In our latest data round-up, we look at how Sheridan Smith’s character in ITV’s Cleaning Up raises much debate about Microsoft Excel, interactive storytelling for presentations, the most popular and the best dog breeds to own (according to the numbers) and more.
Best Dog Breeds – by the Data
Choosing the best dog breed for your family, budget or personal tastes can be tricky. This wonderful grid from Information is Beautiful uses data to help you choose, placing over 40 common breeds across quadrants based in factors such as cost of ownership, intelligence, longevity and more.
This graphic is great fun, but based on and packed with masses of information.
Interactive Storytelling – CITO Research
Using data analysis and interactive storytelling can help business executives to make extremely powerful presentations. The more impact a strategy or business change is likely to have on a company, the more people want to use data-driven decision making. This extensive PDF by CITO Research and Qlik is a handy introduction to the topic.
Excel Courses and the Business Need for Spreadsheet Skills
This article on the Entrepreneur magazine website discusses the fact that Excel skills are essential for the smooth running of millions of businesses, and fundamental to success in many millions of job roles.
Studying for a Microsoft Excel training course can be one of the smartest investments you make in your career.
A Formula for Game of the Year
Entertainment website, Polygon, released this video just before new year, where they discussed the usually subjective topic of Game of the Year (GOTY). They introduced a formula:
GOTY (in BDGs) = (FPGPG * (BCE^MOM))/DPM
which puts all arguments to bed, with the workings out explained in the video.
Spreadsheet Errors Put Public Works Inventory at ‘High Risk’
The Daily Guam reported that mistakes and miscalculations using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, as well as the use of multiple inventory management systems, were leading to audit errors at the Department of Public Works. The story highlights the risks involved in using software without systems in placing for looking for and flagging the influence of human error.
Made with Math by Texas Instruments Education
When you hear the words ‘Texas Instruments’, you wouldn’t be alone in being reminded of your calculator from the 1980’s, perhaps turning it upside down to make rude words with the numbers.
Today though, Texas Instruments have a wonderful YouTube Channel called Made with Math, which is packed with free mathematics tutorials across hundreds of videos.
Well worth a look!
Cleaning Up with Microsoft Excel
One of the UK’s most popular TV dramas of January 2019 was ITV’s Cleaning Up, starring Sheridan Smith. It was just the television columns where it created a buzz though, Sheridan’s character caused quite a stir in the Twitter world’s of IT and Excel with her ability to access confidential trading information on bankers’ computers, while struggling somewhat with Microsoft Excel functions.
Some entertaining Twitter exchanges that ensued are discussed in this article on Digital Spy.