The Life of a Number

Measurement, Meaning and the Media
1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5292-2533-4
Verlag: Bristol University Press

Buch, Englisch, 166 Seiten, Format (B × H): 241 mm x 161 mm, Gewicht: 404 g

Do numbers have a life of their own or do we give them meaning? How do data play a role in constructing people’s perceptions of the world around them? How far can we trust numbers to speak truth to power?

The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique moment to answer these questions. This book examines how politicians, experts and journalists gave meaning to data through the story of seven iconic numbers from the pandemic.

Shedding light on a new dawn of data, this book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the relationship between numbers, meaning and society.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lawson, B. T.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikationswissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Angewandte Ethik & Soziale Verantwortung Wissenschaftsethik, Technikethik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Wissenssoziologie, Wissenschaftssoziologie, Techniksoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction

2. Data bounds Are Reinforced by Policy

3. Quantitative Realism Underpins Data Bounds

4. Quantitative Realism is Mathematical and Abstract

5. Desire for Data Bounds Underpins Quantitative Realism

6. Data Bounds Are Emotive

7. Data Boundaries Are Drawn Within Historical Norms

8. Critically Engaging with Data Bounds

Afterword

References

Über Autor(innen)

Lawson, B. T.
Brendan Lawson is Lecturer in Media and Communication at Loughborough University.

B.T. Lawson is Research Associate at Loughborough University.