The use of AI based recommendation systems, based on data analysis using Machine Learning algorithms, is taking away people’s full control over decision making. The presence of unbalanced and incomplete data can cause discrimination to reli-gious, ethnic, and political minorities without this phenomenon being easily detectable. In this context, it becomes critically important to understand what are the potential risks associated with learning with such a dataset and what consequences it may have on the outcome of decision making using Machine Learning algorithms. In this paper, we tried to identify how to measure the group fairness of a prediction of a classification algorithm, to identify the quality features of the dataset that influence the learning process, and finally, to evaluate the relationships between the quality features and the fairness measures.

Agile development is essential for effective digital transformation. However, since agile development tends to focus on functionalimplementation, therealizationoftrueuservalue(qualityinabroadsense)isoftenneglected. Tosupportrealization of true user value in agile, this paper proposes the concept of a quality digital twin, a quality representation of the target system synchronized at each iteration. The agile development focuses on the quality of target product itself more than that of processes and intermediate products, and therefore SQuaRE quality model can be much more applicable to the agile. It uses the SQuaRE quality framework for defining quality requirements, and engineering and evaluating the system. This concept enables the realization of a support system for user-driven, high-quality agile development. Its feasibility is demonstrated by showing system / data structure and usage of the quality digital twin.

The objective of this paper is to lay the foundation for the construction of a computer architecture using entirely multivalue logic (MVL). To achieve this ambitious result, it is necessary to know how to design all the digital components that normally form the basis of a computer’s operation. These are combinational circuits dedicated to mathematical computation and sequential circuits in charge of storing information. In the paper, a general methodology is proposed that can be used for the construction of digital circuits capable of working independently of the basis of representation of multivalue logic and the physical quantity used for encoding logical states.

In the last decade, we have seen how Moore's law has lost its validity because it has reached the physical limit of miniaturization of components and the problem of thermal dissipation increasing with the chip’s clock frequency. For this reason, multi-core architectures were born, and quantum computing is being looked at as a possible solution for more computing power. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the possibility to realize computer architectures using multi-value logic. The objective is reached when we are able to translate any MVL function into the corresponding MVL circuit. The method proposed is completely independent of the basis adopted in the MVL domain and the physical quantity used to represent or transfer the domain values. Thus, this approach provides a new theoretical and practical context for applying new technologies or polymorphic materials, which can represent multiple values. In order to give concreteness to the analyzed theoretical aspects, we will represent a case study based on a classical combinational circuit, the summing circuit using LTspice® XVII (© Analog Device Corporation) as simulation environment has been carried out. The results show that it is possible to build MVL combinatorial circuits, although there are limitations because the proposed solution is just a proof of concept. The method can also be successfully applied to sequential MVL circuits, which are not the subject of the present article.

Nowadays automated decision-making systems are pervasively used and more often, they are used for taking important decisions in sensitive areas such as the granting of a bank overdraft, the susceptibility of an individual to a virus infection, or even the likelihood of repeating a crime. The widespread use of these systems raises a growing ethical concern about the risk of a potential discriminatory impact. In particular, machine-learning systems trained on unbalanced data could rise to systematic discriminations in the real world. One of the most important challenges is to determine metrics capable of detecting when an unbalanced training dataset may lead to discriminatory behaviour of the model built on it. In this paper, we propose an approach based on the notion of data completeness using two different metrics: one based on the combinations of the values of the dataset, which will be our benchmark, and the second using frame theory, widely used among others for quality measures of control systems. It is important to remark that the use of metrics cannot be a substitute for a broader design that must take into account the columns that could lead to the presence of bias in the data. The line of research does not end with these activities but aims to continue the path towards a standardised register of measures.

