design implements game-based-learning principles, it would ensure that their visitors playing the games reach flow state and are actually retaining educational information. Additionally, the center would be able to increase their network, outreach, and overall visibility.

– How will you go about building the partnership?

• We already have partnerships with a lot of informal learning centers like the Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, Nurture Nature Center, Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and a few public libraries. We meet our partners twice a month to receive their feedback and mentorship. They fact-check us and guide us in the correct direction. We hope to continue expanding our partnerships with other informal learning centers in the area which have similar aims and objectives. 

 

Northern Lehigh School District:

– Why should they partner with you?

• They should partner with us because we introduce exciting and engaging learning experiences for their students as well as forming connections with nature centers in the local community. By allowing us into their schools to test our games with students, we are providing a new and fun kind of learning experience for students that will keep them excited about learning. Since our games are made for our partner nature centers, after the students play our game, we will have formed a connection between the school and the Lehigh Gap Nature Center (our partner in the Northern Lehigh School district). This will serve as a terrific community connection and field trip opportunity for students. 

– Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?

• They would allow us into classrooms for a session where students will play our game and provide feedback. With parent permission, they are providing their students to serve as a group test users whose feedback we can use to improve our games. They will also be providing their time as they are taking time out of either the school day or afterschool programs to allow their students to play our games.

– Outputs: What do they receive in return?

• Not only will they receive a first look at our VR games, but their students will also receive an engaging and fun experience while they play our games. Bringing our games into schools for testing will also strengthen students’ and administrators’ relationship with the Lehigh Gap Nature Center as our game will eventually be made available at the center in the Northern Lehigh School District. This provides community connections and potential for field trips. 

– How will you go about building the partnership?

• We would build this partnership by first contacting the Curriculum & Instruction coordinator at the District Office. We will introduce who we are and what we do, and express interest in having students test our games. We will arrange a time to meet where they can experience our games and determine if they are interested in allowing their students to try them as well as ask any questions regarding privacy of student info. We will clearly state that student information will not be recorded, only responses. If they are interested, we will complete the IRB approval process. We will work with the central office to determine which schools would be best suited for our testing and if it would occur during a class session or after school. Once these details are decided, we can bring our games into schools and receive student feedback. 

Easton Area School District:

– Why should they partner with you?

• The Easton Area School District should partner with us because we provide a technology that can enhance the educational environment of the classroom. Our technology acts as an extension of the teaching curriculum to help visualize material in a fun and engaging way. It would be a great opportunity for schools as this will improve learning statistics within the classrooms.

– Inputs: What they contribute/invest?

• The schools would contribute their time and their resources within the school. To expand a little, they would contribute their time in setting meetings, discussing the plans for the venture within the school and what we and they hope to get out of this partnership. In addition we would also talk about possibly including some of their students in the classroom within our studies to determine the impact of VR.

– Outputs: What they receive in return?

• In return they would receive better learning statistics, an engaged classroom with eager-to-learn students, and also a good face for the school as well. Schools that provide innovative ways to teach to their students usually come to become the talk of the community. If this spreads, the name of the school will as well.

– How will you go about building the partnership?

• The way we plan on going about building this partnership is first setting up a meeting with the leaders of our venture along with a representative from the school district to discuss anything related to the implementation of VR in the classroom. This could also be done through email, but in person is more direct. Additional meetings will have to follow, but it’s a good first step. Later on, it might have to go through a process where faculty might have to decide on this since it will directly affect some teachers. If all goes well, we start working with them and later on they will see good results.

Pennsylvania Department of Education:

– Why should they partner with you?

• We provide a technology that can enhance the educational environment of the classroom. Our technology serves as a tool for the teaching curriculum to help visualize material in a fun and engaging way and . It would be a great opportunity for schools as this will improve learning statistics within the classrooms.

– Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?

– Outputs: What do they receive in return?

– How will you go about building the partnership?

Unity for Humanity:

– Why should they partner with you?

• Unity for Humanity should partner with us because we both share the technological potential to create and inspire meaningful change in the world. Since we are focused on environmental sustainability, this grant is specifically made with collaboration with the U.N. to support such programs that uphold those values.

– Inputs: What they contribute/invest?

• They would contribute funding in the form of money that would help us sustain our venture in the short run. They would also invest their time within our venture since we expect them to be interested in our progress and would occasionally set up meetings to hear of such milestones.

– Outputs: What they receive in return?

