MULTICOIN: A TOOL FOR CLASSIFYING COINS IN A MULTIMEDIA ENVIRONMENT

Classifying coins found during excavation is a challenging task for the archaeologist. This paper describes a multimedia system designed to assist the archaeologist by enabling him either to classify coins based on a pre-existing catalogue or to draw up his own catalogue for specific purposes. The system can also be used to train novices in the field: following an initial screening, the archaeologist only has to examine coins specifically requiring his expertise. A case study uses coins minted in Salerno 800–1200 AD, but the system has been designed to classify any set of coins by simply changing the underlying knowledge base. Very little training is required to operate the user-friendly system, which runs on multimedia PCs, as it is written using the C++ language and makes full use of the advanced features of Windows 3.11.     

WHITE LUMPS IN FIFTH- TO SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AD MORTARS FROM NORTHERN ITALY

Ancient mortars from northern Italy, dating from the fifth to the seventeenth century AD, were examined in order to formulate an hypothesis regarding the origin of the white lumps often observed in these mortars and in other samples of the same geographical provenance. Various characterization techniques were employed, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and micro-FTIR spectroscopy.     

CENTER POINTS, EQUILIBRIUM POSITIONS, AND THE OBNOXIOUS LOCATION PROBLEM

ABSTRACT. Real variable analysis has een used to great benefit in a variety of classical problems in location theory. In this paper we explore basic complex variable techniques in one formulation of the obnoxious location problem. A general definition of center points is first given and used to formulate several alternate versions of the obnoxious location problem. A logarithmic transformation is then used to demonstrate some equivalences between these families of distinct location problems (defined via center points). A prototype logarithmic potential function which results from this formulation is then investigated, and it is demonstrated that the extremal solutions with this objective reside on the boundary of its domain of definition. An application using zero- and one-dimensional centers is discussed, and a generalization to the spatial obnoxious problem is also briefly examined. We define a zero-dimensional center as a critical point of the logarithmic potential function, and it is shown that these centers are equivalent to the solutions of the Complex Moment Problem.     

The assumption of equilibrium in models of migration

In recent articles Evans (1990) and Harrigan and McGregor (1993) (hereafter HM) scrutinized the equilibrium model of migration presented in a 1989 paper by Schachter and Althaus. This model used standard microeconomics to analyze gross interregional migration flows based on the assumption that gross flows are in approximate equilibrium. HM criticized the model as theoretically untenable, while Evans summoned empirical as well as theoretical objections. HM claimed that equilibrium of gross migration flows could be ruled out on theoretical grounds. They argued that the absence of net migration requires that either all regions have equal populations or that unsustainable regional migration propensities must obtain. In fact some moves are inter- and other are intraregional. It does not follow, however, that the number of interregional migrants will be larger for the more populous region. Alternatively, a country could be divided into a large number of small regions that have equal populations. With uniform propensities to move, each of these analytical regions would experience in equilibrium zero net migration. Hence, the condition that net migration equal zero is entirely consistent with unequal distributions of population across regions. The criticisms of Evans were based both on flawed reasoning and on misinterpretation of the results of a number of econometric studies. His reasoning assumed that the existence of demand shifts as found by Goldfarb and Yezer (1987) and Topel (1986) invalidated the equilibrium model. The equilibrium never really obtains exactly, but economic modeling of migration properly begins with a simple equilibrium model of the system. A careful reading of the papers Evans cited in support of his position showed that in fact they affirmed rather than denied the appropriateness of equilibrium modeling. Zero net migration together with nonzero gross migration are not theoretically incompatible with regional heterogeneity of population, wages, or amenities.