Book reviews

Women in the Muslim World. Edited by Lois Beck and Nikki Keddie. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1978. 698 pp. $30.00.

Iran: Monarchy, Bureaucracy and Reform under the Qajars: 1858–1896. By Shaul Bakhash. London: Ithaca Press (St. Anthony's Middle East Monographs, No. 8), 1978. £7.50.

Iran: The Illusion of power. By Robert Graham. London: Croom Helm, 1978. 228 pp. £7.95.

An Anthology of Modern Persian Poetry. Selected and translated with an introduction by Ahmad Karimi‐Hakkak. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1978 (Bibliotheca Persica: Modern Persian Literature Series, Number 1), xvii + 203 pp. $15.

Entrepreneurs of Iran. By Mohammad Reza Vaghefi. Palo Alto, Calif.: The Altoan Press, 1976. 196pp.     

Performance-Based Vulnerability Assessment of Multi-Story Reinforced Concrete Structures Exposed to Pre- and Post-Earthquake Fire

Post-earthquake fire can potentially bring about much more damage than the earthquake itself. Performing a vulnerability assessment for a structure that has already sustained damage in an earthquake and is then exposed to fire is therefore of importance. This paper describes a performance-based investigation in which applied loads to a structure are appropriately quantified. To do so, a sequential structural analysis is performed on the Life Safety performance level of a three-story reinforced concrete frame selected from a building. For the analysis to be more realistic, the slab is also included in the frame analysis through the concept of effective length. The frame is first subjected to an earthquake load with the PGA of 0.30 g followed by a fire analysis, using the ISO834 fire curve and the iBMB fire curve. The time needed for the structure weakened by the earthquake to collapse under fire is then calculated. As a benchmark, fire-only analysis is also performed for the undamaged frame. Moreover, the effect of thermal spalling is considered in the slabs. The selected frame is evaluated under various failure criteria such as load capacity, displacement, and rate of displacement. The results show that no failure is observed when the frame is exposed to fire alone, either when using the ISO curve or the iBMB curve under various failure criteria. It is also shown that while the PEF resistance based on load capacity criteria under the ISO curve is around 120 minutes, it reduces to about 95 min under the iBMB curve. However, considering the rate of deflection failure criteria, the PEF resistance is around 103 min and 75 min under the ISO and the iBMB curves, respectively. It is then concluded that in the PEF analysis, the iBMB curve is more compatible with the concept of performance-based design than the ISO curve is.     

New species of organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts from the Maastrichtian–Danian boundary interval at Ouled Haddou,northern Morocco

Slimani, H., Louwye, S. & Toufiq, A., September 2012. New species of organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts from the Maastrichtian–Danian boundary interval at Ouled Haddou, northern Morocco. Alcheringa 36, 341–358. ISSN 0311-5518.

Seven new dinoflagellate cyst species and subspecies, previously figured under open nomenclature, from Maastrichtian and Danian deposits of Ouled Haddou (eastern external Rif Chain) in northern Morocco are formally described, and their stratigraphic ranges are clarified. Conosphaeridium lifum sp. nov. and Kenleyia chabaka sp. nov. have fibrous and reticulate wall surfaces, respectively. Oligosphaeridium saghirum sp. nov. is a small cyst with funnel-shaped distal process extremities. Spiniferella cornuta subsp. kacira subsp. nov. and Fibrocysta brevispinosa sp. nov. are distinguishable by their very short processes. Riculacysta chaouka sp. nov. is characterized by its perforate spinose ectophragm. Andalusiella bacita sp. nov. is a small and spindle-shaped cyst with only a single antapical horn.     

THE EFFECTS OF COLLATERALIZABLE INCOME AND DEBT OVERHANG ON ENTREPRENEURIAL INVESTMENT IN AN OPEN REGIONAL ECONOMY*

ABSTRACT We use a two‐period model to analyze the contractual relationship between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists in an open regional economy. First, we describe the first best investment contract, we study the second best investment contract in the presence of private information, and then we examine the impact of an exogenous second‐period income endowment (collateralizable income) on investment by entrepreneurs. Next, we analyze the interaction between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists when the regional government (RG) must pay off a per capita debt (debt overhang) which it finances by taxing successful second‐period entrepreneurs. We show that a rise in the per capita debt has an effect on investment that is analogous to a fall in the second‐period income endowment. In addition, the overhang of the RG's debt discourages entrepreneurial investment.     

Effects of Near-Fault Pulses on Nonlinear Soil-Structure Systems

ABSTRACT

This paper is focused on effects of near-fault pulse characteristics on seismic performance of soil-structure systems considering foundation uplifting and soil yielding. To this end, an extensive parametric study is conducted. Mid-to-high-rise buildings of different aspect ratios (SR) resting on shallow mat foundations are investigated. Different vertical load-bearing safety factors (F_S) of foundation as well as different soil types (i.e. soft to very dense) are considered in this study. Finite element method is used for numerical modeling. The underlying soil is simply modeled with a set of nonlinear springs and dashpots beneath the foundation. Mathematical near-fault pulse models of fling step and forward directivity are used as input ground motions. The results show that reduction in structural drift demands due to nonlinear soil-structure interaction (SSI) is more considerable in the case of short-period pulses compared to long-period ones. In more precise words, significant reduction occurs when pulse-to-fixed-base period ratio falls within 0.7–1.5 in the case of directivity pulses and 0.5–1.4 in the case of fling pulses. It is also demonstrated that the beneficial effects of nonlinear SSI reduce when the number of stories increases.     

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND IN POTENTIAL GAINS FROM CONSOLIDATION AMONG U.S. COMMERCIAL BANKS

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the regional variations in the impact of technological change and in gains from consolidation among U.S. commercial banks. We estimate a multiproduct translog cost function with the appropriate regional dummy variables. Technological change, ray scale economies and scale biases in technological change are estimated for each region. Furthermore, pairwise expansion path economies between all the regions are calculated to evaluate the potential gains from interregional consolidation. In general Southwest banks had the worst and Southeast the best technological change. There is substantial disparity across regions. It also appears that technological change increased the efficient size in the Midwest and Southwest regions and reduced it in the West, Northeast and Southeast. Banks in all regions show ray economies of scale, affirming the need for larger banks if output mix remains constant. Finally, the results support takeover of regional banks by the Money Center banks but not vice-versa, and favor consolidation among regional banks. The biggest potential gains accrue from mergers of Southeast banks with either Midwest or Southwest banks and the least gains are derived from mergers between Midwest and Southwest banks.     

Evaluation of 2D Seismic Site Response due to Hill-Cavity Interaction Using Boundary Element Technique

This paper deals with the evaluation of two-dimensional site-effects due to the seismic interaction between hills with various configurations and underground cavities. The time-domain boundary element method is used to evaluate the site-effects of hill-cavity interaction subjected to vertically propagating in-plane SV and P waves. The presence of an underground cavity and the hill topography are expected to induce significant effects on the surface ground motion. To further examine the contribution of the amplification ratio of the hill-cavity system, a fairly simple approach, which can compute the response spectra of the hill’s surface motion above a cavity based on the real input motions, is also used to input motions.