Un essai de formalisation des études sur l’art paléolithique pour la connaissance des sociétés préhistoriques

Paleolithic art is a fundamental tool for the understanding of prehistoric societies. The relationships between paleolithic art and archaeological sites have been investigated and show the existence of nearly all the types of artistic expressions (sculptures, paintings, engravings, drawings, clay modelling, mammoth bone assemblages, etc.) in various sites like rock shelters, open-air sites, burials, deep caves, open caves and rock open-air sites. Unfortunately, old discoveries and tourism have destroyed in most cases the relationship between mobiliar and cave art with archaeological structures, limiting to recent discoveries the capability of a global approach. The different interpretative theories of prehistoric art since XIX century have been remembered both for symbolic explanations (Reinach, Breuil, Bégouen, Raphaêl, Laming-Emperaire, Leroi-Gourhan, Sauvet, Vialou, Clottes) and for social explanations (Efimenko, Abramova, Semenov, Iakovleva, Sieveking, Conkey, Bahn), and their revision due to the recent 14C AMS dates directly obtained on paintings made by charcoal. The critical question of the building of a reliable chronological framework is discussed. A method to study prehistoric art is then proposed, in five main steps: Step 1: Acquisition (recording); Step 2: Acquisition (signs, species and scenes determination); Step 3: Structuring (craftsmen workflow: space selection, physical-chemical studies, stylistic analysis, panel organization); Step 4: Structuring (chronological and spatial organization of the decorated space, relationships between the decorated space and the territory of hunters-gatherers); Step 5: Modelling (the craft system, the social system and the symbolic system of the hunter-gatherer society)

Humanitarian cooperation as a factor in the strategic partnership between Russia and Germany

The main idia of the article is to describe the humanitarian relations of the Altai region and the federal Land of Saxony- Angalt. The item is to represent the difference of the meaning of such words as «humanitarian» and « humanitarian relations». The problem is that there are some differences in understanding of this type of cooperation. In European Union, «humanitarian collaboration» mean protection of human rights, the provision of emergency relief (food supply, rehabilitation of health services, mine soils etc.). But in Russia «humanitarian cooperation» and «humanitarian collaboration» has the same meaning and covers an area of cultural relations, inter-civilizational, civil society dialogue and relations with compatriots abroad. In this case it can play a «soft power» between the Germany and Russian cooperation and regional relations. In the development of regional cooperation between some Germany federal Lands and regions in Russia, author gives us example of such communication and describes the humanitarian relations between the Altai region and the federal Land of Saxony- Angalt. There is a German national region in Altai, which has its own territory, low and budget. People there can choose the school and language of education: Germany or Russian. So, in this article author wants to describe how to make strong political and economic relationship which is basic on cultural and humanitarian communication. The author give us brief information about the history of the in the Altai region, it's participation in joint projects with Germany, learning Germany language as a home language at the local and regional levels in German national region. For the regional development in Russia, existence of a common culture, ethnicity and friendly relations makes cooperation easier and beneficial. It's an example for other regions how to lead international activities and how to make the Regional economic growth up. Actually, this type of cooperation is one of the areas paradiplomacy and for today is a new phenomenon in Russia. And the example of the relations of the Altai region and the federal Land of Saxony- Angalt is an example of paradiplomacy in Europe and America. In this case, author gives us the meaning of such communication in Russia

A miniature mass analyser for in-situ elemental analysis of planetary material-performance studies

The performance of a laser ablation mass analyser designed for in-situ exploration of the chemical composition of planetary surfaces has been investigated. The instrument measures the elemental and isotopic composition of raw solid materials with high spatial resolution. The initial studies were performed on NIST standard materials using IR laser irradiance (< 1 GW cm−2) at which a high temporal stability of ion formation and sufficiently low sample consumption was achieved. Measurements of highly averaged spectra could be performed with typical mass resolution of m/Δm ≈ 600 in an effective dynamic range spanning seven decades. Sensitive detection of several trace elements can be achieved at the ~ ppm level and lower. The isotopic composition is usually reproduced with 1% accuracy, implying good performance of the instrument for quantitative analysis of the isotopic fractionation effects caused by natural processes. Using the IR laser, significant elemental fractionation effects were observed for light elements and elements with a high ionization potential. Several diatomic clusters of major and minor elements could also be measured, and sometimes these interfere with the detection of trace elements at the same nominal mass. The potential of the mass analyser for application to sensitive detection of elements and their isotopes in realistic samples is exemplified by measurements of minerals. The high resolution and large dynamic range of the spectra makes detection limits of ~100ppb possible. Figure The mass spectrum of Allende meteorite measured by a miniature laser ablation mass spectrometer. Similar mass spectra of planetary materials in-situ could be measured with spatial resolution of 10-100 μm (white circles) providing means for chemical analysis of planetary surface

