A Scale of Risk

This article proposes a conceptual framework for ranking the relative gravity of diverse risks. This framework identifies the moral considerations that should inform the evaluation and comparison of diverse risks. A common definition of risk includes two dimensions: the probability of occurrence and the associated consequences of a set of hazardous scenarios. This article first expands this definition to include a third dimension: the source of a risk. The source of a risk refers to the agents involved in the creation or maintenance of a risk and captures a central moral concern about risks. Then, a scale of risk is proposed to categorize risks along a multidimensional ranking, based on a comparative evaluation of the consequences, probability, and source of a given risk. A risk is ranked higher on the scale the larger the consequences, the greater the probability, and the more morally culpable the source. The information from the proposed comparative evaluation of risks can inform the selection of priorities for risk mitigation.     

The origins of the Gini index: extracts from Variabilità e Mutabilità (1912) by Corrado Gini

The scope of this paper is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Gini index by providing the original formulae. Corrado Gini introduced his index for the first time in a 1912 book published in Italian under the name of ??Variabilità e Mutabilità?? (Variability and Mutability). This article provides selected extracts of Part I of the book dedicated to measures of variability. We find that Gini proposed no less than 13 formulations of his index, none of which is known today to the large public. We also find that Gini anticipated some of the developments that derived from the study of his index.     

Non-experts’ participation in processes of scientific knowledge creation: The case of Citizen Science

Public participation in science and technology, is currently being encouraged in order to fulfil the calls for a more engaging, transparent, and ethical way of governing technoscientific innovation. Several institutional documents argue for the need to enrol non-scientists into research programs; funding schemes devoted to public engagement seem to be paving the way for new baselines for knowledge creation and innovation paths that include the contributions of citizens. Citizen Science stands out as an opportune movement to lead non-scientists to contribute to scientific research projects and technological innovation, and it has given rise to a broad debate intersecting many sociological aspects linked to participation and community empowerment. However, the participation of non-scientists in data collection, analysis, and interpretation is not totally new; yet it has not had the same value across time, nor has it always been considered desirable. Indeed, volunteers' engagement and amateurs' contributions have been regulated differently compared to the current rhetoric of participation. This paper gives an account of the evolution of participation of non-experts through the lens of Science and Technology Studies, investigating its desirability, how it is governed, and whether it matches the promises of Citizen Science practitioners.     

Robust winner determination in positional scoring rules with uncertain weights

Theory and Decision - Scoring rules constitute a particularly popular technique for aggregating a set of rankings. However, setting the weights associated with rank positions is a crucial task, as...     

Measuring Health Inequality in US: A Composite Index Approach

Social Indicators Research - In this paper, we use the standardized mortality rates for 21 mutual exclusive causes of death to propose a composite index of US county-level health performances in...     

Validity and reliability of the Italian Gambling Functional Assessment–Revised

Problem gambling is a growing phenomenon in Italy, and there is increasing interest in studying the reasons for gambling in the Italian community. The Gambling Functional Assessment–Revised (GFA-R) was developed to assess two contingencies maintaining gambling behaviour: positive reinforcement and escape. The study hypothesized that the GFA-R could be translated and adopted in the Italian context. The main purpose of this study was to test the factor structure of the Italian version of the GFA-R by means of confirmatory factor analysis, its internal consistency and validity, in a sample of 667 Italian-speaking adults, recruited at universities, banks, of?ces, industries, markets, public parks and shops in five regions: Piemonte, Veneto, Lazio, Calabria and Puglia. The study found that the scale was internally consistent, and results showed that the original two-factor model fitted the data well. It also found moderate correlations between the GFA-R-I and both SOGS scores and GRCS scores. These results will allow Italian psychologists, educators and policymakers to identify specific contingencies maintaining gambling behaviour (positive reinforcement vs. escape) in the Italian community, detecting people more at risk of developing disordered gambling, with significant improvements in terms of prevention and clinical intervention.     

Valori e norme di fronte alla complessità

Riassunto

Scopo del presente contributo è quello di evidenziare alcune connessioni concettuali fra il mondo normativo ed il moderno approccio della complessità.

A partire dal 1972, psicologi, etologi, antropologi culturali hanno sottolineato l'importanza dei codici sociali—oggettivati in diritti e doveri—in quanto parte integrante della interazione sociale. In particolare Calegari e Massimini (1979) hanno sostenuto che Le Costituzioni possono essere analizzate quali organizzazioni gerarchiche di sistemi complessi. Gli autori hanno indicato—nell'ambito di sistemi normativi—delle gerarchie di comprensione e di connessione riferite a centri di controllo di comportamenti registrati nelle Leggi fondamentali. Essi hanno sviluppato un metodo di analisi basato sulla identificazione di unità molari e di loro relazioni ed hanno messo a punto una serie di indici utili a misurare le dimensoni di complessità di tali sistemi.

Sulla base di un sucessivo approfondimento, l'autore ha centrato la sua attenzione sulle decisioni adattive incluse nelle Costituzioni. La conseguente analisi cognitiva mostra che le strategie normative si configurano in livelli (metapiani, piani globali, sottopiani, istruzioni comportamentali) in accordo con la ipotesi sistémica generale formulata da Bruner, Goodnow ed Austin (1966). La organizzazione gerarchica di questo tipo di strategia è caratterizzata dalla valenza e dalla covalenza di piani globali e di sottopiani, dal grado di similarità dei metapiani e dei piani globali, dal grado di ridondanza emergente ai differenti livelli gerarchici.

Le decisioni adattive sono presenti in numero limitato e ciò conferma le stipulazioni formulate dagli antropologi culturali. L'autore sottolinea che la presenza di ridondanza negli elementi di un sistema complesso rende possibile la sua descrizione in modo più coerente e completo.