236 research outputs found
Is the European Community an Optimal Currency Area? : Optimal Tax Smoothing versus the Cost of Multiple Currencies
No full textPerspective on the Use of Autonomously Flying Taxies in Logistics
No full textAntud lõputöö eesmärk on anda ülevaade õhusõidukitest, mida hakatakse tulevikus kasutama linnasiseseks reisijateveoks ning nende tuleviku perspektiividest. Töös keskendub autor elektrilise toiteallikaga vertikaalse õhkutõusu ja maandumise võimekusega masinatele (eVTOL), mille eesmärk on reisijate vedu linnasiseselt ja mis ideaalis on täisautonoomsed. Uurimismeetoditeks kasutab autor kvalitatiivset uurimismeetodit ja intervjuud alal töötava isikuga. Välja on toodud kolm turuliidrit antud valdkonnast ja nende prototüüpe omavahel võrreldud. Autor tõi välja ka mõned võimalikud kasutuskohad, kus töös uuritavaid õhusõidukeid oleks võimalik rakendada. Läbi viidud intervjuus arutles autor koos intervjueeritavaga õhutaksode tuleviku ja nende turule tulekut pärssivate tegurite alal. Peale intervjuud analüüsis autor selle käigus saadud vastuseid lähemalt ning tõi välja olulisemad eeldused õhusõidukite kasutuselevõtmiseks.The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the aircraft that will be used for urban passenger transport in the future as well as their future prospects. The author focuses on electrically powered vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL), which are designed for inter-city passenger transport and are ideally fully autonomous. The author used qualitative research methods and an interview with a person working in the field. Three market leaders were brought forward and their prototype air taxies compared against each-other. The author also points to some possible use cases for the beforementioned aircraft. In the interview, the author and the interviewee discussed the future of air taxies and the factors currently hindering their entry into the market. After the interview, the answers were analysed and the more important preconditions for air taxi use brought out
No-Lose Theorems and the Pursuitworthiness of Experiments
No full textNo-lose theorems state that---no matter what the result of an experiment will be---there will be a relevant epistemic gain if the experiment is performed. Here I provide an analysis of such theorems, looking at examples from particle physics. I argue that no-lose theorems indicate the pursuitworthiness of experiments by partially decoupling the expected epistemic gain of an experiment from the ex-ante probability that the primarily intended outcome is achieved. While an experiment's pursuitworthiness typically depends on the ex-ante probability that the intended outcome is realized, this is not the case if there is a no-lose theorem in place. I argue that this works only if (1) the theorem's win condition is attainable with reasonable effort, (2) the theorem's underlying assumptions are plausible, and (3) all potential experimental outcomes are epistemically relevant. I also explore the consequences of no-lose theorems for considerations of scientific pursuitworthiness. First, no-lose theorems can play an important role in assessing the risk associated with investing into a research project. Second, no-lose experiments can enhance scientists' agreement about the pursuitworthiness of experiments. My analysis also shows that no-lose theorems can face a number of limitations in these contexts
The Ethics of Genetic Intervention in Human Embryos: Assessing Jürgen Habermas's Approach
No full textIn the near future we may be able to manipulate human embryos through genetic intervention. Jürgen Habermas has argued against the development of technologies which could make such intervention possible. His argument has received widespread
criticism among bioethicists. These critics argue that Habermas's argument relies on implausible assumptions about human nature. Moreover, they challenge Habermas's claim that genetic intervention adds something new to intergenerational relationships
pointing out that parents have already strong control over their children through education. In this paper a new approach to Habermas's theory is suggested which makes clear that he has a strong point against genetic intervention. A more charitable
reading of Habermas with respect to his assumptions concerning human nature is presented. Moreover, Habermas's assumption concerning the power of genetic controlling is evaluated. By means of a close comparison of genetic and educational control it is shown that Habermas's argument relies on much weaker assumptions than generally understood
Actual Causation
No full textIn this dissertation I develop a pluralist theory of actual causation. I argue that we need to distinguish between total, path-changing, and contributing actual causation. The pluralist theory accounts for a set of example cases that have raised problems for extant unified theories and it is supported by considerations about the various functions of causal concepts. The dissertation also analyses the context-sensitivity of actual causation. I show that principled accounts of causal reasoning in legal inquiry face limitations and I argue that the context-sensitivity of actual causation is best represented by a distinction between default and deviant states in causal models
The Promise of Supersmmetry
No full textSupersymmetry (SUSY) has long been considered an exceptionally promising theory. A central role for the promise has been played by naturalness arguments. Yet, given the absence of experimental findings it is questionable whether the promise will ever be fulfilled. Here, I provide an analysis of the promises associated with SUSY, employing a concept of pursuitworthiness. A research program like SUSY is pursuitworthy if (1) it has the plausible potential to provide high epistemic gain and (2) that gain can be achieved with manageable research efforts. Naturalness arguments have been employed to support both conditions (1) and (2). First, SUSY has been motivated by way of analogy: the proposed symmetry between fermions and bosons is supposed to 'protect' the small Higgs mass from large quantum corrections just as the electron mass is protected through the chiral symmetry. Thus, SUSY held the promise of solving a major problem of the Standard Model of particle physics. Second, naturalness arguments have been employed to indicate that such gain is achievable at relatively low cost: SUSY discoveries seemed to be well in reach of upcoming high-energy experiments. While the first part of the naturalness argument may have the right form to facilitate considerations of pursuitworthiness, the second part of the argument has been problematically overstated
Broken brakes and dreaming drivers: the heuristic value of causal models in the law
No full textRecently, there has been an increased interest in employing model-based definitions of actual causation in legal inquiry. The formal precision of such approaches promises to be an improvement over more traditional approaches. Yet model-based approaches are viable only if suitable models of legal cases can be provided, and providing such models is sometimes difficult. I argue that causal-model-based definitions benefit legal inquiry in an indirect way. They make explicit the causal assumptions that need to be made plausible to defend a particular claim of actual causation. My argument concerns the analysis of legal cases involving a combination of double prevention and causal redundancy. I show that discussions among legal theorists about such cases sometimes suffer from ambiguous assumptions about the causal structure. My account illustrates that causal models can act as a heuristic tool for clarifying such assumptions, and that causal models provide a framework for more accurate analyses of legal cases involving complex causal structure
James Woodward: Causation with a Human Face: Normative Theory and Descriptive Psychology
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