Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

This is why the making of accessible books is a classic example of market failure: if publishers could make a lot of money selling braille, large print, audio, and fully accessible textbooks, we wouldn’t need a copyright exception. For example, we run Bookshare in the U.S. The biggest challenge for access is that it’s expensive.

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Copyright India Library United States 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 10, 2013

And though they use the massive sets of data they collect to help create a better experience for their consumers (such as customized ads or tailored movie recommendations), their primary goal is to use what they learn to maximize profits. But can Big Data also create positive social change?

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Profit Data SWF Syria 171

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 13, 2015

It is full of examples of interesting ed tech from for-profits and nonprofits, as well as local, state and federal government agencies. I just finished reading the National Education Technology Plan , and I can recommend it to anyone interested in the future of technology in American education.

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Education National Technology Student 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 17, 2015

The good news is that there are now unprecedented opportunities to transform the lives of these millions by removing barriers of access to information  —   and this is where you can help. Here’s why the Marrakesh Treaty is so important and why your country can help ensure it benefits the millions who need it. It is politically popular.

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Copyright Law Library eBook 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 14, 2013

At this point, I couldn’t help but think about my conversation with Sen. I believe it can help catalyze much-needed systemic change and forever remove the most persistent barriers that prevent people from living a full life. Wofford—I could hear Gandhi’s voice! Technology is racing ahead, but leaving 99 percent of society behind.

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Technology Pledge Music University 129

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 7, 2013

Bookshare International Library We’re always thinking about new ways in which Benetech could go deeper and help many more people. The first is developing strong local partners , such as disability NGOs, libraries or educational institutions that help us customize our services to the specific needs of their communities.

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India Literacy United Kingdom United States 225

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 3, 2016

We know a great deal about this Treaty, which is designed to help people who are blind or have other disabilities that interfere with reading, such as dyslexia. As the operators of the largest library using this exception in the United States, we see these changes as minor and helpful clarifications. law with the Treaty language.

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United States Language Copyright Library 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

In most cases, the request comes from someone who identifies a social need and believes that technology can help address that need. We don’t build a network of entrepreneurs, but rather function as a sounding board with social sector leaders on how technology could better help their organizations or communities.

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Technology Profit Application Method 163

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 7, 2011

Commenter Iraqi Bootleg might have some very helpful ideas/examples here.] They are especially in need of big picture information that will help guide their response to do the most good with the resources employed. Let’s call our example professional Captain Lopez.

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Picture Data Disaster Map 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

If this was in the Treaty, it would make the treaty useless because these organizations would find this burden a strong disincentive to helping users in other countries. If it indeed is simply a place where any authorized entity (broadly interpreted) can reasonably get added to a resource list, it might be helpful.

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eBook Library Alternative Authoring 193

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 10, 2011

One hypothetical example of this issue that came up in the meeting was SMS traffic after a large earthquake and tsunami. How do we help decision-makers and the press get a better handle on what we know and don't know, and prevent people from leaping to the wrong conclusions (and by extension, taking the wrong actions)?

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Literacy Disaster Phone Press 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 14, 2011

When activists speak truth to power, we help them to ensure that it is truth! We help to protect the testimonies of the victims of violations, as well as the safety of those who take their statements. We are database experts who help to answer the key question in human rights: who did what to whom? And we’re nowhere near done!

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Technology Change Social Literacy 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 28, 2011

The correlation found in Haiti is an example of a "confounding factor". Here are two other examples of confounding effects. When there's a catastrophe, people often pull together and help each other. Thus the correlation between the SMS feed and the building damage is an artifact or spurious correlation.

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Issue Data Haiti Stream 160

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 13, 2011

I just spent a couple of days in Vancouver with the team at the Public Knowledge Project , a terrific example of an open source social enterprise. An exciting development is the recent offering of hosting services (through the help of PKP's main partner university, Simon Fraser U.

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Accessibility Project Open Journal 133

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 15, 2012

Benetech’s Bookshare library is living proof that real, transformative change happens through partnerships and by helping people unleash their talents and energies. Instead of people without disabilities helping people with disabilities, most of our books came from people with disabilities helping each other! copyright law.

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Library Student eBook Accessibility 164

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 17, 2014

To better understand why promoting “breathing space” for creativity is crucial for copyright to achieve its purpose of encouraging innovation, consider some examples from Benetech’s work that demonstrate how copyright exceptions can create a framework for innovation in action. often leads the way towards that better tomorrow.

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Copyright Law Accessibility Library 196

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 11, 2013

Mada is also helping us encourage publishers of Arabic-language books to support this important initiative and provide additional content to be included in Bookshare. Diacritics in Arabic are crucial to identifying how words are pronounced and to disambiguating their meanings.

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United Arab Emirates Qatar eBook Language 162

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

Suddenly, we have a tool to focus on the most wasteful schools, and to help all schools improve their energy efficiency. It shows how crunching the numbers plus a great data visualization approach, offers a great example of how technology can really serve humanity!

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Classroom Demonstration Student Contest 162

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 14, 2010

Most people who are quads have partial use of their limbs, for example, little use of their legs but partial use of their arms. So, I really enjoyed a recent lunch with Rich Thesing and my brother Dan, where they talked about ways to help the manufacturers add this minor feature.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 20, 2010

In general, we have patents and copyrights and trade secrets as commercial objects because we as a society think that it helps bring the benefits of new creations to everyone. But, what happens when something falls short of its potential to help all of humanity? Regulation is helpful, but not enough.

