Nov 3, 2017
Fake News Around the World, Using Design to Solve the Refugee Crisis, and the Complexity of Tech in Education
A roundup of what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week.
Inspiration can come from so many places, and diverse perspectives are indispensable to how we approach complex problems in our work. We throw around think pieces, podcasts, studies, and news in our Slack channels, and we wanted to open up the conversation to our readers as well. We hope these weekly digests will give you something to chew on over the weekend. We’d also love to hear from you! So feel free to start a discussion below, or reach out to us on Twitter or email us at airbel@rescue.org.
Read
+Across Myanmar, Denial of Ethnic Cleansing and Loathing of Rohingya. Constant accusations of fake news (both real and hyped) are being thrown around today. This New York Times account of the Rohingya crisis is striking, but what’s alarming is the fierce role of social media in this conflict: “Social media messaging has driven much of the rage in Myanmar. Though widespread access to cellphones only started a few years ago, mobile penetration is now about 90 percent. For many people, Facebook is their only source of news, and they have little experience in sifting fake news from credible reporting.”
+Video Evidence and the Case for the Rohingya. Speaking of fake news, WITNESS created a comprehensive set of resources and tips for documenting human rights abuses that can be better leveraged as credible evidence while keeping yourself and others safe.
+3 Ways Designers Can Help Fix The Refugee Crisis. Shauna Carey, a managing director in Ideo.org’s New York office, recently spoke at Fast Company’s Innovation festival and laid out three principles for problem-solving the refugee crisis. She asks, “How do we start to use research and human-centered design to understand people behind the statistics and create solutions deserving of their stories?”
+The Edtech Edifice Complex. On the World Bank’s EduTech blog, Michael Trucano details the problem with policy makers simply distributing and implementing technology in schools. Transforming an education system requires investment in behavior change, which means closely looking at processes in place and coordinating closely with stakeholders and actors.
+Gun Laws Stop At State Lines, But Guns Don’t. Why is it that cities like Chicago and Baltimore have some of the strictest gun laws in America, but also the highest rates of gun violence? The White House recently used this fact to shoot down proposals for more robust gun regulation, but context is missing here. For example, Illinois is bordered by Wisconsin and Indiana, two states with weak gun laws. FiveThirtyEight looks into the effects of state gun laws on neighboring states.
Thanks to Ben and Grant for sharing
