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February 2017

Women in Data Science Conference

February 3, 2017 @ 11:30 am - 12:00 pm
Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center, 326 Galvez St
Stanford, CA 94305 United States
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HRDAG executive director Megan Price delivers a talk titled, "Using Machine Learning to Determine How Many People Have Been Killed in Syria." From the program: The Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) uses methods from statistics and computer science to quantify mass violence. As part of that work, we rely on open source tools, including python and R, for data processing, management, analysis, and visualization. This talk will highlight how we use those methods and tools to estimate how many…

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December 2016

Kellogg Institute for International Studies

December 2, 2016 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Video of Patrick Ball at Kellogg Institute, Notre Dame, available here. Digital Echoes: Understanding Patterns of Mass Violence with Data and Statistics Data about mass violence can seem to offer insights into patterns: Is violence getting better, or worse, over time? Is violence directed more against men or women? But in human rights data collection, we (usually) don’t know what we don’t know—and worse, what we don’t know is likely to be systematically different from what we do know. This…

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November 2016

Code for America Summit

November 3, 2016 @ 1:25 pm - 1:40 pm

Kristian Lum spoke on a panel about "Working together to reduce racial disparities in the justice system." Photo by Greg Jordan-Detamore ‏@GJordanDetamore 

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October 2016

Multithreaded Speaker Series

October 18, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Stitch Fix Algorithms, 731 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103 United States
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Free

Kristian Lum spoke about her recent work exploring the consequences of police using predictive models.

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September 2016

Digital Echoes: Understanding Patterns of Mass Violence with Data and Statistics

September 22, 2016 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Human Rights Centre University of Essex, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park
Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ United Kingdom
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Free

HRDAG’s director of research, Patrick Ball, explores the assumption that nearly every project using data must make: that the data are representative of reality in the world.The talk illustrates how biases in raw data can be addressed through estimation, and explain why it matters. Please book your ticket for this event via Eventbrite by 20 September, as a light lunch reception will be provided. Follow on Twitter via @EssexHRC. The talk is chaired by  Professor Lorna McGregor, Director of Human Rights Centre, Co-Director of ESRC Human…

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Multiple Systems Estimation Workshop

September 19, 2016 @ 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
CRASSH, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9DT United Kingdom
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HRDAG’s director of research, Patrick Ball, explores capture-recapture, a statistical method that enables the estimation of a total population using a set of intersecting, partial lists. This workshop follows a seminar on Understanding Patterns of Mass Violence with Data and Statistics, also by Patrick. Registration for this seminar will close at 17:00 on Friday 9 September 2016. Follow on Twitter @CamBigData.

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Digital Echoes: Understanding Patterns of Mass Violence with Data and Statistics

September 19, 2016 @ 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
CRASSH, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9DT United Kingdom
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HRDAG's director of research, Patrick Ball, explores the assumption that nearly every project using data must make: that the data are representative of reality in the world.The talk illustrates how biases in raw data can be addressed through estimation, and explain why it matters. This talk will be followed by a Multiple Systems Estimation workshop, also by Patrick. Registration for this seminar will close at 17:00 on Friday 9 September 2016. Follow on Twitter @CamBigData.

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August 2016

PyData San Francisco

August 14, 2016 @ 9:00 am - 9:45 am
Galvanize, 44 Tehama St.
San Francisco, CA 94105 United States
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HRDAG executive director Megan Price delivers the keynote: Using the Python Data Science Stack to Determine How Many People Have Been Killed in Syria. Open to anyone registered for PyData San Francisco. Follow on Twitter @PyData.

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June 2016

Strata+Hadoop London: Machine Learning for Human Rights Advocacy

June 3, 2016 @ 10:20 am - 10:40 am
ExCel London, One Western Gateway Royal Victoria Dock
London, London E16 1XL United Kingdom
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The same machine-learning methods used to learn about customers, improve speech recognition, and identify cat faces can also be applied to questions about conflict violence. Megan Price demonstrates how machine-learning methods help us determine what we know, and what we don’t, about the ongoing conflict in Syria. Megan then explains why these methods can be crucial to better understand patterns of violence, enabling better policy decisions, resource allocation, and ultimately, accountability and justice. Video footage of the talk: https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/machine-learning-for-human-rights-advocacy

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May 2016

Quantitative Data and Human Rights Conference: Duke University

May 5, 2016 - May 6, 2016
Duke University Durham, NC United States + Google Map

Presentations by HRDAG team members Megan Price, Kristian Lum and Patrick Ball, as well as colleagues as James Johndrow,Daniel Manrique, Robin Mejia and Beka Steorts. Hosted by HRDAG Advisory Board member David Banks.

