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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.

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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.

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States Battle the Devastating Opioid Crisis with Data

Theo Douglas

February 01, 2019 |

Government Technology |

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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.

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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.

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In Thailand, tracking animal health to prevent outbreaks of human disease

Fred de Sam Lazaro

January 23, 2019 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Thailand, Huay Ton Chok

Connecting villagers to local governments and researchers is important to controlling possible disease outbreaks at their source. The One Health disease protection program, also known as PODD, uses funding from Ending Pandemics, a San Francisco nonprofit, to run an app and system through which villagers and local officials can interface with health organizations. A special app developed translates local languages and transmits information back to organizations, agencies, and researchers at local universities.

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A ‘FitBit for squid' could help track the ocean's squishier species

Marianne Messina

January 21, 2019 |

Mongabay |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

Squids play an important role in the ecosystem, so scientists are focusing efforts on better understanding how the species adapts to climate change. By creating a "FitBit for squid," scientists have successfully been able to monitor soft-bodied invertebrates.

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The ‘Moneyball' solution for higher education

Kimberly Hefling

January 16, 2019 |

Politico |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia State University's predictive analytics system has helped students graduate by flagging at-risk students using a variety of factors, including college and high school grades, financial aid statuses, and more. While other universities attempt to scale the program to increase retention at their universities as well, serious concerns about privacy and surveillance persist, as do hesitations regarding the cost of expanding advisory services as Georgia State has done.

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The Mapping Technology Reshaping Public Policy

Katherine Barrett Richard Greene

January 15, 2019 |

Governing |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Cincinnati, Ohio

States and localities are moving beyond traditional uses of geographic information systems, also known as GIS, and into a wide array of smart, dynamic uses of the burgeoning technology. In Cincinatti, city analysts examined fire department and EMS call data to optimize emergency vehicle allocation. And in Oakland County, Michigan, officials are using GIS mapping to present complex data around treatment centers and drug disposal areas in an accessible way for all parties involved.

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Digital Death Doulas Handle Your Online Afterlife with Jiwa

Kristi Alexandra

January 13, 2019 |

Loose Lips Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

A tech start-up allows individuals to control what happens to their digital assets after death. Not all companies that manage your online data have deceased user policies. And where law firms and social media companies have been slow to acknowledge individual privacy rights and personal digital authorship after death, jiwa is stepping in. The company offers consultations and management of digital wills, encouraging people to consider their online afterlife.

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Who's protecting the Internet? Five guys at a nonprofit

Stefanie Dreyer

January 10, 2019 |

The Boston Globe |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

By collecting and sharing its data on Internet scams and phishing attacks, the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), a cyber security nonprofit, acts like a clearinghouse for records. The APWG brings together other international partners, such as companies, universities, governments, and other nonprofits to use its data to develop new strategies to product Internet users against malware and phishing attacks.

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