The Challenge for the Harmonization of Law

Under globalization and the rapid development of international trade and economic relationships, it is necessary to find common rules in private law. Nonetheless, an aspect that must be taken into account is that law is a mirror of a respective society and therefore it should also be considered that juridical fragmentation reflects these differences among societies. Hence, a ‘glocalized’ approach seems to be more suitable and, for it to be put it into practice, the efforts should be devoted to seeking legal harmonization instead of unification. The former, beside all the other things, is to be preferred in terms of feasibility. Harmonization does not equally show the same degree of difficulty in all the fields: it seems to be easier (and more urgent) to be achieved in obligations-contracts and commercial law than in family law or in property and real rights law. Considering this, our research, contains an overview on the advantages of legal harmonization and a brief survey on methods that have been employed and that are being employed now to reach this goal. Even at this preliminary stage, we have noticed that we should pay attention to a theoretical principles-based logic-systematic method and to the role played by jurists of reaching this goal.     

Objective Bayes Covariate‐Adjusted Sparse Graphical Model Selection

We present an objective Bayes method for covariance selection in Gaussian multivariate regression models having a sparse regression and covariance structure, the latter being Markov with respect to a directed acyclic graph (DAG). Our procedure can be easily complemented with a variable selection step, so that variable and graphical model selection can be performed jointly. In this way, we offer a solution to a problem of growing importance especially in the area of genetical genomics (eQTL analysis). The input of our method is a single default prior, essentially involving no subjective elicitation, while its output is a closed form marginal likelihood for every covariate‐adjusted DAG model, which is constant over each class of Markov equivalent DAGs; our procedure thus naturally encompasses covariate‐adjusted decomposable graphical models. In realistic experimental studies, our method is highly competitive, especially when the number of responses is large relative to the sample size.     

Barriers and Enablers to Safeguarding Children and Adults within a Disability Services Context: Insights from an Australian Delphi Study

Research conducted in the 1990s revealed the tragic irony that exposure to the disability support system, and particularly to its institutional forms, was a major risk factor related to the neglect and abuse of children and adults with a disability. Subsequently, a range of policies have been introduced to minimize risk. However, recurring events of abuse and neglect in the disability services sector in high and middle income countries demonstrate that processes geared to safeguard children and adults with a disability from abuse and neglect remain insufficient. To establish the wider fabric of organizational factors that contribute to effective safeguarding practices within the Australian disability support sector, a modified online Delphi study was conducted, capturing the views of disability services staff and managers (n = 249) regarding barriers and enablers to effective safeguarding. This study identified issues concerning organizational culture, management practice, workforce development, client capacity building and contextual factors. During Round Two of the Delphi, participants were asked to rate the categorized enabler statements according to importance on a 10‐point Likert scale, to ascertain the degree of consensus. A total of 262 of the statements were regarded as important or very important. The Delphi result highlighted the considerable gap between the wider systemic and cultural processes that, in the eyes of disability services staff and management, contribute to good safeguarding practice and the safeguarding measures currently in place. The article calls for a holistic approach to safeguarding that addresses procedural issues and to the transformation of the wider systemic and cultural fabric of an organization.     

On the volume-ranking of opportunity sets in economic environments

We provide a characterization of the volume-ranking of opportunity sets as defined on the set of all polyconvex sets, i.e. finite unions of convex, compact, Euclidean sets. In fact, such a domain is large enough to encompass most of the opportunity sets typically encountered in economic environments, including non-linear or even non-convex budget sets, and opportunity sets arising from production sets. Our result relies on a valuation-based volume-characterization theorem due to Klain and Rota (Introduction to Geometric Probability, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997) and helps to highlight some quite unusual conditions under which the volume-ranking can be justified as a freedom-ranking of opportunity sets. Therefore, it may also help to understand why the latter has been so conspicuously ignored in welfare analysis. Thanks are due to Larry Kranich, Massimo Marinacci, Uri Rothblum, Ernesto Screpanti, John Weymark, Yongsheng Xu, Claudio Zoli and two anonymous referees for helpful comments and suggestions.     

An Integrated Approach to Managing Change

Complex systems often involve a huge number of variables whose interdependence must be taken into account. This makes the adoption of an integrated approach essential for the proper management of a wide range of aspects related to human life, from social matters to the environment. In particular, this paper takes into consideration three different experiences in which the use of an integrated approach represented the most effective response for managing the evolving realities we took into consideration. We focused on the issue of land management, with particular attention to the problem of monoculture in Brazil. Then we analyzed the attempted cooperation between the States of the Aral Sea area for efficient water management of the basin and, finally, we dealt with the matter of energy efficiency and how the production of home integrated systems could lead to a better rationalization of energy consumption in the near future.      

