Poly(2-oxazoline)-based materials for biomedical applications

Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Synthese Amin-haltiger und somit kationischer POx in verschiedenen Polymerarchitekturen und deren Verarbeitung zu Hydrogelen, Nanogelen und Oberflächenbeschichtungen. Diese Materialien wurden für die Detektion von Pathogenen oder die Wirkstoffverabreichung von Krebsmedikamenten verwendet. ..

Managers’ Transactions: From Signal Effect to Market Transparency

As of 3 July 2016, the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) lays down a uniform, EU-wide obligation for managers of listed issuers to disclose transactions conducted on their own account regarding financial instruments of said issuers. Compared to the previous legal regime, the regulatory approach relating to this reporting obligation has changed considerably: it no longer serves to provide investors with information from which they may potentially draw conclusions regarding the price performance of the financial instruments concerned. Rather, the purpose of disclosure is to create the highest possible market transparency. Despite this change, the currently sparse doctrine largely interprets Art 19 MAR in relation to the intended signal effect according to the previous legal regime. This article considers the new legal framework from the viewpoint of Austrian and German law, and shows that in assessing the new rules, the change in objectives has to be taken into account

Enforceability of Mandatory Arbitration Clauses for Shareholder-Corporation Disputes

Investor litigation is an increasingly vexatious field of law. Nearly every time a significant change of control or corporate ownership occurs, plaintiffs’ attorneys file standardized complaints to set in motion class action suits. Ultimately, the settlements shareholders receive fail to achieve the practical effects that parties on both sides desire. Shareholders may receive pennies on the dollar of what they allege was lost by corporate wrongdoing, and, in some cases, shareholders may not receive monetary recovery as the settlement requires only that the corporation to make changes to its governing documents. These suits distract directors and management from the core operational aspects of their business. Corporations will pay enormous fees to attorneys and experts to defend against the suits. Often times, as a result of director and officer liability insurance, neither corporations nor directors pay damages out of pocket, making it unlikely that the suits serve a deterrent function, one of the principal policy goals behind allowing for such suits

Gifted adolescent academic underachievement : what the adolescents say.

EducationDoctor of Education (Ed.D.

Enforceability of Mandatory Arbitration Clauses for Shareholder-Corporation Disputes

Investor litigation is an increasingly vexatious field of law. Nearly every time a significant change of control or corporate ownership occurs, plaintiffs’ attorneys file standardized complaints to set in motion class action suits. Ultimately, the settlements shareholders receive fail to achieve the practical effects that parties on both sides desire. Shareholders may receive pennies on the dollar of what they allege was lost by corporate wrongdoing, and, in some cases, shareholders may not receive monetary recovery as the settlement requires only that the corporation to make changes to its governing documents. These suits distract directors and management from the core operational aspects of their business. Corporations will pay enormous fees to attorneys and experts to defend against the suits. Often times, as a result of director and officer liability insurance, neither corporations nor directors pay damages out of pocket, making it unlikely that the suits serve a deterrent function, one of the principal policy goals behind allowing for such suits

Desmoglein 2 is less important than desmoglein 3 for keratinocyte cohesion.

Desmosomes provide intercellular adhesive strength required for integrity of epithelial and some non-epithelial tissues. Within the epidermis, the cadherin-type adhesion molecules desmoglein (Dsg) 1-4 and desmocollin (Dsc) 1-3 build the adhesive core of desmosomes. In keratinocytes, several isoforms of these proteins are co-expressed. However, the contribution of specific isoforms to overall cell cohesion is unclear. Therefore, in this study we investigated the roles of Dsg2 and Dsg3, the latter of which is known to be essential for keratinocyte adhesion based on its autoantibody-induced loss of function in the autoimmune blistering skin disease pemphigus vulgaris (PV). The pathogenic PV antibody AK23, targeting the Dsg3 adhesive domain, led to profound loss of cell cohesion in human keratinocytes as revealed by the dispase-based dissociation assays. In contrast, an antibody against Dsg2 had no effect on cell cohesion although the Dsg2 antibody was demonstrated to interfere with Dsg2 transinteraction by single molecule atomic force microscopy and was effective to reduce cell cohesion in intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells which express Dsg2 as the only Dsg isoform. To substantiate these findings, siRNA-mediated silencing of Dsg2 or Dsg3 was performed in keratinocytes. In contrast to Dsg3-depleted cells, Dsg2 knockdown reduced cell cohesion only under conditions of increased shear. These experiments indicate that specific desmosomal cadherins contribute differently to keratinocyte cohesion and that Dsg2 compared to Dsg3 is less important in this context

The impact of cost stickiness on financial reporting : evidence from income smoothing

This study investigates the impact of cost stickiness on income smoothing. Prior literature at the intersection between management and financial accounting has understood changes in cost behaviour as mere consequences of short-term earnings management incentives. By considering income smoothing as the more complex earnings management strategy, we argue that resource adjustment strategies underlying cost behaviour might also have an impact on long-term financial reporting choices. Specifically, asymmetric reactions of costs to sales changes should increase earnings volatility and thus restrict managers’ capabilities to report smooth income streams, which is supported by our empirical results. Additional tests reveal that cost stickiness primarily restricts opportunistic income smoothing and that the relationship depends on other factors such as the level of adjustment costs

"Kulturelles Unbehagen"?

