The theme 'Dealing with Data' is wide-ranging and applicable to many disciplines. Academic Departments featured included: Department of Economics, Computer Science and the Institute of Education. We also welcomed content around other subjects from map-making to risk-taking.

Popular articles included 'Why I Don't Have a Girlfriend', in which PhD student Peter Backus used an equation to work out many potential girlfriends there were for him in the UK and 'The University of Warwick in Numbers', a video showcasing interesting Warwick statistics.

The New Superhero on Campus

Do you get annoyed when your computer is running slow? When it seems to be taking a long time to complete the simplest of tasks? If so, then you may be interested in a Super Computer, similar to the one currently residing in the Department of Physical Sciences. With the power to run up to 3,300 projects simultaneously, it is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

The University of Warwick in Numbers

This fortnight our theme centres on the idea of 'Dealing with Data'. To introduce the theme, watch the video below which features a range of Warwick statistics, some of which may surprise you. Do you find data visualisation tools useful? Do you find them an interesting way to interpret complicated data? Are you surprised by any of the statistics? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box.

Why I Don't have a Girlfriend

Finding a romantic partner is seen as an important part of anyone's life, but how do you find that special someone? Warwick PhD Student, Peter Backus, tried a novel new approach, attempting to find out just how many suitable girlfriends there were for him in the UK. He used Dr Frank Drake's 1961 equation for estimating the number of communicative civilisations in the Milky Way but altered the variables to suit his criteria. The article gained Backus a lot of media attention, but was his equation a success?

Map Yourself

We travel more than ever before, but we often make no record of the journeys we have made or leave any traces behind us. Jeremy Wood, artist and map maker, has used personal cartography and GPS mapping to create unique artworks. One of his creations, 'Traverse Me', is a map of the 700 acre Warwick Campus drawn entirely on foot. We've put together a list of ten tips if you want to make your own foray into personal cartography.

A Secure Future for Research Data

The curation, access and availability of data has always been a contentious topic, whether considering personal details or research study data. This is amplified by the data age that we live in, with all types of data being easily accessible for a large amount of people. But what does the future hold for research data? Will encouraging data sharing help security?

We're All Going to Die (Sometime)

Past experience can be used to check the odds of your football team winning or judge the risks of activities such as riding motorcycles or taking illegal drugs. Things get more difficult when we don't fully understand what is going on. This was the subject of a lecture by David J Spiegelhalter OBE, FRS (Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, University of Cambridge) and was hosted by the Department of Statistics.

Is Social Networking Widening the Generation Gap?

At work and home, we are surrounded by data and digital tools, from the alarm on our mobile phone that wakes us up in the morning, to checking that last tweet before we go to bed at night. But what effect is this constant digital pressure having on us, both physically and mentally? In this series of articles, four Warwick academics explain the effects the surge in digital technologies may have on our wider health.

Sleep Patterns

In the second article of our series 'The Impact of Data on Body and Mind', Professor Francesco Cappuccio, Warwick Medical School, explains how modern society has been digitally enabled to work and play 24/7, and the effect that this has on our sleep patterns.

The Travelling Salesman

With our ever-increasing workloads, it is desirable to find the most time-effective way of completing a task. This is illustrated in the 'Travelling Salesman' problem, what is the best way to complete your task while minimising output? Dr Vladimir Deineko discusses the problem in the context of Coventry City Council's clinical waste department. What is the quickest route to take that ensures all stops are made? Is there a way to guarantee finding the ideal solution?

Stand Up and Be Counted

Manipulating Memories

In the third article in our series 'The Impact of Data on Body and Mind', Dr Kimberley Wade, Department of Psychology, looks at the way our memories can be altered by digitally manipulated images. Are our memories always reliable when it comes to our own personal experiences?

The Frequency of Wars

Putting the moral arguments aside, is war economically a good idea? Professor Mark Harrison, Department of Economics, has co-authored an article on this subject, using data since 1870 and discusses counter-intuitive links between trade, democratisation, and war. Are there any steps we can take to prevent a continuing rise in the frequency of war?

Have you found what you were looking for?

Without realising it, you will have made use of vertical search engines. Very different to Google (a horizontal search engine), vertical search engines are able to interpret our search terms and deliver highly relevant results. Christian Romming, a lead software engineer, explains how they work.

Mapping the Milky Way

It is now commonplace for many people to own digital cameras with 10, 12 or 14 megapixel capabilities, providing high-quality photos even when blown up to large sizes for personal and commercial use. But what if the image you need to take is of the entire central plane of the Milky Way galaxy? Dr Danny Steeghs, Associate professor & STFC Advanced Fellow in the Astronomy & Astrophysics group in the Department of Physics, explains.