Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 569 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

It's become much harder to rig elections in Nigeria thanks to technology

Yomi Kazeem

February 20, 2019 |

Quartz Africa |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

Using two-step authentication helps to increase the security of elections. Nigeria has addressed several of the problems that marred its 2007 elections by introducing card readers and permanent voter cards (PVCs) to replace paperwork that could be more easily forged. Nigeria’s electoral commission has also worked with cyber-security experts to implement the upgrades to its election systems. What remains is to ensure compliance with new regulations.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Gig economy platform Thumbtack is helping its users get benefits

Eillie Anzilotti

February 19, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

The National Domestic Workers Alliance created a platform called Alia to deliver job benefits to home cleaners. Now, the NDWA is partnering with Thumbtack, a gig economy platform, in order to deliver this service to thousands more workers around the country. Alia allows employers to pay into a portable benefits fund for each cleaning session, funding paid time off and other job benefits.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The weird rise of cyber funerals

Ruby Lott-Lavigna

February 17, 2019 |

Wired |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Korea, Seoul

People are accustomed to organizing funerals when they lose a loved one, but technology has given rise to a need for digital funerals as well. In order to expunge a person's digital footprint once, companies in South Korea are offering cyber funerals that aim to get rid of all online data after a person has passed away.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Want to hire a refugee? This program can match you with someone with the right skills

Adele Peters

February 15, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada

Talent Beyond Boundaries is an organization that connects refugees with specialized skillsets to employers who can offer them jobs (and visas) in Canada and Australia. For many such refugees, employers traditionally ask for documentation that those fleeing from unsafe conditions cannot provide, but the organizations connect them to jobs, as well as giving English lessons, updating resumes, and conducting practice interviews.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Making an App to Make a Difference

Tina Rosenberg

February 12, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The lack of technology and app solutions for social problems is beginning to change thanks to the help of a growing group of technology accelerators (also called incubators) aimed at tech companies focused on social impact, rather than traditional profit-focused start-ups. Incubators like Blue Ridge Labs, Fast Forward, and Financial Solutions Lab offer capital, connections, and mentorship.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Where Sex Education Fails, Technology Can Help

Sydney Worth

February 05, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

A smartphone app connects users with sex experts who are qualified to answer questions about healthy sex and relationships. Juicebox aims to fill gaps in the heteronormative sex education offered in U.S. schools and serves as a substitute for students who receive no sex education or who are only exposed to abstinence-only lessons.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Smart Grid Experiment Saves Participants the Equivalent of One Electric Bill Per Year

Lynne Peskoe-Yang

February 04, 2019 |

IEEE Spectrum |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Turkey, Istanbul

Gamifying energy-efficient behavior can help consumers adjust their habits. Project GresBAS (Grid Responsive Society through Building Automation Systems) incentivizes consumers by allowing them to compete against their own personal records, as well as their neighbors. The Project has piloted studies in Turkey and Portugal, signaling the broader possibilities of gamifying user interactions with smart grid technologies.

Read More
Go to Original Story
When It's Hard to Make Ends Meet, Can Smart Apps Help?

Tina Rosenberg

February 04, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Elsie, Michigan

Smartphone technology levels the playing field for low-income people, utilizing services that manage SNAP food-assistance budgets, pay parking tickets on time, payday loans, and more. Applications like Fresh EBT work with families to create budgets to better manage their monthly income.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Portland, Ore., Tackles Untested Sexual Assault Kits with Tech

Zack Quaintance

February 01, 2019 |

Government Technology |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

To tackle the backlog of untested sexual assault kits, police agencies in Portland, Oregon collaborated with the Portland Bureau of Technology Services to create a tracking system for the kits, leading to a decrease in untested kits and ensuring that data was able to be analyzed and shared quickly when necessary. The Sexual Assault Management System, known as SAMS, is now being scaled to cities across America.

Read More
Go to Original Story
States Battle the Devastating Opioid Crisis with Data

Theo Douglas

February 01, 2019 |

Government Technology |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Indiana

States across the country are using technology to find innovative ways to battle the opioid crisis, including heat maps of naloxone administrations and data hubs for information sharing across local boundaries. The changes have helped states develop early warning systems and increased emergency response for those who've been revived by naloxone, and states are hoping for more improved results from the technology soon.

Read More
Go to Original Story