Austrian Model Research Articles

The Genesis of the Austrian Model of Constitutional Review of Legislation

Abstract The European model of the constitutional review of legislation, characterized by the concentration of the constitutional review power in a single constitutional court, had its origin in the Austrian Federal Constitution of 1920. This is all the more remarkable when one considers that this Constitution established at the same time a parliamentary system of government in a fairly radical form. As the author explains, this “invention” of a constitutional court is attributable to two factors. One factor is the federal aspect. The Court was conceived by the framers of the Austrian Federal Constitution of 1920 as an umpire between federal legislation and the legislation of the states or Länder. In this respect it was meant as a substitute for the principle of the priority of federal law over state or Land law. This is manifest in the initial draft of the Constitution, where actions on questions of the constitutionality of legislation could only be brought by the Federal government (against the legislation of one or another of the states or Länder) and by the State or Land governments (against federal legislation). Right from the beginning, however, the Court could examine a parliamentary act ex officio when it had to apply such an act in another proceeding. It was this power of the Court that triggered the development of constitutional review. Its exercise gradually transformed the Court into a guardian of the Constitution as a whole, in particular, the fundamental rights of citizens. The author traces this development in the context of the concept of state and law that prevailed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This concept included specific restrictions on constitutional review. On the basis of a different understanding of the functions of a constitution, the Court gave up these restrictions and followed the examples of the European Court of Human Rights, the German Constitutional Court and—indirectly—the American Supreme Court.

Preclinical Treatment of Spinal Injuries from a Trauma Surgery Perspective - The Austrian Model

Preclinical Treatment of Spinal Injuries from a Trauma Surgery Perspective - The Austrian Model

Confronting the Nazi Past at the End at the 20th Century: The Austrian Model

Confronting the Nazi Past at the End at the 20th Century: The Austrian Model

Predicting odour impact using the Austrian odour dispersion model (AODM)

Using a dispersion model to calculate ambient odour concentrations, the separation distance between livestock buildings and residential areas is defined by the odour impact criteria using a combination of a pre-selected odour threshold and an exceeding probability. The dynamic Austrian Odour Dispersion Model (AODM), a Gaussian model, is used to calculate the direction-dependent separation distances for several combinations of these two values, which represent the protection level of various land use categories. The calculated direction-dependent separation distances are a function of the prevailing wind velocity and atmospheric stability conditions. At a site in the Austrian North-alpine foreland, the direction-dependent separation distance (calculated on the basis of a two year time series of meteorological data) for pure residential areas (3% exceeding probability over the year for an odour threshold of 1 OU/m3) lies between 99 m (for northerly winds with a probability of less than 3%) and 362 m (for westerly winds with a probability of 34%). For west and east the main wind directions, odour sensation can be expected more often for higher wind velocities and a neutral or stable atmosphere around sunset. Northerly and southerly winds show the typical diurnal variation of a local valley wind system with predominantly northerly daytime up-valley and southerly night-time down-valley winds.

Validation of the Austrian forecast model for solar, biologically effective UV radiation‐UV index for Vienna

Since October 1995, a daily forecast of the UV index, as the irradiance of the biologically effective ultraviolet radiation, for the next day is published for Austria, Europe, and world wide. The Austrian forecast model as well as the input parameters are described. By connecting the UV index with the sensitivity of the photobiological skin types, a recommendation is given to select an appropriate sun protection factor of a sunscreen to avoid overexposure of the skin. The validation of the Austrian forecast model is done by measurements of the biologically effective ultraviolet radiation collected between July 1996 and July 1998 at Vienna (48°N, 16°E), Austria. The forecast quality is evaluated by comparing the Austrian model with two statistical models used in Canada and the Netherlands. By using the underestimation of the UV index as criteria in the sense of radiation protection, the Austrian model shows a 12% underestimation over the whole year.

A basal area increment model for individual trees growing in even- and uneven-aged forest stands in Austria

Because of the gradual shift from pure even-aged forest management in central Europe, existing yield tables are becoming increasingly unreliable for forest management decisions. Individual tree-based stand growth modeling can make accurate stand growth predictions for the full range of conditions between pure even-aged and mixed-species uneven-aged stands. The central model in such a simulator is basal area increment for individual trees. Spatial information is not needed, and age and site index are intentionally not used to gain generality for all possible stand conditions. A basal area increment model is developed for all the main forest species in Austria: spruce (Picea abies), fir (Abies alba), larch (Larix decidua), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), black pine (Pinus nigra), stone pine (Pinus cembra), beech (Fagus silvatica), oak (Quercus robur, Quercus petraea and Quercus cerris), and for all other broadleaf species combined. The Austrian National Forest Inventory provided 5-year basal area increment from 44 761 remeasured trees growing on 5416 forested plots in the 1980s. This large sample is representative of forest conditions and forest management practices throughout Austria and therefore provides an excellent data base for the development of an increment model. The resulting increment model explained from 20 to 63% of the variation for all nine species and from 33 to 63% of the variation if the minor species Pinus cembra is excluded. These results compared quite closely with those of Wykoff for mixed conifer stands in the Northern Rocky Mountains. In the Austrian model, size variables (breast height diameter and crown length) accounted for 14–47% of the variation in basal area increment, depending on tree species. The best competition measure was the basal area of larger trees, which provides a tree-specific measure of competition without requiring spatial information; crown competition factor provided only minor improvement. Competition variables accounted for 9% of the variation on average, and up to 15% for some species. Topographic factors (elevation, slope, aspect) explained up to 3% of the variation, as did soil factors. Remaining site factors; such as vegetation type and growth district accounted for a maximum of 3% of the variation in increment. In total, site factors explained from 2 to 6% of the variation. Even though site factors account for a small percentage of the variation, they are not only significant, but serve to localize a particular prediction. These species-specific interrelationships between basal area increment and the various size, competition, and site varibles correspond quite well with ecological expectations and silvicultural understanding of these species in Austria. Because the sample base is so strong, the resulting growth models can be recommended not only for all of Austria but for surrounding regions with similar growth conditions.

