[2023.09] Data Umbrella Newsletter: September 2023
We organize data science events for the community.
Data Umbrella is a non-profit global community for underrepresented persons in data science. We organize online data science events for the community. All levels are welcome. Our Code of Conduct applies to all of our spaces.
Announcements
SciPy Conference 2023: Videos are up!
All the SciPy conference presentation videos have been posted on YouTube.
We highly recommend the keynote by Rumman Chowdhury: Responsible AI in Practice
PyGotham (Oct 6-7, 2023) (Online & Free)
PyGotham is a New York City based, eclectic, Py-centric conference covering many topics. There’s a diverse speaker list, and some things which will be quite different. For full information about PyGotham TV, see https://2023.pygotham.tv
PyGotham is free and online. Register here.
All Things Open (Oct 15-17, 2023) (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)
All Things Open is a polyglot technology conference focusing on the tools, processes and people making open source possible. Register here for limited discounted tickets.
PyData NYC (Nov 1-3, 2023) (New York, NY, USA)
📢 Call for Papers Now Open: deadline September 22, 2023
We are in the process of putting together the Organizing Committee and the Program Committee and are looking for volunteers! Volunteer form
PyLadiesCon (Dec 1-3, 2023) (Online & Free)
📢 Call for Papers Now Open: deadline September 10, 2023
The first PyLadiesCon will be online in December. Be a part of PyLadiesCon; we accept proposals in multiple languages, celebrating our diverse community. If you're passionate about #Python and tech, this is your moment. Submit your proposal: https://pretalx.com/pyladiescon-2023/cfp
Timestamps
We would like to thank Daniel Boadzie and Sam Miyamoto for their contributions to Data Umbrella by adding timestamps to our YouTube videos From Vicuna to Human-aligned Evaluation, Solving NLP Tasks Using LLMs (Large Language Models) and Machine Learning in JavaScript: An Introduction to TensorFlowJS.
Call for Suggestions
Do you have suggestions for future webinar topics or speakers? Would you like to speak on a topic? For these and any other suggestions, please complete our Online Suggestion Box.
Call for Contributors
There are various ways to get involved in open source and community. Here are some projects, at all different levels. Contact us if you would like to contribute to any of these projects.
Call for Volunteers: Video Timestamps
We are looking for assistance in adding video timestamps.
We have instructions on how you can contribute to this project on GitHub. Help us help the community. Pick a video and get started!
Data Umbrella Impact
Would you like to share an impact that Data Umbrella events and resources have had in your data journey? Send it to us (info@dataumbrella.org), and we will feature it on our Impact Page.
Upcoming Events (free & online webinars)
An Overview of Information Security
September 19, 2023
This talk will define what information security is, explain why it is important and provide an overview of the information security career landscape.
Into the rabbit hole: Debugging in Python
September 26, 2023
Your code gives an error. Or worse: it doesn't give an error, but doesn't do what you want. Welcome to the hard part of programming! What to do now?
In this talk we will talk about debugging, which includes a broad set of techniques to identify the root causes of undesired behavior in programs and eventually fix them. We will start with a theoretical introduction of the different types of debugging, we will describe a couple of techniques that you can use, and we will apply them in practice, both in Jupyter Notebook (using its new interactive debugger) and in VSCode.
Introduction to OpenRefine for Data Cleaning and Reconciliation
October 3, 2023
OpenRefine is a powerful free, open source tool for working with messy data: cleaning it; transforming it from one format into another; and extending it with web services and external data. In this talk, we will look at OpenRefine, how it is used and how you can contribute to it.
Recent Events
In case you missed our recent events, the videos have been posted. Subscribe to our Data Umbrella YouTube to receive notifications when the videos premiere.
Blockchains for Open Source Solutions
Blockchain as Open Source: A Case for Africa We will discuss the transformative potential of blockchain, from driving funding access and operational efficiency with smart contracts, to fostering collaboration and restoring trust. Learn how supportive ecosystems are crucial for blockchain initiatives, discover standout partnerships and investments, and understand what we need to do next to harness blockchain's full potential.
Lessons from COVID-19: Non-random Missing Data and Its Consequences
A fundamental challenge for survey and observational datasets is that not all records in the dataset are complete; key pieces of information may be missing.
In this talk Mitzi works through the models and methods from the paper
MODELING RACIAL/ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN COVID-19 INCIDENCE WITH COVARIATES SUBJECT TO NON-RANDOM MISSINGNESS
They write:
In emergency situations, such as a surging pandemic, it is easy to see how the disease process itself may induce non-random missingness of covariates. For example, during a period of rapidly increasing caseloads, such as the Delta and Omicron surges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the overwhelming number of cases is likely to limit the ability of case investigators to collect data that are as detailed as those collected during lower-incidence periods. These differences may also be more pronounced when comparing wealthier and poorer jurisdictions with differential resources for case-finding and intervention.
Using the Stan language and CmdStanR interface, together with a simulated dataset of Covid-19 cases and population demographics, where age, gender, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood have varying degrees of missingness, we will demonstrate how different approaches produce different estimates of Covid-19 prevalence among key demographics.
Community Talks
Community chat: with Yanina Bellini Saibene
Check out our discussion with Yanina on what makes a community.
Community chat: with Mariatta Wijaya
Check out our discussion with Mariatta on what makes a community.
Featured Resources
Video Playlists
Data Umbrella Resources
Visit our blog site: blog.dataumbrella.org, and see articles written by our community members on their experience in recent sprints.
We have a Job Board. You can: post jobs (for free), search jobs, subscribe to a weekly update to see postings.
Our Data Umbrella YouTube is growing! Subscribe to our channel to receive notifications of when our event videos are posted.
Accessibility Corner
Accessibility Update: Closed Captioning
Our webinars have closed captioning available! This feature makes our live events more accessible to those with hearing needs and for folks in general who like to see the transcript live during presentation to fully process information.
Connect with Us
dataumbrella.org (*resources*)
Meetup: Data Umbrella & Data Umbrella Africa (*upcoming events*)
YouTube (*past recorded talks*)
Twitter: @DataUmbrella