Data Visualization

Blog of the Data Visualization & Communication Course at OSB-AUB

“This is my favorite part about analytics: Taking boring flat data and bringing it to life through visualization” John Tukey

Child Labor in the 21st Century

Child Labor in the 21st Century

by | May 14, 2021 | Dashboard

What does life look like for a child in the 21st Century?

For someone like you and I, life is pretty normal, we have friends and family, we go to school, we’re healthy. But for someone like Czano, life is very different. At just 7 years old, he does not go to school. Instead, he works at a balloon factory in Bangladesh in order to provide for his family.

This is the sad reality of millions of children around the world who are forced to work in order to help their families due to severe poverty.
Not only are government at fault, but also businesses who employ these young children and even people like you and me who purchase products that were produced by children.

Take a look at these insights below in order to learn more about child labor and together, we can raise awareness about this issue and hopefully make a change.

Don’t forget to always educate yourself about where your products are coming from and purchase ethically!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Air Pollution- The Silent Killer

Air Pollution- The Silent Killer

by | May 13, 2021 | Dashboard

“I want people, when they realize they have been wrong about the world, to feel not embarrassment, but that childlike sense of wonder, inspiration, and curiosity that I remember from the circus, and that I still get every time I discover I have been wrong: “Wow, how is that even possible?”
― Hans Rosling, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

Air pollution has always been an environmental health threat and a problem that countries suffer from until today. Our analysis starts with an interactive Gapminder  followed by a brief discussion about Air pollution between two countries Sweden and South Africa .

Each caption will  guide you to our main objective that is: Air pollution affects Life expectancies of countries like South Africa where they are subject to a less clean Air (nearly 1 million deaths in  Africa are caused by Air pollution).As Hans Rosling stated: Yes we should be embarrassed .Solving this crucial problem remains a big challenge for all the countries. Therefore, a collective work from citizens and government is much needed to build  cleaner, greener and sustainable cities.

Education for girls can transform communities, countries and our world

Education for girls can transform communities, countries and our world

by | May 11, 2021 | Dashboard

Girls’ education is proving to be a significant element in improving the quality of life in developed countries. Educational equity not only benefits a country’s economy, but it also helps to minimize infant hunger and the pay disparity that exists between men and women in many developed nations.

Our world society is made wealthier by providing women with the opportunity to further their education.

Startups; A Remedy for the Lebanese Economy?

Startups; A Remedy for the Lebanese Economy?

by | May 10, 2021 | Dashboard

Could startups be a remedy to the Lebanese economic situation?

Lebanon has been facing an unparalleled situation for the past 2 years. Since the October uprising in 2019, it has been a steep downhill for the Lebanese Economy. Looking at the country’s GDP, we notice that the Lebanese economy was flourishing prior to 2017. However, since 2018, the GDP annual rate has decreased exponentially to reach a rate of 25%. These trends can also be seen in the Lebanese unemployment rate, where the rate decreased slightly prior to 2017, but then dramatically increased to reach 40% by the end of 2020.

Obama once said, “Small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy…”. Therefore, we will be monitoring the effects of new businesses and startups on the unemployment rate and GDP.

Studying the situation in the United Kingdom, for example, we see that as the number of new businesses registered increases, the unemployment rate decreases. Similarly, looking at the effect on GDP, we see that new businesses have a positive influence on the countries GDP. Looking at the global trends of the time to start new businesses, we see that there is a global positive change in trying to decrease the amount of time required for new businesses to get up and running, which doubles down on the importance of new businesses and ventures. However, unlike the global trends, in Lebanon, the time to start a business has been constant at 15 days for the past 12 years.

Now that we have seen that startups decrease unemployment and stimulate GDP growth, and there is a global positive shift to ease starting new businesses, the Lebanese government plan of action should be:

1) Reduce time to have startups active and running
2) Provide easy availability of loans for new businesses
3) Reduce taxes on new businesses

to provide an environment that attracts startups and in turn improve the Lebanese economy.

Devaluation of Women Below The Equator

Devaluation of Women Below The Equator

by | May 10, 2021 | Uncategorized

Gender inequality has been an ongoing issue eversince the first record of history. Today, with rising empowerment and the right protesting, the value of women in the perception of global societies has risen significantly. However, there is still an issue of giving women a secondary rank in terms of societal values. Women, being married young, beginning to work before they become adolescents, and living in countries below the poverty line, tend to validate being beated by their husbands for burning the food, an issue that can arise from juggling so many responsibilities around and forgetting the stove on for as little as 1 minute extra. Although it seems that the poverty line in these women’s countries would lead women to be subject to such values, the key would lie in a more concrete matter, which is education. Education is key to empowerment, to discovering one’s boundaries, and to be able to develop a skill set to be more productive, more efficient, and have more impact. This has proven successful in countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East, and would be ideal if it were to be applied in Africa. In conclusion, investing in the education system must be the primary focus of a nation willing to end its gender gap.