Environmental, health, and safety management systems have become common in research settings to improve laboratory safety through systematic observation and self-regulation. However, there is scant empirical evidence assessing whether these surveillance and inspection systems meet their intended objectives. Using data from safety inspections in research laboratories at a large university, we investigate whether conducting inspections, and recording and reporting findings back to the formally responsible actors (i.e., principal investigator scientists) lead to the improvement of regulatory compliance. Our analyses identify a (...) population of well-funded, high-status, tenured researchers whose non-compliant practices persist. Our interviews with environmental, health, and safety personnel suggest that higher-status actors disengage from the regulatory system, the compliance officers, and the system’s feedback process by their variable recognition and acknowledgment of relevant regulations, attention to the inspection reports, and responses to the feedback concerning repair of the unsafe situation. This study extends previous literature on regulatory compliance by providing evidence for the role of power and status in explaining actor-level non-compliant behavior. (shrink)

: The natural philosopher Michael Faraday and the psychologist Jean Piaget experimented directly with natural phenomena and children. While Faraday originated evidence for spatial fields mediating force interactions, Piaget studied children's cognitive development. This paper treats their experimental processes in parallel, taking as examples Faraday's 1831 investigations of water patterns produced under vibration and Piaget's interactions with his infants as they sought something he hid. I redid parts of Faraday's vibrating fluid activities and Piaget's hiding games. Like theirs, my experiences (...) showed that incomplete observations and confusions accompanied—and facilitated —experimental developments. While working with things in their hands, these experimenters' minds were also engaged, inferring new, more coherent understandings of the behaviors under study. Transitory ripples disclosed distinct patterns; infants devised more productive search methods. From the ripples, Faraday discerned an oscillatory condition that informed his subsequent speculations about light. From the infant search, Piaget identified experimenting as a child's means of developing self and world, later envisioning its infusion into education. Taken together, these two stories demonstrate that cognitive capacities emerge in the actual process of experimenting. This finding eclipses the historical context in its implications for education today. When learners pursue their own experiments, their minds develop. (shrink)

Sulla base di una straordinaria analisi dei problemi deontologici riconducibili alla crisi della professione medica, Ivan Cavicchi e un gruppo di lavoro multidisciplinare – promosso e organizzato dall’Ordine dei Medici Chirurghi e Odontoiatri della Provincia Autonoma di Trento, in collaborazione con il programma FBK per la salute della Fondazione Bruno Kessler e il gruppo di Biodiritto del l’Università di Trento – hanno rielaborato le basi concettuali della tradizionale deontologia medica per mettere in condizione gli Ordini dei Medici di riformare (...) il proprio codice deontologico. Si tratta di una vera e propria «rivoluzione» destinata a modificare nei prossimi anni la deontologia nel nostro Paese, a influenzare la redazione dei futuri codici di tutte le professioni medico-sanitarie, ma soprattutto a cambiare radicalmente i rapporti tra medici e cittadini, tra professione e società, tra medicina ed economia. Assumendo il malato come «archè», la proposta di rielaborazione cambia postulati, presupposti, linguaggi, concetti, soluzioni e obiettivi, affrontando problematiche usualmente ignorate dalla deontologia convenzionale. Lo scopo di fondo è definire una nuova figura di medico capace di recuperare il rapporto fiduciario con i malati e con la società e di farsi carico dei problemi di sostenibilità economica che ormai da anni gravano su tutti i sistemi di tutela sanitaria. (shrink)

A collection of essays argues that philosophy is an essential element of human life--a force that shapes human character and national culture and destiny--and offers the rational philosophy of Objectivism as an alternative.

