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Is your kid absent more than classmates? School ‘nudge' letters tell parents just how much

Neal Morton

March 02, 2017 |

The Seattle Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tacoma, Washington

Adapting tactics that have helped persuade homeowners to use less electricity by comparing them to their neighbors, schools in Tacoma and other school districts across the nation are trying to boost student attendance with “nudge” letters. These nudges compare students’ attendance rates with school and district averages. Research has shown that the nudges reduces chronic absenteeism.

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How an obscure Obamacare provision is quietly saving lives, and money, in Missouri

Sheree Crute

March 01, 2017 |

Washington Monthly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Charles, Missouri

Crider Health Center was having trouble coordinating the communication between psychiatry and primary care physicians. In 2012, under the Affordable Care Act, Crider and dozens of other mental health centers in the state of Missouri, received federal funds to pilot “integrated care” for Medicaid recipients as part of the new public policy. The funds have enabled social service agencies to work together with hospitals and mental health centers so that patients receive cost-saving, comprehensive care.

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A Cure for High Health Care Costs

Shannon Brownlee

March 01, 2017 |

Washington Monthly |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

While American medicine tops the charts for "acute care," it's notably sub-par when it comes to treating chronic conditions and focusing on prevention. This piece introduces a series on how the U.S. healthcare system's structure results in high expenses and inefficient treatments, and what various programs around the nation are doing to improve quality of care at lower costs.

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Philadelphia's Soda Tax Is Reducing Consumption—and Maybe Jobs

Elena Gooray

February 28, 2017 |

Pacific Standard |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Soda taxes are are showing unexpected financial reprecussions, resulting in greater harm to the soda businesses than anticipated leading to massive workforce reductions. A proposed solution is to tax sodas based on how much sugar is in then, rather than a blanket tax.

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The Voter Lottery

Kathleen Hawkins

February 26, 2017 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Voter turnout is a problem around the world, especially in local elections and among minority groups. But a small group of academics and activists in the US are experimenting with a new way to encourage people to turn up to vote: a lottery. Every voter is entered and one lucky winner gets a big cash prize, eliminating the risk of bribery and bought votes.

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Where busing works

Simon Montlake

February 25, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Hartford, Connecticut

As tensions over race and education continue to be compounded by growing economic inequality and political rhetoric, one school in Connecticut bridges an otherwise widening divide. Schools like R.J. Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts - once the poorest and one of the most racially segregated schools in the state - are inspiring voluntary desegregation by offering successful magnet programs and busing students safely and efficiently across neighborhoods. The successful demonstration of integration in Kinsella is serving as a positive model for other schools around the nation.

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M-Pesa: Kenya's mobile money success story turns 10

Kieron Monks

February 24, 2017 |

CNN |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi, Nairobi Area

Ten years ago, Vodafone's Safaricom launched "M-Pesa" a mobile-phone based payment system designed to ease transfer of money in Kenya among individuals and small businesses. With a maximum transaction of 70,000 Kenyan shillings ($675 USD), M-Pesa markets "to the base of the pyramid:" not only has M-Pesa taken root in more than ten other countries, but it counts 18 million active users in Kenya and, through access to a mobile monetary payment system, has lifted 2% of Kenyan households out of extreme poverty.

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A simple combination of data and language tweaks is helping recruit more diverse police officers

Kara Sherwin

February 20, 2017 |

Quartz |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

To diversify the police force, UK and US research studies have focused on using behavioral economics. The UK's Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) has used behavioural economics and psychology to alter phrasing and messages, in order to attract more diverse applicants and its success has spurred more future projects.

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Murder in the City: Deep Causes, Harmful Biases, Unexpected Solutions to Gun Violence

Donna Ladd

February 15, 2017 |

Jackson Free Press |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jackson, Mississippi

Young black Jacksonians are afraid to call the police in self defence for fear they will be accused of gang violence and arrested instead of protected. Various programs are using research of violence and recidivism to create programs that address the people most likely to commit violent crimes instead of just putting them in jail.

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The Sun Water Solution

Tom Colls

February 12, 2017 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Uganda, Makindye, Kampala

Professor Kevin McGuigan in Dublin has proven that simply leaving contaminated water in a plastic bottle out in the sun for several hours is effective in killing off harmful bacteria like e-coli and provide a simple solution for clean water. But his efforts to bring this simple method of solar disinfection to rural communities in Africa - where disease and death from waterborne bacteria is especially prevalent - have hit a number of sociological and cultural roadblocks.

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