What Counts as Desiring the Actual Good?

Here is a simple observation about moral character: Moral virtue apparently consists, at least in large part, in caring about the right things. When we imagine a virtuous agent, we find that she cares about particular considerations, and that her caring is at least part of what makes her virtuous. One cannot be fully virtuous, for example, unless one cares at least somewhat about the welfare of others. Here is a corollary: At least sometimes, agents are morally vicious because they do not care about the right things. An agent who just doesn\u27t care whether others live or die should, for example, strike us as severely vicious. And here, from Hume, is a simple observation about moral responsibility: In order for an agent to be blameworthy or praiseworthy for an action, that action must reflect something about that agent. This observation, too, is supported by common intuitions. Agents seem to be blameworthy when and because their actions reflect something bad about their moral character, and they seem praiseworthy when and because their actions reflect something good about their moral character. And we are generally reluctant to attribute blameworthiness in cases in which circumstances prevent an agent\u27s character from being reflected in his actions – we typically excuse agents whose bad actions result from delusions or uncontrollable impulses, for example. Here, finally, is an appealing synthesis of these observations. Agents are blameworthy for actions that reflect their moral vices, and moral vices consist, at least in large part, in having the wrong attitudes towards certain considerations. Therefore, it seems that agents are blameworthy when their actions reflect such attitudes. And, since virtues consist, at least in large part, in having the right attitudes towards certain considerations, agents will be praiseworthy for actions that reflect these attitudes. This synthesis is also intuitively plausible. An agent who stands idly by and watches a child drown seems not only vicious in virtue of his indifference to human life, but blameworthy in virtue of the fact that this indifference is reflected in his action. And an agent who makes significant sacrifices to help others is not only virtuous in virtue of her great concern for others, but also praiseworthy when she exercises her virtue. The preceding observations raise two obvious questions: Which considerations are relevant to virtue and moral worth, and which attitudes are the “appropriate” ones to have towards these considerations? A recently-influential family of views (Arpaly 2002, 2003, 2006; Markovits 2010, 2012, Arpaly and Schroeder 2014a) offers a procedure for answering these questions. The considerations relevant to virtue and moral worth, according to these views, are the considerations that the correct normative theory identifies as relevant to determining the deontic status of an action, and the appropriate attitude towards a particular consideration is determined by that consideration\u27s role as right-making or wrong-making. Thus, a virtuous agent will have positive or pro- attitudes towards those considerations that make actions good or right, and negative or anti- attitudes towards those considerations that make actions bad or wrong. Call accounts of this kind actual good (AG) accounts. A number of considerations count in favor of AG accounts. As noted, they do an excellent job of accommodating several intuitively plausible observations about character and moral worth. They are also equipped to provide intuitively plausible attributions of moral worth in a range of important cases. But there are additional desiderata for an account of virtue and moral worth. Attributions of moral worth are not merely of theoretical interest but also of practical importance, as they are likely to have implications for which agents we should reward or punish. And while the correct attributions of virtue and moral worth seem to be obvious in some cases, they are not obvious in others. In particular, there are a number of socially, legally, and morally important cases of wrongdoing in which it is not intuitively clear how we should evaluate the agents in question. These include the case of the psychopath; they also include cases of ideologically-motivated agents who act badly as the result of false moral beliefs. Preferably, our account of virtue and moral worth would be useful in guiding our judgments of moral worth in these difficult, real-world cases. Ideally, it would be complete, in the sense that it would offer a generalized procedure for assessing moral worth in all cases: Our account would take the correct normative theory as an input, along with the attitudes reflected in an agent\u27s action, and then act as a function that outputs an unambiguous judgment of moral worth. I argue that existing AG accounts are not complete in this sense, as there are realistic problem cases in which these accounts struggle to provide an unambiguous judgment of moral worth. That there are such cases at all means that there is a theoretical problem, and that we do not yet have a complete account of moral worth. That some of these cases are realistic means that there is also a practical problem, as these are precisely the cases in which we may need to rely on our account to guide our judgments. The reason that certain cases are problematic, briefly, is that normative theories identify a range of features of actions as right-making and wrong-making. Because an action can reflect appropriate attitudes towards some of these features while reflecting inappropriate attitudes towards others, our account will produce different attributions of moral worth depending on which of an agent\u27s attitudes we evaluate him against. Fortunately, I argue, this problem can be solved. It will require us to develop a further procedure for determining which attitudes, towards which right- and wrong-making features, we should use to evaluate agents. This in turn will require us to address a further substantive question as to which kinds of attitudes count, for the purposes of assessing character and moral worth, as appropriate or inappropriate attitudes towards that which is actually good or bad. Once this work has been done, however, we will have an account of moral worth that is much more powerful, and that is able to provide unambiguous judgments in the cases which were previously problematic. This strengthened account has potentially surprising consequences when applied to the real world, implying, for instance, that psychopaths are morally blameworthy, and that many seemingly well-meaning agents are morally vicious

