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This paper analyses the historical pre-Colonial configurations of a series of urban cores in Malay sites along the Straits of Melaka. The objective of this research is to identify the pattern and variations of each pre-Colonial royal urban core from the perspective of urban design principle such as “intimacy” and “walkability,” which can affect in a long term sustainable parameters such as the reduction of “urban heat island”. This traditional character is increasingly disappearing due to urbanisation. There is a difficulty to reconstruct the urban core of these case studies because of their past layouts’ degree of organic character, particularly in terms of randomness. This paper argues that such configurations reflect the degree of “intimacy,” which was ruptured during the Colonial eras. Patterns were identified using available maps and lithography related to the case studies. The findings indicate that the Malay royal urban core does obey the urban design principles of intimacy and walkability. The “intimacy indices” for a historical Malay city are as follow: distance from palace to mosque (170 metre), padang/open spaces (130 metre), settlement (310 metre), market (195 metre), and aristocrat houses (60 metre). This finding can be used to inform the baseline for the preparation of the Malay principles guidelines.

The present paper examines a sword dated in the La Tène Period, currently exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Durrës, Albania. According to the scientific staff of the Museum the archaeological context of the sword has not been specified but the blade had been found in the necropolis of the city. The analysis of the sword is based on its typological features but also the historical, the archaeological and ethnological aspects of the region had been taken into consideration. The most significant feature of the blade is of course the bending. This feature led us to correlate the examined object with the Celts, who practiced this ritual of the intentional destruction “killing” a weapon. This is the first folded sword which had been found in the territory of the modern-day Albania.

[ca] L’article proposa un replantejament del paper de les terres gironines en la cultura trobadoresca, centrat sobretot en les circumstàncies de la possible etapa inicial de l’activitat de Cerverí (el moment en què es va convertir en Cerverí de Girona), la interpretació del sentit de la ruta de la seva Recepta de xarob i, finalment, la reconstrucció d’un cercle poètic entorn de la catedral de Girona. Per a tots aquests aspectes, combina l’anàlisi literària amb les dades històriques, tot recollint informació dispersa i inèdita sobre els personatges rellevants. En resulten exemples evidents de la implicació de la noblesa amb la cultura trobadoresca i de la manera com la lírica dels trobadors reflecteix les xarxes familiars i polítiques, i així complementa la visió que tradicionalment s’ha tingut de les relacions entre la noblesa i la reialesa en moments de conflicte.

Tamil Nadu, in southern India, has the second-largest number of neem trees in the country. The oil from the seeds has high economic significance for cottage industries in the region. This paper examines 28 Candidate Plus Trees (CPTs) selected from six agroclimatic zones in Tamil Nadu which exhibit exceptional traits such as superior growth and other desirable characteristics. We aimed to understand seed morphology variations and physicochemical properties in the oil across different regions. Significant differences were observed for morphometric traits. Fruit production correlated negatively with rainfall. 100-seed kernel weight and seed length correlated with oil percentage. Rainfall influenced seed breadth and pericarp weight. Clustering using morphological characters did not group genotypes from the same region; while soil type could distinguish them. Correlation helped us determine the prominent features which influence the traits of interest, which can be useful for breeding programs, cultivation practices, and the development of neem-based products in Tamil Nadu and beyond.

Political realism points out that politics is to create and sustain a legitimate order in a context of persistent disagreement, with the possible surge of conflicts, and where political power inevitably uses coercion. Political realists contend that modus vivendi is a contingent political arrangement at the level of the political constitution that allows diverse groups of people to coexist peacefully. Proposals of modus vivendi do not say enough about how to manage disagreements and conflicts. In this paper, I argue that proposals of agonistic democracy supply this lack. I contend that agonistic democracy proposals share the premises of political realism and contribute to the sustainment of a liberal modus vivendi.