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April 2016

Understanding Patterns of Mass Violence with Data and Statistics: Brown University

April 21, 2016 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Watson Institute at Brown University, 111 Thayer Street
Providence, RI 02912 United States
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Free

This talk will explore the assumption that nearly every project using data must make: that the data are representative of reality in the world. We will explore how, contrary to the standard assumption, how statistical patterns in raw data tend to be quite different than patterns in the world. Statistical patterns in data reflect how the data was collected rather than changes in the real-world phenomena data purport to represent. Using analysis of killings in Iraq, homicides committed by police…

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March 2016

Seeing the Forest: Columbia University

March 31, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Brown Institute for Media Innovation, Pulitzer Hall, 2950 Broadway
New York, NY 10027 United States
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Free

Patrick Ball, director of research at HRDAG, discusses how to analyze hidden patterns using (mostly) public data  about people killed in Syria, 2011-2015. This is part of the Disrupting Unity and Discerning Ruptures: Focus Aleppo lecture series, with Laura Kurgan and Avinaom Shalem. Please register: info @ c4sr.columbia.edu by March 24, 2016.

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Strata + Hadoop Conference

March 30, 2016 @ 8:45 am - 10:30 am
San Jose Convention Canter, 150 W San Carlos St.
San Jose, CA United States
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Megan Price, executive director of Human Rights Data Analysis Group, delivers the keynote speech at the Wednesday morning session. Video footage of the talk: https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/data-and-human-rights

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Data & Society: understanding patterns of mass violence with data and statistics

March 24, 2016 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Free

Databite No. 74: Patrick Ball presents Digital Echoes: Understanding Patterns of Mass Violence with Data and Statistics. This talk will explore the assumption that nearly every project using data must make: that the data are representative of reality in the world. Using analysis of killings in Iraq, homicides committed by police in the US, killings in the conflict in Syria, and homicides in Colombia, we will contrast patterns in raw data with data in estimated total patterns of violence. The talk will show how biases…

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Tyranny of the Algorithm?

March 22, 2016 @ 10:45 am - 12:15 pm
Bernstein Institute for Human Rights NYU Law, 40 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012 United States
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Free

The Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at New York University Law School held a two-day conference exploring predictive analytics and human rights. HRDAG director of research Patrick Ball and lead statistician Kristian Lum spoke about Data Hygiene and Algorithmic Oversight. "Data-driven risk assessments raise difficult issues of oversight, since they rely on data sets and algorithms that may be hidden, opaque, or misunderstood by the general public.  Many of the actors who usually play a role in the detection of human rights…

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International Studies Association Conference 2016

March 17, 2016 @ 8:15 am - 9:45 am
Hilton Atlanta Atlanta, GA United States + Google Map

ISA's 57th Annual Convention: Exploring Peace. Megan Price, executive director of HRDAG, will participate as a panelist in "A Million Deaths is a Statistic: New Findings from the Archives of Political Conflict." Her talk will be "Exploring the Contents of the Historic Archive of the National Police in Guatemala." This session is open to anyone attending ISA.

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November 2015

Meet the Innovators Under 35

November 2, 2015 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
MIT Media Lab, EmTech
Cambridge, MA United States

In September, our colleague Beka Steorts was named an Innovator Under 35 by MIT Technology Review. Two months later, she delivered a talk at EmTech -- at the MIT Media Lab -- on how "big data" could cut through the fog of war. Here's a link to her three-minute talk, and here's more information on Beka's award. #EmTechMIT

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September 2015

Policing in the dark? Observed homicides and the Colombian peace process, 2003-2011

September 3, 2015 @ 10:15 am - 12:00 pm
Parc 55 San Francisco, 55 Cyril Magnin St
San Francisco, CA 94102 United States
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At the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA), HRDAG colleagues Jule Krüger and Amelia Hoover Green will discuss "Filling in the Blanks: Data Problems and Solutions in the Study of Violence" as part of the HIDDEN VIOLENCE DURING ARMED CONFLICT: METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES AND INNOVATIONS panel. The panel will be chaired by Christian Davenport. From the program: "The aim for this panel is to take stock of data and methods used to understand hard-to-study phenomena in conflict…

