Category Archives: Radical Statistics Group

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Contents of this Issue

Moon with issue numberThere are three papers in issue 135. John Bibby’s appreciation of a long-standing Radical Statistics member and activist; Janet Shapiro. This is followed by a powerful empirical paper by Frank Houghton et al, on data suppression around maternal mortality in Idaho, USA.  Finally, Simeon Scott and Mark Dunkerley present a critical examination of the interplay between money, markets and inequality, a paper they first presented at the Sheffield Radical Statistics conference in March 2023.

RadStats Journal / Newsletter

The Radical Statistics editorial team has expanded but is still in search of people to help in terms of reviewing submitted articles or interesting books. The future of the RadStats journal is dependent on submissions from members and other interested parties. Since the Sheffield conference, we have seen a reasonable upturn in the number of papers submitted, and hope that this trend continues. If you have written something that you think would interest Radical Statistics, please consider submitting.

Getting Involved

The RadStats group is as strong as its membership and we welcome offers of help.  If you are interested in becoming involved with the journal, a future conference or event (RadStats turns 50 in 2024) or have other ideas to advance the Radical Statistics aim of building a more free, democratic, and egalitarian society, please contact editors@radstats.org.uk.

RadStats are particularly concerned about

  • Mystifying use of technical language to disguise social problems
  • Lack of control by the community over what & how statistical investigations are conducted and interpreted.
  • Power structures within which statistical and research workers are employed.
  • Fragmentation of social problems into specialist fields, obscuring connectedness.

“We believe that statistics can be used to support radical campaigns for progressive social change. Statistics should inform, not drive policies. Social problems should not be disguised by technical language.”

Administrative Issues

Please make sure you have updated your subscription, or make a donation! – by going to www.radstats.org.uk/membership/ where you can pay by cheque, standing order or PayPal.

Editorial Team (editors@radstats.org.uk)

Sean DEMACK, Bob JEFFERY

Please email if interested in joining this team.

Review Editor

Irina MOTOC

Introduction and Editorial, Issue 134 (with memorial to Roy Carr-Hill)

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Contents of this Issue

There is one poem, three papers and one book review in this issue.  In addition to a poem for and paper from Roy Carr-Hill (see below), Zohreen Badruddin worked with Diana Kornbrot to convert Diana’s RadStats conference paper on the infrastructure needed for Universal Basic Income (UBI) into the one published here. This is followed by a paper by Sean Demack on HE equality analyses involving ethnicity which reveals several (onion) layers of problematic statistical practice. Finally, Irina Motoc reviews a book on data visualization by Maarten Boers.

Roy Carr-Hill 1943-1922

Roy Carr-HillA founding member of Radical Statistics and, for the last decade, lead editor of this RadStats journal / newsletter, Roy died suddenly in November 2022. Family and friends gathered to remember Roy at a humanist funeral in York crematorium on a frozen Friday 9th December. The music of Paul Simon, Bob Marley and from The Blues Brothers accompanied moving memories of Roy’s life from four daughters and a grandson (and others later in The Woodman pub). To mark the death of Roy, this issue includes the John Dryden poem that was read at his funeral and a re-print of one of his RadStats articles in which he wryly summarised the rich and radical life he had lived up to 1999 when it was first published (RadStats Issue 71). I assume that Roy celebrated his 16th election of not voting in 2019!

RadStats Journal / Newsletter

For the last few years, I have helped Roy to put this journal / newsletter together.  Irina Motoc joined us more recently to focus on increasing the volume of book reviews submitted & published.  With the help of Eileen Magnello (copy editor) and Alistair Cairns (administrator), we have published 3-4 editions of the journal each year. The future of the RadStats journal is dependent on submissions from members and other interested parties. In addition to articles (and other submissions), if you are interested in becoming part of the editorial team, please contact us using the details below.

Radical Statistics Conference 2023

The conference [was] held on March 25th in Sheffield and the first in person RadStats event for three years. The conference has a broad theme of ‘Radical Statistics in an Age of Uncertainty’ and will include presentations on hidden unemployment, civic statistics, and pupil segregation. Please visit https://www.radstats.org.uk/conference/Sheffield2023/ for more detail.