Hazard identification and pre-map with a simple specific tool: synthesis of application experience in handicrafts in various productive sectors

In August 2009, an international group was founded with the task of developing a "toolkit for MSD prevention" under the IEA and in collaboration with the World Health Organization.According to the ISO standard 11228 series and the new Draft ISO TR 12259 "Application document guides for the potential user", our group developed a preliminary "mapping" methodology of occupational hazards in the craft industry, supported by software (Excel?, free download on: www.epmresearch.org).The possible users of toolkits are: members of health and safety committees; health and safety representatives; line supervisors; foremen; workers; government representatives; health workers providing basic occupational health services; occupational health and safety specialists.The proposed methodology, using specific key enters and quick assessment criteria, allows a simple ergonomics hazards identification and risk estimation to be made. It is thus possible to decide for which occupational hazards a more exhaustive risk assessment will be necessary and which occupational consultant should be involved (occupational physician, safety engineer, industrial hygienist, etc.).The methodology has been applied in different situations of small and medium craftsmanship Italian enterprises: leather goods, food, technical dental work, production of artistic ceramics and stained glass, beekeeping activities. The results are synthetically reported and discussed in this paper.     

Another look into the effect of premarital cohabitation on duration of marriage: an approach based on matching

Summary.  The paper proposes an alternative approach to studying the effect of premarital cohabitation on subsequent duration of marriage on the basis of a strong ignorability assumption . The approach is called propensity score matching and consists of computing survival functions conditional on a function of observed variables (the propensity score), thus eliminating any selection that is derived from these variables. In this way, it is possible to identify a time varying effect of cohabitation without making any assumption either regarding its shape or the functional form of covariate effects. The output of the matching method is the difference between the survival functions of treated and untreated individuals at each time point. Results show that the cohabitation effect on duration of marriage is indeed time varying, being close to zero for the first 2–3 years and rising considerably in the following years.     

Association of Problem Gambling with Type of Gambling Among Italian General Population

The origin of gambling disorders is uncertain; however, research has shown a tendency to focus on specific types of games as a potential important risk factor. The principal aim of this study is to examine the relationships between types of gambling practices and gambling disorder. The data were extracted from IPSAD-Italia^® 2010–2011 (Italian Population Survey on Alcohol and other Drugs), a survey among the Italian general population which collects socio-cultural information, information about the use of drugs, legal substances and gambling habits. In order to identify the “problem gambler” we used the Problem Gambling Severity Index. Three groups are considered in this analysis: no-risk gamblers, low-risk gamblers, moderate-risk/problem gamblers. Type of gambling practice was considered among two types of gambler: one-game players and multi-games players. 1.9 % of multi-game players were considered problem gamblers, only 0.6 % of one-game players were problem gamblers (p < 0.001). The percentage of players who were low and moderate-risk gamblers was approximately double among multi-game players, with 14.4 % low-risk and 5.8 % moderate-risk; compared with 7.7 % low-risk and 2.5 % moderate risk among one-game players. Results of ordinal logistic regression analysis confirmed that higher level of gambling severity was associated with multi-game players (OR = 2.23, p < 0.0001). Video-poker/slot-machines show the highest association with gambling severity among both one-game players and multi-game players, with scores of OR equal to 4.3 and 4.5 respectively. These findings suggest a popular perception of risk associated with this type of gambling for the development of gambling problems.     

Immigration,religious diversity and recognition of differences: the Italian way to multiculturalism

Migration entails, among other consequences, the presence of different cultures and religions. Italy, being a latecomer among immigration countries, has had specific difficulties in acknowledging the new cultural and religious pluralism brought by migrations, due to lack of knowledge and reflection in this sphere. In the more recent context of social and cultural change in Europe, Italian society is also going through a phase characterised by reactive identities and cultural conflicts. They are producing a diffused anti-multiculturalist opinion, even though multiculturalist policies have not been openly implemented. Thus, on the one hand, this situation has so far prevented a real recognition of cultural and religious differences, particularly concerning Islam. But on the other hand, positive actions in favour of migrants can also be observed, especially at the local level.