Big Data - Socio economic perspectives by Shanta R Yapa

Big DataSocio Economic Perspectives

Shanta R YapaEpic Technology Group

Shanta R Yapa, FITIS TechForum on Big Data, April 28,2015 - Colombo

BIG DATA

EFFECTIVEANALYTICS


Big Data and Analytics

• Analytics

– Descriptive

– Predictive

– Prescriptive


Big Data to solve Socio Economic issues …

• First, making big data more readily availablecan increase the speed and accuracy withwhich we deploy social interventions.

• Big data also enables assessment, allowingpractitioners to expose variability in theeffectiveness of a solution and potentiallyimprove it.


• Big data can classify target populations ofbeneficiaries into smaller segments, helpingorganizations to identify specific needs andtailor initiatives to ensure maximum impact.

• The analysis of big data can also improvedecision making, for example, by making riskassessment faster and more accurate.


• Finally, analysis of big data can enable thecreation of new products, services, andbusiness models to serve the “bottom of thepyramid” or other disadvantaged consumers.

http://voices.mckinseyonsociety.com/harnessing-big-data-to-address-the-worlds-problems/#sthash.FzpPxVMN.dpu


Where to start?

• The best way to proceed with Big Data: start with a question and not data.


Areas Big Data can assist?

• In almost all areas!

• Big Data can assist us in the areas of resourceallocation, demand/supply management,waste control, productivity, social issues,public welfare, health and safety etc.

• Let’s go through some of the problems wehave to solve.


Social issues - few examples

• Road Accidents

• Waste in Agriculture

• Corruption

• F&B habits

• Fertilizers/chemicals

• Disaster management

• Road transport

• Migrant workers

• Digital divide

• Surveillance

• Financial inclusion

• Money laundering

• Supply chain issues

• Manufacturing

• Transfer policy!

• Governance

• Social media/internet

• Fishing

• Weather

• Diseases etc etc.


Road Accidents

• Once in 3+ hours someone is killed due to a road accident in Sri Lanka!

• It is the number one cause for deaths??

• Social cost is huge.

• Reasons for accidents

• Can big data resolve this?


Crash analytics: How data can help eliminate highway deaths

• 4Es in road safety; Enforcement, Engineering, Education and Emergency medical services

• Data from the 4 Es can include:– Vehicle speed.

– Traffic volume at the time of the crash.

– Law enforcement crash investigation information.

– Emergency medical response information.

– Road sensor and design data.

– Effectiveness of public education campaigns

• Plan and implement policies that will reduce crashes


Excessive waste in agriculture

• Huge mismatch between supply and demand

• Resource allocation/usage

• Excessive usage of fertilizer (subsidized?) / chemicals

• Post harvest storage/transportation


Technology in Agriculture

How United States is using technology

• In early 1900s, # 1 with 85% in agriculture

• In 2000? Guess what??

_______________________________________

There: A sensor imbedded in a pallet of tomatoes can monitor the temperature hourly while the produce is in transit!

Here: ??



Corruption

• Hot (and a stale) topic

• Although not proved allegations are serious!

• Can we use big data to make all development projects in our country transparent? GOSL will buy.

F&B habits

• Excessive sugar consumption

– a sweet nation, but not so sweet consequences

• Highest alcohol consumption

– Thithata matha!

• How can Big Data help us to address these problems?


Fertilizer & Agro Chemicals

• Excessive usage

• Government subsidies

• Cost vs benefits

• Enormous social costs

– Waste

– Health hazards


Disasters

• Disaster preparedness

• Disaster management


Use of Internet

• Google search

– Who is doing what?

– Have you come across any corrective measures?

• Is it not a problem?

• How big data can analyze the issue and help policy makers?


Fishing

• An industry with so much of potential but not harnessed satisfactorily

• Indian Fishermen in Northern Sea

– Unresolved problem

– Crucial for bilateral relations

• An international problem! Can you solve this?


Road transport

• Road usage

• Cost of fuel

• Congestion

• Driving patterns

• How Big Data can solve these issues?


Migrant workers

• Top forex earner

• Skilled Vs unskilled

• Inward remittances

• Social issues

• What attempts we have made to use Big Data? This can be your opportunity.


Money Laundering

• Major problem for the society

• Key concern of banks

• AML software is already available.

• So as software in Fraud detection.

• What else we can do with Big Data, locally?



Weather

• Key concern for everyone.

• Becoming unpredictable.

• Established methods cannot cope up with current changes.

• Can we use Big Data? Can Sri Lankans do this?



Supply Chain issues

• Local and international

– (not) strategically located

– Excessive lead times affect competitiveness

– Inventory costs/ JIT?

• Big data can certainly address some of the key issues faced by enterprises.


Manufacturing

• Size of local market hinders capital intensive production

• Trend: in-house manufacturing vs assembly, out sourcing

• Can Big Data assist us to make SL a hub for assembly operations?


Transfer policy

• Sounds crazy? Understand the reality.

• Transfer policy of state sector and its impact on economy and society

– Political victimization vs poor planning

– Impact on productivity, attitude, satisfaction etc

• Can we use big data to analyze and rectify?


Governance

• Perhaps a term we are yet to understand (like Big Data!)

• Corporate Governance

• How Big Data can help us? Think.


Social Media

• Mobile penetration has exceeded 100%?

• Digital divide still prevails.

• How best we can use Big Data of social media for the betterment of society? Think! Your solution can change our destiny.


Why censor?

• Reverse-Engineering Chinese Censorship.– Gary King, Professor and director of the Institute for Quantitative

Social Science

• “largest selective suppression of human expression in history”: the Chinese government’s censorship of social media.

• Why censor?

• Sensitive topics tended to share a possibility for collective action. – For instance, in the wake of the meltdown of Japan’s nuclear plant at Fukushima, a

rumor circulated that iodine would help the effects of radiation poisoning, prompting a mad rush to buy salt in Zhejiang province.


Caution!

• Paralysis by analysis

– Over relying on data and analysis

• Logic and Creativity

– A paradox: Logic Vs Creativity

– Use of data can push us to one side of the continuum? At the expense of innovations??

• Objectivity Vs Subjectivity

– Positivist approach


Opportunities!

• Approach: Reactive to pro-active

• Price takers to price makers

• Monitoring: Lag indicators to lead indicators

• Ethics: quantitative to qualitative

• Skills: technical to conceptual


Way forward…

• Start with a question and not data.

• As discussed, we have so many socio-economic problems to solve.

• The nation is relying on you! This is your turn to contribute. Use Big Data to solve socio-economic problems.


Thank You!

[email protected]

LinkedIn – Shanta Rajapaksha Yapa

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