In the context of technological dissemination sessions aimed at prospective students at the Polytechnic University of Baja California in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, the importance of engineering and its role in scientific and technological progress was stressed, as well as its role in scientific and technological progress as drivers of economic development in the region. A group of 2,154 students from 20 different institutions of public high school education answered a survey designed as an evaluation tool for a (...) career path or technology area of interest. The survey results show that students have a low preference for engineering careers. Moreover, these results were augmented with an additional study on the high attrition of students in engineering schools in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, also conducted by the authors. It raises the importance of teaching science in the early education levels, which aims to prepare scientists and technologists needed for the development of research and innovation as a foundation for economic prosperity and welfare of an emerging economy such as Mexico. (shrink)

Este texto procura analisar uma passagem do terceiro livro de A República de Platão, que trata dos tipos de poesia e de elocução. Observa-se certa variação de emprego do vocabulário associado à ideia de imitação que parece conduzir a algumas dificuldades de entendimento do sentido e dos objetivos da doutrina. A seguir, a análise tenta propor uma forma de explicar e solucionar o que parece ser uma espécie de flutuação semântica desse vocabulário, com base em teses já estabelecidas anteriormente no (...) diálogo. (shrink)

A vision based taxonomy of early shadow depictions.

This article tries to point out a source of potential conflict in Charles Taylor’s theoretical perspective. There is an unsolved tension between the historical reconstruction of the genealogy of the modern identity and the theoretical claim that our moral reactions are the basis of an objective assessment of practices. My intention is to analyse this tension at three different levels of discourse: first, Taylor’s position as a liberal non-atomist thinker hinges upon his idea that our moral identity depends on our (...) free determination of our relation to good, which can be pursued only within the experience of a community. Second, this Hegelian trait of his perspective is also present in his meta-ethical theory, in which our moral reactions are said to be both instinctive and culturally mediate. In this case, it is not clear how an individual or a group can transcend this limited perspective, if any appeal to reason is inextricably tied to historical delimitations. Third, the principle that any culture in itself is to be considered equally valuable appears to be disputable in front of the objection that some cultures do violate what seem to be fundamental rights and therefore do not deserve equal consideration and are not to be preserved. (shrink)

Osservazioni sulle fonti luterane della controversia De notitia Dei naturali insita in infantibusStarting from a passage of Adam Steuart’s refutation of Descartes’ Notae in programma quoddam, this essay reconstructs the debate on the innate idea of God in infants that took place in Lutheran-oriented philosophy and theology between the end of the 16th and the middle of the 18th century. It is shown that one of the most common questions in modern philosophy is closely connected with theological thinking - in (...) this case Lutheran - from the formulation of the dogmatic systems up until their criticism by the Enlightenment. Also explained is the way in which the reception of Cartesianism was singularly influenced by the various backgrounds and the different and continuously changing polemical goals that inspired each author. In fact, Descartes was even accused of being a Lutheran. (shrink)

The book compares Kant's and Hamilton's political thought. It highlights their complementarity in the development of federalism as a political theory. Contributions focus on issues such as sovereignty, the relationship between democracy and peace and viceversa, the democratic peace and the federalist peace, and the federal institutional model.

Rewarding regulation involves pursuing the complex goal of bringing labor protection and firms’ economic performance together. A central element in achieving such goals refers to how regulatory bureaucracies operate. This paper examines the organizational structures, processes, and internal dynamics that allow regulatory bureaucracies to innovate and meet such developmental challenges. It reviews well-established interpretations about state bureaucracies that have emphasized either hierarchical structures and control processes or discretion and disperse individual behaviors. In addition, it suggests alternative analytical paths for combining (...) flexibility and control by examining the relational processes and dynamics within bureaucracies. The analysis of the Brazilian Labor Inspectorate, based on qualitative data and extensive fieldwork, and of other empirical examples from the literature, indicates that internal tensions and conflicts instigate a process of technical vigilance between members of the same bureaucracy, inducing innovation and responsible uses of discretion. (shrink)

This biography of Macchiavelli is widely regarded as Ridolfi’s masterpiece and is based on much material drawn from private and public archives. It presents a fresh interpretation of Macchiavelli’s career and writings and here, for example the dating of the composition of such famous works as the Prince and the Mandragola is established for the first time. This English translation, when originally published in 1963 included numerous correction and additions which brought it up to date with the most recent studies (...) on Macchiavelli and his works. (shrink)

A partir da denúncia da contraditória presença de pressupostos morais dogmáticos na formulação dos princípios norteadores da atividade científica, Nietzsche concebe uma outra noção de cientificidade, compatível com a opção hegemônica pelo saber, que ele reconhece como presente na cultura ocidental. O presente artigo visa a discutir sob quais parâmetros Nietzsche, no período intermediário de sua produção filosófica, empreende sua interpretação da cientificidade ocidental e como, apresentando-se como seu fomentador, ele formula uma crítica desmistificadora desta.

The first Italian edition (Vita e Pensiero, Milan 1996) has been thoroughly revised, corrected and updated, and is complemented by an index of the most ...

"a book about religion and a religious work in its own right, it proposes the content of a religion that can survive faith in a transcendent God and in life after death. According to this religion—the religion of the future—human beings can be more human by becoming more godlike, not just later, in another life or another time, but right now, on Earth and in their own lives."--Publishers website.

Some philosochical and cognitive aspects of political gerrymandering are investigated. The basic assumption of gerrymandering practices is that regions be connected. This assumption is questioned, as it seems to result for a cognitive bias for connectedness (a preference for unitary objects).