— In the last decades the exponential growth of available information, together with the availability of systems able to learn the knowledge that is present in the data, has pushed towards the complete automation of many decision-making processes in public and private organizations. This circumstance is posing impelling ethical and legal issues since a large number of studies and journalistic investigations showed that software-based decisions, when based on historical data, perpetuate the same prejudices and bias existing in society, resulting in a systematic and inescapable negative impact for individuals from minorities and disadvantaged groups. The problem is so relevant that the terms data bias and algorithm ethics have become familiar not only to researchers, but also to industry leaders and policy makers. In this context, we believe that the ISO SQuaRE standard, if appropriately integrated with risk management concepts and procedures from ISO 31000, can play an important role in democratizing the innovation of software-generated decisions, by making the development of this type of software systems more socially sustainable and in line with the shared values of our societies. More in details, we identified two additional measure for a quality characteristic already present in the standard (completeness) and another that extends it (balance) with the aim of highlighting information gaps or presence of bias in the training data. Those measures serve as risk level indicators to be checked with common fairness measures that indicate the level of polarization of the software classifications/predictions. The adoption of additional features with respect to the standard broadens its scope of application, while maintaining consistency and conformity. The proposed methodology aims to find correlations between quality deficiencies and algorithm decisions, thus allowing to verify and mitigate their impact.

The digital revolution had and is having profound impacts on modern society and, with it, we are witnessing the birth of new digital illicits, increasingly widespread both in Italy and in the USA. The most common case is the exfiltration of company data by unfaithful employees or former employees, who, for economic interests, act imprudently thinking that such activities are difficult to identify. This article deals with a methodology that allows you to find, in compliance with existing laws, such behaviors with the use of dedicated software tools. Furthermore, this innovation, which makes use of sophisticated data analysis techniques, must provide results that are immediately understandable and accessible even to a non-technical expert in the field such as a lawyer or a judge. For this reason, particular emphasis is given to the presentation of the found evidences through the formulation of a technical-legal report.

In a context where the availability of information represents the opportunity for companies to gain a competitive advantage in the market through the use of sophisticated AI algorithms, data quality assumes a strategic role. With this paper we want to show that the adoption of an international quality measurement standard such as the one present in the SQuaRE series can on the one hand improve the ethical aspect of machine learning algorithms and on the other hand meet the requirements imposed by the European Community regarding the protection of personal data of citizens in Member States (GDPR). Indeed, although the attention to the protection of personal data is mainly directed towards the aspects of security and confidentiality, in a holistic view we should also evaluate the risks arising from the absence of quality in the data. In this context, we consider consistent and of reference for the international community the choice of the Italian legislator made for the Public Administrations. Since 2013 the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID) has suggested the adoption of ISO/IEC 25012 for public administrations in charge of managing databases of national interest. In the article, we propose a methodological approach that ensures the governance of data quality and some open questions regarding the homogeneity of the selected measures. © 2021 for this paper by its authors

The purpose of this article is to describe techniques for protecting code when distributed in source format. This situation occurs when, for instance, the client component of a web application, whose source code is easily extractable from the browser even by inexperienced users. The case study proposed uses the Adobe Connectc platform, an emerging technology in the field of video communication, content sharing and e-learning environments, which allows to easy integration of applications written in javascript language. The astonishing ease of realization of embedded applications within AdobeR's ecosystem contrasts with the impossibility of protecting the work done, which is visible and redistributable simply by copying the file containing it. The unwary author may thus run the risk of seeing his work thwarted by losing any intellectual property rights arising from the use of the software he has created. For this reason we have realized a form of intellectual property protection when software is distributed in source format. Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative.

The purpose of the present paper, the first of a set of four dealing with different, though closely interconnected, problems, is to prove that all realistic solutions advanced in order to settle the age-old problem whether "species" are real entities existing in Nature or are abstractions, though based on the observation of populations actually existing in Nature, may be falsified. The author first examines the logics of the concept of species and shows that a "species" is the kind of intellectual tool that medieval logicians called a "universal". Evolution actually occurs in natural populations and we may speak of the "evolution of species" only per translatum. The author thence proves that all the realistic concepts of "species" fail to account for a number of actual situations occurring in nature and must therefore be dismissed. Finally, the author points also to the difficulty of arriving also at a precise definition of the concept of "population".

