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).     

High precision isotopic analyses of lead ores from New Mexico by MC-ICP-MS: implications for tracing the production and exchange of Pueblo IV glaze-decorated pottery

Between ca. 1275 and 1700 CE, Pueblo groups in the northern Southwest United States produced and exchanged ceramic bowls decorated with lead-based glaze paints. Previous studies of these glaze-decorated bowls have used lead isotopic analysis by ICP-MS to identify the sources of lead used by Pueblo potters, and investigate how social or economic factors may have influenced resource use among different Pueblo communities (e.g. 13 and 14; Huntley et al., 2007; Huntley, 2008). However, interpretations of much of this isotopic data have remained provisional because of overlap among the isotopic ratios of potential sources and because the isotopic composition of many glaze paints do not clearly match any known source. Here, we use multi-collector ICP-MS to re-measure the lead isotopic composition of 48 samples of lead sulfide (galena) and lead carbonate (cerussite) from sources in New Mexico that were potentially utilized by Pueblo potters, including mines within the Cerrillos Hills, Magdalena, Hansonburg, and Joyita Hills mining districts. These results define the isotopic composition of lead ores from these districts with greater precision and accuracy than achieved in previous studies and better distinguish among these mining districts in lead isotope space. Most significantly, we find that galena mineralization within the Cerrillos Hills only has a modest degree of isotopic variation, with ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios from 18.508 to 18.753, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios from 15.580 to 15.607, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios from 38.388 to 38.560. These ranges are far narrower than previously reported, and should supersede previously published values for this district. In total, we conclude that isotopic measurements of both ores and glaze paints made by MC-ICP-MS will provide new information about the provenance of lead in glaze paints and allow for more detailed interpretations about resource procurement and exchange in the Pueblo world.     

Lead isotope analysis as a new method for identifying material culture belonging to the Vázquez de Coronado expedition

Archaeological evidence has become an increasingly important component of efforts to identify the route of the Francisco Vázquez de Coronado expedition through northern Mexico and the southwestern United States (1540-1542). Here, we report the first high-precision lead isotopic measurements of artifacts from two archaeological sites with strong material evidence for the expedition’s presence: Piedras Marcadas Pueblo in New Mexico and the Jimmy Owens Site in Texas. The analysis of lead and copper armaments from both sites reveals that many artifacts have overlapping or extremely similar isotopic ratios. We propose that the narrow range of lead isotopic ratios measured on these artifacts can be interpreted as a geochemical fingerprint for some of the Coronado expedition’s surviving material culture, and provides evidence that we interpret to suggest the expedition derived lead and copper metal from Mexican sources. Such a geochemical fingerprint presents an empirical method for discriminating between artifacts that belonged to the Coronado expedition and those related to subsequent Spanish, historical, or modern activity in the Southwest U.S. Thus, this method could significantly impact the search for and identification of archaeological sites associated with the Coronado expedition.     

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.