The Constitution and the Citizens – (Not) Much Ado about Nothing. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series, Vol. 4 No. 7, August 2004

While the Convention on the Future of Europe and its product, the Draft Constitution, might be considered a successful endeavor by many European policy-makers and other academic and socio-economic elites, it received little positive attention by the citizens. Aside from being a highly specialized and, for the ordinary citizen, complicated matter, few people actually are aware of the Convention process and the content of the Constitution. In this paper, I will locate the public awareness of the Constitution among the EU’s population, lay out some basic ideas about the democratic legitimacy this act entails and look at ways that could facilitate the Constitution’s acceptance in the future. Finally, I argue that, given the institutional structure of the EU and organizational constraints of the Convention, so far the democratic legitimacy has been sufficient but still awaits the challenge of ratification

Inductive limits of projective C*-algebras

We show that a separable C*-algebra is an inductive limits of projective C*-algebras if and only if it has trivial shape, that is, if it is shape equivalent to the zero C*-algebra. In particular, every contractible C*-algebra is an inductive limit of projectives, and one may assume that the connecting morphisms are surjective. Interestingly, an example of Dadarlat shows that trivial shape does not pass to full hereditary sub-C*-algebra. It then follows that the same fails for projectivity. To obtain these results, we develop criteria for inductive limit decompositions, and we discuss the relation with different concepts of approximation. As a main application of our findings we show that a C*-algebra is (weakly) projective if and only if it is (weakly) semiprojective and has trivial shape. It follows that a \ca{} is projective if and only if it is contractible and semiprojective. This confirms a conjecture of Loring.Comment: 22 page

The german Regiogeld system and its handling in everyday life

This paper introduces a special form of a community currency, the German Regiogeld System. Firstly it describes what it is, its origin and current status. Generally Regiogeld is a private monetary system with a regional validity and a non-profit-agenda. In detail the present 73 Regiogeld projects in Germany are quite different. This results from the fact that Regiogeld is originated in the fusing of different movements which affect its constructions and its objectives, its organizational, financial and personnel resources. Secondly, this paper focuses on the actual way of working in practice. It describes why consumers use this limited and costly form of money at all. In an interpretative process they earmark Regiogeld, by what qualitative different meanings and patterns of usages evolve. Thus Regiogeld can be used as affirmation of moral attitudes or as a sign for a symbolic community of ‘better’ people as well as an instrument of power that forces others into a local buying behaviour. Altogether, in the hands of the consumers Regiogeld multiplies to a bunch of different special monies. Understanding this process helps to understand how complementary currencies can be conceived, established and operated successfully

Untersuchung zur Expression und Funktion von HCN-Kanälen in Photorezeptoren und Bipolarzellen der Mäuseretina

The aim of this study was to examine the expression and the functional properties of HCN- channels (hyperpolarization-activated and cyclic nucleotide-gated) in photoreceptors and bipolar cells of the mouse retina. The expression pattern of the four HCN channel isoforms HCN1 - 4 was studied in retinal sections using immunocytochemistry with isoform-specific antibodies. The stainings were analysed using confocal laser scanning microscopy. In the mouse retina HCN1 is the predominantly expressed isoform. HCN1 could be detected in rods and cones as well as in type5 and type7 bipolar cells. HCN2, HCN3 and HCN4 are not abundantly expressed in the mouse retina. HCN4 was expressed in type 3 bipolar cells. HCN2 and HCN3 could not be found in photoreceptors and bipolar cells. These isoforms were mainly expressed in amacrine and ganglion cells. In retinal slices photoreceptors and bipolar cells were recorded electrophysiologically in the whole-cell mode of the patch-clamp technique to study the activation kinetics and the midpoint potential of activation of HCN channels. During the recording the cells were filled with dyes and were subsequently morphologically identified. The properties of the retinal HCN1 channels differ to some extend from those of heterologically expressed HCN1 channels. The properties of the HCN1 channels also vary between different cell types. This could mean, that HCN1 channels are modulated in the retina. To record retinal light-responses, a genetically modified mouse strain was used in which the gene coding for HCN1 has been deleted - “HCN1 knockout”. Electroretinogramms (ERG) were recorded in vitro from wildtype retinae and HCN1 knockout retinae. In HCN1 knockout retinae the B-wave of the ERG was slightly elongated. This could reflect extended lightresponses of the photoreceptors. In the scotopic flicker-ERG the frequency transfer is slightly reduced in knockout retinae. Application of the HCN channel blocker ZD7288 also slightly reduced the frequency transfer in wildtype retinae. The study provides first insights into the role of HCN1 channels in the generation of lightresponses