Late Ordovician cephalopods,tentaculitides, machaeridians and echinoderms from Kuh-e Faraghan,High Zagros,Iran

Ghavidel-Syooki, M., Evans, D.H., Ghobadi Pour, M., Popov, L.E., Álvaro, J.J., Rakhmonov, U., Klishevich, I.A. & Ehsani, M.D., 15.5.2015. Late Ordovician cephalopods, tentaculitides, machaeridians and echinoderm columnals from Kuh-e Faraghun, High Zagros, Iran. Alcheringa 39, 530–549. ISSN 0311-5518.

Late Ordovician (Katian, uppermost Acanthochitina barbata to Armoricochitina nigerica chitinozoan zones) cephalopods, tentaculitides, machaeridians and echinoderms are documented for the first time from the southern Zagros Ranges. A low-diversity cephalopod fauna includes Geisonocerina dargazense sp. nov., Isorthoceras sp. cf. I. bisignatum (Barrande) and other undetermined orthoceratides. The presence of Late Ordovician tentaculitides in the high- to mid-latitude margins of Gondwana has been documented previously, but no examples have been described in detail. Thus, Costatulites kimi sp. nov., which currently occurs associated with brachiopods characteristic of the Svobodaina havliceki (brachiopod) Association, represents the earliest undoubted record of tentaculitides in Gondwana. Machaeridians constitute a relatively common component of the Late Ordovician benthic faunas from the Mediterranean margin of Gondwana, but no previous records on the Gondwanan Iranian-Arabian segment have been reported. Three echinoderm taxa based on dissociated columnals are documented from the Armoricochitina nigerica chitinozoan Zone, including Sumsaricystis radiatus Stukalina, Ristnacrinus sp. and Rosulicrinus rosulus Stukalina.

Mohammad Ghavidel-Syooki [m_ghavidelsyooki@yahoo.com] Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Technical Faculty of Tehran University, PO Box 11365-4563, Tehran, Iran; David H. Evans [david.evans@naturalengland.org.uk], Natural England, Suite D, Unex House, Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough PE1 1NG, UK; Mansoureh Ghobadi Pour* [mghobadipour@yahoo.co.uk], Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran; Leonid E. Popov [leonid.popov@museumwales.ac.uk], Department of Geology, National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP, UK; J. Javier Álvaro [jj.alvaro@csic.es], Instituto de Geociencias (CSIC-UCM), c/ José Antonio Novais 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Utkyr Rakhmonov, Kitab State Geological Reserve, 9 Ipak Yuli Street, Sakhrisabz, Uzbekistan; Inna A. Klishevich, Department of Historical Geology, Geological Faculty, St Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya 7/9, 199034 St Petersburg, Russia [inna@IK4848.spb.edu]; Mohammad H. Ehsani [mh_ehsani@hotmail.com], Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Technical Faculty of Tehran University, PO Box 11365-4563, Tehran, Iran. *Also affiliated with Department of Geology, National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP, UK.     

Book reviews

Sayyid Jamal ad‐Diin “al‐Afghani,” A Political Biography. By Nikki R. Keddie. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1972. 496pp. $20.00

A Grammar of Southern Tati Dialects. By Ehsan Yar‐Shater. The Hague: Mouton, 1969. 277pp; two maps.     

The Indonesian Devaluation of November 15, 1978 – A Basketful of Dilemmas

The author has known Kurt Martin since the early 1960s when he was in Indonesia on an assignment to assist a new research institute (LEKNAS) in its formative years. It was the latter part of the Sukarno period, when the economy was suffering from rampant inflation, dwindling exports and foreign exchange reserves, and global political orientations that were not too favourable for the growth of the domestic economy. We remember Kurt Martin from those days as an inspiring counterpart in professional discussions, who always tested the logic and relevance of our arguments. We shall always be grateful to him for this role as intellectual sparring partner, but we were no match for his beloved chess games! Kurt is not responsible if, in later years, we have lost some of our intellectual rigour — after many years in government one tends to lose some purity of thought. The author left government in April 1978 to return to university life, but he is still suffering somewhat in the decompression chamber. He is trying to practice detachment in his observance of public affairs but finds this very difficult.     

Education for Tomorrow: The Vision of Rabindranath Tagore

This article investigates Rabindranath Tagore’s educational vision, which underpinned the three institutions he set up in India – Santiniketan (1901), Visva-Bharati (1921) and Sriniketan (1922). It argues that this vision is still relevant for the world of today and tomorrow, and that it should be taken into account in designing any educational model for the future. Tagore rejected the modern mechanical learning that focuses merely on cultivation of the individual’s mind, in favour of learning that encourages the creativity, imagination and moral awareness of students. He believed that education should be not for mere “success” or “progress” but for “illumination of heart” and for inculcation of a spirit of sympathy, service and self-sacrifice in the individual, so that s/he could rise above egocentrism and ethnocentrism to a state of global consciousness or worldcentrism. In pursuing this argument, I refer to Tagore’s letters, lectures, interviews and essays, both in Bengali and in English, a body of his short stories, his novel The Home and the World and his allegorical poem “Two Birds”. I also explain his awareness of the educational movements of his time in the West, and draw brief parallels with selected Western luminaries in the field, such as Plato, Montaigne, Rousseau and John Dewey. My contention is that although some may dismiss Tagore’s educational principles as “rickety sentimentalism” in a world that is palpable and real, his ideas of human fellowship, unity and creativity, and kinship for nature seem irrefutable with the rise of multiculturalism and the looming ecological crisis threatening world peace.     

