Application of Particle Motion Technique to Structural Modal Identification of Heritage Buildings

Determining the behavior of a structure estimated by means of finite elements analysis requires not only an in-depth knowledge of its geometry and dynamic properties but also an experimental validation to corroborate the adequacy of the characteristics of the structure. Most of the current structural identification techniques are based on linear methods that call for many measurement points and/or a relative simple structure. Complex structures are somewhat still an unexplored field due to the difficulties with the finite element method and the experimental corroboration of its results. This study presents the use of particle motion computation applied to each structural vibration mode to improve the identification of its dynamic properties, and its application to the Gothic Cathedral of Palma de Majorca (Spain).     

In Situ Characterization of Rammed Earth Wall Renders

The Algarve region in southern Portugal has one of the most significant rammed earth construction legacies in the country. This construction method is characterized by its high susceptibility to water damage and external renderings are essential to the longevity of these constructions. This study collects and organizes data that provides the basis for the conservation and repair of renderings. Five earth buildings from western Algarve were selected to represent this heritage and its diversity of composition and susceptibility to water damage. Some of their commonest anomalies result from the interaction between the earth substrate and the traditional external renderings, given their distinct characteristics and behavior. The selected sample is described and the mechanical strength of the rammed earth walls and their renderings are evaluated through in situ tests. Samples of the external renderings and earth substrate of the five buildings comprising the sample were also collected and characterized in the laboratory. The characteristics of these two materials and their behavior as an assembly were analyzed. The results of the in situ and laboratory tests are compared and the viability of using a method based on in situ tests for the wider characterization of the type of construction under analysis evaluated.     

Global Value Chains and Open Networks: The Case of Italian Industrial Districts

Italian district small and medium enterprises (SMEs) developed aggressive strategies to extend their sales networks and supply chains abroad. Literature on districts offered alternative explanations about the impacts of internationalization on local manufacturing systems. The authors consider the evolution of Italian districts in the framework of global value chain approach, focusing on the role of leading firms. Based on a survey of 650 Italian SMEs and financial indicators, the paper describes the rise of a new district firm model, the open network, which becomes a key node of global value chains. The paper also analyses the relationships among internationalization, innovation strategies and performance of SMEs.     

Evaluating microfossil content of dental calculus from Brazilian sambaquis

To date, limited numbers of dental calculus samples have been analyzed by researchers in diverse parts of the world. The combined analyses of these have provided some general guidelines for the analysis of calculus that is non-destructive to archaeological teeth. There is still a need for a quantitative study of large numbers of calculus samples to establish protocols, assess the level of contamination, evaluate the quantity of microfossils in dental calculus, and to compare analysis results with the literature concerning the biology of calculus formation. We analyzed dental calculus from 53 teeth from four Brazilian sambaquis. Sambaquis are the shell-mounds that were established prehistorically along the Brazilian coast. The analysis of sambaqui dental calculi shows that there are relatively high concentrations of microfossils (phytoliths and starch), mineral fragments, and charcoal in dental calculus. Mineral fragments and charcoal are possibly contaminants. The largest dental calculi have the lowest concentrations of microfossils. Biologically, this is explained by individual variation in calculus formation between people. Importantly, starch is ubiquitous in dental calculus. The starch and phytoliths show that certainly Dioscorea (yam) and Araucaria angustifolia (Paraná pine) were eaten by sambaqui people. Araceae (arum family), Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato) and Zea mays (maize) were probably in their diet.     

Different staining substances were used in decorative and therapeutic tattoos in a 1000-year-old Peruvian mummy

From a 1000-year-old mummy, found unwrapped in the sand of the desert at Chiribaya Alta in Southern Peru, two different kinds of tattoos were investigated: decorative tattoos displaying different animals and symbolic ciphers were present on the extremities and tattooed circles on the neck region.     

Children and playgrounds in Mediterranean cities

This paper presents the first results of a case study on the ways in which playgrounds are constructed and experienced in children's daily lives in two medium sized Mediterranean Catalan cities. The research is based on qualitative methodology through participant observation and interviews with institutional actors. Our research suggests that playgrounds are organised around age as the central category; nevertheless, gender is important in the use and activities developed as children get older. Specific aspects from Mediterranean and medium-sized cities are raised such as a positive perception and an intense use of public space by both adults and children. Specific childhood policies in city planning and a stronger gender awareness among institutional actors would improve the social role of playgrounds as participatory, socialising and inclusive spaces.     

„Fremde Körperwelten”︁. Russische Anthropologie und Medizin im kolonialen Diskurs des ausgehenden Zarenreiches

?Exotic Bodies”?: Russian Anthropology and Medicine in the Colonial Discours of Late Imperial Russia. In the nineteenth century Russian anthropologists adopted Western theories on the biological superiority of the white man in order to justify Russian colonization at the Asiatic periphery. After the Great Reforms the imperial process of acculturation was discussed in the context of modernization that also touched the institutionalization of colonial medicine. Whereas Russian armchair anthropologists were operating with racial idioms, physicians as practitioners on the colonial spot were not receptive to the ideology of “white man's burden”. From experience with the socioeconomic backwardness of Russia's Asiatic periphery physicians stood up for the vital rights of the indigenous population in the colonial Public Health. With deep respect for indigenous medicine Russian physicians were not advocates of Russian colonial expansion and racial discrimination that made them different to their Western colleagues. On the basis of Russian nineteenth century medical literature and Siberian archival sources this paper outlines the critical reflections of Russian physicians on Tsarist colonialism     

Contested Sources of Authority: Re‐claiming State Sovereignty by Formalizing Traditional Authority in Mozambique

In Mozambique, the current legal framework institutionalizes a rural–urban differentiation of local governance, allowing for elected representation in thirty‐three urban settings and the recognition of ‘community authorities’ in rural areas. This article deals with the latter by exploring the implementation of Decree 15/2000, which is the first legislation in post‐colonial Mozambique to formalize ‘traditional authority’. Views of traditional authority as either a ‘genuine’ African form of authority legitimized by traditional beliefs and practices, or as a form of power ‘corrupted’ by colonial rule, are inadequate for understanding the current situation. In formerly war‐torn Sussundenga District, kin‐based authorities drew on elements from ‘traditional’ and ‘state‐administrative’ domains of authority in order to be recognized. Varied definitions of tradition came to justify leadership, but the content on which legitimization was based defies any generalized Weberian dichotomy between traditional and modern/state types of office. Different sources of legitimacy sometimes foregrounded administrative needs and at other times maintained what became defined as traditional.