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Imperative
Kinds of Imperative Selected AbstractsHARM REDUCTION,AN ETHICAL IMPERATIVEADDICTION, Issue 3 2009INGRID VAN BEEK No abstract is available for this article. [source] Design Integration: A Business ImperativeDESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2009Thomas Lockwood PhD No abstract is available for this article. [source] The Future of Regions: Why the Competitiveness Imperative Should not Prevail over Solidarity, Sustainability and DemocracyGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2000Riccardo Petrella The thesis here submitted for debate and criticism is as follows: if today's governing principles that inspire policy choices and priority setting in our societies (which claim to be "knowledge- based societies") are to remain in place in the course of the coming five to ten years, the relative position of the less developed regions (and cities) vis-à-vis the most developed ones will again deteriorate, even though per capita real purchasing power might also slightly increase in the less developed regions. The if-hypothesis, however, is not the only possible pattern of future developments. Because present economic and political leaders are, in general, the promoters and supporters of today's predominant principles, the only way to make possible alternative future developments based on solidarity, sustainability and democracy is that citizens themselves take the initiative, locally and globally, to modify present practices and define new goals and new priorities. In consideration of the results obtained in recent years by civil social movements and protests, one may reasonably consider it as a possible scenario. [source] Development Imperative, Terrae Incognitae: a Pioneer Soil Scientist 1912,1951GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2010J.M. POWELL Abstract James Arthur Prescott was a prominent soil scientist whose career responded to an increasingly complex, recognisably Australian web of interpenetrating spatial scales, served to promote revolutionary global advances in his chosen field, and in the process negotiated the blurred boundaries between ,pure' and ,applied' research. Encounters with this instructive life suggest that, while resolutions of pivotal anxieties might turn on ineluctably personal qualities, they also reflect a dynamic interplay between international, imperial, national and state contexts. Prescott's innovative contributions to soil science, fruits of a tenaciously consolidated career, influenced resource appraisal and environmental management across a prodigious continental expanse. A sustained focus on local and regional development brought him into contact with a wide range of contemporaries, including pioneering geographers, and culminated in his election to a Fellowship of the Royal Society. [source] The Perils of Cognitive Enhancement and the Urgent Imperative to Enhance the Moral Character of HumanityJOURNAL OF APPLIED PHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2008INGMAR PERSSON abstract As history shows, some human beings are capable of acting very immorally.1 Technological advance and consequent exponential growth in cognitive power means that even rare evil individuals can act with catastrophic effect. The advance of science makes biological, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction easier and easier to fabricate and, thus, increases the probability that they will come into the hands of small terrorist groups and deranged individuals. Cognitive enhancement by means of drugs, implants and biological (including genetic) interventions could thus accelerate the advance of science, or its application, and so increase the risk of the development or misuse of weapons of mass destruction. We argue that this is a reason which speaks against the desirability of cognitive enhancement, and the consequent speedier growth of knowledge, if it is not accompanied by an extensive moral enhancement of humankind. We review the possibilities for moral enhancement by biomedical and genetic means and conclude that, though it should be possible in principle, it is in practice probably distant. There is thus a reason not to support cognitive enhancement in the foreseeable future. However, we grant that there are also reasons in its favour, but we do not attempt to settle the balance between these reasons for and against. Rather, we conclude that if research into cognitive enhancement continues, as it is likely to, it must be accompanied by research into moral enhancement. [source] An International Imperative for Gender-Sensitive Theories in Women's HealthJOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 4 2001Eun-Ok Im Purpose: To propose gender-sensitive theories as a future direction for theoretical development of women's health. Few theories pertain to women's health and illness experiences, with gender issues embedded in social, cultural, and historical contexts. Organizing Construct: Significance, definition, and philosophical bases of gender-sensitive theories. Findings: Six major components should be incorporated in the development of gender-sensitive theories: (a) gender as a major feature, (b) women's own words and experiences, (c) nature of women's experiences, (d) theorists' perspectives, (e) contexts, and (f) guidelines for actions. Conclusions: We believe that the development of gender-sensitive theories in nursing could enable researchers to transcend androcentric and ethnocentric views on women's health, decrease gender inequity in health care, enhance women's well being, and ultimately contribute to knowledge development in nursing. [source] Can a Philosophy of Race Afford to Abandon the Kantian Categorical Imperative?JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY, Issue 1 