Harvard Case Studies Free

[Giorgio Aguilar]

Normativecase studies (NCS) are a research and teaching tool developed by Meira Levinson, the Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), and used by educators around the globe.

Written in clear and accessible prose, often narrative in form, normative case studies are designed to be read in about 10 minutes and then immediately discussed in an educational, professional, or community context.

Normative case studies enable users to explore the meaning, relevance, and applicability of multiple values as well as to discuss how to balance or realize those values in light of a range of practical challenges.

In interviews conducted by the H&LS curriculum subcommittee, University stakeholders consistently requested materials that could convey accurate historical information while also helping participants discuss difficult topics in a supportive and inclusive way, regardless of their background knowledge. Normative case studies are designed to do exactly that.

H&LS normative case study materials can be used by students, faculty, staff, alumni, other University affiliates, and members of the larger community to guide collective inquiry about Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery. They are also designed to be of use to non-Harvard affiliates who are interested in exploring the impact and legacy of enslavement and colonialism in higher education more broadly.

NCS may be used in: high school, undergraduate, and graduate courses (particularly but not only in history, education, public policy, philosophy, and general education); orientation programming; cocurricular and extracurricular settings; professional development workshops for staff and/or faculty; alumni events; and other small group facilitation settings.

We will explain how to perform the standard processing and normalization steps, starting with raw data, to get to the point where one can investigate relevant biological questions. Throughout the case studies, we will make use of exploratory plots to get a general overview of the shape of the data and the result of the experiment. We start with RNA-seq data analysis covering basic concepts and a first look at FASTQ files. We will also go over quality control of FASTQ files; aligning RNA-seq reads; visualizing alignments and move on to analyzing RNA-seq at the gene-level : counting reads in genes; Exploratory Data Analysis and variance stabilization for counts; count-based differential expression; normalization and batch effects. Finally, we cover RNA-seq at the transcript-level : inferring expression of transcripts (i.e. alternative isoforms); differential exon usage. We will learn the basic steps in analyzing DNA methylation data, including reading the raw data, normalization, and finding regions of differential methylation across multiple samples. The course will end with a brief description of the basic steps for analyzing ChIP-seq datasets, from read alignment, to peak calling, and assessing differential binding patterns across multiple samples.

Given the diversity in educational background of our students we have divided the series into seven parts. You can take the entire series or individual courses that interest you. If you are a statistician you should consider skipping the first two or three courses, similarly, if you are biologists you should consider skipping some of the introductory biology lectures. Note that the statistics and programming aspects of the class ramp up in difficulty relatively quickly across the first three courses. By the third course will be teaching advanced statistical concepts such as hierarchical models and by the fourth advanced software engineering skills, such as parallel computing and reproducible research concepts.

The following cases are publicly available to access below. For the multimedia cases (PEL-097, PEL-098, PEL-099), when redirected to Harvard Business Press, make a free educator's account, create a coursepack, select "institution pay" (cost remains free), add the multimedia case to the coursepack, add an enrollment number, and publish the coursepack to access the multimedia case link that you can share with students/participants. Harvard Business Publishing can answer additional questions about accessing multimedia cases. For the multimedia cases, printer-friendly accessible versions are available upon request by emailing pe...@gse.harvard.edu.

The following case studies are available for purchase from Harvard Ed Press. If you are interested in receiving the teaching note(s) for the KC-designated cases listed below, please email he...@harvard.edu.

The program has developed an extensive catalogue of case studies addressing crisis events. These cases serve as an important tool for classroom study, prompting readers to think about the challenges different types of crises pose for public safety officials, political leaders, and the affected communities at large.

The following cases, here organized into three broad categories, are available through the Harvard Kennedy School Case Program; click on a case title to read a detailed abstract and purchase the document. A selection of these cases are also available in the textbooks Managing Crises: Responses to Large-Scale Emergencies (Howitt and Leonard, with Giles, CQ Press) and Public Health Preparedness: Case Studies in Policy and Management (Howitt, Leonard, and Giles, APHA Press), both of which contain fifteen cases as well as corresponding conceptual material to support classroom instruction.

