Podcast: The IDEMS Podcast

Lily and David discuss the significant influence of data collectors on survey variability and data quality, using examples from West Africa. They highlight the importance of thorough enumerator training to address issues like inconsistent definitions of household size.

In this episode Lily and David delve into the ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) tables, focusing on the sum of squares. They discuss how it helps account for data variability, and the difference between sum of squares and mean squares. The episode also touches on the limitations of p-values and emphasizes the ANOVA table’s value as…

Lily and David discuss the application of ANOVA in agroecology research, focusing on its historical roots and its use as a descriptive tool. They emphasize the importance of understanding the degrees of freedom in the ANOVA table, highlighting its impact on effective data analysis and model fitting. This episode is part of the celebration of…

Lily talks with Roger about an agricultural experiment in West Africa that revealed the impact of termite mounds on crop yield data. The discussion focuses on handling unexplained variability and the importance of recognizing outliers. Roger explains the necessity of removing certain plots to reduce data variability and achieve clearer results.

In this episode, Lucie and David discuss the complexities of sampling in research. They explore common misconceptions, and introduce three levels of sampling complexity. The episode highlights the necessity of understanding population structure and the compromises involved in effective sampling.

In this episode, Santiago and David delve into David’s experiences at the Joint Maths Meeting. They highlight talks on applied category theory, reflecting on the importance of adapting presentations to different audiences. David shares insights on the role and impact of math camps in low-resource environments, comparing them to similar US-based initiatives. The discussion also…

In this episode, Santiago and David discuss David’s insightful experiences at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) in the U.S. They explore the significance of collaboration, the role of open educational resources like WeBWork, and the challenges and opportunities in both high-resource American universities and low-resource environments.

Lily and David discuss the nuanced distinction between managing and leading. They compare structured roles to leadership that emerges naturally, and consider leadership as servitude, given versus taken leadership, and the inverted pyramid approach that supports team members to take ownership and grow.

Lily and David discuss IDEMS’ guiding principle of embracing diversity. They explore the benefits and significant challenges of this principle, including personal experiences and the organisation’s journey. Despite difficulties, they highlight how diversity has strengthened IDEMS, providing adaptability and unique learnings, making IDEMS stronger as an organisation.

This is a follow-up to episodes 216 and 223, it is recommended to listen to those first. In this episode, Santiago and founding director David consider the nuances of achieving personalised education through the five quiz model. They highlight the importance of community involvement and localised context in creating adaptive, relevant learning experiences.