2002Arnold Farr [source] Organ Donation: Moral Imperative or Outrage?NURSING FORUM, Issue 4 2001Christina S. Melvin RN. First page of article [source] A Clinical Imperative: Assisting Patients Who Smoke to Reduce Their Risk of Cardiovascular DiseasePREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY, Issue 2007Chris Bullen MBChB The role of tobacco smoking as a cause of cardiovascular disease is now unequivocal and well-documented in literally hundreds of epidemiologic and biomedical studies over the past 50 years. Cessation of smoking, on the other hand, swiftly and profoundly reduces the risks of a cardiovascular event. Thus, smoking cessation should be seen as perhaps the most effective lifesaving intervention in the physician's armamentarium. Despite this widely available knowledge, and evidence that most smokers want to quit, relatively few physicians offer cessation support to their smoking patients, even those at high risk for a cardiovascular event. This article reviews the links between tobacco smoking and cardiovascular disease, argues for a greater role for physicians in assisting smokers to quit, and highlights the most effective interventions currently available. [source] Protected Areas and the Regional Planning Imperative in North America: Integrating Nature, Conservation, and Sustainable DevelopmentTHE CANADIAN GEOGRAPHER/LE GEOGRAPHE CANADIEN, Issue 2 2006Kevin S. Hanna No abstract is available for this article. [source] Global Health Governance: Commission on Social Determinants of Health and the Imperative for ChangeTHE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 3 2010Ruth Bell In May 2009 the World Health Assembly passed a resolution on reducing health inequities through action on the social determinants of health, based on the work of the global Commission on Social Determinants of Health, 2005,2008. The Commission's genesis and findings raise some important questions for global health governance. We draw out some of the essential elements, themes, and mechanisms that shaped the Commission. We start by examining the evolving nature of global health and the Commission's foundational inspiration , the universal pattern of health inequity and the imperative, driven by a sense of social justice, to make better and more equal health a global goal. We look at how the Commission was established, how it was structured internally, and how it developed external relationships , with the World Health Organization, with global networks of academics and practitioners, with country governments eager to spearhead action on health equity, and with civil society. We outline the Commission's recommendations as they relate to the architecture of global health governance. Finally, we look at how the Commission is catalyzing a movement to bring social determinants of health to the forefront of international and national policy discourse. [source] Parallelization and scalability of a spectral element channel flow solver for incompressible Navier,Stokes equationsCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 10 2007C. W. Hamman Abstract Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent flows is widely recognized to demand fine spatial meshes, small timesteps, and very long runtimes to properly resolve the flow field. To overcome these limitations, most DNS is performed on supercomputing machines. With the rapid development of terascale (and, eventually, petascale) computing on thousands of processors, it has become imperative to consider the development of DNS algorithms and parallelization methods that are capable of fully exploiting these massively parallel machines. A highly parallelizable algorithm for the simulation of turbulent channel flow that allows for efficient scaling on several thousand processors is presented. A model that accurately predicts the performance of the algorithm is developed and compared with experimental data. The results demonstrate that the proposed numerical algorithm is capable of scaling well on petascale computing machines and thus will allow for the development and analysis of high Reynolds number channel flows. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Gender and Ethnic Diversity Among UK Corporate BoardsCORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2007Stephen Brammer This paper investigates the ethnic and gender diversity of the corporate board of UK companies, placing particular emphasis on links to board size and industry characteristics. We employ a novel dataset that covers a large sample of UK PLCs and describes a director's gender, ethnicity and position held. We find both ethnic and gender diversity to be very limited, and that diversity is somewhat less pronounced among executive positions. We find significant cross-sector variation in gender diversity, with an above average prevalence of women in Retail, Utilities, Media and Banking, while such variation in ethnic diversity is considerably less pronounced. Our evidence suggests that a close proximity to final consumers plays a more significant role in shaping board diversity than does the female presence among the industry's workforce. We argue that this shows that board diversity is influenced by a firm's external business environment and particularly an imperative to reflect corresponding diversity among its customers. [source] Will Executive Pay Globalise Along American Lines?CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2003Brian R. Cheffins In the United States, the remuneration packages of top executives are characterised by a strong emphasis on pay,for,performance and by a highly lucrative "upside". There is much discussion of the possibility that executive pay practices will globalise in accordance with this pattern. This paper assesses whether such convergence is likely to occur. It does so