Case Study: Pan-Mass Challenge

The Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a nonprofit organization based in Needham, Mass., is the nation's original fundraising bike-a-thon, and today raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country. As donors increasingly turned to online giving, PMC began offering credit cards as a payment option and this is now the most common tool for making donations. However, PMC also recognized that card processing fees were reducing the amount of each donation it received.Identifying an opportunity to both reduce transaction fees and tap the growing number of donors with donor-advised funds, PMC launched the DAF Direct application in 2013 (which appears as an option when donors choose their giving method) to enable DAF donors to conveniently support individual riders directly from their DAF. Unlike credit card donations, DAF grants are not subject to a processing fee, which means 100 percent of the grant go tothe charity

Thinking Outside the Box: Using Computer Science Skills to Make Sense of the Biology of Life

While I liked coding and the logical aspects of computer programming, my gut was telling me I hadn\u27t quite found my niche yet. In what field could my computer science skills make a difference while also providing me with challenging problems to solve? As these questions percolated through my subconscious, I came across a brief article about a field called “bioinformatics.

Experiences of time loss among videogame players: an empirical study

Playing videogames is now a major leisure pursuit, yet research in the area is comparatively sparse. Previous correlational evidence suggests that subjective time loss occurs during playing videogames. This study examined experiences of time loss among a relatively large group of gamers (n = 280). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through an online survey. Results showed that time loss occurred irrespective of gender, age, or frequency of play, but was associated with particular structural characteristics of games such as their complexity, the presence of multi-levels, missions and/or high scores, multiplayer interactions, and plot. Results also demonstrated that time loss could have both positive and negative outcomes for players. Positive aspects of time loss included helping players to relax and temporarily escape from reality. Negative aspects included the sacrificing of other things in their lives, guilty feelings about wasted time, and social conflict. It is concluded that for many gamers, losing track of time is a positive experience and is one of the main reasons for playing videogames

The Connecticut Turnaround

Over five years, Connecticut has made substantial progress in turning around its troubled child welfare agency. Partnering with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and other advisors, the state has instituted improvements, driven down the number of unnecessary child removals and ensured that children entering state custody live in families whenever possible, not in group placements.This report presents the new policies and practices focused on improving supports for families and asking more kin to provide temporary help when kids must be removed from their parents. This strategy has Connecticut reducing reliance on out-of-state placements, especially for youngsters