Induction, Philosophical Conceptions of

How induction was understood took a substantial turn during the Renaissance. At the beginning, induction was understood as it had been throughout the medieval period, as a kind of propositional inference that is stronger the more it approximates deduction. During the Renaissance, an older understanding, one prevalent in antiquity, was rediscovered and adopted. By this understanding, induction identifies defining characteristics using a process of comparing and contrasting. Important participants in the change were Jean Buridan, humanists such as Lorenzo Valla and Rudolph Agricola, Paduan Aristotelians such as Agostino Nifo, Jacopo Zabarella, and members of the medical faculty, writers on philosophy of mind such as the Englishman John Case, writers of reasoning handbooks, and Francis Bacon

Paratextual subversion: Herrera and his poetry in the anotaciones

The year 1580 saw the publication of the Anotaciones a las obras de Garcilaso de la Vega by the critic and poet Fernando de Herrera (c. 1534–97). This study develops previous scholarship on the paratextual strategies employed by Herrera, especially with regard to the inclusion of his own poetry within the Anotaciones. Two Garcilasian sonnets, ‘D’aquella vista pura i ecelente’ (VIII) and ‘Si para refrenar este desseo’ (XII), in conjunction with Herrera’s poetic responses, lie at the heart of this investigation, representing two respectively dominant cultural currents of the period: Neoplatonism and Classical mythography. It will be shown how Herrera exploits Counter-Reformation attitudes towards secularity and mythography to engage in a critique that goes deeper than the attacks previously noted by Navarrete’s 1991 study. Indeed, Herrera’s lyric occupies a central role in a complete re-evaluation of Garcilasian lyric that not only moves to subvert the supremacy of the Toledan but also the hegemonic rule of intellectuals from Castile. Herrera presents himself as a learned Andalusian model for Neoplatonic poetics and as the model for imitation for Spanish letters in the wake of the Counter-Reformation. En 1580 el poeta y crítico Fernando de Herrera (c. 1534–97) publicó sus Anotaciones a las obras de Garcilaso de la Vega. Este artículo desarrolla estudios anteriores sobre esta obra en relación con las estrategias paratextuales empleadas por Herrera, sobre todo por lo que respecta a la inclusión de su propia poesía en el texto de las Anotaciones. Este trabajo se centra en dos sonetos de Garcilaso, ‘D’aquella vista pura i ecelente’ (VIII) y ‘Si para refrenar este deseo’ (XII), en conjunción con otros tantos textos poéticos de Herrera, teniendo en cuenta sus deudas con dos corrientes culturales contemporáneas: el neoplatonismo y la mitología clásica. Las actitudes hacia el amor neoplatónico y la mitología fueron explotadas por Herrera de una manera más profunda de lo que se suele creer. En efecto, la poesía de Herrera ocupa un papel central en la reevaluación completa de Garcilaso que no sólo subvierte la posición del poeta en el canon literario sino también la hegemonía de los intelectuales de Castilla. Herrera se presenta como un andaluz sabio y defensor de la poesía neoplatónica y como el modelo de referencia para la imitación poética en la nueva era que se abre con la Contrarreforma.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Maney via http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/1468273715Z.00000000012

The dynamic geophysical environment of (101955) Bennu based on OSIRIS-REx measurements

The top-shaped morphology characteristic of asteroid (101955) Bennu, often found among fast-spinning asteroids and binary asteroid primaries, may have contributed substantially to binary asteroid formation. Yet a detailed geophysical analysis of this morphology for a fast-spinning asteroid has not been possible prior to the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission. Combining the measured Bennu mass and shape obtained during the Preliminary Survey phase of the OSIRIS-REx mission, we find a notable transition in Bennu’s surface slopes within its rotational Roche lobe, defined as the region where material is energetically trapped to the surface. As the intersection of the rotational Roche lobe with Bennu’s surface has been most recently migrating towards its equator (given Bennu’s increasing spin rate), we infer that Bennu’s surface slopes have been changing across its surface within the last million years. We also find evidence for substantial density heterogeneity within this body, suggesting that its interior is a mixture of voids and boulders. The presence of such heterogeneity and Bennu’s top shape are consistent with spin-induced failure at some point in its past, although the manner of its failure cannot yet be determined. Future measurements by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will provide insight into and may resolve questions regarding the formation and evolution of Bennu’s top-shape morphology and its link to the formation of binary asteroids

Evidence for widespread hydrated minerals on asteroid (101955) Bennu

Early spectral data from the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission reveal evidence for abundant hydrated minerals on the surface of near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu in the form of a near-infrared absorption near 2.7 µm and thermal infrared spectral features that are most similar to those of aqueously altered CM-type carbonaceous chondrites. We observe these spectral features across the surface of Bennu, and there is no evidence of substantial rotational variability at the spatial scales of tens to hundreds of metres observed to date. In the visible and near-infrared (0.4 to 2.4 µm) Bennu’s spectrum appears featureless and with a blue (negative) slope, confirming previous ground-based observations. Bennu may represent a class of objects that could have brought volatiles and organic chemistry to Earth

Subcontracting in Italian Industry. Labour Division, Firm Growth and the North-South Divide

Subcontracting in Italian industry: labour division, firm growth and the North–South divide, Regional Studies. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of subcontracting on Italian manufacturing firms’ growth in the second half of the 1990s. The main results are: (1) producing as subcontractors does not penalize firms but can be a positive determinant of growth, especially when coupled with the propensity to innovate; (2) since a non-linear relationship between growth and subcontracting emerges, an organizational mode not fully specialized in either subcontracting activity or direct sales may be optimal; and (3) the deep dualism of the Italian industrial structure is confirmed, as Southern subcontractors show poorer performances and slower growth

Subcontracting in Italian Industry. Labour Division, Firm Growth and the North-South Divide

Subcontracting in Italian industry: labour division, firm growth and the North–South divide, Regional Studies. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of subcontracting on Italian manufacturing firms’ growth in the second half of the 1990s. The main results are: (1) producing as subcontractors does not penalize firms but can be a positive determinant of growth, especially when coupled with the propensity to innovate; (2) since a non-linear relationship between growth and subcontracting emerges, an organizational mode not fully specialized in either subcontracting activity or direct sales may be optimal; and (3) the deep dualism of the Italian industrial structure is confirmed, as Southern subcontractors show poorer performances and slower growth

Institutional quality and firms' productivity in European regions

We investigate the relationship between regional institutional quality and firms\u2019 productivity over the 2010-2014 period, by regressing a measure of TFP for European manufacturing SMEs on a region-level index of institutional quality and its components, rule of law and government effectiveness. We find strong evidence that better local institutions help SMEs to become more productive. Besides, the impact of institutions comes out to interplay with some firms\u2019 characteristics such as size, age, hu-man capital and productivity level, as well as the firms\u2019 operating sector. These findings have im-portant implications for the definition of suitable strategies to foster economic growth in EU regions