Semester Schedule

Week 1 (9/1)

Thursday:
- Introductions
  - Zoom, Slack, Blackboard & the Syllabus
- For next time:
  - Getting Started

Week 2 (9/5)

Tuesday:
- Using Markdown & Github
- Don’t forget people in the use of big data for development, Joshua Blumenstock. Nature: Sept. 10, 2018
- Response questions:
  - Joshua Blumenstock states that a humbler data science could transform international development while also limiting the number of alleged silver bullets that have missed their mark in recent years. Describe the promise, pitfalls and ways forward Blumenstock uses as the foundation for his thesis. Additionally, consider the following statements from three of your classmates regarding this article. (1) "Good intent is not enough in data science when dealing with the problems which determine people's experiences" Anna Raymond (2) "Transparency is the underlying issue to many of these problems, so an increase in this on both ends (data based issues & human based issues) could lead to better results." Nira Nair (3) "In lieu of such drastic potential for promoting applications yet demoralizing hinderances, the balancing act can become difficult." Kayla Seggelke How do you respond to these ideas regarding "good intent", "transparency" and the difficult "balancing act" when considering the intersection of human development with data science? Please prepare your response for next Thursday's class.
Thursday:
- The Best Stats You've Ever Seen, Hans Rosling. TEDx: February, 2006
- Response Questions:
  - What was Hans Rosling's observation regarding his comparative survey of students at the Karolinska Institute and the Chimpanzees (as well as the faculty who decide the Nobel Prize)? What is the significance of the results from his informal survey on preconceived ideas?
  - What type of change took place in Asia that preceded economic growth? Why was this type of change significant?
  - In accordance with Hans Rosling’s TED talk, what is the relationship between child mortality and GDP per capita?
  - In terms of income distribution, how has the world changed from 1962 until 2003?
  - What is the significance of how Hans Rosling uses data to describe global human development in terms of very high spatial and temporal resolutions? How does this relate to his previous observation regarding preconceived ideas?
  - In your opinion, why was Hans Rosling’s work with the Gapminder project significant in contributing towards advancing the intersection of data science and global human development?
- For next time:
  - Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom: Introduction
- Friday: add/drop period ends

Week 3 (9/12)

Tuesday:
- Introduce Assignment 1:
  - Write an Annotated Bibliography
  - For next time:
    - Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom: Chapter 1
    - Discuss possible human development topic selections
Thursday:
- Discuss Assignment 1
- Topic consideration
- For next time:
  - Development and Complexity by Owen Barder

Week 4 (9/19)

Tuesday:
- For next time:
  - Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom: Chapter 2
Thursday:
- For next time:
  - Geoff West, Scale - Chapter 1

Week 5 (9/26)

Tuesday:
- Review annotations and discuss topic development
- For next time:
  - Geoff West, Scale - Chapter 7 and afterword
Thursday:
- Review annotations and discuss topic development
- For next time:
  - The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete, Chris Anderson. Wired: June 23, 2008
  - Big Data, new epistemologies and paradigm shifts, Rob Kitchin. Big Data & Society: April 1, 2014
Saturday: Annotated bibliography due by 5PM

Week 6 (10/3)

Tuesday:
- Introduce Assignment 2
- For next time:
  - Watch An African Election
Thursday:
- For next time:
  - The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete, Chris Anderson. Wired: June 23, 2008
  - Big Data, new epistemologies and paradigm shifts, Rob Kitchin. Big Data & Society: April 1, 2014

Week 7 (10/10)

Tuesday:
- for next time: Spatially disaggregated population estimates in the absence of national population and housing census data by Wardrop et al.
Thursday:
- for next time:
  - High resolution global gridded data for use in population studies by Lloyd, Sorichetta & Tatem

Week 8 (10/17)

Tuesday: no class, fall break
Thursday:
- for next time: Mapping road network communities for guiding disease surveillance and control strategies by Strano, Viana, Sorichetta & Tatem
Sunday: Literature Review due at midnight