Social Club Brandenburg : Innovative Orte des Lernens für Jugendliche auf dem Lande

Gedruckte Version im Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin erschienen: ISBN 978-3-7983-2398-8, ISSN 2193-6846SOCIAL CLUB Brandenburg beschäftigt sich mit innovativen Formen des Lernens und Lebens von Jugendlichen auf dem Lande. Ort der Untersuchung ist das ehemaligen (former) landwirtschaftlichen (agricultural) Mustergut Blumberg bei Casekow in der Uckermark / Brandenburg. In der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Ort Blumberg, dem Gutshaus und seiner Wirtschaftsbauten entwickeln Studierende im Bachelorstudiengang Architektur der TU Berlin Konzepte für eine Jugendschule als bauliche Erweiterung der Anlage. Im Sinne eines SOCIAL CLUB wird gezeigt, wie die Schule als soziales und wirtschaftliches Zentrum, auch den Ort Blumberg zu neuem Leben erwecken könnte.The design studio ‘Social club Brandenburg’ is exploring innovative ways that young people from rural areas live and learn. The site is the former archetypal estate of Blumberg in Casekow, Uckermark/Brandenburg. Architecture Students from the TU Berlin will consider how the place of Blumberg, its main house and associated agricultural buildings, can be expanded and converted into a Youth School. The aim of the school is to transform the former estate into a social and economic centre, breathing new life into Blumberg

Determinism and the Method of Difference

The first part of this paper reveals a conflict between the core principles of deterministic causation and the standard method of difference, which is widely seen (and used) as a correct method of causally analyzing deterministic structures. We show that applying the method of difference to deterministic structures can give rise to causal inferences that contradict the principles of deterministic causation. The second part then locates the source of this conflict in an inference rule implemented in the method of difference according to which factors that can make a difference to investigated effects relative to one particular test setup are to be identified as causes, provided the causal background of the corresponding setup is homogeneous. The paper ends by modifying the method of difference in a way that renders it compatible with the principles of deterministic causation

Agenten und Komplizen : Strategische Partnerschaften zwischen Schule und Stadt in Neukölln

Zugleich gedruckt erschienen im Universitätsverlag der Technischen Universität Berlin, 2012. - ISBN 978-3-7983-2476-3Viele Schulen entwickeln sich von reinen Lernorten für Schüler zu Lebensorten für die gesamte Nachbarschaft der Schule. Können in diesem Prozess bestehende Bildungspotenziale im Quartier aufgespürt und mit der Schule verknüpft werden? Die Rixdorfer Grundschule in Nord-Neukölln soll zu einem Identifikationsort mit hoher Ausstrahlungskraft in die Nachbarschaft ausgebaut werden. Mit dem Planspiel AGENTEN & KOMPLIZEN haben Schülern, Lehrern und Nachbarn der Schule in 70 Spielrunden Zukunftsszenarien für strategische Verbindungen von Bildung und Quartier erspielt. Moderiert wurden die Spielrunden von Studierenden der Architektur, die basierend auf den Ergebnissen des Spiels eine bauliche Erweiterung der Schule entworfen haben.Many schools are currently evolving from their former role as places for learning into neighbourhood centres for educational as well as social activities. During this process, it is essential to trace and link existing local educational potential to the school. The Rixdorf Primary School in the north of Neukölln is to become a core institution with strong radiance and local identity. With the simulation game AGENTS & ACCOMLICES more than 70 future scenarios of strategic links between education and neighbourhood have been played out by pupils, teachers, neighbours and by-passers. The students of Architecture, who moderated the game rounds, designed structural extensions for the school based on the analysis of the game outcome

OPEN SOURCE SCHOOL : Neue Synergien zwischen Schule und Kiez in Gropiusstadt

Zugleich gedruckt erschienen im Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin unter der ISBN 978-3-7983-2273-8.Unter dem Titel "Open Source School" haben 75 Bachelor-Studierende des Institutes für Architektur der TU Berlin Erweiterungen der Bildungslandschaft in Gropiusstadt, eine Großsiedlung am südlichen Rand Berlins, entwickelt. Gemeinsam mit Prof. Susanne Hofmann und den wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeitern Sven Pfeiffer und Urs Walter haben sie individuelle Ansätze gesucht, die auf die speziellen sozialen und baulichen Bedingungen des Ortes eingehen und die Integration unterschiedlicher Interessengruppen in Gropiusstadt gewährleisten. Die Projekte knüpfen an die Ziele des Kooperationsvorhabens Bildungsmeile Wutzkyallee an. In dieser Bildungsmeile suchen mehrere Schulen und Freizeiteinrichtungen gemeinsam nach Möglichkeiten für mehr Synergien zur Verbesserung der Bildungschancen und Stärkung der nachbarschaftlichen Strukturen im Kiez