Book reviews

The Political Environment of Planning in Iran, 1971–83: From Monarchy to Islamic Republic. By Hossein Razavi and Firouz Vakil. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1984. xi + 194 pp.

An Historical Geography of Iran. By W. Barthold. Translated by Svat Soucek. Edited with an Introduction by C. E. Bosworth. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984. xv + 285 PP.

The Soviet Union and Iran: Soviet Policy in Iran from the Beginning of the Pahlavi Dynasty until the Soviet Invasion of Iran in 1941. By Miron Rezun. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijthoff and Noordhoff International Publishers; Geneva: Institute Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales, 1981. xi + 390 pp. Illustration, Notes, Tables, Appendices to p. 395. Bibliography to p. 419. Index to p. 425.

Iran: Politics and Government under the Pahlavis: An Annotated Bibliography. By Dariush Gitisetan. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1985. 201 pp.

Artisans and Guild Life in the Later Safavid Period. By Mehdi Keyvani. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1982. xii + 339 pp. No price indicated. Paperback.

The Reign of the Ayatollahs: Iran and the Islamic Revolution. By Shaul Bakhash. New York: Basic Books, 1984. x + 250 pp. Notes to p. 262. Index to p. 276. Cloth, $18.95.

The Path of God's Bondsmen from Origin to Return (Mersad al‐'ebad men al‐mabda’ ela ‘1‐ma'ad); A Sufi Compendium by Najm al‐Din Razi, Known as Daya. Translated from Persian, with introduction and annotation, by Hamid Algar. Persian Heritage Series, edited by Ehsan Yarshater, No. 35. Delmar, New York: Caravan Books, 1982. 537 pp.

Cities & Trade; Consul Abbott on the Economy and Society of Iran, 1847–1866. Edited with an Introduction by Abbas Amanat. London: Ithaca Press, 1983. xliv + 256 pp. £14.50.     

Preparation of Engineering Geological Maps of Bam City Using Geophysical and Geotechnical Approach

Engineering geological mapping was carried out at a scale of 1:25000 in the city of Bam, located in southeastern Iran, to provide engineering geological information as a base for seismic microzonation of the city. In this study, Seismic Refraction and Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP) surveys were employed along with boreholes in order to identify the characteristics of subsurface material in Bam city. A number of different kinds of maps of the city were prepared consisting of Iso-depth, Iso-velocity, and Iso-Poisson's Ratio maps. The study also involves trial pitting and continuous core recovery, in-situ, and laboratory tests. Borehole data, index properties of soils, and standard penetration test results were used to assess subsurface conditions. Geophysical and geotechnical data were combined to simulate geotechnical boreholes and prepare engineering geological maps to provide basic data for seismic geotechnical microzonation to facilitate in the reconstruction of the city of Bam.     

Quantification of Linked Column Frame Seismic Performance Factors for Use in Seismic Design

Previous research has proposed the Linked Column Frame (LCF) as a lateral load-resisting system capable of providing rapid return to occupancy for buildings impacted by moderate earthquake events and collapse prevention in very large events. The LCF consists of flexible moment frames (MF) and linked columns (LC), which are closely spaced dual columns interconnected with bolted links. The linked columns (LC) are designed to limit seismic forces and provide energy dissipation through yielding of the links, while preventing damage to the moment frame under certain earthquake hazard levels. The proposed design procedure ensures the links of the linked column yield at a significantly lower story drift than the beams of the moment frame, enabling design of this system for two distinct performance states: rapid repair, where only link damage occurs and quick link replacement is possible; and collapse prevention, where both the linked column and moment frame may be damaged.

Here, the seismic performance factors for the LCF system, including the response modification factor, R, the system over-strength factor, Ω₀, and the deflection amplification factor, C_d, are established following the procedures described in FEMA P695 [2009]. These parameters are necessary for inclusion of the system in the building code. This work describes the development of archetype structures, numerical models of the LCF systems, incremental dynamic analyses, and interpretation of the results. From the results, it is recommended that R, Ω₀, and C_d values of 8, 3, and 5.5 be used for seismic design of the LCF system. A height limit of 35 m (115ft) is recommended at this time as taller LCFs are not considered in this study.