Thesis Preparation

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boylston, Scott. Designing Sustainable Packaging. London: Laurence King Publishers, 2009. Print.

This book focuses on creating packaging prototypes that reflect sustainable and ecologically sound principles. It challenges the next generation of graphic designers to re-envision packaging design as a less environmentally destructive practice, and examines an array of techniques and methodologies for creating innovative and sustainable packaging designs, from first concept to final production. The book first embraces the theory, including many case studies, and then the practice of eco-friendly packaging design. This information will contribute to visual research and solutions, forming a basis for package re-design while meeting sustainability standards.

Brower, Michael, and Warren Leon. The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from The Union of Concerned Scientists. 1st ed. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1999. Print.

Paper or plastic? Cloth or disposable? Regular or organic? Some choices have a huge impact on the environment; others are of negligible importance. To those who care about their quality of life and what is happening on this planet, this is a vastly important issue. The Union of Concerned Scientists, devoted to environmental issues, wrote this book to help inform consumers about everyday decisions that significantly affect the environment. This book identifies the 4 Most Significant Consumer-Related Environmental Problems, the 7 Most Damaging Spending Categories, 11 Priority Actions, and 7 Rules for Responsible Consumption. This guide will provide insight of what the consumer ponders when it comes to decisions that affect the environment. It takes on both sides of the consumer-impact argument, the environmentalist movement and the industrialist perspective. The information presented features the consumer’s perspective and their concerns.

Brown, Tim. “Why Social Innovators Need Design Thinking.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2013. 2 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/why_social_innovators_need_design_thinking.>

Tim Brown asserts that while we have well-developed tools for tackling social issues based on thoughtful analysis and technological inventiveness, we have not applied design thinking to the exploration of new choices and alternative solutions. Design thinking is scalable and can be applied to improve existing ideas, or it can be applied to create disruptive solutions that meet the needs of people in new ways. Brown gives an example of Safepoint founder Marc Koska’s seeking to reduce the transmission of blood-born diseases through the reuse of syringes. Instead of bettering communications or package design, Koska chose to design an entirely new syringe that breaks automatically after first use. As design thinking is centered on innovating through the eyes of the end user, it can be applied by people from a broad range of backgrounds to problems ranging from creating new products and services to redesigning existing ones. This article will act as a guide of exploring the collaboration between the medical, waste, and design industries.

Butschli, Jim. “How leading pharma/device firms employ sustainability.” Packaging World, 3 July 2012. Packaging World. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. < http://www.packworld.com/sustainability/
strategy/how-leading-pharmadevice-firms-employ-sustainability>

Jim Butschil argues that medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical firms are committed to sustainable practices, while patient safety and regulatory compliance takes precedence. These include not only material selection, but also facility management, processing, and packaging lines, while counting on packaging suppliers to be partners in these sustainability efforts. Butschil features companies including Medtronic Spinal and Biologics, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, and Bayer. Part of this decision-making process requires companies to take a global sustainability perspective, such as European Union directives. This article details goals established by pharmaceutical companies, and their process of achieving them. Described goals include energy efficiency, conserving natural resources, purchasing sustainable products, eliminating waste, reusing and recycling materials, and reducing carbon footprint. A variety of package design solutions are employed, from using less ink to reducing carton board thickness. While other articles may say the pharmaceutical industry is slow to sustainability, Butschil says otherwise, providing an argument for the thesis topic.

Gold, Kathleen, R.N., M.S.N, C.D.E. “Analysis: The Impact of Needle, Syringe and Lancet Disposal on the Community.” Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology 5.4 (2011): 848-850. Print.

Kathleen Gold’s analysis argues that a sustainable plan must be developed in order to address the impact of home-generated pharmaceuticals and personal care products on the environment, which affects all areas of manufacturing and not just specific companies. As there is no current regulation in the United States, Gold explains the standard practice of patients depositing their medical waste products with their curbside trash – specifically syringes, lancets, needles, insulin pump tubing, continuous glucose monitor tubing, and insertion devices. This analysis forms a strong foundation and provides information on how graphic design (including all of its disciplines) can collaborate with the medical and waste industries to produce a more safe and environmentally conscious solution. The author asks thought provoking answers, to which she doesn’t have the answer, ranging from financial coverage to custodial safety. These are questions that can be addressed in research and survey questions.