• In return, they would receive a positive social standing for helping our environmentally focused venture. In addition, their name will be labeled across our presentations, giving them a positive face for their reputation. They get credibility essentially.

– How will you go about building the partnership?

• The way we plan on going about building this partnership is first applying for their Unity for Humanity grant which they have listed on their website. Once applied, in the case that we do get it, they would set-up a meeting with the leaders of our venture along with a representative from Unity to discuss anything else related to the grant. It’s a simple way to go about building the partnership.

EPA Environmental Education Grants:

– Why should they partner with you?

• They should partner with us because we are transforming the field of environmental education with our games. Our VR experiences are a new wave of environmental education techniques, and with our advanced tools we provide learners with immersive experiences that serve as powerful educational tools. Learners finish our game with increased understanding and awareness of environmental issues.

– Inputs: What they contribute/invest?

• They would provide us with funds to purchase headsets we use for testing, to pay for monthly software fees, to cover team expenses such as travel or marketing. 

– Outputs: What they receive in return?

• They will gain credibility and positive attention as our venture grows. As our games are successfully implemented, learners and visitors to our informal learning centers will see that we are funded by the EPA and form positive associations with the organization. They will also gain positive attention as they are helping to support local, small nature centers.

– How will you go about building the partnership?

• To build this partnership, we will need to apply to their grant competition. The deadlines for each year are posted on their website as well as the application materials. We will have to write a project summary, detailed project description, project evaluation plan, a detailed budget plan, as well as timeline, logic model, programmatic capabilities and past performance, letters stating responsibilities of partners, and finally two federal forms. This complete application would be submitted on www.grants.gov. In preparing, we would be in contact with the regional coordinator listed for Pennsylvania. 

Multilateral Organizations

1. ?  UNESCO: focused on increasing access to quality education 

1. Partnership with them would further establish our credibility
2. Leverage their extensive networks for other partnerships
3. Our ultimate goal is to provide immersive learning tools to make learning fun and interesting for everyone, which would eventually in turn lead to students understanding concepts better and having access to higher quality education

1.  Association for Childhood Education International: worldwide community of educators promoting optimal education 

1. Through partnering with them, we could get the content we’re delivering reviewed from them and gain insights on how we can communicate the material more effectively to our audience to aid their learning process
2. Increase the outreach of our products by collaborating with educators to use our products in their institutions 

 

Government Agencies (Federal, State, Local): In the US or Abroad

1. ? Environmental Protection Agency: tasked with environmental protection matters 

1. Our current games focus on environmental education so through partnering with them, we can leverage their network to have our products implemented at their offices and with their partner institutions
2. The content in our games (which is related to environmental education) could get reviewed by them which would increase our credibility since this is a government agency

1. ?  Pennsylvania Department of Education: oversees public education districts, focuses on education for the youth  

1. Through partnerships with them, we would get access to a network of public school districts where our products can get implemented. 
2. This will help us increase our outreach beyond the Lehigh Valley

Nonprofits

1. ?   Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor: connects people to the environment

1. Its located in the Lehigh Valley and our current games address content related to the Lehigh Valley so having their visitors play our games would benefit our venture 
2. Partnering with them could help us during the development of our games since they could help us with fact-checking and making sure we’re delivering correct information

1. ?  Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center: connects visitors to the environment and provides education programs to youth and adults about the natural and cultural history of the area 

1. Through partnering with them, our games could be used by them in their educational programs 
2. Leverage their networks to make partnerships with other nonprofit organizations in the Lehigh Valley

Foundations

1. 1. Udacity: they create the foundational skills necessary to start creating high-quality VR content, and help people gain the valuable experience they need to advance their studies, and put themselves on the path to a rewarding VR career.
      1. By partnering up with Udacity, the benefits would be getting experience necessary to create deep immersive games. The term deeply immersive refers to creating something that leaves players feeling as if they’re part of the current simulated environment. Aka flow state.
      2. In addition to this, working with members who are experienced in teaching others on how to best utilize the technology, they excel at making curriculums which will help us in our future endeavors.

• Corning Foundation: Funding is given to “innovative and collaborative projects that enhance the teaching and learning of science and math curricula with the goal of improving student outcomes.”

1. 1. A partnership between Lehigh RiVR immersive learning and the Corning foundation will provide us the necessary funding to be able to equip ourselves with the tools needed to pull the project forward, most of which include the purchase of technologies like headsets, controllers, workstations, etc.
   2. In addition, due to their vast network of volunteers around the nation, they would be great people to reach out for when testing is going on. It would be extremely helpful as well if those volunteers are teachers themselves who would love to try out the technology first-hand.

