Lightweight steel framing is a method in housing and construction that have been widely used in lightweight steel construction. In this method, the structure is built by cold formed steel elements. They are cost-effective, light, and easy to assemble. However, the performance of lateral load resisting systems in cold-formed steel structures specially the behavior of cold-formed steel shear wall...

Emotions play an essential role in the behaviour of human beings, either at their sudden occurrence or by the continuous care to prevent the occurrence of unpleasant ones and to search for the occurrence of pleasant ones. Notably, in any system of collective action, they influence the behaviours of the actors with respect to each others. SocLab is a framework devoted to the study of the functio...

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are unique smart materials that have many advantages, such as ability to resist large strains without leaving residual strains and ability to recover original form. However, the high costs of SMAs have limited their usage. This paper evaluates the behavior of concrete structures equipped with SMAs in an optimal manner as they are being used along the plastic hinge of ...

The book “Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues” is written by Alasdair C. Macintyre. The author has used the book to convey different messages about human beings. For example, the author presents positive arguments about human beings. The book helps people understand why human beings are considered to be animals. Human beings are animals like other animals and they shou...

Emotions play an essential role in the behaviour of human beings, either at their sudden occurrence or by the continuous care to prevent the occurrence of unpleasant ones and to search for the occurrence of pleasant ones. Notably, in any system of collective action, they influence the behaviours of the actors with respect to each others. SocLab is a framework devoted to the study of the functio...

In this paper, a new approach for nonlinear numerical modelling of the reinforced concrete shear walls with consideration of bar-concrete interaction and shear deformation is proposed. Bar and concrete stress-strain relations, the bar-concrete interaction, the shear stress-strain relation and, also, their cyclic behavior including the strength degradation and stiffness degradation are adopted a...

Guaranteed Annuity Options (GAOs) are options available to holders of certain pension policies. Under these contracts, policyholders contribute premiums into a fund managed by the insurer. At retirement, the policyholders buy life annuities at a guaranteed rate provided by the original insurer, or annuitize with another insurer. If the guaranteed annuity rates are better than the prevailing rat...

This article assesses insurance uptake in three community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes located in rural parts of two of India's poorest states and offered through women's self-help groups (SHGs). We examine what drives uptake, the degree of inclusive practices of the schemes and the influence of health status on enrolment. The most important finding is that a household's socio-economic...

in the construction process of a plastic concrete cut-off wall, concreting is usually performed using the termie pipe method. in this method, concreting is performed from the lowest point in the excavated trench (containing the slurry) using a funnel and the pipe connected to it. the concrete poured in the funnel gradually settles in the panel through the termie pipe which is beneath the slurry...