Getting Involved

The RadStats group is as strong as its membership and we welcome offers of help. If you are interested in becoming involved with the journal, a future conference or event or other ideas to advance the Radical Statistics aim of building a more free, democratic, and egalitarian society, please contact editors@radstats.org.uk.

RadStats are particularly concerned about

  • Mystifying use of technical language to disguise social problems.
  • Lack of control by the community over what & how statistical investigations are conducted and interpreted.
  • Power structures within which statistical and research workers are employed.
  • Fragmentation of social problems into specialist fields, obscuring connectedness.

“We believe that statistics can be used to support radical campaigns for progressive social change.  Statistics should inform, not drive policies.  Social problems should not be disguised by technical language.”

We currently have no proposed articles for the next issue (RS 135); We encourage presenters at the conference in Sheffield to submit an article for consideration. Our review editor, Irina Motoc has several books for review, and is seeking volunteers!

Administrative Issues

Please make sure you have updated your subscription, or make a donation! – by going to www.radstats.org.uk/membership/ where you can pay by cheque, standing order, PayPal – or by filling in your details on page 45.

Editorial Team (editors@radstats.org.uk)

Sean DEMACK

Please email if interested in joining this team.

Review Editor

Irina MOTOC (irinamotoc@gmx.com)

What does AI ‘think’ of Radical Statistics?

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Guest Author: John Bibby

I was doodling with WordPress the other day and noted that it has a new option – “AI paragraph (experimental)”.  Another new option is “AI image (experimental)”. I tried the first option and put “Radical Statistics” as the prompt for an experimental paragraph. After ten seconds, this is what it gave me:

Radical Statistics is a field of study that aims to challenge the status quo and traditional methods of gathering and interpreting data. It is about recognizing the power dynamics that affect the collection of statistics and understanding the impact that data can have on policy decisions and social justice.

At its core, Radical Statistics is about questioning the data that is presented to us and demanding transparency and accountability from those who collect it. It is about recognizing the biases and assumptions that can be hidden in supposedly objective measurements and understanding how these can perpetuate inequality and discrimination.

One key aspect of Radical Statistics is the recognition that data cannot be divorced from the context in which it is collected. It is about recognizing the history and power dynamics that have shaped the way in which data is collected and interpreted, and working to ensure that these do not perpetuate systemic inequalities.

Radical Statistics also recognizes the role that data can play in social change. By providing accurate and meaningful data, we can challenge dominant narratives and create more just and equitable societies. It is about using data as a tool for social change rather than simply accepting it as an objective truth.

Ultimately, Radical Statistics is about changing the way we think about data and its role in society. It is about recognizing the power that data can have and working to ensure that this power is used for good. By challenging traditional methods of gathering and interpreting data, we can create a more just and equitable world for all.

Actually I felt it was rather good. However, surprisingly, it failed to mention the brilliant Radical Statistics organisation. I wonder if that is because its algorithm tells it not to?

JOHN

Editorial, Issue 133

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Contents of this Issue
In this, relatively shortballoons with smileys, issue we have two very interesting articles. The first by Chris Tofallis, Thomas Dunk and Neil Spencer from Hertfohttp://journal/issue133rdshire, after a forensic analysis of what MPs should be doing, focuses on constructing a ‘League Table’ of MPs performance in Parliament based on speeches made, written questions submitted and votes attended. The second by Manjinder Jagdev is another forensic examination of how racism permeated the national curricula for primary and secondary schools and how to get rid of it. Because of a an internal mix-up, we have to profusely apologise to both sets of authors, as these articles should have been in RSN 132. Nevertheless, we think that both articles, and especially the first, will have increased interest because of the current chaos in the British government.

