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  • Lebanon's refugees use technology to fight food insecurity

    Training refugees in digital skills provides them with a path toward self sufficiency. A pilot program developed with the UN World Food Program and the American University in Beirut offers computer literacy and English courses to Syrian refugees living in Lebanon. The approach aims to reduce reliance on food relief and empower individuals to find employment with new skills.

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  • Out of sight, out of mind: Teachers take action on phones

    When students enter many of their classrooms in Oregon, they are asked to place their phone in a pouch, locker, or other container. The strategy is helping students stay focused and break distracting habits and returning key instruction time to teachers who were spending time policing phone use.

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  • Coaxing Cops To Tackle Cybercrime? There's An App For That

    Training more local police officers in the latest cybercrime tactics poses daunting obstacles. But a pilot project by New York Police Department found the next best alternative: teaching cops how to collect the information an expert will need to solve complex crimes involving the use of technology. Their Cyber Investigative Standards phone app walks an investigating officer through the questions to ask. The experiment showed NYPD that such crimes are indeed more local than assumed, and more solvable if tackled diligently and quickly.

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  • Cities Struggle to Boost Ridership With ‘Uber for Transit' Schemes

    Data-driven transport can improve access and efficiency if properly implemented. In Shanghai, China, users benefit from customized bus routes designed by artificial intelligence software. Other countries, however, have discontinued pilots of programs similar to the one implemented in China. Elsewhere, in Innisfil, Ontario, a different kind of program helps to fill the gap in public transport--namely, subsidized Uber rides.

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  • Penn Medicine-created texting tool may save hundreds of new moms' lives in Philly and beyond

    After deducing that preeclampsia was "the number one cause of maternal hospital readmissions and maternal mortality," doctors at Penn Medical began sending new mothers home with a blood pressure cuff and then texting them for readings. Proving to be a successful intervention methodology, this practice has expanded to other hospitals in the state and may soon scale nationally.

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  • Public Defender Turns to Texting System to Notify Clients of Santa Barbara County Court Appointments

    California’s Santa Barbara Public Defender’s office is working with the company, Upstart, to use a texting notification system to remind people about their court dates. Upstart costs $20K to set up and then $2 per client, but has worked with counties across the country and seen a 75% drop in failure-to-appear violations. For California, the Heising-Simons Foundations is funding its implementation in seven different counties.

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  • Where Tech Is Helping People Become Better Neighbors

    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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  • High-tech mapping, apps fight deadly dengue outbreak in Honduras

    Mobile phone apps allow NGOs to track public health threats. In Honduras, the medical charity, Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF) uses GIS technology and mobile phone apps to assist in their efforts against dengue fever outbreaks. Apps allow residents to report outbreaks, which helps the charity apply its efforts where they are most needed. MSF also uses apps to learn about conditions in the communities it serves.

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  • Safer at sea: The unexpected benefit of traceability for small-scale fishers

    Efforts to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing also make fishermen safer at sea. Vessel Monitoring Mechanisms (VMM) and electronic catch documentation (eCDT) track the origin of fish headed to market, part of an international effort to ensure sustainable and equitable practices. Data transmission also makes fishermen safer, relaying their locations from hundreds of miles out at sea. In the Philippines, a partnership between Futuristic Aviation and Maritime Enterprise (FAME) and USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership helps cover subscription fees for FAME radio transmitter service.

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  • As fires rage, California refines an important skill: Evacuating

    With wildfires becoming more and more common, Californians have become improved their evacuation procedures. Alerting residents earlier via cellphone and then ongoing door-to-door notices have made a difference, along with residents trusting the evacuation calls more than before. Notable improvements have been made in hospitals, with staff making arrangements with other hospitals as soon as they receive the evacuation notice.

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