Modeling Fairness

Class Discussion:

Suppose you have a limited supply of X (or a limited resource) to divide, and you have a varied group among which to divide.

Settings? (students should be asked to name some… such as college admissions, prescription drugs, oil, water rights, the budget, time, land, inheritances…)

Can you determine a “fair” way to divide the supply/resource?

Another class discussion: “Historical models of fairness”

• “Survival of the fittest.” (Darwin?)
• “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”  (Marx)
• “To the victor go the spoils,” “Might makes right,” “Majority rules.”
• “What goes around comes around,” or “So ye sow, so shall ye reap.”
• “You get what you pay for.”
• Others? (my students have named “dictatorship” and “hierarchical” as models)

Group Activity:

Examine the “fairness” issue assigned to your group.  What would constitute a “fair” situation?  What would be a fair distribution?  What data would you like to collect?  What action might be taken to address any unfairness?

 Fairness issues:

·        Is the SAT a fair test?  Printout from FairTest Fact Sheet, http://www.fairtest.org/satfact.htm

·        Rouncefield, M.  Statistics of Poverty and Inequality from the Journal of Statistics Education, http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v3n2/datadets.rouncefield.html

·        Morrell, C. Simpson’s Paradox: An Example from a Longitudinal Study in South Africa from the Journal of Statistics Education, http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/secure/v7n3/datasets.morrell.cfm

·        NPR Iraq War Takes Uneven Toll at Home, http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1810753

·        Guber, D. Getting What You Pay For:  The Debate Over Equity in Public School Expenditures from the Journal of Statistics Education, http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/secure/v7n2/datasets.guber.cfm  

Class Activity:  

• Situation:  flu shots in short supply.  Who gets the last 200 shots in the community?  Devise a list of variables that determine the answer...

• Situation:  a major industrial accident, with hundreds injured.  Who gets treated first?  Devise a list of variables that determine the answer...

• Situation:  an ocean liner strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic, and over 2000 passengers and crew scurry to the lifeboats.  Who gets a spot in a lifeboat?  Devise a list of variables that determine the answer...