Unequal Competition Among Chains of Supercenters: Kmart,Target, and Wal‐Mart

The three largest discount chains, Kmart, Target, and Wal‐Mart, have adopted the supercenter format for expansion. This article examines the locations of and the competition among these supercenters. Wal‐Mart has the greatest number of supercenters and is driving the expansion of the supercenter format. Both Kmart and Target have clustered their supercenters in a small number of metropolitan markets. In contrast to Wal‐Mart and Kmart, Target has focused on a middle‐class rather than a blue‐collar clientele. Now Kmart is struggling following a declaration of bankruptcy. Wal‐Mart has largely defeated its supercenter competitors and now is confronting the major grocery chains for grocery sales.     

Gender and voluntary work in late adulthood in rural communities in the Netherlands

This article discusses the involvement of older women and men in voluntary work in rural communities in the Netherlands. Gender, ageing and civil society form the core concepts in the article. Politicians and policy makers in the Netherlands are worried about the perceived decline of civil society and about the consequences of this decline for specific categories of older women in terms of well-being and social exclusion. The paper presents the results of two surveys of involvement of older women and men in civic organisations, voluntary work and local actions. The surveys indicate high levels of involvement of both women and men. No gender differences are found in activity level. However, the data demonstrate the gendered nature of civil society. Women are more engaged in informal voluntary work and informal local actions, while men are more active in formal organisations and functions. This gender segmentation is not absolute, however. Many older women and men transgress the traditional feminine–masculine boundaries. The surveys highlight the involvement of women and men in rural communities, but indicate lower activity levels in urban areas.     

地震波混合阶褶积算法模拟

基于正反傅立叶变换,提出了地震波模拟的混合阶褶积算法。该方法原理简单、易于实现,结合了有限差分与伪谱法的优点,具有较高的精度和计算效率,适用于地震波场的正演计算,同时还给出了二维地震波场的理论计算实例。计算结果表明,此算法模拟结果正确、精度高、速度快、能适应较为复杂地质模型,并且易于推广到各向异性介质中去。     

内蒙乌拉山金矿床钾长石的矿物化学及有序度的分析

采用电子探针显微分析(EMPA)和粉末X射线衍射(XRD)分析了采自乌拉山金矿床含金钾长石石英脉、石英脉以及其他类型岩石中的10 0多个钾长石样品的化学成分和结果状态,并采用R和Q模式聚类分析、Spearman等级相关分析方法对实验数据进行了统计分析。结果表明,含金矿脉、岩浆热液脉和蚀变花岗岩中的钾长石为中等到最大微斜长石,其特征为K2 O含量高,但相对而言,Na2 O、CaO和BaO的含量低。其他岩石类型中的钾长石的化学成分和结果状态变化很大,可以从透长石、正长石到微斜长石,其特征为K2 O的含量相对较低,但Na2 O、CaO和BaO的含量相对较高。含金样品中的钾长石通常更富K2 O ,表明金的成矿作用与富钾的热液流体和碱质交代作用有关。乌拉山金矿床的成矿作用分为两个阶段,主要的含金钾长石石英脉中的钾长石富K2 O ,形成温度为30 7～379℃,平均为35 3℃;第二阶段含金石英脉中的钾长石含K2 O较低,形成温度为2 6 0～318℃,平均为2 81℃。这些结果表明成矿流体与岩浆热液作用有关,流体朝温度降低、K2 O含量降低的方向演化,K2 O含量高的热液流体和2 6 0～380℃的形成温度有利于金的成矿作用。     

某大厦深基坑开挖与施工安全监测实践与体会

从深基坑安全监测实例出发,介绍了一种简便、易行、稳定、可靠的射线形水平位移基准网,同时适用用小角法高精度位移监测.另外就温度的变化对水平位移值的影响,降水施工对地面沉降,深层土体位移的影响及测斜管埋设的重要性提出了自己的观点、认识与体会,希望对类似工程有一定参考价值.     

