Martin Munoz

The text starts from Sen's conception of rationality as a social commitment and from his criticism of the economic rationality of utilitarianism, confronting them with the characteristics of implicit rationality in solidarity economic initiatives and sustainable development. These economic initiatives and Sen's ethical rationality are reflected in the following aspects: ethical evaluations of these solidarity initiatives, seeking to reduce social inequalities, the need for social commitment by the companies involved, recognition of social diversity, the importance given to the social participation of the people involved in the initiatives, expansion of positive freedom and recognition of the individual as an active agent. These solidarity initiatives, compared to the traditional economy, also entail changes at the political and social level, related to rationality as Sen's social commitment.

The effect of ASDEX Upgrade edge localized mode -mitigation coils on fast ion wall loads was studied with the fast particle following Monte Carlo code ASCOT. Neutral beam injected particles were simulated in two AUG discharges both in the presence and in the absence of the magnetic field perturbation induced by the eight newly installed in-vessel coils. In one of the discharges beams were applied individually, making it a useful basis for investigating the effect of the coils on different beams. However, no ELM mitigation was observed in #26476, probably due to the low plasma density. Therefore, another discharge demonstrating clear ELM mitigation was also studied. The magnetic perturbation due to the in-vessel coils has a significant effect on the fast particle confinement, but only when total magnetic field, B tot, is low. When B tot was high, the perturbation did not increase the losses, but merely resulted in redistribution of the wall power loads. Hence, it seems to be possible to achieve ELM mitigation using in-vessel coils, while still avoiding increased fast ion losses, by simply using a strong B tot. Preliminary comparisons between simulated and experimental fast ion lost detector signals show a reasonable correspondence. © 2012 IAEA, Vienna.

The purpose of the present dialogue is threefold: (a) Refining our previous interpretation of Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics through the 'Phenomenology' chapter of the 'Big Typescript'; (b) Examining the role of phenomenological and historical analysis in the contemporary debate surrounding the axioms of set theory; (c) Providing a brief interpretation of Kant's Architectonic as a general framework for such debate. The conclusion of the article, which add certain theological connotations to the topic being discussed, has to be explored in future research.

Topological insulators nanowires are an emerging class of structures, promising both novel quantum effects and potential applications in low-power electronics, thermoelectrics and spintronics. However, investigating the electronic states of TI NWs is complicated, due to their small lateral size, especially at room temperature. Here, we perform scanning probe based nanoscale imaging to resolve the local surface potential landscapes of Bi 2 Te 3 nanowires at 300 K. We found equipotential rings around the NWs perimeter that we attribute to azimuthal 1D modes. Along the NW axis, these modes are altered, forming potential ripples in the local density of states, due to intrinsic disturbances. Potential mapping of electrically biased NWs enabled us to accurately determine their conductivity which was found to increase with the decrease of NW diameter, consistent with surface dominated transport. Our results demonstrate that TI NWs can pave the way to both exotic quantum states and novel electronic devices.

In this paper we analyze object-talk, some of its uses and misuses, more closely. Our main claim is that object-talk should be understood in the context of faith instead of that of rational argumentation. Hence, object-talk is compared with God-talk and the way of understanding the so-called 'abstract entities' from logic and mathematics turns out to be essentially linked with how the contact with the Divine is conceived. Moreover, we discuss the particular case of the independence phenomenon and some of the proposals that have been made in order to deal with it. The conclusion is that, even if we succeed in granting such status to object-talk, different accounts of its nature may arise. We finally present our view as one of these alternatives.

Putnam and Finkelstein can be read as providing an answer to Kripke's skeptical argument by appealing to the way mathematics is commonly pursued. Nowadays, the debate surrounding pluralism has questioned the postulation of a unique way of developing mathematical activity. In this paper, we wish to reformulate Kripke's argument as a challenge for the conjunction of 'ifthenism' and a reasonable form of pluralism and, at the same time, propose a reading of some passages of the 'Philosophical Investigations' as a solution. Our conclusion is that, in order for pluralism to be preserved, we need to clarify both the fact that we make definite 'decisions' and the philosophical value that they, as we argue, bear. To investigate the nature of this value is one of the further tasks that we want to cover in this article.