Bank Depositor Behavior in Russia in the Aftermath of Financial Crisis

An international team of economists examines the factors influencing the behavior of Russian depositors in the immediate aftermath of that country's 1998 financial crisis, drawing upon two largely unutilized data sources—data from the Russian state savings bank Sberbank and a November 1998 household survey. After first reviewing the evolution of the household deposit market during the 1990s, they explore regional variations in net withdrawals from Sberbank branches during the period August-October 1998 as well as identify characteristics of individual/household depositors making (or attempting to make) such withdrawals. More severe runs on Sberbank outlets are found to be associated with more affluent and entrepreneurial regions, regions of more youthful and less educated population closer to Moscow, and areas with greater media freedom. Subsequent public opinion survey analysis of the socioeconomic correlates of runs on all Russian banks during the 1998 crisis reveals some interesting differences (in the effects of education in particular) on the propensity to successfully withdraw deposits.     

Experimental and Finite Element Analytical Investigation of Seismic Behavior of Full-Scale Masonry Infilled RC Frames

This article investigates the seismic behavior of masonry infilled RC frames with/without openings. Four full-scale, single-story, and single-bay specimens were tested under constant vertical loads and quasi-static cyclic lateral loads. The experimental results showed that the infill wall was more influential in stiffness than in load-resisting capacity. The opening increased the ductility ratio of the structure due to the uniform distribution and slow propagation of cracks. Finally, simplified micro finite element models are established to simulate the tested specimens, which effectively predict the load-displacement response of the structures and the crack damage of masonry infill wall with acceptable accuracy.     

The Chemists' Style of Thinking

Der Denkstil der Chemiker. Der Aufsatz diskutiert die Tragfähigkeit des Begriffes “Denkstil”, wie er von Alistair Crombie eingeführt und Ian Hacking aufgegriffen wurde, für das Verständnis dessen, wie das Fach Chemie historisch seine Identität ausgeprägt hat. Obwohl weder Crombie noch Hacking den Begriff “Denkstil” in Bezug auf einzelne Disziplinen verwendet haben, erscheint im Fall der Chemie seine Anwendung besonders vielversprechend, weil er hier hilft, ein zentrales Problem zu thematisieren – nämlich die Frage, wie es Chemikern trotz wechselnder Gegenstandsbereiche und theoretischer Umbrüche gelang, eine eigenständige und stabile Identität auszubilden. Nach einer Einführung in den Begriff “Denkstil”, argumentiert der Aufsatz, dass die Beständigkeit der Chemie als eines Faches wesentlich in ihren Laborpraktiken gründet, die ihrerseits wiederum die spezifische Art der Fragen bestimmten, die Chemiker in ihren Forschungen stellten bzw. die Form der Antworten, nach denen sie suchten. Folgende Merkmale kennzeichnen diesen “chemischen Denkstil” (1) eine spezifische, im Herstellen begründete Form des Wissens, (2) die Befassung mit einzelnen Stoffen und Materialien statt mit Materie im Allgemeinen und (3) eine Beobachtung von Natur besonders im Hinblick auf Transformationsprozesse. The Chemists' Style of Thinking. This paper discusses the relevance of the notion of “styles of scientific thinking” introduced by Alistair Crombie and revisited by Ian Hacking, for understanding how chemistry shaped its identity. Although neither Crombie nor Hacking applied this notion to individual disciplines, it seems appropriate to use it in the case of chemistry because it helps to address a puzzling issue: how did chemists manage to shape an identity of their own, despite shifting territories and theoretical transformations? Following a presentation of the notion of style, I will argue that the stable identity of chemistry is rooted in laboratory practices, which determined the specific questions that chemists put to nature as well as the answers to their questions. The “chemical style of thinking” is characterized by i) a specific way of knowing through making, ii) the concern with individual materials rather than matter in general and iii) a specific commitment to nature.     