Academia

1. 1. Lehigh University: It’s a community concerned with the pursuit of research, education, and scholarship.
      1. Through a partnership with Lehigh University, we would be able to apply for grants within the university in order to receive the necessary funds to pay for costs of the venture. In addition, we would also be able to utilize their facilities if permission is given to have a sort of work station from which we can utilize it for testing purposes. Finally, it’s a spot with a dense population of students whom would make great participants in the trials of our games.

• SMU (Simmons School of Education & Human Development): The mission of the Center for VR Learning Innovation (CVRL) is to advance interdisciplinary research and innovation at SMU in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and game-based learning (GBL) for education, health and human development

1. 1. A partnership with SMU includes a direct relationship with CVRL which has the same mission as we do which is the advancement of education through the lenses of VR. 
   2. This can benefit us by being able to share experimental data with each other that can help us make a claim that the use of VR technology can further help enhance the classroom curriculum.
   3. In addition, the CVRL contains resources which would be helpful when it comes to doing testing with participants, or for general use. This symbiotic relationship would help us both in the long-run.

Startups

1. Virtual Speech: provides soft skills training on presentation skills, public speaking, sales pitches, networking, media training and more. 
   1. Virtual speech excels at creating courses on leadership, sales, media training, presentation skills and more.
   2. A partnership with them would help us in creating more personalized games for our players. In the future we want to be able to create educational curriculums through VR, and having a solid foundation to work off of such as Virtual speech would be beneficial.
   3. Currently Virtual Speech is available in 130+ countries, they have 350,000 current learners and have 40+ simulations. This partnership would also benefit us by helping us see the way they structure their organization, how their business model works and what has made them successful thus far.
2. VR/AR Academia: a Virtual/Augmented Reality Training organisation dedicated to transforming how content is delivered and consumed globally by creating experts and trainers on VR/AR who can integrate VR/AR in schools, News & media, hospitals, Engineering and various industries and even in retail
   1. A partnership with VR/AR can aid us in enhancing our content. By enhancing our content, we ask questions such as, is this the best way to teach people using VR? What is going good and what is not? 
   2. They have resources consisting of headsets, workstations, controllers and all the VR tech goodies. These are resources that we can possibly use for the means  of our own project

Social Ventures

1. Z-space: immersive AR/VR experiences in classrooms “that inspire curiosity, create engagement and deepen understanding”
   1. We could benefit from a partnership with Z-space because they understand how to create experiences that are engaging for classroom-age learners, and information about the most effective technology (AR vs VR vs laptop) to accomplish these immersive experiences.
2. Engage VR: providing tools to educational institutions and businesses so they can develop their own immersive lessons, “dedicated to transforming how training & educational content is delivered and consumed globally”
   1. We could benefit from a partnership with Engage VR from a business standpoint as they have an extremely marketable, customizable product like our team. We could also learn about how they form their partnerships and customer relationships because that is crucial to our venture’s growth.

Think Tanks

1. Foundation for Excellence in Education: focused on transforming education and advancing equity, lobbying for student opportunity access to state leaders
   1. We could benefit from a partnership with Foundation for Excellence in Education because they could help us strengthen how our product can address inequity in access to effective education and determine target participants who we can aid. 
2. The Nature Institute: “a local, national, and international forum for research, education, and the exchange of ideas about the re-visioning of science and technology in an effort to realign humanity with nature”
   1. We could benefit from a partnership with The Nature Institute as they can verify our approach to transform nature education using science and technology. They can act as reputable supporters of our venture based on their research surrounding nature education.

K-12 System

1. Northern Lehigh School District
   1. We could benefit from a partnership with the Allentown City School district because we already have a partnership with the Lehigh Gap Nature Center which is in the same area. There is great potential for students to work with the games that will be at our partner center, and for our games to be brought into classrooms at the schools as a part of a program or for game testing. 
2. Easton Area School District 
   1. We could benefit from a partnership with the Allentown City School district because we already have a partnership with the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, which is in the same area. There is great potential for students to work with the games that will be at our partner center, and for our games to be brought into classrooms at the schools as a part of a program or for game testing. 

