Data in Society: Challenging Statistics in an Age of Globalisation

Description

Data is a social phenomenon. This book examines the ways in which we are constantly engaging with data, consciously through the ways in which we provide data about ourselves and without awareness. It analyses the construction and use of statistics by governmental and non-governmental organisations, looking at how statistics are used in social discourse to advance interests and to achieve particular, often political ends. The authors also consider the increasing power of private corporations and transnational organisations, including recent processes affecting the ownership and access to data, as well as the importance of data in uncovering and portraying injustices.

Jeff Evans is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Middlesex University, UK. He researches the public understanding of statistics, and influences on adults' mathematical learning. Sally Ruane is Reader in Social Policy and the Director of the Health Policy Research Unit in the School of Applied Social Sciences at De Montfort University, UK. Humphrey Southall is Professor of Historical Geography at the University of Portsmouth, UK, and directs the Great Britain Historical GIS. He researches the origins of Britain's north-south divide and promotes public engagement with historical statistics.