Fun stuff
Did air-conditioning get Ronald Reagan elected?
Here at .id we spend a lot of time talking and thinking about how places shape population and populations shape place. But there are often many other factors. Last week on ABC they aired an American program ‘How we got to Now’. The show...
Victorian crime statistics release – Is Victoria in the grip of a crime wave?
The news in Melbourne at the moment is dominated by the shocking murder of Doncaster teenager Masa Vukotic. This tragic event has overshadowed the release of detailed data on crime in the state. The new,...
Perception vs statistics: Emotional innumeracy
Recently, a friend shared with me an Ipsos MORI quiz via the Guardian website, titled ‘how well do you know Australia’ . It asks a series of questions about the Australian population. Despite working in this...
How is spatial analysis related to diseases? The story of John Snow
Over the past few weeks the news has been filled with awful stories of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. I came across this excellent map of the spatial patterns of the outbreak.
It takes two to tango – male fertility rate
Studies of fertility have dominated demography since the 1970s, as the addition of children is one of the major sources of population growth. The vast majority of studies on fertility are conducted from the...
Senior’s playground – preparing for an ageing population
When most Australians think of recreation and sport, we think of Aussie Rules Football, Cricket, Rugby, Soccer, Tennis, Swimming, and much more. Australia is widely regarded as a “Sporting Nation”
The demographic impact of WWI
We recently marked the centenary of the beginning of World War I. We thought we would take a look back and see what was happening in Australia and what the population of Australia was like in 1914, at the...
I like traffic lights…but only when they’re green
Immortalised by the somewhat repetitive Monty Python song “I like traffic lights”, traffic lights are a permanent part of our transport system.
Where’s the party this World Cup?
Every four years the World Cup brings the whole world to a halt. In bars and cafes across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, people will gather to cheer on their teams.
World No Tobacco Day – How much do we smoke?
Having recently moved from Adelaide to Melbourne, one of the things that has stood out is the difference in smoking laws. And with the 31st of May being World No Tobacco Day, I thought it would be interesting...
Tales of the underworld – homes below the ground
The vast majority of the urban development we see and discuss at .id (along with our local government clients) occurs above ground.
Looking at the urban landscape through music video
Some of you may have watched the recent mini-series about INXS, the Australian band who were one of the most successful of the late 80s and early 90s. I was reminded of the music video for their 1984 song Burn...
The driverless car - the end of public transport?
I was reading today about the latest Ford Kuga – full of all the latest technical wizardry such as adaptive cruise control, active city stop, lane guidance, blind spot indicators, reverse park assist, as well...
The Statistics of New Year’s Resolutions
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year?
Four bunches of green grapes, please
Here at .id we deal with a huge quantity of numbers, so its hard for us to imagine a society where numbers don’t exist. But there is one …
The Land Airbus – tomorrow’s monorail?
It seems that 30-odd years ago, the monorail was being touted as the solution to urban transport, especially in cities.
Crime rates – the butler did it. But statistics were an accessory
Birth rates, death rates, crime rates, home ownership rates, you get the idea, rates are everywhere! In this blog I explore the calculation of crime rates … and the impact of the revisions of the official...
Life in Australia – 50 years ago
Adelaidians- do you remember riding the Ferris Wheel on top of Cox-Foys – in Rundle Street? (before Rundle Mall!)
Local food markets in Japan – what a great system
While we study populations, at .id we’re interested in all aspects of community life and how different communities organise certain aspects of their lives. While in Japan I’ve been watching the local food...
Does Australia need a smaller car?
One of our staff members, Andrew, is currently on Vacation in Japan, and has sent this thought provoking blog…