Faraday demonstrated electromagnetic induction in 1831 using an iron ring wound with two wire coils; on interrupting battery current in one coil, momentary currents arose in the other. Between Faraday's ring and the induction coil, coiled instruments developed via meandering paths. This paper explores the opening phase of that work in the late 1830s, as the iron core, primary wire coil, and secondary wire coil were researched and differentiated. ‘Working knowledge’ gained with materials and phenomena was crucial to innovations. To (...) understand these material-based interactions, I experimented with hand-wound coils, along with examining historical texts, drawings, and artefacts. My experience recovered the historical dead-end of two-wire coils and ensuing work with long-coiled single conductors initiated by Faraday and Henry. The shock and spark heightened in these coils provided feedback to the many instrumental configurations tested by Page, Callan, Sturgeon, Bachhoffner, and others. The continuous conductor differentiated into two segments soldered together: a thick short wire carrying battery current and a long thin wire for elevating shocks . The joined wires eventually separated, yet their transitional connection documents belief that the induced effects depend on continuity. These coiled instruments, with their intertwined histories, show experimental work and understandings in the process of developing. Seeing the nonlinear paths by which these instruments developed deepens our understanding of historical experiences, and of how people learn. (shrink)

The contradictions between food poverty affecting a large section of the global population and the everyday wastage of food, particularly in high income countries, have raised significant academic and public attention. All actors in the food chain have a role to play in food waste prevention and reduction, including farmers, food manufacturers and processors, caterers and retailers and ultimately consumers. Food surplus redistribution is considered by many as a partial solution to food waste reduction and food poverty mitigation, while others (...) criticize charitable initiatives as inadequate responses, that inhibit governments from responsibly protecting the citizens right to food. This paper frames food assistance as “hybrid systems”, situating at the intersection of territorial food, public welfare and third sector voluntary systems. Based on available literature and reflections on previous research examining food banks in Italy, we develop a system dynamics conceptual mapping. The aim is to model a set of relations and dynamic mechanisms associated with variables relevant to food waste generation, food recovery for social purposes and food poverty alleviation. The analysis of feedback interactions highlights the vulnerabilities of food assistance systems that occur when addressing food poverty by reducing food surplus. In summary, as the awareness on food poverty and food surplus arises, incentives to food recovery and redistribution strengthen the role of food assistance actors, increasing their exposure to drivers of change, such as retailers’ standards for food surplus prevention. This paper contributes to the current academic debate on charitable food assistance, with insights for policy makers and other systems’ actors. (shrink)

“Through centuries of scourges and disasters, brought about by your code of morality, you have cried that your code had been broken, that the scourges were punishment for breaking it, that men were too weak and too selfish to spill all the blood it required. You damned man, you damned existence, you damned this earth, but never dared to question your code. . . . You went on crying that your code was noble, but human nature was not good enough (...) to practice it. And no one rose to ask the question: Good?—by what standard? (shrink)

Denies that human senses cannot be trusted, that logic is arbitrary, and that concepts have no basis in reality and discusses universals.

In this beautifully written and brilliantly reasoned book, Ayn Rand throws a new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Once again Miss Rand eloquently demonstrates her refusal to let popular catchwords and conventional ideas stand between her and the truth as she has discovered it. The Romantic Manifesto takes its place beside The Fountainhead as one of the most important achievements of our time.

Since man’s mind is his basic tool of survival, his means of gaining knowledge to guide his actions-the basic condition he requires is the freedom to think and to act according to his rational judgment. This does not mean that a man must live alone and that a desert island is the environment best suited to his needs. Men can derive enormous benefits from dealing with one another. A social environment is most conducive to their successful survival—but only on certain (...) conditions. (shrink)

