Debating Buchanan's "Our Moral Fate"

AbstractThis contribution has two main goals which might be labelled for convenience as apars construensandpars denstruensreversing the usual order of these terms. The first aim is to offer an overview of the main tenets of the book, while the second aim is to raise some critical concerns while remaining sympathetic to the author's overall project. With regard to the first point, I present the context of intellectual debate where Buchanan's contribution fits comfortably: Darwin's evolutionary theory, anthropology, psychology, moral analysis etc. The target here is to show the internal complexity and different layers of analysis of the book. These initial reconstructions are, next, used to formulate some thoughts on what I consider possible problematic points in need of clarification. In particular, first, I hold that Buchanan presents too narrow oppositional views between intergroup relations whereupon the notion of "tribalism" is constructed. Such strong identitarian conception does not seem to depict adequately the sociological dynamics of intergroup relations. Second, I consider the terms in which it can be addressed the notion of the rise of the moral mind in evolutionary terms. The suggestion is to consider in a milder form the author's key concept of a "Great Uncoupling" for the moral reason

Modern Landscapes

I explore nature in order to understand something that is becoming increasingly unfamiliar. I wonder about accelerated human transactions with nature: the control of animals, land, and resources for pleasure, consumption or survival; and how these actions manifest themselves visually in the modern world. Through images, I create new ideas about my surroundings. My questions about nature are documented through my work employing subtlety to narrate stories of contemporary environments

Study and development of high release refractory materials for the SPES project

Throughout the last century, theoretical and experimental research made by the international nuclear physicists community has led to important advancement in the knowledge of the mechanisms that govern the behavior and stability of the nuclei. The technological improvements necessary to support this research has often opened the way to new applications in other field of science and industry which directly reflects in our common life experience. Nowadays, Europe is becoming more and more a leader in both theoretical and experimental nuclear physics, as testified by the presence on its territory of several institutes and laboratories dedicated to this field of research, like CERN (Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire), the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. Italy, represented mainly by INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), is one of the main members of this community. One of the most important projects supported by INFN is SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species), which aim is to develop a facility for the production of radioactive ion beams (RIBs) in one of the four national laboratories of INFN, LNL (Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro). The facility is designed to produce and deliver to users both proton-rich and neutron-rich nuclei (range of mass 80-160 amu) to be used for nuclear physics research, as well as other applications in different fields of science. The generation of the aforementioned isotopes will occur inside a properly designed target, which represents the core of the whole project. The choice of the proper material for the target, both in terms of composition and properties, is of vital importance in determining the quantity and type of the produced isotopes. In this work, the synthesis and characterization of different types of target materials are presented. The results of experimental tests performed on some of the produced materials, in configurations very similar to those intended for the final SPES facility are also reported. Chapter 1 gives a general overview of the SPES project and its context whereas chapter 2 introduces the main topics related to the on-line behavior of the SPES target, relative to both its layout and to the properties of the material constituting it. Chapter 3 is focused on uranium carbide, which will be used at SPES to produce neutron-rich isotopes; after a description of its main physicochemical properties, the results of two on-line tests performed on target prototypes made of this material is reported and discussed into detail. In chapter 4 the synthesis methods and release-related properties of two potential materials to be used as SPES targets for the production of proton-rich isotopes, boron and lanthanum carbides, are presente

Justification and Application of Human Rights : Author's Reply to Critics

In this reply I explain the philosophical project behind the book and the reasons for its expansion in occasion of the second edition. I respond to the challenging remarks of my critics and clarify in which terms I adopt a Hegelian approach to a theory of human rights. Hopefully, this should guide the reader through the requested clarifications I provide with regard to functional aspects and possible applications of the theory

Analysing Conjoint Analysis Data by a Random Coefficient Regression Model

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 62J12, 62K15, 91B42, 62H99.Since late 1960s conjoint analysis has been applied in estimating consumer preferences in marketing research. This article discusses how to model the data coming from a full or a fractional factorial design within a unique regression model, as an alternative to the estimation done by n independent multiple linear regression models, one for each subject. The advantage of the method presented here resides in the possibility of computing correct standard errors for the conjoint analysis utility values based on a particular group of subjects. The model assumes that the utility values within subjects could be correlated