Numerical Evaluation of Topographic Effects at the Nicastro Ridge in Southern Italy

Numerical site response analyses were carried out on the Nicastro ridge in Southern Italy in order to investigate topographic effects. First, the analyses were carried out on a simplified model by employing simple artificial signals, in order to get preliminary physical insights into the two-dimensional phenomena involved. Then, numerical analyses were carried out on a more realistic heterogeneous subsoil model developed on the basis of geotechnical and geophysical investigations. Real accelerograms were selected for these analyses. Particular attention was devoted to separating topographic from stratigraphic amplification. Finally, the topographic amplification factors were compared with literature data and Eurocode 8 recommendations.     

基于视觉的明清古家具数字文化档案高精度三维重建

文物是人类在社会活动中遗留的具有历史、艺术、科学价值的遗物和遗迹。优秀物质文化遗产的体系庞大、内容繁杂,数字化三维重建是保存、管理文物的一种切实可行的方案,对文化传承意义深远。相比于三维激光扫描、结构光技术等在成本和效率方面都有待改进的现有方法,数字近景摄影测量在确保低成本、高效率的同时,还能够满足数据的精度要求和详细程度。如何应用摄影测量技术对文物进行高效三维重建,实现纹理、部件、结构的精细化描述,并综合管理文物以便线上欣赏、未来修复与辅助断代,对优秀物质文化遗产的保护与传承至关重要。 本研究提出了基于视觉的三维建模方案,分为明清家具分层管理体系构建、高效率数据采集与精细化三维重建、高精度三维数字文化档案建设三步。首先针对明清家具的文化特点,从类别、纹饰、部件出发进行分层分类管理,构建独特编码体系;其次基于数字近景摄影测量技术,提出了对明清家具进行非接触数据采集的低成本高效率方法,进行高精度三维重建;再次从三维信息中提取家具纹饰、部件、结构特征,以编码为依据建立索引,为三维数字文化档案的建设提供信息基础;最后设计分层索引结构,建设高精度数字文化档案,搭建互联网共享平台进行展示。 以100套明清古家具袖珍模型为实例进行精细化数字建模,基于数字近景摄影测量技术,将模型精度控制在毫米级别,完成了文物要素提取、分类体系搭建、属性信息管理与索引结构设计,构建了历史文化和三维模型融合的数字文化档案。研究结果表明,基于视觉的非接触视觉处理算法能够实现高精度三维重建,提出的技术方案能够保留模型的细节程度,并且降低了成本、提升了效率,对文物类别、部件、纹饰的属性管理与索引架构能有效管理文化信息,数字文化档案兼具科技、人文与传统美学,满足文物保护需求。明清家具三维数字文化档案可用于古家具的研究,有利于中国古代家具工艺的传承,而其中对于家具的历史年代的介绍鉴别能够辅助断代。下一步将考虑运用人工智能对家具纹饰和部件进行元素组合,生成个性化定制家具。同时将完善技术方案,应用范围拓展至小型文物,支撑数字博物馆建设。     

The Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project (Akko,Israel): Assessing the suitability of multi-scale 3D field recording in archaeology

Abstract

Archaeology is a destructive discipline, and, unfortunately, the majority of methods employed by archaeologists to record and preserve the archaeological record consist of two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional (3D) subjects. Recent breakthroughs in 3D technology, however, have the potential to revolutionize the discipline. In recent years, multiple software suites capable of generating spatially accurate, photorealistic 3D models with a series of digital photographs have become available. Following a successful season of field testing in 2011, the Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project (Akko, Israel) expanded the use of Agisoft’s PhotoScan Pro—one of the commercially available software suites—to test the accuracy and suitability of the program for archaeological applications at multiple scales. After two years of field testing, it is clear that the implementation of PhotoScan Pro in archaeology facilitates unprecedented accuracy in field recording and digital heritage management, and provides a new outlet for the dissemination of archaeological data.     

On Theme and Variation

Abstract

The ways in which the author, the sculptor Peter Randall-Page, has made use of the ideas of D’Arcy Thompson are described. How Thompson showed that commonalities of form and pattern exist across the biological and abiotic realms is described, and the implications that physical constraints limit and sometimes dominate the capabilities of evolutionary natural selection are explored. Since we evolved in a world shaped in this manner, the likelihood that this palette of forms is one that carries strong psychological meanings and associations is examined, and the ways in which these forms are a rich source of inspiration and allusion for visual artists are discussed, hinting at the play of opposing tendencies, the dance between order and randomness, and the ways in which nature can derive variations on a theme.     

Identifying of buried archaeological remains with ground penetrating radar,polarized microscope and confocal Raman spectroscopy methods in ancient city of Nysa,Aydin – Turkey

The aim of this study was to image buried remains and appoint buried Hellenistic street system, and identify minerals and rock types of the ancient city of Nysa, one of the most important historical sites of Turkey. This study used polarized microscope and confocal Raman spectroscopy (CRS) ground penetrating radar (GPR) method, to identify the buried remains, rock types and minerals.     

