Some weeks back we were quite critical of Newsweek coming out with what we concluded was a bogus index of the best high schools in the United States. Such lists or indexes are not new, of course. U.S. News & Report has been doing them for years but, according to a piece in the NYTimes "Education Life" supplement, it is the only publication to rank law schools.

Today's story, "The $8.78 Million Maneuver" lays out an interesting tale of how some law schools can juggle their numbers to increase their ranking in the U.S. News' list. Such little fiscal slight-of-hands as including the law school's water bill in the school's total spending. That, in turn, adds to the "spending-per-student" factor, which is part of the ranking index. Turns out some schools DO add such utility costs, others not.

Of course the real question is, exactly how significant is the qualitative difference between No. 1 Yale and No. 3 Stanford or No. 26, Illinois. We suspect it only matters to the alumni.

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Modeling conflict

by JTJ on Sun 31 Jul 2005 05:34 PM MDT

We have long-enjoyed -- and learned from -- Chance News, published by the good folks in the math dept. at some Eastern school in the wilds of the far, far north. The current issue has an interesting link to some paper related to "modeling conflict."
See:
http://chance.dartmouth.edu/chancewiki/index.php/Rules_of_engagement_-_modelling_conflict

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Wednesday, July 27

PC World columnist Steve Bass with map tips

by JTJ on Wed 27 Jul 2005 11:45 AM MDT

Steve writes a good column, especially if you're interested in utilities that make driving our digital beasts just a bit easier or more fun. From today's column:

"Maps, Maps, and More Maps

Y'all like maps--that's pretty obvious from all the e-mail I received after "Maps for Fun and Business" hit your inboxes:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,121387,tk,sbx,00.asp

* Google Earth. Tons of you complained that I didn't mention Google Earth in that newsletter. This one's a stunner--and a time killer. Our uberboss, Harry McCracken, describes it in detail in his blog, "First Impressions: Google's Amazing Earth":
http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/000748.html

Unfortunately, you can't have it: The Google ... more »

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Tuesday, July 26

Batten Awards: more good efforts to push the boundaries

by JTJ on Tue 26 Jul 2005 02:12 PM MDT

Interactive Storytelling, Rethinking Journalism
Mark 2005 Batten Awards Finalists

"COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A national panel of judges has selected five finalists to win the 2005 Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism, honoring them for setting new standards for interactive journalism, advancing creativity in digital storytelling and recalibrating the role that news organizations play in their communities....

"'We were impressed again this year with the range of talents and ideas presented — from a collaboration of former broadcast professionals from Europe to the transformation of a newsroom in North Carolina to the wild idea of a lone innovator in ... more »

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Monday, July 25

Psychology at work at Guantanamo

by Patrick Mattimore on Mon 25 Jul 2005 03:40 PM PDT

Psychology at work at Guantanamo

Generally overlooked role of doctors' in prisoner interrogations.

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Thursday, July 21

Open Government: A Journal on Freedom of Information

by Tom Johnson on Thu 21 Jul 2005 08:38 AM MDT

Marylaine Block, editor/publisher of Ex Libris and Neat New Stuff, tips us to a new journal, "Open Government." It is a British online-only publication, but addresses global issues related to freedom of information.

"Launched March 2005.....open access peer reviewed journal on Open Government and Freedom of Information

Journal Aim: To publish research and communications related to Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation from the perspective of academics, practioners and FOI users.

Scope:
-Freedom of Information legislation and information provision for citizens
-Comparative views of international freedom of information legislation
-Freedom of information legislation and the open government debate
-The impact of Freedom of Information on public administration -Case studies from public authorities by FOI practioners
-Information Systems for managing records and FOI requests -The relationship of Freedom of Information legislation and other access to information legislation

The Journal is run under open access principles is free to access in electronic form. Printed copies of the journal are not currently available.
The Journal is funded by the School of Business Information at Liverpool John Moores University"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Also....

Watching America 
http://www.watchingamerica.com/
"Discover what the world thinks about the US" with "Translated Foreign News 
Available NOWHERE Else In English." Includes text, videos, and other media from 
Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

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Wednesday, July 20

U.S. government GIS mega-library

by Tom Johnson on Wed 20 Jul 2005 10:19 AM MDT

The good folks at Directions Magazine today tipped us off that Geodata.gov is open for business. Geodata.gov was spawned by the "Geospatial One-stop" program.

"Through the Geospatial One Stop portal (www.geodata.gov), anyone can access geospatial information from federal agencies and a growing number of state, local, tribal and private agencies through one comprehensive and comprehensible portal
"Advanced information on future investments in geospatial information can provide opportunities for collaboration, intergovernmental partnerships and reduce needless duplication of data investment
"Building communities around data categories through the efforts of "data stewardship leaders" and teams to seek out and ... more »

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Monday, July 18

As is often the case, it's in the numbers

by Tom Johnson on Mon 18 Jul 2005 10:12 PM MDT

We appreciate NYTimes reporter SABRINA TAVERNISE's hard work last week reporting -- and explaining what was behind the numbers Iraqi civilian deaths in "Data Shows Rising Toll of Iraqis From Insurgency." There's always the fog of war and all that, but Tavernise surely spent a fair amount of time on the piece and, at the end of the day, does a good job of explaining how and why the numbers can vary so much from source to source and month to month.

Click here for the piece (unless the NYT has already archived it).

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Tuesday, July 12

The magic of digital cartography

by JTJ on Tue 12 Jul 2005 10:59 AM MDT

Check out "Mapping Hacks," a new book on the O'reilly list by Schuyler Erle, Rich Gibson, Jo Walsh .

"Mapping Hacks is a collection of one hundred simple techniques available to developers and power users who want to draw digital maps. You'll learn where to find the best sources of geographic data and then how to integrate that data into your own creations. With so many industrial-strength tips and tools, Mapping Hacks effectively takes the sting out of digital mapmaking."

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The clues are in the footnotes

by JTJ on Tue 12 Jul 2005 10:52 AM MDT

One of the insights to the craft that business reporters learn early in the game is that the key to understanding annual reports is to read the footnotes and endnotes. That's where the juicy stuff is. So it is, it seems, for educational reporters.

A story in Sunday's St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer-Press by higher education writer Paul Tosto, "'Home alone' data debatable" points out the importance of reading the footnotes.

Backstory: In June, a group called the Minnesota Commission on Out-of-School Time released a report claiming "Minnesota has the nation's highest percentage of teens home alone ... more »

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