50 Years of Test (Un)fairness: Lessons for Machine Learning

Quantitative definitions of what is unfair and what is fair have been introduced in multiple disciplines for well over 50 years, including in education, hiring, and machine learning. We trace how the notion of fairness has been defined within the testing communities of education and hiring over the past half century, exploring the cultural and social context in which different fairness definitions have emerged. In some cases, earlier definitions of fairness are similar or identical to definitions of fairness in current machine learning research, and foreshadow current formal work. In other cases, insights into what fairness means and how to measure it have largely gone overlooked. We compare past and current notions of fairness along several dimensions, including the fairness criteria, the focus of the criteria (e.g., a test, a model, or its use), the relationship of fairness to individuals, groups, and subgroups, and the mathematical method for measuring fairness (e.g., classification, regression). This work points the way towards future research and measurement of (un)fairness that builds from our modern understanding of fairness while incorporating insights from the past.Comment: FAT* '19: Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAT* '19), January 29--31, 2019, Atlanta, GA, US

Modelling Accountability: A Thick Interactive Approach to Transparency and Participation in Voluntary Organisations

This thesis offers a systematic study of accountability in the voluntary sector. Existing studies of accountability tend to veer towards normative and prescriptive analyses, which fail effectively to model accountability mechanisms. They do not test the relationships between the diverse variables that can explain practices of accountability in voluntary organisations. Equally, they typically promote what I term ‘thin’ conceptualisations of accountability, either privileging the dimension of transparency or that of stakeholder engagement. Adding to such studies, this thesis develops a ‘thick’ account of accountability practices which brings together these two privileged dimensions, transparency and stakeholder engagement, in a hybrid model that breakdowns stages, levels, and mechanisms of stakeholder engagement. In so doing, it not only tests the validity of this innovative model of accountability across the voluntary sector, but also enables lessons to be drawn as to the significance of different practices of transparency and stakeholder engagement, how these dimensions interact, and the impact of variables such as organisational size, affiliation, levels and sources of income and policies and practice guidelines on accountability. Through the quantitative analysis of an original survey of voluntary organisations in England and Wales prior to austerity, the thesis draws attention to the inconsistent practices of transparency and stakeholder engagement across the sector. In so doing, it throws doubt on the narrative of organisational fixes, suggesting that there is no identifiable nor significant trend in the relationship between organisational affiliation, age, and size and practices of accountability. More importantly, the study foregrounds the complex interactions of policy and practice, shedding doubt on whether policies or the existence of a formal policy actually matters in terms of explaining practices of accountability. It reveals the complexity surrounding policy and practice when considering participation or transparency. On the one hand, the existence of a formal policy did not lead to any significant improvement in levels of stakeholder engagement and participation. But the existence of guidelines on how to action the policy did impact significantly on participation and engagement practices. On the other hand, as for transparency policies, the existence of procedures and guidelines of transparency policy impacted positively upon levels of transparency. But having simply a policy in place appeared to impact negatively on levels of transparency. And finally, policies and procedures in stakeholder participation and engagement appeared to be more effective at improving transparency than transparency policies and practices. Finally, the study raises the importance of ‘accounting for accountability’ through recourse to ‘thick’ interactive models of accountability, which combine levels of transparency and participation in one hybrid model. Combining transparency and engagement, the study demonstrates, is statistically proven to explain a higher level of accountability in the voluntary sector. The ‘thick’ hybrid model of accountability thus opens up new avenues for exploring accountability

Slow theory : taking time over transnational democratic representation

The possibility for transnational democratic representation is a huge topic. This article is restricted to exploring two unconventional aspects. The first concerns 'the representative claim', extending one critical part of previous analysis of the assessment of such claims, especially by largely unelected transnational actors. The second, which strongly conditions the account of the first, concerns ‘slow theory’ as the way to approach building democratic models and, in particular, to approach transnational democratic representation

Complaint and grievance mechanisms in international law: one piece of the accountability jigsaw?

In the rules and principles that guide and regulate international organisations, there has been a gradual, yet noticeable, transformation from a model premised upon a narrow conception of inter-governmentalism and formal legalism to one that is increasingly receptive to broader constitutional notions, including ideals such as enhancing legitimacy and promoting good governance.1 In this process, concepts such as accountability, transparency, public participation and due administration have become prevalent both in the rhetoric and everyday reality of international organisations. This article focuses upon one element of this wider discourse, namely the increased adoption within the international community of complaint and grievance mechanisms that operate outside the traditional legal framework

The performance management of education services staff in Scottish local authorities: an evaluation

Investigates the extent to which Scottish local authorities measured the performance of education services staff

Must Realists Be Pessimists About Democracy? Responding to Epistemic and Oligarchic Challenges

In this paper we show how a realistic normative democratic theory can work within the constraints set by the most pessimistic empirical results about voting behaviour and elite capture of the policy process. After setting out the empirical evidence and discussing some extant responses by political theorists, we argue that the evidence produces a two-pronged challenge for democracy: an epistemic challenge concerning the quality and focus of decision-making and an oligarchic challenge concerning power concentration. To address the challenges we then put forward three main normative claims, each of which is compatible with the evidence. We start with a critique of the epistocratic position commonly thought to be supported by the evidence. We then introduce a qualified critique of referenda and other forms of plebiscite, and an outline of a tribune-based system of popular control over oligarchic influence on the policy process. Our discussion points towards a renewal of democracy in a plebeian but not plebiscitarian direction: Attention to the relative power of social classes matters more than formal dispersal of power through voting. We close with some methodological reflections about the compatibility between our normative claims and the realist program in political philosophy

Sharing Global Governance: The Role of Civil Society Organizations

This report explores the multiple roles and potential of CSOs in international policymaking and examines the strengths and weaknesses of CSOs and state-based organizations in global governance. It looks particularly closely at the resources, access, skills and experience that each group of actors brings to the table. It concludes that the infrastructure used to incorporate CSOs into the United Nations and other multilaterals must be strengthened and expanded if more integrated and effective forms of collaboration are to be developed and outlines policy recommendations how this goal can be accomplished