The synthesis of belite clinker was studied using industrial wastes: paper sludge, cement kiln dust and rice husk ashes, as substitutes for natural raw materials. Wastes were characterized by XRF, XRD and TG analysis. Different formulations were prepared to produce clinker at 1300, 1350 and 1400 °C. The clinker obtained was characterized using optical microscopy, XRD and f-CaO content determined by ethylene glycol method. Finally, the hydration of prepared cements with the clinkers was evaluated by isothermal microcalo­rimetry. It was found that by mixing paper sludge, cement kiln dust and rice husk ashes, it is possible to obtain belite clinker with f-CaO content below 0.5%, in clinkering temperatures between 1350 °C and 1400 °C without the use of natural raw materials. It was found that these cements have a high hydration kinetic, far above the rate of Ordinary Portland Cement, due mainly by the amorphous phase content in clinkers obtained.

This paper offers a descriptive and critical overview of the experience of the presence of women at university in Spain and several countries in Latin America. It focuses not just on how they embarked on different degrees, but also on the extent to which they went on to exercise professionally and the social barriers encountered at each step. It describes some of the strategies used on the paths followed to study at university during almost one hundred and fifty years, and the achievements made possible by this education, both inside and outside the academic setting. The paper draws on primary documentary sources from university archives and newspaper libraries and includes a review of the literature on the subject. These documentary searches provided us with a great deal of valuable information that has helped us in our task. The indicators of the subject matter studied are, amongst others, university education, female lecturers, history and sociology, female students and life aspirations.

High water absorption is a typical characteristic of recycled coarse aggregate and is often used to explain the loss of performance of concrete when replacing natural coarse aggregate with recycled coarse aggregate. Extensive attention has been paid to the mean value of the water absorption of recycled coarse aggregate, but not to the standard deviation. This paper aims to assess whether recycled coarse aggregates with the same mean water absorption but different standard deviations will perform equally in high-performance concrete (HPC). The resulting HPC mixtures exhibited very similar compressive strength. Even so, it was hypothesised that as the standard deviation of the water absorption of recycled coarse aggregate increases over a wide range, the compressive strength of HPC will first increase due to local variations in the water/cement ratio, then decrease due to the presence of weak particles, and finally remain constant due to the role of the surrounding new mortar.

The 300 series austenitic stainless steels are widely used in industries due to their special properties. High heat in fusion welding reduces the properties of these steels and causes many problems. Therefore, stir friction spot welding, which is a type of solid state welding, is useful and widely used in high-tech industries. In this paper, a 3D dynamic explicit finite element model is developed to simulate the friction stir spot welding of 304L stainless steel plates. Using this model, the temperature distribution and the size of weld zones (thickness of weld zones) are obtained. Then, by experimental study, the results of the temperature and the size of weld zones were obtained to be a criterion for comparing and validating the numerical results. Microstructure and hardness of these zones are determined experimentally. Finally, a mathematical model based on the response surface methodology is proposed to predict the size of weld zones. Good agreement between the numerical results that are produced by the finite element simulation, the proposed model and the experimental data is observed. The results show the maximum temperature level appears in the stir zone and it reduces by moving from the weld center. Also, by increasing the rotational speed, plunging depth and dwell time of the tool, the size of both the stir zone and the heat affected zone increase to a peak value and then the size of the latter zone decreases.

The Spanish Civil War caused the largest diaspora of contemporary Spain. Within the consequences of this dispersion, this paper proposes to analyze the transformations that took place in the painting of muralist José Vela Zanetti. However, in order to delineate the artist’s progress and the different painting techniques that he assumed in the Dominican Republic, where his mandatory exile took him, it is important to start from the stage that preceded it, both at a personal level and at that of changing contexts. Methodologically, this paper is approached from the viewpoint of social and cultural history, with two basic conceptual pillars: transculturation and cultural transfer. The analysis of numerous sources has allowed us to learn about the multiple influences and feedbacks that occurred from the perspective of the exile and the host country, so as to stimulate debate about the artistic transformations of exiled painters and Dominican artists in 1940’s.

This paper investigates the feasibility of using recycled plastic composed of polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), as a basis for the fabrication of plastic bricks for non-structural walls starting from the material characterization. The deformation properties of plastic bricks were evaluated under the application of compression, flexural and traction forces; the thermal analysis of the material was carried out by means of the ignition test, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and its water ab-sorption capacity was also tested. Satisfactory results were obtained in the tests carried out; It was found that the compressive strength of the material complies with the requirements of standard specifications for conventional bricks (clay - concrete), and the physicochemical properties of the composite meet specifications of material for use in non-structural walls; which makes it an innovative material with enormous potential for use in the construction sector.

