In late May, most of the maps on this site (plus those I have produced for Guardian Healthcare Network) switched from beautiful satellite images (below left – a section of my map on male life expectancy) to rather less interesting atlas-style maps (below right). They also gained a big ‘United Kingdom’ label over the Scottish borders, presumably to the chagrin of the SNP. But it turns out this and other labels can be removed – with some work. Continue reading “Removing the United Kingdom from Google Fusion Tables”
Category: Media
Why for journalists, it’s showtime
I’ve been asked how my new job as a Kable analyst varies from my old one (on the next bank of desks) as a Guardian Professional Networks editor. There are more things in common than not, but the biggest difference is that there is much more performing required – teleconferences, face to face meetings and presentations to an audience are significant elements of what a Kable analyst does. But I don’t think this difference will last, as journalists will increasingly be going live too.
Continue reading “Why for journalists, it’s showtime”
Final call for NHS Direct’s national service
The government will replace NHS Direct’s national 0845 service with locally commissioned 111 services in two years’ time. How does the organisation plan to evolve?
Update: NHS Direct won 111 contracts covering 32% of England, but eventually decided they were uneconomical. It closed in 2014.
Continue reading “Final call for NHS Direct’s national service”
A sidestep in the right direction
An innovative exercise in electronic mapping aims to bypass the block on access to data subject to Crown copyright
Researching this meant spending a memorable day with some great OpenStreetMap volunteers on the Isle of Wight, in the early days of what has become a massive wikimap.
Continue reading “A sidestep in the right direction”
‘It’s our David!’
David Cameron has built up a strong rapport with his constituents in the small towns and villages of Witney, a safe Conservative seat with high hopes for his future, says local resident SA Mathieson
A profile for the politics section of the Guardian website on David Cameron and West Oxfordshire, the area covered by his Witney constituency, when he became Conservative party leader.
I still live in the area, and write about the likes of its tweeting chief policeman and the romance of its long-distance A-roads for community newspaper Chipping Norton News.
Continue reading “‘It’s our David!’”