Multiple Europes, multiple modernities: Conceptualising the plurality of Europe

The question of a plurality of ‘Europes’ raises new questions about the nature of unity and diversity. The argument given in the article is that the problem of unity cannot be jettisoned in favour of diversity, but needs to be conceptualised in a way that includes plurality; accordingly a proposal is made for a theory of modernity that integrates both unity and diversity, which it is argued offers a more useful approach than identity or culture based ones; finally, a brief sketch is provided of this framework with respect to the twentieth century and rival projects of modernity that were a feature of the age. While many examples can be found in the long perspective of European history, the twentieth century was particularly important in shaping the present diversity of Europe and therefore merits special attention

Self-assembly of Organic Molecules at Metal Surfaces

Adsorption and self-assembly of organic molecules at surfaces is a key issue in nanoscience and nanotechnology for the many possible uses of hybrid organic\u2013inorganic interfaces. Depending on the nature of the molecules, applications are foreseen in the fields of molecular electronics, sensoristics, pharmacology, biocompatibility, hygiene and biofouling. As a consequence, there has been a large effort in the last few years to determine the structure of the layers and to unravel the mechanisms at the basis of the self-assembly process