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August 2015

Big Data Promises and Pitfalls: Examples from Syria

August 25, 2015 @ 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Heidelberg Laureate Forum, Neue Universität, University Square “Universitätsplatz,” 69117 Heidelberg
Heidelberg, Germany
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On August 25, 2015, at #HLF15, director of research Megan Price explained how HRDAG relies on many data sources in the documentation of human rights, such as bureaucratic or border crossing records. Quantitative analyses have the potential to contribute to transitional justice mechanisms, via empirical evidence—but most data available in transitional justice settings are incomplete. Using conventional "big data" approaches can lead to not only incomplete but often incorrect analytical results. Her presentation explored how information is generated about killings in conflict, and…

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May 2015

Digital Echoes: Understanding Patterns of Mass Violence with Data and Statistics

May 28, 2015 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Open Society Foundations–New York, 224 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019 United States
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Hosted by the Open Society Foundations with Elizabeth Eagen. Statistical patterns in raw data tend to be quite different than patterns in the real world: patterns in data tend to reflect how the data was collected rather than changes in the real-world phenomena the data appears to represent. Using analysis of killings in Iraq, homicides committed by police in the United States, killings in the conflict in Syria, and homicides in Colombia, Patrick Ball will explore how biases in raw…

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January 2015

AAAS Science & Human Rights Coalition Meeting: Big Data & Human Rights

January 15, 2015 - January 16, 2015
AAAS Washington, DC, 1200 New York Avenue Northwest #550
Washington, DC, 20005
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Megan Price, panelist. Washington, D.C. January 15-16, 2015. Throughout the first day of this meeting, participants deepened their knowledge about emerging human rights opportunities and concerns connected to Big Data, especially the implications for the work of scientists and engineers. Sessions explored how collection, analysis, and access to massive data sets can impact human rights, both positively and negatively, and identifed ways in which human rights principles offer guidance for responsible data use. Throughout the first day of this meeting,…

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November 2014

Big Data and Death: Mini-Conference.

November 7, 2014
University of Wisconsin, School of Education
Madison, WI 53706 United States
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On November 7, 2014, the Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Wisconsin Law School, hosted a mini-conference with speakers Jennifer Alix-Garcia, Patrick Ball, Chad Hazlett, Volker Radeloff, and Philip Schrodt to speak about “Big Data and Death.” The conference was organized by John Ahlquist and Jon Pevehouse. Big Data and Death Department of Political Science University of Wisconsin–Madison November 7, 2014 Madison, Wisconsin

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October 2014

Data Mining for Good: Thoreau Center Lunch + Learn

October 23, 2014
Tides, 1014 Torney Ave.
San Francisco, 94129
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At the Thoreau Center for Sustainability’s “Lunch and Learn,” Patrick Ball spoke about “Data Mining for Good.” The talk included a discussion of how HRDAG uses random sampling, entity resolution, communications metadata, and statistical modeling to assist prosecutions of human rights violators. With an introduction by John DeCock, Chief Operating and Outreach Officer, Bioneers. The Thoreau Center for Sustainability Lunch and Learn October 23, 2014 San Francisco, California

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Record Linkage and Capture-Recapture in the Analysis of Genocide in Guatemala

October 20, 2014
Indiana university, 107 S Indiana Ave
Bloomington, IN 47405 United States
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Data Mining for Good -- Department of Statistics, University of Indiana–Bloomington. Patrick Ball, speaker. October 20, 2014.  

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September 2014

Data Mining for Good: CJA Drink + Think

September 26, 2014
Center for Justice and Accountability, One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 406
San Francisco, CA 94102 United States
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At the Center for Justice and Accountability’s happy hour, “Drink and Think,” Patrick Ball spoke about “Data Mining for Good.” The talk included a discussion of how HRDAG brings human rights abusers to justice through data analysis, and HRDAG’s work conducting quantitative analysis for truth commissions, NGOs, the UN and other partners. The event was held at Eventbrite. More photos are below.       The Center for Justice and Accountability Young Professionals’ Committee for Human Rights September 16, 2014…

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August 2014

Human Rights Violations: How Do We Begin Counting the Dead?

August 7, 2014
Unnamed Venue Boston, MA United States + Google Map

ASA President Nathaniel Schenker (left) and Patrick Ball, August 2014. At the 2014 Joint Statistical Meetings, Patrick Ball discussed his invited paper, "Human Rights Violations: How Do We Begin Counting the Dead?" Also at the JSM, he was honored as a new Fellow of the American Statistical Association and inducted by ASA President Nathaniel Schenker. Joint Statistical Meetings August 7, 2014 Boston, Massachusetts Link to JSM 2014 online program Back to Talks

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Global Impact: Statistical Analyses of Conflict Data in Syria, Guatemala, and Colombia — Invited Papers.

