News from FirstEval
Data in the News!
May 19, 2013 by Melissa ·
In the continued vein of how greater availability of bigger data is shaping our daily lives, I was struck by the news of the release of data showing hospital billing rates to Medicare. While most health policy researchers had a sense that disparities in billing amounts for the same services exist, quantifying these stark differences [...]
“A Nation at Risk” Anniversary
April 23, 2013 by Melissa ·
This week is the 30-year anniversary of a critical education report, “A Nation at Risk.” This report informed much thought and research, and inspired some national conversations on education standards. But what has changed in the last 30 years? Education Week has a great graphicon with some stunning stats: Poverty rates among children are generally unchanged; [...]
Defining Data Scientists
April 12, 2013 by Melissa ·
Recently, “Data Scientist” has been coined the “sexiest job of the 21st century.” What makes a job sexy? Some argue that it is when demand is greater than supply, resulting in nothing less than high wages. In that sense, Data Scientist jobs are truly sexy. As with any job title, exact definitions vary, but some [...]
Data Visualization
August 22, 2012 by Melissa ·
Lately I have had an opportunity to use interactive data visualization software. These are great – I think of them as an Excel or PowerPoint report you can change as you go, or filter, to see the angle of the data that you wish. Specifically, I have been in Tibco’s Spotfire, but also see Tableau and DigDash. [...]
Civility – Politics, Communities, and the Economy
September 23, 2011 by Melissa ·
Phoenix and Arizona State University were honored to be the host of the National Conference on Citizenship’s (NCOC) 66th annual conference this week, the first to be held outside of Washington, D.C. Many fascinating discussions were held, including yesterday’s panel on civility and political discourse and today’s panel discussing data, education, and dialogue. Yesterday, former [...]
Civic Communication and Civil Campaigns
June 29, 2011 by Melissa ·
Peter Levine and CIRCLE just released a white paper entitled “Civic Engagement and Community Information: Five Strategies to Revive Civic Communication.” The full report can be found here. In a time of well-publicized political incivility, Levine calls for the civil and deliberate use of the knowledge, data, and information that is around us to better [...]
Growing Demand for Data Analysts
May 13, 2011 by Melissa ·
The McKinsey Global Institute predicts a growing need of businesses to handle and analyze “big data.” New computer tracking of business data means opportunities for innovation and economic growth, if businesses can harness the benefits of the data, such as tracking fuel and shipping costs to, in turn, save on fuel and shipping costs. Data analysts [...]
The Future is …. Data!
December 21, 2010 by Melissa ·
Lucy Bernholz via the Stanford Social Innovation Review has an interesting blog post on what the next ten years will hold for nonprofits. The author looks in to her crystal ball and predicts that philanthropists will be interested in data analysis over the next ten years, similar to how evaluation was added as a strong [...]
FirstEval named to Advisory Boards – Homelessness and Crime Statistics
November 24, 2010 by Melissa ·
I am honored to have been recently named to two boards. One is the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety’s (CVPCS) Advisory Board at Arizona State University. CVPCS is committed to improving public safety and well-being through evaluation of causes of violence and working towards violence prevention. Secondly, I was named to the Lodestar [...]
Women’s Half Marathon sponsorship
November 10, 2010 by Melissa ·
FirstEval sponsored the No Women Left Behind bike group’s running team for the inaugural Scottsdale Women’s Half Marathon this past weekend. I am so happy FirstEval is a part of promoting this team – what a bunch of amazing women! Congrats to all the runners and teams.
