1,721,125 research outputs found
Site Effects from the Building Scale to the Seismic Microzonation Scale: Examples from the Experience of L’Aquila
No full textAbstractThis paper illustrates the site characterization for evaluating local ground motion amplifications at two sites in the urban area of L’Aquila, performed for the reconstruction of buildings damaged by the April 6, 2009 earthquake. The paper is focused on the comparison between results obtained from site investigations carried out at the building scale and from information contained in the seismic microzonation study. Local amplifications inferred from microzonation may be considerably different from those provided by ground response analyses based on punctual soil data, due to the complex geological setting and the marked variability in geotechnical properties of the foundation soils. The practice of using seismic microzonation data for deriving the seismic action on buildings, not infrequent in structural engineering design, should be avoided or considered with caution
Regulations and technology gap in Europe: The role of firm dynamics
No full textIn this paper, we develop a new firm-level measure of distance to the productivity frontier that accounts for international technology spillovers stemming from the use of imported intermediate goods. The trade-weighted technological distance to frontier is matched with sector- and country-level data on regulation and firm dynamics (entry and exit rates) of 16 European countries. Using our measure of trade-adjusted technology gap, we investigate the role of labour, capital, and product market regulatory frameworks in the technology catch-up process, gauging the effect of firms’ dynamics in mediating and moderating the impact of regulation on the technology gap.
Our study offers a novel perspective and insights to the analysis of the link between framework conditions and technological distance to frontier. While most scholars argue that less regulation always favours productivity growth and the diffusion of technology, our results provide a more nuanced picture. Deregulation is not a one-size-fits-all solution that leads to faster technology diffusion, instead heterogeneity in business dynamism and countries’ regulatory structures need to be considered
Influence of the lateral spreading on the seismic dilatometer (SDMT) parameters: a case study in Christchurch, New Zealand
No full textThe use of “simplified procedures” for the study of lateral spreading could be misleading, and it is debatable whether or not lateral spreading case histories should be included in liquefaction triggering databases. In this context, the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) provides several examples of liquefaction and lateral spreading, as identified by the post-earthquake reconnaissance campaigns. Major to moderate lateral spread displacements were observed in the proximity of the Avon River in Christchurch (New Zealand), within about 100-200 m from the fluvial axis and with maximum crack widths of over 200 mm. This paper documents the results of a series of seismic dilatometer tests (SDMT) performed along a section that crosses the Wainoni suburb from the Avon River, where lateral spreading was severe, to farther from the river, where liquefaction features were relatively minor during the CES. Profiles of the SDMT parameters, especially of the horizontal stress index (KD), show significantly higher values when the sounding is close to the river but insignificant changes at greater distances from the river. Increases in KD may be related to an increase in the lateral stress in the subsoil induced by compression of the lateral spread mass near the river. Because the flat dilatometer test (DMT) is more sensitive to changes in lateral stress than other in-situ tests, this increase in lateral stress during lateral spreading may not have been recognized using other test methods. Although post-liquefaction in-situ testing is commonly used to develop liquefaction triggering databases, the observed increase
in KD suggests that the DMT-based triggering curves should only include post-liquefaction case histories with no lateral spreading. Similar precautions may be necessary for other in-situ tests after additional research
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
R&D profitability: the role of risk and Knightian uncertainty
No full textThis paper provides the first empirical attempt of linking firms’ profits and investment in R&D revisiting Knight’s (Risk, uncertainty and profit,Hart, Schaffner & Marx, Boston,1921) distinction between uncertainty and risk. Along with the risky profit-maximising scenario, identifying a second, off-setting, unpredictable bias that leads to heterogeneous returns to R&D investments is crucial to fully understand the drivers of corporate profits. Consistently with the Knightian theory that relates risk to profitability, we model the impact of risk and uncertainty on profits and provide a first empirical attempt to model the effect of ambiguity, a particular type of uncertainty,on R&D returns
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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