The life of a number : measurement, meaning and the media / B.T. Lawson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lawson, B. T. (Brendan T.), author.

Series:

Policy Press scholarship online.

Policy Press scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023--Great Britain--Statistical methods.

COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023.

COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023--Press coverage--Great Britain.

Social indicators--Great Britain--History--21st century.

Social indicators.

Truthfulness and falsehood.

Great Britain--Statistics, Medical.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (v, 159 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bristol, UK : Bristol University Press, 2023.

Summary:

Drawing on case studies, this book examines how politicians, academics and journalists gave meaning to data during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawson sheds light on the distinct nature of the pandemic that led to the increased politicization of data and how it permanently changed the way we view health and society more broadly.

Contents:

Front Cover

The Life of a Number: Measurement, Meaning and the Media

Copyright information

Dedication

Table of Contents

1 Introduction

Data bound

Chapter 2: Data bounds are reinforced by policy

Chapter 3: Quantitative realism underpins data bounds

Chapter 4: Quantitative realism is mathematical and abstract

Chapter 5: Desire for data bounds underpins quantitative realism

Chapter 6: Data bounds are emotive

Chapter 7: Data boundaries are drawn within historical norms

Chapter 8: Critically engaging with data bounds

More cases, less theory

The life of a number

The pandemic in the UK

2 Data Bounds Are Reinforced by Policy

Trade-Off

Protect Both

Short-term vs long-term data

International comparisons

The problems of comparing death tolls

The problems of comparing Gross Domestic Product

What about data outside the data bounds?

Alternatives to Gross Domestic Product

Excess deaths

Beyond cases, hospitalizations and deaths

How policy structures data bounds

3 Quantitative Realism Underpins Data Bounds

Two metres

15 minutes

How 'close contact' structured policy

How numbers organize the unorganizable

Binding together the sciences

4 Quantitative Realism Is Mathematical and Abstract

Counting cleaning wipes

Numbers as language

The meaning of big numbers

One billion items as political rhetoric

Unprecedented crisis met with an unimaginable number

The itemization of Personal Protective Equipment

The four Personal Protective Equipment problems the figure tried to erase

Lack of adequate stockpiles

Inadequate production and procurement networks

Prioritizing the National Health Service over social care

Changing what classes as suitable Personal Protective Equipment

The power of huge

5 Desire for Data Bounds Underpins Quantitative Realism

Rethinking the infodemic

Where was the 'mis-behaviour'?

Trust us: we are not misinformation

The life of both figures

Surveys and 7 per cent

Digital data and eight million

A strategic emphasis on quantitative realism

6 Data Bounds Are Emotive

Data visualization

Representing the experience of the pandemic

Turning death into a graph

Performing data

Performance norms in Sky News

Sombre performance of death

Flouting the convention

Feeling data

7 Data Boundaries Are Drawn Within Historical Norms

Red-herring of inaccurate projections

Vaccines, cases and risk

Normalizing health inequalities

The failed campaign of the 'outsiders'

8 Critically Engaging with Data Bounds

Pay attention to media and communication

The media ecosystem

Interrogate and appreciate quantitative realism

Language, measurement and documentation

The tail that wags the dog

Examine how data bounds can maintain or challenge power

Public health imperative

Ethical purpose

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 18 Jan 2024).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781529225365

1529225361

9781529225341

1529225345

9781529225358

1529225353

OCLC:

1377805233