Data Journalism | Westminster World

Feb102022 by Ollie Cox, Hamish Hallett (sub-editor)No Comments

How will the government level up life expectancy?

Breaking News, Data Journalism, Explainer, Explainers, Health, Obesity, Science

We have now received the highly anticipated Levelling Up white paper, which will set out how the government will level up those parts of the country left behind. What does this mean, and how will it tackle the issue of geographic differences in life expectancy across the UK? The phrase used by politicians to refer to the process of fixing this issue is ‘levelling up.’ Behind the rhetoric are very real issues severely impacting people’s lives. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, visits Grimsby. Credit: Simon Dawson (CC) What does levelling up mean? The House of Commons Library defines a left-behind area as somewhere with "low pay and employment" that leads to "low standards of living." As a result of these factors, the health of a region may also be impac

Is your makeup bag cruelty-free?

Animal Rights, Animals, Blogs, Breaking News, Business, Culture, Data Journalism, economy, Explainers, Fashion, News, shopping, What's Hot, Women, Worldnews

Image by Kloudia Sakowski The EU prohibited the sale of animal tested cosmetic products and ingredients on 11 March 2013 following its ban on animal tested cosmetics just four years earlier. We explored if these regulations are truly practised in the UK. Brands marked with a green star are cruelty-free. Our own research. Walking down the aisles at Boots, you would assume the cosmetics brands you see are vegan and cruelty-free because of this law. Yet upon inspection, we found that the UK has plenty of makeup brands that practice neither. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayyXLmUwkuk Reporter Kloudia Sakowski compares makeup brands and conducts an interview with a Lush employee. Cruelty-free products are products created without the use of animal testing while vegan products

Mar82021 by Halima Ahcene DjaballahNo Comments

Are you guilty of microaggressions?

Data Journalism, Education, Explainer, Explainers, Gender, Instagram, International, Opinion, Racism

In March 2021, a report by The Mainchi stated that the president of the Tokyo Olympics said that meetings with female participants went on for too long. Unbeknown to many, this remark may be seen as a microaggression. In this day and age words can have detrimental consequences to others, whether they are explicit or implicit. But ever heard of the saying actions speak louder than words? Microaggressions do not only refer to the words used but also the actions we do which can amplify a hidden meaning. Photo credited by Morgan Basham (Unsplash.com) What are microaggressions? Very Well Mind defines a microaggression as subtle verbal or nonverbal behaviour, committed consciously or not, that is directed at a member of a marginalised group, and has

Nov302020 by Haiyue ZhangNo Comments

Coronavirus: how the pandemic reinforce the gender gap

Breaking News, Covid-19, Data Journalism, Education, Explainers, Gender, LifeStyle, London, Women, Worldnews

During the pandemic, who is responsible for domestic work in your country? Photo by Haiyue According to the new report from UN Women, women are spending more time to do domestic chores compared with the normal time. Amid COVID-19, household chores have new purpose and value and are being increasingly recognized as a form of essential work. Chores like cooking, shopping for groceries and cleaning, particularly to prevent infection, are all taking longer than ever. Photo from UN Woman However, more and more people have to work from home due to Covid-19 in different countries, while the truth is that women still shoulder the major housework. Available data from thirty-eight countries overwhelmingly confirm that on sixty per cent of women and fifty-four per cent of...

Apr142020 by Juliane SonntagNo Comments

Obesity in childhood

children, Data Journalism, Education, Explainer, Explainers, Fitness, Food, Health, Medical, NHS, Obesity, Sport, youth

The numbers for people who are obese in the UK again saw a record high in 2019; it is the fourth consecutive year that a new national record was set. Around 20 percent of UK's school children aged 8 to 11 are obese, according to the NHS’s National Child Measurement Programme. In other words, every fifth child is severely overweight. This puts the UK on rank 33 out of 191 surveyed countries (Global Obesity Levels). Obesity in childhood increases the risk of obesity in adulthood and can cause serious illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. Often, it also triggers mental health issues such as depression or fatigue. Especially now that schools, playgrounds and gyms are closed due to the coronavirus, it is vital to provide a healthy diet and as much

