Author: Liliana Rehorn

SEATTLE — A significant challenge for education in developing countries is that children are simply not learning enough, even when they are in school. For example, an estimated 250 million children are not learning basic reading and math skills, although half of them have spent at least four years in school. This is costing developing countries billions of dollars a year in wasted education funding. The focus of the educational system, therefore, needs not only to bring more children into school but also to improve the quality of the educational system itself. Here are five ways to improve education in…

SEATTLE — Gamification is the application of game mechanics to classrooms and other educational settings. According to a new report by the Dublin-based market research firm Research and Markets, the global education gamification market is projected to grow 66 percent by 2020. Gamification does not create games but rather uses game techniques to engage students in comprehensive learning mechanisms. The rapid growth of the gamification market can be attributed largely to the global e-learning market, one of the fastest-growing markets in the world thanks to increasing access to technology and government aid in emerging economies. Technavio education analysts have mapped…

SEATTLE — Each year, four billion cases of diarrhea are associated with a lack of access to safe drinking water. Similarly, the U.N. estimates that nearly 900 million people receive their water from an unimproved source. One response to this issue is the Biosand water filter system. Since professor David Manz of the University of Calgary pioneered the system, it has significantly reduced the leading causes of waterborne disease and death in the developing world. The Biosand water filter is composed of either a plastic or concrete container that holds sand and gravel to naturally produce clean drinking water. The…

TEHRAN, Iran — Noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular disorders and cancer are currently the most widespread and harmful diseases in Iran. Cardiovascular disease is the most common, killing 100,000 Iranians each year, while chronic kidney disease also poses a serious health threat to the entire nation. In 2009, the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study found chronic kidney disease to be prevalent among 13.1 percent of 4,223 male participants and 23 percent of the 5,880 female participants. The illness was most common among participants aged 70 and older. The study also found coronary artery disease to be prevalent among a total of…