In an attempt to bring about some improvement in the sloppy and inconsistent way in which metric units are often written, the UK Metric Association has today (5 July 2012) published a “Measurement Units Style Guide”. Aimed at anybody who uses metric units in their writing, the Guide is available in both hard copy and as a free download from the UKMA website.
Continue reading “UKMA launches Measurement Units Style Guide”
With the London Marathon being run today, it is timely to remember the metric origins of the marathon, and to puncture the myth that it is a race measured in imperial units.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has given in to anti-metric lobbying and backtracked on its earlier proposal that imperial-only height and width restriction signs should be replaced with dual metric/imperial signs within four years. This climbdown is despite the responses to its own consultation, which revealed widespread support within the industry for the proposal. It also flies in the face of its own cost assessment. The article concludes with a challenging question. Continue reading “DfT rejects industry view on metric signs”
By an odd co-incidence both “Which?” magazine and the BBC’s flagship “Panorama” programme have recently run stories on the scams employed by the big supermarkets to prevent customers from comparing “value for money” in their weekly shopping. However, despite their good intentions, neither of the articles nor the tv programme quite identified the most obvious and effective remedies. Continue reading “Which? sees the light – and Panorama joins in”
A reader of Metric Views has received an unusually comprehensive reply to a complaint about the units used in the the programme ‘Bang goes the theory’. We are posting the letter in full as we feel it may be of interest to our readers. Continue reading “The BBC explains its position on measurement units”
Two recent Channel 4 Dispatches programmes entitled “Kids Don’t Count” sought to demonstrate just that. But if you saw the programmes and are a regular reader of Metric Views, you may have wondered if the programmes overlooked the real problem. Continue reading “Kids don’t count”
Metric Views 