57 research outputs found
Awareness in Practice: Tensions in Access to Sensitive Attribute Data for Antidiscrimination
Organizations cannot address demographic disparities that they cannot see.
Recent research on machine learning and fairness has emphasized that awareness
of sensitive attributes, such as race and sex, is critical to the development
of interventions. However, on the ground, the existence of these data cannot be
taken for granted.
This paper uses the domains of employment, credit, and healthcare in the
United States to surface conditions that have shaped the availability of
sensitive attribute data. For each domain, we describe how and when private
companies collect or infer sensitive attribute data for antidiscrimination
purposes. An inconsistent story emerges: Some companies are required by law to
collect sensitive attribute data, while others are prohibited from doing so.
Still others, in the absence of legal mandates, have determined that collection
and imputation of these data are appropriate to address disparities.
This story has important implications for fairness research and its future
applications. If companies that mediate access to life opportunities are unable
or hesitant to collect or infer sensitive attribute data, then proposed
techniques to detect and mitigate bias in machine learning models might never
be implemented outside the lab. We conclude that today's legal requirements and
corporate practices, while highly inconsistent across domains, offer lessons
for how to approach the collection and inference of sensitive data in
appropriate circumstances. We urge stakeholders, including machine learning
practitioners, to actively help chart a path forward that takes both policy
goals and technical needs into account
Cross-Sector Review of Drivers and Available 3Rs Approaches for Acute Systemic Toxicity Testing
Acute systemic toxicity studies are carried out in many sectors in which synthetic chemicals are manufactured or used and are among the most criticized of all toxicology tests on both scientific and ethical grounds. A review of the drivers for acute toxicity testing within the pharmaceutical industry led to a paradigm shift whereby in vivo acute toxicity data are no longer routinely required in advance of human clinical trials. Based on this experience, the following review was undertaken to identify (1) regulatory and scientific drivers for acute toxicity testing in other industrial sectors, (2) activities aimed at replacing, reducing, or refining the use of animals, and (3) recommendations for future work in this area
Physical inactivity as a policy problem: applying a concept from policy analysis to a public health issue
PROHIBITION VERSUS TAXATION: RECONSIDERING THE LEGAL DRINKING AGE
The legal drinking age targets a group at a high risk of alcohol-related problems. This paper argues that taxation could achieve the same benefits as the legal drinking age at a substantially lower social cost. Existing empirical research suggests that simultaneously lowering the legal age to 18 and taxing alcohol purchases at between 12 to 86 percent of the current price would achieve the same results as the current legal age. Levying a special teen tax only on young adults would minimize its social costs. Teen tax revenues between 4.03 billion measure the net social gain of replacing the current prohibition on young adults' alcohol purchases with a taxation policy. Copyright 1993 Western Economic Association International.
Consumer Protection Issues and Non-government Organizations (NGOs) in a Developing Market
Combustion of mattresses exposed to flaming ignition sources /
September 1977.Sponsored in part by Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Veterans Administration, Dept. of Defense, Consumer Product Safety Commission.Bibliography: p. 36-41.pt. 1. Full-scale tests and hazard analysis.Mode of access: Internet
Still Cruising and Believing? An Analysis of Online Credibility Across Three Presidential Campaigns
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