The investigation of visual categorization has recently been aided by the introduction of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs), which achieve unprecedented accuracy in picture classification after extensive training. Even if the architecture of CNNs is inspired by the organization of the visual brain, the similarity between CNN and human visual processing remains unclear. Here, we investigated this issue by engaging humans and CNNs in a two‐class visual categorization task. To this end, pictures containing animals or vehicles were modified to contain (...) only low/high spatial frequency (HSF) information, or were scrambled in the phase of the spatial frequency spectrum. For all types of degradation, accuracy increased as degradation was reduced for both humans and CNNs; however, the thresholds for accurate categorization varied between humans and CNNs. More remarkable differences were observed for HSF information compared to the other two types of degradation, both in terms of overall accuracy and image‐level agreement between humans and CNNs. The difficulty with which the CNNs were shown to categorize high‐passed natural scenes was reduced by picture whitening, a procedure which is inspired by how visual systems process natural images. The results are discussed concerning the adaptation to regularities in the visual environment (scene statistics); if the visual characteristics of the environment are not learned by CNNs, their visual categorization may depend only on a subset of the visual information on which humans rely, for example, on low spatial frequency information. (shrink)

This paper examines the International Student Competition on Place Brand­ing and Mediterranean Diet held in Fermo, Italy, in the context of the devel­opment of rural areas. This one-week food-related educational programme was organised by the University of Macerata’s Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism in collaboration with The Piceno Laboratory on the Mediterranean Diet, a local network of public and private stakehold­ers committed to the promotion of Fermo area as a touristic destination based on traditional gastronomy. The aim of (...) this study was to understand how and to what extent such food-related educational events may con­tribute to providing students with the knowledge, expertise and soft skills needed for careers in the food tourism sector. Of interest also was how such events may benefit the development of rural areas. The ISC was founded in 2016 and continued in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In order to assess students’ perceptions about the experience, specifically regarding what they felt they had learned about food tourism, and which soft skills they had acquired or honed, 13 students who participated in the 2017 event were interviewed for a qualitative study. Moreover, the authors drew upon information gleaned from interactions with students and teachers, as well as with several important actors of the local food and tourism sector, in­cluding tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs and representatives of gov­ernment agencies, with whom they collaborated in the context of planning, running and evaluating the events. The findings show that the ISC can provide students with a good general understanding of the territory and practical knowledge about place branding and food tourism. In terms of career preparation, the combination of fieldwork activities with traditional lectures and group activities was particularly fruitful in promoting soft skills such as communication, efficient use of social media, teamwork, problem-solving and decision making. (shrink)

Here is the final collection of articles and speeches by the bestselling and world-renowned novelist, essayist, and philosopher.

If one wishes to advocate a free society—that is, capitalism one must realize that its indispensable foundation is the principle of individual rights. If one wishes to uphold individual rights, one must realize that capitalism is the only system that can uphold and protect them. And if one wishes to gauge the relationship of freedom to the goals of today’s intellectuals, one may gauge it by the fact that the concept of individual rights is evaded, distorted, perverted and seldom discussed, (...) most conspicuously seldom by the so called “conservatives.”. (shrink)

Totalitarianism is collectivism. Collectivism means the subjugation of the individual to a group — whether to a race, class or state does not matter. Collectivism holds that man must be chained to collective action and collective thought for the sake of what is called ``the common good.´´.

The relationship between Rand and Branden changed over eighteen yaears from student and teacher, to friends, to colleagues, to lovers and finally antagonists.

The Essence of Reality consists of one hundred brief chapters interspersed with Qurʼanic verses, prophetic sayings, Sufi maxims, and poetry. The book takes readers on a philosophical journey, with expositions of questions including the problem of the eternity of the world; the nature of God's essence and attributes; the concepts of "before" and "after"; and the soul's relationship to the body.

An exposition of Islamic mysticism by a Sufi scholar.

ʻAyn al-Quḍāh al-Hamadhānī, ʻAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, -1131. ; Ontology -- Islam. ; Knowledge, Theory of (Islam). ; Sufis -- Iran -- Biography. ; Muslim philosophers -- Iran -- Biography.

