Alfredo Covaleda,
Bogota, Colombia
Stephen Guerin,
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
James A. Trostle,
Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Here at the IAJ, there is growing curiosity about vlogs, blog sites that carry video. And, of course, we're always interested in maps. We recently ran across “Vlogmap.org,” a cool mash-up that integrates vlog sites with Google's mapping tools. Worth a visit, we think, and some consideration about how journalism organizations might apply the technology. “What is Vlogmap.org? VlogMap.org is an online resource which shows where participating vloggers are located around the world, along with links to key information about their video blogs. Anyone can submit info to VlogMap.org to be listed on the map, as long as you run a video blog. Why Vlogmap.org? VlogMap.org is intended to be a fun and interesting way to learn about and explore the vlogging community and its online offerings. How does it work? VlogMap visitors can click on any red pin to get links to the web address, the RSS feed, and the contact information for that location. Additionally, a user of VlogMap is able to zero in, and examine areas of vlogger concentration, such as New York City, Los Angeles, and London. Anyone can submit info to VlogMap.org to be listed on the map.”
We've long appreciated Ford Fessenden's forceful analytic journalism at the NYTimes, but a piece he has in today's Week in Review section leaves us yearning for more. In “Where Home Prices Rise Steeply, Bankruptcies Fall,” Ford raises some interesting — and appropriately inconclusive questions — about the relationship between real estate prices and the number of bankruptcies. And we're given a nicely colored map of U.S. counties and their changes in bankruptcy rates, 2000 to 2005. The quartile scale is huge: zero to 35 percent and greater than 35 percent, both up and down. The problem is there are no hard numbers to put the bankruptcies in context related to county population. And one or two counties down in southeastern Arizona have a greater than 35 percent decline in bankruptcies, but we know they have very sparce populations. “OK,” you might say, “there's simply no room to put all those numbers in the newspaper.”
Right, but they surely could be put online in a variety of ways. If there were three bankruptcies in 2005 and two in 2005, that's pretty close to a 35 percent decline, but hardly statistically significant. I'm sure this isn't Ford's fault; he has the data and is probably far more aware of its analytic pitfalls than we are. But editors — Editors! — have to begin thinking of stories as having many fascets, and work to deliver the richest amount of data as possible that is related to the stories and their context.
One of the real challenges for journalists wanting/needing to do GIS is getting the software and map files. Often the major roadblock is the newsroom budget. We recently learned of a project that uses the file-sharing capabilities of Bittorrent (the peer-to-peer file sharing program) to make maps available at our favorite price — free. Check out GeoTorrent.org
What types of data are shared? All different types of geospatial data is shared here. For example Air and satellite photo's, as well as attribute data. What formats is the data in? Imagery is in either ECW or JPEG 2000 format. Both formats allow high levels of compression. For example 1 terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) of raw data can be compressed to just 50 GB. JPEG 2000 also provides a lossless compression algorithm, allowing for pixel-for-pixel fidelity with the original dataset. Attribute (vector) data can be distributed in any common data format e.g. shape, tab files or native data formats. ” The files are often large, like the 5.5gb “North America Landsat Mosaic,” but there appears to be a growing number of non-US data.
This looks to be a tool with potential. Click here for the opening press release.
Technology Review's senior editor Wade Rousch delivers a fine overview of Google Earth in the magazine's October issue. The piece would be especially good as an introcuction to the tool/concept for someone who is relatively new to online mapping. See “Killer Maps.”
Originally found on TechnologyReview.com
Posted by David Appell at August 30, 2005 08:48 AM in Biotechnology and Health Care.
“There's a very interesting article by John Ioannidis in PLoS Medicine, the free online journal. Most current published research findings might well be false, he says. There are several factors, and I think it's worth presenting them in detail:
1. Many research studies are small, with only a few dozen participants. 2. In many scientific fields, the “effect sizes” (a measure of how much a risk factor such as smoking increases a person’s risk of disease, or how much a treatment is likely to improve a disease) are small. Research findings are more likely true in scientific fields with large effects, such as the impact of smoking on cancer, than in scientific fields where postulated effects are small, such as genetic risk factors for diseases where many different genes are involved in causation. If the effect sizes are very small in a particular field, says Ioannidis, it is “likely to be plagued by almost ubiquitous false positive claims. 3. Financial and other interests and prejudices can also lead to untrue results. 4. “The hotter a scientific field (with more scientific teams involved), the less likely the research findings are to be true,” which may explain why we sometimes see “major excitement followed rapidly by severe disappointments in fields that draw wide attention.”
1. Many research studies are small, with only a few dozen participants.
2. In many scientific fields, the “effect sizes” (a measure of how much a risk factor such as smoking increases a person’s risk of disease, or how much a treatment is likely to improve a disease) are small. Research findings are more likely true in scientific fields with large effects, such as the impact of smoking on cancer, than in scientific fields where postulated effects are small, such as genetic risk factors for diseases where many different genes are involved in causation. If the effect sizes are very small in a particular field, says Ioannidis, it is “likely to be plagued by almost ubiquitous false positive claims.
3. Financial and other interests and prejudices can also lead to untrue results.
4. “The hotter a scientific field (with more scientific teams involved), the less likely the research findings are to be true,” which may explain why we sometimes see “major excitement followed rapidly by severe disappointments in fields that draw wide attention.”