Corporations

1. Civitas Learning : 
   1. Civitas focuses on analyzing the performance of the user and giving suggestions of how to help integrate/ immerse the user with the content being shown. Civitas Learning uses predictive modeling to monitor student progress within educational institutions. The data provided by Civitas lets instructors help students where and when they need it most.
   2.  A partnership with Civitas will grant us the tools to use the student data in a constructive manner, where we can analyze and then deliver a comprehensive student success solution that integrates deeper intelligence with the workflow our customers need. Moreover, Civitas can support us in assuring the content being shown on the desktop and headset goes hand in hand with the materials being covered/taught by our customers. Essentially, partnering with Civitas Learning will help improve the technological performance and deliver better experiences for players.

 

1. Microsoft

   1. Microsoft is a multinational technology corporation which produces computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. It is a respected company due to its success in the technology field. 

   2. Partnering with Microsoft will grant us access to tools and the expertise to help us realize our customer’s goals rapidly. Microsoft offers support across a range of platforms and technology products and services, which will help us broaden our audience reach and enrich user experience. Working with Microsoft will help us gain credibility as a tech venture, in addition to helping us broaden our partnerships and potentially support our venture financially.

Consulting Firms

1.  Accenture
   1. Accenture is one of the best globally professional software consulting companies. Working with Accenture will allow us to gain varied perspectives to improve our plan of actions and essentially our solution and product. Moreover, in comparison to other tech consulting firms, Accenture focuses on customer-oriented solutions and they have their employees work with clients to come up with groundbreaking ideas, prototype and carry out plans more effectively. All which align with our venture’s working environment. Moreover, Accenture scores high on top IT consulting companies which will support or credibility as a tech venture. 
2.  McKinsey & Company
   1. McKinsey & Company is one of the world’s most prestigious firms. McKinsey & Company works with education clients as part of its Public and Social Sector consulting practice. One of their branches is in improving use of education technology. Apart from the credibility that this firm will grant us, working with McKinsey & Company will allow us to verify the content and the ways in which our content is being delivered. Moreover, make sure that our product has a balance of playing a video game and it serves as an educational tool. This firm can also guide us on how we can implement  this technological tool in a matter where both teachers and students can use it and see the importance of it.

Group members- Hannah Moss, Kayla Miller, Helena Volpe, Udita Agarwal

Ethical Decision Making

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

• In a certain region of East Africa, the growth of ~35% of the children is stunted due to poor nutrition.
• Gruel, made of maize and bananas, is fed to the infants beginning at ~2 months of age until they are ~24 months of age.
• WHO recommends only breastfeeding till the child is 6 months old.
• HIV is highly prevalent in that region with low testing. 
•  The longer a mother breastfeeds when HIV+, the higher the chances are for the disease to be transmitted to the child.
• There is a grant to create a cooperative with the women in East Africa. This grant is meant to create a porridge made from locally grown produce that includes the necessary nutrients for the children in East Africa.
• The nutritious porridge is intended to wean children off of breast milk at about 6 months of age.
• ~500 women from three contiguous sub-locations have expressed interest in joining the cooperative, but they are skeptical of the porridge.
• Pesticides are used on the crops in the porridge and may be unhealthy for infants and young children.

 

Ethical Issue: How to provide the mothers with a low-cost and nutritious porridge for their children while addressing the issues associated with prolonged breastfeeding in a HIV/AID prevalent area, early introduction of foods, and the possibility of pesticides.  

 

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

• Mothers in East Africa 
• Research team (us)
• Children from East Africa
• Donors (secondary)

 

Step 3: Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders 

• Mothers in East Africa (Primary) 
  • Personal: Feed their children the proper, healthy early-weaning foods. Protect them from pesticides and HIV.   
  • Professional: Make money to support themselves and their children. 
• Research team (us) (Primary) 
  • Professional: Create an ethical and sustainable solution to improve the nutrition of the children and improve the livelihoods of the women. Make the donors happy. Improve credentials in order to do similar projects in other parts of the world. 
  • Personal: Make a positive impact on the region 
• Children from East Africa
  • Personal: Have a nutritionally adequate diet and not contract HIV. 
• Cooperatives (Secondary) 
  • Protect children and their health 
• Donors (Secondary)
  • Personal: the donors may have a vested interest in the area or have a desire to improve the livelihoods of others. 
  • Professional: to help, teach, and aid the people in order to improve the nutritional status for children and those in the region and improve the livelihoods of rural households. Receive a return on their investment in the form of impact or publications.