Hay, Mariah Ruth. Design and Our Health: The Link Between Comfort, Aesthetics and Healing. MFA Thesis. Savannah College of Art and Design, 2009. Print.

As the cost of healthcare in the U.S. grows, individuals and companies are faced with this financial burden and are looking for alternatives. This objective of this thesis is to explore the psychology behind America’s complex relationship with the medical industry. By examining psychological, sociological and historical pretexts, the impediments to designing effective medical devices surface, providing a deeper understanding of damaging and dangerous oversights in current medical design. This understanding can be applied to a new generation of products that relate to the user on an emotional level, shifting the paradigm to what products Americans associate with illness and with healing.

Johnson, Kathryn, Wynne Grossman, and Anne Cassidy, eds. Collaborating to Improve Community Health: Workbook and Guide to Best Practices in Creating Healthier Communities and Populations. 1st ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997. Print.

Many of today’s toughest problems – violence, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, and crime  – can be solved only through the collaborative efforts of community leaders. This book shows how key players from local governments, businesses, healthcare organizations, school boards, churches, and police departments can be turned into a team, working together to make their communities better places to live, work, raise families, and grow old. The book contains a wealth of resources including worksheets, guidelines, overhead slides, and case studies – all designed to help every community implement a plan of action. This workbook is also a guide through the Seven Core Processes, a synthesis of interrelated activities and events in which all-collaborative efforts engage. While this book may not seem related to design at first, it provides insight of how communities work together to produce workable solutions. This approach can be used for discussion regarding how community programs can be enacted for medical device waste.

Kelland, Kate.  “Bioengineer Developing Needle-free Nanopatch Vaccines.” Reuters, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/us-vaccines-nanopatch-idUSBRE9090GG20130110.>

In this online article, biomedical engineer Mark Kendall has developed a prototype “nanopatch,” a fingertip-sized patched covered in thousands of vaccine-coated microscopic spikes. The needle and syringe system was developed in 1853 and Kendall says at-risk people need something simpler, more stable, and easier to use. The engineer explains the cons of using the needle, from injection mechanics to refrigeration. Kendall explains the prototype is pain free, low cost, and easily transportable. The nanopatch has only been tested on animals, but hopes are human trials will be conducted this year. While this article focuses more on the industrial design aspect, it’s still a solution to be considered in the needle industry. The article does not discuss waste disposal, which is an issue even with this product. Since there are questions regarding the re-design of needles, this latest development could be used as a basis in discussion.

Leonard, Paul. “Sustainability in Medical Device Design: Turning Challenge into Opportunity.” Carbon Design Group, 2011. Carbon Design Group. Web. 26 Jan. 2013 <http://www.carbondesign.com/
sustainability-in-medical-device-design-turning-challenge-into-opportunity>

Paul Leonard examines the disposal system and how the medical device industry has been slow to embrace sustainable practices. Businesses are managing for the triple bottom line – people, planet, profit – while medical design places safety, efficacy, and usability first. The author defines and explains the pressures being placed on medical device design and development: regulatory, market, social and corporate. One interesting aspect of this article was the explanation of why disposals came into the picture. Society quickly shifted away from the practice of reusable products – that were sterilized in between uses – due to the fear about the spread of diseases. This paradigm has largely been replaced with disposables and countless medical businesses have adapted the one-time-use model. However, because of these throw-away products, it’s not optimal because of production costs, waste costs, and environmental damages. This article offers valuable insight of the medical device disposal system as a whole and how business models can pressure other industries.

Sudeykina, Svetlana. Eco Labeling. Constructing visual messages to motivate respect and care about environment on the personal level. MFA Thesis. Savannah College of Art and Design, 2011. Print.

The popularization of eco-friendly products, caused by the upcoming environmental crisis, has resulted in the mass exploitation of the environmental agenda by market participants. This thesis examines the failure of the current labeling systems to effectively inform consumers of the pro-environmental qualities and post-consumer utilization options of products. The research discusses the shortcomings of measures historically and currently taken by the government, business and social activists to resolve labeling issues.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES NOTE

Additional resources will be added in the future.  Some of these will include articles on communities and countries, which have enacted a ban on needle disposal in household trash. They were not listed above as there are numerous references and individual policies, and the personal goal for this annotated bibliography version was to focus on founding resources for the thesis topic as a whole. For example:

