Assessment of Perforated Steel Beam-to-Column Connections Subjected to Cyclic Loading

This article presents a study of fully fixed (welded) perforated beam-to-column connections, used as strengthening techniques to seismic-resistant design. The effect of using non-standard novel web opening configurations of variable depths and positions is investigated. The improvements on the structural behavior foreshadow the enhancements gained using these perforated members. It is concluded that using large isolated perforations is an effective way of improving the behavior of connections enhancing their ductility, rotational capacity and their energy dissipation capacity. Moreover, the connections with novel openings outperform the conventional ones; therefore, they can be suitably used in the aseismic design of steel frames.     

Reflections on Objects,Spirits and Photographs from a Present Becoming Damaged Future

My afterword engages six papers in the special issue “Archives and Anthropologies: From Histories to Futures”. It teases out particular arguments, locates common themes and explores the papers' relevance to wider debates in anthropology and visual culture. My paper particularly focuses on discussions around anthropology's analytical priorities and the position of the visual/material Vis-à-vis the social.     

The Territorial Impact of the Knowledge Economy: Intangibles and Regional Inequality in Great Britain

Knowledge-based activities are an important source of national and regional competitiveness. In the UK and other European Union countries knowledge industries represent not only one of the fastest growing sources of new jobs, but also account for an increasing share of Gross Value Added (GVA) and exports. Nonetheless, there are also indications that the actual importance of the knowledge economy still remains understated. Within the conventional System of National Accounts, expenditure on intangible assets, such as research and development or human and organizational capital, is not considered either as part of GVA or as investment. In the UK, Marrano et al. (2009 Marrano, M. G., Haskel, J. &; Wallis, G. (2009) What happened to the knowledge economy? ICT, intangible investment and Britain's productivity record revisited, The Review of Income and Wealth, 55(3), 686–716. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4991.2009.00344.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) report increased market sector GVA figures by as much as 13% in 2004 after treating intangibles as investment. Considering that expenditures on intangibles vary considerably across regions, it is likely that the territorial impact of this aspect of the knowledge economy has remained largely unreported so far. Spatial inequalities in the investment in intangibles should result in sharper inequalities in regional output. This paper aims to address this issue, first by adjusting the UK regional GVA series for investment in intangibles and second by exploring the trends in regional economic convergence during the period 1991–2004.     

Design and manufacturing aspects of a vaginal speculum of antiquity,as investigated by computer tomographies

This paper presents the investigation of a vaginal speculum, found during excavations in Dion, Greece, by means of computer tomographies. Based on this technique, the solid geometry of the structural elements of this medical instrument was reconstructed and a simulation of its operating mechanism was further conducted. Additionally important design and manufacturing data related to the vaginal speculum mechanism and its parts were obtained. The analysis provides various significant insights and further documents utilization of high level technical mechanical engineering procedures and technological sophistication in the Hellenic antiquity period.     

Characterization of pozzolanic lime mortars used as filling material in shaped grooves for restoring member connections in ancient monuments

This article presents a set of mechanical characteristics for a pozzolanic mortar consisting of hydrated lime and metakaolin, which is used as filler between metallic connectors and marble blocks during restoration activities of ancient monuments in Greece. Mechanical properties include the uniaxial and triaxial compressive strength, the indirect tensile strength, the bending strength, the elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio, and a shear failure criterion. Cored cylindrical specimens are used for determining the uniaxial and triaxial compressive behavior and the indirect tensile strength of the mortar, thus ensuring the repeatability of the experimental results. The triaxial tests indicated a plastic behavior of the mortars under study, enabling them to perform well in conditions of high shear forces. Calcite and hydraulic components formed in the setting procedure contributed to the plasticity of the final mortar. The mechanical properties that were developed can be utilized to model material behavior and failure under conditions of confined or triaxial loading. The development of a shear failure criterion for a pozzolanic mortar is a substantial accomplishment that has not been previously reported in the international literature.     

Shaking table tests on a stone masonry building: modeling and identification of dynamic properties including soil-foundation-structure interaction

This article presents the identification of dynamic properties of a stone masonry building, followed by numerical simulation of its dynamic response accounting for soil-foundation-structure interaction. The first part regards numerical simulations of the earthquake response of a two-story building prototype with timber floors, made of three-leaf stone masonry without laces. This 1:2 scale prototype was tested on a shaking table in its as-built state and after strengthening, at the National Technical University of Athens. Afterward, the building prototype was modeled with flat shell elements and equivalent frames (common frames and macro-elements), for an investigation of its linear and nonlinear seismic response, assuming base fixity. Numerical results were compared to the experimental ones, which yielded conclusions on the considerations of each employed modeling strategy, as well as its efficiency and applicability. The second part considers the effect of soil-structure interaction using appropriately modified foundation stiffness values to account for the foundation soil flexibility. Comparison of the numerical results with and without SSI effects showed how the flexibility of the soil-foundation system and the soil-structure interaction modified the system’s modal characteristics and response within the elastic range, in terms of both seismic loads and deformations, and produced conclusions about its consequences on the overall structural stability.     

Troublemaker or peacemaker? Andreas Papandreou,the Euromissile Crisis,and the policy of peace, 1981–86

The article sheds light on a neglected piece of the Euromissile Crisis puzzle, namely Greece’s policy of peace. The article examines the interaction of Andreas Papandreou’s socialist government’s foreign policy, developments in the country’s political culture and national frames of reference, and the unfolding drama of the nuclear crisis of the 1980s. While subscribing to an international cause, papandreou framed the policy of peace in ardent nationalist terms that involved renegotiation of the american bases on greek soil, relations with nato, balkan regional schemes for nuclear-weapons-free zones, and international initiatives with the third world.     

Constructing a Manufacturing Fixed Capital Stock Series for the Regions of Greece

Although regional variation in rates of capital accumulation is considered a major component of spatially uneven industrial development, it remains largely an understudied area. The theoretical and methodological problems that surround the measurement of capital, generally, alongside the lack of necessary information about a wide range of specific aspects, pose serious obstacles in any attempt to construct regional capital stock series. In such a context, the main aim of this paper is to make the best possible effort to construct a regional manufacturing fixed capital stock series for Greece. The limited availability of information (not unusual in regional as opposed to national contexts) and the necessity of making some arbitrary, but specified, assumptions mean that the estimation steps have to be presented in detail to assess reliability. Four regional fixed capital stock series for total manufacturing activity are generated. The results are then assessed in the context of uneven spatial development in Greece.     

Integrated GIS,remote sensing and geomorphologic approaches for the reconstruction of the landscape habitation of Thessaly during the neolithic period

The aim of this study is to manifest the contribution of integrated approaches such as GIS, geomorphology, remote sensing and DEM analysis for the detection of neolithic settlements, the modeling of habitation and the reconstruction of neolithic landscape in the area of Thessaly.     

Probabilistic Seismic Performance Assessment of Classes of Buildings Using Physics-Based Simulations and Ground-Motion Prediction Equations

We discuss the applicability of two different near field representations of seismic input within the capacity-demand diagram method for seismic performance assessment of classes of buildings in urban areas. The two representations of seismic input used are: (1) synthetic accelerograms obtained from 3D wave simulations of random rupture scenarios are used to estimate seismic risk, through the Monte-Carlo approximation; and (2) random realizations of elastic spectral displacement obtained through ground-motion prediction equations. The implementation of the proposed formulation in evaluating the seismic performance of two classes of buildings in the town of Sulmona, Italy, indicates that empirical ground-motion prediction equations, combined with non-iterative methods for estimating the inelastic seismic demand, can produce results comparable to the physics-based simulations.