A terrifying poison or a cheap fertilizer? The life and death of Mount Vesuvius ash.

During the eighteenth century, chemists in the Kingdom of Naples (the South of Italy) were very busy analyzing the chemical composition of ash from Mount Vesuvius. Undoubtedly, after a huge eruption this dusty phenomenon was the most important scientific object of debate. In fact, it was crucial to determine if there were dangerous elements in the ash so that the population could be warned about the potential hazards, such as polluted drinking water.

Dealing with digital misinformation: a polarised context of narratives and tribes.

The advent of the internet and social networks has revolutionised the information space and changed the way in which we communicate and get informed. On the internet, a huge amount of information competes for our (limited) attention. Moreover, despite the increasing quantity of contents, quality may be poor, making the environment particularly florid for misinformation spreading.

Communicating to and engaging with the public in regulatory science.

This paper presents selected highlights from the 'Engaging with society' session of EFSA's third Scientific Conference 'Science, Food and Society' (Parma, Italy, 18-21 September 2018). The social dimension for scientific advisory bodies largely concerns science communication and public engagement. The political, economic and technological transformation of contemporary societies is challenging conventional structures and approaches in these areas.

Do household surveys give a coherent view of disability benefit targeting?: a multisurvey latent variable analysis for the older population in Great Britain.

We compare three major UK surveys, the British Household Panel Survey, Family Resources Survey and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, in terms of the picture that they give of the relationship between disability and receipt of the benefit. Using the different disability indicators that are available in each survey, we use a structural equation approach involving a latent concept of disability in which probabilities of receiving attendance allowance depend on disability. Despite major differences in design, once sample composition has been standardized through statistical matching, the surveys deliver similar results for the model of disability and receipt of attendance allowance.