Proportionality In Constitutional Law: Why Everywhere But Here?

Legal scholar and author Bernhard Schlink presents the Herbert L. Bernstein Memorial Lecture in Comparative Law. Professor Schlink is both a respected legal scholar and the acclaimed author of a number of popular works of fiction, including the novel The Reader. His lecture focuses on proportionality in German and American constitutional law

Early warning systems of financial crises: implementation of a currency crisis model for Uganda

The objective of this paper is to implement a prototype of a currency crisis model as part of an early warning system framework for Uganda. The financial systems of developing countries like Uganda are especially vulnerable and therefore robust instruments to predict crises are needed. Our model is based on the signals approach developed by Kaminsky, Lizondo and Reinhart (1998) and Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999). The basic idea of the signals approach is to monitor several indicators that tend to exhibit an unusual behaviour in the periods preceding a crisis. When an indicator crosses a threshold, then it is said to issue a signal that a currency crisis may occur within a given period. We implemented this signals approach for Uganda. One of the main challenges in this connection is that Uganda during the analyzed periods had no currency crisis. Therefore, we modified the model in a way that it estimates some of the performance measures based on empirical studies to obtain usable results. The outcomes of our calculations performed well and were economically validated. --Currency crises,Uganda,early warning systems,balance of payment crises,crisis prediction,vulnerability indicators,signals approach

An Essay Concerning the Nature of Personal Commitment

The aim of this dissertation is to construct and develop a theory of “personal commitment”, and defend it in the context of other existing approaches. The first part of this dissertation introduces some practical examples that help explain the plausibility of the idea of personal commitment. Roughly, a personal commitment is understood as willing something to be a reason for you. A formerly optional endeavor becomes something that one now ought to pursue. Personal commitments are a crucial component of human agency because they promise some control over one’s identity and are expressive of agential activity. The concept promises the opportunity to color one’s own life. Several desiderata of a plausible account of personal commitment that prove to be essential are introduced. It becomes apparent that personal commitments cannot be adequately captured in the language of intentions or promises. On the basis of this conjecture, it is examined in great detail whether personal commitments can be understood as being a subcategory of intentions or promises after all, and, if not, how a theory of personal commitment differentiates from existing ones. It becomes evident that personal commitments obligate without having moral weight attached to them. Intentions and promises cannot capture the appeal of personal commitments because they are either too weak or too strong. Furthermore, personal commitments are distinguishable from so-called volitional necessities because they understand volitional activity simply as being satisfied with one’s dispositions. This is not the case with personal commitments. Thus, personal commitments should not be understood as a subcategory of an already existing concept but as an independent phenomenon. This is being demonstrated particularly well by the stark contrast. The uniqueness of personal commitments consists in the fact that they can be entered and exited at will, however, without falling victim to arbitrariness. This is yet another important highlight of the approach. Personal commitments should subsequently be understood as willing something to be a reason for you that is followed by the demands of proper engagement. This theory of personal commitment adds to the existing discourse on will-based commitments by being in a better position to be able to explain an important part of practical life. The relevance of this inadequately considered idea to date of personal commitment underlines the significance of this dissertation.Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, einen Ansatz von „personal commitments“ zu entwickeln und gegenüber anderen, schon existierenden Ansätzen zu verteidigen. Hierfür wird wie folgt vorgegangen: Zunächst wird die Plausibilität von „personal commitments“ anhand von praktischen Beispielen veranschaulicht. So wird unter einem „personal commitment“ in etwa die willentliche Festlegung auf ein Ziel verstanden. Ein vormals optionales Vorhaben ist nun verpflichtend. Solche „personal commitments“ sind ein bedeutender Bestandteil menschlichen Lebens, da diese ein Zeichen personeller Aktivität sind und Kontrolle über die eigene Identität versprechen. Es verspricht die Möglichkeit, sein eigenes Leben zu färben. Darauf aufbauend werden verschiedene Kriterien eines plausiblen Ansatzes von „personal commitments“ eingeführt, welche sich als unverzichtbar für diesen erweisen. Es deutet sich an, dass „personal commitments“ in der Sprache anderer Ansätze wie zum Beispiel Intentionen oder Versprechen nicht angemessen verstanden werden können. Basierend auf dieser ersten Vermutung wird nun genauer untersucht, ob „personal commitments“ nicht doch als Unterkategorie von Intentionen oder Versprechen verstanden werden können und, wenn nein, inwiefern dieser wichtige Ansatz sich von bisherigen Ansätzen unterscheidet. Es wird deutlich, dass „personal commitments“ verpflichten, ohne jedoch moralisch zu binden. So sind Intentionen schwächer und Versprechen zu anspruchsvoll, um die tatsächliche Strahlkraft von „personal commitments“ fassen zu können. Darüber hinaus grenzen sie sich deutlich von sogenannten volitionalen Notwendigkeiten ab, da diese Aktivität lediglich als Zufriedensein mit etwaigen Dispositionen verstehen. Dies entspricht jedoch nicht der vorherig eingeführten Bestimmung von personeller Aktivität. Folglich sollten „personal commitments“ nicht als Unterkategorie schon existierender Ansätze verstanden werden, sondern als eigenständiges Phänomen, welches sich durch die willentliche Festlegung einer Person auszeichnet. Es gelingt, dies durch die vorgenommene Kontrastzeichnung besonders gut einzufangen. Das Besondere an „personal commitments“ ist, dass diese sowohl willentlich eingegangen als auch verlassen werden können, ohne dabei jedoch in Beliebigkeit zu verfallen. Dies stellt eine weitere wichtige Abgrenzung gegenüber den bereits existierenden Ansätzen dar. Folglich sind „personal commitments“ als willentliche Selbstbindung zu verstehen, welche nach einer angemessenen Auseinandersetzung verlangen. Durch die Aufnahme von „personal commitments“ in den Bereich willentlicher Selbstbindungen gelingt es, einen wichtigen Teil praktischen Lebens besser erklären zu können. Die besondere Relevanz dieser bisher unzureichend beachteten „personal commitments“ unterstreicht die Bedeutung dieser Arbeit

