Digital Humanities Blog

Good Data:  Data whose originator had good intentions:  The FEWS Net (Ethiopia): FEWS NET monitors and provides early warning analysis of ongoing, imminent, or emerging threats to food security and maintains the flexibility to analyze unanticipated crises around the world. Between 1983 and 1985 there was a heavy drought and famine in Ethiopia particularly in the northern region.  FEWS NET has significantly helped Ethiopia by providing early warnings and detailed food security analyses, enabling timely responses to famine threats. By monitoring factors like rainfall, crop yields, market prices, and nutrition data, it predicts food shortages and identifies at-risk populations. These forecasts have allowed the Ethiopian government and humanitarian organizations to prepare in advance, mobilize resources, and implement targeted interventions, such as food distribution and cash transfers. The FEWS NET is data being used for a good purpose that has a positive life saving impac...

Data whose originator had good intentions: Eugenics: Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices aimed at improving the genetic quality of a human population, often through selective breeding or sterilization. The concept has its origins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, drawing on advancements in genetics and evolutionary theory. Okay labeling this as "good intentions" is a stretch but for the sake of the argument given by the leaders of the eugenics movement, let us take their word for it and assume this was an attempt at a scientific breakthrough Reflection: Eugenics is an immoral and pseudoscientific theory that claims it is possible to perfect people and groups through genetics and the scientific laws of inheritance. Eugenicists used an incorrect and prejudiced understanding of the work of Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel to support the idea of “racial improvement.” In their quest for a perfect society, eugenicists labelled many people as “unfit,” including eth...

  "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." — Joseph Goebbels The other day in class, the class got into a very active discussion about misinformation, which reminded me of a debate round I had at a tournament. The resolution stated, “When in conflict, censorship should be preferred over misinformation.” I was on the affirmative side, and when my coach saw that I chose the resolution, he had to slap his own head, disappointed in me for choosing a resolution that was heavily negation-grounded. However, with more research and conversation, I realized that there is such widespread misinformation that there is room to make this argument, which by itself seems crazy. This reflects the modern-day spread of information. We are in an age where we are surrounded by information, and being informed has a significant effect on the human brain. It makes us identify patterns and create our own narratives. We also have mediums to share ...

This is data from a company's defect chart. A defect chart is used in supply chain management for quality control. In my Supply Chain Management class, we're learning about the stages and factors that influence supply chain management, covering topics such as inventory, planning, accounting, human resources, and quality control. A defect chart depicts the defects reported in a manufacturing context at each hour of operations. There are three different ways to visualize this data, each highlighting different aspects of quality control. It is the responsibility of the operations manager, or whoever is in charge, to discern which visualization method is most relevant for showing these effects. The three main ways to visualize this data are through a histogram, a Pareto chart, and a bar graph, each serving a specific purpose in quality control. Paetro chart: Useful for identifying the "vital few" factors, by frequency. Histogram: Histograms are commonly used for process c...

  Major: Computer Science Interdisciplinary Degree Advisors: Pete Tucker (Computer Science Department)  `     Qian Mao (Computer Science Department)      Michael Ingram (Communications Department/Director Of Forensics)      Dawn Keig (Business Department)  Pretext: I am a junior that recently changed my BA in Computer Science and International Project Management to the BA interdisciplinary degree  N.B: I started studying at whitworth before the shared curriculum changes were applied in 2024, courses not given (CORE-150,CORE-250 and etc) have already been taken. N.B: Since I am halfway done with my degree I will be referencing my past college career and plan for the future. Made up course description: SCRUM 101 (Optional Capstone only given when SE is given) :  Teaches the different practices of Scrum by assigning students in the class as Scrum Masters within their respective software engineering groups in their soft...