Carroll, Jeremy. “Ban on needle disposal begins in Massachusetts.” Waste & Recycling News, 9 July 2012. Waste & Recycling News. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/
20120709/NEWS01/120709943/ban-on-needle-disposal-begins-
in-massachusetts>

“Disposal of sharps – needles and lancets.” Diabetes UK, 2012. Web. Diabetes, UK. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Monitoring/Blood_glucose/Disposal_of_sharps/>

Also, resources from various U.S. federal companies will be referenced in the future. For example:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Needles and Other Sharps (Safe Disposal Outside of Health Care Settings).  U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 12 Dec. 2011.Web. 26 Jan. 2013.
<http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/HomeHealthandConsumer/ConsumerProducts/Sharps/ucm20025647.htm>

Environmental Protection Agency. Community Options for Safe Needle Disposal. Washington, DC: Environmental Protection Agency, 2004. Print.

Concept Map

I worked with Mendeley on Friday, but just couldn’t get it to work the way I wanted.  Plus, when I wanted to import a page from the browser to the desktop app, it would ask for my password, and then just sit there.  Tried numerous times.  After our little workshop on Zotero this morning, I went back and tried it again with the new tips and tricks. Got it to work for me this time.  So, I’ll be sticking with it.

I tried Zotero this week, seeing it was the focus of many discussions.  I decided to use the Firefox plugin, to which I really liked the interace and ability to organize and easily add sources.  However, not much information is pulled from the source.  Just the title and the date I accessed it.  Sounds like that is pretty much the issue with everyone, and as I tend to cite sources myself, this is probably the most ideal for me.

I admit it – I’ve not ever used a service for bibliography.  I guess I’m old-fashioned and have been trained in the older ways.  I just organize and cite references myself.  I’ve been a fan of the Purdue Online Writing Lab since I was an undergraduate 10 years ago, and also used various citing books that I bought for undergraduate and graduate classes. Although, I know those are probably outdated now, but I still have them in my book collection

Just to give it a try, I’ve downloaded Zotero ( and similar ones) with a grain of salt.  Odd that I’m in this field, but I can be very doubtful with technology. I’ll probably Zotero more for organization than citation purposes. I’ll be exploring it more as I generate my annotated bibliography and will give an update.

Here’s some attempts at a thesis statement:

In order to increase safety protocols and reduce the amount of biomedical waste tossed in household trash – specifically needles and similar products -, a collaborative effort must be enacted through the fields of graphic design (including all its counterparts), the medical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the waste industry.

In order to control the hazards and the amount of biomedical waste in household trash – specifically needles and similar products -, a collaborative effort must be implemented by utilizing all disciplines of graphic design, the medical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the waste industry.

In order to control the amount and hazards of biomedical waste in household trash – specifically needles and similar products -, a collaborative effort must be implemented by utilizing all disciplines of graphic design, the medical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the waste industry. By doing so, this redesign effort will bring this issue to the forefront and will provide a solution which meet the standards of the industries involved.

RHETORICAL PRÉCIS

CITATION

Gold, Kathleen, R.N., M.S.N, C.D.E. “Analysis: The Impact of Needle, Syringe and Lancet Disposal on the Community.” Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology 5.4 (2011): 848-850. Print.

INTERPRETATION

Kathleen Gold, in her article, “Analysis: The Impact of Needle, Syringe and Lancet Disposal on the Community” (2011), argues that a sustainable plan must be developed in order to address the impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on the environment, which affects all areas of manufacturing and not just specific companies. The author focuses her discussion on home-generated medical waste – syringes, lancets, needles, insulin pump tubing, continuous glucose monitor tubing, and insertion devices – which is not regulated in the United States. Gold explains that 7.5 billion needles and syringes are used outside the healthcare system, and without regulation, places sanitation workers and custodial personnel at risk of injury. Therefore, the author’s highlighting of this high number illustrates her purpose of demonstrating a need to research the impact of these products’ effect on the environment and the impact of unregulated medical waste disposal in the community. The author establishes an informative, direct tone with the audience by explaining numbers and processes, while asking direct questions and raising concerns.

As there is no current regulation in the United States, Gold explains the standard practice of patients depositing their medical waste products with their curbside trash. Trash is taken to a materials recover facility (MRF), which then begins a sorting process to separate designated recyclable material (different from the voluntary recycling in which households participate) from the solid waste.

