I am trying to write a paper in English, while not a native English speaker, and struggle with the English text illustrating the equations.
In English, it is correct to write "negative 1" to mean -1. By analogy, it should correct to write "the negative Gini coefficient" to mean the Gini coefficient, but taken with the negative sign (for example to build a composite index). And yet, this sounds strange, because the Gini coefficient is always between 0 and +1.
The sentence in question is:
Diversity is expressed with the negative Gini coefficient of the distribution of
C_i, the number of posts authored by memberi
The Gini coefficient of a distribution is an index of inequality. In this case, I have a value function, which is a sum of several variables. I want the Gini coefficient to enter it, but I also want it to enter the function with a negative value. Writing the equation is easy, but I am being asked to also provide a paragraph in English.
Speakers of mathematical English, what should I do?