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.     

PETROGLYPHS OF FOOTPRINTS IN THE BRAZILIAN STATE OF MATO GROSSO DO SUL: GENESIS AND STYLISTIC DIFFUSION

The article describes the occurrence of rock carvings in the shape of footprints in rock shelters and caves in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul placing this phenomenon within the archaeological context of the Brazilian Midwestern region as well as the entire continent of South America. Based on available archaeological data the paper reflects upon the possible areas of genesis and ways of diffusion of this distinct rock art style that is seemingly the most prevalent in Brazil.     

Putting the Spotlight on Small Metal Age Pottery Scatters in Northern Calabria (Italy)

This paper presents the results of an in-depth multidisciplinary restudy of small Metal Age surface scatters recorded in earlier fieldwalking surveys in northern Calabria (Italy). Guided by a stratified sampling approach based on site types and topographic positions, high-resolution surface collections at the selected sites were combined with geophysical surveys, test pits, and soil studies to investigate both archaeological deposits and the site formation processes that have an effect on their detectability. This approach is shown to result in a better definition of archaeological ‘sites’, and to help fill in details of regional exploitation and settlement dynamics at the landscape scale. At this broader scale we are also able to model post-depositional processes and slope dynamics affecting the preservation of the archaeological record. With regard to methodology, our study has enabled the evaluation of diverse archaeological detection methods and the fine-tuning of field strategies for the study of Metal Age remains.     

Critical geographies and geography’s creative re/turn: poetics and practices for new disciplinary spaces

We are two feminist geographers working as practitioners and researchers in creative geographies and the discipline’s creative re/turn. Human geographers interested in new representational and non-representational methods and methodologies are, as we explore in this article, increasingly turning to artistic and creative modes of expression, including (amongst others) literary and visual arts, in which we are both involved. For some time now, we have been curious about what we experience as a lack of expressly politicized critical interrogations of the discipline’s creative re/turn and a shortage of expressly critical and politicized creative outputs. In this article, then, we explore geography’s embrace of creative practices as research methods and as means of developing outputs but, more specifically, we ask about where and how decolonizing, feminist, anti-racist, and/or queer voices, practices, and theorizations might fit within the creative re/turn. Using two different creative geographic works (one a book of poetry, the other a curation project), we trouble what we conclude may be ongoing (perhaps unconsciously) masculinist, often White and colonial, perhaps overly heteronormative, modes of geographic inquiry and practice within geography’s creative re/turn. In this context, we reflexively consider our own creative practices as ones that may offer examples to open new critical spaces and modes of representation for creative geographers.     

The gentrification of progressive red-light districts and new moral geographies: the case of Amsterdam and Zurich

Even though there is a long tradition of red-light districts (RLD) being concentrated within the city centre, gentrification policies in many European cities now aim at spatially dispersing the sex market (and its workers) to the fringes of the city. Moving RLDs out of the city centre (or transforming them into more-upscale entertainment provision) calls into question the physical place allotted to sex work in our cities, as well as the moral geography behind these decisions. This article examines urban regeneration processes in two particular European cities – Amsterdam and Zurich – both cities with a long history of progressive drug and sex-work policies where sex work has been part of the visible urban fabric. In the article we look at urban policies and the legal framework, as well as at moral reasoning and discourses around the legitimacy of moving sex-workers away from city centres. We argue that in both cities moral arguments play an important role in the legitimization of the transformation of the RLD which contributes to a new race and gender order that stigmatises sex-workers as a group as if they were all victims of trafficking.     

The Use of Copper and Lead Sheathing in VOC Shipbuilding

Much has been written on the use of lead and copper sheathing in post mediaeval shipbuilding, yet evidence for such hull protection by Dutch shipwrights in the 17th and 18th centuries has received little attention. A discussion of the archaeological and historical evidence pertaining to the application of copper and lead sheathing by the Dutch long‐distance trading companies outlines the argument for the innovative character, experimental use—on ships’ hulls—and standardization—on sternposts—as early as 1602. Archaeological evidence presented mainly comes from the Dutch East Indiamen Nassau (1606), Mauritius (1609), Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draak (1656), and Buitenzorg (1760).     

La Société des Nations suppose la Société des Esprits: The Debate on Modern Humanism

This article focuses on the themes of the two conferences organized by the League of Nations—“Modern Man” and “The Foundations of Modern Humanism”—which were held in Nice and Budapest in 1935 and 1936, respectively. It was a time of deepening crisis, when the pervasive belief was that European civilization was declining. The more specific questions discussed in these conferences included the relation of modern man to the state, the impact of irrational theories on modern life, and the need for free education for everyone. Renowned writers and academics of the period participated in the debates, among them Thomas Mann, Jules Romains, Salvador de Madariaga, Alfred Zimmern, and Johan Huizinga. I present a critical overview of their debates, beginning with Paul Valéry, the initiator and chairman of these conferences, who coined the intriguing slogan “La Société des Nations suppose la Société des Esprits.”     

Operationalising national identity: the cases of the Scottish National Party and Frisian National Party

The article sets out to examine the complexity of national identity and to provide a more nuanced understanding of how inclusive and exclusive characteristics of national identity, which appear theoretically contradictory but show empirically considerable compatibility, relate to each other. In order to empirically investigate the nature of national identity, the article develops a multidimensional model – consisting of an ethnic, cultural, territorial and civic dimension. The article explores the understanding of national identity in two specific groups: members of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the United Kingdom and members of the Frisian National Party (FNP) in the Netherlands. The evidence presented is based on data from two full membership studies, and the model is operationalised using a confirmatory factor analyses. The conclusion is that national identity can be conceptualised as consisting of one, or several, base layer(s) that can be ‘topped‐up’ with secondary layers.