Ayn Rand is well known for advocating egoism, but the substance of that instruction is rarely understood. Far from representing the rejection of morality, selfishness, in Rand's view, actually demands the practice of a systematic code of ethics. This book explains the fundamental virtues that Rand considers vital for a person to achieve his objective well-being: rationality, honesty, independence, justice, integrity, productiveness, and pride. Tracing Rand's account of the harmony of human beings' rational interests, Smith examines what each of these (...) virtues consists of, why it is a virtue, and what it demands of a person in practice. Along the way she addresses the status of several conventional virtues within Rand's theory, considering traits such as kindness, charity, generosity, temperance, courage, forgiveness, and humility. Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics thus offers an in-depth exploration of several specific virtues and an illuminating integration of these with the broader theory of egoism. (shrink)

Biography of ʻAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ʻAyn al-Quḍāh al-Hamadhānī, d. 1131, a Muslim saint from Iran.

The purpose of this paper is to present the essence of Ayn Rand's theory of rational egoism and to indicate how it is the only ethical theory that can provide a foundation for ethics in business. Justice, however, cannot be done to the breadth and depth of Rand's theory in so short a space as this article; consequently, I have provided the reader with a large number of references for further study. At minimum, Ayn Rand's theory, because of its originality (...) and challenge to establishment theories, should be included in all business ethics courses and discussions of business ethics. (shrink)

George V. Walsh examines the differences and similarities between Immanuel Kant and Ayn Rand in the area of metaphysics. He presents Kant's premises and conclusions on the major issues and provides a detailed discussion of Rand's criticisms of Kant. Walsh argues that Rand has seriously misread Kant on several points. Her interpretation—that Kant saw our sensory grasp of the world as "delusion," rather than knowledge—resembles that of Arthur Schopenhauer, except that the latter declares Kant's doctrine worthy of praise instead of (...) condemnation. (shrink)

Introduces the philosophical thoughts of Ayn Rand with overviews of her life and intellectual development, then covers her objectivist epistemology, giving attention to both her theory of perception and to her original theory of concepts. Other subjects covered include objectivist ethics, Rand's moral theory and politics, and her aesthetics.

Machan's book explores all the major themes of Ayn Rand's philosophical thought. He shows the frequent strengths and occasional weaknesses of Rand's mature philosophy of Objectivism, drawing on his own, and many others', discussion of this challenging and iconoclastic thinker's ideas. Machan's treatment of Rand is a welcome addition to the growing literature of serious scholarship on Rand's philosophical work.

The article discusses how and why philosopher Ayn Rand attempted to deduce an ought conclusion from only is premises. It contends that Rand did attempt to deduce what one ought and ought not do from what is or is not the case. It argues that Rand attempted to provide a universally objective unshakable normative moral claim, that people ought to act in accordance with her value and virtue system.

Analyzes the intellectual roots and philosophy of Ayn Rand. Second edition adds a new preface and an analysis of transcripts documenting Rand's education at Petrograd State University"--Provided by publisher.

An American conservative movement developed rapidly after World War II. It brought together intellectuals and politicians opposed to the New Deal in domestic policy and Soviet communism in foreign policy. The movement's first presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater, lost the election of 1964 but its second, Ronald Reagan, won the election of 1980. It has remained an influential force in American life up to the present, despite strong internal contradictions, which include disagreements about centralized power, about religion, about tradition, about elites, (...) and about the free market. To some of the movement's early luminaries, such as Russell Kirk, free-market capitalism was the antithesis of conservatism since it required perpetual innovation and the sweeping away of traditional forms. To others, such as Ayn Rand, capitalism was the heart and soul of conservatism because it alone preserved the dignity and freedom of the individual. (shrink)