Early warning systems of financial crises: implementation of a currency crisis model for Uganda

The objective of this paper is to implement a prototype of a currency crisis model as part of an early warning system framework for Uganda. The financial systems of developing countries like Uganda are especially vulnerable and therefore robust instruments to predict crises are needed. Our model is based on the signals approach developed by Kaminsky, Lizondo and Reinhart (1998) and Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999). The basic idea of the signals approach is to monitor several indicators that tend to exhibit an unusual behaviour in the periods preceding a crisis. When an indicator crosses a threshold, then it is said to issue a signal that a currency crisis may occur within a given period. We implemented this signals approach for Uganda. One of the main challenges in this connection is that Uganda during the analyzed periods had no currency crisis. Therefore, we modified the model in a way that it estimates some of the performance measures based on empirical studies to obtain usable results. The outcomes of our calculations performed well and were economically validated

Feltability of cashmere and other rare animal fibres and the effects of nutrition and blending with wool on cashmere feltability

Felting is a unique attribute of animal fibres used for the production of a range of industrial and apparel textiles. Felting can be an adverse attribute as a consequence of dimensional shrinkage during laundering. As there is little objective information regarding the feltability of rare animal fibres or the factors which may affect felting three investigations were undertaken. A survey (n = 114) of the feltability of cashmere from different origins of production, cashgora, quivet, camel hair, llama, guanaco, bison wool, cow fibre and yak wool quantified the large variation between and within these fibre types. Cashmere from some origins and cashgora produced higher feltball density than the other fibres. Different nutritional management of cashmere goats (n = 35) showed that cashmere grown by poorly fed goats had a lower propensity to felt compared with cashmere grown by better fed goats. A consequence of the progressive blending of cashmere (n = 27) with a low propensity to felt superfine wool (high fibre curvature) increased the propensity of the blend to felt, but when the same cashmere was blended with low curvature superfine wool, there was little or no effect on feltability. The mechanisms which lead to variance in feltability of these fibres were quantified with multiple regression modelling. The mechanisms were similar to those reported for wools, namely variations in the resistance to compression, fibre curvature and mean fibre diameter, with likely effects of fibre crimp form. It is possible to source cashmere and other animal fibres which have different propensities to felt and therefore to produce textiles which are likely to have different textile properties.<br /

Book Bans, Academic Freedom, and the Academic Law Library: Reflections on an AALL Discussion Den

Discussion Dens are consistently among my favorite programs at the AALL Annual Meeting, and Leslie Street’s Book Bans, Academic Freedom, and the Academic Law Library discussion was truly a highlight of AALL 2023. Street approached this difficult and ever-evolving issue with expertise, passion, and open-mindedness, guiding the group to consider: what can law librarians do to support our colleagues in states facing books bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bases