“This ought to be an eye-opener…. The solution? More publication of preliminary findings, negative studies (which often suffer that fate of the file-drawer effect), confirmations, and refutations. PLoS says, “the editors encourage authors to discuss biases, study limitations, and potential confounding factors. We acknowledge that most studies published should be viewed as hypothesis-generating, rather than conclusive.” And maybe this will temper journalists' tendency to offer every new study as the Next Big Thing.”
Company: Space Imaging Industry: Satellite Image Data Location: Denver, CO, United States of America
State of Arizona to Use Satellite Images as Evidence in Lawsuit
DENVER,CO-– IKONOS satellite imagery has revealed alleged land clearing by a developer in Arizona. The State of Arizona is suing the Scottsdale developer for allegedly illegally bulldozing state and private land known as La Osa Ranch located northwest of the town of Marana, Arizona. Before-and-after satellite images of the area captured by Space Imaging’s IKONOS satellite show certain changes to the environment and will be used as evidence in the case. From a 423-mile-high orbit the satellite can see objects on the ground as small as one meter in size.
Marana’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) department has been collecting imagery for the last three years to map its expanding boundaries, chart the town's recreational trail system and produce three-dimensional views of proposed developments to provide citizens a glimpse of what their neighborhoods will look like in the future. In mid-2004, Chris Mack, Marana’s senior geographic information systems specialist, discovered the imagery showed that the terrain had been altered at La Osa Ranch. The satellite images captured the alleged land clearing which included 700 acres over four miles from north to south. <more>
ADAM LIPTAK has a piece in this week's NYT Week in Review that is, we gather, a re-write of a forthcoming article in The Georgetown Law Journal. (We're not going to bother with the link because the article isn't posted.) In his story, “If the Law Is an Ass, the Law Professor Is a Donkey,“ Liptak writes, “The study…analyzes 11 years of records reflecting federal campaign contributions by professors at the top 21 law schools as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. “Almost a third of these law professors contribute to campaigns, but of them, the study finds, 81 percent who contributed $200 or more gave wholly or mostly to Democrats; 15 percent gave wholly or mostly to Republicans.The percentages of professors contributing to Democrats were even more lopsided at some of the most prestigious schools: 91 percent at Harvard, 92 at Yale, 94 at Stanford. At the University of Virginia, on the other hand, contributions were about evenly divided between the parties.”
Liptak then continues for 600+ words fretting about the contributions to the Democrats.
Wait a minute. Go back to the phrase underlined above. Two-thirds of the law professors, apparently, didn't make any contributions at all. So where's the story here? Take a look at the graph and let us know.
(This document available at http://www.ver1point0.cjb.net/ ) (Please circulate)
Participants: By invitation based on proposals for submitted papers and presentations. Eight to ten journalists with track records of high-concept involvement in analytic journalism and who have demonstrated in-depth knowledge of database sciences will participate. An equal number of participants will be biomedical researchers, public administrators, data-mining experts, statisticians, forensic accountants, computer scientists and social scientists interested in the problem of database veracity.
· Potential participants are asked to submit a 300- to 500-word abstract of their proposed paper including details on research questions and methodology. Journalists’ papers may address their experience with databases and how they discovered and solved particular problems of data validity. However, all final papers, no longer than 3,500 words, are expected to be at least semi-scholarly in format and follow the American Psychological Association manuscript style. (Final papers shall be submitted before the workshop. All 20 papers will be published in downloadable and hard copy formats; the authors of 12 papers will be asked to make presentations at the workshop.)
· Participants will make all their travel arrangements. (Plan on four-night stay at minimum). [NB: To reach Santa Fe, one flies to Albuquerque, then takes a one-hour shuttle van (approx. $22 each way) to Santa Fe. Santa Fe’s altitude is 7,000+ feet. It often takes at least 24 hours for visitors from lower elevations to adjust, so plan your hotel reservations accordingly.]
Contact: J. T. Johnson, Inst. for Analytic Journalism tom@analyticjournalism.com or 505-577-6482
[1] “Ver” as in “verification” and “verify” and, from the Spanish verb ver: “to see; to look into; to examine.”
It's taken an uncommonly long time, but IAJ co-director Steve Ross and his co-investigators at The Euro RSCG Magnet firm have finally posted some of the summary of their “Survey of Media.” Steve and Don Middleberg have been doing this for more than a decade, first just in the U.S. and internationally for the past few years. Some talking points: * Media appear mixed about blogs’ role in journalism Blogs have not yet infiltrated journalist reporting techniques but have become a source of information * Recent media scandals have challenged media trust New wave of high-profile journalist misdeeds are expected to take a heavy toll on the newsroom * Corporate scandals continue to thwart corporate credibility Journalists point to the lack of transparency for their loss in trust in corporations over the past year * CEOs may be regaining some stature with the media Journalists are more likely to turn to CEOs and consider their performance in their reporting than in 2003
From Gary Price's Resource Shelf: “Toxic Chemicals–United States–Databases Source: NLM New Version of TOXMAP Available “TOXMAP is an interactive web site from the National Library of Medicine that shows the amount and location of reported toxic chemicals released into the environment on maps of the United States. TOXMAP allows users to visually explore information about releases of toxic chemicals by industrial facilities around the United States as reported annually to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”
