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Games in government: How to get public servants excited about work

Jennifer Guay

May 15, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

Games can help government employees feel more engaged in their work. The United Kingdom’s Department of Work and Pensions uses a game called Idea Street to encourage innovation, and the City of Louisville, Kentucky, awards digital badges for creativity and collaborations. Sustaining staff interest in games can be a challenge. It helps to have clear rules and to align games with the top motivations of employees.

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Can VR teach us how to deal with sexual harassment?

Amanda Holpuch Olivia Solon

May 01, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Immersive virtual reality trains students and employees on how actions can lead to harassment and discrimination in schools and the workplace. These interactive games have shown to be effective at helping people retain information in pilot studies. Sexual assault survivors and public health experts are supporting this approach. There is also a push to engage people earlier in this kind of training rather than waiting until college, and researchers are finding the games become catalysts for young people to discuss sensitive issues, like consent.

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Real-world Minecraft mod: How the popular video game is transforming parks and other public spaces

Gregory Scruggs

April 19, 2018 |

GeekWire |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Serbia, Pristina

Popular video game Minecraft, an easy-to-use game where users construct the world around them, has been used by UN-Habitat in 40 projects across 35 cities in 25 countries to design public spaces. The accessible platform allows laypeople to quickly mockup what they would want in a public park or space, which is valuable community input for architects and urban designers.

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Thousands of poor young people are using Minecraft to redesign their cities

Odette Chalaby

January 29, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Mumbai

Too often, poor community members are not included in public discourse over how public spaces should look-- rather, the urban planning is more top-down. To change that, the UN’s Block by Block project is using the computer game Minecraft to include locals in shaping the physical spaces in their own communities by teaching them digital design skills. The UN program has engaged over 17,000 people, and 20 crowdsourced designs have already been built in cities around the world.

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Can This Game-Like App Help Students Do Better in School?

Tara Garcia Mathewson

November 29, 2017 |

Wired |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fresno, California

The Fresno school district is getting surprising results following the rollout of Strides, a student portal app that gamefies the learning experience and in doing so incentivizes students to stay engaged. Like with other social media apps, students earn points and maintain streaks, but in this case they rack up awards for attendance, academic performance, and extracurricular participation. Still digesting the success of the technology, schools are working to strike the right balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to ensure students remain interested in the app and their school work.

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How 3D printing can save lives

Poppy McPherson

July 14, 2016 |

The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Cambodia, Phnom Penh

Due to the inaccessibility of inactive munitions to provide hands-on de-activation experience to security experts, training individuals is difficult. Inactive munitions cannot be shipped to other countries, thus other methods have been explored. A military disposal technician, Allen Tan, created a 3D printing technology that can now create replicas of multiple bomb models. Plans can now be transmitted online and printed in 3D anywhere in the world for study.

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Finland is really good at stopping bullying. Here's how they're doing it.

James Gaines

July 01, 2016 |

Upworthy |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Finland

Finland is tackling bullying with a national prevention program known as KiVa. In addition to classroom lessons and other resources, the program uses computer games to teach kids what they can do if they see bullying in progress.

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A virtual reality check for texting drivers

Jennifer Brannock Cox

May 02, 2016 |

Delmarva Now |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Salisbury, Maryland

The company AT&T has created a virtual reality simulator that gives users the chance to experience the dangerous, and often deadly, consequences of texting while driving. The new technology is currently being tested by the public and is aimed especially at young drivers who are more often surrounded by distracting technology. This is just one of many initiatives AT&T is pursuing to try and curb phone use while driving – others include legislation and phone apps that silence phones while driving.

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Votería: How One Latino Organization Uses Culture to Engage Voters

Maria Esquinca

March 30, 2016 |

Latino Rebels |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, El Paso, Texas

Equal Voice Network looked at low voter turnout rates in El Paso and decided that just registering voters wasn’t enough. The coalition developed a creative way to increase education and engagement in local issues: a game. Votería is a play off of Lotería, a traditional Mexican pastime similar to bingo, with updated images and text explaining key current issues and political figures.

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In Pursuit of Big Data, Mexico City Mapathon Gamifies Crowdsourcing

Zoe Mendelson

February 25, 2016 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Mexico City

By “gamifying” the process, urban planners can crowdsource data collection. In Mexico City, members of 14 organizations—ranging from government agencies to nonprofits and consultants—launched a city-wide game, Mapatón CDMX, in an effort to collect data and map the complex transportation system. To participate, users downloaded an app and mapped transit routes for points.

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