Prospects for RSN 134
We are in the very rare position of having two papers already for RSN134 which will come out before the Sheffield Conference in February, one of them following on from the virtual conference that was hosted by the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne on the theme of ‘Taxing Wealth, Reducing Inequality’, held on Saturday 26th February. We- the editors – will be pursuing the other presenters at that conference relentlessly in the next couple of weeks. Our new Review Editor, Irina Motoc, also has several books for review, and is looking for volunteers.

Administrative Issues
Please make sure you have updated your subscription, or make a donation! – by going  to www.radstats.org.uk/membership/ where you can pay by cheque, standing order, PayPal – see p.47.

Editors
Roy CARR-HILL
Sean DEMACK
Review Editor
Irina MOTOC

Radstats Issue 131 Editorial

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Issue 131 is available, open access, at https://www.radstats.org.uk/journal/issue131.

Editorial

Following on from the discussions at the London Conference in February 2020, I asked contributors if they would agree to a student converting their power-point presentations into short texts. This has again been partly successful this year. We did manage to get two of the presentations at the 2021 Conference converted to text and these
were included in the last issue.

In this, relatively short, issue we have two very interesting articles by Serena Hussein questioning Census Categories and Paul Marchant on Road Safety; two thought-provoking reviews by John Bibby; and my usual take on COVID-19 statistics.

Prospects for RSN 132

We have at least one article promised for RSN 132, but, clearly, we are going to need more and our administrator has put out a call for contributions to the List. Our new Review Editor, Irina Motoc also has several books for review [contact editors@radstats.org.uk to review a book]. Another proposal for generating material was the relatively recent publication of the third RadStats compendium, Data in Society, which was presented by the books’ editors on Saturday 28th 2020. It is a landmark publication, bringing together many of the crucial issues around the production and use of quantitative information.

The contributors to Data in Society summarise many of the concerns around the accessibility and use of statistics in contemporary society. Examples include the lack of data from banking and financial organisations hides the extent of tax evasion of taxation. Government agencies are reducing the number of data series they make available for public scrutiny. The number of healthcare treatments in Britain
provided by private groups is growing steadily.

The book is an eye-opener on the difficulties in holding governments and large organisations to account. Do you agree with the authors’ interpretations? As the editors acknowledge there are data topics the volume does not cover in detail. These include the use of statistics by legal practitioners, housing and homelessness data and climate change data.

Radical Statistics Newsletter Issue 131 2022

The editors of the RadStats journal have been planning to devote one journal issue to topics raised by Data in Society, and to topics not discussed in the book. Could you write an article for the journal on any of the topics above? Are there are areas of debate missing from Data in Society?

Administrative Issues

As the Administrator informed those receiving printed copies of the issue that, at the AGM held in London at the end of February 2020, the decision was taken to raise the subscription from £25 to £35 for those wishing to continue to receive printed copies (whilst the membership subscription only – with online access – would remain at £25 for those £10 for those on low incomes), otherwise they would be taken off the distribution list which originally includes all 300+ members.

The theme of the 2022 Conference is ‘Taxing Wealth, Reducing Inequality’ It is on Saturday 26th February and is being ‘hosted’ by the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne. We expect the 2022 Conference will be predominantly remote and virtual. There are still preparation and ongoing costs. We are asking for
a donation; the suggested amount is £20, however all smaller donations will help cover the costs.

Please make sure you have updated your subscription, or make a donation! – by going to www.radstats.org.uk/membership/ where you can pay by cheque, standing order, PayPal – or by filling in your details on page 45.

Editors
Roy CARR-HILL
Sean DEMACK
Review Editor
Irina MOTOC

Conference 2022 Save the Date: 26 February

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Next year’s conference titled
is scheduled take place on Saturday, 26 February in central Newcastle at the Lit & Phil Library.
The link above provides very basic information but the events are being developed and the conference is shaping up.
There is still time to get involved in the planning. Please let us know if you can help in any way.
And there is space to give a talk or presentation. We are particularly looking for breadth in age, race and gender. If you think someone might be interested, that would also be helpful.
Finally health matters obviously continue to be up in the air. We said we’d either go virtual or in-person, and at this stage we are still very hopeful to go ahead in Newcastle. The possibility of a ‘hybrid’ event is appealing but we currently do not have anyone who is willing and able to facilitate this. If you feel you could, that would be great!
For any of these matters, please get in touch with the Conf22 organisers at conf22@radstats.org.uk.

