Tag: critique

  • The New American Center

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    Brendan Barry
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    NBC News and Esquire magazine published results from their August survey of some 2000+ respondents that attempted to define the New American Center, i.e. the political persuasions of the majority of the country excepting the radical right and the loony left. For the purposes of Coffee Spoons, I am most interested in looking at the…

  • The Future of Data Visualisation

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    Brendan Barry
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    Happy Friday, everyone. According to xkcd, I am failing the future test. That is to say, by 2019, I will be unable to communicate data through infographics or create data visualisations. Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.

  • Paying a Bribe

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Some say bribes grease the wheels of business. But if that is the case, where are the greasiest wheels? This interactive piece from the BBC showcases an interesting story. It maps who has paid bribes and the value thereof. Then it looks at corruption in the different sectors of the country and which is perceived…

  • Whip Counts to Authorise Force in Syria

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    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    I was catching up on some news tonight and I came upon an unhelpful graphic that was supposed to be helping me understand the whip count (who is voting yes or no) for authorising the use of force in Syria. Below is the original graphic from Think Progress. I struggled, however, to directly compare the…

  • Charting and Mapping Income Mobility

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    After two weeks out of the country, I come back and find early this morning (thanks, jet lag) an interactive article published by the New York Times on income mobility. What does that mean? From a medium side, a long narrative interspersed with charts and graphics with which the user can interact to uncover specific…

  • Gay Acceptance

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Last week I looked at a piece from the Washington Post about the possible impact of the Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage in the United States. But with the rulings yesterday, we step back and look at globally how the progression of gay rights has taken steps forward or backward. The National Post looked…

  • Tax Breaks for the Wealthy

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    Brendan Barry
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    In today’s post we look at a small interactive piece from the Washington Post. Everybody pays taxes. And everybody seeks to find ways to pay less in taxes. This interactive stacked bar chart (and bar matrix) examines how much the different available tax benefits help Americans, grouped into income quintiles. The measure is dollars, not…

  • Plastic Surgery

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    This Friday we look at plastic or cosmetic surgery. Because you should always feel better about yourself before the weekend begins. The work comes from the National Post and it looks at the popularity of specific types of surgeries for men and women over the last several years. It’s a nice use of small multiples,…

  • Black and White Maps

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Rarely do I have criticism for infographics or pieces published by the New York Times, and admittedly this time I no longer have the original. However, in May, the Times published a map that was printed in black and white in their paper. I could not make heads or tails of what the map was…

  • Piracy on the Seas

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Today’s post looks at an interactive graphic from the Los Angeles Times. The subject matter is piracy and the piece has three distinct views, the second of which is displayed here. Generally speaking, the package is put together fairly well. My biggest concern is with the first graphic. It uses circles to represent the number…