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action] • Potential solution • 

• Potential solution: Educate: use members of the community to educate others on the lack of nutrients in the gruel and the health benefits of the porridge and the dangers of pesticides in many of the cash crops [through media (tv, radio) or word of mouth]. Also inform the population on the prevalence of HIV and the likelihood of passing the disease through breast milk.
  • Education on nutrition, pesticides 
  • Ethical Principle or code: virtue based because it is focused around adding knowledge and allows more personal authority with decisions. Self-determination. 
  • Pros: community members are receptive to rational, scientific reasoning. Education can be spread to other regions and be passed down to further generations. Allows women to make an informed decision with all the facts presented.
  • Cons: community members might get offended when hearing that the porridge that generations of their community has been consuming isn’t the best nutrition source. The women may not trust the source or content (they may be most likely to trust what they have seen themselves, not information from foreigners).  Will take many months, and we don’t have that time. 
• Potential solution: Product Sampling: offer the porridge to women for free in busy areas in order to create more dialogue on why others should invest and seek it out. This will be just the beginning until people begin to buy the product autonomously.
  • Ethical Principle or code: consequence based thinking because it will likely improve the lives of a lot of people and this is simply a good method of marketing. This solution is pretty economics based. Self-determination as well. 
  • Pros: Women are able to try and recommend the product based on their own opinions- which is better for the credibility of the product amongst those in the community. Women will not have to pay to try the product. 
  • Cons: Easy to run out of the product, and essentially waste it on those in the community who just take it for granted. Additionally, this can be expensive and time consuming. If the women do not like the porridge, we have to have a contingency plan. 
• Potential solution: Use part of the grant to come up with a cheap way to test pregnant women for HIV. Or require that each woman who wants to work in the cooperative get tested for HIV. 
  • Ethical Principle or code: consequence-based thinking
  • Pros: HIV+ women would know they’re HIV+ and they’d stop breastfeeding and pass the disease to their children – the problem would get tackled at the root.
  • Cons: low resources for HIV treatment. Since the grant would be used for testing, there wouldn’t be enough resources to treat the HIV+ women. Thus, the HIV+ women wouldn’t have any way to get treated. Women may not want to get tested because they do not want to change how they feed their children. 

 

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

• If the team decided to create tests for these women there will be additional assistance needed. Additionally, it could potentially be helpful for there to be assistance from other donors or organizations that specialize in creating demand for this issue. 

 

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. 

 

Product Sampling: offer the porridge to women for free in busy areas in order to create more dialogue on why others should invest and seek it out. This will be just the beginning until people begin to buy the product autonomously. If the women like the product, they may be less skeptical of it. The problem with this solution is that it doesn’t address the pesticide problem. Potentially, if there is enough demand for the product, we will address the problem by washing off as much of the pesticide residue as possible. However, if the women are very fond of the product, they may not care much about the residue. We also need to do more research into the possible negative effects of the pesticide residue on the children’s nutrition.  This course of action satisfies the highest core ethical values because it produces the greatest good overall and gives the women the opportunity to make an informed decision about what to feed their children. This is an example of self-determination. This is a strategy to build the market for the product and also educate the women on the potential benefits of the product. 

Product sampling is a better solution than simply educating the women because women are more likely to trust their own judgement and the product’s effect on their child than the judgement of foreigners. Product sampling is a better solution than combining the porridge with the gruel, which the women like, because it does not address the ethical issues. Using part of the grant to test women for HIV is an ambitious solution, but it is not feasible because the money needs to be used as the donors want it, and testing would take lots of money and would not benefit the cooperative. Moreover, if women test negative for HIV, they may just continue breast feeding their children and using the gruel, seeing no use for the porridge. If product sampling is implemented, women may have a positive view of the cooperative because they are getting the sample for free, and they may want to join the cooperative. Again, this is a strategy that can be combined with other solutions, mostly to build the market for the product and increase demands when the women understand the benefits of the 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.

 

• Technological: The cooperative will have to make the porridge, incurring technological costs, without the guarantee that the women will use it, like it, or buy it again. 
• Economic: Since the products are being offered for free, the venture will not be making any money. However, if the women like the product, they may want to be involved in the cooperative in the long term. Using locally grown crops  is more economically efficient than importing foreign crops.  
• Social: Our solution implies that the women will be trustworthy of the product being offered and would want to try it for their benefit. With time, the benefits of the porridge on the children’s nutrition will be realized, and the use of the porridge will become socially acceptable in the region and beyond. In the long term, building the market for the product will decrease the amount of children whose growth is stunted.
• Environmental: The use of pesticides is harmful to the environment. Our solution does not address the pesticide issue, but once the demand for the porridge is visible, we can explore options to not use pesticides in the crop-growing process. 