Vous cherchez un point commun entre Les Simpson et le Tea Party, Angelina Jolie et Alan Greenspan, Mad Men et Dirty Dancing, le fondateur de Wikipedia et l'administration Reagan, ou encore Vladimir Poutine, Queer as Folk et Donald Trump? Il y en a un : Ayn Rand. Quasiment inconnue en France, Ayn Rand est pourtant considérée aux Etats-Unis comme l'auteur du livre "le plus influent après la Bible". Romancière, philosophe et chantre de l'ultra-libéralisme, Ayn Rand a offert une mythologie au (...) capitalisme, celle de l'entrepreneur comme surhomme et de l'égoïsme comme vertu ultime. Stéphane Legrand combine les ressorts de l'essai et du récit pour analyser sa pensée et ses romans les plus marquants, qui font d'elle une pièce essentielle à la compréhension du monde contemporain. Il brosse le portrait captivant de cette émigrée russe "bigger-than-life", qu'on a pu qualifier d'"ultime drogue de passage vers une vie de droite", et dont le destin n'a rien à envier à ses fictions les plus rocambolesques. (shrink)

Bireyciliğe ve rasyonel egoizme dayalı objektivizm felsefesi ile Ayn Rand, bugün bile tartışmalı bir filozoftur. Ayn Rand her tür kolektivist ahlaka karşı çıkar ve temele toplumun faydası yerine bireyin kişisel faydasını yerleştirir. Ona göre her insan kendi mutluluğundan sorumludur ve bireyin amacı kişisel fayda maksimizasyonunu sağlamak olmalıdır. Rand, “Yemin ederim ki ne bir başkası için yaşayacağım ne de bir başkasının benim için yaşamasını isteyeceğim” sözü ile fedakarlığın zannedildiği gibi erdemli olmadığını, aksine bir ahlaksızlık olduğunu ve iyi yaşama arzusunda olan insanın (...) ondan kaçınması gerektiğini vurgular. Ayn Rand, en başta merkeze Tanrı’yı ya da toplumu koyan ahlak anlayışları olmak üzere tüm etikleri keyfi olarak niteler. Ona göre kurucusu olduğu objektivist etik ise, isminden de anlaşılacağı üzere objektiftir ve aklın bir ürünü olmaktan çok, aklın gerçekliği keşfidir. Bu nedenle Rand’ın ahlak felsefesi insanların keyfiyetine ve kaprislerine değil, objektif gerçekliğe dayalıdır. O, doğa kanunları kadar kesin ve gerçektir. Bu makalede Ayn Rand’ın bu iddiası sorgulanmış, onun ahlak felsefesinin de keyfi öğelere yer verip vermediği incelenmiştir. Bunun adına, önce Ayn Rand’ın objektivizminin ne olduğu kısaca anlatılmıştır. Ardından kendisinin kurucusu olduğu bu ahlak felsefesinin temelinin ne olduğu ve bağlayıcılık problemine makul bir yanıt verip veremediği incelenmiştir. Bunun için, sadece makalelerinden değil, felsefesini kapsamlı bir şekilde anlattığı romanlarından da alıntılar yapılmıştır. (shrink)

GEORGE V. WALSH examines the differences and similarities between Immanuel Kant and Ayn Rand in the area of metaphysics. He presents Kant's premises and conclusions on the major issues and provides a detailed discussion of Rand's criticisms of Kant. Walsh argues that Rand has seriously misread Kant on several points. Her interpretation that Kant saw our sensory grasp of the world as "delusion," rather than knowledge, resembles that of Arthur Schopenhauer, except that the latter declares Kant's doctrine worthy of praise (...) instead of condemnation. (shrink)

If we humans are truly facing a posthuman future, the shape of that future will in no small part be a consequence of the writings of Ayn Rand. This is the fundamental claim of Ben Murnane in Ayn Rand and the Posthuman— a claim that he supports while discussing the benefits and problems of such a likely Randian future. From seasteading to technologically enhanced humans, the future, it seems, belongs to Ayn Rand and the pioneers of technology she has most (...) influenced. (shrink)

Why Ayn Rand is important -- Rand's life and writings -- A timeline of Rand's life and work -- Outline of Rand's worldview -- Rand on the nature of reality -- How we understand the world -- Rand on morality -- Politics and economics -- Rand on public issues -- The nature and importance of art -- Rand's novels -- Rand's critics -- Quotations by and about Rand.