RAWLS E ENOCH SU DISACCORDO E RAGIONI

In this essay I discuss one of the objections raised by David Enoch in his recent Against Public Reason. According to Enoch, public-reason theorists misinterpret the role that rea-sons for the action play in the political sphere. Treating the most deeply held beliefs as mere preferences, public-reason theorists end up supporting a paternalistic view that vio-lates people’s freedom and equality. In this essay I try to dismiss this charge, without de-fending the idea of public reason. The essay is divided into six parts. §1 introduces the problem with an example. §2 lays out the general idea of public reason. §3 illustrates Enoch’s objection. §4 briefly introduces standard responses to the objection and Enoch’s possible counter-arguments. §5, with the help of some formalization, explains how non-public reasons work, addresses Enoch’s ob-jection, and present some doubt on the idea of public reason. §6 concludes

Constructivism: metaphysical not political.

Norms, Reasons and Constructivism. Constructivism and Objectivity. Varieties of Constructivism. Constructivism and Its Premises. Re-Defining Constructivism

Wood dynamics in headwater streams of the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Precipitation downscaling using random cascades: a case study in Italy

Abstract. We present a Stochastic Space Random Cascade (SSRC) approach to downscale precipitation from a Global Climate Model (hereon, GCMs) for an Italian Alpine watershed, the Oglio river (1440 km2). The SSRC model is locally tuned upon Oglio river for spatial downscaling (approx. 2 km) of daily precipitation from the NCAR Parallel Climate Model. We use a 10 years (1990–1999) series of observed daily precipitation data from 25 rain gages. Scale Recursive Estimation coupled with Expectation Maximization algorithm is used for model estimation. Seasonal parameters of the multiplicative cascade are accommodated by statistical distributions conditioned upon climatic forcing, based on regression analysis. The main advantage of the SSRC is to reproduce spatial clustering, intermittency, self-similarity of precipitation fields and their spatial correlation structure, with low computational burden.</p

Review of recent advances in index flood estimation

International audienceIndex flood estimation for regional flood frequency analysis needs to be based on the information available. The most appropriate method depends on the specific application and its choice requires a problem-oriented analysis. This paper presents a simple theoretical framework to deal with index flood estimation for a specific river site. The methodological approaches available for the purpose are reviewed. For each, the information required is specified and the reliability of the estimate, particularly desirable in risk analysis and management, is discussed. Where flood observations are lacking, indirect estimation must be undertaken using scenarios including those commonly met in hydrological practice; generally, these depend on the amount and type of information available. For each scenario, the methodologies are outlined, in order of the expected degree of complexity. After a guided analysis, an investigator can adopt the method providing the best tradeoff between effort in collecting and handling data and the resultant reliability which can be expected. Keywords: direct and indirect methods, index flood estimation, reliability, scenarios

Predictive Modeling the Free Hydraulic Jumps Pressure through Advanced Statistical Methods

Pressure fluctuations beneath hydraulic jumps potentially endanger the stability of stilling basins. This paper deals with the mathematical modeling of the results of laboratory-scale experiments to estimate the extreme pressures. Experiments were carried out on a smooth stilling basin underneath free hydraulic jumps downstream of an Ogee spillway. From the probability distribution of measured instantaneous pressures, pressures with different probabilities could be determined. It was verified that maximum pressure fluctuations, and the negative pressures, are located at the positions near the spillway toe. Also, minimum pressure fluctuations are located at the downstream of hydraulic jumps. It was possible to assess the cumulative curves of pressure data related to the characteristic points along the basin, and different Froude numbers. To benchmark the results, the dimensionless forms of statistical parameters include mean pressures (P*m), the standard deviations of pressure fluctuations (σ*X), pressures with different non-exceedance probabilities (P*k%), and the statistical coefficient of the probability distribution (Nk%) were assessed. It was found that an existing method can be used to interpret the present data, and pressure distribution in similar conditions, by using a new second-order fractional relationships for σ*X, and Nk%. The values of the Nk% coefficient indicated a single mean value for each probability

Constructivism: metaphysical not political.

