IRIS - UNIRSM (Univ. degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino)
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Free vibrations of sandwich plates with damaged soft-core and non-uniform mechanical properties: Modeling and finite element analysis
No full textThe paper aims to investigate the natural frequencies of sandwich plates by means of a Finite Element (FE) formulation based on the Reissner-Mindlin Zig-zag (RMZ) theory. The structures are made of a damaged isotropic soft-core and two external stiffer orthotropic face-sheets. These skins are strengthened at the nanoscale level by randomly oriented Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and are reinforced at the microscale stage by oriented straight fibers. These reinforcing phases are included in a polymer matrix and a three-phase approach based on the Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka scheme and on the Halpin-Tsai approach, which is developed to compute the overall mechanical properties of the composite material. A non-uniform distribution of the reinforcing fibers is assumed along the thickness of the skin and is modeled analytically by means of peculiar expressions given as a function of the thickness coordinate. Several parametric analyses are carried out to investigate the mechanical behavior of these multi-layered structures depending on the damage features, through-the-thickness distribution of the straight fibers, stacking sequence, and mass fraction of the constituents. Some final remarks are presented to provide useful observations and design criteria
Seismic response of bridge piers on pile groups for different soil damping models and lumped parameter representations of the foundation
No full textPre-cyborg, l’ora del piede tecnologico
No full textOltre alla capacità di adeguare l’ambiente ai propri bisogni, una caratteristica che contraddistingue da sempre l’homo sapiens è quella di modificare sé stesso per adeguarsi all’am- biente circostante. L’alterazione intenzionale del proprio corpo a scopo simbolico, come mnemotecnica o come aumento delle prestazioni desiderate, coinvolge e dà vita alla tecnica. L’innova- zione tecnologica viene pertanto a mano a mano interpretata con il corpo umano e con esso si relaziona da sempre. Anche la rivoluzione prodotta dalla diffusione economica e dalla minia- turizzazione delle tecnologie abilitanti viene qui letta per la capacità dell’uomo contemporaneo di indossare e progressiva- mente integrare nel corpo questa tecnologia. In questo stato attuale dell’innovazione, particolare attenzione viene focalizzata sul piede come spazio di applicazione delle tecnologie; questo grazie alle caratteristiche anatomiche e funzionali proprie e a quelle dei dispositivi che storicamente lo avvolgono e proteg- gono. Il piede, in questa fase, viene indicato come depositario di attenzioni rilevanti del design che succedono alle attenzioni per la tecnologia wearable e precedono quelle su un futuro in cui tecnologia e corpo si fonderanno in un tutt’uno organi- smo-percezione. L’articolo spiega i motivi di questa attenzione per il piede, richiamando gli studi che analizzano la relazione tra movimento del corpo e percezione. L’individuazione della danza, come campo della ricerca per lo studio delle relazioni tra tecnologia digitale e corpo umano, mette in risalto i modi in cui gli apparati progettati e applicati al corpo possano influire nelle azioni umane e quindi nelle capacità percettive della realtà in cui i soggetti sono immersi. Una rassegna di design applicato al piede attraverso le tecnologie abilitanti completa l’articolo e identifica le costanti che sembrano pilotare questa tendenza in atto.Beyond the ability to adapt the environment to his own needs, a characteristic that has always distinguished homo sapiens is that of modifying himself to adapt to the surrounding environment. The intentional alteration of one’s body for symbolic purposes, such as mnemonics or as an increase in desired performance, involves and gives life to the technology. Technological innovation is therefore step-by-step interpreted through the human body and it has always been related with the body in some way. Even the revolution produced by economic diffusion and the miniaturization of enabling technologies is interpreted here in terms of the ability of contemporary human beings to wear and progressively integrate this technology into the body. In this current state of innovation, particular attention is focused on the foot as a space for the application of technologies. This is thanks to its very particular anatomical and functional characteristics and to those of the devices that historically wrap and protect it. The foot, in this phase, is indicated as a repository of relevant design focuses that follow the attention previously paid to wearable technology and precede those regarding a future in which technology and body will merge into a single organism-perception. The article explains the reasons for this attention to the foot, recalling the studies that analyze the relationship between body movement and perception. The identification of dance as a field of research for the study of the relations between digital technology and the human body, highlights the ways in which the apparatuses designed and applied to the body can influence human actions and therefore the perceptive capacity of reality in which the subjects are immersed. A design review applied to the foot through enabling technologies completes the article and identifies the constants that seem to drive this current trend