Radstats Issue 130 Editorial

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Contents of this Issue

Following on from the discussions at the London Conference in February 2020, I asked contributors if they would agree to a student converting their power-point presentations into short texts. This has again been partly successful this year. We did manage to get two of the presentations at the 2021 Conference – those of Mike Sandys and Andrei Morgan – converted to text and these are the first two articles in this issue. The third article is an independent contribution by Bache and Burns on Student Loneliness. The final piece is a review by Simeon Scott of two statistical books. View issue 130.

Prospects for RSN 131

We have at least one article promised for RSN 131, but, clearly, we are going to need more and our administrator will put out a call for contributions to the List.

Another proposal for generating material was the relatively recent publication of the third RadStats compendium, Data in Society, which was presented by the books’ editors in 2020.  It is a landmark publication, bringing together many of the crucial issues around the production and use of quantitative information.

The contributors to Data in Society summarise many of the concerns around the accessibility and use of statistics in contemporary society. Examples include the lack of data from banking and financial organisations hides the extent of tax evasion of taxation. Government agencies are reducing the number of data series they make available for public scrutiny. The number of healthcare treatments in Britain provided by private groups is growing steadily.

The book is an eye-opener on the difficulties in holding governments and large organisations to account. Do you agree with the authors’ interpretations?

As the editors acknowledge there are data topics the volume does not cover in detail. These include the use of statistics by legal practitioners, housing and homelessness data and climate change data.

The editors of the RadStats journal have been planning to devote one journal issue to topics raised by Data in Society, and to topics not discussed in the book. Could you write an article for the journal on any of the topics above? Are there are areas of debate missing from Data in Society?

Administrative Issues

The 2022 Conference and AGM will take place on Saturday, 26 February. Radstats has a tentative booking for the day – and probably a bit extra – at the Newcastle Lit & Phil. The Conference will be either in-person OR virtual. If virtual, there would still be preparation and ongoing costs. We would ask for a donation; the suggested amount is £20, however all smaller donations will help cover the costs. Watch for more information soon! To get involved, please contact conf22@radstats.org.uk or the Troika, at troika@radstats.org.uk.

At the 2020 AGM a decision was approved to raise the subscription from £25 to £35 for those wishing to continue to receive print copies (whilst the membership subscription only – with online access – would remain at £25 and £10 for those on low incomes); otherwise they would be taken off the print distribution list.

Make sure you have updated your subscription, and please consider a one-off or regular donation.

See radstats.org.uk/membership where you can pay by cheque, standing order or PayPal.

Radstats Issue 129 Editorial

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Contents of this Issue

Following on from the discussions at the London Conference in February
2020, I asked contributors if they would agree to a student
converting their power-point presentations into short texts. This was
partly successful that year and also this year, although they will both be in the next issue.

The first article is the paper presented by Sally Ruane at the Conference. The second article is by the author, making a few comparisons with previous pandemics and also demonstrating the difference in portrayal of the ‘League Table’ by Death Rates as distinct from Number of Cases. The third article is a tour de force by Sean Demack on pupil segregation in England; and the final short piece is by John Bibby on a variant of Stigler’s dilemma.

Prospects for RSN 130

We have two articles ready, which have been converted from presentations
into papers with the help of an ex-student but, clearly, we are
going to have to rely on further contributions from the 2021 Conference
and/or anonymous or encouraged contributions.

We are still waiting for follow-ups to the relatively recent publication
of the third RadStats compendium, Data in Society, which was presented
by the books’ editors on Saturday 28th 2020. It is a landmark
publication, bringing together many of the crucial issues around the
production and use of quantitative information.