Air rights development : is it different from traditional land development?

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-54).The availability of large desirable urban development sites continues to diminish. Air rights development is an innovative way for real estate entrepreneurs to create space for developing large-scale projects. Because a portion of these projects are constructed on air, one would expect the deal structure for an air rights developments to be dramatically different from those used for traditional land developments. This paper examines the how the general development issues - ownership, financing and taxation - are structured for air rights developments. Generic air rights development issues and resolution are identified. These finding are then used as the base for in-depth analysis of three existing air rights developments completed in the Boston area. Each development contains unique components as a result of the different individual characteristics of every real estate project, however, the ownership, financing and taxation components of these deals were structured similarly. This study supported the conclusion that air rights development has little affect on the deal structuring of large-scale real estate developments.by Sean P. Clancy.S.M

A normative spatiotemporal MRI atlas of the fetal brain for automatic segmentation and analysis of early brain growth.

Longitudinal characterization of early brain growth in-utero has been limited by a number of challenges in fetal imaging, the rapid change in size, shape and volume of the developing brain, and the consequent lack of suitable algorithms for fetal brain image analysis. There is a need for an improved digital brain atlas of the spatiotemporal maturation of the fetal brain extending over the key developmental periods. We have developed an algorithm for construction of an unbiased four-dimensional atlas of the developing fetal brain by integrating symmetric diffeomorphic deformable registration in space with kernel regression in age. We applied this new algorithm to construct a spatiotemporal atlas from MRI of 81 normal fetuses scanned between 19 and 39 weeks of gestation and labeled the structures of the developing brain. We evaluated the use of this atlas and additional individual fetal brain MRI atlases for completely automatic multi-atlas segmentation of fetal brain MRI. The atlas is available online as a reference for anatomy and for registration and segmentation, to aid in connectivity analysis, and for groupwise and longitudinal analysis of early brain growth

Burden of disease from breast cancer attributable to smoking and second‐hand smoke exposure in Europe

Smoking and second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure have been recently linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in women. The aim of this work is to estimate the number of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from breast cancer attributable to these two risk factors in the European Union (EU-28) in 2017. The comparative risk assessment method was used. Data on prevalence of smoking and SHS exposure were extracted from the Eurobarometer surveys, relative risks from a recent meta-analysis, and data on mortality and DALYs from breast cancer were estimated from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries and Risk Factors Study. In 2017, 82 239 DALYs and 3354 deaths from breast cancer in the EU-28 could have been avoided by removing exposure to these two risk factors (smoking and SHS exposure). The proportion of DALYs from breast cancer lost respectively from smoking and SHS exposure was 2.6% and 1.0%, although geographically distributed with significant heterogeneity. These results represent the first estimates of breast cancer burden in women attributable to smoking and SHS exposure for the EU-28. It is important to increase awareness among women, health professionals and wider society of the association between smoking, SHS exposure and breast cancer, a relationship that is not widely recognised or discussed

