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Food shortages and distribution issues have become a major problem in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In many areas, supermarket shelves are empty, particularly as people stock up on food and other items as they face uncertainty around the nuclear situation in the country. In Sendai, people in shelters are waiting for food to arrive, as transportation problems have slowed distribution.
Second Harvest Japan, Japan’s food banking network is coordinating donations and distribution of food and other grocery items for impacted people of the earthquake and tsunami. The recent events have driven massive local demand for their services and many government agencies, relief organizations, shelters, and people in need of food are reaching out to them for help. Their existing website wasn’t set up for the rapid updates required in a time of disaster. They needed a site that could not only support real-time publishing, but also provide high performance and the ability to handle large volumes of visitors from around the world.
Microsoft, AidMatrix and Slalom Consulting have partnered to provide a cloud based community communication portal for Second Harvest Japan. The portal uses Microsoft’s Windows Azure and related Aidmatrix Microsoft-based cloud technologies for coordination across food donors, transportation providers and distributors in the Japan relief effort.
Microsoft is offering the disaster response portal free-of-charge to government and nonprofit agencies working on relief efforts in Japan. Interested agencies should contact drcorp@microsoft.com.
Cloud services and applications can be hosted anywhere in the world, avoiding issues such as damaged infrastructure and equipment, power shortages or telecommunications service interruptions. In addition cloud services can actively scale to meet increased demand.
The portal provides mass communications and light collaboration. It includes features such as situational awareness through mapping and information overlays, rich search and HTML content editing, social network capabilities, and RSS feeds. It’s particularly effective in disaster situations because it helps customers avoid latency or downtime issues that can be caused by a traffic spike during a disaster and there are no IT back-end and support costs.
The team at Second Harvest Japan have already noted increased community activity which they attribute to the emergency portal.
Microsoft is offering the disaster response portal free-of-charge to government and nonprofit agencies working on relief efforts in Japan.
Find out more about the resources Microsoft is providing to aid relief efforts here.
For local Japanese information and contact details please visit here.
STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education is vital to solving the world’s toughest social problems; to helping companies create the next breakthrough innovation and to keeping local economies competitive. So how do we encourage more students to study STEM projects?
To find out, we partnered with Harris Interactive to get an insight on STEM education from parents with children in K-12 education, and students currently studying in STEM degree courses.
The parent perspective:
The survey found broad agreement among parents that there is room for improvement in how we prepare children to pursue a STEM career.
· Most parents of K-12 students (93%) believe that STEM education should be a priority in the U.S., but only half (49%) agree that it actually is a top priority.
· Parents believe STEM is essential to ensure the U.S. remains competitive in the global marketplace (53%) and to produce the next generation of innovators (51%)
· While 50% of parents would like to see their child pursue a STEM career, only 24% are extremely willing to spend extra money helping their children be successful in their math and science classes.
· The top three careers that parents want their kids to pursue are:
o #1 Scientist (24%)
o #2 Engineer (21%)
o #3 Physician & Dentist, Teacher (Both 17%)
The STEM student perspective:
College students pursuing a STEM degree were asked to rate how well their K-12 education prepared them for their college courses in STEM, and why they chose to pursue a STEM academic path.
· Nearly 4 in 5 STEM college students say that they decided to study STEM in high school or earlier and 21% decided in middle school.
· More than half (57%) of STEM college students say that before going to college, a teacher or class got them interested in STEM.
· Only 1 in 5 STEM college students feel that their K-12 education prepared them extremely well for their college courses in STEM.
· Students indicated they are selecting a STEM path to secure their own futures.
o 68% say they want a good salary
o 66% say it’s the job potential
o 68% say they find their degree program subject intellectually stimulating and challenging
The gender differences:
· Male students are more likely to pursue STEM because they have always enjoyed games/toys, reading books, and/or participating in clubs that are focused on their chosen subject area. (51% vs. 35% females).
· Female students are more likely to say that they chose STEM to make a difference (49% vs. 34% males).
· While more than half (57%) of STEM college students say that before going to college, a teacher or class got them interested in STEM, it’s especially true of female students (68% vs. 51% males) who give “a teacher or class” as the top factor that sparked their interest.
· Females in STEM are more likely than males to say they were extremely/well prepared (64% vs. 49%) by their K-12 education, and are slightly more likely than their male counterparts to say that preparing students for STEM should be a top priority in K-12 schools (92% vs. 84%).
You can read the full summary of findings here.
Got a comment on these findings? We’d love to hear your thoughts either through the comments on this post or why not share your views on Twitter using the hashtag #STEMtember
Microsoft has been committed to encouraging students to pursue a career in STEM for many years. We have put in place a range of global and local programs to encourage students to explore the possibilities of a career in STEM from the Imagine Cup to Partners in Learning, DigiGirlz, and the Kodu Game Lab.