This paper investigates the use of Na2CO3 as an alkaline activator on the durability of the alkali-activated slag (AAS) mortar toward sulfates and acids. The behavior of this binder in these aggressive environments is compared to those of slags activated with Na2SiO3 and NaOH. In addition, the setting times, workabilities, mechanical properties and drying shrinkage were evaluated. The AAS had superior workabilities, faster setting times and higher shrinkage rates than the Portland cement (PC). Increases in the activator dosages had positive effects on the mechanical strengths of the materials. Na2SiO3 was the best activator in terms of strength development, but it led to much higher shrinkage. The AAS showed less expansion and lower weight losses than the PC when exposed to sulfate and acids, respectively. The Na2CO3-AAS exhibited less shrinkage and higher resistance to sulfuric acid than the other activators, but the mechanical strength seen at early ages was low.

Bond deterioration in reinforced concrete (RC) structures is frequently caused by aging, environmental factors, overloading, or poor design. This deterioration may cause the structure to lose its aesthetic, and eventually collapse. The behavior of structures that exhibit bond deterioration is poorly understood and inadequately maintained. The response of RC structures exhibiting bond loss under tension load is presented in this paper. In order to comprehend the impact of bond loss in RC composite, the RC system was first built for a pullout. It was then expanded to the nib corner of RC dapped end beams. Additionally, the system was analytically examined using 3-dimensional FEmodel. The bond loss created a weak zone with internal cracks parallel to the bar’s axis. The nib section separated from the full depth of the dapped end, while the hanger reinforcement resisted the diagonal tension cracks. The dapped section must therefore be given more consideration during monitoring and maintenance.

The elements in conventional structures are perfectly ranked, so that load transmission is logical and follows the usual structural orders. Nevertheless, in reciprocal structures each element has to support all of the others in a less intuitive pattern of load transmission. The purpose of this paper is to understand exactly how load is transmitted between elements, quantifying this analytically by developing a new method which is applicable to a flat structure composed of a basic unit with any number of nexors. It is based on determining the increase in load to which the members in a reciprocal structure are subjected by calculating the coefficient k, or “transference coefficient”. The k coefficient value, and therefore the load transferred between members, falls with the number of nexors, with the proximity of point loads to exterior supports, and with the size of the central space in the structure.

This paper presents the design, construction, calibration and automation of a reverberation chamber for small samples. A balance has been sought between reducing sample size, to reduce the manufacturing costs of materials, and finding the appropriate volume of the chamber, to obtain reliable values at high and mid frequencies. The small-sized reverberation chamber, that was built, has a volume of 1.12 m3 and allows for the testing of samples of 0.3 m2. By using diffusers, to improve the diffusion degree, and automating measurements, we were able to improve the reliability of the results, thus reducing test errors. Several comparison studies of the measurements of the small-sized reverberation chamber and the standardised reverberation chamber are shown, and a good degree of adjustment can be seen between them, within the range of valid frequencies. This paper presents a small laboratory for comparing samples and making decisions before the manufacturing of larger sizes.

Cold recycled bound materials (CRBMs) provide an economic and environmental advantage for pavements since they decrease energy and raw material consumption. However, design methods for airfield pavements do not include key CRBM properties. In this paper an empirical-mechanistic method is used to study airfield pavement design with CRBM in order to develop design guidance. The aim of the paper is to obtain the inputs related to material properties needed for use in this method. For this purpose, CRBM containing reclaimed asphalt, with fly ash, cement and foamed bitumen as stabilising agents, was characterised. The methodology included indirect tensile stiffness modulus (ITSM) and indirect tensile fatigue tests (ITFT) in strain control mode. The inputs needed for a pavement design analysis with CRBM were then obtained. The results showed the importance of further study on CRBM fatigue to understand the behaviour of these mixes under cyclic loading.