Die Diplomarbeit befasst sich mit einem Aspekt der oftmals emotional aufgeladenen Debatte rund um das Thema der so genannten „traditionsbedingten Gewalt“ gegen Frauen. Die Kulturalisierung von Gewalt, welche das Thema der Arbeit darstellt, wird anhand der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Phänomen der Zwangsverheiratung verdeutlicht. Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, mit welchen Argumentationsmustern die Kulturalisierung von Gewalt stattfindet und welche Vorstellungen über „andere“ damit verbunden sind. Vor allem die theoretische Beschäftigung mit Konzepten zu Gewalt, Kultur und Kulturalisierung stehen dabei im Zentrum. Es soll damit erreicht werden, Zwangsverheiratung als eine Form von Gewalt einzustufen und die Verknüpfung von Gewalt und Kultur, also die Kulturalisierung von Gewalt, zurückzuweisen. Es wird verdeutlicht, dass der Fokus auf Kultur bei der Thematisierung von Gewalt auch paradoxe und problematische Folgen haben kann. So kann die Debatte auch zu einer Stigmatisierung und Abwertung von Gruppen beitragen und die Grenzziehung zwischen „uns“ und den „anderen“ intensivieren. Stehen gesetzliche Maßnahmen, die Einwanderung, Aufenthalt und Kriminalisierung von Zwangsverheiratung betreffen im Vordergrund, ohne gleichzeitig Ressourcen für Gewaltschutzeinrichtungen zu fördern, ist dies dem Othering von MigrantInnen zuträglich. Strukturelle Ursachen und relevante Machtverhältnisse zwischen Mehrheiten und Minderheiten, welche die Aufrechterhaltung und das Entstehen von Gewalt ermöglichen, geraten bei diesem Diskurs gleichzeitig aus dem Blickfeld. Es ist daher für die Beschäftigung mit Zwangsverheiratung, welche eine Verschiebung der Perspektive zum Ziel hat, vor allem ein intersektionelles Verständnis von Gewalt hilfreich. Dieses ermöglicht neben dem ungleichen Geschlechterverhältnis noch weitere für die Thematik wesentliche Ungleichheiten sichtbar zu machen. Exemplarisch soll die Debatte um Zwangsverheiratung anhand ausgewählter politischer Diskussionsbeiträgen seit dem Jahr 2006 verdeutlicht werden. Es wird dabei nachgefragt, ob es auch in Österreich zu einer Kulturalisierung von Gewalt gekommen ist. Resümierend kann festgehalten werden, dass der Fokus auf vermeintlich „kulturelle Aspekte“ für die Bekämpfung von Gewalt kritisch hinterfragt werden muss, da dabei die Gefahr besteht einen xenophoben Diskurs zu unterstützen.This thesis deals with a highly emotional aspect of the so-called “traditional violence against women” debate. The culturalisation of violence, which is the issue of the thesis, will be exemplified by the debate concerning the phenomenon of arranged marriage. The main question focuses on the patterns of argumentation in the discussion about culturalisation of violence as well as on the perception of “others” connected to it. The thesis uses theoretical approaches to concepts of violence, culture and culturalisation. This theoretical debate is at the same time the main focus of attention of the thesis. The aim is to categorise arranged marriage as a form of violence and simultaneously to reject the classification of violence as part of culture. The author points out that a focus on culture within the discussion of violence may lead to paradoxical and problematic consequences. This kind of discussion can contribute to stigmatisation and degradation of the various groups and is used to polarise between “us” and “them”. If measures taken concentrate on aspects of immigration, residence and criminalisation of arranged marriage while neglecting the support of protection against violence, the othering of migrants may be a consequence. Structural reasons and power relations between majorities and minorities within the country enabling the generation and maintenance of violence become predominantly indistinct within the discourse. An intersectional understanding of violence is a useful tool when engaging in the topic of arranged marriage. It enables the uncovering of further relevant inequalities alongside unequal gender relations. The debate on arranged marriage is illustrated by a selection of political discussions that have taken place since 2006. These will be used to investigate whether culturalisation of violence has taken place in Austria. The thesis concludes that the focus of alleged “cultural aspects” within the struggle against violence must be scrutinised, in order to avoid the support of xenophobic discourse

Eine Analyse der philosophischen Positionen

Die vorliegende Arbeit sucht nach der philosophischen Begründung eines idealtheoretischen Konsens aller Menschen über eine globale Gerechtigkeitsstruktur, auf deren Grundlage ethische Aussagen zu gegenseitig geschuldeter Solidarität und damit zur Armutsbekämpfung getroffen werden können. Dazu werden die wichtigsten philosophischen Standpunkte – Liberalismus, Kommunitarismus, aristotelischer Essentialismus, sozialer Liberalismus und Kosmopolitismus – erörtert und kritisch gewürdigt. Alle Ansätze nehmen absolute Armut, die Menschen an der Ausübung eines menschenwürdigen Lebens hindert, als ein moralisches (Gleichheits-)Problem wahr. Einen Konsens über Lösungsstrategien findet man allerdings nicht. In der vorgenommenen Analyse zeigt sich auch der ganzheitliche Anspruch der Christlichen Sozialethik, die eine institutionenethische Ausrichtung besitzt und das individuelle Wohl aller Menschen in den Blick nimmt