Being aware of the space limitations, I would like to briefly mention the following people knowing that behind any name there is a great story of intellectual exchange, personal support and leisure relief: Dr. Christian Bender, Dr. Berislav Gaso, Nicola Gesing, Susanne Hoare- Widmer, Frank Horn, Pedro Huerta, Dr. Mirko Jazbec, Florian Kappler, Fridericke Kollmann, Markus Kreutzer, Niklas Lang, Peppi Schnieper, Isabell Kuschel, Michaela Solterbeck, Har- ald Tuckermann, Dr. Hendrik Vater, Inga Voss, and my long-time friend “Bifi” Christian Strasser and all the other folks that supported this dissertation when playing “Schafkopf” cards with me. .
