This is where I am right now on the brain storming.
Data visualization: After learning about data visualization in class I was thinking about comparing national & Cedar Valley (would have to crunch some numbers) adoption rates to animals put to sleep because of lack of funding and over crowding over the past 20 years. Also I could look at the adoption rates of different types of dogs (some breeds more likely to be adopted?) and different age groups (the older the animal the less likely it is to get adopted compared to puppies and kittens?). I could even make my own graph based on what percent of pets are there because x reason such as 50% are there because of baby and children issues with the animal, 20% because of expenses issues with taking care of the animal, 15% because of inter-animal conflict, 5% because owners died, and ect. In addition, I could do a graph with money fund raised at each event to show what was a failure and what worked well. Last, I could do a graph showing how much money is giving to other non-profits in the Cedar Valley Area compared to the Humane Society. I don't know where I would find that data. There are multiple ways I can go, depending on what best fits with the story.
Video: For the video I can do a tour of the present facility and all the problems, showing all the issue the employees have to deal with daily such as overcrowd, rusty cages, leaks, ect. I don't know how I would do a tour of the new facility or if I could put their virtual online tour with that.
Slide show: I think animals would be the best subject to take photographs of. They are hard to capture but you can take your time with them. Plus you could get some interesting active shots with them getting bathed to look good for the adoptions or interacting with people during adoption hours. I don't how many animals I could focus on and if I should just stay with dogs or incorporate both dogs and cats. Focus on the adoption process or the animals needing adoption?
Interactive map: I like the idea of pinpointing where all the humane societies are in Iowa. It would be cool to add in adoption site like Petco where Cedar Bend Human Society has certain days and hours they bring animals. I think the map of the facility would be alright but not as interesting to the reader.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
R-
ReplyDeleteAll our data vis. ideas seem doable, although I'm hard-pressed to find charity info in the Cedar Valley--I included an article below about the Community Foundation...they might be a place to call to get some NE Iowa data on giving in the past year. Also, don't be shy about asking for stats when you talk to your HS representatives...they might have some really great information that can compare to national numbers. It might be cool to have more than one data visualization, so don't think you have to limit yourself. You have good ideas.
Here are some more data hubs:
* Federal Statistics: http://www.fedstats.gov/
* 30 Data Resources: http://flowingdata.com/2009/10/01/30-resources-to-find-the-data-you-need/
Video: great idea: don't make it long. Just get the person to explain the need and examine that need visually.
ARticles to potentially give your story a larger national context:
Humane Society/national context
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE1DC1431F936A35750C0A9619C8B63
WEre there more animals turned in at the shelter after last year's flood?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/01/us/nationalspecial/01pets.html
Were there more animals turned in to the shelter b/c of the economic crisis?
Try Nexis Lexis for some ideas of Humane Society in the news.
Try going to the Humane Society press page (http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/) for insights into the kinds of larger issues the HS is dealing with...perhaps some of these issues are relevant to your story.
Charity giving in Cedar Valley/NE Iowa: some articles:
http://www.wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_52979302-cd4b-11de-9607-001cc4c002e0.html
This is a helpful website--it's a sub-organization of the Humane
Society that basically serves shelters with info on how to run a shelter.
http://www.animalsheltering.org/
Go to the "search" pages for stories about Iowa shelters.
I'm not quite sure how to find a list of all the shelters in Iowa for your interactive map...maybe ask your people at the HS...they may have that data (I thought for sure it would be in the animal shelter website operated by the HS. You could also go to Petfinder.com, but I'm not sure all the organizations listed in Petfinder are affiliated with the HS.
Keep up the good work!