Welcome to Radical Statistics Issue 101. The editors thank authors for the contributions in this miscellaneous issue; there is no specific theme but you will find the usual critical analysis and comment.
Fernando De Maio revisits the earlier writings of Engels and Virchow, who identified social conditions as the major determinants of health and argued strongly for the relief of poverty and improved living conditions. He notes the link with current researchers; they may not be preaching revolution but are still arguing for policy change in order to reduce health inequalities.
Here in the UK, various systems of voting are being compared for effective voter representation, so the article by Don Kerr and Hugh Mellon explaining the Canadian system is topical. They question whether the system is robust in the face of increasing population drift to the cities in Canada. A comment follows by Ludi Simpson, who has written on immigration and population growth in issues 99 & 100. Ludi doubts whether population drift to cities will lead to disproportionate representation in the UK.
The next issue, expected to be out before the end of the summer, will present articles from the 2010 Annual Conference – ‘Whose Statistics?’. However, because it was presented promptly, Harvey Goldstein’s article is included here together with two commentaries on the conference.
Harvey argues that statisticians should use the most powerful techniques available, particularly for hierarchical systems that display complexity; he claims that it is unprofessional for statisticians to condone drawing conclusions from an overly simplistic analysis. He justifies the need for an ethical approach by quoting discussions on the validity of school league tables.
Two contributors, Christian Hennig and John Urquhart, present their own personal views on the 2010 annual conference and substance of the debate. We also have book reviews by Alex Lea and Jane Galbraith. Contributions of this sort are very welcome and often stimulate further discussion. Please inundate the editors with your writings!
Janet Shapiro
Jane Galbraith
Bob Sanders
editors@radstats.org.uk