The contributors to Data in Society summarise many of the concerns
around the accessibility and use of statistics in contemporary society.
Examples include the lack of data from banking and financial
organisations hides the extent of tax evasion of taxation. Government
agencies are reducing the number of data series they make available
for public scrutiny. The number of healthcare treatments in Britain
provided by private groups is growing steadily.

The book is an eye-opener on the difficulties in holding governments
and large organisations to account. Do you agree with the authors’
interpretations?

As the editors acknowledge there are data topics the volume does not
cover in detail. These include the use of statistics by legal practitioners,
housing and homelessness data and climate change data.
The editors of the RadStats journal have been planning to devote one
journal issue to topics raised by Data in Society, and to topics not
discussed in the book. Could you write an article for the journal on
any of the topics above? Are there are areas of debate missing from
Data in Society? For example, is anyone prepared to comment on
the statistical inequalities arising out of the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic?

Administrative Issues

As the Administrator informed those receiving printed copies of the
issue that, at the AGM held in London at the end of February 2020,
the decision was taken to raise the subscription from £25 to £35 for
those wishing to continue to receive printed copies (whilst the membership
subscription only – with online access – would remain at £25
for those £10 for those on low incomes), otherwise they would be
taken off the distribution list which originally includes all 300+ members.

Please make sure you have updated your subscription, or make a
donation! – by going to www.radstats.org.uk/membership/ where
you can pay by cheque, standing order, PayPal – or by filling in your
details on page 52.

Editorial, Issue 128

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View the online journal, issue 128.Cover of issue 128, collage of crowds

Contents of this Issue
Following on from the discussions at the London Conference in February 2020, I asked contributors if they would agree to a student converting their power-point presentations into short texts. This has been partly successful this year. We did at last manage to get two of the presentations at the 2020 Conference – those of Danny Dorling and Andy Street – converted to text and these are the first two articles in this issue. The third article is the paper presented by Lynn McDonald at the Conference. The final article is a follow-up by Simeon Scott to an earlier article in Issue 125.

Prospects for RSN 129
We have at least one article promised for RSN 129, but, clearly, we are going to have to rely on contributions from the 2021 Conference. Given that this 2021 Conference hosted by Newcastle will be virtual, it is vital that presenters provide their powerpoints to the organisers and to the editors and that, if they can’t themselves provide a write-up of their presentation, they agree that a student should try and convert their presentation into a write-up, for the author to clear for publication.

Another proposal for generating material was the relatively recent publication of the third RadStats compendium, Data in Society, which was presented by the books’ editors on Saturday 28th 2020. It is a landmark publication, bringing together many of the crucial issues around the production and use of quantitative information.

The contributors to Data in Society summarise many of the concerns around the accessibility and use of statistics in contemporary society. Examples include the lack of data from banking and financial organisations hides the extent of tax evasion of taxation. Government agencies are reducing the number of data series they make available for public scrutiny. The number of healthcare treatments in Britain provided by private groups is growing steadily.

The book is an eye-opener on the difficulties in holding governments and large organisations to account. Do you agree with the authors’ interpretations?

As the editors acknowledge there are data topics the volume does not cover in detail. These include the use of statistics by legal practitioners, housing and homelessness data and climate change data.

The editors of the RadStats journal have been planning to devote one journal issue to topics raised by Data in Society, and to topics not discussed in the book. Could you write an article for the journal on any of the topics above? Are there are areas of debate missing from Data in Society?

Administrative Issues

As the Administrator informed those receiving printed copies of the issue that, at the AGM held in London at the end of February 2020, the decision was taken to raise the subscription from £25 to £35 for those wishing to continue to receive printed copies (whilst the membership subscription only – with online access – would remain at £25 for those £10 for those on low incomes), otherwise they would be taken off the distribution list which originally includes all 300+ members.

Also, although the2021 Conference will be virtual, there are still preparation and ongoing costs. We are asking for a donation; the suggested amount is £20, however all smaller donations will help cover the costs.

Please make sure you have updated your subscription, or make a donation! – by going to www.radstats.org.uk/membership where you can pay by cheque, standing order, PayPal – or by filling in your details on page 52.