Existence of continuous utility functions for arbitrary binary relations: some sufficient conditions

We present new sufficient conditions for the existence of a continuous utility function for an arbitrary binary relation on a topological space. Such conditions are basically obtained by using both the concept of a weakly continuous binary relation on a topological space and the concept of a countable network weight. In particular, we are concerned with suitable topological notions which generalize the concept of compactness and do not imply second countability or local compactness.hereditarily Lindeloef space; weakly continuous binary relation; countable network weight; hemicompactness; submetrizability

DIBRAST: A Computer-Aided Seismic Design Procedure for Frame Structures Equipped With Hysteretic Devices

This paper describes a comprehensive computer-aided seismic design approach for both new and existing frame structures equipped with hysteretic dampers. Despite continuous advancements in the state of the art demonstrating the effectiveness of these devices in mitigating seismic hazard, non-linearities involved in the problem and the articulated nature of most of the available design procedures often make them quite difficult to be implemented for real complex structures. To promote widespread use of hysteretic dampers, we present a thorough design approach that includes the application of a specific displacement-based design procedure by means of a computer-aided support tool developed in a Visual Basic environment and named DIBRAST. The software is realized to drive the designer through the dissipative system's design. Required iterations are automated, thus significantly reducing the processing time. As its final output, it delivers the mechanical properties of the damping braces in order to meet a specific performance objective. In order to further support practitioners in the geometrical characterization of actual design dampers, authors developed an additional Visual Basic tool—the Shear Link Non-Linear Model—that is able to provide yielding force and elastic stiffness of a specific type of hysteretic device according to its geometry and material. In addition, geometric details of each device can be preliminary determined by means of newly proposed design charts, presented herein, that allow us to take into account the buckling issue too. Both developed tools are freely available online. A case study is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design approach and tools

Growing Shrub Willow (Salix spp.) on Newly Reclaimed Minesoil in Northeastern West Virginia

Shrub willow (Salix spp.) has been a focus of international efforts to develop renewable alternatives for fossil fuels and to sequester carbon from earth\u27s atmosphere. One area of interest has been to plant and cultivate willow on reclaimed mine lands. West Virginia\u27s coalfields provide significant land area for incorporating willow cultivation into reclamation. The objective of this study was to develop silvicultural treatments to overcome the most common properties of mine soils in Appalachia: high rock fragment content that often causes difficult planting, reduced nutrient availability, and low water-holding capacity. Cuttings of three shrub willow clones were planted with six planting/fertilizer treatments. The planting treatments compared a horizontal planting method that was more efficient than digging full depth holes into compacted and rocky mine soils to traditional vertical planting of cuttings. Fertilizer treatments compared no fertilization to controlled release and traditional fertilizer at a rate of 140 kg N ha -1. Following two growing seasons, clones clearly differed in survival and production but the influence of fertilizer treatments was inconsistent Survival and growth were lower for horizontally-planted cuttings relative to vertically planted cuttings. Response to fertilizer varied by clone. Results of this study will be used to direct future establishment practices for willow on reclaimed mine soils in West Virginia

Extant! Living Bembidion palosverdes Kavanaugh and Erwin (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Found on Santa Catalina Island, California Full Access

Kavanaugh and Erwin (1992) described Bembidion palosverdes from seven specimens from two localities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles Co., CA (Pt. Vicente, ∼33.741°N, 118.411°W, and Pt. Fermin, ∼33.705°N, 118.294°W), collected in June 1964 by Derham Giuliani. The species\u27 authors spent two days searching for specimens at the two known localities, but found no additional specimens. They suggested that the species may have become extinct prior to its formal description, citing a major 1969 oil spill as a potential factor