by considering market,oriented dynamics that could constitute a "global compensation imperative". It also takes into account possible obstacles to the Americanisation of executive pay, such as legal regulation, "soft law" and "culture". The paper concludes with a brief series of normative observations. [source] Understanding Surge Capacity: Essential ElementsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2006Donna F. Barbisch RN As economic forces have reduced immediately available resources, the need to surge to meet patient care needs that exceed expectations has become an increasing challenge to the health care community. The potential patient care needs projected by pandemic influenza and bioterrorism catapulted medical surge to a critical capability in the list of national priorities, making it front-page news. Proposals to improve surge capacity are abundant; however, surge capacity is poorly defined and there is little evidence-based comprehensive planning. There are no validated measures of effectiveness to assess the efficacy of interventions. Before implementing programs and processes to manage surge capacity, it is imperative to validate assumptions and define the underlying components of surge. The functional components of health care and what is needed to rapidly increase capacity must be identified by all involved. Appropriate resources must be put into place to support planning factors. Using well-grounded scientific principles, the health care community can develop comprehensive programs to prioritize activities and link the necessary resources. Building seamless surge capacity will minimize loss and optimize outcomes regardless of the degree to which patient care needs exceed capability. [source] Early modern stereotypes and the rise of English: Jonson, Dryden, Arnold, EliotCRITICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2006NICHOLAS McDOWELL Stereotyping is a mode of stigmatisation and polarisation, and so we tend to think of the stereotype as a deadening force which closes down conversation. But we need to appreciate further the extent to which the transmission of stereotypes can facilitate and shape creative cultural response, even if that response is designed to simplify and satirise in the service of an ideological imperative. The stereotype of the Puritan as ignoramus in Ben Jonson's seventeenth-century comedies reappears in, and helps to structure, aesthetic discussions over three centuries, beginning with Dryden's post-Restoration literary criticism. These discussions were central to the generation of a dominant narrative of English literary history, to the development of notions of literary refinement and politeness and to the construction of a literary canon. Incorporated by Matthew Arnold and T. S. Eliot into their versions of literary history - versions which were themselves a response to what Arnold and Eliot perceived as the cultural crises of their own time - early modern dramatic stereotypes became naturalised in university courses and school textbooks. Ultimately, this essay suggests, the transmission of the early modern stereotype of the Puritan was bound up with the rise of English as an academic discipline. [source] Good practice in head and neck fine needle aspiration cytology as assessed by CUSUMCYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 6 2002I. A. Robinson Providing data as evidence of good practice is becoming imperative to meet the demands of professional revalidation and clinical governance. Sensitivity and specificity are common performance measures in fine needle aspiration (FNA) but are vulnerable to discordant analytical methods. We introduce a CUSUM technique and show how it may be used to show attainment and maintenance of proficiency in head and neck (H&N) FNA. In addition, we show how it can be used to compare practices and demonstrate different performance for FNAs from different tissues; a fact that must be recognized by anyone devising minimum performance values. [source] Sexual dysfunction and physicians' perception in medicated patients with major depression in TaiwanDEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 9 2008Kao Ching Chen M.D. Abstract Although prevalent during antidepressant treatment, sexual dysfunction (SD) is frequently ignored by both physicians and patients in Asia. In spite of impact of SD on medicated patients with major depression, sexual issues and illness remain a forbidden topic for most Asian people. The aims of this study were to: (1) estimate the prevalence of SD among stable outpatients taking different antidepressants in Taiwan; (2) investigate the factors related to SD; (3) compare physician-perceived with patient-reported prevalence rates of antidepressant-associated SD; and (4) study the differences of SD among antidepressant subgroups. In this cross-sectional observational study, 125 medicated patients with major depression were recruited. Patients were assessed using the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ), Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ), Quality of Life Index (QOL), and neuroticism scores in the Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI). Sixty-two physicians completed the Physician Antidepressant Experience Questionnaire. The estimated prevalence rate of SD was 53.6% (95% CI = 44.9,62.3%) in medicated patients with major depression. There were no significant differences in prevalence rate of SD among different antidepressants. The SD subgroup had poorer quality of life and lower moods than the non-dysfunction subgroup. An underestimation of the prevalence of SD by physicians was noted. Because antidepressant-associated SD is highly prevalent and seriously underestimated by physicians, greater physicians' recognition and better patients' education are imperative when prescribing antidepressants. Depression and Anxiety. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Problematic internet use: Proposed classification and diagnostic criteriaDEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 4 2003Nathan A. Shapira M.D., Ph.D. Abstract Since the mid-1990s, there have been frequent reports of individuals whose use of the computer and internet is problematic. Given the recent expansion and the expected increase in internet availability and usage in the coming years, it is important that healthcare professionals be informed about this behavior and its associated problems. Recently, psychological and psychiatric literature has described individuals that exhibit problematic internet use who often suffer from other psychiatric disorders. In the face of this comorbidity, it is essential to evaluate whether these individuals represent a distinct class of disorder, or a manifestation/coping mechanism related to other underlying diagnosis. In either event, problematic internet use negatively impacts social and emotional functioning. Based on the current limited empirical evidence, problematic internet use may best be classified as an impulse control disorder. It is therefore imperative that problematic internet use be appropriately identified among symptomatic individuals. For these reasons, we propose specific diagnostic criteria that will allow for consistent identification and assist in further study of this behavior. Depression and Anxiety 17:207,216, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Melanin-associated pigmented lesions of the oral mucosa: presentation, differential diagnosis, and treatmentDERMATOLOGIC THERAPY, Issue 3 2010Susan Müller ABSTRACT Intraoral pigmentation is quite common and has numerous etiologies, ranging from exogenous to physiological to neoplastic. Many pigmented lesions of the oral cavity are associated with melanin pigment. The differential diagnosis of mucosal pigmented lesions includes hematomas, varices, and petechiae which may appear to be pigmented. Unlike cutaneous melanomas, oral melanomas are diagnosed late and have a poor prognosis regardless of depth of invasion. As such, the clinical presentation and treatment of intraoral melanoma will be discussed. Developing a differential diagnosis is imperative for a clinician faced with these lesions in order to appropriately treat the patient. This article will focus on the most common oral melanocytic lesions, along with mimics. [source] Supporting Adaptation to Climate Change: What Role for Official Development Assistance?DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 6 2009Jessica M. Ayers The formal financial mechanisms for managing adaptation to climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are falling significantly short of meeting needs in the most vulnerable countries. Given the close relationship between development and adaptation, it is tempting to use existing channels of development assistance to fill this gap. However, it is imperative that development assistance is not seen as a substitute for specific adaptation finance. This article therefore attempts to distinguish between the two roles, and considers how development assistance might support and complement adaptation funding and action under the Convention, rather than competing with or substituting it. [source] Gram-negative meningitis and infections in individuals treated with intrathecal baclofen for spasticity: a retrospective studyDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 6 2006Colleen A Wunderlich MD MSc The aim of this retrospective study was to describe signs, symptoms, and clinical outcomes of individuals undergoing intrathecal baclofen (ITB) therapy who experienced pumprelated Gram-negative infections including meningitis. Participants included 12 individuals (nine males, three females) aged 10 to 32 years (mean 17y 9mo), nine of whom had quadriplegic CP. A total of 571 baclofen pump surgeries were performed with 45 total infections. Of the 45 infections, 12 were by Gram-negative organisms, two resulting in meningitis. Ten of 12 Gram-negative infections (21 site encounters) occurred within 60 days of surgery. Eleven of 12 pumps were explanted. By site encounters, Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounted for eight Gram-negative infections, Escherichia coli for five, Proteus for three, Enterobacter cloacae for two, and Klebsiella, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Enterobacter vulnaris for one each. Two individuals with Gram-negative meningitis were admitted 72 to 96 hours after hospital discharge following pump replacement. Both patients had rapid deterioration requiring transfer to the pediatric intensive care unit, and developed coagulopathy and decrease in responsiveness. Both have improved and have elected not to replace the ITB pump. In Gram-negative infections in ITB therapy, the progression of signs and symptoms can be swift and devastating. Identification of the infectious agent in such cases is imperative; these infections can quickly become life threatening. [source] The gluten connection: the association between schizophrenia and celiac diseaseACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2 2006A. E. Kalaydjian Objective:, Schizophrenia affects roughly 1% of the population and is considered one of the top 10 causes of disability worldwide. Given the immense cost to society, successful treatment options are imperative. Based on initial findings, gluten withdrawal may serve as a safe and economical alternative for the reduction of symptoms in a subset of patients. Method:, A review of the literature relevant to the association between schizophrenia and celiac disease (gluten intolerance) was conducted. Results:, A drastic reduction, if not full remission, of