On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 5:55 AM, Pam Cranston <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
With the amount of sub-letting & the way properties are split, it would probably never be accurate. Besides which, people get born or die at a rate that makes for nonsense of any census returns.
here in the US we recognize that our decennial Census is a snapshot in time. Some folks are selected to complete a very detailed census asking all sorts of questions such as the number of toilets in the house. Others complete a simple form.
but more importantly our census is used to determine federal political districts ie House of Representatives. our Census takers are required to seek out everyone including the permanently homeless who may be living under bridge overpasses or in national parks.
from a technological standpoint the US Census was one of the first federal agencies to use tabulating cards