Who smokes in Europe? Data from 12 European countries in the TackSHS survey (2017-2018)

Background: Population data on tobacco use and its determinants require continuous monitoring and careful inter-country comparison. We aimed to provide the most up-to-date estimates on tobacco smoking from a large cross-sectional survey, conducted in selected European countries. Methods: Within the TackSHS Project, a face-to-face survey on smoking was conducted in 2017-2018 in 12 countries: Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain, representing around 80% of the 432 million European Union (EU) adult population. In each country, a representative sample of around 1,000 subjects aged 15 years and older was interviewed, for a total of 11,902 participants. Results: Overall 25.9% of participants were current smokers (31.0% among men and 21.2% among women, pAdditional co-authors: Gergana Geshanova, Giuseppe Gorini, Sheila Keogan, Hristo Ivanov, Maria-José Lopez, Angel Lopez-Nicolas, José Precioso, Krzysztof Przewozniak, Cornel Radu-Loghin, Ario Ruprecht, Joan B Soriano, Polina Starchenko, Marta Trapero-Bertran, Olena Tigova, Anna S Tzortzi, Constantine Vardavas, Vergina K Vyzikidou, Paolo Colombo, Esteve Fernandez, The TackSHS Project Investigator

Abordando la exposición a las emisiones del tabaco y de los cigarrillos electrónicos: protocolo del proyecto TackSHS

Objective The TackSHS project aims to comprehensively elucidate the impact that exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) from cigarettes and second-hand aerosols (SHA) from electronic cigarettes have on the respiratory health of the European population according to socioeconomic characteristics and other determinants. Method The TackSHS project involves a series of coordinated studies carried out by 11 academic and public health organisations from six European countries. The project will investigate: a) the determinants of SHS and SHA exposure assessed at the individual level (surveys on representative general population samples) and in common environments (environmental sampling in specific settings); b) the overall disease burden, mortality and morbidity attributable to such exposure; and c) its economic impact in terms of direct health care costs. The project will also examine specific acute respiratory health changes in healthy individuals and patients with respiratory diseases exposed to SHS and SHA. In addition, the project will examine the effectiveness of a novel intervention to reduce SHS exposure in households where smoking is permitted. All these studies are inter-related and involve collaborative coordination among the participant organisations. Conclusion The comprehensive, integrated approach of the TackSHS project will enable a significant step forward from the current status quo in the understanding of the impact of SHS and SHA exposure on health and provide the basis for health policy recommendations to help European countries to further reduce the harm caused by SHS and SHA exposure.Additional co-authors: Montse Ballbè, Beladenta Amalia, Olena Tigova, Xavier Continente, Teresa Arechávala, Elisabet Henderson, Alessandra Lugo, Xiaoqiu Liu, Cristina Bosetti, Enrico Davoli, Paolo Colombo, Sheila Keogan, Shashsa Li, Elizabeth Breslin, Hannah Byrne, Anna Tzortzi, Constantine Vardavas, Vergina Konstantina Vyzikidou, Stephanie Teloniatis, Gerasimos Bakelas, George Mattiampa, Roberto Boffi, Cinzia De Marco, Alessandro Borgini, Chiara Veronese, Martina Bertoldi, Andrea Tittarelli, Giulia Carreras, Barbara Cortini, Simona Verdi, Alessio Lachi, Elisabetta Chellini, Marta Trapero-Bertran, Daniel Celdrán Guerrero, Dominick Nguyen, Polina Starchenko, Julio Ancochea, Tamara Alonso, María Teresa Pastor, Marta Erro, Ana Roca, Patricia Pére

Lung function changes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma exposed to secondhand smoke in outdoor areas

