Conceptual Debts: Modern Architecture and Neo-Thomism in Postwar America

This article analyzes the formative role of medieval theology and aesthetics in the development of postwar American architecture by focusing on the architectural theory and practice of Mies van der Rohe and Jean Labatut, both of whom became actively interested in Neo-Thomism from the late 1940s. More specifically, a closer look at their reliance on the work of Jacques Maritain, the preeminent promotor of Neo-Thomism, sheds light on the transmission and circulation of old and new concepts within twentieth-century architectural theory. By revealing how Maritain’s ideas helped to codify the latter and thus exposed the premodern ideas at the heart of modern architecture, I argue that modernist aesthetics should be re-evaluated with regards to its definition of “the new” and its emphasis on the breakdown or mutation of premodern frames of reference.     

An Analytical Study on the Seismic Vulnerability of Masonry Buildings in India

Two analytical models for unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings are proposed with the aim to simulate their seismic response and to estimate corresponding vulnerability functions. The proposed models are implemented in SAP 2000 nonlinear software to obtain capacity curve parameters for representative Indian URM buildings, based on a field survey and statistical analysis. Vulnerability functions are estimated using the obtained capacity curves. Damage Probability Matrices (DPMs) are obtained using the approximate PGA-intensity correlation relationship as per Indian seismic building code and are compared with the commonly used intensity scales and empirical damage data observed after the 2001 Bhuj earthquake.     

A SPATIAL MULTIVARIATE COUNT MODEL FOR FIRM LOCATION DECISIONS

This paper proposes a new spatial multivariate model to predict the count of new businesses at a county level in the state of Texas. Several important factors including agglomeration economies/diseconomies, industrial specialization indices, human capital, fiscal conditions, transportation infrastructure, and land development characteristics are considered. The results highlight the need to use a multivariate modeling system for the analysis of business counts by sector type, while also accommodating spatial dependence effects in business counts.     

China,India and Pakistan: models for an intermediate stage towards disarmament?

As the USA and Russia seek to reduce their nuclear arsenals en route to universal disarmament, they are hamstrung by the lack of a doctrinal basis for minimum deterrence. The cold war debate between Albert Wohlstetter and Patrick Blackett remains valid today. Though Wohlstetter's ideas, which produced large arsenals, remain influential, an examination of the history of nuclear rivalries shows that Blackett's thinking—offering security with more compact arsenals—is closer to reality. The minimalist doctrines and practices of China, India and, to a lesser extent, Pakistan offer useful lessons for the USA and Russia. But the Asian powers themselves need to iron out the inconsistencies in their thinking, which harbours elements of Wohlstetter's thought, if they are to be truly useful models that the bigger powers can emulate.