Comment on Corona data quality

Comment by Andreas Schneider, Institute for Information Design Japan, on the quality of data provided by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at John Hopkins University, basis for the “Corona Navigator” featured in a previous post.

Comment by Andreas Schneider, Institute for Information Design Japan, on the quality of data provided by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at John Hopkins University, basis for the “Corona Navigator” featured in a previous post.

As these data are consumed more and more by non-experts without understanding inherent limitations, significant misinterpretations may happen.

The full comment is available on the IIDj website.

Announcing the 54th SDA Award

The Japan Sign Design Association Award (as known as SDA Award) was established in 1966 for the purpose of promoting and educating the public about the sign design through presentation of signature design works to the wide society.

The Japan Sign Design Association Award (as known as SDA Award) was established in 1966 for the purpose of promoting and educating the public about the sign design through presentation of signature design works to the wide society.

It continues to be the only award program for sign design in Japan. Signs today are considered as an interface that connects urban space or corporate activities with consumers, or as information that is indispensable for revitalizing the environment and establishing communication, and their examples are seen with more diverse variations.

The Japan Sign Design Association invites applications for awards from signature design works with high quality.

Information, registration and more on the SCA Award website.

Corona Virus Navigator – update 2020-03-23

Although we are constantly updating and expanding our visualizations around the developments of the spread of the Corona virus, we are painfully aware of the underlying limitations and the risks of statistical communication.

Although we are constantly updating and expanding our visualizations around the developments of the spread of the Corona virus, we are painfully aware of the underlying limitations and the risks of statistical communication. Numbers, exuding a certain authority, may draw attention in ways that are not appropriate to the issues they claim to represent.

While it is extremely important to put quantitative information in context, we lack the detail to do so in a meaningful way: the number of tests performed, population, demographic profiles and many others.

We have added a new view, charts, which should help to better understand the dynamics of development at each location. These diagrams are scaled to facilitate comparative reading – they do not allow quantitative comparisons in any way.

Corona navigator charts, comparing development is various countries.
We have added a new view, Charts, which should help to better understand the dynamics of development at each location. These diagrams are scaled to facilitate comparative reading – they do not allow quantitative comparisons in any way. https://api.iidj.net/cv/charts
3D visualization of the corona timeline with bars expanding from points on the globe.
The performance of 3-D Views has been improved: https://api.iidj.net/cv, https://api.iidj.net/timeline

Data collected and managed by Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at John Hopkins University – Great Work! https://url.iidj.net/arcgis_75MX

Andreas Schneider
Institute of Information Design Japan iidj
2020-03-23.

COVID-19: numbers in context

Andreas Schneider from IIDj, Institute for Information Design Japan sent this article.

Corona virus navigator: IIDj keeps a live 3-D visualization of the virus’ geographic appearance within the limitations set by insufficient data, based on the LiveTracker of the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at John Hopkins University, US

Following the development of presentations around the coronavirus evolution we feel obliged to raise our concerns:

  • Numbers are only meaningful if they refer to a known metric – the sum of the identified infections must be reported together with the total number of persons testedpresentations have to consider and communicate three phases: IDENTIFICATION, RECOVERY, FATALITIES.
  • Data should be provided by SITES, identifiable significant agglomerations / communities – and not by arbitrary political entities – such as province or country.
  • The number of cases cannot be visualized as blobs of varying size on 2-dimensional maps, giving the impression of a geographical spread when the underlying data is the total within an arbitrary political boundary – such as province or country.
  • Color schemes should enable understanding rather than cause fear.
  • AUTHORSHIP/SOURCE of data/information used must be clearly stated, including contact details for questions and feedback.

We keep updating the live 3-D visualization of the virus’ geographic appearance within the limitations set by insufficient data, based on the LiveTracker of the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at John Hopkins University, USA.
https://api.iidj.net/cv/
https://api.iidj.net/cv/timeline

We hope that the respective authorities will make efforts to provide appropriate data in a consistent format. This is necessary for responsible decision-making at personal and political levels that can count on the understanding of all concerned.


Data collected and managed by Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at John Hopkins University. https://url.iidj.net/arcgis_75MX

Context, worldwide:
According to WHO, 15 deaths every minute = 8MIO per year through AIR POLLUTION https://url.iidj.net/who_ghZS
According to WHO, 15+ deaths every minute = 8MIO+ per year through TOBACCO USE https://url.iidj.net/who_7745
According to WHO, 3 deaths every minute = 1.6MIO per year directly caused by DIABETES (2016) https://url.iidj.net/who_HL21