Holocene climatic change and past Irish societal response

The extent to which North Atlantic Holocene climatic perturbations influenced past human societies is an area of considerable uncertainty and fierce debate. Ireland is ideally placed to help resolve this issue, being occupied for over 9000 yr and located on the eastern Atlantic seaboard, a region dominated by westerly airflow. Irish bog and lake tree populations provide unambiguous evidence of major shifts in surface moisture through the Holocene similar to cycles recorded in the marine realm of the North Atlantic, indicating significant changes in the latitude and intensity of zonal atmospheric circulation across the region. To test for human response to these cycles we summed the probabilities of 465 radiocarbon ages obtained from Irish archaeological contexts and observe enhanced archaeological visibility during periods of sustained wet conditions. These results suggest either increasing density of human populations in key, often defensive locations, and/or the development of subsistence strategies to overcome changing conditions, the latter recently proposed as a significant factor in avoiding societal collapse. Regardless, we demonstrate environmental change is a significantly more important factor in influencing human activity in the landscape than has hitherto been acknowledged.     

关于《韩愈故里问题研究的新证》——同程峰教授商榷

不论是修武县2006年发现的1956年续修的《韩文公门谱》,还是修武出土的与韩愈有关的5块石碑,都是修武韩氏伪造的,伪造年代的上限为辛亥革命,下限为1956年。之所以伪造《门谱》和石碑,可能是修武韩氏为了能够达到恢复他们韩愈后裔的称号,并纠正乾隆年以来"修武韩氏永不承袭"圣旨错误的目的。     

《绿林荫下》的生态女性主义倾向解读

《绿林荫下》是英国著名作家托马斯·哈代“威塞克斯”系列小说中的第一部作品。本论文尝试从自然的化身、女性和男性的和谐统一以及女性对父权制度的反抗三个方面入手,通过对《绿林荫下》的生态女性主义解读,指出托马斯·哈代热爱大自然,同情女性的生态女性主义文学创作倾向。     

Derivation of New Equations for Prediction of Principal Ground-Motion Parameters using M5′ Algorithm

In this study, M5′ model tree is used to develop a model for prediction of peak time-domain strong ground motion parameters. The main advantages of model trees are that can be easily developed and their formulas are simple and understandable. Selected data from Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) are used to train the proposed model. Earthquake magnitude, earthquake source to site distance, average shear-wave velocity, and faulting mechanisms are used as input parameters. The developed M5′ based formulas are compared with those of well-known empirical and soft computing based models. The accuracy of the model is evaluated by statistical error parameters.     

Interview with Romano Prodi

On the occasion of the Conference on the State of Italy, held at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies on 29–30 October 2013, David Kertzer interviewed former two-time Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Their focus was on the evolution of Prodi's involvement in Italian government and politics. This first in what is planned to be two such interviews examines Prodi's initial move from an economics professor at the University of Bologna interested in the study of political economy and industrial policy, to a major figure in implementing industrial policy in Italy. It looks at his brief stint as Minister of Industry under Giulio Andreotti, his founding of the influential industrial study group Nomisma, and then his presidency of the Institute for Industrial Reconstruction (IRI), Italy's giant holding company. With the crisis of the Italian political system in the early 1990s, Prodi was central to the creation of a new centre-left coalition, named L'Ulivo (the Olive Tree), an experience he recalls here, along with his first experience as Prime Minister, from 1996 to 1998.     

Modelling Uncertainties of Italian Code-Conforming Structures for the Purpose of Seismic Response Analysis

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the multivariate statistical model of the structure-related modelling uncertainty, developed with reference to reinforced concrete, masonry, steel, and seismically isolated buildings, within the framework of the RINTC project. The model describes the variability of material properties as well as the uncertainty associated with the adopted response models. Specific aspects of each structural typology are also discussed, with a focus on the statistical dependence of the random variables in the model. Finally, the paper describes also the efficient sampling procedure adopted. Effect of model uncertainty on response for each typology are discussed in the corresponding papers within this special issue dedicated to the RINTC project.     

甘肃出土糟朽木器材质鉴定及特征分析

甘肃木器是反映河西走廊古丝绸之路文化、历史和社会重要的珍贵遗产。武威、高台作为甘肃木器重要的发现地,出土器物不仅类型、风格迥异,而且器物材质形态、结构特征明显,属于典型的糟朽木器类型。研究工作从木材学的角度出发,应用生物切片技术,对出土器物材质树种、特征及特性进行了科学鉴定和剖析。鉴定结果表明,树种类型有:①云杉;②冷杉;③圆柏;④落叶松;⑤胡杨;⑥榆树;⑦香椿;同时采用扫描电镜、X射线衍射分析技术对糟朽木质纤维显微形态、结构进行了观察和分析,分析结果表明:出土糟朽木器木质结构已发生降解、腐变,其材质形态特征及特性会随着后期保存环境及其因素的影响、腐蚀而频繁变化或骤变。最后,分析工作对糟朽木器纤维素结晶度、降解度等相关物理参数进行了实验测定。测定结果表明:出土实物纤维素结晶度约为58%,而纤维降解度达到40%以上。综合以上鉴定结果和实验数据,得出以下结论:①甘肃木器制作材质涉及的树种种类较多,基本以云杉材为主,而青海云杉在祁连山林区分布广泛,为其制作用材提供了丰富的天然材料;②材质糟朽及纤维严重降解是甘肃木器重要的材质特征,表现为纤维(纤维素、半纤维素)含量降低呈现木素含量升高,而木素含量的相对增大,则是导致材质颜色变深的重要原因;③受糟朽器物自身含水率的变化、影响,其材质特征具有脆弱性和不稳定性,而且改变、变化过程通常具有滞后性,导致结果往往是致命的;④纤维素结晶度和纤维降解度是衡量和评估糟朽木器材质健康状况重要的物理参数,二者之间存在关联关系。本研究结果可为糟朽木器形态与结构研究提供科学依据和技术支撑。     

What a difference a skidder makes: The role of technology in the origins of the industrialization of tree harvesting systems

We examine in this paper the concurrent appearance of the first two woods machines--the skidder and forwarder. By replacing the horse they initiated the industrial revolution in tree harvesting. We describe their invention and technological development. We then assess their diffusion in the woods, revealing the greater success of the skidder. We demonstrate that this cannot be accounted for solely in terms of their respective technologies. Instead, we argue that the interaction of technology with the social organization of their respective harvesting systems must be analyzed. By doing so, we find that the skidder altered that social organization whereas the forwarder did not. This paper, contributing to the understanding of an important area of economic activity which has been seriously understudied, illustrates concretely that comprehending technology requires locating it in the social organization of work.     

家族内人口与生活:以浦江义门郑氏为例

《(浦江)义门郑氏宗谱》拥有一个家族中以男性人口为主的详细资料,具有重要的研究价值,对于了解该家族的人口数量、人口增减的速度、职业、化状况、婚姻状况、寿命等等,都具有重要的研究价值。藉此数据为蓝本,加以比排分析,为后人了解一个家族的婚姻状况、平均寿命、化、职业等都可以展开新的视野。     

Tree-rings and archaeology: some problems explained

Some uncertainty amongst archaeologists about dendrochronology has prompted an explanation of some of the points which cause most concern. These include the probability of obtaining a date for a wood sample and the reliability and accuracy of that date. Uses of tree-ring analysis, other than for dating, are also mentioned.