Challenge of Predicting Floods, K-12 Education, Pokemon Proxy

Why Predicting Floods Is So Hard Guest: Jim Nelson, PhD, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at BYU The flooding in Louisiana that killed 13 and damaged or destroyed more than 60,000 homes is the “worst natural disaster” to strike the nation since Hurricane Sandy, according to emergency response officials. As President Obama visits the region today and tens of thousands work to rebuild their lives, we’re asking what it will take to better predict flood threats. With better prediction, state and local officials could be more precise in evacuating and responding to flood threats. Homeowners might be more inclined to get flood insurance in certain areas. Black Lives Matter and K-12 Education Guest: Jonathan Stith, Founding Member and National Coordinator for the Alliance for Educational Justice Black Lives Matter activists have focused a spotlight on racial inequities in the criminal justice system. Now they’re broadening the focus to include K-12 education, which is where they say the discrimination often starts. Some of what they’re calling for might surprise you: a moratorium on opening charter schools is on the list and so is abolishing Teach for America, an institution whose self-proclaimed purpose is to “disrupt inequality.” Pokemon GO Proxies Guests: Jeff Sheets, Advertising Professor at BYU; Pokemon Go isn’t as big in the US as it was earlier this summer, but it’s still the most popular mobile game in history. Players use their smartphones to locate Pokemon creatures hiding all over town – including places where playing is inappropriate or unsafe, like a war memorial or a hospital. Such places have struggled to manage the disruptions the game causes, even banning it on their property. But some BYU advertising students turned the disruption on its ear at Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah: They developed a way for sick kids to play Pokemon Go without leaving the hospital and without interfering with hospital staff and regulations. Therapy by Text Message Helps Crack Counseling Code Gue