 

Grassroots Diplomacy

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

• Women work for roughly nine hours every day + earn KES 300 ($3)
• Women are given the opportunity to sell the produce on their own farms 
• Males are in charge of the financials for many households 
• The women’s hard-earned money is spent by males on frivolous things instead of on feeding the children
• Women aren’t necessarily opposed of males taking their money but they’re angered that it isn’t being used to feed their children

Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

The problem: Help nutrition of children and the women in the community to become more financially independent  

• Mothers in East Africa 
• Research team (us)
• Children from East Africa
• WHO Organization 
• Donors 
• Males in the household (fathers, brothers, husbands) 

 

Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 

• Mothers in East Africa: 
  • Personal: Feed their children the proper, healthy early-weaning foods.   
  • Professional: Make money to support themselves and their children. 
• Research team (us): 
  • Professional: Create an ethical and sustainable solution to improve the nutrition of the children and improve the livelihoods of the women. Make the donors happy. 
  • Personal: Make a positive impact on the region 
• Children from East Africa
  • Personal: Have a nutritionally adequate diet. 
• WHO Organization: 
  • Professional: Teach the women of Africa how to better the health of their children. Reduce the chance that a mother will transmit HIV to her baby through breast feeding. 
• Donors:
  • Personal: the donors may have a vested interest in the area or have a desire to improve the livelihoods of others. 
  • Professional: to help, teach, and aid the people in order to improve the nutritional status for children and those in the region and improve the livelihoods of rural households. Receive a return on their investment in the form of impact or publications.
• Males in the household (fathers, brothers, husbands) 
  • Personal: Using the money for “alcohol and frivolous things”
  • Professional: Controlling the financials of their family as they take on the stereotypical role as the commander in the family 

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action] 

Potential Solution 1: Paid with food and/or items that they need, instead of money. The cooperative can have a center for commonly needed items and produce that the women can take (with limits) in return for working there. 

• How does it solve the problem?

• Pros: Gives the men less incentive to take from the female of the house since the valuables gained are for the family’s use

• Cons: Not enough food for certain family sizes, lack of resources to constantly be giving out? Will all women get the same products? The women may want to be paid with money so they can get very specific items. A black market may be created with the food and sold at a lower price. 

• How does it save face of those involved?

• • • The men do not need to think they are being minimized because there is no money to be taken from the women
    • The women aren’t undermined when the men take their money

• Implications on relationships

• Short-term: conflict regarding money taking is prevented. The women will be grateful to the cooperative that they can feed their children. 

• Long-term: The women will be happy when they see the fruits of their labor helping their children. However, the women may feel undervalued because they are not receiving the money to buy what they want. The men may feel angry that they can no longer use the money for their desires. 

• Implications on the venture

• Short-term: The cooperative will accomplish its goal of improving the nutrition of the children and the livelihoods of the families.   

• Long-term: If there is no lack of produce and supply chains are created with suppliers of other necessary products to the co-op then there shouldn’t be long term issues with the venture but ideally there is a solution in which women keep their money.

Potential Solution 2: Weekly transportation to the market (right when women are paid)

• How does it solve the problem?

• Pros: Ensures the money is used for food and family necessities, rather than taken 

• Cons: Lack of accessibility to having transportation offered for these women, varying home locations can impact how travel is planned

• How does it save face of those involved?

• • • Gives the women more autonomy in order to be able to allocate their earned money based on their needs 
    • Decreases the amount of power the men in the families can hold over the money 
    • Does not directly confront the men, which could embarrass them

• Implications on relationships

• Short-term: Less of a power structure between the men and women because women can buy their own groceries. 

• Long-term: hopefully women are more highly respected because they have the skills to make this co-op work and provide for their family.

• Implications on the venture

• Short-term: Might have to supply transportation for the women to go to the market. 

• Long-term: train the women to transport themselves so they only need to supply vehicles. This solution should make it easier to achieve the goals of the venture in the short and the long term. 

Potential Solution 3: Create a financial literacy workshop where the women learn how to set up a bank account and save their money. 

• How does it solve the problem? 

• Pros: Only the women will be able to access their money, not the men. They can use the money to buy products for the children. The women will be able to learn financial literacy and hopefully have financial freedom one day. They can pass down that information to their children and other people in the community. 