Materials are then sorted either manually or through a mechanical sorting process; what is not recyclable is transported to a landfill. It is at this point in the process where sanitation workers are exposed to needle-stick injuries.  The author points out needle-stick injuries are one of the top three injuries reported at MRFs (according to data tracked by waste management companies). Custodial staffs are also at risk at public venues (including hotels, airports, train stations, and large entertainment centers), but presently there are no data-tracking systems for these professions.

When illustrating the 7.5 billion syringes used in households yearly, Gold asserts this number does not reflect the number of lancets used by the 25 million individuals with diabetes. It is estimated that 1 in 12 households in the United States are using a syringe for the treatment of diabetes, migraines, allergies, infertility, arthritis, HIV, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, psoriasis, and other conditions.

Due to there being no set standard for disposal, individuals deposit their needles in the trash or flush them down the toilet. The most common instructions given to individuals are to place their needles and syringes in a heavy plastic container and place it at the curbside trash. Currently, a limited number of regions in the United States offer a safe community disposal system. In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published Community Options for Safe Needle Disposal outlining the dangers of improper needle disposal and offering a variety of program options, none of which are mandatory:

• Drop-off collection sites
• Syringe exchange programs
• Mail-back programs
• Home needle destruction devices
• Household hazardous waste collection sites
• Residential waste special pick-up programs

But, states and municipalities are beginning to research and enforce their own policies to offer safer alternatives. The Coalition for Safe Community Needle Disposal is working nationally with stakeholders by sharing the burden of these programs with pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, waste management companies, recycling companies, and local and state governments.

The author asks questions the audience must ponder, such as “Why are we not doing something to correct this problem?” to which she replies the answer is money. The disposal of medical waste is expensive, and who is going to bear this burden? The patient who already has high expenses? The local municipalities that will have to develop, implement, publicize, and enforce regulations? Waste management companies? Or should the manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies provide a solution?

The author then moves her questions to the workers and their concern for their safety, “Why are the workers not demanding protection?” Do they have enough power to do so? Do they recognize the risk they are placing themselves into? Do they know their rights? Are they educated enough to know they need protection (or demand it)? Gold answers these jobs are filled by low-paid employees.

While Gold is direct and asks questions the audience needs to contemplate, she is successful in establishing an informing relationship and achieving the goal of advising her audience of the situation. She does not place the blame on any of the parties involved and believes a quick solution cannot be determined due to development and costs. Therefore, Gold is able to create an unbiased reasoning to finding a solution soon, to which the audience is able to understand as a concerned citizen and not be an observer to a corporation tug-of -war. The author does provide information for those who are interested in programs available in their community.

QUESTIONS

As this article provides the information and basis for this issue, how can graphic design alleviate this situation? What disciplines would become involved?

Would this issue alleviate itself if medical products were redesigned? Is it possible for these products to be redesigned? (needles using different materials)

Who should cover the costs? Is there a way to minimize the cost once a solution is found?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Butschli, Jim. “How leading pharma/device firms employ sustainability.” Packaging World, 3 July 2012. Packaging World. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. < http://www.packworld.com/sustainability/strategy/how-leading-pharmadevice-firms-employ-sustainability>

Carroll, Jeremy. “Ban on needle disposal begins in Massachusetts.” Waste & Recycling News, 9 July 2012. Waste & Recycling News. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20120709/NEWS01/120709943/ban-on-needle-disposal-begins-in-massachusetts>

“Disposal of sharps – needles and lancets.” Diabetes UK, 2012. Web. Diabetes, UK. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Monitoring/Blood_glucose/Disposal_of_sharps/>

Leonard, Paul. “Sustainability in Medical Device Design: Turning Challenge into Opportunity.” Carbon Design Group, 2011. Carbon Design Group. Web. 26 Jan. 2013 < http://www.carbondesign.com/sustainability-in-medical-device-design-turning-challenge-into-opportunity>

Sudeykina, Svetlana. Eco Labeling. Constructing visual messages to motivate respect and care about environment on the personal level. MFA Thesis. Savannah College of Art and Design, 2011. Print.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Needles and Other Sharps (Safe Disposal Outside of Health Care Settings).  U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 12 Dec. 2011.Web. 26 Jan. 2013.
<http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/HomeHealthandConsumer/ConsumerProducts/Sharps/ucm20025647.htm>

Graphic designers are usually not considered as a solution for disposing of dangerous waste, but they can be invaluable by creating awareness, producing multi-faceted designs which inspire recycling and sustainability, and encouraging citizens to dispose of their hazardous waste responsibly. This is especially true considering the disposal of biomedical waste such as needles used for dispensing medicine. Simply discarding these sharps into normal waste receptacles poses a hazard to those who handle such waste.  This collaborative redesign effort cannot only bring this issue to the forefront, but can also provide an easy solution to the disposal issue.

