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This entrepreneur is plugging the world's drinking water into the (digital) cloud

Brianna Baker

November 20, 2020 |

Grist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

“In 2015, nearly 21 million U.S. residents relied on water systems that violate the standards set by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.” Meena Sankaran is helping to reverse the trend. Her startup, KETOS, uses analytics and sensors that provide real-time data that can be sent through a mobile app. Instead of having to wait for people to monitor and process the data, or for people to get sick, data can be delivered instantaneously. “So far, the company has compiled 13 million data points from municipalities across all 50 states, spanning the last 18 years.”

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These Algorithms Could Bring an End to the World's Deadliest Killer

Apoorva Mandavilli

November 20, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Nandurbar

An app that uses A.I. to scans lung X-rays is helping two hospitals in rural and remote parts of India to identify cases of tuberculosis that they otherwise would have been likely to misdiagnose. Medical professionals caution that the app is not a replacement for a clinician's diagnosis but say when used in conjunction with a clinical assessment, the interpretation of a chest X-ray is likely to be more accurate.

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2020 was the first-ever presidential election where people cast votes via smartphone

Talib Visram

November 09, 2020 |

FastCompany |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Utah

2020 was the first presidential election where a limited group voted using a smartphone app created by Voatz, expanding access to people with disabilities, those in Covid-19 quarantine, and people out of state due to an emergency. Advocates say it is cost-effective and secure, though many disagree. Voters are biometrically identified and matched to legal records. Ballots are cast on mobile devices and stored on the blockchain until Election Day, when they are printed and counted with other mail-in ballots. Use is expected to increase in the future and pilots are planned in Brazil and other locations.

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Gamification in Urban Planning: Participation Through Minecraft

Laura von Puttkamer

November 03, 2020 |

Urbanet |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sweden

Urban planning using gamification is a viable way of engaging diverse parts of the population and placing people and communities at the center of the process. “Block by Block” is a collaboration between UN Habitat and the game company Mojang that holds participatory workshops, where people design public spaces using the game Minecraft. Over 25,000 people from diverse backgrounds and age groups have participated. Professional advisers are present and they adjust the designs for implementation. The method has been used by the City of Stockholm and to create the first skatepark in Kosovo.

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Inside Democrats' efforts to fight election security threats

Eric Geller

November 02, 2020 |

Politico |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) built up its digital defenses, successfully protecting the 2018 midterm election from the cyber-hacking that occurred in 2016. The DNC now trains staff to spot cyber threats, conducts simulated phishing campaigns to test employees’ vigilance, and security staffers regularly meet with their House and Senate campaign counterparts to offer their security expertise. The DNC also requires protections, such as two-factor authentication, which requires a temporary code in addition to a user’s password and conducts regular “spot checks” of Democrats’ cybersecurity practices.

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Twitch-inspired live streams could be the future of political fundraising

Steven Melendez

October 28, 2020 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Hovercast is a technology startup helping democratic organizations add interactivity to virtual events. The model, which has been used by prominent political candidates such as Bernie Sanders, uses interactive live-streaming features like on-screen highlighted comments, real-time donation meters, trivia questions, polls, videos, and animated GIFs to collect donations, sign up campaign volunteers, and encourage other types of voter engagement. The model is inspired by video gaming platforms that are geared towards younger audiences, which is one of the demographic groups engaging in the virtual events.

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Saving Cape Cod's dolphins

Ben Wyatt

October 27, 2020 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

To prevent the mass stranding of dolphins on Cape Cod, staff and volunteers from the International Fund for Animal Welfare are utilizing technology to work efficiently and quickly to save these creatures. An app called Send Word Now helps coordinate their 220 rescue volunteers along the coast, which has led to an increased in dolphin survival rate over the years. In Wellfleet, researchers are using sound recording devices to listen to dolphin sounds, which can help predict if they’re about to strand and offers more time for first responders to help.

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Contact tracing apps: Worth the hype?

Ed Butler

October 22, 2020 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Switzerland

Contact tracing apps have received a lot of attention since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, but researchers caution they should be used in conjunction with other tactics and not be relied on to help on their own. However, an early study has indicated that even when only fifteen percent of the population downloads a contact tracing app, infection rates are reduced by eight percent and deaths are reduced by six percent.

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EdNext Podcast: Teaching the Declaration of Independence with a Video Game

Marty West

October 21, 2020 |

Education Next |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Nationally, civic courses lack rigor, partly because few states require coursework in civics. A new video game called “Portrait of a Tyrant,” based on the Declaration of Independence, could change that. “Let’s gamify a story,” said Danielle S. Allen, director of the Democratic Knowledge Project. In this episode, the creators of the video game share the challenges that exist for creating civics curriculum and the way this game can bridge that game between students and history.

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Washington state's not new to voting by mail. Here's how we work to keep it safe

Robert Mittendorf

October 21, 2020 |

The Bellingham Herald |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

Since Washington made voting by mail mandatory in 2011, nonpartisan election officials have refined ballot-security procedures to achieve a smoothly run system in which suspected cheating or interference represents a tiny fraction of the millions of votes cast in each election. Those procedures include signature verification, ballot-box integrity, securely blocking Internet access to vote tabulations and voter registration, and other safeguards against electronic or in-person tampering with votes or registrations.

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