Scalar Structure-Specific Ground Motion Intensity Measures for Assessing the Seismic Performance of Structures: A Review

The assessment of the seismic performance depends on the choice of the earthquake Intensity Measure (IM). During the past years many IMs, which take into account not only earthquake characteristics but also structural information, have been proposed. However, no consensus on which IM is the best predictor of the seismic response exists. Along these lines, the objective of this paper is to present the various developed scalar structure-specific seismic IMs and the problems associated with their use in practice, so that the engineer may become familiar with them and their implications in the context of Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering.     

Imaging the materiality of a diaspora: Recording the biographies of Greek Orthodox church buildings in London

The materiality of world diasporas – in every form, from landmark features to everyday objects – is a relatively modern approach towards studying the diasporas' relationship with both homeland and hostland. Photo narratives and various modes of imaging can be employed to better record, assess and disseminate the narratives of diasporic lifeways in terms of their material culture. This article examines how Greek Orthodox communities have altered Western denomination church buildings in London to serve their spiritual and community needs. The new, amalgamated characteristics are described, while the debate around the role these religious communities should play in the hostland is also discussed.     

Linking Gentrification and Labour Market Precarity in the Contemporary City: A Framework for Analysis

The interplay between intensifying labour market precarity and gentrification constitutes a hitherto under‐researched topic in the fields of labour and urban geography. To rectify this lacuna, we argue that gentrification and labour flexibilisation are both socio‐spatial manifestations of capital's efforts to confront crises of accumulation. Distinguishing between what we call “weak” and “strong” links between them, and drawing upon the concepts of “gentrification‐supporting” and “gentrification‐fostered” labour flexibility, we outline a framework for connecting gentrification and precarity. This allows us to make links between the restructuring of the built environment and the reorganisation of work in the post‐industrial city; it also allows us to show how workers, through their agency, can shape rent gaps in the contemporary city.     

Inferences from the human skeletal material of the Early Iron Age cemetery at Agios Dimitrios,Fthiotis, Central Greece

The Geometric cemetery of Agios Dimitrios (850–740 B.C.) yielded a human osteological sample, with an MNI of 51 and equal numbers of males and females and adults and subadults. This site is of significant archaeological importance, as it provides information on human health status, diet, and activity patterns as well as mortuary behavior for a little studied time period. The results, including a) stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data suggesting a C₃ low-protein plant diet, b) relatively high infant mortality, c) low stature estimates, d) significant prevalence of possible anemic conditions, and e) high dental infection and loss rates, all point to a rapidly increasing, stressed, and relatively malnourished population which did not exploit nearby marine resources, experienced suboptimal living conditions, and could not reach its biological potential. Furthermore, the study of this group provides evidence of equal burial treatment of all age and sex categories, no dietary differences in terms of sex and status, and no sex differentiation in pathological conditions.     

Human occupation and geomorphological evolution of the Thessaloniki Plain (Greece) since mid Holocene

The plain of Thessaloniki is an important area from a historical standpoint. Numerous reigns and empires have occupied the area, leaving behind numerous archaeological remains. The literature and historical evidences show that the city of Pella was located near the sea and its harbor was the starting point of various conquests of famous kings such as Philip the 2nd and Alexander the Great. At present, the ancient capital is located 28 km inland the large fertile plain of Thessaloniki.     

New Titanium Connectors for the Columns Capitals of the Classical Temple of Apollo Epikourios

The columns of monumental buildings in ancient Greece were provided with a pair of timber “empolia” (plugs) and a “pole” (pin), at interfaces between stone members (drums, capital). In order to reinstate this connection system, in columns capitals that were repaired, during the ongoing restoration of the classical temple of Apollo Epikourios (Greece), new poles and empolia made of titanium were installed. The titanium elements were designed to have similar shape and shear strength to the estimated respective characteristics of the ancient poles and empolia. Moreover, their effect on the seismic behaviour of the temple columns was numerically investigated. The investigation showed that, within the range of strong earthquakes which are anticipated in the area of the monument, the installation of a single pole at the interface between the capital and the uppermost drum leads to limited reduction of the expected maximum and residual deformations of the column, without altering significantly the main characteristics of its rocking response. Furthermore, poles located at every column interface ensures significant limitation of the column residual deformations. Prior to implementation of the titanium poles and empolia, the main aspects of their design were verified through specially designed experiments.     

Archaeomagnetic versus luminescence methods: the case of an Early Byzantine ceramic workshop in Thessaloniki,Greece

In this contribution, we present a combined archaeomagnetic and luminescence study of archaeologically dated structures. The investigated area is a ceramic workshop comprising several Early Byzantine kilns. Based on (a) the archaeological–anthropogenic stratigraphy of the site, (b) the structural characteristics of the kilns and (c) the few ceramic findings revealed within their context, the operation of this brick and tile factory is approximately dated between the middle of the fifth century until the first decades of the sixth century AD. Three of the well-preserved workshop kilns have been studied archaeomagnetically. The full vector of the geomagnetic field, accompanied by rock magnetic analyses of the studied material, has been defined. The archaeomagnetic study revealed similar directions among the three kilns indicating and confirming their contemporary use. Additionally, several luminescence measurements were obtained on material from the same kilns. The dating of the site was performed with both methods. The archaeomagnetic dating is convergent with the archaeological estimation only when its upper limit is considered. Concerning the luminescence dating, the calculated ages (corrected for anomalous fading and for the ⁴⁰K content) with their standard deviations are convergent with the archaeological estimations for the first kiln, while for the other two, the results seem to be incompatible. The possible factors that provoked this divergence are thoroughly discussed.     

Crete as warriorhood: Visual explorations of social imaginaries in ‘crisis’ (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This paper explores contemporary Greek political praxis and social imagination through the study of Crete's position in engagements with the “crisis”. The essay employs the visual as an object and a method of analysis and examines a series of social spheres ranging from public protesting to televisual representation. The paper explores the cultural productivity of notions of native resistance in the current context as well as Cretan responses to the use of traditionalist idioms within the “crisis”.     

Hans Morgenthau and the Tragedy of the Nation-State

The cardinal role of tragedy in Morgenthau's theory of international politics has hardly gone unnoticed. Indeed there is now a considerable corpus of literature that established the importance of tragedy as a central concept around which Morgenthau's theory revolved. This paper builds upon this already developed framework and employs tragedy not as an analytical category but as a metaphor employed by Morgenthau to approach the nation-state. It is claimed that the idea of tragedy underpinned his notion of the nation-state inasmuch as it did his view of individual human beings. As such the notion of tragedy informed consistently Morgenthau's analyses of national tragedies that were like the self-defeating nationalism of Germany. It also informed his efforts to avert potential national tragedies from materialising as his attempts to influence US foreign policy demonstrated. It is finally claimed, that far from a descent into despair, Morgenthau's realism signified a conscious effort to go beyond the tragedy of the nation-state.