Dear Reader: Here’s something of interest that was sent to me today (“philosepi”!)
Call for papers: Preventive Medicine special section on philosepi
The epidemiology and public health journal Preventive Medicine is devoting a special section to the Philosophy of Epidemiology, and published the first call for papers in its April 2012 issue. Papers will be published as they are received and reviewed. Deadline for inclusion in the first issue is 30 June 2012. See the Call For Papers for further information or contact Alex Broadbent who is happy to discuss possible topics, etc. All papers will be subject to peer review.
Preventive Medicine invites submissions from epidemiologists, statisticians, philosophers, lawyers, and others with a professional interest in the conceptual and methodological challenges that emerge from the field of epidemiology for a Special Section entitled “Philoso- phy of Epidemiology” with Guest Editor Dr Alex Broadbent of the University of Johannesburg. Dr Broadent also served as the Guest Editor of a related previous Special Section, “Epidemiology, Risk, and Causation”, that appeared in the October–November 2011 issue (Prev Med 53(4–5):213–259 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ journal/00917435/53/4-5).
Epidemiology has grown and become much more sophisticated in the last few decades. It is therefore not surprising that the discipline has attracted the attention of philosophers of science, nor that discussions of philosophical topics are becoming increasingly needed within epidemiology. These topics include the nature of causation, the nature and proper classification of disease, the proper interpreta- tion of measures of causal strength, methods and heuristics for causal inference, the best way to express and handle uncertainty, and the proper role of epidemiology in identifying and addressing social injustices, to name a few.
The editors believe that epidemiology both needs and repays explicit, informed discussion of its conceptual and methodological challenges, and that such discussion will benefit the discipline as well being interesting in its own right.
Papers up to 3500 words on the topics above and other conceptual issues are therefore warmly invited. All papers will be peer reviewed.
Error Statistics Philosophy 
Yes, I’m still typing on this old thing. I find I get more done on my book this way, No danger of being tempted to check e-mail, stock disasters, or shop. Using carbon copies frees me from printer annoyances as well.