schizophrenic symptoms after initiation of gluten withdrawal has been noted in a variety of studies. However, this occurs only in a subset of schizophrenic patients. Conclusion:, Large-scale epidemiological studies and clinical trials are needed to confirm the association between gluten and schizophrenia, and address the underlying mechanisms by which this association occurs. [source] Using multi-scale species distribution data to infer drivers of biological invasion in riparian wetlandsDIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 1 2010Jane A. Catford Abstract Aim, Biological invasion is a major conservation problem that is of interest to ecological science. Understanding mechanisms of invasion is a high priority, heightened by the management imperative of acting quickly after species introduction. While information about invading species' ecology is often unavailable, species distribution data can be collected near the onset of invasion. By examining distribution patterns of exotic and native plant species at multiple spatial scales, we aim to identify the scale (of those studied) that accounts for most variability in exotic species abundance, and infer likely drivers of invasion. Location, River Murray wetlands, south-eastern Australia. Methods, A nested, crossed survey design was used to determine the extent of variation in wetland plant abundance, grazing intensity and water depth at four spatial scales (reaches, wetland clumps, wetlands, wetland sections), and among three Depth-strata. We examined responses of exotic and native species groups (grouped into terrestrial and amphibious taxa), native weeds and 10 individual species using hierarchical ANOVA. Results, As a group dominated by terrestrial taxa, exotic species cover varied at reach-, wetland- and section-scales. This likely reflects differences in abiotic characteristics and propagule pressure at these scales. Groups based on native species did not vary at any scale examined. Cover of 10 species mostly varied among and within wetlands (patterns unrelated to species' origin or functional group), but species' responses differed, despite individual plants being similar in size. While flora mostly varied among wetlands, exotic cover varied most among reaches (26%), which was attributed to hydrological modification and human activities. Main conclusions, Multi-scale surveys can rapidly identify factors likely to affect species' distributions and can indicate where future research should be directed. By highlighting disproportionate variation in exotic cover among reaches, this study suggests that flow regulation and human-mediated dispersal facilitate exotic plant invasion in River Murray wetlands. [source] Clinical supervision in the alcohol and other drugs field: an imperative or an option?DRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 3 2007ANN M. ROCHE Abstract There is a growing interest in Clinical Supervision (CS) as a central workforce development (WFD) strategy. This paper provides a definition of and rationale for CS, characterises its various forms, identifies selection and training issues, and advises on policy and implementation issues central to redressing shortcomings in supervision practice within the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) field. Relevant selective literature is reviewed. Key conceptual issues were identified, and strategies developed to address implementation barriers and facilitate relevant policy. There is a common conceptual confusion between administrative supervision and CS. Clarification of the role, function and implementation of CS is required. Priority issues for the AOD field include: enhancing belief in CS; ensuring adequate resource allocation; developing evaluation protocols; and addressing specific arrangements under which supervision should occur. CS has been underutilised to date but holds considerable potential as a WFD strategy. It is fundamental to workers' professional development, can contribute to worker satisfaction and retention, and may improve client outcomes. Critical next steps are to establish the generalisability to the AOD field of the benefits observed from CS in other disciplines, and evaluate longer-term gains of CS programs. [source] Partnerships: imperative or illusion in work-force developmentDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 3 2002CELIA WILKINSON Abstract The central theme of the National Drug Strategy is "building partnerships". In the education and training arena, intersectoral partnerships are important to increase the skill and knowledge base of generic professionals. However, partnerships are neither simple nor straightforward endeavours. While this paper argues that they are imperative, they can be time-consuming and problematic. Discussion of the stages of change and how this model applies to partnerships and elements of successful partnerships form the basis of the paper. [source] Modeling past and future alpine permafrost distribution in the Colorado Front RangeEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 12 2005Jason R. Janke Abstract Rock glaciers, a feature associated with at least discontinuous permafrost, provide important topoclimatic information. Active and inactive rock glaciers can be used to model current permafrost distribution. Relict rock glacier locations provide paleoclimatic information to infer past conditions. Future warmer climates could cause permafrost zones to shrink and initiate slope instability hazards such as debris flows or rockslides, thus modeling change remains imperative. This research examines potential past and future permafrost distribution in the Colorado Front Range by calibrating an existing permafrost model using a standard adiabatic rate for mountains (0·5 °C per 100 m) for a 4 °C range of cooler and warmer temperatures. According to the model, permafrost currently covers about 12 per cent (326·1 km2) of the entire study area (2721·5 km2). In a 4 °C cooler climate 73·7 per cent (2004·4 km2) of the study area could be covered by permafrost, whereas in a 4°C warmer climate almost no permafrost would be found. Permafrost would be reduced severely by 93·9 per cent (a loss of 306·2 km2) in a 2·0 °C warmer climate; however, permafrost will likely respond slowly to change. Relict rock glacier distribution indicates that mean annual air temperature (MAAT) was once at least some 3·0 to 4·0 °C cooler during the Pleistocene, with permafrost extending some 600,700 m lower than today. The model is effective at identifying temperature sensitive areas for future monitoring; however, other feedback mechanisms such as precipitation are neglected. