Effect of AAC Infill Walls on Structural System Dynamics of a Concrete Building

The effect of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) infill walls on the structural system dynamics of a two-story reinforced concrete building is investigated using its finite element structural model, which is calibrated to simulate the acceleration-frequency response curves from its forced vibration test. The model incorporating the AAC infill walls by equivalent diagonal struts captures the increase in lateral stiffness of the building and the torsional motions induced due to the asymmetrically placed AAC infill walls. A higher strut width coefficient than in ASCE/SEI 41-06 is recommended to model the stiffness of the AAC infill walls in the elastic range.     

Spatial Analysis of Employment and Population Density: The Case of the Agglomeration of Dijon 1999

The aim of this paper is to analyze the intraurban spatial distributions of population and employment in the agglomeration of Dijon (regional capital of Burgundy, France). We study whether this agglomeration has followed the general tendency of job decentralization observed in most urban areas or whether it is still characterized by a monocentric pattern. To that purpose, we use a sample of 136 observations at the communal and at the IRIS (infraurban statistical area) levels with 1999 census data and the employment database SIRENE (INSEE). First, we study the spatial pattern of total employment and employment density using exploratory spatial data analysis. Apart from the CBD, few IRIS are found to be statistically significant, a result contrasting with those found using standard methods of subcenter identification with employment cut‐offs. Next, in order to examine the spatial distribution of residential population density, we estimate and compare different specifications: exponential negative, spline‐exponential, and multicentric density functions. Moreover, spatial autocorrelation, spatial heterogeneity, and outliers are controlled for by using the appropriate maximum likelihood, generalized method of moments, and Bayesian spatial econometric techniques. Our results highlight again the monocentric character of the agglomeration of Dijon.     

SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGETARY ELECTIONS: A COST REDISTRIBUTE PROCEDURE?

This article examines, theoretically and empirically, school district budgetary election voting behavior. In the study it is argued that the change from fiscally independent to state-funds dependent school district operations may have altered the traditional cost/quantity-based school budgetary voting behavior. With the assumption of state aid schemes to school districts, the school district budgetary election processes may have become political procedures by which the cost of school district operations has been distributed to broader tax bases.