The Royal Statistical Society and statistical education

This paper describes the role of the Royal Statistical Society in shaping statistical education within the UK and further afield. Until 2001 the Society had four agencies concerned with education at all levels. The work of these is discussed and recent new arrangements are outlined. The Society’s efforts to disseminate good practice through organising meetings and running a network of Associate Schools and College are explored in some detail.

The Medway Valley: a Kent landscape transformed

In 1750 the lower Medway Valley, the area between the towns of Maidstone and Rochester, was firmly part of Kent's 'Garden of England'. A century later, this tranquil, agrarian landscape had been transformed into a hive of industry and commerce, through the emergence of papermaking, cement manufacture, brickmaking, brewing, ship and barge building, seed crushing and engineering. The lower Medway Valley became synonymous with the production of Portland cement, stock bricks and the steam engines of Aveling and Porter, yet, by the end of the Second World War, much of this industry was gone. "The Medway Valley: A Kent Landscape Transformed", the first Victoria County History publication in Kent for over 75 years, charts this cyclical story of landscape change. It explores how the quiet, rural landscape of a collection of eight riverside parishes around Rochester was dramatically transformed during industrialization, before returning to its formal rural state. This volume traces the impact of industrial development and decline on the valley and its people. It details changing patterns of work and society, the creation of new settlements and the pivotal role of the river in all aspects of village life reflecting two centuries of change and upheaval.

Trade unions, civil society organisations and health reforms

This article provides an analysis of resistance to neoliberalism and commodification in the public healthcare sector as seen from a trade union perspective. It uses recent research on social-movement unionism and new labour internationalism to structure a series of case studies examining resistance to different dimensions of healthcare commodification in four countries. The range of alliances trade unions are making do not fit tidily into one model, but give insights into the movement elements of trade unionism. This dimension must be strengthened, but can also be in tension with collective bargaining and other institutional processes. How to constantly reconcile these different positions is the future challenge facing trade unions.

[Organiser of Stirling's Red Buildings Conference for the Twentieth Century Society]

The aim of the conference is to review the three 'Red Buildings' with experts who have studied their history and their performance, and to discuss their future. Work is due to take place on the Leicester and Oxford buildings in the relatively near future, and technical knowledge can be shared in a context of understanding the design intention. Also to celebrate Stirling and Gowan's careers from a broader perspective and to assert the value of looking after these special buildings as assets for the future. The speakers in the afternoon session are people who knew the two architects well, and in some cases worked for them. [From University of Leicester]

Twentieth Century Society Spring lecture series: second lives for Twentieth Century masterpieces

The Twentieth Century Society’s Spring lecture series (six in total) looks at the restoration and refurbishment of key C20 buildings in Britain and the US. Buildings covered: BBC Broadcasting House in London (G Val Meyer 1930-32, MacCormac Jamieson Prichard 2000-09). Speaker: Mark Hines (Mark Hines Architects), was the project architect and is the author of The Story of Broadcasting House: Home of the BBC. 5 February 2009. Crown Hall, Chicago (Mies van der Rohe 1952), the Art and Architecture Building, Yale University, New Haven (Paul Rudolf 1961-63) and the former Wills head office in Bristol (SOM with YRM 1970-75). Speaker: Patrick Bellew (Atelier 10 Engineers), 12 February 2009. Center for British Art, Yale University, New Haven (Louis Kahn 1969-77). Speaker: Peter Inskip (Inskip and Jenkins Architects), 17 February 2009. Brunswick Centre London (Patrick Hodgkinson 1967-72; Levitt Bernstein with Patrick Hodgkinson 2006). Speaker: Stuart Tappin (Stand Consulting Engineers Ltd), 26 February 2009. De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea (Mendelsohn and Chermayeff 1934-5, John McAslan and Partners 2000-05). Speaker: Mark Cannata (HOK Architects), 5 March 2009. Finsbury Health Centre London (Lubetkin & Tecton 1938, first phase of conservation work Avanti Architects 1995.). Speaker: John Allan of Avanti Architects, 12 March 2009.