EUROCODE 8 DESIGN RESPONSE SPECTRA EVALUATION USING THE K-NET JAPANESE DATABASE

The Eurocode 8 (EC8) currently proposes two standard shapes for the design response spectra. Type 1 spectra are enriched in long period and are suggested for high seismicity regions. Conversely, Type 2 spectra are proposed for low to moderate seismicity areas (like France), and exhibit both a larger amplification at short period, and a much smaller long period contents, with respect to Type 1 spectra. These propositions, however, were constrained using few events mostly recorded on analogical instruments. In the present study, we use the Japanese high quality digital K-net array in order to evaluate the proposed ECS response spectra. Furthermore, all K-net stations have geotechnical characterisation. We first constructed a database of shallow events, depth less than 25 km, to avoid subduction related records. The database spans six years of seismicity from 1996 until 2003. Thus, 591 events were selected with moment magnitude between 4 and 7.3, recorded at 691 stations, giving a total of 6812 two horizontal components accelerograms. Using these records, we computed spectral ground-motion prediction equations and we used them to review the shape of the proposed EC8 spectra. In particular, we studied the plateau-PGA ratio level, the period interval where this plateau is constant, and site amplification effects. The results show surprisingly that the Type 2 rock better envelope the Japanese data. Another interesting observation is that the K-net data corresponding to all soil classes are rich in short periods around 0.1 s. This characteristic has not been observed in other worldwide databases. Normalised empirical predictions show a widening of the plateau as the soil conditions degrade. This suggests that the Type 2 EC8 spectra do not cover enough the long periods for EC3-soil classes C, D and E. Finally, the computed ground-motion prediction equations show that the peak ground acceleration (PGA) is nearly invariant to the soil conditions. Soil effects are mainly seen in the shape and plateau level.     

‘Time of Troubles’: Arnold J. Toynbee's twentieth century

Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975) has long been neglected or discounted by scholars of international relations and historians of international thought. Yet his contributions to International Affairs, as well as his Surveys of international affairs and his A study of history demonstrate both his capacity for acute interpretation of contemporary events and the depth of his learning about past international societies. This article examines his analysis of mid‐twentieth century international relations, that ‘Time of Troubles’ which he believed would only be escaped through a recovery of ‘creativity’ and profound change in the ways in which world politics were practised. It explores the foundations of his approach to the field, demonstrated both in his Surveys of international affairs and his twelve volume magnum opus, A study of history, as well as his essays in journals. It analyses his diagnosis of the causes of our contemporary ‘Time of Troubles’, in the light of past episodes in world history Toynbee thought analogous to that present condition of international relations. And it traces his retreat from political solutions to the challenges faced in the twentieth century and his movement towards religious responses as a putative alternative. It concludes by arguing that Toynbee deserves recognition, not simply as a pioneering world historian or a controversial interpreter of the politics of the Middle East, but as an acute commentator on the international relations of a troubled age.     

Origins of the norm against chemical weapons

The use of chemical weapons in Syria in August 2013 led to calls for a tough international response in order to uphold the norm against what is often portrayed as a particularly odious form of warfare. The condemnation of poison weapons has a long history and this article examines the origins of the international norm against their use. It focuses particularly on the proceedings of the first Hague Peace Conference and suggests that this represented the emergence of an important distinction between the customary norm against poison and poisoned arms, and a newly codified norm against the use of asphyxiating gas projectiles, which was primarily an attempt to limit the potential of new weapons technologies. However, psychological responses to the wide‐scale use of chemical weapons in the First World War underscored a deep revulsion to this form of warfare and blurred the distinction between gas projectiles and poison. While the Hague Conventions ultimately failed to avert the use of chemical weapons, the formation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol reaffirmed the norm against the use of poison in war and represented both a legal and moral condemnation of chemical and biological weapons that continues to be enshrined in international law today.     

Wildlife Visual Imagery: Do Pictures Used to Promote Destinations Online Match On‐site Species Visibility at Two Geographic Destinations?

