Matthew Alexander Wirth Cohan

What I will remember most is some things to watch out for when moving toward being more data driven. The readings have shown some issues regarding personal safety versus the “greater good”, the role of technology on the industry (in terms of in what role publishers (or others) now fit), and accuracy versus access. Despite potential drawbacks,…[Read more]

The most important takeaway from the speakers was to allow the graphic to stand on its own and tell a story. The message you want to deliver should be immediately and clearly understood by the picture. Those that need to be explained have not done the job. Also, different types of graphics do better than others to tell specific stories – how do…[Read more]

How many teens went to the ER with the highest urgency in 2010?

2

We have seen how sports and entertainment are changing (Chip Kelly article and Netflix discussion and the above link). All industries are changing with the new era. Most easily seen is the sales and marketing departments who now have better information on to whom to market new and existing product lines – and who is buying or making purchasing…[Read more]

The following mashup shows sat scores times graduation divided by population. The darker states are smarter per capita.

http://www.datamasher.org/mash-ups/sat-scorescombined-reading-mathematics-times-high-school-graduation-rate-divided-populatio-1

Q2:
Processes are individual tasks. By collecting and analyzing data (and then acting on your findings), these processes can be improved to produce at a more optimum level. A constant monitoring of data can show how process changes are improving or hurting company performance, financially or otherwise.

Despite blast emails from headquarters, the goals on which I am evaluated are far from SMART. They may be like “Ensure NAV accuracy”, “meet deadlines”, or “adhere to the clean desk policy”. I don’t know that these have any characteristics of SMART. Furthermore, managers send these down to their employees and employees are supposed to add 2-3 of…[Read more]

Safety metrics:
Lagging: Accidents per year; Total cost of accidents (including lost work time)
Leading: Percentage of employees with appropriate and up-to-date training; Training budget per month

http://www.distancetomars.com/

This interactive infographic shows how far mars is and how long it would take to get there. The scale used is completely true from the size of the earth, moon, and mars to the distance and theoretical time it would take to travel. It is easy to read, but even easier to get the message through the interaction…[Read more]

http://lilt.ilstu.edu/gmklass/pos138/datadisplay/images/dollar.gif

At work, we book trades done in mutual funds into the accounting system. When doing so, we need to crossreference trade information with specific codes needed for the system. For example, we have a trade that has “goldman” or “goldmanXXX” as broker, which then needs to get mapped to a specific code for the system. So, we essentially build a…[Read more]

I would consider an ERD information. It contains data in a very organized and ready to use fashion and can be easily converted into knowledge. But, it is not knowledge by itself. An outsider to the organization could not look at the ERD and determine the best course of action. Knowledge still must include experience and an innate feel for the industry.