Dec22019 by Sneha ChakrabortyNo Comments

Ted Baker ignored staff warnings about ‘sketchy’ inventory record in May 2018

Breaking News, Business, Data Journalism, Education, Entertainment

The company which has a trading update due on 11 December is speculated to have known about the inventory blunder long before the records became public. Ted Baker employees tried to alert the luxury clothing brand about the mishandled inventory information as early as May 2018, per multiple employees working in their London headquarters. This chimes with the appointment of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the law firm appointed by the company to look into this miscalculation of inventory value - which also suggested Ted Baker knew of concerns about the problematic data earlier than it had publicly said. The operations team under new chief executive Lindsay Page is struggling to come up with a turnaround plan and the £20 - £25 million hit is making it difficult for investors to believe

Apr172019 by Sarah DixonNo Comments

Period poverty: what is it and what’s being done about it?

Data Journalism, Gender, Health

On the most basic level, period poverty is something experienced by women or girls who, due to financial limitations, cannot access sanitary products for their periods. While many take for granted the ability to purchase these products, many around the world put their lives on hold during menstruation or are forced to use other, sometimes unhygienic methods. Many see this as an issue affecting impoverished nations, however, this affects women across the UK as well. According to Plan International UK, 1 in 10 girls in the UK can't afford to buy sanitary products, and over 137,700 children have missed school in the UK because of this issue. Women at risk The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) most recent report on Persistent Poverty in the UK and EU, stated that 7.3 per c

Apr172019 by Cristina EscobarNo Comments

Figures show a link between birth rates and ethnicity

children, Data Journalism, Education, Health, Housing, Medical, NHS, Racism

In contrast with previous studies, the recent figures show that socio-economic factors are more relevant than biological ones Babies born from Pakistani and Black African parents had the highest infant mortality rates. Meanwhile, those from white mothers and fathers have the lowest in England and Wales, according to 2013 figures provided by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The white community (British and Irish) suffered only 2.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. However, the figure is quite different for other minorities. Pakistani babies had a mortality rate of 6.7, Black Caribbean of 6.6, and Black African of 6.3. These ethnic groups showed the most worrying probabilities of babies’ survival. The figures displayed a scary face of how inequality works even in t

Apr172019 by Sara AlboNo Comments

OVER 6,000 PEOPLE SUFFER FROM DIABETES IN ENGLAND AND “IT WILL BE EVEN WORSE”

Breaking News, brexit, children, Data Journalism, Explainers, Food, Health, Obesity

There are almost 4 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes in the United Kingdom, according to the last figures released by NHS Digital and Diabetes UK. Even though medical techniques are improving, the number of diabetes cases is strongly increasing. Diabetes UK predicted in its reports that if nothing changes, more than five million people will have diabetes by 2025. The last statistics include men and women who are over 17 years old and have type 1 or 2 diabetes. England is the area with the biggest percentage of people suffering from this disease among the UK, in this country the number has increased by almost one million in just 7 years. Even though type 2 diabetes is the most frequent in adults, a great percentage of children seem to suffer from type 1 diab...

Apr172019 by Editor2No Comments

The rise and rise of transfer fees from the late 80’s to today

Data Journalism, Sport, Sports

In 2001, Real Madrid set a precedent when they smashed a then-record transfer fee of £46.2m to sign 29-year old Zinedine Zidane from Juventus. Despite the fact that the French star was nearing the end of his playing career, Real Madrid took the plunge, which incontestably paid off as it was Zidane’s spectacular goal that won them the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow a year later. The world’s most decorated club got their man and, after years of publicly admitting that his desire was to join the Blancos one day, Zidane arrived at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu amid sky-high pressure and expectations. Thanks to Zidane’s arrival, Madrid entered a new dimension on and off the pitch and sent sporting shockwaves through the world. And football has never been the same