Norms, Reasons and Constructivism. Constructivism and Objectivity. Varieties of Constructivism. Constructivism and Its Premises. Re-Defining Constructivism.Norms, Reasons and Constructivism. Constructivism and Objectivity. Varieties of Constructivism. Constructivism and Its Premises. Re-Defining Constructivism.LUISS PhD Thesi

Evaluation of future hydrological cycle under climate change scenarios in a mesoscale Alpine watershed of Italy

Abstract. We investigate future (2045–2054) hydrological cycle of the snow fed Oglio (≈1800 km2) Alpine watershed in Northern Italy. A Stochastic Space Random Cascade (SSRC) approach is used to downscale future precipitation from three general circulation models, GCMs (PCM, CCSM3, and HadCM3) available within the IPCC's data base and chosen for this purpose based upon previous studies. We then downscale temperature output from the GCMs to obtain temperature fields for the area. We also consider a projected scenario based upon trends locally observed in former studies, LOC scenario. Then, we feed the downscaled fields to a minimal hydrological model to build future hydrological scenarios. We provide projected flow duration curves and selected flow descriptors, giving indication of expected modified (against control run for 1990–1999) regime of low flows and droughts and flood hazard, and thus evaluate modified peak floods regime through indexed flood. We then assess the degree of uncertainty, or spread, of the projected water resources scenarios by feeding the hydrological model with ensembles projections consistent with our deterministic (GCMs + LOC) scenarios, and we evaluate the significance of the projected flow variables against those observed in the control run. The climate scenarios from the adopted GCMs differ greatly from one another with respect to projected precipitation amount and temperature regimes, and so do the projected hydrological scenarios. A relatively good agreement is found upon prospective shrinkage and shorter duration of the seasonal snow cover due to increased temperature patterns, and upon prospective increase of hydrological losses, i.e. evapotranspiration, for the same reason. However, precipitation patterns are less consistent, because HadCM3 and PCM models project noticeably increased precipitation for 2045–2054, whereas CCSM3 provides decreased precipitation patterns therein. The LOC scenario instead displays unchanged precipitation. The ensemble simulations indicate that several projected flow variables under the considered scenarios are significantly different from their control run counterparts, and also that snow cover seems to significantly decrease in duration and depth. The proposed hydrological scenarios eventually provide a what-if analysis, giving a broad view of the possible expected impacts of climate change within the Italian Alps, necessary to trigger the discussion about future adaptation strategies

Regional evaluation of three day snow depth for avalanche hazard mapping in Switzerland

The distribution of the maximum annual three day snow fall depth &lt;i&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt;, used for avalanche hazard mapping according to the Swiss procedure (&lt;i&gt;Sp&lt;/i&gt;), is investigated for a network of 124 stations in the Alpine part of Switzerland, using a data set dating back to 1931. Stationarity in time is investigated, showing in practice no significant trend for the considered period. Building on previous studies about climatology of Switzerland and using an iterative approach based on statistical tests for regional homogeneity and scaling of &lt;i&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt; with altitude, seven homogenous regions are identified. A regional approach based on the index value is then developed to estimate the &lt;i&gt;T&lt;/i&gt;-years return period quantiles of &lt;i&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt; at each single site &lt;i&gt;i&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt;(T)&lt;/i&gt;. The index value is the single site sample average &amp;mu;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;. The dimensionless values of &lt;i&gt;H&lt;sup&gt;*&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt;=H&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt; / &amp;mu;&lt;sub&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt; are grouped in one sample for each region and their frequency of occurrence is accommodated by a General Extreme Value, GEV, probability distribution, including Gumbel. The proposed distributions, valid in each site of the homogeneous regions, can be used to assess the &lt;i&gt;T&lt;/i&gt;-years return period quantiles of &lt;i&gt;H&lt;sup&gt;*&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt;. It is shown that the value of &lt;i&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt;(T)&lt;/i&gt; estimated with the regional approach is more accurate than that calculated by single site distribution fitting, particularly for high return periods. A sampling strategy based on accuracy is also suggested to estimate the single site index value, i.e. the sample average &amp;mu;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;, critical for the evaluation of the distribution of &lt;i&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;72i&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/i&gt;. The proposed regional approach is valuable because it gives more accurate snow depth input to dynamics models than the present procedure based on single site analysis, so decreasing uncertainty in hazard mapping procedure

Theories of whistleblowing

“Whistleblowing” has entered the scholarly and the publicdebate as a way of describing the exposure by the memberof an organization of episodes of corruption, fraud, or generalabuses of power within the organization. We offer acritical survey of the main normative theories ofwhistleblowing in the current debate in political philosophy,with the illustrative aid of one of the epitomic figures of awhistleblower of our time: Edward Snowden. After conceptuallyseparating whistleblowing from other forms ofwrongdoing disclosures, we introduce and discuss two familiesof normative views of this practice: the “Extrema Ratio”and the “Deontic” views. We show how the two views canbe usefully considered in tandem to offer an all-roundassessment of the moral justification of whistleblowingeither as an extraordinary individual conscientious act ofindictment or as an ordinary dutiful organizational practiceof answerability that enables the capacity of self-correctionof an organization