Stuart's letters to the editor

Letters to the editor

I have been a regular correspondent to a few New Zealand newspapers, with many of the letters discussing gender issues. Following requests, I have put some of the letters on these pages. As I write in response to articles or letters, the result is rather like hearing one side of a phone conversation.

The collection is not complete as I do not have a full record of the letters that were published, and I have left out all those that were not accepted. This may be a mistake. It is interesting to note that some papers were not prepared to publish basic facts which contradicted the prevailing wisdom. Perhaps I will include them separately at a later date.

Where letters have been abridged, the omitted sections are included in brackets, [ ].

The emphasis on certain publications results from a two-way process. Some papers are less willing to publish than others, so fewer letters will appear. This results in less willingness to write, so fewer letters are submitted.

It is also interesting to note that papers are more willing to accept letters than to have regard to press releases or summaries of relevant research papers, such as the papers on my Centre web pages.

Some would say that an academic has a duty to disseminate research results and participate in debate on issues of public concern where they relate to his/her area of specialisation. It appears that we have to resort to letter writing to achieve this. This is not a complaint. We could consider it a step up from addressing crowds in the marketplace, as might have been the only option only a short time back in history.

Anyway, here are the letters......

List of letters

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