Article Published

I have written an article for KJM Today on whether it was fair or unfair of MPs to vote against a parliamentary recess during the Conservative Party conference.

Making money from your iPhone app

You have spent time producing an app for the iPhone but how do you ensure that it trends on iTunes? According to an analysis of over 7,000 iOS mobile apps, the most important factors that contribute to a higher average user rating (across all versions of an app) are the number of screenshots and the …

Who survived the Titanic disaster?

Recently, my wife and I saw Titanic for the first time. Yes, I know it's one of the biggest grossing films of all time about the biggest marine disaster of all time and it's over twenty years old. But, somehow, neither of us have got around to watching it until now. The movie made clear …

Capital Gazette shooting was many things, but it was not a mass shooting

Five journalists are shot dead at their place of work in the Maryland and everyone starts saying "another mass shooting". And then there will be another cycle of debates about gun controls. Of course, the deaths are a tragedy. But is it reasonable to call this incident a mass shooting? The truth is that there …

Who are the best #WorldCup2018 football team?

So it's the World Cup again and football is on everyone's mind. Of the 32 countries taking who have qualified, each is hoping their team is the one to bring the cup home (although perhaps some have a better chance than others). England may have developed reputation for dropping out of the competition early. But, …

The bar for mass shootings in the US is ridiculously low

There have been 239,677 incidents of gun violence between 2013 and 2018 across the United States, according to an analysis of data collected by the Gun Violence Archive, a US-based non-profit-making organisation. Gun violence incidents during this period - there is no central database before 2013 - have resulted in 60,468 deaths and 118,402 non-fatal …

Fall in UK government websites

The number of ".gov.uk" domain names has fallen year-on-year since 2011, according to an analysis of annual lists of websites released by the UK Cabinet Office. In October 2011, there were 3,771 domain names. As of October 2017, this has dropped by 833 to 2,938 domain names.   Part of the fall could probably be …

The Diversity of TED Talks: a data science project

What I love about watching TED Talks is the wide range of content and speakers and positive and often motivational aspect to them. TED.com, and the TED Youtube channel, has often been my go-to site when I need a pick-me-up. Or when I am just bored from doing what I am supposed to be doing …

The investment in Vauxhall’s Luton plant probably has nothing to do with Brexit: a data science project

PSA, the French manufacturer of Peugeot and Citreon, which bought British car firm Vauxhall last year, has announced what appears to be good news for uncertain times. The new Vauxhall Vivaro van will be manufactured in its Luton plant for at least until 2030. In other words, PSA are investing in the UK, post-Brexit. According …

The hysteria about Cambridge Analytica and behaviour change

So British firm Cambridge Analytica seems to be in trouble for using data obtained from 50 million Facebook users, without permission. It is then said to have used this data to microtarget political ads for Donald Trump's presidential campaign - and allegedly for various Leave campaign groups in the UK's EU Referendum (although this is …