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Cyclic behavior of laterally loaded concrete piles embedded into cohesive soilEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 1 2008Rabin Tuladhar Abstract Modern seismic design codes stipulate that the response analysis should be conducted by considering the complete structural system including superstructure, foundation, and ground. However, for the development of seismic response analysis method for a complete structural system, it is first imperative to clarify the behavior of the soil and piles during earthquakes. In this study, full-scale monotonic and reversed cyclic lateral loading tests were carried out on concrete piles embedded into the ground. The test piles were hollow, precast, prestressed concrete piles with an outer diameter of 300,mm and a thickness of 60,mm. The test piles were 26,m long. Three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis was then performed to study the behavior of the experimental specimens analytically. The study revealed that the lateral load-carrying capacity of the piles degrades when subjected to cyclic loading compared with monotonic loading. The effect of the use of an interface element between the soil and pile surface in the analysis was also investigated. With proper consideration of the constitutive models of soil and pile, an interface element between the pile surface and the soil, and the degradation of soil stiffness under cyclic loading, a 3D analysis was found to simulate well the actual behavior of pile and soil. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Hybrid platform for high-tech equipment protection against earthquake and microvibrationEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 8 2006Y. L. Xu Abstract To ensure the high quality of ultra-precision products such as semiconductors and optical microscopes, high-tech equipment used to make these products requires a normal working environment with extremely limited vibration. Some of high-tech industry centres are also located in seismic zones: the safety of high-tech equipment during an earthquake event becomes a critical issue. It is thus imperative to find an effective way to ensure the functionality of high-tech equipment against microvibration and to protect high-tech equipment from damage when earthquake events occur. This paper explores the possibility of using a hybrid platform to mitigate two types of vibration. The hybrid platform, on which high-tech equipment is installed, is designed to work as a passive isolation platform to abate mainly acceleration response of high-tech equipment during an earthquake and to function as an actively controlled platform to reduce mainly velocity response of high-tech equipment under normal working condition. To examine the performance of the hybrid platform, the analytical model of a coupled hybrid platform and building system incorporating with magnetostrictive actuators is established. The simulation results obtained by applying the analytical model to a high-tech facility indicate that the proposed hybrid platform is feasible and effective. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Seismic microzonation of the greater Bangkok area using microtremor observationsEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 2 2004Rabin Tuladhar Abstract Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is located at a remote distance from seismic sources. However, it has a substantial risk from these distant earthquakes due to the ability of the underlying soft clay to amplify ground motions. It is therefore imperative to conduct a detailed seismic hazard assessment of the area. Seismic microzonation of big cities, like Bangkok, provides a basis for site-specific hazard analysis, which can assist in systematic earthquake mitigation programs. In this study, a seismic microzonation map for the greater Bangkok area is constructed using microtremor observations. Microtremor observations were carried out at more than 150 sites in the greater Bangkok area. The predominant periods of the ground were determined from the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratio technique. A microzonation map was then developed for the greater Bangkok area based on the observations. Moreover, the transfer functions were calculated for the soil profile at eight sites, using the computer program SHAKE91, to validate the results from the microtremor analysis. The areas near the Gulf of Thailand, underlaid by a thick soft clay layer, were found to have long natural periods ranging from 0.8s to 1.2s. However, the areas outside the lower central plain have shorter predominant periods of less than 0.4s. The study shows that there is a great possibility of long-period ground vibration in Bangkok, especially in the areas near the Gulf of Thailand. This may have severe effects on long-period structures, such as high-rise buildings and long-span bridges. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||