datajournalism

Amazing Datajournalism Tool: Build Your Own International Human Development Index

November 5, 2010 by Einar Thorsen Leave a Comment

Be sure to check out this amazing new website from the UN that allows you to build your own International Human Development Index by dynamically changing the criteria used. Incredibly the website also allows you to upload your own data sets for inclusion in the index, or download the official ones in spreadsheet format for analysis or custom mashups.

The UN recently released its Human Development Report 2010 (20th Anniversary Edition), entitled The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development. Drawing on a phenomenal range of statistics, the index is intended to to stimulate global, regional and national policy discussions on issues that are relevant to human development.

Courtesy of Vox Publica.

The app that bridges them all, also a future for journalism?

September 9, 2010 by Einar Thorsen Leave a Comment

Martin Belam:

Georgi Kobilarov illustrated the difference that aggregated linked data should make in the lives of people. He said that on his smartphone, he can download apps from Qype and Yelp and Foursquare and any number of data providers about listings or venues, using geolocation to tailor the content to where he is. But he doesn't want to have to check a multitude of data sources to find out what to do. He doesn't care about the apps themselves, or the app provider, he cares about the information that will help him plan his evening. He wants an app that bridges them all, and uses information from Facebook and Twitter to say 'There is a pretty lousy bar around the corner, but two of your old high school friends are there, so it is probably your best bet right now'.

The news and journalism version: "Accident has happened in a remote location, you have friends currently on vacation there… send them a message on Facebook to see if they are ok?"

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Coins database: what the Guardian’s specialists think

June 4, 2010 by Einar Thorsen Leave a Comment

Juliette Jowit on the environment:

The most striking thing about Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is simply that more than half last year's £3bn budget was spent on the UK's nuclear waste legacy.

[…]

Act on CO2 is only a small part of overall spending on reducing pollution (£800m went on insulating buildings alone), oil and gas makes up most of UK energy but a relatively tiny spend (excepting their gargantuan tax concessions). But the raw numbers reflect criticisms of previous government policy: that it did not talk tough enough to voters on emissions, it hypocritically talked up a zero-carbon economy while encouraging fossil fuels, and it did not take adaptation seriously enough.

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