Methods and Approaches for Blind Test Predictions of Out-of-Plane Behavior of Masonry Walls: A Numerical Comparative Study

ABSTRACT

Earthquakes cause severe damage to masonry structures due to inertial forces acting in the normal direction to the plane of the walls. The out-of-plane behavior of masonry walls is complex and depends on several parameters, such as material and geometric properties of walls, connections between structural elements, the characteristics of the input motions, among others. Different analytical methods and advanced numerical modeling are usually used for evaluating the out-of-plane behavior of masonry structures. Furthermore, different types of structural analysis can be adopted for this complex behavior, such as limit analysis, pushover, or nonlinear dynamic analysis.

Aiming to evaluate the capabilities of different approaches to similar problems, blind predictions were made using different approaches. For this purpose, two idealized structures were tested on a shaking table and several experts on masonry structures were invited to present blind predictions on the response of the structures, aiming at evaluating the available tools for the out-of-plane assessment of masonry structures. This article presents the results of the blind test predictions and the comparison with the experimental results, namely in terms of formed collapsed mechanisms and control outputs (PGA or maximum displacements), taking into account the selected tools to perform the analysis.     

The significance of orientation elements in iron age burial customs at Voss: A tentative interpretation

After defining the concept ‘orientation elements’ in Iron Age burial customs and summarising the main theories about the Norwegian material in general, the author considers the material from the district of Voss in Western Norway where the data from the finds is more interesting than usual. She attempts to show that the local topographical conditions have played a much larger role in orientation than has usually been maintained, and further suggests that orientation may reflect a ceremonial pattern determined by religious ideas arising out of the belief in ‘haugbu’ (barrow‐dwellers).     

French Immersion Programs: New Identities and Recurring Concerns

This study focuses upon French immersion programs, an educational innovation which seeks to produce bilingual students in Canada. As part of publicly supported school systems, the program recruits from non-French speaking families. Research findings bearing on the nature of the program, its organization and its eventual outcome are examined. Three problems are discussed: availability and accessibility to the program, competition and conflict arising from it and its meaning for French-Canadian communities.     

Managing Long Distance and Localized Learning in the Emilia Romagna Life Science Cluster

The paper provides some empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the “open innovation” model in the life science cluster of Emilia Romagna (a region of Italy), comparing the network of R&D collaborative activities in public research organizations (PROs) and the network linked to R&D collaborative activities in private firms. By presenting the main results of a field research in the life science sector in Emilia Romagna, we are contributing to the recent debate focused on the crises of the old “closed innovation” model and the rise of the “open innovation” model. Our survey consists of both primary data deriving from face-to-face interviews with researchers and entrepreneurs, and secondary data extracted from the Internet, the PubMed database, and from the European Patent Office. Our work is based on the analysis of a representative sample of 30 research groups in PROs, 2173 scientific articles published by the interviewed scientists, and a representative sample of 78 private firms.     

New evidence for jute (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Corchorus capsularis</Emphasis> L.) in the Indus civilization

In this paper, we report the results of an analysis of a preserved structure of jute on a ceramic artifact from the site of Harappa that is dated to 2200–1900 (cal.) BC (Fig. 1). Jute cloth has not previously been identified at this early date in the Indus civilization. Since fiber remains are rare in prehistoric South Asia, we briefly review the evidence for seed and fiber remains used in textile production in this region.     

Modern Road Archaeology: Identification and Classification Proposal

Roads built throughout Europe from the eighteenth century onwards and adapted to motor vehicles serve as an important testimony of the history of engineering. However, very few attempts have been made to identify in a systematic manner the archaeological heritage associated with these infrastructures. This article aims to establish a series of chronological milestones marking the turning points in the design of these infrastructures and to define a typological classification of the elements forming part of road heritage. Finally, on applying the established conceptual framework to the Spanish case, a more specific definition of the main archaeological traces that may still be found today is provided.     

Do Spatial Interdependencies Matter in Italian Regional Specialization?

This article summarizes and evaluates the effects of spatial interdependencies in Italian regional specialization over the period 1995–2006. First, we perform an exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), and then we estimate a spatial panel data model built according to the new economic geography theory. ESDA reveals positive spatial interdependence overall and detects hot spots in the north and cold spots in the south for all sectors, but agriculture shows the reverse. Similarly, an econometric investigation furnishes evidence of the presence of spillover effects, implying that the determinants of the specialization of a region influence its neighbors' specialization. Este artículo resume y evalúa los efectos de las interdependencias espaciales en la especialización regional italiana durante el período 1995–2006. En primer lugar, se realiza un análisis exploratorio de datos espaciales (Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis‐ESDA), y luego se estima un modelo de datos de panel espacial construido de acuerdo a la teoría de la nueva geografía económica (New Economic Geography‐NEG). ESDA revela la interdependencia espacial positiva global en los datos y detecta zonas de concentración de incidencia alta (hot spots) en los el norte y zonas concentración de incidencia baja o nula (cold spots) en el sur para todos los sectores económicos excepto el caso de la agricultura. Del mismo modo el estudio realiza un análisis econométrico que demuestra la presencia de efectos de desbordamiento espacial (spillovers), lo cual implica que los factores determinantes de la especialización de una región influyen en la especialización de sus vecinos. 本文对1995‐2006年间意大利区域专业化的空间依赖性效果进行了总结和评价。首先进行了探索性空间数据分析（ESDA）,然后对根据新经济地理理论构建的一种空间面板数据模型进行了评价。ESDA揭示了全局的正向空间相互依赖性及北部热点区和南部冷点区的分布特征,但农业的分布特征却相反。同样地,一项计量经济调查提供了溢出效应存在的证据,同时表明了区域专业化的决定因素影响其邻近区域的专业化。     

Fire and ritual: bark hearths in South-American Tupiguarani mortuary rites

High proportions of bark pieces (up to 85% of the charcoal content) were found in several hearths from Morro Grande archaeological site (Southeastern Brazil). This site, dated between 3220–2840 and 1820–1390 yrs cal BP, is associated to the Tupiguarani Tradition, attributed to supposed ancestors of Tupinambá native populations, who occupied the major part of the Brazilian coast in the XVIth century. Bark hearths, archaeologically associated with the mortuary ritual, were found encircling a funerary urn and associated with ceramic fragments painted with elaborated patterns in black, white, and red. Other hearths, spatially isolated from the funerary area, were associated to fragments of utilitarian non-painted ceramics and therefore attributed to domestic contexts. These ones presented few or no bark fragments. It is clear that bark was intentionally selected as fuel for the funerary hearths. Although bark is related, in historic accounts, as a specialized firewood for ceramics firing, its presence in ritual context has not been previously recorded. In this paper, the anthracological record is discussed in the light of ethnographic and historic accounts. A possible explanation for the presence of bark hearths in funerary context is proposed, suggesting it might be a symbolic parallel with the quotidian: the potency and power of transformation of bark as a fuel would be regarded in a spiritual level, achieving the transformation of the body soul in the revered soul – an Ancestor.