Commons and the nature of modernity: towards a cosmopolitical view on craft guilds

Theory and Society - This paper argues that historical research on late medieval and early modern craft guilds fails to escape teleological and anachronistic views, including when they are...     

Another Production is Possible. Beyond the Capitalist Canon

It is now widely accepted that ‘another world is possible’,as the negative 1990s came to an end and with them the notionthat there is no alternative. But there has been little attemptto date to flesh out what that alternative might be, to concretisethe vision to put it that way. This book is both     

Global Civil Society: Myths and Prospects

Is the concept of “global civil society” a Sorelian-type myth that captures intuitively an emergent political project? Or is it, rather, a discursive political terrain open to many interpretations, not all of which might be progressive? A radical democratic content would be one way of filling out the “empty signifier,” which “global civil society” is, but not the only one.

     

Application of Whole-Genome Sequences and Machine Learning in Source Attribution of Salmonella Typhimurium

Prevention of the emergence and spread of foodborne diseases is an important prerequisite for the improvement of public health. Source attribution models link sporadic human cases of a specific illness to food sources and animal reservoirs. With the next generation sequencing technology, it is possible to develop novel source attribution models. We investigated the potential of machine learning to predict the animal reservoir from which a bacterial strain isolated from a human salmonellosis case originated based on whole-genome sequencing. Machine learning methods recognize patterns in large and complex data sets and use this knowledge to build models. The model learns patterns associated with genetic variations in bacteria isolated from the different animal reservoirs. We selected different machine learning algorithms to predict sources of human salmonellosis cases and trained the model with Danish Salmonella Typhimurium isolates sampled from broilers (n = 34), cattle (n = 2), ducks (n = 11), layers (n = 4), and pigs (n = 159). Using cgMLST as input features, the model yielded an average accuracy of 0.783 (95% CI: 0.77–0.80) in the source prediction for the random forest and 0.933 (95% CI: 0.92–0.94) for the logit boost algorithm. Logit boost algorithm was most accurate (valid accuracy: 92%, CI: 0.8706–0.9579) and predicted the origin of 81% of the domestic sporadic human salmonellosis cases. The most important source was Danish produced pigs (53%) followed by imported pigs (16%), imported broilers (6%), imported ducks (2%), Danish produced layers (2%), Danish produced cattle and imported cattle (<1%) while 18% was not predicted. Machine learning has potential for improving source attribution modeling based on sequence data. Results of such models can inform risk managers to identify and prioritize food safety interventions.     

Cross-National Indices with Gender-Differentiated Data: What Do They Measure? How Valid Are They?

The two cross-national indices with gender-differentiated data introduced by the UNDP in 1995, as well as several other such indices developed subsequently, are an important resource for researchers and policy makers interested in gender disparities. Yet questions remain regarding how these indices should be interpreted and how valid they are. Relying on a framework that synthesizes key guidelines concerning the methodology of measurement, this article offers an assessment of indices currently used to study gender disparities on a global scale and sheds light on these unresolved questions. We answer two questions—what do these indices with gender-differentiated data actually measure? and, how valid are these indices?—and discuss the implications of our assessment for users and producers of gender indices.     

GamTest: Psychometric Evaluation and the Role of Emotions in an Online Self-Test for Gambling Behavior

Recent increases in the number of online gambling sites have made gambling more available, which may contribute to an increase in gambling problems. At the same time, online gambling provides opportunities to introduce measures intended to prevent problem gambling. GamTest is an online test of gambling behavior that provides information that can be used to give players individualized feedback and recommendations for action. The aim of this study is to explore the dimensionality of GamTest and validate it against the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) and the gambler’s own perceived problems. A recent psychometric approach, exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) is used. Well-defined constructs are identified in a two-step procedure fitting a traditional exploratory factor analysis model as well as a so-called bifactor model. Using data collected at four Nordic gambling sites in the autumn of 2009 (n = 10,402), the GamTest ESEM analyses indicate high correspondence with the players’ own understanding of their problems and with the PGSI, a validated measure of problem gambling. We conclude that GamTest captures five dimensions of problematic gambling (i.e., overconsumption of money and time, and monetary, social and emotional negative consequences) with high reliability, and that the bifactor approach, composed of a general factor and specific residual factors, reproduces all these factors except one, the negative consequences emotional factor, which contributes to the dominant part of the general factor. The results underscore the importance of tailoring feedback and support to online gamblers with a particular focus on how to handle emotions in relation to their gambling behavior.     

Global Civil Society: Royal Road or Slippery Path?

Global civil society has become an important paradigm for progressive social change at a planetary level. It posits a bold new ethical project for global democratization. For its critics, though, it is just the social wing of neoliberal globalization diverting social movements from their tasks. It is also seen as irredeemably Eurocentric in its assumptions and orientation. A third option, proposed here, is to understand global civil society as a complex social and spatial terrain. By bringing politics back in, a progressive option can be presented to contest the dominant co-optive or reformist conception of global civil society.