Background Further evidence is needed on the effects that short- and long-term exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) have on the respiratory health of patients with lung disease. Within the TackSHS project we aimed to assess the acute respiratory effects in lung function that result from short-term SHS exposure among patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods The study design was an intervention trial with measurements before/after exposure to SHS in legal outdoor smoking areas. We studied patients with asthma or COPD from Czechia, Ireland, and Spain. Forced spirometry, peak flow and carbon monoxide (CO) measurements were performed pre- and 24 h post- exposure. Results Overall, 60 patients were studied, 30 with asthma, and 30 with COPD; 35 (58.3%) were female. There were no significant differences observed in exhaled CO between pre- and 24 h post-exposure neither in women (p = 0.210), nor in men (p = 0.169). A statistically significant decrease in forced vital capacity (FVC) was seen, overall, in asthma participants (p = 0.02) and in forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), (p = 0.02), FVC (p = 0.04) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) (p = 0.04) in female asthmatic participants. The observed decreases in respiratory measurements in COPD were not significant. There were no reported increases in symptoms, respiratory medication, or use of health services 24 h after the exposure. Conclusion We conclude that acute, short-term SHS exposure had a statistically significant effect on spirometry in female asthma patients but did not significantly modify spirometric indices 24 h later in COPD patients

Burden of disease from breast cancer attributable to smoking and second-hand smoke exposure in Europe

Smoking and second‐hand smoke (SHS) exposure have been recently linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in women. The aim of this work is to estimate the number of deaths and disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs) from breast cancer attributable to these two risk factors in the European Union (EU‐28) in 2017. The comparative risk assessment method was used. Data on prevalence of smoking and SHS exposure were extracted from the Eurobarometer surveys, relative risks from a recent meta‐analysis, and data on mortality and DALYs from breast cancer were estimated from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries and Risk Factors Study. In 2017, 82 239 DALYs and 3354 deaths from breast cancer in the EU‐28 could have been avoided by removing exposure to these two risk factors (smoking and SHS exposure). The proportion of DALYs from breast cancer lost respectively from smoking and SHS exposure was 2.6% and 1.0%, although geographically distributed with significant heterogeneity. These results represent the first estimates of breast cancer burden in women attributable to smoking and SHS exposure for the EU‐28. It is important to increase awareness among women, health professionals and wider society of the association between smoking, SHS exposure and breast cancer, a relationship that is not widely recognised or discussed

Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Other Signs of Tobacco Consumption at Outdoor Entrances of Primary Schools in Eleven European Countries

Introduction: Although smoking restrictions at child-related settings are progressively being adopted, school out-door entrances are neglected in most smoke-free policies across Europe. Objectives:To describe secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and tobacco-related signs in outdoor entrances of primary schools in Europe according to area-level socioeconomic status (SES), smoke-free policy, national smoking prevalence, and geographical region. Methods:In this cross-sectional study we monitored vapor-phase nicotine concentrations at 220 school outdoor entrances in 11 European countries (March 2017–October 2018). To account for nicotine presence, we used the laboratory\u27s limit of quantification of 0.06μg/m3as point threshold. We also recorded the presence of smell of smoke, people smoking, cigarette butts, and ashtrays. Half of the schools were in deprived areas. We grouped countries according to their Tobacco Control Scale (TCS) score, smoking prevalence (2017–2018), and United Na-tions M49 geographical region. Results:There were detectable levels of nicotine in 45.9% of the outdoor entrances, in 29.1% smell of smoke, in43.2% people smoking, in 75.0% discarded butts, and in 14.6% ashtrays. Median nicotine concentration was below the laboratory\u27s limit of quantificationb0.06μg/m3(Interquartile range:b0.06–0.119). We found higher SHS levels in countries with lower TCS scores, higher national smoking prevalence, and in the Southern and East-ern European regions. People smoking were more common in schools from lower area-level SES and in countries with lower TCS scores (pb0.05). Conclusions: Smoking at school outdoor entrances is a source of SHS exposure in Europe. These findings support the extension of smoking bans with a clear perimeter to the outdoor entrances of schools