Comments on: Fostering Citizenship with Transparency and Active Listening http://codeforamerica.org/2010/02/10/fostering-citizenship-with-transparency-and-active-listening/ Connecting city governments and Web 2.0 talent. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:37:52 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: On Government Big and Small. And Weeding. » Code for America http://codeforamerica.org/2010/02/10/fostering-citizenship-with-transparency-and-active-listening/comment-page-1/#comment-267 On Government Big and Small. And Weeding. » Code for America Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:27:43 +0000 http://codeforamerica.org/?p=241#comment-267 [...] our lofty ambitions and the thoughtful service of our every day needs, and most importantly, our part as citizens in both.  At this point in the evolution of our society, neither big government nor small government is [...] [...] our lofty ambitions and the thoughtful service of our every day needs, and most importantly, our part as citizens in both.  At this point in the evolution of our society, neither big government nor small government is [...]

]]> By: Amy http://codeforamerica.org/2010/02/10/fostering-citizenship-with-transparency-and-active-listening/comment-page-1/#comment-183 Amy Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:41:42 +0000 http://codeforamerica.org/?p=241#comment-183 Great post, I'm curious where SeeClickFix fits into your thinking on this and how we might improve the tools we have in place? Great post,

I’m curious where SeeClickFix fits into your thinking on this and how we might improve the tools we have in place?

]]> By: Justin Massa http://codeforamerica.org/2010/02/10/fostering-citizenship-with-transparency-and-active-listening/comment-page-1/#comment-16 Justin Massa Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:52:38 +0000 http://codeforamerica.org/?p=241#comment-16 Awesome post, but I think that software design / code is only 1/2 the challenge. Data is just as important. In the example that you cite, being able to correspond broken street lights to crime assumes not only that crime data is transparent (not always the case but increasingly so), but also that the data is reliable and contains the kinds of information necessary to draw those types of conclusions. Just this week, the NYTimes pointed out how crime stats are not always super reliable: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/nyregion/07crime.html Discerning the difference between correlation and causation, and other limits of the data itself, is vital. We need to get the code right, but the greatest code in the world will not overcome the challenges of messy, incomplete, or otherwise flawed tables. Civic applications require high quality data and a deep understanding of what the data does a does not 'say' in order to be effective. Awesome post, but I think that software design / code is only 1/2 the challenge. Data is just as important.

In the example that you cite, being able to correspond broken street lights to crime assumes not only that crime data is transparent (not always the case but increasingly so), but also that the data is reliable and contains the kinds of information necessary to draw those types of conclusions. Just this week, the NYTimes pointed out how crime stats are not always super reliable: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/nyregion/07crime.html

Discerning the difference between correlation and causation, and other limits of the data itself, is vital. We need to get the code right, but the greatest code in the world will not overcome the challenges of messy, incomplete, or otherwise flawed tables. Civic applications require high quality data and a deep understanding of what the data does a does not ’say’ in order to be effective.

]]> By: Ben http://codeforamerica.org/2010/02/10/fostering-citizenship-with-transparency-and-active-listening/comment-page-1/#comment-14 Ben Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:39:49 +0000 http://codeforamerica.org/?p=241#comment-14 Great post, I'm curious where SeeClickFix fits into your thinking on this and how we might improve the tools we have in place? Great post,

I’m curious where SeeClickFix fits into your thinking on this and how we might improve the tools we have in place?

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