Distributed Tuned Mass Dampers for Multi-Mode Control of Benchmark Building under Seismic Excitations

The effectiveness of the multi-mode control of seismically excited building installed with distributed multiple tuned mass dampers (d-MTMDs) is investigated by comparing dynamic response with the other controllers, such as passive friction dampers, semi-active dampers, single tuned mass damper (STMD), and multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMDs-all.top), both installed at the top of the building, and arbitrarily distributed MTMDs (ad-MTMDs). It is concluded that the d-MTMDs exhibit improved performance as compared with the STMD, MTMDs-all.top, and ad-MTMDs. The d-MTMDs are also convenient to install owing to the reduced space requirements, being placed at various floors.     

Ottoman Maps of the Empire’s Arab Provinces, 1850s to the First World War

In recent years the central Ottoman archive in Istanbul has been gradually releasing and computerizing thousands of maps stored in its collections. Our study introduces 137 maps already available to researchers that focus either directly or indirectly as part of broader presentations of imperial domains on the Ottoman Empire’s Arab provinces. These maps, which all date to between the middle of the nineteenth century and the First World War, differ widely in character, content and function. The maps are briefly described according to their content and set in their historical context.     

Migrant masculinities in-between private and public spaces of reproductive labour: Asian porters in Rome

Abstract

This article explores the construction of migrant masculinities in the context of reproductive labour. It focuses on Asian Christian men working as porters in upper middle-class residential buildings in Rome (Italy). This masculinised niche of reproductive labour combines differently gendered chores: feminised tasks (cleaning and caring) - mainly performed in the most private spaces of the home - and masculinised tasks (maintenance and security), carried out in the public or semi-public spaces of the buildings. The analysis addresses the dearth of studies on the sex-typing of jobs in the context of migrant men’s work experiences. It also contributes to ongoing debates on the geography of reproductive labour, by exploring how gendered practices of migrant reproductive labour construct private and public places. The construction of masculinities and place is shaped by the gendered racialisation of migrant men at the wider societal level, which materialises in the construction of ‘dangerous’ and ‘respectable’ urban areas. The article suggests that widespread concerns over religious difference and public security play a key role in defining migrant men’s access to the workplace and in shaping work relations.     

The road to normalization: The importance of the United Arab Emirates' neoliberal foreign policy in the normalization with Israel: 2004–2020

The article discusses the question of why and how the normalization between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel took place and managed to evolve into a peace agreement. It offers an additional explanation to the neorealists' scholarly and commonly accepted argument: that it was only the behavior of the revisionist state of Iran that was the motive for signing the peace agreement between the two states. Furthermore, the article argues that the normalization of relations began in 2004 and could have materialized owing to the UAE's neoliberal foreign policy of focusing on soft power cooperation. It suggests the UAE's internal interests of status, stability, and empowerment, which were incorporated in the Vision 2021 plan, were translated into a foreign policy of international cooperation rather than one of military involvement and alliances. The UAE's long-term strategy reveals a dual neorealist and neoliberal foreign policy with a tendency toward the latter. The neoliberal foreign policy of soft power cooperation attracted the UAE to Israel and, through these shared interests, built trust and eventually led to normalization between the two states. The study covers three periods of the UAE's foreign policy strategy during the development of the normalization process. It begins with the tension between the neoliberal and neorealist strategies from 2004 to 2009, then looks at the increase in tensions between 2010 and 2018, and ends with the focus on the neoliberal foreign policy strategy in 2019–2020.     

明益王“秋波”琴的漆涂层材料与工艺分析

孙中山故居纪念馆馆藏一张明代落霞式古琴“秋波”,据考证为明代受封于江西抚州的益王监制。清代以后,它被广东的文人琴士评为广东四大名琴之一。运用剖面显微观察、扫描电镜能谱分析、显微拉曼、光学光热红外显微光谱、热裂解-色谱质谱分析等科学检测手段,对古琴脱落的大漆残片进行了无机和有机成分分析,并对其工艺进行了讨论。实验结果表明,大漆残片保存了两个时期的不同髹漆工艺,早期以蛋白质类和非/半干性油黏结剂混合黏土类无机矿物做灰胎,晚期以大漆和干性油黏结剂混合鹿角霜/骨灰做灰胎并掺加少量黄铜屑。将科学分析与古琴槽腹、琴背的铭文相印证,进一步明确了“秋波”琴明末斫髹、清末修复的流传历史。此外,运用盖蒂保护中心研发的ESCAPE数据分析方法,首次在中国传世古琴样品中明确鉴定出一般认为产自越南的野漆品种laccol,其为清代重修时广东中山的修琴师使用添加的。本研究立足于古琴文物实体,以详尽的科学实验为支撑,并参阅《太古遗音》《髹饰录》等文献,为明代益王琴的制作工艺提供了参考,同时为古琴文物的保护修复提供了科学支撑。     

An Arab-Period merchant vessel at Tantura Lagoon, Israel

During the excavation and analysis of a 6th-century AD vessel in Tantura Lagoon, Israel, members of the joint Institute of Nautical Archaeology and Center for Maritime Studies team located an Arab-Period vessel in the vicinity. The dating of the vessel to the 8th–9th century AD is based on pottery, found in association with timbers. Only a matter of days before the end of the excavation season, one end of the vessel was unearthed and preliminary recordings, drawings, and photographs were made. None of the timbers were removed from their in-situ positions for analysis as both time and facilities were not permitting. Though a full analysis was not possible, information gleaned during the several days of recording affords an understanding of the ship's construction.