Fracture of steel-fibre-reinforced-concrete occurs mostly in the form of a smeared crack band undergoing progressive microcracking. For FE modelling and design purposes, this crack band could be characterised by a stress-strain (σ-ε) relationship. For industrially-produced steel fibres, existing methodologies such as RILEM TC 162-TDF (2003) propose empirical equations to predict a trilinear σ-ε relationship directly from bending test results. This paper evaluates the accuracy of these methodologies and their applicability for roller-compacted-concrete and concrete incorporating steel fibres recycled from post-consumer tyres. It is shown that the energy absorption capacity is generally overestimated by these methodologies, sometimes up to 60%, for both conventional and roller-compacted concrete. Tensile behaviour of fibre-reinforced-concrete is estimated in this paper by inverse analysis of bending test results, examining a variety of concrete mixes and steel fibres. A multilinear relationship is proposed which largely eliminates the overestimation problem and can lead to safer designs.

The paper shows a comparative study of the influence of whitening additives (kaolin, TiO2 and СаСО3) on the production of decorative alkali-activated slag cement and mortars with a degree of whiteness of at least 70%; as well as their influence on the structure formation and evolution of physico-mechanical properties. According to results obtained, kaolin provides chemical bonding of Na+ into insoluble zeolite-like compounds; and CaCO3 densifies the structure and reduces shrinkage deformations. At the early stages of hardening (up to 7 days), the additions of kaolin and calcite, due to their significant amount (15 and 24%), reduces the compressive strength of the cement paste; nevertheless, at later ages (until 90 days) the difference in strength almost disappears. The high colourfastness and weather resistance of pigmented cements under the influence of ultraviolet radiation and freeze/thaw cycles has been established. A comparative assessment of the economic efficiency has shown that СаСО3 is the best cost-effective additive.

This paper focuses on the demolition of boulevards and the construction of flyovers in Madrid. These two engineering works are part of a concept of modernization based on private transport that was promoted during the 1960’s which resulted in a serious urban crisis. The concept of the “urban” is seen as a global phenomenon embedded in wider historical processes that went beyond the Spanish national background: this transformation was a result of the solutions given by traffic engineering and urban planning. These two branches of international knowledge shared a same tendency to prioritize driver’s interests at the expense of pedestrians, who were pushed out of the streets. Moreover, the reliance on private transport failed to organize communications between the center and the outskirts of Madrid, regarded as a metropolitan area. The local authorities used propaganda to legitimize its idea of modernization. However, a wave of discomfort spread across the citizens and was channeled into open criticism of the flyovers. This unease can be linked to a general rejection of the practical applications of post-World War II urban planning.

The development of archaeology as a scientific discipline and its legislative regulation from the nineteenth century onwards have served as the framework for a series of interventions in the field of heritage. The recovery of monuments and testimonies of the past helped society to rediscover its roots, represented in certain iconic elements which in turn became symbols of identity. At the same time, the phenomenon of tourism emerged as a leisure activity associated, above all, with the enjoyment of the leisure time of the new bourgeoisie. The union of these two poles of interest, heritage and tourism, is therefore due to a demand from the society in which these activities take place. The study of the development of this phenomenon in Spain leads us to investigate three different cases: Carmona, Mérida and Tarragona, whose common link is the Hispano-Roman past. This paper analyses the confluences and particularities of these three paradigmatic enclaves in Hispanic archaeology, which are also exponents-and catalysts-of the birth and development of archaeological tourism.

During his embassy to France between 1557 and 1568, João Pereira Dantas produced valuable reports on French events that have remained almost unnoticed. The purpose of this article is to present the major themes of Dantas’s epistolary and to invite experts on the history of France and Europe to make greater use of their contents. Additionally, this paper demonstrates the key role played by Dantas at the Valois court, by documenting his relations with Queen Catherine de Medici and King Charles IX. The study of Dantas’s epistolary, also reveals his use of France as a centre for Portuguese networks of European information. Finally, through a careful study of Dantas’s actions and a comparison to his predecessors in the French embassy, the importance of the French connection for Portugal - and, crucially, vice-versa - is made in an under-studied period of French-Portuguese relations deeply influenced by the French civil wars.