论编辑策划与党校期刊质量的提升

编辑策划在期刊编辑出版和竞争中发挥着越来越重要的作用。新形势下党校期刊必须创新办刊机制,不断探索办刊规律,做好编辑策划工作。只有这样才能编发出更多精品文章,办出党校期刊的特色与优势,提高党校期刊的社会影响力,充分发挥党校期刊作为党的重要思想理论阵地的作用。     

Managing Policy Dilemmas in South Korea: The Case of the Emissions Trading Scheme

This paper analyses the policy dilemma of South Korea’s Lee Myung-bak government regarding the greenhouse gas Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the cornerstone of the government’s Low Carbon Green Growth (GG) policy. The paper analyses policy governance, with a focus on the deliberative nature of the policy process. The ETS was promoted as a way to overcome certain international, political and socioeconomic challenges facing the government, yet the process of its establishment featured severe confrontations between the stakeholders (industrialists and environmentalists), and a lack of effort on the part of the government to pursue deliberation with them, resulting in a significant policy dilemma. The government reacted passively at first, and later responded with a symbolic decision that failed to pursue deliberative processes and exacerbated the situation. This paper addresses the theoretical and policy implications of this policy process by identifying the mechanism that created the policy dilemma. The reliability and validity of the study are substantiated through a multi-strategy approach, including a review of the literature and an in-depth interview with a government economic official.     

Modeling the Cyclic Flexural and Shear Response of the R. C. Hollow Box Columns of an Existing Viaduct

The cyclic response of R.C. hollow box columns, constructed as part of a typical single-column bent viaduct, built in the 1970’s in Central Europe, was studied both experimentally and analytically. Moderate displacement ductility capacity (between 3 and 4) was observed regardless of the column construction details, which are nowadays considered inappropriate for seismic regions. Standard analytical flexural models correlated with the experimental results quite well. Shear strength was estimated using the two methods included in the EC8 standards, as well as the method developed at the University of California, San Diego. Quite different results were obtained. The most accurate was the third method.     

Technology based evolution? A biometric test of the effects of handsize versus tool form on efficiency in an experimental cutting task

The use of stone cutting tools opened a novel adaptive niche for hominins. Hence, it has been hypothesised that biomechanical adaptations evolved to maximise efficiency when using such tools. Here, we test experimentally whether biometric variation influences the efficiency of simple cutting tools (n = 60 participants). Grip strength and handsize were measured in each participant. 30 participants used flint flakes, while the other 30 used small (unhafted) steel blades. Variations in basic parameters of tool form (length, width, thickness, cutting edge length) were recorded for the 30 flint flakes. It was ensured that mean handsize and strength in each participant group were not significantly different to investigate the effect of tool variation. The experimental task required cutting through a 10 mm-diameter hessian rope. Cutting efficiency was measured using both ‘Number of cutting strokes required’ and ‘Total time taken’. Results show that both efficiency measures were significantly correlated with handsize using all 60 participants. However, no significant differences were found between the flake and blade groups in terms of mean efficiency. Nor was any significant relationship found between tool form parameters and efficiency in the flint flake group. We stress that our results do not imply that tool form has no impact on tool efficiency, but rather that – all other things being equal – biometric variation has a statistically significant influence on efficiency variation when using simple cutting tools. These results demonstrate that biomechanical parameters related directly to efficiency of use, may plausibly have been subject to selection in the earliest stone tool-using hominins.     

关于中职学校食品微生物教学改革与实践

微生物学是食品专业的一门重要的必修专业课程,针对食品微生物学课程教学。文章从教学内容、教学手段、教学方法、实验实习和成绩考核标准等几个方面进行了探讨,取得了较好的教学效果。     

Experiments with Lithic Tools: Understanding Starch Residues from Crop Harvesting

Stone knives were used widely in Neolithic East Asia, presumably in the harvesting of grain crops, but their function has not been clearly understood due to the lack of study of residues from these tools. To address this issue, starch grain analysis was employed to study the residues on the surface of ancient stone knives and large amounts of starches were recovered. The sources of these starches, however, were not well understood, because harvesting of crops involves the cutting of stems rather than direct contact with starchy seeds. To determine whether harvesting could deposit these types of residues, we designed a simulation experiment using stone flakes to harvest ears of wheat, rice and foxtail millet, then analysed the residues on both the flakes and in the plant tissues. A large number of starch grains were found in the stems, including both typical morphotypes from seeds and newly described types that occur only in stems, which can be used as indicators of harvesting. Our study demonstrates that starch grains from residues on the surfaces of archaeological stone knives can indicate not only that the tools were used to harvest ears, but also the type of crops harvested.     

浅议如何搞好地市级党报的新闻策划

地市级党委机关报是发布党的路线、方针、政策和地方党委政府具体工作布署、督办措施的主渠道。在新时期,地市级党报只有做好新闻策划,彰显本土新闻亮点,充分体现党报性质,凸显新闻策划的针对性,强化编辑策划意识,做好新闻的选题策划,才能实现传播效益的最大化,增强报纸的影响力、吸引力和战斗力,进而增强党报的竞争力。