多种科技方法在古月桥勘察修缮设计中的应用

建于南宋嘉定六年(公元1213年),位于浙江省义乌市的古月桥是折边拱桥这种桥梁发展过渡形式中不可多见的典型实证,具有极高的历史、科学、艺术、文化和社会价值。为了明确古月桥目前的状态,分析其主要威胁及病害原因,判断结构稳定性,进而制定有针对性的修缮方案,采用多种科技方法对古月桥进行了勘察和综合判断。面对桥身残破的现状,工作组采取了三维激光扫描、微观实验、结构分析等多种科技方法综合勘察,不仅较为清晰的地了解了古月桥的病害威胁,也分析了其背后致因及相互之间的联系;最终对古月桥稳定性及保存状况做出了综合判断。上述多种方法的应用,不仅相互印证了勘察结论,也为后续保护工作提供了重要的依据。     

Securing the Return: How Enhanced US Border Enforcement Fuels Cycles of Debt Migration

Expanded border enforcement has made unauthorised migration to the US more risky, costly, and prone to failure. Research on the material consequences of border enforcement for migrant‐sending households in Central America reveals that the economic hardships enforcement exacts on migrants at times diminishes enforcement's desired deterrent power. Heightened risks have driven up the cost of migration and pushed many to fund their trips through loans. Consequently, migrant detention, deportation, or death can result in poverty and privation for indebted households and the seizure of loan collateral, typically homes and land, in turn prompting crises in household reproduction. With a US wage the most viable means to ameliorate economic hardships, enforcement outcomes push some to return migration. Our findings suggest that US border enforcement efforts at times perpetuate the very unauthorised migration they seek to impede, while also helping to reproduce the border itself by deepening the marginalisation that drives migration decisions.     

Effects of Geometrical Features on the Seismic Response of Historical Masonry Towers

ABSTRACT

Historical masonry structures are often located in earthquake-prone regions and the majority of them are considered to be seismically vulnerable and unsafe. Historical masonry towers are slender structures that exhibit unique architectural features and may present many inadequacies in terms of seismic performance. The seismic protection of such typologies of structures and the design of effective retrofitting interventions require a deep understanding of their behavior under horizontal loads. This paper presents the results of the seismic performance evaluation of historical masonry towers located in Northern Italy. A large set of case studies is considered, comprising a significant number of towers with high slenderness and marked inclination. First, a preliminary assessment of the dynamic behavior of the different towers is carried out through eigenfrequency analyses. Then, non-linear dynamic simulations are performed using a real accelerogram with different peak ground accelerations. A damage plasticity material model, exhibiting softening in both tension and compression, is adopted for masonry. The huge amount of results obtained from the non-linear dynamic simulations allows a comparative analysis of the towers to be performed in order to assess their seismic vulnerability and to show the dependence of their structural behavior on some geometrical characteristics, such as slenderness, inclination, and presence of openings and belfry. The evaluation of different response parameters and the examination of tensile damage distributions show the high vulnerability of historical masonry towers under horizontal loads, mainly in the presence of marked inclination and high slenderness. Some general trends of the seismic behavior of the towers are deduced as a function of the main typological features.     

The Determinants of Political Cleavages in Jordan,Tunisia, and Yemen: An Analysis of Political Attitudes Structure in the Arab World

This article investigates the determinants of political cleavages composing the structure of political attitudes in Jordan, Tunisia, and Yemen following the Arab Spring. Further, it tests whether political cleavages carry predictive weight on ordinary citizens’ electoral choices in general elections. Using the Sixth Wave of the World Values Survey, discriminant analysis was conducted to generate the dimensionality, type, and structure of political attitudes in the three nations. Findings suggest that the structure of political attitudes in Jordan, Tunisia, and Yemen is multidimensional: the Islamic‐Secular division, a conflict along economic policy visions and an emerging divisive dimension concerning political reform. Evidence indicates that political cleavages do not possess significant predictive power in determining voters’ choice at elections booths. This research also points to the significance of social transformation processes such as modernization and globalization in causing a shift in values among ordinary citizens in the Arab World. This research argues that in countries where the effects of modernization and globalization are higher, a weakening of the Islamic‐Secular division is witnessed. This research is important since it paves the way for further empirical analysis on political ideology in the Middle East. It shatters conjectures concluding that Arab polities are only divided by a single hierarchical dimension: Islamic‐Secular. It contributes to comparative research on the dimensionality of political ideology by showing that the Arab World is similar to the industrialized world in the dimensionality, nature, and structuration of political ideology.     

Electrical Resistivity Tomography with Angular Separation for Characterization of Burial Mounds in Southern China

The study aims at providing the spatial distribution and potential structure of the burial mounds at the Sifangling site, Hepu Han Tombs, in southern China. We implemented an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique to obtain high‐resolution imaging of archaeological targets, considering the challenging environment and the depth of the burials. Three ERT profiles were tested above a small ancient mound previously detected by exhaustive archaeological drillings, following which 18 ERT profiles with angular separation were performed on the largest mound at the test site, without any a priori archaeological evidence below the surface. Then, a series of two‐dimensional (2D) profiles were combined as a ‘pseudo‐3D’ volume, which allowed a detailed characterization of the burial mound, and iso‐resistivity surfaces were also calculated to emphasize the location and spatial extent of the target. The results gave an effective identification of the funeral chamber and its structural details, and allowed detailed pre‐excavation planning.