Design and Communities: Exploring rural territories
No full textCommunity Design is the result of a natural and healthy evolution in the broader sphere of design. While on the one hand design today still directs significant attention, care and resources to the design of objects, services and consumer products, sometimes useful and sustainable, sometimes neither useful nor ethical, on the other hand youngest designers invest in virtuous cultural, environmental and social processes of mediation, reconfiguration and interaction between communities and the territories they belong to, with a more humanistic than technocratic approach. A field in which the designer cooperates closely with local residents in multidisciplinary groups, enriched with new experts in the humanities such as philosophers, geographers, anthropologists and ethnographers. Through some comparative case studies of projects run in Lebanon and Italy, the paper wants to discuss the importance for designers to use an experiential and anthropological approach for the development of new items, using the narrative tool to embrace the entire symbolic and rhetorical form of rural traditions in their projects. Man as part of the ecosystem, man understood as an organism within organisms, immersed in a continuous and swirling morphing that can shape our work in a reciprocal relational interaction with the things themselves
Toward increasing affective commitment in SME strategic networks
No full textPurpose
To hinder the high failure rate of strategic networks, recently scholars have concentrated on behavioral aspects such as trust, conflict management, resolution and commitment as fundamental antecedents of strategic network performance. Within this context, this paper focuses on the antecedents of affective commitment, based on the rationale that an increasing affective commitment cannot occur naturally during network evolution. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand how affective commitment is achieved along the development process of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) strategic networks.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the aim of the paper, a qualitative approach based on multiple case studies was used. Two case studies of Italian SME strategic networks having an increasing and decreasing level of affective commitment were selected to have a base of comparison, following a “polar types” theoretical sampling approach.
Findings
By comparing two cases in which partners show a different affective commitment along the network development process, this study allows providing a twofold contribution. The former is to unveil the most relevant elements partners may rely on to achieve an increasing affective commitment and the latter is to propose a dynamic approach toward the study of affective commitment in SME strategic networks.
Research limitations/implications
Considering the limited generalizability of this exploratory study due to the analysis of two cases, future studies with a larger number of strategic multipartner networks can expand the understanding of the dynamics leading to increasing commitment.
Practical implications
The paper provides a series of practical guidelines for managers to create a trusting environment with a high level of affective commitment within the context of SME networks, which can contribute to their survival.
Originality/value
The originality of the study consists in having adopted a dynamic approach toward studying affective commitment in the context of SME networks, which resulted in the identification of relevant factors that can lead to increasing affective commitment
Virtual reconstruction of an ancient Greek pan flute
No full textThis paper presents ongoing work aimed at realizing an interactive museum installation that aids museum visitors learn about a musical instrument that is part of the exhibit: an exceptionally well preserved ancient pan flute, most probably of greek origins. The paper first discusses the approach to non-invasive analysis on the instrument, which was based on 3D scanning using computerized tomography (CT scan), and provided the starting point to inspect the geometry and some aspects of the construction of the instrument. A tentative reconstruction of the instrument tuning is then presented, which is based on the previous analysis and on elements of theory of ancient Greek music. Finally, the paper presents the design approach and the first results regarding the interactive museum installation that recreates the virtual flute and allows intuitive access to several related research facets. Copyright: © 2016 Federico Avanzini et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
