Book reviews

Law, socialism and social emancipation

Books Reviewed: M. Los, Communist Ideology, Law and Crime. St. Martin's Press: New York. 1988.

Paul Q. HirstLaw, Socialism and Democracy. London: Allen and Unwin 1986.

Citoyens et citoyennes

Review of: C. Pateman (1988), The Sexual Contract, Stanford University Press.

H.M. Hernes (1987), Welfare State and Women Power, Norwegian University Press.

Franco Crespi (1989), Azione sociale e potere, Il Mulino     

Alterations in the Emotional Regulation Process in Gambling Addiction: The Role of Anger and Alexithymia

This study aims at the assessment of alexithymia and anger levels in 100 treatment-seeking pathological gamblers compared with controls, who were matched for age, gender and education. Furthermore a positive correlation between alexithymia, anger and severity of gambling disorder and a relationship between gambling behaviour and anger after controlling for alexithymia, are investigated. Finally the role that gender plays in anger in pathological gamblers was also evaluated. Psychological assessment includes the South Oaks Gambling Screen, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 and the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Statistical analysis of the results shows a higher level of anger in pathological gamblers than in controls, together with alterations in emotional processing. Severity of gambling behaviour positively correlates with alexithymia scores, state-anger and trait-anger. Moreover, a significant contribution of anger in predicting gambling behaviour was suggested after controlling for alexithymia. In conclusion, anger and alexithymia must be regarded as relevant components of the assessment of pathological gamblers, in order to select the best therapeutical strategies to prevent self-defeating behaviours and to reduce drop-out from treatments.     

Firm’s protection against disasters: are investment and insurance substitutes or complements?

Theory and Decision - We use a controlled laboratory experiment to study firm’s protection against potential technological damages. The probability of a catastrophic event is known, and the...     

Similarities and Differences in Competitiveness Among European NUTS2 Regions: An Empirical Analysis Based on 2010–2013 Data

Social Indicators Research - Regional competitiveness is a concept whose definition and applicability is highly debated among scholars. Nevertheless, over recent years it has become widespread...     

Applying fuzzy logic to personnel assessment: a case study

The main results of a research project spanning over several years are presented in this paper. The aim of the research was the improvement of the effectiveness of personnel assessment within a large Italian corporation operating in the research sector. The first step of the research consisted of the analysis of the raters’ behavior, so as to elicit the judgement categories and prototypes they used in the judgement formulation, based on the rating method adopted in the corporation. The second step consisted of improving the rating method using fuzzy logic. The corporate management tested the new rating method and found it more efficient and reliable than the previous one.     

A measure of interrater absolute agreement for ordinal categorical data

Statistical Methods & Applications - A measure of interrater absolute agreement for ordinal scales is proposed capitalizing on the dispersion index for ordinal variables proposed by Giuseppe...     

Forum on Benford’s law and statistical methods for the detection of frauds

Statistical Methods & Applications -     

Exploring the absolutist vs relativist perception of poverty using a cross-country questionnaire survey

Questionnaires eliciting the absolutist vs relativist perception of poverty are administered to 1941 undergraduate students in eight countries - Bolivia, Brazil, Italy, Kenya, Laos, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. We find that the perception of poverty expressed by a large fraction of respondents exhibits both absolutist and relativist concerns, with the former components prevailing over the latter. High-income countries exhibit a significantly more pronounced relativist attitude. Personal characteristics such as past experience of material hardship and relative standard of living play a germane role in shaping respondents’ views.