As researching the latest news and how communities enforce biomedical waste control, I came across these and much more.  Some states have enacted their own bans, while providing drop off locations.

http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20120709/news01/120709943/ban-on-needle-disposal-begins-in-massachusetts

http://www.telegram.com/article/20120905/NEWS/109059849/1246

http://www.safeneedledisposal.org/index.cfm?load=news&newsarticle=20&page=56

http://articles.philly.com/1988-05-23/news/26261136_1_bags-of-medical-waste-marine-police-medical-debris

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20110703/NEWS/110709955

Still 100 words, but includes input from Tuesday night’s discussion:

Biomedical waste must be properly managed in order to protect the general public, and healthcare and sanitation workers who are regularly exposed to it. However, consumers are not properly disposing of this waste in their households because of the difficulty of doing so.

Creating awareness about this issue and producing a solution(s) heavily relies on the collaboration of graphic design facets including package design, environmental design, print design, and designing for sustainability.  This collaborative effort has to persuade consumers to reduce the amount of biomedical waste going into the trash, and needs to meet the standards of all industries involved.

This exercise is reminding of Clark’s points of having a problem, question, and purpose.  So, I decided to keep this in mind when summarizing the topic:

“Society produces waste: paper, food, electrical, biomedical, and much more. In order to curb this issue, recycling, sustainability, and safety have been implemented in everyday lives.

Specifically, biomedical waste must be properly managed to protect the general public, and healthcare and sanitation workers who are regularly exposed. However, consumers are not properly disposing of this waste in their households because of the difficulty of doing so.

How can graphic design become involved in creating awareness of this issue, producing a solution(s) which will protect all those involved, and persuade consumers to participate (all while meeting standards of all involved industries)?”

After comments this week, I decided to collect thoughts and free write .

To start, numerous aliments, diseases, and species require shots.  This can include allergy shots, Multiple Sclerosis, Hepatitis, and animals.  Diabetes Type I is a polygenic disease, and the cause of it is still unknown.  It has to be controlled with shots, and can start in early childhood.  It never truly goes away. It’s a type of autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas.

But I also want to look at other biological waste products.  My research will look into all of these products, not needles.  However, depending on what the research yields, my thesis may have to just focus on needle usage for all ailments.

The next step is to start researching all types of biological waste (hard materials used), and to start finding readings that discuss any aspect of this concern/field (this could be a challenge). This in turn would determine my focus, as mentioned above.

There is no perfect solution, but ideally a better disposal method is needed for today’s issue. The package is redesigned to ‘accept’ used materials, but separated from the new.  Then the consumer could mail or dropoff, to which the waste industry or pharmacy would further the package of used materials to proper disposal.  The company that produces these could also forward/accept these packages.

I see the actual material design being figured out by industrial designers and related positions.  It’s probably difficult finding an alternative material for needles, for example.  Graphic design is probably more involved in the package design, environmental design, and awareness, with possible input on the product design.

This thesis could include: creating awareness about the current issue, introducing consumers to the idea, re-design package designs to accept used materials, creating environmental signs/drop off centers (if the drop off solution is selected), involving medical companies, pharmacies, and the waste industries.

Questions to ask:

What are all the hard waste biological materials produced?  Beside needles.

Do consumers even care about the biological waste they produce using certain medical products (hard materials)?  Or who it even affects?  Do the companies even care?

What would help the consumer in making the right decision in disposing of these products (by not throwing them in the trash)?  How do we educate the consumer about this effort?  Do we monitor results?

What can be done to reduce the hazardous waste that gets thrown in the trash?  How do we protect those who handle it?

What happens to the package once the consumer preps it?  Would they be mailed, or dropped off somewhere? Where does it go afterwards?   Who picks up the packages?

One major resource to tap into: the medical faculty here at Cincinnati, and the waste industry (along with a pharmacy). SCAD faculty include two professors, one specializing in package design, and one specializing in sustainability.