Aesthetic Freedom and Democratic Ethical Life: A Hegelian Account of the Relationship between Aesthetics and Democratic Politics

This paper presents a novel Hegelian view of the relationship between aesthetics and democratic politics. My account avoids the drawbacks associated with approaches that (like Rancière’s) reconceive all of the political in aesthetic terms or (like Rockhill’s) reduce the aesthetic to art. Instead, I maintain that the aesthetic is best understood as a distinct relationship of individual freedom. My argument proceeds by highlighting shortcomings of Honneth’s account of democratic Sittlichkeit and then addressing these impasses by integrating aesthetic freedom into the picture. The first two steps of my argument concern the fact that the form of life outlined by Honneth aspires to be a form of free life, yet his account of democratic Sittlichkeit gives rise to two dimensions of unfreedom. The first problem of unfreedom pertains to the scope of freedom. The relationships of freedom incorporated into Honneth’s account fail to turn given social roles into the subject matter of a sufficiently unrestricted practice of freedom. The second problem of freedom concerns conformism. In a final step, I complete my argument that Honneth’s account is unsatisfactory and incomplete by showing that aesthetic freedom is socially valid and thus ought to form part of our accounts of democratic ethical life

Automated analysis of urinary stone composition using raman spectroscopy: Pilot study for the development of a compact portable system for immediate postoperative ex vivo application

Purpose: We evaluate a compact portable system for immediate automated postoperative ex vivo analysis of urinary stone composition using Raman spectroscopy. Analysis of urinary stone composition provides essential information for the treatment and metaphylaxis of urolithiasis. Currently infrared spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction are used for urinary stone analysis. However, these methods may require complex sample preparation and costly laboratory equipment. In contrast, Raman spectrometers could be a simple and quick strategy for immediate stone analysis. Materials and Methods: Pure samples of 9 stone components and 159 human urinary calculi were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy using a microscope coupled system at 2 excitation wavelengths. Signal-to-noise ratio, peak positions and the distinctness of the acquired Raman spectra were analyzed and compared. Background fluorescence was removed mathematically. Corrected Raman spectra were used as a reference library for aut omated classification of native human urinary stones (50). The results were then compared to standard infrared spectroscopy. Results: Signal-to-noise ratio was superior at an excitation wavelength of 532 nm. An automated, computer based classifier was capable of matching spectra from patient samples with those of pure stone components. Consecutive analysis of 50 human stones demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity compared to infrared spectroscopy (for components with more than 25% of total composition). Conclusions: Our pilot study indicates that Raman spectroscopy is a valid and reliable technique for determining urinary stone composition. Thus, we propose that the development of a compact and portable system based on Raman spectroscopy for immediate, postoperative stone analysis could represent an invaluable tool for the metaphylaxis of urolithiasis

35 years of excellence, and perspectives ahead for excellence 4.0

About 35 years ago, the word 'excellence' entered the business lexicon, quickly making its way into the quality community. Today, excellence has proved to be a valid quality initiative by promoting performance improvements in organisations across the world. But in the face of new industrial paradigms, it also faces challenges - some novel and disruptive; some old and with renewed strength. While in many areas, including the field of quality, discussions regarding the future are common, in the specific case of excellence these have been rare. The driver behind this work is to understand the current state and the future challenges of excellence, supporting these perspectives in a broad literature review covering its history. The results highlight the achievements of excellence, its limitations and challenges, and the key concepts that need addressing in the scope of dealing with the industrial models of the future. Altogether, it looks at the relationships between excellence and other quality initiatives, and identifies opportunities for improvement. By covering the history of excellence, and identifying solutions that can be adapted and integrated in its scope, we hope to present our contributions for sparking discussion and help the development of a robust excellence approach for the future.- The wish to acknowledge the support provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Technologia) to this work through [grant number PD/BD/114149/2016]