Tension points in real social science: A response

Social science today often contents itself with trying to explain particular events in terms of general models without understanding those events as experienced by the people being studied and without providing ?ndings that might help people address the problems they are experiencing. It can be argued that the recent development of social science has focused too much on its own ?evidence-inference methodological core? and has lost sight of what is being studied, who is being studied, and how the results of research can challenge popular understanding, misconceptions, and power relations. At the most basic level, our edited volume Real Social Science: Applied Phronesis (Flyvbjerg, Landman and Schram 2012) is designed to provide examples of research that is situated in real communities, grows out of the concerns of people in those communities and is conducted in ways that can help those people address those concerns. These examples demonstrate that what we are calling ?phronetic social science? (as originally coined by Bent Flyvbjerg) offers a meaningful approach for making social science useful and relevant to real people experiencing real problems. Phronetic social science calls for social scientists foregoing the attempt to build generic models of social behaviour and instead situate their work in ongoing political struggles as they occur in speci?c contexts

Critical Theory, Democracy, and the Challenge of Neo-Liberalism

With a few exceptions, critical theorists have been late to provide a comprehensive diagnosis of neoliberalism comparable in scope to their extensive analyses of advanced welfare state capitalism. Instead, the main lines of critical theory have focused on questions of international justice which, while no doubt significant, restrict the scope of critical theory by deemphasizing linkages to larger political and economic conditions. Providing a critique of the Frankfurt School, Brian Caterino and Phillip Hansen move beyond its foundations, and call for a rethinking of the bases of critical theory as a practical, freedom-creating project. Outlining a resurgence of neoliberalism, the authors encourage a fresh, nuanced analysis that elucidates its political and economic structures and demonstrates the threats to freedom and democracy that neoliberalism poses. They propose the reformulation of a radical democratic alternative to neoliberalism, one that critically addresses its limitations while promoting an enhancement of communicative and social freedom

Extensions defined using bornologies

[EN] Many extensions of a space X such that the remainder Y is closed can be constructed as B-extensions, that is, by defining a topology on the disjoint union X [ Y , provided there exists a map, satisfying some conditions, from a basis of Y into the family of the subsets of X which are “unbounded” with respect to a given bornology in X. We give a first example of a (nonregular) extension with closed remainder which cannot be obtained as B-extension. Extensions with closed discrete remainders and extensions whose remainders are retract are mostly considered. We answer some open questions about separation properties and metrizability of B-extensionsCaterino, A.; Vipera, MC. (2011). Extensions defined using bornologies. Applied General Topology. 12(2):81-94. doi:10.4995/agt.2011.1644.SWORD819412

Simplified Seismic Vulnerability Assessment Methods: A Comparative Analysis with Reference to Regional School Building Stock in Italy

The paper compares several simplified methods proposed in the literature for assessing the seismic vulnerability of existing buildings. Type and number of input and output data, limitations of use for different structural typologies, and complexity of use are examined for each methodology to identify the most suitable for assessing the vulnerability of a given class of buildings, based on the available data, the computational effort, and the type of vulnerability judgment. The selected methods were applied to a sample of school buildings located in the province of Naples (Italy). Data were available due to a digital platform and were used to verify the possibility of providing reliable large scale vulnerability judgments based on a reduced set of information, without carrying out additional surveys. The most simplified methods were applied to a sample of about a thousand of buildings, while more detailed methods, needing more information, were applied to a smaller sample. The comparison between the results obtained from different methods allows highlighting advantages and weaknesses of each, so as to identify the convenience in their use according to the specific available information and the objectives of the analysis, finally to evaluate which is more or less safe

The \u3ci\u3ePlatycerus\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) of California, with the recognition of \u3ci\u3ePlatycerus cribripennis\u3c/i\u3e Van Dyke as a valid species

Th e status of Platycerus cribripennis Van Dyke, generally treated as a synonym of P. marginalis Casey, has been unclear. Here we recognize and redescribe P. cribripennis, which is endemic to the coastal mountains of California, as a valid species due to its unique morphology. A key to the Platycerus of California is presented, and the distributions of the recognized species are discussed