• Cons: Lack of resources for all of the women to have access to the banks, pushback from male community members who are against giving the women that financial freedom. Women may not believe the information if there is misinformation being spread by the men. This solution depends on the rules of the region: are women allowed to have bank accounts? 

• How does it save face of those involved?

• • • Money is not being directly taken from women and the men aren’t being embarrassed/exposed since the money is automatically being turned into products

• Implications on relationships

• Short-term: pushback from male members – they might try to prevent the women from attending these workshops. The workshop would give the women more confidence in their work and their earning potential. 

• Long-term: women gain more autonomy and consequently feel more empowered in their relationships. With the newfound confidence, the women may be able to discuss the issue with the men and find an optimal solution for both parties. They can pass down that information to their children and other people in the community. 

• • Implications on the venture

• Short-term: The cooperative achieves its goals of improving the nutrition of the children and the livelihoods of the women when the women have control of their money. Cooperative is able to make an impact beyond their primary goal; they make an impact on the women’s education and future financial decisions. 

• Long-term: Demand for financial literacy may increase, leading to more women joining the cooperative. Cooperative can create a relationship with banks in the area.  

 

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

• Organizations willing to implement these literacy workshops or aid with the transportation or planning that goes into these solutions 

 

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

• Paying the women with cash while using the financial literacy workshops to better know how to handle the money. By giving the women an equivalent opportunity to using EBT or WIC they will be able to independently spend the money they way they like and learn more about future finances.

 

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

1. Ask the women how they use their money, in order to gather information on what they would want instead of money 
2. Organize a feasible workshop to educate the women 
3. Organize a feasible supply chain of food and products they would be able to receive 
4. Gain feedback on how effective the new implementations are to those in the community

Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible

• Jack is an American working on a social venture in a youth center in Kenya 
• Since Jack was a guest, he was asked by the staff to distribute the gifts to the kids in the ceremony 
• Kids were given gifts by the center
• A staff member didn’t get gifts for 4 kids
• Jack was designated to hand out the gifts 
• The 4 kids think it was Jack who didn’t get gifts for them
• Staff members didn’t acknowledge their mistake and brushed it off
• Staff told Jack to solve it

 

 Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

The problem is that there were not enough gifts for all of the children at the youth center. Jack is worried that the four children that did not receive the gifts feel left out, while the staff members do not see an issue and are worried that Jack may be difficult to work with. 

• Staff members
• Jack
• 4 kids who didn’t get gifts
• Kids who got gifts 

 

Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 

The staff members as professionals are not concerned with how the four children feel about not receiving gifts because their anger is not threatening to them. They want to be efficient and so they don’t have the bandwidth to pause and feel empathetic about each individual kids’ feelings. Jack on the other hand wants all of the children to have a good impression of him since he will be working with them for five months. Moreover, he feels guilty for what happened and wants to get rid of this guilt. The 4 kids who didn’t get gifts feel hurt and are confused about why they didn’t get gifts with the same pomp and circumstance. They also may be singled out and bullied since everyone else in the group knows that those 4 are the ones who were left out. They want to feel included and be given the gifts like everyone else in a ceremonious way. They also may feel that the other kids have better relationships with Jack since they didn’t get black hats.

 

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

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

• Potential Solution

1. Get another gift for left out kids 
2. Make the kids feel better about their hats
3. Try to make it up to the kids with future positive interactions 

 

• How does it solve the problem? 

o Pros

1. The left out kids won’t remain upset with Jack, since they feel special 
2. The kids will enjoy the “gifts” they got
3. Restores the trust the kids lost in Jack.

o Cons 

1. The other kids might be upset that those four got extra gifts. Jack has to buy gifts, he may not have the money. 
2. None
3. They still don’t get a gift. They might still remember. Jack would have to come up with creative ways to make it up. 

• How does it save face of those involved? 

1. The staff don’t have to admit they didn’t correct the error
2. Jack doesn’t lose the trust

• Implications on relationships

o Short-term 

• Jack and the staff would be able to avoid further disagreement about the forgotten presents 

o Long-term

• All of the children would have the same positive view of Jack.

• Implications on the venture 

o Short-term 

• The 4 kids who were left out have a negative view of Jack and would be less engaged & cooperative
• Tension between Jack & staff since they think of him as a ‘children’s right activist’

o Long-term 

• Jack doesn’t trust the staff 

 

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

Jack could get gifts for the forgotten kids and then hold a continuation of the ceremony to give them out where the other kids can see.

