Data for Health

Data for Health topic

Causal Effect Estimation in Observational Field Studies of Thermal Comfort

April 1, 2025
by Ruiji Sun. We introduce and apply regression discontinuity to thermal comfort field studies, which are typically observational. The method utilizes policy thresholds in China, where the winter district heating policy is based on cities' geographical locations relative to the Huai River. Using the regression discontinuity method, we quantify the causal effects of the experiment treatment (district heating) on the physical indoor environments and subjective responses of building occupants. In contrast, using conventional correlational analysis, we demonstrate that the correlation between indoor operative temperature and thermal sensation votes does not accurately reflect the causal relationship between the two. This highlights the importance of causal inference methods in thermal comfort field studies and other observational studies in building science where the regression discontinuity method might apply.

Looking Ahead: How Adolescents’ Consideration of Future Consequences Shapes Their Developmental Outcomes

March 25, 2025
by Elaine Luo. Adolescents constantly balance immediate impulses with long-term goals. Our research explored how adolescents differ in their tendency to think about immediate versus future consequences, and how these differences relate to academic performance, stress, and perceived life chances. Using Latent Profile Analysis, we identified three distinct groups: Indifferent (low consideration overall), Future-Focused (prioritizing future outcomes), and Dual-Focused (high consideration of both immediate and future outcomes). Results indicated the Dual-Focused adolescents had higher academic achievement, whereas the Future-Focused group perceived the most positive life prospects. A discussion on practical implications and future research direction for supporting balanced decision-making among adolescents is also provided.

Teaching Truth, Resisting Erasure: Disability Politics in a Changing America

February 25, 2025
by Jane (Mango) Angar. Disability is a social construct shaped by systemic exclusion rather than an inherent impairment. Society predominantly views disability through medical and economic lenses, leading to discrimination and marginalization. Disability rights have been hard-won through activism, yet disabled individuals still face poverty, social isolation, and violence. Recent policy rollbacks threaten disability protections, requiring vigilance from educators and advocates. Historical patterns show that marginalized groups are often the first targets of oppressive regimes. Teaching history with truth and resilience is an act of resistance. Activism, awareness, and collective action remain crucial in defending disability rights and promoting social justice.

Excel Data Analysis: Charts, Pivot Tables, and VLOOKUP

March 7, 2025, 1:00pm
This three-hour workshop will cover charts in more detail, review pivot tables, and the widely-used VLOOKUP function. We recommend first taking the introductory workshop Excel Data Analysis: Introduction.

Excel Data Analysis: Charts, Pivot Tables, and VLOOKUP

February 10, 2025, 2:00pm
This three-hour workshop will cover charts in more detail, review pivot tables, and the widely-used VLOOKUP function. We recommend first taking the introductory workshop Excel Data Analysis: Introduction.

Language Models in Mental Health Conversations – How Empathetic Are They Really?

December 3, 2024
by Sohail Khan. Language models are becoming integral to daily life as trusted sources of advice. While their utility has expanded from simple tasks like text summarization to more complex interactions, the empathetic quality of their responses is crucial. This article explores methods to assess the emotional appropriateness of these models, using metrics such as BLEU, ROUGE, and Sentence Transformers. By analyzing models like LLaMA in mental health dialogues, we learn that while they suffer through traditional word-based metrics, LLaMA's performance in capturing empathy through semantic similarity is promising. In addition, we must advocate for continuous monitoring to ensure these models support their users' mental well-being effectively.

Excel Data Analysis: Charts, Pivot Tables, and VLOOKUP

October 7, 2024, 2:00pm
This three-hour workshop will cover charts in more detail, review pivot tables, and the widely-used VLOOKUP function. We recommend first taking the introductory workshop Excel Data Analysis: Introduction.

Elaine (Hua) Luo

Data Science Fellow 2024-2025
Graduate School of Education

Elaine (Hua) Luo is a PhD candidate in the Graduate School of Education, School Psychology PhD program. Her research interests focus on adolescents’ identity development and well-being under the transactional influence of entities in their socio-ecological systems. In her research, Elaine has utilized not only quantitative but also qualitative and mixed methods to study her research topics of interest. Before coming to Berkeley, Elaine earned her Master’s in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education and her Bachelor of Art in Education Sciences from...

Excel Data Analysis

April 13, 2022, 9:00am
This is a three-hour introductory workshop that will provide an overview of Excel, with no prior experience assumed. Attendees will learn how to use functions for handling data and making calculations, how to build charts and pivot tables, and more.

Excel Data Analysis: Charts, Pivot Tables, and VLOOKUP

October 18, 2023, 1:00pm
This three-hour workshop will cover charts in more detail, review pivot tables, and the widely-used VLOOKUP function. We recommend first taking the introductory workshop Excel Data Analysis: Introduction.