How L.A. Gets Kids to Show Up at School

http://projects.buffalonews.com/fix-buffalo-schools/how-los-angeles-got-kids-in-school.html

Mary B. Pasciak

The Buffalo News

27 September 2015

Text / Over 3000 Words

Schools in Los Angeles have strict consequences for truancy and tardiness but offer rewards and recognition for good attendance. Administrators use iPhones to record the ID numbers of tardy students, tracking them in order to engage the appropriate intervention.

Crisis Text Line has counseled teens through nearly 2 million problems. Here's how this idea got its start.

http://blog.ted.com/crisis-text-line-nears-2-million-messages-answered

Kate Torgovnick May

TED Blog

6 May 2014

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Crisis Text Line provides counseling services via text, a medium with which teens are sometimes more comfortable. The approach complements the work of counselors and collects data for research purposes.

What if we prescribed video games, and not Ritalin, to treat ADHD?

https://medium.com/bright/what-if-we-prescribed-video-games-and-not-ritalin-to-treat-adhd-88a55104ad26

Greg Toppo

Bright Magazine

11 May 2015

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Game inventors have created a new game to help students who suffer from ADHD and other mental problems develop and stimulate their brains in a safer, more targeted way than normal medicines.

Higher Ed's Moneyball?

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/10/14/440886037/higher-eds-moneyball

Eric Westervelt

NPR

14 October 2015

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

A Florida community college is boosting learning and graduation rates with new technology that gets professors access to real-time data on student engagement and performance.

Freelance Nation: “The Greatest Economic Transformation in Human History”?

http://www.wnyc.org/story/freelance-nation-greatest-economic-transformation-human-history

Manoush Zomorodi

WNYC

16 October 2013

Radio / Over 15 Minutes

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.

Reducing blight is possible, experts say

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2015/11/29/reducing-blight-possible-experts-say/75869108

Lex Talamo

The Shreveport Times

29 November 2015

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Shreveport, Louisiana, faces blight. New Orleans decreased blight by 30 percent by creating an authority for the task, using technology to collect data, and providing residents with information and help.

For Young Saudi Women, Video Games Offer Self-Expression

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/12/09/458806442/for-young-saudi-women-video-games-offer-self-expression

Deborah Amos

NPR

9 December 2015

Radio / 3-5 Minutes

In Saudi Arabia, female gamers were barred from gaming conventions so an all-female gaming convection was born, offering women a place of self expression and encouraging careers in science and computer programming.

How cities are searching for solutions among massive mounds of data

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-cities-are-searching-for-solutions-among-massive-mounds-of-data/article23131733

John Lorinc

The Globe and Mail

20 February 2015

Text / 1500-3000 Words

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.

How one city cut violent crime by 60 percent

http://www.fayobserver.com/article/20131222/News/312229757

Greg Barnes

Fayetteville Observer

22 December 2013

Text / Under 800 Words

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.

In Alameda County, A Big Data Effort To Prevent Frequent ER Visits

http://khn.org/news/in-alameda-county-a-big-data-effort-to-prevent-frequent-er-visits

Jenny Gold

Kaiser Health News

22 June 2016

Text / 800-1500 Words

ER staff often have no idea they are sharing patients with other hospitals just a mile away. So they treat those patients completely independently, often repeating tests unnecessarily, assigning them multiple case managers when only one is needed and offering contradictory advice. In Alameda County, hospitals are now sharing patient records of “super-users” to save money and avoid duplicating medical treatment.