 

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

• Jack would get the 4 kids other gifts
• Find a time wherein all the kids are present and publicly acknowledge that the previous gift ceremony was met with some administrative issues and so the 4 kids who didn’t get gifts would be given them now 
• Give the 4 kids the gifts in front of everyone 
• Everyone is happy 🙂

FACTS & ETHICAL ISSUE 

Lesotho is a small developing country in South Africa. A valuable research study is being conducted by 10 researchers to test disease-causing water which is only found in Lesotho. This study would result in a lot of publications. 

The ethical issue in this case study is whether or not the communities of Lesotho should be compensated for their time and efforts dedicated to assisting the academic researchers in their study. The Lesotho community has to show the researchers the water supply and explain the water storage methods. Although the water testing is simple, significant help is required from the Lesotho community.

 

STAKEHOLDERS 

• Companies developing chemical additives to treat water
• People of Lesotho who are actually using contaminated water supplies and could benefit from cleaner water
• Lesotho government/community leaders who are in contact with the researchers 
• Researchers who are actually conducting the research
• Academic institutions and companies financially backing the research venture

 

MOTIVATIONS OF STAKEHOLDERS 

• Community members: want cleaner & safer water to improve the health of the community overall
• Companies developing chemical additives: financial profits, positive reputation, and scientific advancements if they succeed in helping make water safer in Lesotho
• Lesotho Government/community leaders: a positive reputation for prioritizing community health, helps for re-election
• Researchers (primary): want to understand pathogens so that they can get publications, awards, etc leading to money, reputation, and recognition; intrinsically motivated to positively impact the Lesotho community by making the water safe to drink
• Academic institutions and companies financially backing venture: positive reputation
• Scientific Community (secondary): absorb the information about this study in regards to pathogens, which could then trickle down into other research projects within the academic scientific community 

 

FORMULATE ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS

• Provide monetary compensation (minimum wage) to community members who are helping out

1. Absolutism
2. They are being paid the standard amount so there wouldn’t be any negative feelings
3. Short term as they will only be compensated for a short amount of time. The money the community members would be paid would eventually run out.

• Since the employment rate is so low, the community members could get employed by local companies to manufacture chemical additives that are developed and teach them how to treat water, etc 

1. Relativism
2. It’s going to be long term as after showing the researchers around, they have jobs to go back to 
3. Would there be enough jobs for all community members involved in showing the water sources?

 

• Provide ration cards 

1. Absolutism
2. In a developing country with low employment rates, there would probably be a food shortage
3. The community members may not be satisfied with this compensation scheme. They might want something more substantial

 

• If some of the people helping are educated university students/graduates, they can help with intellectual work, be co-authors and get an introduction to the scientific community 

1. Relativism
2. Long term benefits as it would open doors for them in the scientific community
3. There might be very few community members who are educated and would benefit from this particular scheme

 

BEST COURSE OF ACTION

The best course of action for compensation would be providing minimum wage for every hour spent by the community members involved in showing the researchers the water sources. The minimum wage is a standardized amount so there shouldn’t be any discontentment with respect to the amount they are being paid. Moreover, since Losotho is a developing country, the community members would be happy to receive monetary compensation. They could spend the money they earned to get whatever they need whether it’s money, clothes, health care, etc. I think paying minimum wage is the most standardized, equal, and universal solution. Other solutions like providing employment may not be as standardized since everyone may not get the same job. People might be employed under different roles with different salaries, work hours, etc. Similarly, people may not be satisfied with ration cards since maybe food isn’t an issue faced by Losotho community members. 

 

IMPACT

 Technological

• Compensating community members wouldn’t have any technological impacts since the technology being used to test the water would be the same. The actual technical research being conducted would remain the same, irrespective of compensation.

Social

• Researchers and the overall project would be viewed more positively by the Losotho community members. They would be more receptive to the project and more engaged with it since they are being compensated for their efforts
• The Losotho community might be more inclusive of the researchers into their community for the time the researchers are in Losotho

 

Economic 

• This project would be generously funded so paying minimum wage according to Losotho standards shouldn’t make a significant difference in the budget of the project. Of course, the compensation has to be accounted for and money would have to be set aside for it. I don’t think it would be a significant portion of the whole budget though

 

Environmental aspects

• A more positive environment would be created by the Lesotho community towards the researchers if they’re being compensated for their efforts. 
• The research results might be better since the Lesotho community members would show the researchers the water sources with more interest if they’re being compensated and so they might provide the researchers with better data