The Virtues of Authenticity: A Kierkegaardian Essay in Moral Psychology

Discussions of the concept of authenticity often fail to define the conditions of an appropriate emotional orientation toward the world. With a more solid philosophical understanding of emotion, it should be possible to define more precisely the necessary conditions of emotional authenticity. Against this background, I interpret Kierkegaard’s Either/Or as a narrative text that suggests a moral psychology of emotion that points toward the development of a better way of thinking about the ethics of authenticity. In the process, I also engage with the positions of other philosophers, both “existential” and “analytic.” The upshot of my argument is that a cognitive phenomenology of emotion can flesh out the ideal of truthfulness as a virtue of character, while forcing moral philosophers to question whether authenticity should be understood as an achievement of the will rather than as a matter of affective receptivity

Quantizing the electromagnetic field near two-sided semitransparent mirrors

This paper models light scattering through flat surfaces with finite transmission, reflection, and absorption rates, with wave packets approaching the mirror from both sides. While using the same notion of photons as in free space, our model also accounts for the presence of mirror images and the possible exchange of energy between the electromagnetic field and the mirror surface. To test our model, we derive the spontaneous decay rate and the level shift of an atom in front of a semitransparent mirror as a function of its transmission and reflection rates. When considering limiting cases and using standard approximations, our approach reproduces well-known results but it also paves the way for the modeling of more complex scenarios

Single molecule Raman spectroscopy and local work function fluctuations

Single molecule Raman spectroscopy provides information on individual molecules with vibrational-level resolution. The unique mechanisms leading to the huge Raman cross-section enhancement necessary for single molecule sensitivity are under intense investigation in several laboratories. We recently analyzed large spectral fluctuations in single molecule spectra of rhodamine 6G on silver surfaces (A. Weiss and G. Haran, J. Phys. Chem. B (2001), 105, 12348-12354). The appearance of the fluctuations in two particular vibrational bands, and their dependence on several parameters, suggested that they originate in a charge transfer interaction of an adsorbed molecule with the surface. We argued that the fluctuations are due to variations of the local work function at the position of the molecule. In the current paper the fluctuations are further analyzed in terms of the intensity ratio between a fluctuating and a quiescent band, and it is found that the distribution of this ratio is independent of laser power, unlike the correlation time of the fluctuations. We show that a simple model, based on the energetics of charge transfer, can be used to extract the local work function distribution from the intensity ratio distribution. In a second experiment, single molecule spectra are collected from colloids immersed in water and in glycerol and a threefold decrease in fluctuation rate is found in the more viscous fluid. This indicates that surface dynamics are indeed responsible for the fluctuations, involving the motion of the adsorbed molecule and possibly also that of surface silver atoms around it.Comment: To appear in a special issue of the Israel Journal of Chemistry on 'Single Molecules

Planning for the Future: A Land-Use and Transport Interaction Model for Switzerland

Spatial and transport planners, authorities, real estate developers, investors, re-locating residents and businesses have different questions related to space and transport. These questions may concern specific land parcels, or cover a much larger area such as a city, a region, or even a whole nation. Amongst others, these questions include: - How will our society respond to influences of global economy and political decisions (e.g. regarding demographics and firmographics)? - Which strategies will help authorities and politicians to reach their goals? - What are the spatial effects (and side-effects) of these decisions and demographic changes (e.g. spatial/social segregation, use of resources and infrastructure, climate impact)? To answer these questions, different scenarios have been simulated including all 3000 municipalities in Switzerland using the integrated transport and land use simulation tool FaLC (Facility Location Choice Simulation Tool). FaLC incorporates interactions between land use, transportation, economy and public policy and has been developed in a joint project between the Institute for Transport Planning and Systems (IVT) at ETH Zurich, regioConcept (Switzerland) and ESMO (Slovakia). The models in FaLC focus on the effects of changing infrastructure supply, political decisions, and economic conditions on the spatial behaviour (location and relocation choices, transport flows) of persons (places of residence, work, leisure and shopping), firms (domicile, branches) and goods (freights, wholesale, retail, cash flow). In FaLC, persons move (or stay) in a certain space divided into a number of subareas (locations), comparable to a chess board. The agents' movement includes the daily commuters between home, work and leisure, as well as long-term decisions such as; where they live, work and generally spend their spare time. The first prototype of FaLC is already in operation and ready to create future scenarios. The implemented case study for Switzerland focusses basically on three scenarios: - Effects of road network modification - Effects of company taxes reduction - Effects of land regulation modification This paper shows the effects and side-effects of these assumed spatial interventions. Additionally, it discusses some problems of the chosen micro-simulation approach (e.g. data availability, white noise, choice of subsets)

