Preliminary Remarks on Mises in Interwar Vienna.

The professional class of which Ludwig von Mises (and to some extent also his friend Kelsen) was a member was not only fond of thinking of itself as the defender of their highly cultured environment. This large group of intellectuals, administrators, aristocrats, and politicians had also been raised to belief that they are the intellectual safeguard of a large multinational empire of well over 50 million people. The incredibly diverse ethnic composition of the Habsburg Empire gave it the appearance of an unique international and cosmopolitan order. The unexpected situation in which the fatefully reduced little Austria found itself as a result of the catastrophic war raised a new set of unprecedented problems which most scholars who had routinely come to assume that their primary tasks were attached to a huge multi-national Empire found difficult to turn their attention to. Their society had disappeared. While the final collapse of the old Habsburg Empire had become a fairly general expectation by late 1917, virtually no one had expected the state of affairs which was actually about to emerge. By 1918 the section of the Austrian population which considered itself heir to the ideals of European “liberalism” had been reduced to a position of political powerlessness. Mises found it especially difficult to turn his attention to the smaller problems and as he gradually became detached from the ethos of old Austria, his life and thought began almost reflexively to revolve around a social order which was characterized by the rule of law and peaceful cooperation, but which did not yet exist. Following old Austrian liberal tradition, von Wieser was the first to emphasize that an intimate connection existed between the conceptual foundations of legal and political theory on the one hand, and those of economic theory on the other.

On Menger, Austrian Economics, and the Use of General Equilibrium.

Nowadays mainstream economic textbooks maintain that economic laws can be established solely on the foundations of the exact sciences, such as mathematics or physics. The implication is that the historical date collected with the aid of statistics and other technical means can be used to scientifically unveil, explain, and predict mankind’s behavior. Although economics today embodies individual tastes in the form of elegant charts that are depicted in text books as ‘indifference curves’, it has not gone further in characterizing the all important motivations, influences, or feelings of the acting individuals. If the sole purpose of economic research is to analyze the properties of general equilibrium in the conditions of perfect knowledge and perfect competition, this may well suffice. It seems as if all approaches to economic phenomena which do not follow this doctrine are quickly branded unscientific and repudiated. Rather than constructing a system of timeless general equilibrium prices, as is the goal of the mathematically oriented schools of thought, in our world of scarcity, lack or dispersion of knowledge, and ever changing degrees of expectations, the Austrians attempt to explain the forces and causes that stand behind the price formation. The two main pillars of the Austrian school of economics are methodological individualism (a term used by J.A. Schumpeter) and methodological subjectivism. This approach to economic phenomena builds scientific analysis upon the insight that every individual chooses and acts purposively and in accordance with his perception of the expected actions of others. In observing the actions of others we are aided by our ability to “understand” the meaning of such actions because we are human beings and thus have insights into the behavior of our fellow men.

International practice of commercial registration

Article by Dr Timo Holzborn and Dr Sabine Leube presenting an overview of the registration practices of a selection of national commercial registers, a matter of increasing importance for international commercial practice. Article published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

Keratin Dynamics: Modeling the Interplay between Turnover and Transport

Keratin are among the most abundant proteins in epithelial cells. Functions of the keratin network in cells are shaped by their dynamical organization. Using a collection of experimentally-driven mathematical models, different hypotheses for the turnover and transport of the keratin material in epithelial cells are tested. The interplay between turnover and transport and their effects on the keratin organization in cells are hence investigated by combining mathematical modeling and experimental data. Amongst the collection of mathematical models considered, a best model strongly supported by experimental data is identified. Fundamental to this approach is the fact that optimal parameter values associated with the best fit for each model are established. The best candidate among the best fits is characterized by the disassembly of the assembled keratin material in the perinuclear region and an active transport of the assembled keratin. Our study shows that an active transport of the assembled keratin is required to explain the experimentally observed keratin organization.Comment: 27 pages, 11 Figure

Sampling rate influences saccade detection in mobile eye tracking of a reading task

The purpose of this study was to compare saccade detection characteristics in two mobile eye trackers with different sampling rates in a natural task. Gaze data of 11 participants were recorded in one 60 Hz and one 120 Hz mobile eye tracker and compared directly to the saccades detected by a 1000 HZ stationary tracker while a reading task was performed. Saccades and fixations were detected using a velocity based algorithm and their properties analyzed. Results showed that there was no significant difference in the number of detected fixations but mean fixation durations differed between the 60 Hz mobile and the stationary eye tracker. The 120 Hz mobile eye tracker showed a significant increase in the detection rate of saccades and an improved estimation of the mean saccade duration, compared to the 60 Hz eye tracker. To conclude, for the detection and analysis of fast eye movements, such as saccades, it is better to use a 120 Hz mobile eye tracker

Estudio de la influencia de la automatización en el proyecto arquitectónico

Estudio de la influencia de la automatización en el proyecto arquitectónic

Peculiarities of structural-phase state of multi-layer coatings based on Zr-Y-O

Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy it was established that the Zr-Y-O-based coating layers have a ZrO[2] phase in the tetragonal and monoclinic modifications in the initial state. When it is heated up to 900°C, the ZrO[2] phase in the cubic modification appears in the layer of the coating. With an annealing time of 20 minutes, the grains are crushed to a size of about 15-20 nm. The microdiffraction pattern is modified, the number of reflexes of the tetragonal and monoclinic phases first increases, and then changes without systemic