[Air-L] Online Seminar Series of the Data Methods Initiative

[Marcel Garz]

The Data Methods Initiative (https://datamethodsinitiative.org/) is a collaborative academic group committed to promoting the use of computational methods (e.g., deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision) in political science, communications, internet research, and other disciplines.
Next talk: "Towards Efficient and Accessible Geoparsing of Local Media: A Benchmark Dataset and LLM-based Approach" by Simona Bisiani (Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI) on October 1, 1:15 - 2:45 pm CET.
This seminar introduces an innovative computational framework for extracting geographic references in local news, leveraging open-source, locally-run large language models. The first segment details the methodology, highlights its advantages over traditional approaches, and illustrates its application in identifying spatial patterns in news coverage-shedding light on media deserts and information inequalities across communities. A code demonstration will showcase the implementation using LMUK-Geo, a newly developed annotated corpus of UK local news articles designed for geoparsing evaluation. Attendees will leave with actionable knowledge to integrate these tools and methods into their research on local media landscapes and geographic trends.
More info at https://datamethodsinitiative.org/