Visualization Of Current Events - Drone Attacks In Pakistan

Source: Out Of Sight, Out of Mind

Everyday there is a good deal of news about the use of drones for military, national, and local defenses. The pros and cons abound, from the protection against terrorism to the killing of innocent people to overall questions of privacy. Recently, two of our students worked on this topic for their iMovie documentary project. In helping them look for information, we stumbled across this amazing visualization on drone attacks in Pakistan since 2004.

Source: Out Of Sight, Out of Mind

The website called Out of Sight, Out of Mind tracks the number of attacks through an interactive timeline as it simultaneously counts the fatalities of children, civilians, and others. As you roll the mouse over each of the small, bright red, dark red and white lines below the timeline, a box pops up with the specific details of the attacks.

Source: Out Of Sight, Out of Mind

By clicking on the Victims link, the visualization can be expanded to view the data in a vertical timeline by calendar date for each month. It shows the attacks and fatalities, beginning with the most current date. The view also allows the user to scroll over the figures to get more precise details of the attacks. This interactive data display is worth an investigation, and its stark, clear presentation of the information is visually pointed. Click the News link for recent articles and reports on the topic of drones in the headlines.

For another view of what is often referred to as the "Drone War," take a look at the interactive map just published by Bloomberg Businessweek detailing the global picture of attacks in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Roll the mouse over each hexagon to see the details on the location, strikes, deaths, and year.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

Both of these resources would make for a healthy, current events discussion in any social studies or history class.