|
|
|  :
Archives
These interactive exercises
help users get a better handle on the political process.
|
|
Elections and Politics:
 |
WBUR-FM
Boston - Vote by Issue Quiz
It
can be hard to learn candidates' positions on the issues amid their
carefully controlled media messages. In this Web-based game, launched
in October 2002, users pick the statements they most agree with
on a variety of issues without knowing which candidate actually
said them. At the end of the quiz, users finds out which candidate
or candidates match their opinions on each issue and can follow
links to more information on the candidates' platforms.
|
| AOL
News and TIME's "President Match" Quiz
AOL
News and TIME created this interactive quiz to allow voters to discover
which presidential candidate's views most strongly match their own.
The question-and-answer guide at the end the questionaire ranks
the candidates by issue. Another feature, the direct compare guide
lets users size up the views of each candidate side-by-side.
|
|
Economic Development:
 |
The
Sun News - Myrtle Beach Growth Along the Strand Game
The
Sun News, created with developer Smashing Ideas Inc. (www.smashingideas.com),
created an interactive Web game, "Chart the Strand's Future,"
that allows users to design their own plans for growth in this booming
resort town and see how their choices would impact community finances
and quality of life.
This
Pew
Center for Civic Journalism wrote an article about
the game in the Summer of 2002. |
Budgets and Calculators:
|
The NHPR New Hampshire Tax Calculator
New
Hampshire Public Radio put a more personal twist on tax coverage
with this interactive calculator. You enter your location, annual
income, the value of your house and other information, and the calulator
tells you how much you can expect to spend on state taxes that year.
The calculator also predicts how much you would pay in taxes under
other proposed tax plans going through the state legislature. Requires
Java.
The
Pew Center for Civic Journalism awarded the Tax Caculator the Batten
Award in 2000. |
|
|
|
NHPR
Budget Builder
You
get to choose how New Hampshire spends its money with the NHPR Budget
Builder. Allocate funds for the state budget in 11 different areas
for your ideal and "best guess" budgets, then compare your spending
priorities to the actual state budget and to budgets submitted by
other users. Macromedia Flash player Required.
 See
J-Lab's article on this project
See
Jon Greenberg's article on this project |
|
The
Sacramento Bee Budget Balancer
Help
pay off California's multi-billion dollar debt with this budget
calculator. You decide how much money to cut from various state
programs and how much to add to various city taxes, and the form
adds up how much money you've saved overall. Then you can automatically
send your suggestions to the state leaders and the staff of the
Bee for their consideration.
See
J-Lab's article on this project |
|
Local Government:
|
|
Savannah's
Water Use Calculator
The
Savannah Morning News tackled issues surrounding water use in Georgia
by providing several interactive Web features including a program
that calculates an individual's water use and compares it to the
average per capita use in a particular county. As the state legislature
looks into ways to manage water use, the paper intends for these
tools to help make the choices clear to the public.
|
Sports:
| Tour
de France 2003
(through LATimes.com, registration required)
This
interactive exercise form Agence France Presse contains comprehensive
information about the 2003 Tour de France. Real-time standings,
rider profiles, route maps, past winners and more are presented
in a clean interface that lets users see only the statistics that
they want. |
|
War Coverage:
| 
|
CBC.ca
- Anatomy of a Refugee Camp
What does it take to set up and sustain a refugee camp? As part
of their Iraq war coverage, the Canadian Broadcasting Company assembled
this Flash-based exploration of life in a refugee camp. Users navigate
the camp with a virtual compass, clicking on each building or area
to learn more about refugee life and the challenges involved in
making camps safe and healthy places. External links provide more
information on everything from refugee rations to latrine construction. |
|
