How Singapore is using tech to rehabilitate prisoners

In order to encourage people to properly dispose of their waste, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has installed smart vending machines for recyclable waste at Connaught Place and India Gate. In return for making the sustainable waste choice, users receive monetary rewards via e-wallet.

Vermont's passage of a law requiring food that is genetically modified to be labeled spurred action at the national level to create one standard, rather than a patchwork of state laws, that offers food companies several ways to label foods with GMOs. The national bill did eventually pass, but as this piece illustrates, no one seems very happy about it. Environmentalists feel it leaves large loopholes and while the food industry likes one standard, it does not like the stigma the GMO label confers.

One scientist, dared to take a risk, and go where no one else had: mass-spectrometry imaging of microbes and chemicals. These images tell scientists how microbes communicate with each other, the environment, and humans. The benefits of this new technology could have far reaching benefits.

In response to the rising cost of college and a changing labor market, several startups are offering an alternative to traditional 4-year higher education programs. In exchange for on average one year of training in computer programming at no cost upfront, students turn over a portion of their salary for a set number of years after graduating. If they are not offered a job within a certain period of time, students don't have to pay. "How many people have tried to learn programming on their own and not made it?" co-founder of Lambda School said. "Usually that's just a matter of not sticking it out ."

The University of Nevada at Reno’s DeLaMare Library houses a ‘maker space’ which houses creative tools ranging from whiteboards to laser cutters to microprocessors. It is the library’s hope that this space allows students and the general public to fabricate their ideas and form new, innovative collaborations.

Two federally-funded Seattle tech training programs tasked with increasing diversity in the industry returned dramatically different results over the course of one year. Experts credit Apprenti's employer-driven nature, use of an online screening tool, and close ties with the local tech community with its relative success in placing 220 people in apprenticeships in its first 18 months. 94 percent of applicants to Aprenti's program were women, veterans, or persons of color, with only 55 percent holding a post-secondary degree.

Virtual reality is being used as part of medical education providing a way for nurses and other medical workers to better understand how a patient may experiencing their surroundings. Virtual reality modules have been created for blind, colorblind, dementia, and dying patients.

Math requirements are a common barrier preventing students from successfully graduating from community college in Washington state. Schools are offering a new way for non-STEM majors to earn the credit; Statway teaches students accessible statistics mixed with real-world examples as an alternate to the traditional algebra-precalculus trajectory.

Tribaja connects a diverse pool of qualified candidates to tech companies that have cultivated supportive work environments for people of color in an industry that has famously lacked inclusion. Tech companies have attempted to draw a more diverse population into their workforce but have met with little success. "Tribaja has helped about 100 people find jobs this past year."

The Prisoner Correspondence Project connects LGBTQ2S+ people who are incarcerated in the United States and Canada with pen pals who are not incarcerated. The consistent communication helps combat isolation and improve mental health and rehabilitation outcomes.