Comparison of perceived barriers to entrepreneurship in Eastern and Western European countries

This qualitative study among 591 business students from four European countries investigated cross-country differences in the kind of barriers people perceive to business start-up. In line with institutional theory, the most important perceived barriers in all countries related to regulative structures (lack of money) and cognitive conditions (lack of skills). Normative structures, defined as national culture, did not explain cross-country differences in perceived risk as start-up barrier. In Norway and The Netherlands, students reported risk perceptions more often than in Romania and Russia, whereas the latter countries are known to be more uncertainty avoidant. These results aid in developing a theory of entrepreneurial barriers, which could be used to extend current entrepreneurial intentions theories in order to predict actual start-up behaviour better. Concerning practical implications, results indicate that business start-up can be stimulated through improving regulative and cognitive institutional structures, but national differences need to be taken into account

Absorptive and adaptive capacity as a key to successful commercialization process. A case study of SMEs in the Norwegian petroleum sector

When studies have identified different types of dynamic capabilities, scholars agree that the field lacks empirical studies of new firms and the role of dynamic capabilities in their survival and development (Zahra et al., 2006). Following this call, we aim to answer the following research question: How absorptive and adaptive capacity of the firm enhances its ability to commercialize? A longitudinal comparative case study of three new innovative firms operating within drilling and exploration activities in the Norwegian petroleum industry was chosen. The findings reveal that for small innovative firms in the early-stage, absorptive capacity may be especially crucial for development of innovative product, while adaptive capability is necessary for successful commercialisation process and firm survival

Analysis of Multicore CPU and GPU toward Parallelization of Total Focusing Method ultrasound reconstruction

International audienceUltrasonic imaging and reconstruction tools are commonly used to detect, identify and measure defects in different mechanical parts. Due to the complexity of the underlying physics, and due to the ever growing quantity of acquired data, computation time is becoming a limitation to the optimal inspection of a mechanical part. This article presents the performances of several implementations of a computational heavy algorithm, named Total Focusing Method, on both Graphics Processing Units (GPU) and General Purpose Processors (GPP). The scope of this study is narrowed to planar parts tested in immersion for defects. Using algorithmic simplifications and architectural optimizations, the algorithm has been drastically accelerated resulting in memory-bound implementations. On GPU, high performances can be achieved by profiting from GPU long memory transactions and from hand managed memory. Whereas on GPP, computations cost are overrun by memory access resulting in less efficient performances compared to the computing capabilities available. The following study constitutes the first step toward analyzing the target algorithm for diverse hardware in the non-destructive testing environment

Multi-frequency based location search algorithm of small electromagnetic inhomogeneities embedded in two-layered medium

In this paper, we consider a problem for finding the locations of electromagnetic inhomogeneities completely embedded in homogeneous two layered medium. For this purpose, we present a filter function operated at several frequencies and design an algorithm for finding the locations of such inhomogeneities. It is based on the fact that the collected Multi-Static Response (MSR) matrix can be modeled via a rigorous asymptotic expansion formula of the scattering amplitude due to the presence of such inhomogeneities. In order to show the effectiveness, we compare the proposed algorithm with traditional MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm and Kirchhoff migration. Various numerical results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is robust with respect to random noise and yields more accurate location than the MUSIC algorithm and Kirchhoff migration.Comment: 21 pages, 25 figure

