On the earliest contacts between Dubrovnik and England

According to tradition, King Richard I of England visited Dubrovnik (Ragusa) in 1192. Much of the evidence for this visit comes from a dispute at the end of the sixteenth century concerning the rights of the abbot of Lokrum. Medieval evidence can also be taken into contribution, notably the comments of the English chronicles of the early thirteenth century and the surviving documentation for the career of a Ragusan archbishop who later became bishop of Carlisle. The author concludes that King Richard's visit was a reality.     

Mode Choice in a Hub-and-Spoke Network: A Zero-One Linear Programming Approach

While research has tackled the hub-and-spoke network design problem, that research has overlooked the air-truck modal integration issue which is a common feature of real express delivery systems. This paper devises integer linear programs to represent the mode and route assignment aspects of the operational problem. The model is solved under four different levels of delivery schedule, and the results show that as the promised delivery schedule is relaxed, not only does the use of truck routes become more desirable, but also interesting adjustments in mode and hub assignment occur. Consider the case of hubs in Los Angeles and Dayton. As the time constraints are relaxed, cities such as Minneapolis and New Orleans originally linked by air to Los Angeles, switch to Dayton because cheaper truck routes become feasible.     

"承上制下"与"从左转右":北宋物资转输区域的互动——以东南地区为中心

北宋时期,朝廷在淮南地区运河沿岸州军设置转般仓,这些州军具有了转般粮食物资进京的功能;又先后置发运司于真州和泗州,使其开始具有总管东南漕运事务的职能;盐利也集中于此,同时亦掌控着地方物资的上供经费.其他物资转输区域则经常出现改变转运方式的情形,中转区域改变了起始区域输出物资的运输方式,减轻了部分运输成本.起始区域在加重中转区域负担的同时,亦对中转区域的经济繁荣有促进作用.     

Micro-CT-assisted determination of the shattering and non-shattering phenotypes of charred rice spikelet bases from archaeological sites: a new methodological approach

The selection of a non-shattering phenotype is a pivotal change in the process of rice domestication. However, current research is heavily restricted by the preservation conditions of macro-plant remains in early and middle Neolithic sites, as very limited well-preserved rice spikelet bases could be retrieved. We present a non-destructive method based on micro-computed tomographic (CT) scanning, which could provide detailed visualization of the internal structures of charred spikelet bases and efficiently discriminate the shattering and non-shattering phenotypes of rice spikelet bases according to the abundance of fusiform echinate phytoliths. It could be widely applied in different contexts, especially those poorly preserved specimens and tempers in pottery sherds, greatly improving our knowledge of rice domestication.     

史前漆膜的分析鉴定技术研究

研究了漆膜分析的三种主要方法：裂解质谱,红外光谱,裂解色谱。通过大量实验比较了各种方法的适应性和可靠性,建立了以裂解色谱／富里叶红外光谱联用技术来鉴定漆膜,并对影响裂解反应的因素及色借条件进行了深入的研究,获得了可以重复,具有特征性的漆膜高分辨裂解色谱图,同时对裂解色谱图中主要组分作了定性鉴定,提高了裂解色谱法分析漆膜的可靠性。该方法具有灵敏度高,样品用量小,共存杂质影响小,操作简便等优点。应用核分析技术对河姆渡,良诸庙前遗址出土的二件红色涂料样品进行了鉴定。分析结果证实了河姆渡出土的红色涂料木碗上的涂料是我国至今发现的最早的生漆漆膜。     

Making waves: the valuation of innovations in San Sebastian’s surf economy

This study takes a valuation perspective to study how and where products and innovations are gaining ‘economic significance’ in the contemporary economy. Building on a recent research stream in economic geography and urban and regional studies, it highlights that the economic value of many products is not formed within production systems alone, but relies on co-constructed connections between production and consumption systems, playing out across multiple geographies. It distinguishes between three types of economic valuation pathways – namely technical, experiential and identity-based – which although analytically distinct may actually build and reinforce one another. This approach is empirically illustrated with the case of the surf-related economy in the city of San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain), which is used to make a broader point about the growing relevance of a valuation approach to understand competitive advantage and economic renewal in localized production systems.     

A High-Performance Quadrilateral Flat Shell Element for Seismic Collapse Simulation of Tall Buildings and Its Implementation in OpenSees

Shear walls are important lateral force-resistant components of tall buildings. Hence, a reliable numerical model that can accurately represent the mechanical characteristics and large deformations of shear walls is critical for realistic collapse simulation of tall buildings. Based on the theory of generalized conforming element, a high-performance quadrilateral flat shell element, NLDKGQ, accounting for the large deformation using the updated Lagrangian formulation, is proposed herein and implemented in OpenSees. The reliability of NLDKGQ is validated using classical benchmark problems and reinforced concrete specimens. In addition, its capability in simulating the collapse of a tall building is also demonstrated.     

Earthquake Resilience of Reinforced Concrete Structural Walls with Replaceable “Fuses”

The concept of providing a fuse in a structural system has been both developed and investigated over the past few years (e.g., the use of replaceable links in eccentrically braced frames or the use of replaceable links in the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge). This paper presents a new coupling beam with a creative fuse installed in the mid-span of a steel-concrete composite beam via an end plate and high-strength bolts. First, a practical design methodology of a replaceable coupling beam is presented. Next, the seismic behavior of the proposed fuse is tested and evaluated, and two structural wall specimens with or without a fuse are designed and fabricated according to the proposed design methods. The two specimens possess similar shear capacities under large-scale cyclic loading, and the walls of the two specimens show similar failure modes; however, the new walls exhibit slightly lower levels of damage than the conventional walls. In particular, the inelastic deformation and damage of replaceable coupling beams are mainly concentrated in the fuse, whereas the non-yield segment and the beam-wall pier interfaces remain nearly intact and produce only slight damage, which is beneficial regarding the replacement of the fuse in post-earthquake events.     

Establishing a ‘Cultural Base’? The Creation of the Fulbright Program in Portugal

This paper deals with the cultural and educational relations between the United States and Portugal during the Cold War. It is built upon the premise that cultural policies and cultural relations between states are a fundamental part of international relations. History of International Relations, therefore, should overcome an analysis based only upon political and diplomatic dimensions to address what can also be referred to as ‘cultural diplomacy’. The Cold War period, because of its historical features, is particularly relevant to the study of processes of cultural diplomacy and some authors even consider it as the ‘golden age’ of cultural diplomacy.¹1. William Glade, ‘Issues in the Genesis and Organization of Cultural Diplomacy: A Brief Critical History’ in The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society (Winter 2010), vol. 39, issue 4, 242. For cultural diplomacy during the Cold War see Jessica Gienow-Hecht, ‘Culture and the Cold War in Europe’ in Leffler, Melvyn & Westad, Odd Arne, The Cambridge History of the Cold War Vol. i, (Cambridge University Press, 2010), 398–419; Akira Iriye, ‘Culture and International History’ in Michael J. Hogan and Thomas G. Paterson (ed), Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004); Richard T. Arndt, The First Resort Of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy In The Twentieth Century (Virgínia: Potomac Books, 2005).View all notes