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News & Events
Beyond 20/20 Insights: Fall 2005
In this edition:
1. CCL to Disseminate Learning Indicators Using Beyond 20/20 WDS
2. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Chooses Beyond 20/20 Vista
3. Beyond 20/20 WDS Technical Tip
4. New Vista Flash Demo
5. Real Life Crime Fighting using Beyond 20/20 Vista
The Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) has a mandate to promote and support research that improves all aspects of learning across the country. Fundamental to achieving this objective is the Canada-wide exchange of information about learning outcomes as measured through pan-Canadian indicators that benchmark progress in lifelong learning.
CCL has chosen Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server (WDS) to distribute learning indicators to the public and to provide an internal service to a wide range of associates including research houses, knowledge centres and consortium partners. This national database will include content developed by CCL as well as data generated from other sources. With such a wide range of users with differing needs, CCL needed a solution that would offer the flexibility to define custom reports in a user-friendly environment. And since the data will come from multiple sources, being able to easily integrate was a key requirement.
By using Beyond 20/20 WDS, CCL will give those involved in learning tools to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and information. End-users will be able to create charts on the fly, and manipulate data to create new personal views by sorting, calculating or rearranging reports using easy drag and drop features. Mapping capabilities will also allow users to view geographical relationships, patterns or trends.
CCL expects to have the database operational within the first half of 2006.
The National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) has significantly altered the way law enforcement agencies report crime by providing greater detail about criminal incidents. But measuring crime can still be a challenging endeavor since the detailed data isn’t always easily transformed into useable information.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has been 100% NIBRS compliant since 2000 but were experiencing several issues accessing their crime data. Law enforcement agencies were having problems viewing and manipulating state data which they used for comparative purposes with their own Record Management Systems (RMS). Access to crime information by the public was limited to static PDF documents and hard copy reports. And since the process to generate annual publications required data entry, proofing and editing - which was very labor intensive - it delayed the release of annual data.
TBI was looking for a solution that would give users the ability to manipulate data, create ad-hoc reports, and access predefined reports in an easy-to-use interface. They also needed to control the type of data that was accessible at the local agency level and for public consumption. TBI chose Beyond 20/20 Vista for its cost effective and proven solution that is easily used by an audience without access to specialized software.
With Beyond 20/20 Vista, Tennessee will be able to give law enforcement agencies access to their data and allow export to other software systems for validation with local RMS. The public will also have more access to published data and will be able to generate their own reports rather than requesting reports from the state.
If you have several microdata survey variables that have common responses such as Yes/No or Likert-scale, you can link them as a series to allow your WDS users to create reports that provide side-by-side comparison.
To set up the series, start the WDS Manager and go to the Publish tab. Unpublish your IVX file and select the Properties button and then the Series button. Follow the instructions in the help file to add several variables to your new series. Publish the IVX file.
The new series will appear beside a link icon when you open the Extract in WDS. To use the series in a report, simply check the box next to it. You will see a variable dimension and a response dimension added to your report. Add a weight variable and any other variables you require and build your report as you normally would.
Video demonstrations are an effective way to view products in action and gain a quick understanding of their capabilities. At Beyond 20/20, we have recently updated our on-line Vista demonstration to give viewers a first hand glimpse of our OLAP solution in action. Developed in Macromedia Flash, the short clips highlight key functionality in the following areas:
- Overview – explains toolbar buttons, how reports are organized and how to navigate
- Creating a Report – spells out the steps to modify an existing report or create a custom report
- Drag and Drop – shows manipulation of dimensions to customize reports
- Drill Down – reveals lower levels of detail in a report or chart
- Data Summarization – describes how to focus in on data of interest by sorting, highlighting exceptions, or viewing top N items
The flash demos can be viewed from the Beyond 20/20 site at Vista Demo . Registration is required.
Personnel at the Vermont Crime Information Center have been developing a series of research tips that show law enforcement how they can improve the effectiveness of their policing efforts. The informative articles showcase Vermont Crime On-Line, the state’s interactive crime report and provide real life examples of how law enforcement agencies can use this rich data source to analyze crime in their jurisdictions. The service – which is based on Beyond 20/20 Vista – is the first web-based crime report in the nation that provides information about criminal incidents at local, county and state levels in an interactive setting that complies with the FBI’s incident-based reporting standard NIBRS.
To view the reports first hand, visit the Beyond 20/20 website at the following link: VCON reports
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