Lebzeitige Zuwendungen an den bevorzugten Nachkommen : Im Spannungsfeld des Pflichtteils- und Ausgleichungsrechts und der Herabsetzungsproblematik

Banks nowadays offer an extensive range of services, including those in the area of inheritance advisory (cross selling). In the banks daily practice as executor, the question often arises to what extent lifetime gifts to descendants must be considered in the future division of an estate. Of particular interest is whether the other disadvantaged descendants have to accept these lifetime gifts in view of their claim to a compulsory portion of the estate and the right to collation to ensure that the estate is divided equally, as well as the problems associated with the abatement of legacies. These lifetime gifts fall under Swiss private law. The relevant provisions can be found in the section on inheritance law of the Swiss Civil Code, the most important of which are Art. 457,470, 471, 474, 475, 477 to 480, 522 et seq. and 626 et seq. of the SCC. If lifetime gifts were made to a descendant, the executor is always first confronted by the question whether this advancement should be included in the estate before it is divided. If there is no need to adjust for the lifetime gifts, the question must be answered whether they are relevant to the compulsory portions of the estate and should therefore be included in the calculation of the estates value. These questions bear a heavy influence on the proposal for the division of the estate that the executor must draw up. If the division cannot be achieved amicably, the heirs must file an action for partition. The discussion of this topic is based on a case where a mother with two daughters leaves only a compulsory portion of her estate to one of the daughters, which benefits her sister. The mother also makes various lifetime gifts to the daughters, which could lead to additional discrimination. This Masters thesis provides an overview of the many facets and wide implications of lifetime gifts to descendants. A generic section on the theory is followed by an analysis of the main aspects of lifetime gifts to descendants. The thesis ultimately draws its conclusions based on the available facts. For the bank in its capacity as executor, it is important to be familiar with the legal foundation, the process and the above-mentioned problems in order to offer sound advice to its clients. By providing good advice, clients are given a certain measure of security in handling lifetime gifts to their descendants. The Masters thesis is intended as a tool that inheritance advisors can use in their work in order to surmount the issues that arise.Banken bieten heute vielfältige Dienstleistungen auch im Bereich der Erbschaftsberatung an (Cross Selling). In der täglichen Bankpraxis als Willensvollstrecker stellt sich oft die Frage, inwiefern lebzeitige Zuwendungen an Nachkommen in der späteren Erbteilung zu berücksichtigen sind. Insbesondere stellt sich die Frage, ob die anderen benachteiligten Nachkommen diese lebzeitigen Zuwendungen im Blickwinkel des Pflichtteils- und Ausgleichungsrechts sowie der Herabsetzungsproblematik akzeptieren müssen. Diese Zuwendungen sind Teil des Schweizerischen Privatrechts. Die einschlägigen Bestimmungen sind im Erbrecht des Zivilgesetzbuches (ZGB) geregelt. Massgebend sind insbesondere die Art. 457, 470, 471, 474, 475, 477 bis 480, 522 ff. sowie 626 ff. ZGB. Bei lebzeitigen Zuwendungen an einen Nachkommen stellt sich für den Willensvollstrecker zuerst immer die Frage, ob diese in der späteren Erbteilung auszugleichen sind. Falls die lebzeitigen Zuwendungen nicht auszugleichen sind, stellt sich die Frage, ob sie pflichtteilsrelevant sind und in der Berechnungsmasse mitberücksichtigt werden müssen. Diese Fragen haben einen grossen Einfluss auf den vom Willensvollstrecker vorzubereitenden Teilungsvorschlag. Falls die Teilung nicht einvernehmlich zu Stande kommt, müssen die Erben eine entsprechende Teilungsklage einzureichen. Als Ausgangslage dient folgender Sachverhalt: Eine Mutter mit zwei Töchtern setzt die eine Tochter zu Gunsten der anderen auf den Pflichtteil. Die Mutter tätigt diverse lebzeitige Zuwendungen an die Töchter, die unter Umständen zu zusätzlichen Benachteiligungen führen könnten. Diese Master-Thesis soll einen Überblick über die vielen Facetten und die umfangreiche Tragweite von lebzeitigen Zuwendungen an Nachkommen geben. Nach einem generischen Theorieteil werden die Hauptaspekte von lebzeitigen Zuwendungen an Nachkommen aufgezeigt. Abschliessend wird ein Fazit aus der vorliegenden Ausgangslage (Sachverhalt) gezogen. Für die Bank als Willensvollstreckerin ist wichtig, dass sie die Rechtsgrundlagen, den Ablauf und die erwähnte Problematik kennt und die Kunden entsprechend fundiert aufklären kann. Dadurch wird dem Kunden eine gewisse Sicherheit im Umgang mit den lebzeitigen Zuwendungen an die Nachkommen vermittelt. Die Master-Thesis soll dem Erbschaftsberater ein Arbeitswerkzeug in die Hand geben, um die vorliegende Problematik bestmöglich zu bewältigen.Banks nowadays offer an extensive range of services, including those in the area of inheritance advisory (cross selling). In the banks daily practice as executor, the question often arises to what extent lifetime gifts to descendants must be considered in the future division of an estate. Of particular interest is whether the other disadvantaged descendants have to accept these lifetime gifts in view of their claim to a compulsory portion of the estate and the right to collation to ensure that the estate is divided equally, as well as the problems associated with the abatement of legacies. These lifetime gifts fall under Swiss private law. The relevant provisions can be found in the section on inheritance law of the Swiss Civil Code, the most important of which are Art. 457,470, 471, 474, 475, 477 to 480, 522 et seq. and 626 et seq. of the SCC. If lifetime gifts were made to a descendant, the executor is always first confronted by the question whether this advancement should be included in the estate before it is divided. If there is no need to adjust for the lifetime gifts, the question must be answered whether they are relevant to the compulsory portions of the estate and should therefore be included in the calculation of the estates value. These questions bear a heavy influence on the proposal for the division of the estate that the executor must draw up. If the division cannot be achieved amicably, the heirs must file an action for partition. The discussion of this topic is based on a case where a mother with two daughters leaves only a compulsory portion of her estate to one of the daughters, which benefits her sister. The mother also makes various lifetime gifts to the daughters, which could lead to additional discrimination. This Masters thesis provides an overview of the many facets and wide implications of lifetime gifts to descendants. A generic section on the theory is followed by an analysis of the main aspects of lifetime gifts to descendants. The thesis ultimately draws its conclusions based on the available facts. For the bank in its capacity as executor, it is important to be familiar with the legal foundation, the process and the above-mentioned problems in order to offer sound advice to its clients. By providing good advice, clients are given a certain measure of security in handling lifetime gifts to their descendants. The Masters thesis is intended as a tool that inheritance advisors can use in their work in order to surmount the issues that arise

