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Data Science

App predicts risk of developing hernia following abdominal surgery
person with IV holding a cellphone

App predicts risk of developing hernia following abdominal surgery

A Penn-developed app can predict the likelihood that a patient will develop an incisional hernia following abdominal surgery, utilizing electronic health records to identify the most common risk factors for patients.

Penn Today Staff

Who made that decision: You or an algorithm?
drawing of a head and neck and shoulders with what looks like wheel machinery in the brain to indicate the concept of an algorithm.

Who made that decision: You or an algorithm?

Wharton’s Kartik Hosanagar’s new book, “A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control,” examines how algorithms influence our decisions.

Penn Today Staff

Behind the scenes, complex disease surveillance is protects the campus community
An aerial view of buildings and a stadium in Philadelphia.

Behind the scenes, complex disease surveillance is protects the campus community

Beyond promoting vaccines and overall health education, Campus Health, the public health arm of Student Health Service, is watching for clusters of common illnesses, unusual diagnoses, and anything out of the ordinary.

Michele W. Berger

The math behind March Madness
a close-up of a basketball play drawn on a chalkboard

The math behind March Madness

A Q&A with statistician Shane Jensen, who discusses the math behind sports team rankings, why March Madness has so many underdog victories, and how technology might change how analysts study sports teams in the future.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Behind the scenes of election night projections
John Lapinski surrounded by Penn undergraduate workers with NBC's Elections Unit Penn Political Science Professor John Lapinski, third from right, poses with Penn undergraduate students working at the NBC Elections Unit in November 2016. (Photo: Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies)

Behind the scenes of election night projections

John Lapinski, director of elections at NBC and the Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science at Penn, discusses projecting elections and what to expect from the midterms.
Linguistic red flags from Facebook posts can predict future depression diagnoses
The new study reveals that indicators of the condition included mentions of hostility and loneliness, words like “tears” and “feelings,” and use of more first-person pronouns like “I” and “me.”

The new study reveals that indicators of the condition included mentions of hostility and loneliness, words like “tears” and “feelings,” and use of more first-person pronouns like “I” and “me.”

Linguistic red flags from Facebook posts can predict future depression diagnoses

The language people use in these social media posts can make these predictions as accurately as the tools clinicians use in medical settings to screen for the disease.

Michele W. Berger , Michele W. Berger , Katie Delach

Wharton receives $50 million gift from Marc J. Rowan and Carolyn Rowan
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Wharton receives $50 million gift from Marc J. Rowan and Carolyn Rowan

The largest single gift the school has ever received, it will support the Penn Wharton Budget Model, and help recruit distinguished professors and appoint Rowan Fellows for five-year terms.

Penn Today Staff

Culture and technology scholar Julia Ticona studies the promise and perils of the gig economy
julia_ticona

Julia Ticona, assistant professor of communication at the Annenberg School for Communication

Culture and technology scholar Julia Ticona studies the promise and perils of the gig economy

The new faculty member at the Annenberg School for Communication has researched the underrepresentation of women in the media's coverage of the gig economy, and the reliance on technology, specifically the cell phone, on gig workers and the working class, arguing that it acts as a lifeline for finding jobs when internet access is lacking.

Penn Today Staff