What are the grand dynamics that drive the history of economies? The laws of supply & demand, most economists would argue. For the history of European banking, this book offers an alternative explanation: Rather than market forces, the coincidence and coalitions of charismatic ideas and powerful interests is what shaped banking in Europe! In “Ideas, Interests and the Development of the European Banking Systems”, Florian Brugger traced decisive moments in the history of the European Banking Sector: from the time of the Italian City-States to the post World War I period, he shows how coalitions of ideas and interests built the tracks along which the European Banking Sector developed. Inspired by Max Weber he argues that economic organizations and institutions, like the Banking Sector, are embedded into three fundamental orders: the economic, the cultural and the political order. Enforced and institutionalized by vested interests, ideas of the cultural order legitimate and empower interests of the economic and political order. What is more, decisive moments were frequently characterized by coalitions of ideas and interests between parties that in normal times had nothing in common or were even confronting each other in a hostile way.

Florian Brugger untersucht, wie Unternehmen ihr Nachhaltigkeitsengagement kommunizieren können, um den Unternehmenserfolg zu steigern. Dafür betrachtet er die unternehmerische Kommunikation aus der Perspektive der Nachhaltigkeit, aus der Unternehmensperspektive sowie aus kommunikationswissenschaftlicher Perspektive.

Clinical outcome of endovascular treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion (LVO) is largely dependent from the latency between stroke onset and reperfusion. Time-saving protocols for diagnostic work-up and treatment are therefore warranted. We aimed at assessing the impact of establishing a fast-track protocol for drip- and-ship-patients on door-to-groin-puncture times.Retrospective, single-centre analysis of data from the Swiss Stroke Registry (SSR) of drip-and-ship-stroke-patients one year before and one and two years after establishing the protocol in July 2016. Primary outcome: door-to-groin-puncture time; secondary outcomes: NIH SS at 24h, modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 90 days and reperfusion status (TICI).99 patients were considered for this analysis. Baseline characteristics (age, NIH SS, preceding i.v. thrombolysis) were comparable across patient groups (table 1). Door-to-groin-puncture-time was lower within the first year after implementation of the protocol and further decreased in the second year, then reaching statistical significance (ANOVA: F(2,97)=4.234, p=0.017). In both years median door-to-groin puncture times were

Abstract: Freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson's disease (PD) occurs frequently in situations with high environmental complexity. The supplementary motor cortex (SMC) is regarded as a major network node that exerts cortical input for motor control in these situations. We aimed at assessing the impact of single-session (excitatory) intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) of the SMC on established walking during FOG provoking situations such as passing through narrow spaces and turning for directional changes. Twelve PD patients with FOG underwent two visits in the off-medication state with either iTBS or sham stimulation. At each visit, spatiotemporal gait parameters were measured during walking without obstacles and in FOG-provoking situations before and after stimulation. When patients passed through narrow spaces, decreased stride time along with increased stride length and walking speed (i.e., improved gait) was observed after both sham stimulation and iTBS. These effects, particularly on stride time, were attenuated by real iTBS. During turning, iTBS resulted in decreased stride time along with unchanged stride length, a constellation compatible with increased stepping frequency. The observed iTBS effects are regarded as relative gait deterioration. We conclude that iTBS over the SMC increases stepping frequency in PD patients with FOG, particularly in FOG provoking situations

BackgroundThe WAKE-UP trial showed a favourable outcome of intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase (iv-tPA) in patients with unknown onset of stroke, selected by DWI/FLAIR mismatch on MRI. In many centres, however, acute stroke patients are evaluated by CT-based imaging methods. We aimed at evaluating the outcome and safety of a multimodal CT-based decision making algorithm for iv-tPA in acute stroke patients with unknown symptom onset.MethodsRetrospective, single centre analysis. Data from iv-tPA treated patients with unknown symptom onset and from those with a defined symptom onset

How technological change affects wages, employment and the income distribution are core topics in economics since the very beginnings of modern economic research. Who are the winners and losers of innovations? Is technological progress always to the advantage of some groups and to the disadvantage of others, hence has progress naturally a certain direction? Those are central questions of recurrent debates on the social impact of innovations. In addition, the question was raised what causes technological change to take a certain direction? In the history of economic thought, various 'economic and 'social variables were considered to direct technological change towards one or another production factor.Looking at the long history of economic thought on induced directed technological change, we find waves of intensive discussion and periods of little progress. It turns out that novel empirical findings, on income distribution, wage dispersion and unemployment, induced most discussions. Findings 'alarming the society and contradicting the economic orthodoxy were usually the starting points of intensive debates. The main aim of this dissertation is to analyze classical and neoclassical contributions on induced, directed technological change and how empirical findings caused, intensified and shaped debates. In the first paper we analyze classical authors views on directed technological change and contrast those theories with more recent empirical findings for the time. The second paper studies neoclassical contributions on induced, directed technological change from the beginning of neoclassical thought to recent discussions. It highlights how empirical findings caused waves of contributions and how those debates influenced the neoclassical theory. The last paper contributes to the recent discussion on how computerization influences European labor markets. It shows empirically similarities and differences of several European labor market developments.

Abstract: Automatic anatomical segmentation of patients' anatomical structures and modeling of the volume of tissue activated (VTA) can potentially facilitate trajectory planning and post-operative programming in deep brain stimulation (DBS). We demonstrate an approach to evaluate the accuracy of such software for the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) using directional leads. In an essential tremor patient with asymmetrical brain anatomy, lead placement was adjusted according to the suggested segmentation made by the software (Brainlab). Postoperatively, we used directionality to assess lead placement using side effect testing (internal capsule and sensory thalamus). Clinical effects were then compared to the patient-specific visualization and VTA simulation in the GUIDETM XT software (Boston Scientific). The patient's asymmetrical anatomy was correctly recognized by the software and matched the clinical results. VTA models matched best for dysarthria (6 out of 6 cases) and sensory hand side effects (5/6), but least for facial side effects (1/6). Best concordance was observed for the modeled current anterior and back spread of the VTA, worst for the current side spread. Automatic anatomical segmentation and VTA models can be valuable tools for DBS planning and programming. Directional DBS leads allow detailed postoperative assessment of the concordance of such image-based simulation and visualization with clinical effects

This survey article provides a critical overview of the development of the neoclassical theory of induced technical change. From Hicks's introduction of the concept in his Theory of Wages up to the recent literature the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed models and the contexts in which they have been developed are outlined. It is shown that induced technical change has been invoked to explain various long-run distribution conundrums which could not be explained with standard neoclassical growth theory. The importance of induced technical change for the long-run distribution of income cannot be doubted. Nevertheless, we show that neoclassical models of induced technical change are still unsatisfactory in a number of respects.