Design of an additively manufactured hydraulic directional spool valve: an industrial case study

An industrial case study of an additively manufactured hydraulic spool valve that was designed in close collaboration with our industrial partner Wandfluh AG is presented herein. An existing conventional valve design was redesigned for laser powder bed fusion while considering the current functional and technical requirements. The entire development process is described based on real world requirements, considering the manufacturing and post-processing constraints. The final design was manufactured, tested, and compared with the conventionally manufactured valve. The pressure drop was reduced by 60% through the valve redesign, and a weight reduction of 50% was achieved. This study is concluded by reflecting the development process and identifying potential, learnings, and challenges that can be transferred to other hydraulic components. The importance of generating a large variety of concepts in the divergent design generation phase and performing computational fluid dynamics simulations to assess the potential of these concepts are highlighted

Regional differences of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Swiss children are not explained by socio-demographics or the built environment

Objective We evaluated whether regional differences in physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) existed along language boundaries within Switzerland and whether potential differences would be explained by sociodemographics or environmental characteristics. Methods We combined data of 611 children aged 4 to 7 years from four regional studies. PA and SB were assessed by accelerometers. Information about the socio-demographic background was obtained by questionnaires. Objective neighbourhood attributes could be linked to home addresses. Multivariate regression models were used to test associations between PA and SB and socio-demographic characteristics and neighbourhood attributes. Results Children from the German compared to the French-speaking region were more physically active and less sedentary (by 10–15 %, p\0.01). Although Germanspeaking children lived in a more favourable environment and a higher socioeconomic neighbourhood (differences p\0.001), these characteristics did not explain the differences in PA behaviour between French and German speaking. Conclusions Factors related to the language region, which might be culturally rooted were among the strongest correlates of PA and SB among Swiss children, independent of individual, social and environmental factors