The influence of the ageing temperature on the hardness, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity of the EN AW-7075 aluminium alloy was studied in this paper. After solution treating the alloy at 480 °C for 1 h and quenching it in ice water, the investigated alloy was characterized using Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) in order to determine the optimal temperatures for the isochronal ageing treatments. Afterwards, isochronal ageing was conducted at the temperature range of 110 °C-250 °C for 30 min The hardness, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity and microstructural features were investigated during the ageing treatments. Hardness had a peak value after ageing at 150 °C, while other properties gradually increased with the ageing temperature. Microstructural investigation of the aged alloy by SEM-EDS revealed the existence of precipitated phases that appear homogenously distributed in the microstructure.

This paper examines the effect on mechanical properties such as compressive strength, flexural strength, and dynamic modulus of elasticity (DYE) of different proportions of wollastonite (β-CaSiO3) and colloidal nano-silica (n-SiO2) partially replacing cement. Durability indicators (water absorption, sorptivity and sulphate treatment test) were also examined to ascertain the quality of hardened paste mixes with respect to the control mix. The regression models were found for mechanical properties using different parameters from the results obtained, and statistical relations were established and validated. Regression analysis shows the significance of every parameter considered and model for the prediction of mechanical strengths. Finally, the results were substantiated by the microstructural characterization by FESEM. β-CaSiO3 and colloidal n-SiO2 replaced cement by 15%, and 1.5%-6% with an offset of 1.5%, respectively at low (0.25), medium (0.40) and high (0.55) water/binder (w/b) ratio. FESEM micrographs showed dense Calcium-silicate-hydrate (CSH) gel and stratlingite (CASH) was formed by blended cement paste mixes containing β-CaSiO3 and n-SiO2. n-SiO2 at 3% and CaSiO3 at 15% replacements of cement (NS3 mix) was the optimum replacement level for the cement paste mix. Analysed regression model suggests that the models and parameters were found significant and can also be used for prediction (based on R2 values and p-value).

Sandstones have been widely used in construction for their abundance, aesthetics, and ease of extraction. To determine sandstones’ quality, it is essential to analyse their petrographic and petrophysical properties and sensitivity (durability and conservation) to environmental agents. This paper evaluates the physical-mechanical changes undergone by Sierra de la Demanda (Burgos, Spain) sandstone under combined and induced water and salt aggression and assesses ESTEL 1100’s effectiveness and suitability as a treatment. This sandstone is porous, permeable, dense and quartz-rich with high hardness and strength. The treatment improved its petrophysical properties by modifying its pore geometry and connectivity, reducing absorbency, permeability and anisotropy, and further increasing its hardness and resistance. Salts did not substantially modify its properties as its porosity type absorbed the crystallisation pressure. Ultimately, its pore system and predominantly quartz composition make it a high-quality, weather-resistant material compatible with the treatment applied.

Alkali-activated slag (AAS) materials activated by NaOH or waterglass has been long-term criticized for the developed substantial shrinkage. To this regard, this paper explored MgO as both an activator and an expansive agent to prepare shrinkage-free AAS. The setting time, mechanical strength, pore structure, autogenous shrinkage, drying shrinkage, and hydration products of MgO-activated AAS were studied. Experimental results confirmed that MgO can effectively mitigate the autogenous shrinkage and drying shrinkage of AAS via the expansive deformation caused by Mg(OH)2. Generally, AAS with a higher dosage of MgO developed less shrinkages and refiner pore structures with more gel pores. An optimal dosage of 9% MgO is recommended to prepare AAS with near zero shrinkage and the highest flexural strength.

This paper uses the example of the British Guiana Court at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 as a case study to demonstrate how British Guiana (now Guyana) was represented in Britain at the time, by crossreferencing different materials (e.g. objects, correspondence, reports, and newspapers from that period). This exhibition also shows which raw materials from the British Guiana were of interest to Britain and the involvement of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in this matter. Nevertheless, the exhibition not only displayed objects and commodities, such as the case of sugar, but also displayed people. Here, particular attention is paid to the Amerindians who were portrayed as living ethnological exhibits at the exhibition. This paper aims to understand how British Guiana was seen and administered by its mother country and also how Everard im Thurn (1852-1932), the explorer, sought to manoeuvre that representation, as well as his relation with RBG, Kew. Taking into consideration that this colony was a neglected area of the British Empire, even in im Thurn’s time, this exhibition was an opportunity not only to display the empire but also for advertising the potential of the neglected colony and to ensure that it would not be forgotten.

