Reclip:more Kleinr?umige Klimaszenarien für ?sterreich

Der letzte Bericht des Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007) erl?utert die weltweiten Auswirkungen des Klimawandels deutlich – allerdings aus globaler Sicht. Um zu kl?ren wie sich das regionale Klima in ?sterreich ver?ndern wird, wurde mit dem Projekt „reclip:more“ (Research for Climate Protection: Model Run Evaluation) eine erste kleinr?umige Datenbasis für Klimaschutz und Klimafolgenforschung für ?sterreich generiert. Klimaszenarien wurden mittels regionaler Klimamodelle (RCMs) für die Alpen als 10 × 10-Kilometer-Raster und mit anschlie?endem Downscaling für ?sterreich mit einer Zielaufl?sung 1 km entwickelt. Die RCMs wurden mit ERA-40 Reanalyse-Daten der Vergangenheit und Daten eines Zukunftsszenarios des globalen Klimamodells (GCM) ECHAM5 angetrieben, um retrospektive (1981 bis 1990) und künftige (2041 bis 2050) Klimadatens?tze für die Alpen zu berechnen und M?glichkeiten und Unsicherheiten der Modelle und Downscaling-Methoden für die Alpen zu evaluieren. Die nun vorliegenden Datens?tze und weitere, die im Folgeprojekt „reclip:century“ für alternative Treibhausgasszenarien bis 2100 berechnet werden, dienen dazu als Basis für Aussagen über ?kologische und sozio?konomische Entwicklungen im Hinblick auf den Klimawandel.     

Empirical Green's Functions Modified by Attenuation for Sources Located at Intermediate and Far Distances from the Original Source

We present a scheme to modify empirical Green's functions by attenuation considering: (1) geometrical spreading; (2) decay in high frequency; (3) regional attenuation; and (4) phase of the signal. The accelerograms computed with the proposed simulation method are compared, in time and frequency domains, with strong ground motions from subduction and intermediate-depth earthquakes recorded in Mexico. It is shown that this simple empirical Green's functions technique can synthesize both the shape and amplitude of the response spectra in the site, considering a postulated seismic source located at different distances from the original one.     

A Damage Index for the Seismic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Members

This article proposes a damage index for the seismic analysis of Reinforced Concrete members using the hysteretic energy dissipated by a structural member and a drift ratio related to failure in the structure. The index was calibrated against observed damage in laboratory tests of 76 RC column units under various protocols. Values obtained in this calibration had acceptable agreement with the levels of damage observed in the test specimens. An analysis of the parameters involved in the definition of the proposed damage index shows the importance of displacement history in the drift ratio capacity of structures.     

Optimal Control of Accelerations in a Base-Isolated Building using Magneto-Rheological Dampers and Genetic Algorithms

This article presents a numerical study aimed at improving effectiveness of the isolation system of an actual building by adding magneto-rheological (MR) dampers that act in parallel to the existing rubber bearings (RB). The building itself is modeled with uniaxial elastic elements. Additional elements that include the RBs and the MR dampers are added at the base of the building and two different genetic algorithms are used to optimize operation of the MR dampers. Maximum acceleration and relative displacement at the top of the building are taken as the variables to be minimized. Records of destructive earthquakes are used as input. A comparison is made between the building responses with RB and the one with the additional control system.     

Postlesion Recovery of Motor and Sensory Cortex in the Early Twentieth Century

This article addresses early work on partial recovery that followed small motor cortical lesions. Leyton and Sherrington (1917 Leyton, ASF and Sherrington, CS. 1917. Observations on the excitable cortex of the chimpanzee, orang-utan and gorilla. Q J Exp Physiol, 11: 135–222.  [Google Scholar]) studied the motor cortex in apes, hoping to learn more about the contralateral muscle representations. Then they placed small lesions within the precentral cortex, followed by a loss of the contralateral muscle twitches. The sudden loss remained for about one week, but recovery was observed and continued for weeks, up to a standstill. Sherrington and Graham Brown (1913) Graham Brown, T and Sherrington, CS. 1913. Note on the functions of the cortex cerebri. J Physiol (Lond), 46: xxii [Google Scholar] observed the same results in a serial, chronic experiment on a chimpanzee. The brain was sent to Monakow's Brain-Institute in Zurich for investigating the lesions and the degeneration pattern. Constantin von Monakow (1853–1930) had been a pioneer on recovery after acute lesions, coining the term “diaschisis.” During WWI, Graham Brown and Stewart (1916) Graham Brown, T and Stewart, RM. 1916. On disturbances of the localization and discrimination of sensations in cases of cerebral lesions, and on the possibility of recovery of these functions after a process of training. Brain, 39: 348–454. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] studied a soldier in a British army hospital who suffered from a cerebral gunshot wound, localized in the sensorimotor cortex. Early and prolonged rehabilitation was successful. In 1950, Glees (1909–1999) and Cole (Oxford) placed a small motor-cortical lesion in macaque monkeys; for a few days, the monkeys had difficulties and were slow for the task. Daily training was resumed and recovery was accelerated by alimentary reward. Finally, Lashley (1890–1958) understood that handicapped patients “achieved their goal with variable means.” This demonstrated the value of active and prolonged rehabilitation, in addition to the (passive) recovery of function.     

Like father,like son: negotiation of masculinity in the ethnographic context in Hong Kong

Feminist geographers have indicated that ethnographic research is an inter-subjective process constructed in relation to the intersection between the gender and other social dimensions of both the researcher and the informants relevant to the field. In particular, the matching and adaptation of masculinities in the research context is a complex methodological issue that receives relatively little attention. Using my fieldwork experience, this article builds on the contribution of feminist geographers to discuss how my masculine self-presentation was negotiated with the research topic, the caring masculinity endorsed among my middle-aged male informants, the sociocultural milieu and my positionalities and bodily representations in producing collaborative ethnographic data. My young age and doctoral student status, combined with my ‘soft and meek’ self-presentation, produced wen masculinity within the Chinese cultural context, which facilitated the paradoxical reception of me as both a son and a consultant in the men's groups. This masculine embodiment not only facilitated our rapport but also signified my cultural competence to participate in decision-making and activist activities in the discussion groups, which brought me to some unexpected research lands. The effect of my masculine embodiment on the ethnographic research process indicates that fieldwork is not only situated in a place but is also itself a space constructed through cultural understanding of social interactions and embodied gender representations.