EGI: Filling in the gaps in law enforcement for the online wildlife trade

The 2008 recession’s job losses spurred a development of a Do-It-Yourself economy. With the advent of Uber, Etsy, Airbnb, and others, the marketplace has become full of micro-entrepreneurs who thrive with independent web-assisted businesses.

Sexual assault, rape, and sexism are social problems that young women face and many feel powerless to create change. Non-profit organizations such as SPARK and WAM have trained teenage girls to be advocates for themselves. Online campaigns and social media have also made teenage girls feel empowered to express themselves and make social change.

Accessible affordable health care is needed for millions of uninsured Americans. The Affordable Care Act is a viable solution that helps the uninsured. Although the launching of the website had some glitches, many states designed their own insurance marketplace and have successfully signed up people for coverage.

A robust population of grizzly bears can be an indicator of healthy land; however, the bears also can destroy grain bins, consume vegetation, and kill livestock. Ranchers work with the Canadian government and local conservation groups to protect their resources with bear-proof grain bins and electric fences.

New York City suffered from fires that erupted in overcrowded, run-down apartments. Then the city sleuthed through residential records and found that landlords who foreclosed let their properties fall apart and ignored safety-code violations. Greater Toronto wants to expand upon New York City’s method by using transportation surveys, census data and computer data to build transit lines.

Areas of High Point, North Carolina have suffered from crime, poverty, and neglect, until the city began implementing Operation Ceasefire, a policing program that uses data collecting, community support against crime. High Point is now leading the country in its success of Operation Ceasefire, boasting dramatic reductions in violent crimes, domestic abuse, robberies, and drug-related offenses.

Colorful volumes of books have aided teaching for centuries; however, the scope of engagement in the internet age demands newer methods for pedagogy. Pinterest, a social media-constructed visual bulletin board, has become a venue in which teachers share their pinned visual media, lesson plans, and charts with students and other teachers. The success of Teaching Pinterest expands pedagogy, reduces teacher alienation, enables collaboration with other teachers, and directs readers to other sites that offer teachers’ curriculum ideas for a cost.

Teenagers around the world are at risk of indoctrination by Islamic extremism and volunteering to fight for the Islamic state. Different European nations seek to make Islamic extremism unattractive to youth by bolstering surveillance efforts, internet outreach, and teaching the Islam of peace.

Prisons in the United States are overcrowded with many non-violent offenders and the cost to keep them in jail consumes public budgets. Criminal justice reform has attracted bipartisan interest with diverse proposals to aid adjust the incarceration rate. The Urban Institute has developed an interactive “prison population forecaster,” which helps citizens to assess the impact of different policies.

In war zones, people have a difficult time finding clean water and safe areas to inhabit. Social media, smart phones, and technology applications are aiding in people’s survival. In Aleppo, Syria, the International Committee of the Red Cross posted a map on Facebook to show alternative sources of clean drinking water that reached approximately 140,000 people.