August 5, 2014
Unnamed Venue Boston, MA United States + Google Map

“Global Impact: Statistical Analyses of Conflict Data in Syria, Guatemala, and Colombia — Invited Papers.” Joint Statistical Meetings. Shira Mitchell, Megan Price, Patrick Ball. Boston, Massachusetts, August 5, 2014. Slides.  

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June 2014

Record linkage and other statistical models for quantifying conflict casualties in Syria.

June 10, 2014
Durham Convention Center, 201 Foster Street
Durham, NC 27701 United States
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“Record linkage and other statistical models for quantifying conflict casualties in Syria.” International Symposium on Business and Industrial Statistics (ISBIS)/Conference of the ASA Section on Statistical Learning and Data Mining. Megan Price. Durham, North Carolina. June 10, 2014.  

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April 2014

You Are Not So Smart: How we miss what is missing and what to do about it

April 24, 2014

YANSS podcast 022 On the San Francisco program, You Are Not So Smart, HRDAG director of research Megan Price talked with host David McRaney about Syria, human rights violations, and statistical analysis. The topic was survivorship bias. Megan's part in the podcast begins around Minute 27. From the YANSS blog: "Unfortunately, survivorship bias stands between you and the epiphanies you seek." You Are Not So Smart March 11, 2014 (podcast April 24, 2014) San Francisco, California Link to YANSS podcast…

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March 2014

Pulling the Plug: Network Disruptions and Violence in the Syrian Conflict

March 26, 2014 - March 29, 2014
Sheraton Centre Toronto, 123 Queen Street West
Toronto, Canada
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At this year’s International Studies Association Annual Convention, Anita Gohdes presented a talk titled, “Pulling the Plug: Network Disruptions and Violence in the Syrian Conflict,” while director of research Megan Price served on the working group, “Global Trends in War, Conflict, and Political Violence.” International Studies Association Annual Convention March 26-29, 2014 Toronto, Canada Link to ISA 2014 program

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“Lightning Talk” at RightsCon 2014 – Using Math and Science to Count Killings in Syria

March 4, 2014

Megan Price at RightsCon 2014 In this afternoon "Lightning Talk" at RightsCon 2014, Megan Price spoke about the importance of using models to adjust for variability when reporting human rights violations and mentioned innovative tools that can be used for tracking abuses. RIGHTSCON March 4, 2014 San Francisco, California Link to RightsCon program Back to Talks

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February 2014

STRATA 2014 – Record Linkage and Other Statistical Models for Quantifying Conflict Casualties in Syria

February 13, 2014
Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054 United States
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How do we know how many people have been killed in Syria? The hard answer is we don't. In this talk, presented at Strata, Megan Price addresses how HRDAG uses random forests, multiple systems estimation, and various Python and R packages to estimate conflict casualties. STRATA February 13, 2014 Santa Clara, California Link to 10-minute talk on youtube Back to Talks

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December 2013

Data Mining for Good: Using random sampling, entity resolution, communications metadata, and statistical modeling to assist prosecutions for disappearance and genocide in Guatemala

December 20, 2013
Unnamed Venue Hamburg, Germany + Google Map

Data Mining for Good: Using random sampling, entity resolution, communications metadata, and statistical modeling to assist prosecutions for disappearance and genocide in Guatemala. Patrick Ball. Chaos Computer Club, Hamburg, December 20, 2013.

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October 2013

Counting Casualties: How the Human Rights Data Analysis Group Quantifies Conflict Violence

October 13, 2013
Delta Centre-Ville Hotel, 475 President-Kennedy Avenue
Montreal,
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Counting Casualties: How the Human Rights Data Analysis Group Quantifies Conflict Violence. Megan Price at the World Social Science Forum 2013. October 13, 2013.