Strategic plan for the travel mobile app: The NoQ

This Master thesis pretends to develop a detailed strategic plan for the innovative idea of the NoQ mobile travel application. The main purpose of this plan is to examine the feasibility and viability of the project. In order to achieve this, several fundamental steps have been taken. First, the key concepts for this thesis, such as tourism, visitor attractions and smart tourism, were identified and explained for their better understanding and unification. After that, a micro and macro analysis of the market in which the project will be implemented was conducted. To deepen the investigation, an internal evaluation of the company was carried out and the level of its competitiveness was examined. The knowledge and data obtained in the first part of the thesis were used in the following functional part. This section defines the future objectives of the strategic plan, as well as, the development strategy that includes the mission, vision, values and critical success factor of the NoQ. The final chapter contains the project implementation plan, including marketing activities shown by means of the Marketing Mix, along with the company organizational structure and schedule of operations for setting up the business. Furthermore, this section specifies the NoQ’s key resources, which have been broken down into human, physical, intellectual and financial resources. Finally, the implementation requirements for establishing a company and additional legal requirements have been defined.A presente dissertação de mestrado pretende desenvolver um plano estratégico detalhado para a aplicação móvel de viagens NoQ. O principal objetivo deste plano é estudar a viabilidade deste projeto. Para isso, várias etapas fundamentais foram tomadas. Primeiramente, os conceitos-chave para elaborar esta tese, como o turismo, as atrações turísticas e o turismo inteligente, foram identificados e explicados em detalhe para uma melhor compreensão. Seguidamente, foram realizadas uma micro e macro análise do mercado em que o projeto estará integrado. Para aprofundar a análise, foi realizada uma avaliação interna da empresa e foi também analisado o seu nível de competitividade. Os conhecimentos e dados obtidos na primeira parte da tese foram utilizados na parte subsequente da tese. Esta secção define os objetivos futuros do plano estratégico, bem como a estratégia de desenvolvimento que inclui a missão, visão, valores e fator crítico de sucesso do NoQ. O capítulo final contém o plano de implementação do projeto, incluindo as ações de marketing apresentadas por meio do Marketing Mix, juntamente com a estrutura organizacional da empresa e o cronograma de operações para a implantação do negócio. Além disso, esta seção especifica os recursos-chave do NoQ, que foram divididos em recursos humanos, físicos, intelectuais e financeiros. Por último, foram definidos os requisitos de implementação para o estabelecimento de uma empresa e os requisitos legais adicionais

Strategic plan for the travel mobile app: The NoQ

This Master thesis pretends to develop a detailed strategic plan for the innovative idea of the NoQ mobile travel application. The main purpose of this plan is to examine the feasibility and viability of the project. In order to achieve this, several fundamental steps have been taken. First, the key concepts for this thesis, such as tourism, visitor attractions and smart tourism, were identified and explained for their better understanding and unification. After that, a micro and macro analysis of the market in which the project will be implemented was conducted. To deepen the investigation, an internal evaluation of the company was carried out and the level of its competitiveness was examined. The knowledge and data obtained in the first part of the thesis were used in the following functional part. This section defines the future objectives of the strategic plan, as well as, the development strategy that includes the mission, vision, values and critical success factor of the NoQ. The final chapter contains the project implementation plan, including marketing activities shown by means of the Marketing Mix, along with the company organizational structure and schedule of operations for setting up the business. Furthermore, this section specifies the NoQ’s key resources, which have been broken down into human, physical, intellectual and financial resources. Finally, the implementation requirements for establishing a company and additional legal requirements have been defined.A presente dissertação de mestrado pretende desenvolver um plano estratégico detalhado para a aplicação móvel de viagens NoQ. O principal objetivo deste plano é estudar a viabilidade deste projeto. Para isso, várias etapas fundamentais foram tomadas. Primeiramente, os conceitos-chave para elaborar esta tese, como o turismo, as atrações turísticas e o turismo inteligente, foram identificados e explicados em detalhe para uma melhor compreensão. Seguidamente, foram realizadas uma micro e macro análise do mercado em que o projeto estará integrado. Para aprofundar a análise, foi realizada uma avaliação interna da empresa e foi também analisado o seu nível de competitividade. Os conhecimentos e dados obtidos na primeira parte da tese foram utilizados na parte subsequente da tese. Esta secção define os objetivos futuros do plano estratégico, bem como a estratégia de desenvolvimento que inclui a missão, visão, valores e fator crítico de sucesso do NoQ. O capítulo final contém o plano de implementação do projeto, incluindo as ações de marketing apresentadas por meio do Marketing Mix, juntamente com a estrutura organizacional da empresa e o cronograma de operações para a implantação do negócio. Além disso, esta seção especifica os recursos-chave do NoQ, que foram divididos em recursos humanos, físicos, intelectuais e financeiros. Por último, foram definidos os requisitos de implementação para o estabelecimento de uma empresa e os requisitos legais adicionais