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Proposal Government University Switzerland 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 22, 2010

Last week there was a strong technology focus in the events: I was invited to an event at the White House (actually, the Old Executive Office Building) to hear from senior leaders from the Administration make announcements and talk about the power or technology to help people with disabilities.

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DC Demonstration Accessibility Policy 168

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 16, 2011

The goal of the DIAGRAM R&D Center is to greatly improve access to graphical information for students with print disabilities (for example, helping blind students get access to important graphics inside textbooks).

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Images Alternative Student Accessibility 194

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

The tough question that ran through my mind was: How can we as technologists in Silicon Valley help prevent this kind of atrocity? To help you understand it better, let me pick it up where I left off, back in 1993. I was aghast that it could take a dozen years for the world to believe the massacre had happened.

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Burma Analysis Guatemala Law 168

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 15, 2010

I’m looking forward to getting new ideas from other people that can help us all do more with less. For example, I almost always stay with one of my cousins in New York City. Do you have an example of penny-wise, pound foolish travel ideas that backfired? * Or, do you stick with habits honed in resource-famished times?

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Tips Social New York City New York 124

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 9, 2012

Changes often inspire Members to write and it is so helpful to hear about what works (and what doesn't work so we can fix it). For example, new Member Annette Moore wrote: the fact that Bookshare offers their books in mp3 format is why I decided to become a Member.

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Comment Audio Files Evaluation 124

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 30, 2010

Today was an example of this. Next, I went to the Social Entrepreneurs Corner (a space set aside for the SEs) and ended up talking in detail with Iftekhar of Waste Concern from Bangladesh about the idea they floated in the bar a couple days ago for software to help cities reduce their carbon footprint.

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South Africa Bangladesh Norway Africa 165

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

At Benetech, where innovation is the engine behind our mission, we did our best to make the most of it and help lead the charge into the future. This gave us the chance to say thank you to many people, and a number of very cool dogs, who have helped make Bookshare what it is today. Thanks again! We’ve added over 1800 books since then.

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Literacy Program United Arab Emirates Student 166

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 25, 2009

The current president of Sudan is a good example of the challenge. Of course, our role in this field is as scientists helping get at the truth using statistics. The ICC is still in its infancy: one of the challenges the movie brings up is the inability to get most of its indictees into the court.

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Sudan Movie Statistics Roles 113

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

First, provide data visualizations to help average New Yorkers contextualize their own personal experiences. For example, to answer questions such as in which precinct do the most pedestrian stops occur? Not all such stops actually result in a search or arrest. On what days and at what time of day do the most pedestrian stops occur?

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New York City New York San Francisco Analysis 133

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 29, 2010

A strong example of this work was shown on October 18th when Benetech statistical consultant Daniel Guzmán presented expert legal testimony in the trial of two former agents of the Guatemalan National Police, Abraham Lancerio Gómez and Héctor Roderico Ramírez. In the case of Benetech, credibility and technical competence are guaranteed.”

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Guatemala Statistics National Analysis 145

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 13, 2009

A: There are a lot of people these days who want to help other people out. For example, you can see that Arianna Huffington is much better at writing in her post: "All for Good: A New 'Craigslist for Service'" ! Examples like the TSA and EPA blogs. People like me help get the word out. A: Nerds can help.

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Interview Afghanistan Iraq Government 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 1, 2012

As example, one strong idea that came up was having staffing services and temp agencies establish benchmarks for hiring workers with disabilities. The ADA prohibits discrimination and mandates that Americans be accorded equality in access to employment, goods, services, and other opportunities. million to 6 million by 2015.

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Hosting San Francisco Law Education 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 12, 2008

By taking that leadership position (and not suffering any arrows in the back for helping us), this has led to quite a number of major publishers agreeing to do the same for Bookshare.org in the last year. So, Tim leads by example.

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Los Angeles Challenge Brain License 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 17, 2013

In 1985, he started Fundación Paraguaya in order to develop social innovations that could help create jobs and increase family income among the country’s poor. It was a daring venture: Paraguay was then still under a military dictatorship and it was extremely difficult to advance social work.

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Paraguay Award Africa Conservancy 142

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 9, 2018

This adaptability isn’t just for people with disabilities: personalized content helps everyone. The Bookshare story Bookshare is a real example of the confluence of how all of these exciting developments were able to drive an innovative new way of addressing a social problem, and demonstrating the potential of what ebooks can do.

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Accessibility eBook People Copyright 135

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 19, 2007

One recent example was the article in USA Today, Cassettes linger long after expected demise. We're hoping to help make digital content the standard for people with disabilities, so that they can get their accessible books over the network for PCs, cell phones, MP3 players and the like.

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Application Phone Accessibility Digital 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 5, 2010

Although the Clearinghouse and Awards programs could be helpful to the cause of greater access for people with disabilities, I don’t think they truly take on the biggest opportunity for change. Comments on the FCC's Accessibility Plans (June 2010) My main recommendation to the FCC is to be more ambitious about accessibility.

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