Objective The aim of this work is to assess the usability of two BCI prototypes by measuring interaction with the systems in context, considering the performance, cognitive workload and satisfaction of non-disabled users in order to better understand how the interface affect these parameters. We tested two keyboard-controlled Java BCI prototypes based on the Language Support Program (LSP) and the P300 Speller (P3S).Main Content We performed two different evaluations. In the first one, we tested the learnability of BCIs on 6 healthy users through the Thinking Aloud technique. Then, we tested BCI efficiency on 30 participants through the Copy Spelling Task (CST) and we administered the System Usability Scale (SUS) to measure usability and the Survey of Technology Use (SOTU) scale of the Matching Person and Technology (MPT) to measure predisposition to the use of technology. In the second evaluation, we tested again using 61 participants with different computer skills, and administered usability and cognitive workload questionnaires.Results The first test showed that all users easily learned how the system worked with the LSP, but failed with P3S. We found that P3S users were more accurate in selecting and recognising letters on the screen. Both SUS and SOTU did not show any significant effects. In the second one, the results showed differences in the number of errors, in user satisfaction and in the cognitive workload.Conclusions We found that the Thought Translation Device was more error-resistant, less stressful and more satisfactory for the users compared to the P3S.

Wireless systems providing accurate localization information to a visitor or a group of visitors moving in a cultural heritage area can be used to enhance/create new multimedia communication services aimed at improving their cultural experience. In this paper we propose an effective architecture for a low cost system providing localization information. It is based on the deployment of a (very) large number of passive RFIDs spared inside the cultural area. As shown in this paper, due to the adoption of smart tagged RFIDs tapes the setup and maintenance of the system is greatly simplified independently of the area (indoor and/or outdoor) where the localization system is deployed. System performances are analyzed by considering a study case. Evaluation is carried out in terms of the achievable accuracy in the position estimate and the costs of the RFID part of the system. Finally, a discussion on the additional wireless traffic required for transporting information for localization to the central (multimedia) server, is presented. Accuracy below one meter can be theoretically achieved by properly selecting the density of RFIDs e.g. the number of smart tapes and the RFIDs' distance on the tape.

Aim of the BCIs is to give paralyzed people a way to communicate. BCIs should be considered assistive technologies facilitating life activities. Therefore, an assessment process avoiding dissatisfaction and abandonment is required. In this study we aim to assess the usability of two BCIs measuring the predisposition to and the interaction with the systems.

Abstract The present paper considers the problems of evaluating some important morphological characters both in fossil and living arthropods as examples of the difficulty of assessing the significance of all characters of the Arthropoda for the purpose of phy‐logenetic reconstruction. As both the fossil and the molecular evidence point to a splitting of the main branches of the metazoans well in the early Vendian or even earlier, and of the arthropods during the Cambrian, this must be carefully considered in the assessment of all sorts of evidence. Moreover the fossil evidence clearly indicates that, as far as the arthropods are concerned, there was a slow acquisition of the arthropod characters in different lineages. I argue, on the evidence of a few selected and important characters (such as basic morphology of the appendages, tagmosis, development of tracheal systems and of the overall evolution of the general morphology of selected groups) that convergent and parallel evolution was common and that, especially when functionally important characters are concerned, extremely similar or even identical structures were repeatedly and independently evolved. Therefore, I argue that an assessment of the phylogenetic significance of characters is indeed possible, but that it requires the simultaneous assessment of all functionally related characters and apparatuses and of their adaptive significance, and furthermore that no standard rules may apply, all the more so the more the characters considered are functionally important. Finally, just as a working hypothesis, I suggest a new phylogenetic arrangement of arthropod taxa.