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Through PIF^2's social impact mobile game platform, users are playing it forward for charity

William Bleier

July 27, 2020 |

Generocity |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

The startup PIF^2 is a “social impact mobile game platform” that partners with charities to raise money through ad revenue and in-game purchases. It hosts “game-a-thons” that target a younger demographic who can generate money for a charity by downloading and playing a game. The “game-a-thons” usually last about a week, after which charities receive a check from PIF^2 for up to 50% of the revenue that was generated. The game apps are currently created by independent developers, but the startup hopes to create its own games so that it can donate even more of the revenue proceeds to charity.

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Map the Vote app finds unregistered voters in cities and helps get them to the polls

Katherine Rapin

March 11, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

Register2Vote (R2V) identified unregistered voters in Texas and built a platform for them to fill out the form online, which R2V printed and mailed to them with a stamped envelope addressed to their county’s registrar’s office. 112,000 of the 156,000 new voters they registered voted in 2018. R2V later created Map the Vote, a nationwide crowdsourced app that maps where unregistered voters live. It also provides tools to help organizations, or even neighbors, register new voters, including scripts that people can use to start a conversation about registering to vote and respond to common voting concerns.

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Can rationing carbon help fight climate change?

Frank Swain

February 17, 2020 |

BBC |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Australia, Norfolk Island

As countries wrestle with how to reduce their carbon emissions, grassroots carbon rationing experiments are taking shape around the word. On an Australian Island of 800 people, a quarter of them participated in a test that calculated their carbon footprints with a goal of reducing their fossil fuel use by 10 percent. The average household reduced their usage by 18 percent and almost two-thirds of participants wanted to continue. Other experiments in Finland and the United Kingdom have taken place, yet some question if carbon rationing is equitable.

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Gotta catch 'em all: Pokemon-style app aims to save Indonesia's forests

Michael Taylor

February 10, 2020 |

The Jakarta Post |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Indonesia

A Pokemon Go-style app encourages residents in Indonesia to help map land to fight deforestation. The technology offers visitors of umapped areas surveys that they complete, which fills in the data, and motivates users with gamified statuses from “volunteer” to “warrior.” Now over 600 students across the country have participated in this application, and several international environmental organizations have supported its use.

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Iowa Election Snafu: What Happens When IT And Cybersecurity Best Practices Are Ignored

Jody Westby

February 06, 2020 |

Forbes |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Iowa

The wireless application that malfunctioned during the Iowa caucuses highlighted lessons that election officials must apply in future caucuses. The app skipped or was deficient in most of the established best practices for developing software systems. Software should meet minimum privacy and security standards and it should be tested for functionality and security, with access to regular maintenance as needed. Officials should understand the importance of the best practices and standards when making IT decisions and regular testing to identify vulnerabilities, which are promptly addressed, should take place.

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This handy browser plug-in combats fake news with ratings of thousands of news websites

Larry Platt

December 27, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Allowing news consumers to more carefully vet media outlets can help stem the proliferation of fake news. NewsGuard, a web browser plug-in gives users a “nutrition label” for news websites by ranking them on a scale of trustworthiness. The service employs trained journalists and is working to make its plug-in available in libraries, as well.

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How a Stock Photography Project Is Confronting Fat Bias

Celeste Hamilton Dennis

December 17, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

AllGo, a Portland-based organization is an app that aims to combat fat bias in the media by creating a collection of stock photos of exclusively plus-sized models. The app is a completely free resource that aims to offer another perspective in stock photography, which tends to err cis-gendered, able-bodied, and thin. Their photos now have more than 76,000 downloads and over 24 million views, and the creators and models look forward to shooting many more scenes as "an act of resistance."

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Meet your Match: J Blood Artificial Intelligence connects blood donors to receivers in the FCT

Bashar Abubakar

December 13, 2019 |

Nigeria Health Watch |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory

In order to encourage more community members to donate blood, a non-governmental organization in Nigeria has created a system that connects "willing blood donors and recipients at no cost." Utilizing social media services, the program collects participants information and sends individuals a message when a donation matching their blood type is needed.

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Where Tech Is Helping People Become Better Neighbors

Nick Fouriezos

November 25, 2019 |

OZY |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Napa, California

From Google's India-focused app Neighbourly to the wellknown Nextdoor app, social media specifically targeted at connecting neighbors is gaining ground. Whether being used to rate neighborhood attractions, encourage borrowing or sharing of resources, report suspicious neighborhood activity or simply to find a way to make connections, these apps are aimed at decreasing social isolation and increasing community interactions.

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Pinterest says AI reduced reported self-harm content by 88%

Kyle Wiggers

October 10, 2019 |

VentureBeat |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Using artificial intelligence, social media companies can quickly identify and reach out to those at risk for self-harm. Pinterest, a San Francisco-based social media company, is employing AI to support its user’s emotional well-being. Those who search for content related to self-harm receive links to support resources thanks to the help of collaborations with groups like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Vibrant Emotional Health. The effort has significantly reduced content related to self-harm on the platform.

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