Diverse photographic images (pictures) are used to promote wildlife tours on the Internet. But what pictures are used and are they likely to accurately reflect what visitors might see, and hence create realistic expectations for tourists? The relative importance of wildlife and the prevalence of iconic species were assessed for pictures on the Internet used by six English tour companies offering wildlife tours to very different destinations: Southern Africa and Australia. These were then compared with the likely visibility of wildlife at the destination. The content of 926 Southern African pictures representing 1316 different subjects, and 228 pictures representing 307 different subjects from Australia were classified into four themes (wildlife, landscapes/vegetation, activities, accommodation). Wildlife, particularly large mammals, was more frequently used for Southern African tours (43%) whereas pictures for Australian tours were often of landscapes (45%). Large, social mammals active during the day and hence highly visible (e.g. elephant, n= 64) were often used, while iconic, but cryptic, species such as koalas (n= 7), Tasmanian devil (n= 1), leopards (n= 12), and black rhinos (n= 2) were seldom used. Therefore, online pictures used for wildlife tours appear to merge well with what tourists are likely to see at the destination, but appear to diverge somewhat from established destination images for these two regions, particularly Australia.     

POTS AND POTTERS IN ATHENS AND CORINTH: A REVIEW

Summary. In this article, we draw upon a wide range of archaeological, technical and iconographical evidence in order to examine the organisation and social role of fine pottery production in two contrasting Archaic and Classical poleis, Athens and Corinth. We examine developments in the relationship between the organisation of production, changes in decorative style and the degree of complexity of the social and political organisation of the two producer societies during a period of state formation. We also consider variation in the behavioural patterns surrounding ceramic use, and the role of production within the overall economy (and especially its relationship to subsistence activity). Such a study of comparative ceramic ecology not only offers a distinctive source of information about the internal ordering of producer societies, but also addresses the issue of the generation of variability in the ceramic record, an issue which has hitherto received little attention from Classical archaeologists, but which is central to a full understanding of ceramic trade and exchange.     

The Right that failed ? The ambiguities of conservative thought and the dilemmas of conservative practice in international affairs

This article seeks to assess the dilemmas and ambiguities of contemporary Anglo-American conservative thought and practice in international affairs. It bases its discussion in an understanding of conservative thought as a philosophy of imperfection but points out that there is a dominant way in which this has been understood in the last two hundred years but a rather different sensibility as well. It then argues that the dominant sensibility has become mired in crisis in the latter part of the twentieth century and as a result movements have arisen, allegedly within conservative thought, but in fact largely alien to it, and which now dominate the scene, especially in the United States. It seeks to trace the differences between the US and UK in this respect and offers an interpretation of the relative paucity of conservative thought-and oscillations and ambiguity of conservative practice-in the UK in the 1990s. Finally, the article offers some thoughts, drawn from that secondary sensibility in political conservatism, about what might be done.     

ACCESSING PAST BELIEFS AND PRACTICES: THE CASE OF LEMNIAN EARTH*

Lemnian Earth, a medicine in the shape of a stamped clay tablet (sphragis) from Lemnos, northeastern Greece, was much valued in antiquity and in the post‐medieval period as an antidote to poison and a treatment for other ailments. Although it was among the first archaeological materials to be subjected to chemical analysis (in 1807), there is still no clear understanding as to what made Lemnian Earth an effective medicine. We argue that Lemnian Earth, the artefact, was not the same as Lemnian Earth, the raw material. We suggest a composition for the artefact by scrutinizing the documentary evidence for its properties and by considering the geochemical processes that led to the formation of the raw material and the ritual relating to its extraction. The study of the latter highlights the need for archaeological materials scientists to recognize ritual as a possible manifestation of physical and chemical processes carried out within the framework of past beliefs and practices.     

Differences in hi‐tech immigrant earnings and wages across Canadian cities

This paper examines the relative earnings and wages of immigrants working in the hi‐tech sector in Canada's cities. Between 1990 and 2000, a sizeable earnings advantage of immigrants over nonimmigrants employed in the hi‐tech sector evaporated, and this change was most noticeable in the largest cities. We use population census microdata to examine the geographical dimensions of this shift. After controlling for individual characteristics, we show that immigrants in the largest and tech‐intensive cities earn significantly less relative to nonimmigrants than those in midsized and smaller cities. We also present results comparing the hi‐tech immigrant wage and earnings gap for the five largest Canadian cities. The findings are consistent with the notion that geographic differences are an important component of the overall earnings gap between immigrants and nonimmigrants.