8,747 research outputs found
ADAM SMITH'S OPTIMISTIC TELEOLOGICAL VIEW OF HISTORY
No full textAdam Smith's four-stage theory provides the framework for his writings on history. The fourth stage is the commercial epoch; the culmination of history in this stage is a key component in the conventional interpretation of Adam Smith as a prophet of commercialism. In two historical case studies Smith shows the capacity of commercial society to regenerate itself. This potent capacity suggests that commercial society is inevitable. At a certain point in time it also overcomes the major obstacles to its permanence. Smith's philosophy of history anticipates the end of history views of Kant and Hegel.Political Economy,
How Might Adam Smith Pay Professors Today?
No full textAdam Smith’s proposal for paying professors was intended to induce increased faculty knowledge. If students have imperfect information about what they learn, and universities can only imperfectly measure the input of faculty time in student learning, publications may be used to measure faculty knowledge. If professors’ ability to publish is positively related to their ability to produce student learning, which universities can imperfectly measure, publications may be necessary to attract more able professors. Since research signals faculty knowledge, schools that do not value publications per se could require higher publication standards and pay higher wages than schools that value only publications.
ADAM SMITH'S VIEW OF HISTORY: CONSISTENT OR PARADOXICAL?
No full textThe conventional interpretation of Adam Smith is that he is a prophet of commercialism. The liberal capitalist reading of Smith is consistent with the view that history culminates in commercial society. The first part of the article develops this optimistic interpretation of Smith's view of history. Smith implies that commercial society is the end of history because 1) it supplies the ends of nature that he identifies; 2) it is inevitable; and 3) it is permanent. The second part of the article shows that Smith has some dark moments in his writings where he seems to reject completely such teleological notions. In this more civic humanist mood he confesses that commercial society does not supply the ends of nature, nor is it inevitable, nor is it permanent. Both views exist in Smith and the commentator is forced to choose between passages in Smith's work in order to support a particular interpretation of the former's view of history.Political Economy,
Adam Oehlenschläger
No full textThis is a short presentation of the main works of the Danish author Adam Oehlenschläger
Adam Smith and Roman Servitudes
No full textThis essay is a preprint of an article that appeared at: Tijdschrift voor Rechstsgeschiedenis, 72 (2004), 327–57.This essay discusses Adam Smith historical jurisprudence and his use of Roman law materials in his Lectures on Jurisprudence. It argues that Smith found it difficult to maintain his theory of legal development in the face of a highly developed body of Roman law literature
THE THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF ADAM SMITH'S WORK
No full textThe paper will discuss the theological foundation to Smith's writings. Teleology, final causes and divine design were initially seen as central to understanding Smith's writings. Over time, this view fell out of fashion. In the period after World War II, with the rise of positivism, commentators tended to overlook or downplay this interpretation. In the last decade, or so, teleology has started to be restored to its former position as an essential element in understanding Smith. After spelling out Smith's teleology and his view of final causes, divine design and the ends of nature, we try to explain the Panglossian nature of the 'new theistic view' of Smith. While our view differs somewhat, we agree with the essence of the 'new view' claim: a theological view exists in Smith which underpins his moral and economic theories.Political Economy,
Seismic fragility and risk assessment of large bridge portfolios: efficient mechanical approaches based on multi-source data collection and integration
No full textIn earthquake-prone countries, most of the existing bridges were designed in the past without appropriate anti-seismic regulations and can induce important direct or indirect losses if subjected to severe seismic ground shaking. The main challenges in the extensive seismic risk assessment of existing bridges are related to the large number of structures to be inspected and the limited available resources. Therefore, time- and cost-saving approaches for providing seismic risk metrics on existing bridges are needed. This dissertation investigates efficient methodologies for bridge-specific seismic risk assessment within portfolio analysis by using multi-source data integration and simplified mechanical approaches.
A methodology for multi-source data collection is described. The applicability of remote-sensing data in populating inventory for structural analysis purposes is discussed. A procedure for using Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems and photogrammetry to retrieve exhaustive structural information is presented.