中下扬子区二叠系露头层序地层研究

按新近国际年代地层划分方案（ICS，2000），下扬子区二叠纪地层自下向上分为3统，9阶和相对应的华南传统6阶划分。二叠系从阿瑟尔阶至长兴阶（44Ma)共划分出14个三级层序，每个三级层序平均时限约为3.14Ma，其中“紫松阶”）相当阿瑟尔＋2／3萨克马尔阶）1个（船山组中上部）、“隆林阶、（相当1／3萨克马尔阶＋阿丁斯克阶）2个（分别对应船山组上部和梁山组或镇江组）、“栖霞阶”（相当库班甘德阶＋1／3罗德阶）3个（栖霞组），“茅口阶”（相当于2／3罗德阶＋沃德阶＋卡皮丹阶）4个（孤峰组，茅口组，堰桥组，银屏组和武穴组），吴家坪阶2个（龙潭组或吴家坪组），长兴阶2个（长兴组或大隆组）；共归并为4个层序组（sequence set)。     

Tests on low‐ductility RC frames under high‐ and low‐frequency excitations

The response of low‐ductility reinforced concrete (RC) frames, designed typically for a non‐seismic region, subjected to two frequencies of base excitations is studied. Five half‐scaled, two‐bay, two‐storey, RC frames, each approximately 5 m wide by 3.3 m high, were subjected to both horizontal and/or vertical base excitations with a frequency of 40 Hz as well as a lower frequency of about 4 Hz (close to the fundamental frequency) using a shake table. The imposed acceleration amplitude ranged from 0.2 to 1.2g. The test results showed that the response characteristics of the structures differed under high‐ and low‐frequency excitations. The frames were able to sustain high‐frequency excitations without damage but were inadequate for low‐frequency excitations, even though the frames exhibited some ductility. Linear‐elastic time‐history analysis can predict reasonably well the structural response under high‐frequency excitations. As the frames were not designed for seismic loads, the reinforcement detailing may not have been adequate, based on the crack pattern observed. The effect of vertical excitation can cause significant additional forces in the columns and moment reversals in the beams. The ‘strong‐column, weak‐beam’ approach for lateral load RC frame design is supported by experimental observations. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic response of self‐centring hysteretic SDOF systems

The seismic response of single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) systems incorporating flag‐shaped hysteretic structural behaviour, with self‐centring capability, is investigated numerically. For a SDOF system with a given initial period and strength level, the flag‐shaped hysteretic behaviour is fully defined by a post‐yielding stiffness parameter and an energy‐dissipation parameter. A comprehensive parametric study was conducted to determine the influence of these parameters on SDOF structural response, in terms of displacement ductility, absolute acceleration and absorbed energy. This parametric study was conducted using an ensemble of 20 historical earthquake records corresponding to ordinary ground motions having a probability of exceedence of 10% in 50 years, in California. The responses of the flag‐shaped hysteretic SDOF systems are compared against the responses of similar bilinear elasto‐plastic hysteretic SDOF systems. In this study the elasto‐plastic hysteretic SDOF systems are assigned parameters representative of steel moment resisting frames (MRFs) with post‐Northridge welded beam‐to‐column connections. In turn, the flag‐shaped hysteretic SDOF systems are representative of steel MRFs with newly proposed post‐tensioned energy‐dissipating connections. Building structures with initial periods ranging from 0.1 to 2.0s and having various strength levels are considered. It is shown that a flag‐shaped hysteretic SDOF system of equal or lesser strength can always be found to match or better the response of an elasto‐plastic hysteretic SDOF system in terms of displacement ductility and without incurring any residual drift from the seismic event. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical evaluation of the damping‐solvent extraction method in the frequency domain

The damping‐solvent extraction method for the analysis of unbounded visco‐elastic media is evaluated numerically in the frequency domain in order to investigate the influence of the computational parameters—domain size, amount of artificial damping, and mesh density—on the accuracy of results. An analytical estimate of this influence is presented, and specific questions regarding the influence of the parameters on the results are answered using the analytical estimate and numerical results for two classical problems: the rigid strip and rigid disc footings on a visco‐elastic half‐space with constant hysteretic material damping. As the domain size is increased, the results become more accurate only at lower frequencies, but are essentially unaffected at higher frequencies. Choosing the domain size to ensure that the static stiffness is computed accurately leads to an unnecessarily large domain for analysis at higher frequencies. The results improve by increasing artificial damping but at a slower rate as the total (material plus artificial) damping ratio ζ_t gets closer to 0.866. However, the results do not deteriorate significantly for the larger amounts of artificial damping, suggesting that ζ_t≈0.6 is appropriate; a larger value is not likely to influence the accuracy of results. Presented results do not support the earlier suggestion that similar accuracy can be achieved by a large bounded domain with small damping or by a small domain with larger damping. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.