Big Data – learn it better in order to do better
A recently published handbook for the benefit of corporate social impact and corporate management
Learning, in order to do good with some cognizance. What is more, learning in order to better conciliate philanthropy with efficiency and effectiveness, and corporate social impact with the necessary processes and the need for profit. Learning, after all, not only to develop a good corporate culture but also to make it more dynamic and insightful. These are important milestones that can be achieved thanks to tools capable of providing accurate information, which we then need to be able to appropriately read and interpret, especially nowadays, in an era driven by a constant flow of news, by Big Data, speed and complexity.
This is why a careful reading (and study) of Data Science for Social Good. Philanthropy and Social Impact in a Complex World, a book curated by Massimo Lapucci (secretary general of the CRT Foundation) and Ciro Cattuto (professor in Computer Science at the University of Turin) is paramount. Possessing the tools to collect, sort, understand and interpret data actually means being much further along the path towards enhancing the relevance of organisations (and not just philanthropic ones) that affect the social systems in which they operate.
This book curated by Lapucci and Cattuto can be considered a handbook for the application of data science in those complex and sensitive spheres that have an impact on society. Data Science for Social Good examines how computer science, complex systems and computational social science can be applied to challenges such as humanitarian responses, public health and sustainable development. The book also provides an overview of the scientific approaches to social impact – how social needs are identified, interventions focused, impact measured – complemented by the perspectives of investors and philanthropists.
The introduction written by Lapucci is followed by a series of contributions on the value and meaning of data, some centring on specific examples such as the UN Global Pulse, globally acknowledged nowadays as a world-class facility on the employment of Big Data and artificial intelligence for the public good. The work then explores the ways in which data is gathered and analysed, issues and solutions to better join up these processes and, finally, the sector’s prospects in a world transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reading the material that Lapucci and Cattuto have collected is not always easy and straightforward, but it will certainly be useful to all those people involved in corporate activities that bear an impact on society. A book to be explored, therefore – and a good handbook that, with some others, should be kept at hand on one’s desk.
Data Science for Social Good. Philanthropy and Social Impact in a Complex World
Massimo Lapucci, Ciro Cattuto (curated by)
Springer, 2021
A recently published handbook for the benefit of corporate social impact and corporate management
Learning, in order to do good with some cognizance. What is more, learning in order to better conciliate philanthropy with efficiency and effectiveness, and corporate social impact with the necessary processes and the need for profit. Learning, after all, not only to develop a good corporate culture but also to make it more dynamic and insightful. These are important milestones that can be achieved thanks to tools capable of providing accurate information, which we then need to be able to appropriately read and interpret, especially nowadays, in an era driven by a constant flow of news, by Big Data, speed and complexity.
This is why a careful reading (and study) of Data Science for Social Good. Philanthropy and Social Impact in a Complex World, a book curated by Massimo Lapucci (secretary general of the CRT Foundation) and Ciro Cattuto (professor in Computer Science at the University of Turin) is paramount. Possessing the tools to collect, sort, understand and interpret data actually means being much further along the path towards enhancing the relevance of organisations (and not just philanthropic ones) that affect the social systems in which they operate.
This book curated by Lapucci and Cattuto can be considered a handbook for the application of data science in those complex and sensitive spheres that have an impact on society. Data Science for Social Good examines how computer science, complex systems and computational social science can be applied to challenges such as humanitarian responses, public health and sustainable development. The book also provides an overview of the scientific approaches to social impact – how social needs are identified, interventions focused, impact measured – complemented by the perspectives of investors and philanthropists.
The introduction written by Lapucci is followed by a series of contributions on the value and meaning of data, some centring on specific examples such as the UN Global Pulse, globally acknowledged nowadays as a world-class facility on the employment of Big Data and artificial intelligence for the public good. The work then explores the ways in which data is gathered and analysed, issues and solutions to better join up these processes and, finally, the sector’s prospects in a world transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reading the material that Lapucci and Cattuto have collected is not always easy and straightforward, but it will certainly be useful to all those people involved in corporate activities that bear an impact on society. A book to be explored, therefore – and a good handbook that, with some others, should be kept at hand on one’s desk.
Data Science for Social Good. Philanthropy and Social Impact in a Complex World
Massimo Lapucci, Ciro Cattuto (curated by)
Springer, 2021