Physical Exertion and Stature in the Habsburg Monarchy, 1730-1800

Monarchy, 1730-i800 Heights were falling precipitously in the Habsburg empire during the second half of the eighteenth century. Two alternative interpretations have been advanced to explain this peculiar trend. According to the model, proposed by Komlos, rapid population growth caused increasing strains in the empire's economy, and the deterioration in the ratio between resources and population-portending an imminent Malthusian crisis-caused drastic reductions in human stature. According to Komlos, only enlightened government intervention saved Empress Maria Theresa's subjects from starvation. In a contribution to this journal, I challenged Komlos' view, on the grounds that he ignored the large number of holy days that were abolished as part of the reform effort. Additional labor, I argued, reduced the amount of nutrients available for growth. Falling heights were not a sign of impeding Malthusian doom, but of a more productive socioeconomic regime. I demonstrated that the decline in the stature of army recruits, identified by Komlos, coincided with the two major reductions in the number of holy days within Habsburg lands. If the effect of additional working days is discounted, there is no trend toward smaller stature.' In their reply to my article, Komlos and Ritschl provided new evidence supporting the Austrian model. They conceded that

Height, Nutrition, and Labor: Recasting the "Austrian Model"

Height, Nutrition, and Labor: Recasting the "Austrian Model"

Austria and the Single European Market

The economic consequences—global and on a sectoral level—of the full participation of Austria in the process of economic integration in Europe are assessed with the help of the INFORUM system of interlinked input–output models and the Austrian model in this family, i.e. AUSTRIA IV. The results of two scenarios up to the year 2000 are compared. One scenario is based on the assumption of the full participation of Austria in the process of European integration. The alternative scenario is based on the hypothesis that Austria has to remain in an outsider position. The analysis shows quite relevant positive consequences of full participation by Austria in the process of European integration. Because of compensating forces, the effects on a sectoral level are much more pronounced than those on the global level. The structural implications on output, employment, etc. are quite remarkable.

The Austrian Model for World Development: a Neoclassical Excitation

The Austrian Model for World Development: a Neoclassical Excitation

Nutrition and Economic Development in the Eighteenth-Century Habsburg Monarchy: An Anthropometric History

John Komlos examines the industrial expansion of Austria from a fresh viewpoint and develops a new for the industrial revolution. By integrating recent advances in the study of human biology and nutrition as they relate to physical stature, population growth, and levels of economic development, he reveals an intense Malthusian crisis in the Habsburg lands during the second half of the eighteenth century. At that time food shortages brought about by the accelerated population growth of the 1730s forced the government to adopt a reform program that opened the way for the beginning of the industrial revolution in Austria and in the Czech Crownlands. Comparing this Austrian model of economic growth to the industrial revolution in Britain, Komlos argues that the is general enough to explain demographic and economic growth elsewhere in Europe--despite obvious regional differences. The main feature of the is the interplay between a persistent, even if small, tendency to accumulate capital and a population with an underlying tendency to grow in numbers while remaining subject to Malthusian checks, particularly a limited availability of food. According to Komlos, modern economic growth in Europe began when the food constraint was finally lifted.Originally published in 1989.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Austria III: A Satellite to the Inforum System of I–O Models

AUSTRIA III is a satellite of the interlinked Inforum system in the sense that it draws upon the system for its projections of exports and of foreign prices without, however, letting events in the Austrian model feed back to affect the interlinked system. The model distinguishes seven destinations for its exports. The treatment of both exports and imports are described here, as well as several other unique features of the model. Because of its widespread use in Austria, an unusal degree of cooperation with industry in forecasting technological change is possible. Information more detailed than that in the table is also often used to identify effects of changes in product mix. The paper discusses the advantages and the limitations of the satellite approach to participating in the Inforum international system of models.

Teacher training with and without hardware constraints

The way teacher training takes place depends on the situation of hardware equipment in schools. By the example of the ‘Upper Austrian Model’ of teacher training in computer studies and the experiences of the last ten years, the paper explains the fundamental changes when the number of computers in the school increases and makes some suggestions to cope with that situation. As most teachers who take part in an in-service teacher training program combine the information they get there and the methodology used in the lessons, the way of teacher training must be adapted to the hardware situation in schools.

Le tourisme dans un projet d'autodéveloppement microrégional : le cas du Beaufortain

Abstract. — In the region of Beaufortain, a rural district controlled by four local authorities, encouraging tourism has become an integral part of the overall process of development. The aim of the "local actors" pursuing this policy is to re-establish local control over the area's economic and cultural identity. The tourist policy being developed is based on the Austrian model of "agro-tourism ". One of the results of the social and ideological dimension of this development idea has been to intensify the tourist character of this area, ranging from its landscapes to the way in which it is perceived. Such changes have made this region a focus for discussion of the role of tourism and of the prospects for "agro-tourism" in the development of a local area.

An Austrian model of the entrepreneurial market process

An Austrian model of the entrepreneurial market process

Administrative Legal Procedure and Administrative Law

by Georges Langrod« Maitre de recherches », French National Centre for Scientific Research, Full Professor at the University of the SaarThe legal aspect of administrative procedure is traditionally...