Designs for Detecting Spatial Dependence

The aim of this article is to find optimal or nearly optimal designs for experiments to detect spatial dependence that might be in the data. The questions to be answered are: how to optimally select predictor values to detect the spatial structure (if it is existent) and how to avoid to spuriously detect spatial dependence if there is no such structure. The starting point of this analysis involves two different linear regression models: (1) an ordinary linear regression model with i.i.d. error terms—the nonspatial case and (2) a regression model with a spatially autocorrelated error term, a so-called simultaneous spatial autoregressive error model. The procedure can be divided into two main parts: The first is use of an exchange algorithm to find the optimal design for the respective data collection process; for its evaluation an artificial data set was generated and used. The second is estimation of the parameters of the regression model and calculation of Moran's I , which is used as an indicator for spatial dependence in the data set. The method is illustrated by applying it to a well-known case study in spatial analysis.     

The Statistical Style of Reasoning and the Invention of Bose‐Einstein Statistics

This paper is a preliminary exploration of the connections between the statistical style of reasoning and the research practices of statistical mechanics in the early period of the long quantum revolution. It suggests that before 1925 the instantiations of the statistical style in physics went through two phases. The first phase consisted of the formulation of the Maxwell‐Boltzmann statistics on the basis of the population‐gas analogy. The second phase was characterized by the generalization of the Maxwell‐Boltzmann statistics through analogies between ideal gas molecules and other microphysical entities, analogies that shaped and were shaped by the rise of quantum theory. Einstein's invention of the Bose‐Einstein statistics started a third phase and created the conditions of possibility for a new classification of microphysical entities according to their different statistics.     

The Evolution of Neoliberal Urbanism in Moscow, 1992–2015

This article examines the urban development of Moscow from 1992 to 2015, arguing that the city's recent transformation from grey asphalt jungle to a “city comfortable for life” is driven by a process of neoliberal restructuring. In particular, the study finds that a set of multi‐scalar dynamics—namely, the global financial crisis, the rise of a local protest movement, and an intensified rivalry between federal and Muscovite elites—were the key driving forces behind Moscow's current evolution. The work advances a conceptual framework of neoliberal urbanisation that enhances the literature on post‐socialist cities and, more generally, the broader debate on actually existing neoliberalism.     

Sind W?hler wetterfühlig? Ein Beitrag zur Nichtw?hlerdiskussion

Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland gilt für viele L?nder, vor allem für ehemals kommunistisch regierte, als ein Vorbild der modernen Demokratie. Dieser Vorbildcharakter drückte sich auch in den hohen Wahlbeteiligungen aus, mit denen die Bundesrepublik weltweit einen Spitzenplatz einnahm. Doch seitdem die W?hlerzahlen in den vergangenen fünfzehn Jahren teilweise drastisch zurückgegangen sind, wird die Wahlbeteiligung aufmerksam beobachtet. Oftmals finden sich nach Wahlen interessante Begründungen für die geringe Wahlbeteiligung: Bei der nordrhein-westf?lischen Kommunalwahl am 12. September 1999, die an einem Tag mit Sonnenschein und Temperaturen über 30 Grad stattfand, lag die Wahlbeteiligung bei nur 54 Prozent. Natürlich war das hei?e Badewetter für viele Politiker schuld daran, da? es eine so geringe, bisher ungekannt schlechte Wahlbeteiligung gab. ?hnlich auch die ?u?erungen nach einer „hei?en Kommunalwahl“ im Frühjahr 1992 in Berlin, die der Regierende Bürgermeister mit den Worten kommentierte: „Wir haben eins auf die Bademütze bekommen“ (vgl. Berliner Zeitung, 28.5.1992).     

University–Industry Knowledge Transfer and Network Patterns in Romania: Does Knowledge Supply Fit SMEs' Regional Profiles?

Universities' potential to contribute to regional value creation has been extensively discussed so far and significant literature has been devoted to celebrated cases in highly industrialized and developed countries. Assuming that it would be misleading to generalize from “exceptional” cases, some authors have focused their attention specifically on the influence of universities in less developed areas regions and countries, where university–industry relations are far from being a Triple Helix. This paper focuses on the mechanisms of university–industry knowledge transfer (KT) in Romania, a post-communist country with relatively weak regional innovation performances, except for the capital region Bucharest-Ilfov. The purpose of the study is to construct an index to compare university–industry KT across the eight Romanian regions. Data to be aggregated are collected from 90 Romanian higher education institutions and refer to their KT potential in terms of human, financial and relational inputs, outputs and outcomes (patent applications, new products and services, spin-offs and commercial income). Finally, universities' regional KT performances are compared to small and medium enterprises territorial patterns and issuing policy implications are discussed.     

Force-Based Beam Finite Element (FE) for the Pushover Analysis of Masonry Buildings

A simplified approach for analyzing the nonlinear response of masonry buildings, based on the equivalent frame modeling procedure and on the nonlinear equivalent static analyses, is presented. A nonlinear beam finite element (FE) is formulated in the framework of a force-based approach, where the stress fields are expanded along the beam local axis, and introduced in a global displacement-based FE code. In order to model the nonlinear constitutive response of the masonry material, the lumped hinge approach is adopted and both flexural and shear plastic hinges are located at the two end nodes of the beam. A classical elastic-plastic constitutive relationship describes the nonlinear response of the hinges, the evolution of the plastic variables being governed by the Kuhn-Tucker and consistency conditions. An efficient element state determination procedure is implemented, which condenses the local deformation residual into the global residual vector, thus avoiding the need to perform the inner loops for computing the element nonlinear response. The comparison with some relevant experimental and real full-scale masonry walls is presented, obtaining a very good agreement with the available results, both in terms of global pushover curves and damage distributions.     

Disclosing mineralogical phases in medioeval iron nails by non-destructive neutron techniques

There is not only one methodology for the study of mineralogical phases in archaeological samples. In this paper, we discuss a strategy applied to ancient iron nail samples completely based on non-destructive analyses. The archaeological samples come from the archaeological site of Valle delle Forme (province of Brescia–Italy) and date back to the 1300–1400 ad. Neutron-based techniques, like time-of-flight neutron diffraction and neutron tomography, have been used to determine the mineralogical composition and the structure of nails. An independent check for the assessment of the presence of different mineralogical phases was given by Raman spectroscopy. The combination of different non-destructive techniques has provided very useful information on their chemical composition, nature of the patina and corrosion features of the nails (also in the bulk of the samples).