The effectiveness of displacement-based assessment approaches to be used together with the capacity spectrum method (CSM) for seismic performance assessment is analysed, considering continuous-deck reinforced-concrete (RC) and steel truss multi-span bridges.
A fragility analysis methodology based on cloud analysis using the CSM results is also presented. The CSM is applied with real (i.e. recorded) ground-motion spectra (as opposed to code-based conventional spectra) to explicitly consider record-to-record variability.
A seismic risk assessment framework combining the proposed efficient data collection and simplified probabilistic seismic assessment methodologies is finally presented. It accounts for the influence of knowledge-based uncertainties associated with an initial incomplete data collection. The proposed approach is applied and tested on eight simply-supported RC bridges of the Basilicata national road network
Failure analysis of reinforced concrete elevated storage tanks
No full text[EN] Assessing the condition of existing structures, with a particular focus on analysing the degradation level, is a complex issue for those responsible for maintenance and monitoring. Elevated storage tanks (water towers) are particularly prone to suffering obsolescence and degradation. As many of these structures are no longer in use and in a poor state of conservation, researchers and local administrators need new tools to achieve a complete overview of the tank condition on a regional scale with limited resources.
This paper presents a large-scale structural degradation analysis on the specific structural typology of storage tanks. Firstly, the tanks performances and degradation level are analysed by using a multicriteria approach useful to include both qualitative and quantitative data in the analysis. Secondly, 32 case studies in Valencia (Spain) are investigated to demonstrate the method's potential. Thirdly, the results of the degradation analysis were used to identify the most frequent damage, the related causes and the structures in the worst conditions. Finally, the best maintenance and intervention strategies to extend the tanks' remaining life and protect them from further damage are proposed.Sangiorgio, V.; Uva, G.; Adam, JM.; Scarcelli, L. (2020). Failure analysis of reinforced concrete elevated storage tanks. Engineering Failure Analysis. 115:1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2020.104637S116115Catbas, F. N., & Aktan, A. E. (2002). Condition and Damage Assessment: Issues and Some Promising Indices. Journal of Structural Engineering, 128(8), 1026-1036. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9445(2002)128:8(1026)Dağdeviren, M., & Yüksel, İ. (2008). Developing a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model for behavior-based safety management. Information Sciences, 178(6), 1717-1733. doi:10.1016/j.ins.2007.10.016Das, S., & Chew, M. Y. L. (2011). Generic Method of Grading Building Defects Using FMECA to Improve Maintainability Decisions. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 25(6), 522-533. doi:10.1061/(asce)cf.1943-5509.0000206Faggiano, B., Formisano, A., De Gregorio, D., De Lucia, T., & Mazzolani, F. M. (2011). A Quick Level Methodology for the Volcanic Vulnerability Assessment of Buildings. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 82, 639-644. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.82.639Porco, F., Fiore, A., Uva, G., & Raffaele, D. (2014). The influence of infilled panels in retrofitting interventions of existing reinforced concrete buildings: a case study. Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 11(2), 162-175. doi:10.1080/15732479.2013.862726Chew, M. Y. L., Tan, S. S., & Kang, K. H. (2004). Building Maintainability—Review of State of the Art. Journal of Architectural Engineering, 10(3), 80-87. doi:10.1061/(asce)1076-0431(2004)10:3(80)Straub, A. (2009). Dutch standard for condition assessment of buildings. Structural Survey, 27(1), 23-35. doi:10.1108/02630800910941665António Costa Branco de Oliveira Pe, J., Ângelo Vasconcelos de Paiva, J., & José Dâmaso Santos Matos Vilhena, A. (2008). Portuguese method for building condition assessment. Structural Survey, 26(4), 322-335. doi:10.1108/02630800810906566Serre, D., Peyras, L., Tourment, R., & Diab, Y. (2008). Levee Performance Assessment Methods Integrated in a GIS to Support Planning Maintenance Actions. Journal of Infrastructure Systems, 14(3), 201-213. doi:10.1061/(asce)1076-0342(2008)14:3(201)Sangiorgio, V., Uva, G., Fatiguso, F., & Adam, J. M. (2019). A new index to evaluate exposure and potential damage to RC building structures in coastal areas. Engineering Failure Analysis, 100, 439-455. doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2019.02.052Sangiorgio, V., Uva, G., & Fatiguso, F. (2018). User Reporting–Based Semeiotic Assessment of Existing Building Stock at the Regional Scale. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 32(6), 04018079. doi:10.1061/(asce)cf.1943-5509.0001227A. Talon, D. Boisser, J. Hans, M.A. Lacasse, J. Chorier, FMECA and management of building components, 11Dbmc, 2008.Hammoum, H., Bouzelha, K., Ait Aider, H., & Hannachi, N. E. (2014). Tanks criticality assessment by the dependability method. Case study. Engineering Failure Analysis, 41, 10-22. doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2013.07.016Sangiorgio, V., Pantoja, J. C., Varum, H., Uva, G., & Fatiguso, F. (2019). Structural Degradation Assessment of RC Buildings: Calibration and Comparison of Semeiotic-Based Methodology for Decision Support System. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 33(2), 04018109. doi:10.1061/(asce)cf.1943-5509.0001249V. Sangiorgio, Development of a Decision Support System for the structural degradation analysis of RC buildings supported by user-reported data and modern Information Technologies, PhD thesis, 2019.Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping of Valencia, Economic Studies Service, 2013. www.camaravalencia.com.Moreno, J. D., Bonilla, M., Adam, J. M., Victoria Borrachero, M., & Soriano, L. (2015). Determining corrosion levels in the reinforcement rebars of buildings in coastal areas. A case study in the Mediterranean coastline. Construction and Building Materials, 100, 11-21. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.09.059Moreno, J. D., Pellicer, T. M., Adam, J. M., & Bonilla, M. (2018). Exposure of RC building structures to the marine environment of the Valencia coast. Journal of Building Engineering, 15, 109-121. doi:10.1016/j.jobe.2017.11.016Adam, J. M., Moreno, J. D., Bonilla, M., & Pellicer, T. M. (2016). Classification of damage to the structures of buildings in towns in coastal areas. Engineering Failure Analysis, 70, 212-221. doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2016.09.00
Data for: From plot to scale: ex-ante assessment of conservation agriculture in Zambia
No full textAuthor: Adam M. Komarek (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5676-3005)Date last updated: March 29, 2019Description: This dataset contains the code and data needed to replicate the results reported in the study titled"From plot to scale: ex-ante assessment of conservation agriculture in Zambia". Study authors are Adam M. Komarek, Hoyoung Kwon, Beliyou Haile, Christian Thierfelder, Munyaradzi J. Mutenje, and Carlo Azzarri.Inside the file 'analysis.zip' are 4 main items that include the R project and three main folders:1) 'caZAM.Rproj' is the R project. It must be opened to set the project directory, which is needed to read in the data.2) The R scripts are in the folder 'scripts'. There are 12 scripts, which are ordered sequentially. 3) The folder 'data' contains the data used in the scripts.4) Output from the scripts are in the folder 'output'. Outputs include the figures and tables reported in the study
Integrated Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Historical Masonry Churches Including Architectural and Artistic Assets Based on Macro-element Approach
No full text[EN] Masonry churches represent a significant construction typology at risk from earthquakes, as clearly shown by recent seismic events. For a quick assessment of the vulnerability of historical churches, a very effective method is the well-known form for the evaluation of damage and vulnerability based the macro-element approach. Anyway, in the calculation of the vulnerability index of the method intangible aspects related to architectural, historical and artistic value are not included. This paper proposes a procedure that combines the above-mentioned vulnerability analysis with the evaluation of architectural and artistic assets such as frescoes, statues and paintings, by applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process. A site test, involving eight churches in Valencia (Spain) and Tuscany (Italy) regions, shows how important it is to provide a complete overview of a church's structural condition that includes its artworks in order to create a priority scale for the assessment, retrofitting and protection of existing masonry churches.Sangiorgio, V.; Uva, G.; Adam, JM. (2021). Integrated Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Historical Masonry Churches Including Architectural and Artistic Assets Based on Macro-element Approach. International Journal of Architectural Heritage. 15(11):1609-1622. https://doi.org/10.1080/15583058.2019.1709916S16091622151
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