Surviving the Surge: New York City Hospitals Respond to Superstorm Sandy

Exploring the experiences of three Manhattan-based hospitals during Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the case focuses on decisions made by each institution about whether to shelter-in-place or evacuate hundreds of medically fragile patients -- the former strategy running the risk of exposing individuals to dangerous and life-threatening conditions, the latter being an especially complex and difficult process, not without its own dangers. "Surviving the Surge" illustrates the very difficult trade-offs hospital administrators and local and state public health authorities grappled with as Sandy bore down on New York and vividly depicts the ramifications of these decisions, with the storm ultimately inflicting serious damage on Manhattan and across much of the surrounding region. (Included in Howitt, Leonard, and Giles, Public Health Preparedness)

The 2010 Chilean Mining Rescue (A and B)

On August 5, 2010, 700,000 tons of rock caved in Chile's San Jos mine. The collapse buried 33 miners at a depth almost twice the height of the Empire State Building-over 600 meters (2000 feet) below ground. Never had a recovery been attempted at such depths, let alone in the face of challenges like those posed by the San Jos mine: unstable terrain, rock so hard it defied ordinary drill bits, severely limited time, and the potentially immobilizing fear that plagued the buried miners. The case describes the ensuing efforts that drew the resources of countless people and multiple organizations in Chile and around the world.

Thin on the Ground: Deploying Scarce Resources in the October 2007 Southern California Wildfires

When wildfires swept across Southern California in October 2007, firefighting resources were stretched dangerously thin. Readers are prompted to put themselves in the shoes of public safety authorities and consider how organizations can best address resource scarcities in advance of and during emergency situations.

Gridlock in Texas (A and B)

As Hurricane Rita bore down on the Houston metro area in mid-September 2005, just a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the Gulf Coast, millions of people flocked to the roadways. Part A details the massive gridlock that ensued, illustrating the challenges of implementing safe evacuations and of communicating effectively amidst great fear. Part B explores post-storm efforts to improve evacuation policies and procedures -- and how the resulting plans measured up in 2008, when the area was once again under threat, this time from Hurricane Ike.

Hurricane Katrina: (A) Preparing for the Big One, and (B) Responding to an "Ultra-Catastrophe" in New Orleans

Exploring the failed response to Hurricane Katrina and its implications for the greater New Orleans area, the case begins with a review of pre-event planning and preparedness efforts. Part B details the largely ineffective governmental response to the rapidly escalating crisis. (Included in Howitt & Leonard, Managing Crises; Also available in abridged form.)

Rebuilding Aceh: Indonesia's BRR Spearheads Post-Tsunami Recovery (Case and Epilogue)

The December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami caused tremendous damage and suffering on several continents, with Indonesia's Aceh Province, located on the far northern tip of Sumatra Island, experiencing the very worst. In the tsunami's wake, the Indonesian government faced a daunting task of implementing a large-scale recovery effort, and to coordinate the many reconstruction projects that soon began to emerge across Aceh, Indonesia's president established a national-level, ad hoc agency, which came to be known by its acronym BRR. This case examines the challenges encountered by BRR's leadership as it sought to implement an effective recovery process.

"Almost a Worst Case Scenario:" The Baltimore Tunnel Fires of 2001 (A, B, and C)

When a train carrying hazardous materials derailed under downtown Baltimore, a stubborn underground fire severely challenged emergency responders. Readers are prompted to give particular attention to the significant challenges of managing a multi-organizational response. (Included in Howitt & Leonard, Managing Crises)

The Tzu Chi Foundation's China Relief Mission

Tzu Chi is one of the largest charities in Taiwan, and one of the swiftest and most effective relief organizations internationally. Rooted in the value of compassion, the organization has many unusual operating features -- including having no long term plan. This case explores the basic operating approach of the organization and invites students to explain the overall effectiveness and success of the organization and its surprising success (as a faith-based, Taiwanese, direct-relief organization -- all of which are more or less anathema to the Chinese government) in securing an operating license in China.

3a8082e126