1,720,958 research outputs found
Validation and extension of a statistical usability model for unreinforced masonry buildings with different ground motion intensity measures
Full text linkPredicting the usability of a building, i.e. its condition of being occupiable after a seismic event, is relevant both in a post-emergency situation and within a risk-reduction policy. In the past an empirical model was proposed, involving the computation of a usability index based on macroseismic intensity and on seven building parameters, combined by means of regression coefficients and weights. The statistical model was calibrated on data of about 60,000 buildings affected by the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake in Italy. Therefore, it is useful to validate the model against data from the 2002 Molise earthquake in Italy. Good agreement between predicted and observed usability is shown, despite the fact that in 2002, macroseismic intensity was attributed to an entire municipality instead of a more limited area. Moreover, given the current availability of the shakemaps for the 2009 event, a novel model replacing conventional macroseismic intensity by an instrumental intensity measure is proposed. Three ground motion parameters are considered here: peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, and spectral pseudoacceleration at a period of vibration of 0.3 s. The model has been streamlined by reducing the building parameters from seven to five: building position within the structural aggregate, roof type, construction timespan, structural class, and pre-existing damage to structural elements. Peak ground acceleration and spectral pseudoacceleration are shown to be less effective than peak ground velocity in predicting observed usability. Therefore, usability probability matrices are computed in terms of peak ground velocity; the model is presented with all necessary coefficients and weights, and a worked-out example shows how to apply the procedure
Verification of a usability model for unreinforced masonry buildings with data from the 2002 Molise, southern Italy, earthquake
No full textIn this paper a methodology for assessing the usability of unreinforced masonry buildings, calibrated using the observed data collected after the 2009 L'Aquila, Southern Italy, Earthquake, is tested using data and performances surveyed after the 2002 Molise seismic event. The methodology is based on the computation of a Usability Index calculated as a weighted sum of seven parameters arranged in categories of decreasing usability. Each parameter represents a structural feature of the construction that may affect the building earthquake response. The Usability Index is correlated with the macroseismic intensity I MCS and Usability Probability Matrices, in terms of fully usable buildings, temporarily or partially unusable buildings, unusable buildings are derived. The application of the methodology on Molise data is rather successful especially with reference to the prediction of unusable buildings, despite the model was calibrated on a set of buildings belonging to a different region. The limited error can be at least partially explained in light of the differences in macroseismic intensity attribution
Typological damage fragility curves for unreinforced masonry buildings affected by the 2009 l'aquila, Italy earthquake
Full text linkBackground: Seismic risk mitigation has become a crucial issue due to the great number of casualties and large economic losses registered after recent earthquakes. In particular, unreinforced masonry constructions built before modern seismic codes, common in Italy and in other seismic-prone areas, are characterized by great vulnerability. In order to implement mitigation policies, analytical tools are necessary to generate scenario simulations. Methods: Therefore, data collected during inspections after the 2009 L’Aquila, Italy earthquake are used to derive novel fragility functions. Compared to previous studies, data are interpreted accounting for the presence of buildings not inspected due to those being undamaged. An innovative building damage state is proposed and is based on the response of different structural elements recorded in the survey form: vertical structures, horizontal structures, stairs, roof, and partition walls. In the suggested formulation, the combination of their performance is weighted based on typical reparation techniques and on the relative size of the structural elements, estimated from a database of complete geometrical surveys developed specifically for this study. Moreover, the proposed building damage state estimates earthquake-related damage by removing the preexisting damage reported in the inspection form. Results: Lognormal fragility curves, in terms of building damage state grade as a function of typological classes and peak ground acceleration, derived maximizing their likelihood and their merits compared with previous studies are highlighted. Conclusion: The correction of the database to account for uninspected buildings delivers curves that are less “stiff” and reach the median for lower peak ground acceleration values. The building feature that influences most the fragility is the masonry quality
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
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
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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