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2008 State of the World: Innovations for a Sustainable Economy

I read the WorldWatch Institute's State of the World report every year. The 2008 Edition, subtitled Innovations for a Sustainable Economy deserves special mention. Even if you don't think of your work as directly related to the environment, I encourage you to consider its connection to the current fate of the earth. In fourteen chapters by as many knowledgable contributors, this volume touches on a wide range of critical issues, including sustainable lifestyles, investing for sustainability, mobilizing human energy, and the parallell economy of the commons. There are issues here that touch on all the work of civil society, no matter how it's otherwise framed. Posted: 1/4/08; 5:29:49 PM #

Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data

Stephen Few's book Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data is an attempt to do for dynamic displays what Edward Tufte has done with static displays. Although I have some misgivings about the fact that his methods are not oriented toward action and workflow, I think this lovely book comes close to its aspirations and I recommend it highly to anyone in the field of nonprofit information systems. The author defines a dashboard as: "A visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives, which fits entirely on a single computer screen so it can be monitored at a glance." He tackles a wide range of dashboard types, including strategic, analytical, and operational. Just Chapter Three alone is worth the price of this book. It describes the following thirteen common mistakes in dashboard design: (1) Exceeding the Boundaries of a Single Screen, (2) Supplying Inadequate Context for the Data, (3) Displaying Excessive Detail or Precision, (4) Choosing a Deficient Measure, (5) Choosing Inappropriate Display Media, (6) Introducing Meaningless Variety, (7) Using Poorly Designed Display Media, (8) Encoding Quantitative Data Inaccurately, (9) Arranging the Data Poorly, (10) Highlighting Important Data Ineffectively or Not at All, (11) Cluttering the Display with Useless Decoration, (12) Misusing or Overusing Color, and (13) Designing an Unattractive Visual Display. Posted: 1/4/08; 5:21:07 PM #