Исследование задач нахождения оптимального распределения между предприятиями

Розглянуто задачу розподілу ресурсів між підприємствами різних галузей у складі одного економічного конгломерату. Наведено різні способи постановки задачі та введення вихідних даних з урахуванням можливості побудови власних функцій віддачі, керувальної дії та часу. Ключовим методом розв’язання задачі є апарат динамічного програмування Беллмана [1]. Досліджено альтернативну формалізацію задачі, у якій фазові і керувальні змінні можуть набувати нескінченної кількості значень, що унеможливлюють застосування стандартних для динамічного програмування таблиць, що призводить до необхідності аналітичних розрахунків. Запропоновано обмеження, які зводять функції віддачі до вигляду, що задовольняє умови виробничих функцій.The problem of the allocation of resources among enterprises from different industries as parts of the economic conglomerate is considered. The different ways of stating the problem and inputting the data, taking into account the possibility of building their own functions of return, control action, and time are presented. The key method of solving the problem is the dynamic programming [1]. Also, we investigated an alternative formalization of the problem in which the phase and control variables may take an infinite number of values, which made it impossible to use standard tables for dynamic programming and lead to analytical calculations. In the latter case, we provide a number of limitations, which convert the function of return to the form that satisfies the conditions of production functions.Рассмотрена задача о распределении ресурсов между предприятиями разных отраслей в составе одного экономического конгломерата. Приведены различные способы постановки задачи и ввода исходных данных с учетом возможности построения собственных функций отдачи, управляющего действия и времени. Ключевым методом решения задачи является апарат динамического программирования Беллмана [1]. Исследована альтернативная формализация задачи, в которой фазовые и управляющие переменные могут принимать бесконечное количество значений, что делает невозможным применение стандартных для динамического программирования таблиц и приводит к необходимости аналитических расчетов. Предложен ряд ограничений, что сводят функции отдачи к виду, который удовлетворяет условиям производственных функций

Numerical and experimental investigation on the cold-formed profiles for the fatigue behavior characterization

LAUREA MAGISTRALEA causa della domanda economica in costante aumento, i sistemi logistici al giorno d'oggi sono sempre più sottoposti a cicli di carico ingenti sia in termini di frequenza che di entità. Pertanto, i componenti strutturali di questi sistemi sono frequentemente soggetti a carichi ciclici e dinamici per i quali non sono stati progettati a resistere, esponendo questi ultimi al danno per fatica. La tesi tratterà come caso studio alcuni dei profili le cui sezioni sono tipicamente utilizzate in magazzini automatizzati per la logistica. Le strutture a scaffalatura dei magazzini logistici sono composte da profili sottili in acciaio formati a freddo. Questi elementi sono caratterizzati sia da eccellenti prestazioni meccaniche che da un’elevata leggerezza. Attualmente, le normative vigenti non forniscono criteri, procedure o metodologie di progettazione a supporto degli ingegneri a verifica del comportamento a lungo termine e per la sicurezza in esercizio delle strutture per i fenomeni di fatica. La seguente tesi viene sviluppata all’interno del progetto europeo FASTCOLD che mira a fornire delle linee guida per la progettazione pratica dei profili formati a freddo soggetti a fenomeni di fatica. All'interno di questo studio verranno illustrati i risultati delle prove sperimentali e i modelli numerici utilizzati per la definizione della categoria di fatica del dettaglio strutturale (curve S-N) per due particolari sezioni tipicamente utilizzate come profili e rotaie nei sistemi di scaffalatura. La definizione delle suddette curve permetterà una stima in fase progettuale della resistenza a fatica dei dettagli, indagandone il comportamento a lungo termine al variare del numero di cicli e della variazione di tensione.Due to constantly increasing demand, the logistic systems nowadays are under the highest pressure it has ever been. Thus, all the components of those systems are facing loads they have never experienced before, and sometimes that they have not been designed to withstand to. One of the systems that suffers from it is the rail systems in the warehouses, and it will be the focus of this thesis. Rack structures of the warehouses, its details to be precise, are composed from the thin-walled cold-formed steels and are subjected to the cyclic loads. In the current normative documents, such as Eurocode 3, neither design procedures nor design tools and methods are presented to help the engineers to verify durability and ensure safety of the structures. FASTCOLD project, under which supervision this thesis was carried out, is aiming to provide these rules and regulations, so in the future all of the steel structures disregarding whether it was made from the cold-formed or hot-rolled, thin- or thick-walled sections, could be designed to withstand the cyclic load, and thus be evaluated according to the fatigue phenomena. Within this study experimental results were combined with the analytical and numerical solutions for the sections of the Omega and Z-rail details in order to obtain the S-N curves. S-N curves are the diagrams that allow to estimate the fatigue strength of the details, and thus take it into account during the design