By Lori Harnick, General Manager, Corporate Citizenship and Public Affairs
When it comes to social change, launching entrepreneurial ventures, and coming up with the next generation of big ideas, we know that nothing matches the creativity and passion of youth. That’s the driving force behind Microsoft YouthSpark, our company-wide commitment to create education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for 300 million young people over three years.
Today we’re launching YouthSpark Challenge for Change, a contest for U.S. residents aged 18 to 25 who have an idea for sparking change in their communities or around the world for the chance to win* amazing prizes, including a volunteer trip to Kenya this summer and the latest Microsoft products. Entering the contest is easy. Simply answer a few questions about your social good project and how Windows and Office could help bring it to life.
Microsoft wants to help young people change the world, and because we believe all good deeds should be rewarded, everyone who enters the contest will win!
If you’re wondering how to incorporate Windows and Office into your entry, click over to the Windows blog and Office.com for tips and tricks. And if you’re looking for inspiration for your own change-sparking project, watch Rebecca and Christina share stories about their projects, Plus Ultra and the Do Good Bus.
Enter the challenge now.
After all of the contest entries have been received, our judges will narrow the entries to 20 finalists, who will be revealed on June 17. Then the public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite project once a day until June 24. We’ll announce our five grand prize winners on July 1, which will mark the end of the contest but the beginning of another journey. We’re excited to bring you the stories of our five winners and future YouthSpark Stars as they volunteer in Kenya this summer and launch their social good projects in the following months. And who knows… maybe one of them will be you.
*No purchase necessary. Entry deadline May 24, 2013. See website for full Official Rules.
You can get HelpBridge here
So once you’ve installed HelpBridge, how does it work?
Get Help with HelpBridge
Give Help with HelpBridge
Helpbridge provides three easy ways to support relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of a disaster.
We’ve worked with a range of relief agencies and nonprofits during the development of HelpBridge.
“We are grateful to our partner Microsoft who understands the importance of connecting loved ones after disasters and provides ways for individuals to donate their time and dollars to help those in need through the Red Cross,” said Neal Litvack, Chief Development Officer of the American Red Cross. “Mobile phones have become one of the key tools for people in disaster affected areas to communicate, not only with their friends, but also with first responders. The simpler we can make it for people to let others know if they are fine or if they need assistance, the more likely they are of being able to get that information out,” said Gisli Olaffson, Emergency Response Director, NetHope. “Microsoft’s HelpBridge mobile app is a great addition to the tools people have for reporting their needs and their status following any disaster.”
“We are grateful to our partner Microsoft who understands the importance of connecting loved ones after disasters and provides ways for individuals to donate their time and dollars to help those in need through the Red Cross,” said Neal Litvack, Chief Development Officer of the American Red Cross.
“Mobile phones have become one of the key tools for people in disaster affected areas to communicate, not only with their friends, but also with first responders. The simpler we can make it for people to let others know if they are fine or if they need assistance, the more likely they are of being able to get that information out,” said Gisli Olaffson, Emergency Response Director, NetHope. “Microsoft’s HelpBridge mobile app is a great addition to the tools people have for reporting their needs and their status following any disaster.”
HelpBridge is a mobile app with the application back-end running on Microsoft Windows Azure which provides a rich and reliable web, application and data platform in the cloud.
Quickly let people know how and where you are
Make donations to relief agencies from your mobile device
The key to responding to a disaster is being prepared
HelpBridge is a useful part of your disaster preparation but you also need to think about what other ways you can get prepared ahead of an unexpected event.
For example, what are the key documents that you should back up online so you can access them from any location? Have you thought about completing a family emergency plan? What about your pets? There’s some good tips and resources here.
HelpBridge is a useful tool to help you get help and give help during a disaster. Download the app today as part of your disaster preparedness.
As Petra Nemcova, a disaster survivor and founder of Happy Hearts Fund noted:
“We cannot stop natural disasters but we can arm ourselves with knowledge: so many lives wouldn’t have to be lost if there was enough disaster preparedness.”
Note: HelpBridge is only available in the United States.
When your children look up at the sky, do they ever ask you what is going on millions of miles above their heads? Did you ever ask the same question? Back when Curtis Wong was a young boy growing up in smoggy Los Angeles, he dreamt of being able to clearly see and learn about the beautiful images of the sky, which he could only see in books. With that dream in mind, Curtis now uses his education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to make STEM subjects more accessible and more fun. Just look at the World Wide Telescope and Project Tuva, both of which show that STEM subjects can be taught in new more exciting ways.
I was fortunate to have a quick chat with Curtis the other day and got to learn a bit more about how he came to work on such amazing projects. Since it was just us in the room, I made sure to tape it and believe me, if you are a teacher or student, this is not one to miss. Without further ado, here is Curtis:
You should check out World Wide Telescope and Project Tuva, after all, they are free to use!