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September 2013

Ford Institute presents the Counting Civilian Casualties Book Release

September 26, 2013

The Counting Civilian Casualties Book Release. Baruch Fischoff of Carnegie Mellon University, Patrick Ball of HRDAG (Patrick begins at 33:00), and more co-authors. Ford Institute, September 26, 2013.   ***** GSPIA Professor Taylor Seybolt, along with Carnegie Mellon's Jay D. Aronson and Baruch Fischhoff, present their new book "Counting Civilian Casualties: An Introduction to Recording and Estimating Nonmilitary Deaths in Conflict". The book contains contributions from the top researchers in the field, presenting case studies from Latin America, South America,…

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August 2013

Skeptically Speaking – Math on Trial

August 22, 2013
Skeptically Speaking, Podcast + Google Map

Math on Trial. Patrick Ball and Leila Schneps discuss how math can help (or hinder) the pursuit of justice. (Patrick begins at 36:30.) Moderated by Rachelle Saunders. Skeptically Speaking, August 22, 2013.   *** This week, guest host Rachelle Saunders explores the ways that math can help (and hinder) the pursuit of justice. She speaks to mathematician and University of Paris Professor Leila Schneps, co-author of the book Math on Trial: How Numbers Get Used and Abused in the Courtroom. And…

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May 2013

LASA 2013 – Death toll in Guatemala

May 30, 2013

The Death Toll in Guatemala. Patrick Ball explains the role of statistics and the need for a revised CEH estimate in Guatemala’s 36-year armed conflict. Latin American Studies Association meetings in Washington, DC, May 30 2013. *** Statistician Patrick Ball of Human Rights Data Analysis Group (hrdag.org) gives a talk on new ways to calculate the number of people who died in Guatemala's 36-year armed conflict. Latin American Studies Association (LASA) meetings in Washington, DC, on May 30 2013.

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Using Data to Prosecute Genocide

May 29, 2013
New America Foundation, 1899 L Street NW Suite 400
Washington DC, DC 20036 United States
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Using Data to Prosecute Genocide. Patrick Ball and Marta Elena Casaus. New America Foundation, May 29, 2013. *** On May 10, 2013, Guatemala made history when General Efraín Ríos Montt became the first former head of state to be tried and convicted for genocide in the courts of his own country. The trial revisited one of the most brutal cases of government repression in the Western Hemisphere—a 34-year civil conflict forged by the Cold War in which military-dominated regimes engaged…

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March 2013

Tech Challenge for Atrocity Prevention

March 8, 2013

Tech Challenge for Atrocity Prevention. Lawrence Woocher (SAIC) moderates this discussion with Patrick Ball as one of the guests. Humanity United and USAID, Google hangout, March 8, 2013. This Google+ Hangout features judges and winners from the USAID and Humanity United co-sponsored Tech Challenge for Atrocity Prevention (thetechchallenge.org), an effort aimed at identifying innovative applications of science and technology to prevent mass atrocities. Lawrence Woocher (SAIC) moderates this discussion on technology and human rights with Tech Challenge first round winners…

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October 2012

Making the Case: The Production and Consumption of Quantitative Data on Human Rights Abuses

October 10, 2012
International Institute – University of Michigan, 1080 S University Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 United States
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Making the Case: The Production and Consumption of Quantitative Data on Human Rights Abuses. Patrick Ball participates in Translating Human Rights: Bodies of Evidence. International Institute at the University of Michigan, October 2012. *** "Making the Case: The Production and Consumption of Quantitative Data on Human Rights Abuses" Speaker: Patrick Ball, Chief Scientist and Vice President, Human Rights Program, Benetech U-M Respondents: Andrew Herscher and Kiyoteru Tsutsui SHOW MORE

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June 2012

Counting the Toll: The Production and Consumption of Human Rights Data

June 15, 2012
Mozilla, 2 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94105 United States
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Counting the Toll: The Production and Consumption of Human Rights Data. Patrick Ball at Mozilla. June 2012. *** Patrick Ball has spent more than twenty years designing databases and conducting quantitative analyses for truth commissions, non-governmental organizations, international criminal tribunals, national tribunals, and United Nations missions in over twenty countries. Using examples from his projects in El Salvador, Kosovo, Colombia, Timor-Leste, and Sierra Leone, Patrick will explore how human rights statistics can be misleading -- and how the limitations can…

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April 2012

Duke University – Data Security or Death

April 21, 2012
Duke University Durham, NC United States + Google Map

Data Security or Death (or, how to preserve security and privacy in the face of adversarial surveillance). Tyler Dukes (The Reporters’ Lab, Duke University) moderates this discussion with Patrick Ball as one of the guests. (Podcast) 2012.

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October 2010

The Role of Databases in Transitional Justice Research

October 26, 2010
University of Ulster Belfast, Ireland + Google Map

The Role of Databases in Transitional Justice Research. Megan Price. University of Ulster, Belfast, Ireland, 26 October 2010. Stream Talk Here

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