This volume provides an overview of the ways the Italian school of quality of life studies addresses well-being and quality of life, from both a substantive and a methodological point of view. It discusses various topics such as those of equitable and sustainable wellbeing, lifestyles, the organization of economy and welfare, as well as aspects related to the measurement of quality of life in small towns, institutional transparency and corruption prevention indicators. Chapters presented in this volume are drawn from papers presented at the conferences of the Italian Association for Quality of Life Studies (AIQUAV) held in Florence, Italy, in 2015 and 2016. The volume is organised into three parts. The first part is devoted to methods and indicators for research on quality of life, the second part to social sustainability, lifestyles, cultural aspects and local applications, and the third to economy, welfare and quality of life. The volume hosts contributions that are interdisciplinary in scope and mirror the complexity of the globalized world.

The volume includes comparative and comprehensive discussions on anti-corruption policies of governments and anti-corruption agencies across Europe. Compared to existing literature that focuses either on general and theoretical aspects related to corruption or on country-specific experiences, this volume provides an interdisciplinary and broad overview of corruption prevention policies and measures undertaken by major European member states, relying both on literature and on institutional documentation of national anti-corruption agencies, which greatly contribute to shaping anti-corruption policy directions. In so doing, it advances the existing theoretical agenda of corruption studies and policies, situating it within wider disciplinary fields. This volume is especially concerned with the interrelationship between good administration, integrity, ethical behaviour and corruption; the role of transparency and digitalisation in preventing corruption and ensuring rights, efficiency and impartiality in the public administration; the measurement of corruption, with specific reference to preventative measures and indicators of administrative anti-corruption efforts; big data, block chains, and artificial intelligence; public management codes of ethics, performance targets and skills, and their role in tackling and preventing corruption; and public procurement, transparency and anti-bribery measures in the European public procurement system. This volume is of interest to graduate students and researchers in political sociology, political science, European corruption law, international relations, public policy, and social statistics.

Statistical Analysis of Questionnaires: A Unified Approach Based on R and Stata presents special statistical methods for analyzing data collected by questionnaires. The book takes an applied approach to testing and measurement tasks, mirroring the growing use of statistical methods and software in education, psychology, sociology, and other fields. It is suitable for graduate students in applied statistics and psychometrics and practitioners in education, health, and marketing. The book covers the foundations of classical test theory (CTT), test reliability, validity, and scaling as well as item response theory (IRT) fundamentals and IRT for dichotomous and polytomous items. The authors explore the latest IRT extensions, such as IRT models with covariates, multidimensional IRT models, IRT models for hierarchical and longitudinal data, and latent class IRT models. They also describe estimation methods and diagnostics, including graphical diagnostic tools, parametric and nonparametric tests, and differential item functioning. Stata and R software codes are included for each method. To enhance comprehension, the book employs real datasets in the examples and illustrates the software outputs in detail. The datasets are available on the authors' web page.

Statistical Analysis of Questionnaires: A Unified Approach Based on R and Stata presents special statistical methods for analyzing data collected by questionnaires. The book takes an applied approach to testing and measurement tasks, mirroring the growing use of statistical methods and software in education, psychology, sociology, and other fields. It is suitable for graduate students in applied statistics and psychometrics and practitioners in education, health, and marketing. The book covers the foundations of classical test theory (CTT), test reliability, validity, and scaling as well as item response theory (IRT) fundamentals and IRT for dichotomous and polytomous items. The authors explore the latest IRT extensions, such as IRT models with covariates, multidimensional IRT models, IRT models for hierarchical and longitudinal data, and latent class IRT models. They also describe estimation methods and diagnostics, including graphical diagnostic tools, parametric and nonparametric tests, and differential item functioning. Stata and R software codes are included for each method. To enhance comprehension, the book employs real datasets in the examples and illustrates the software outputs in detail. The datasets are available on the authors' web page.

The volume includes comparative and comprehensive discussions on anti-corruption policies of governments and anti-corruption agencies across Europe. Compared to existing literature that focuses either on general and theoretical aspects related to corruption or on country-specific experiences, this volume provides an interdisciplinary and broad overview of corruption prevention policies and measures undertaken by major European member states, relying both on literature and on institutional documentation of national anti-corruption agencies, which greatly contribute to shaping anti-corruption policy directions. In so doing, it advances the existing theoretical agenda of corruption studies and policies, situating it within wider disciplinary fields. This volume is especially concerned with the interrelationship between good administration, integrity, ethical behaviour and corruption; the role of transparency and digitalisation in preventing corruption and ensuring rights, efficiency and impartiality in the public administration; the measurement of corruption, with specific reference to preventative measures and indicators of administrative anti-corruption efforts; big data, block chains, and artificial intelligence; public management codes of ethics, performance targets and skills, and their role in tackling and preventing corruption; and public procurement, transparency and anti-bribery measures in the European public procurement system. This volume is of interest to graduate students and researchers in political sociology, political science, European corruption law, international relations, public policy, and social statistics.