Modeling the Impact of Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce on the Organization of the Logistics Industry

In this article, we analyze patterns and recent trends of the logistics industry with specific emphasis on the impact of business-to-business (B-to-B) electronic commerce on its industrial organization. From this conceptualization, we develop an optimization-based logistics model comprising two interlinked networks representing commodity flow and information flow, respectively. The model is operationalized using Monte Carlo simulation to highlight possible scenarios of logistics industry changes in response to the use of B-to-B e-commerce. Through this endeavor, we examine how new technologies affect the cost of information and transportation transactions in the logistics industry.     

American Seeds of ABACC? Findley's Proposal to Create a Mutual Nuclear Inspections System Between Brazil and Argentina

ABSTRACT

After the first Indian peaceful nuclear explosion in 1974 international observers perceived Argentina and Brazil, long-time rivals in South America, as countries that could follow suit. Not only had they not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), they had also not joined the Tlatelolco Treaty: the Latin American and Caribbean nuclear-weapon-free zone. In this context, the US began to reassess and tighten its nonproliferation policy, particularly throughout the Jimmy Carter presidency (1977–1981). Carter's foreign policy sought to stall Argentine–Brazilian efforts to master the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as push them toward Tlatelolco. These efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. However, after a visit to Argentina and Brazil, US congressman Paul Findley suggested in 1977 that they consider a bilateral agreement, whereby they would agree to mutual inspections and renounce the right to conduct peaceful nuclear explosions. Even though it was disregarded at the time, these are the core ideas behind the creation of the Brazilian–Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC) established in 1991. This article, then, seeks to fill the gaps in what today constitutes an unknown episode in the dense nuclear nonproliferation history of the 1970s.     

Are we spending too much to grow? The case of Structural Funds

We evaluate whether the impact of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds (EUF) on Member States’ regional economic growth depends on the intensity of treatment, measured by the normalized amount of funds distributed in each region. We use an original data set that covers all the main sources of EUF and extend the regression discontinuity design to the case of continuous treatment. The results suggest an average positive effect on regional growth. The estimated conditional intensity‐growth function is concave and presents a maximum value. Therefore, the exceeding funds could have been allocated to other lagging regions without reducing the effect on growth.     

Non-destructive characterization of archeological Cu-based artifacts from the early metallurgy of southern Portugal

In this study, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations combined with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectroscopy have been used to characterize non-destructively a collection of Cu-based artifacts recovered from two archeological sites in southern Portugal: (a) the Chalcolithic E.T.A.R. site of Vila Nova de Mil Fontes and (b) the Middle Bronze Age site of Quinta do Estácio 6. The metal artifacts show a multilayered structure made up of three distinct layers: (a) brownish carbonate soil-derived crust, (b) green oxidized corrosion patina, and (c) bulk metal. In order to assess the reliability of the EDXRF-based Monte Carlo simulations to reproduce the composition of the alloy substrate in archeological bronze artifacts without the need to previously remove the superficial corrosion and soil derived patinas, EDXRF analysis together with scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was also performed on cleaned and patina-/crust-coated areas of the artifacts. Characterization of the mineralogical composition of the corrosion products in the surface patinas was further determined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results suggest that the adopted EDXRF/Monte Carlo protocol may represent a safe and fast analytical approach in the quantitative characterization of the bulk chemical composition of Cu-based metal artifacts even in the presence of fairly thick corrosion patinas and/or soil-derived encrustations at the surface of the archeological objects.     

Review of Out-of-Plane Seismic Assessment Techniques Applied To Existing Masonry Buildings

ABSTRACT

Observations after strong earthquakes show that out-of-plane failure of unreinforced masonry elements probably constitutes the most serious life-safety hazard for this type of construction. Existing unreinforced masonry buildings tend to be more vulnerable than new buildings, not only because they have been designed to little or no seismic loading requirements, but also because connections among load-bearing walls and with horizontal structures are not always adequate. Consequently, several types of mechanisms can be activated due to separation from the rest of the construction. Even when connections are effective, out-of-plane failure can be induced by excessive vertical and/or horizontal slenderness of walls (length/thickness ratio). The awareness of such vulnerability has encouraged research in the field, which is summarized in this article. An outline of past research on force-based and displacement-based assessment is given and their translation into international codes is summarized. Strong and weak points of codified assessment procedures are presented through a comparison with parametric nonlinear dynamic analyses of three recurring out-of-plane mechanisms. The assessment strategies are marked by substantial scatter, which can be reduced through an energy-based assessment.     

Immunological evidence of Plasmodium falciparum infection in an Egyptian child mummy from the Early Dynastic Period

A 15–18 months old child mummy, presently housed in Turin's Museum of Anthropology, was discovered in Gebelein (Upper Egypt) during excavations carried out by the Missione Archeologica Italiana, most likely in 1914.     

Women and Work after the Second World War: A Case Study of the Jute Industry, Circa 1945-1954

This article examines the attempts by the Dundee jute industryto recruit women workers in the years circa 1945–1954.It locates its discussion of these attempts in the literatureon the impact of the Second World War on the participation ofwomen in the British labour market more generally, and the forcesdetermining that participation. It stresses the peculiaritiesof jute as a traditional major employer of women operating invery specific market conditions, but suggests that this casestudy throws light on the broader argument about the impactof war and early post-war conditions on women's participationin paid work.