Monthly Archives: March 2011

I finally found a Census article that made me laugh

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Vicki Bolton

Lucy Mangan in the Guardian: The UK Census – it’s just a big box of tricks.  This is my favourite part: “How many of these rooms are bedrooms? Include all rooms built or converted for use as bedrooms even if they … Continue reading →

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What is volunteering?

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Vicki Bolton

My supervisor has suggested that I leave this question alone for a little while, so of course I can’t…  (For those of you who can’t countenance studying something before defining it, please bear in mind that I pretty much have … Continue reading →

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More infant feeding research

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Vicki Bolton

The Telegraph and Observer have both published articles based on Maria Iacovou’s research (presumably this working paper) on the cognitive effects of breastfeeding.  It’s based on data from ALSPAC, a detailed and interesting (if slightly flawed) longitudinal dataset from Bristol.  Once … Continue reading →

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Davies’ Law

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Vicki Bolton

Davies’ Law: “As a discussion about scientific rigour continues, the probability of someone mentioning Andrew Wakefield’s MMR study approaches 1”.  A friend of a friend (I love Facebook right now) proposed this today as a variation on Godwin’s Law.  Godwin’s … Continue reading →

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Reviewing peer review

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Vicki Bolton

Having never thought about peer review in much detail, I came across two independent articles on the subject today.  The first came courtesy of my friend Gill Norman who used it as light lunchtime reading before posting it on Facebook to … Continue reading →

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Inequality and volunteering – half-formed thought

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Vicki Bolton

I’ve just been next door talking to Anjelica Finnegan about philanthropy in the US.  The new NCVO Almanac (p.14) shows a nice bubble chart illustrating how much people in different countries give to charity (as a percentage of GDP). Americans give … Continue reading →

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