Menu Close

Articles on Data analytics

Displaying 41 - 60 of 62 articles

It’s a lot for a person to puzzle out… call in the computers! Shaury Nash

How computers help biologists crack life’s secrets

Modern biological research relies on big data analytics. Vast reservoirs of memory and powerful computing ability mean machines find patterns and make meta-analyses and even predictions for scientists.
The Large Hadron Collider is playing a key role in enabling the collection of big data. Supplied

The big data challenge and how Africa can benefit

Big data is about processing large amounts of data. It is often associated with multiplicities of data. But the ability to generate data outpaces the ability to store it.
What you get out is what you put in. Keys image via www.shutterstock.com

Big Data analyses depend on starting with clean data points

Analyzing big data sets holds the promise of big insights. But the axiom “garbage in, garbage out” is particularly apt, since conclusions can be only as good as the raw data itself.
Governments produce enormous amounts of data. The open data movement wants to make that available to all citizens. r2hox/Flickr

Good governance and active citizenship require open data

The open data movement is gaining momentum but we need to reflect on our priorities and values in order to make further progress.
The consent policies of popular websites would take a month to read. Perhaps including a sign like this would be a simpler solution. Shutterstock

Personal privacy is eroding as consent policies of Google and Facebook evoke ‘fantasy world’

We live in a world increasingly dominated by our personal data. Some of those data we choose to reveal, for example, through social media, email and the billions – yes, billions – of messages, photos and…
Big Data also has an eye on the game. intelfreepress

Big data’s arrival in sport is changing the rules of the game

In sport we don’t just want to know who won. We now want to know how to replicate success and then improve on it. And to do this, we’re using data – and lots of it. The field of “big data” analytics has…
Don’t look a big data gift horse in the mouth. Horse graphic by Yganko/Shutterstock

Is big data heading for its ‘horsemeat moment’?

There have been so many leaks, hacks and scares based on misuse or misappropriation of personal data that any thought that “big data” could provide benefits rather than only opportunities for harm may…
Consumers are faced with myriad choices when they come to buy a car. Shutterstock

Small, not big data key to working out what consumers want

Corporations everywhere are hoovering up petabytes of data in a bid to understand and predict consumer preferences. But what if they’re missing the point, and should instead focus on “small data”? In a…
You can shine light on a dog, but it’s still a dog. cabancreative/Flickr

Most ‘big data’ marketing is a waste of time, and here’s why

A passer-by happens upon a drunk searching for a lost wallet under a streetlight. With nothing in plain sight, the passer-by asks “Where did you drop your wallet?”. “Over there,” gestures the drunk across…
The combination of social, mobile, cloud and data analytics is offering small firms new potential. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Flickr

Small business is missing the mobile, social, cloud revolution

Most companies that live and breathe the online revolution are not tech startups, but smart smaller firms that use online tools to run their core business better: to cut costs, reach customers and suppliers…
The disease is written in our DNA code… somewhere. www.shutterstock.aom

Diving deep into data to crack the gene code on disease

The key to understanding disease is in our DNA – the human genome which contains the instructions on how our body should develop and grow. The key to progress in genomics research is in combining as much…
So many people, so much data. Flickr/Fran Simó

Explainer: what is big data?

Big Data, as the name implies, relates to very large sets of data collected through free or commercial services on the internet. This massive amount of data arises from sensors, posts to social networking…
Big Data can and is being used for good, but greater transparency is required to remove the ‘creepy’ factor. Shutterstock.com

Taking the ‘creepy’ out of Big Data

Big Data has a reputation for being creepy; the domain of “Big Business” and “Big Government”. At best it’s the driver of relentless advertising, uniquely targeted and eerily reminiscent of our most recent…

Top contributors

More