Methodology for Measuring Social Impacts: an Application of Fuzzy Mathematics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18041/2382-3240/saber.2020v15n2.6724Keywords:
fuzzy mathematics, measurement, social impact assessment, environmental impact assessment, Social impactsAbstract
This research paper proposes a tool for ex post measurement of social impacts based on concepts of fuzzy mathematics. This is a developing research field and does require improving on existing methodologies and creating new ones, to allow measurement more adjusted to social reality which is full of uncertainty and subjectivity. Methodologically, it starts from a systematic review of literature, in which, the main concepts of social impacts are identified and analyzed, then from a synthesis exercise, a new social concept is formulated. These concepts are detached in its essential variables for its operationalization, these variables are used for the building of fuzzy sets; and finally, it develops the proposed theoretical model. The proposed concept of social impacts in this paper is more comprehensive than the reviewed concepts; represents the synthesis of the variables in each one of them. The achieved result is an improvement in this field, but the job is not finished yet, as it has to progress on validation methods and the development of methods of ex ante fuzzy measurement
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