Erika Mansnerus

University of Helsinki, 2011

• 19.9.-30.9.2011
• Lectures 12-14, Seminars 16-18, Daily
• Various locations in Main Building (Päärakennus, Fabianinkatu 33) and Porthania (Yliopistonkatu 3)
  
• Registration via WebOodi or during the first lecture.
• ECTS credits: see WebOodi (more info on the first lecture).

Lecturer
Dr Erika Mansnerus, LSE Health, London School of Economics
Contact email: modelsevidencepolicy ‘at’ gmail.com

Compensations

• Philosophy
• Science and Technology Studies
• Sociology
• TITEKO
• Environmental Policy

Course level
All interested international and domestic students across Helsinki area universities, departments and disciplines.

Aims of the course
This course provides an interdisciplinary account on models and computer simulations and their use in policy-making. The course focuses on how models are used in public health and climate research. The main aim is to give a broad view on how models are built, and what philosophical and sociological questions arise from the increased use of modelling techniques in applied fields. One important aspect of the use of models in policy is introduced by discussing the nature of evidence and recent trends studied as sociology of quantification. The course will conclude by extending the discussion to cover questions of risk and uncertainty and how they are addressed through modelling and simulation techniques.

After the course the student will

• have extensive knowledge of computational techniques (models and simulations) and the philosophical and sociological questions related to the increased use of these techniques
• have critical understanding on what evidence is and what is meant by evidence-based policies
• be able to discuss how modelling methods are used in governance of public health risks

Completion

• Attending to the lectures and seminars,
• Reading supplementary literature,
• Preparing brief summaries of the readings for the seminars
• Participating in joint discussion and
• Writing an essay

Outline of the course

I What are models?
Lecture 1: Philosophical and sociological issues in modelling
Lecture 2: Simulations as artificial nature
Lecture 3: Building models: interdisciplinary perspectives

 II What is evidence? Exploring the trend towards quantification
Lecture 4: Nature of evidence and evidence-based policy
Lecture 5: Sociology and philosophy of quantification

III Computational techniques in policy use: infectious disease models and climate models
Lecture 6: Developing computational techniques in infectious disease epidemiology, a historical overview
Lecture 7: Modelling pandemics
Lecture 8: Climate models

IV Governance of risk by modelling
Lecture 9: What is risk? Models and built-in uncertainties
Lecture 10: How do we use models in governance of risk?