1,062 research outputs found
Fascism, Vulnerability, and the Escape from Freedom
A worldwide struggle between democracy and authoritarianism set against a backdrop of global surveillance capitalism is unmistakable. Examples range from Myanmar, China, and the Philippines to Hungary, Turkey, Russia, and the United States. Fascism, Vulnerability, and the Escape from Freedom offers a multidisciplinary analysis drawing on psychology and literature to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that drive people to abandon democracy in favor of vertically organized authoritarianism and even fascism.
In a comparative study of texts selected for their insights and occasional blind spots regarding fascist experiments of the past 100 years, Delogu examines fascism’s exploitation of fear (of change, loss, and death), disruption, and extreme inequality. The book offers an accessible and persuasive argument linking fascist authoritarianism, also called “right-wing populism,” to certain underlying conditions, such as a rise in us-versus-them thinking; distrust or simple apathy regarding democratic institutions, norms, and results; the vulnerabilities that result from extreme inequality (economic, social, racial); and addictions and codependency. Stressful events, such as a pandemic, an environmental disaster, or deep recession aggravate these harmful factors and make the fascist temptation, including the use of violence, almost irresistible. Delogu’s distinctive examination of texts that plumb the unconscious reveal linkages between actions and unavowable motives that purely historical and theoretical studies of fascism leave out.
Erich Fromm’s neglected 1941 classic Escape from Freedom serves as a key reference in Delogu’s study, as does Robert Paxton’s authoritative history, The Anatomy of Fascism (2004). After underscoring the argument and urgent context around these two studies (Hitler’s Germany and George W. Bush’s post-9/11 America), Delogu examines novels, a diary, memoirs, and manifestos to show how vulnerability forces individuals to choose between exclusionary fascist authoritarianism and inclusive, collaborative democracy
Tocqueville and Democracy in the Internet Age
Tocqueville and Democracy in the Internet Age is an introduction to Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) and his monumental two-volume study Democracy in America (1835, 1840) that pays particular attention to the critical conversation around Tocqueville and contemporary democracy. It attempts to help us think better about democracy, and also perhaps to live better, in the Internet Age
Tocqueville and Democracy in the Internet Age
Tocqueville and Democracy in the Internet Age is an introduction to Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) and his monumental two-volume study Democracy in America (1835, 1840) that pays particular attention to the critical conversation around Tocqueville and contemporary democracy. It attempts to help us think better about democracy, and also perhaps to live better, in the Internet Age
VisIVO - Integrated Tools and Services for Large-Scale Astrophysical Visualization
VisIVO is an integrated suite of tools and services specifically designed for
the Virtual Observatory. This suite constitutes a software framework for
effective visual discovery in currently available (and next-generation) very
large-scale astrophysical datasets. VisIVO consists of VisiVO Desktop - a stand
alone application for interactive visualization on standard PCs, VisIVO Server
- a grid-enabled platform for high performance visualization and VisIVO Web - a
custom designed web portal supporting services based on the VisIVO Server
functionality. The main characteristic of VisIVO is support for
high-performance, multidimensional visualization of very large-scale
astrophysical datasets. Users can obtain meaningful visualizations rapidly
while preserving full and intuitive control of the relevant visualization
parameters. This paper focuses on newly developed integrated tools in VisIVO
Server allowing intuitive visual discovery with 3D views being created from
data tables. VisIVO Server can be installed easily on any web server with a
database repository. We discuss briefly aspects of our implementation of VisiVO
Server on a computational grid and also outline the functionality of the
services offered by VisIVO Web. Finally we conclude with a summary of our work
and pointers to future developments
Stellar population gradients from cosmological simulations: dependence on mass and environment in local galaxies
The age and metallicity gradients for a sample of group and cluster galaxies
from N-body+hydrodynamical simulation are analyzed in terms of galaxy stellar
mass. Dwarf galaxies show null age gradient with a tail of high and positive
values for systems in groups and cluster outskirts. Massive systems have
generally zero age gradients which turn to positive for the most massive ones.
Metallicity gradients are distributed around zero in dwarf galaxies and become
more negative with mass; massive galaxies have steeper negative metallicity
gradients, but the trend flatten with mass. In particular, fossil groups are
characterized by a tighter distribution of both age and metallicity gradients.
We find a good agreement with both local observations and independent
simulations. The results are also discussed in terms of the central age and
metallicity, as well as the total colour, specific star formation and velocity
dispersion.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication on MNRA
Tocqueville and democracy in the internet age
Tocqueville and Democracy in the Internet Age is an introduction to Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) and his monumental two-volume study Democracy in America (1835, 1840) that pays particular attention to the critical conversation around Tocqueville and contemporary democracy. It attempts to help us think better about democracy, and also perhaps to live better, in the Internet Age
Automated detection of lung nodules in low-dose computed tomography
A computer-aided detection (CAD) system for the identification of pulmonary
nodules in low-dose multi-detector computed-tomography (CT) images has been
developed in the framework of the MAGIC-5 Italian project. One of the main
goals of this project is to build a distributed database of lung CT scans in
order to enable automated image analysis through a data and cpu GRID
infrastructure. The basic modules of our lung-CAD system, consisting in a 3D
dot-enhancement filter for nodule detection and a neural classifier for
false-positive finding reduction, are described. The system was designed and
tested for both internal and sub-pleural nodules. The database used in this
study consists of 17 low-dose CT scans reconstructed with thin slice thickness
(~300 slices/scan). The preliminary results are shown in terms of the FROC
analysis reporting a good sensitivity (85% range) for both internal and
sub-pleural nodules at an acceptable level of false positive findings (1-9
FP/scan); the sensitivity value remains very high (75% range) even at 1-6
FP/scanComment: 4 pages, 2 figures: Proceedings of the Computer Assisted Radiology
and Surgery, 21th International Congress and Exhibition, Berlin, Volume 2,
Supplement 1, June 2007, pp 357-35
Hyperchaotic qualities of the ball motion in a ball milling device
Ball collisions in milling devices are governed by complex dynamics ruled by impredictable impulsive forces. In this paper, nonlinear dynamics techniques are employed to analyze the time series describing the trajectory of a milling ball in an empty container obtained from a numerical model. The attractor underlying the system dynamics was reconstructed by the time delay method. In order to characterize the system dynamics the calculation of the spectrum of Lyapunov exponents was performed. Six Lyapunov exponents, divided into two terns with opposite sign, were obtained. The detection of the positive tern demonstrates the occurrence of the hyperchaotic qualities of the ball motion. A fractal Lyapunov dimension, equal to 5.62, was also obtained confirming the strange features of the attractor
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