This paper presents the study of plasterboard and rockwool sandwich panels cracking under flexural loading. These panels are usually used to perform interior partition walls and they frequently show cracking pathology due to excessive deflexion of the slabs. There are currently no reliable simulation models and experimental data for the study of this problem. This paper presents the results of an experimental campaign aimed to characterize the fracture behaviour of sandwich panels and their individual components. In addition, the paper presents a cohesive model with embedded crack to simulate the fracture behaviour of the panel. Finally we present the results of tests for mixed mode fracture (tensile / shear) commercial panels and their behaviour is reproduced with the cohesive model proposed, yielding a good fit.

The shear strength of dry joints plays an important role in the design of prestressed segmental structures. However, the formulations of different design codes do not conform to the behavior of multiple-keyed joints. This paper ana - lyzes the fracture behavior of dry keyed joints under shear loading, focusing on the influence of the number of keys on the joint capacity and its average shear stress. It has been developed a finite element model of four different types of joints, with a number of keys varying between one and seven. The results show that the average shear stress transferred across the joint decreases with the number of keys but this effect is less appreciated as the prestressing stress increases. In this paper it is presented a formula of adjustment of the obtained numerical results including a factor with the dependence on the number of keys.

Recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs) have been demonstrated as an alternative source to exhaustible natural aggregates. In this paper, we focus on the enhancement treatments for coarse and fine RCAs and the effect of these treatments on the durability of recycled concrete (RC) made from treated RCAs by the weakening and strengthening of the cement paste adhered to their surface. We conducted comparative analyses on the improvement of durability and mechanical properties. The results showed that the reduction of water absorption in RCAs increases the compressive strength of RC and that there is a strong linear trend of improvement in the carbonation depth, chloride ion penetration, and compressive strength of RC. For fine and coarse RCAs, the treatment mechanism and particle size are determinants in efficiently improving RC durability.

This paper presents an expert system to support the inspection and diagnosis of partition walls or wall coverings mounted using the Drywall (DW) construction method. This system includes a classification of anomalies in DW and their probable causes. This inspection system was used in a field work that included the observation of 121 DWs. This paper includes a statistical analysis of the anomalies observed during these inspections and their probable causes. The correlation between anomalies and causes in the sample is also thoroughly analyzed. Anomalies are also evaluated for area affected, size, repair urgency and aesthetic value of the affected area. The conclusions of the statistical analysis allowed the creation of an inventory of preventive measures to be implemented in the design, execution and use phases in order to lessen the magnitude or eradicate the occurrence of anomalies in DW. These measures could directly help improve the quality of construction.

Over the past few decades, hundreds of papers have been published on the benefits of including rock powder as a raw material in fired clay brick manufacture. Very little has been written, however, about the durability and long-term behaviour of the final product. As a rule, the ceramic bricks used in construction in developing countries are fired at low temperatures, which detracts from their mechanical performance. This is particularly visible in harsh environmental conditions, where weathering causes severe deterioration. The present paper describes the impact of weathering on clay bricks containing from 0 to 10% granite powder, an industrial by-product. The specimens were fired at 500, 700 or 900 ºC and subsequently exposed to natural environmental conditions or accelerated laboratory weathering. Their physical and mechanical properties were evaluated to determine the effect of the composition of raw materials on fired clay product durability.

This paper explores the atavistic and feudal historical fantasies that structure Isak Dinesen’s 1937 memoir, Out of Africa. It analyses the imagery and symbolic logic of the memoir in conjunction with Dinesen’s letters from Africa in order to examine how Dinesen derives an idiom to speak of Africa that synthesizes the social structures of European feudalism, the discourse of the noble savage and the aesthetics of the sublime. The paper seeks to unpack the conundrum that fashions a modern, emancipated female subjectivity from the anachronistic paradigm of feudalism and within the framework of imperial domination and colonial occupation. The paper explores how Dinesen’s feudal idiom extends the genre of European pastoral to the colonial milieu and places it in the service of a larger search for a discourse of legitimacy. I argue that this is an abiding preoccupation of colonial literature. I analyze in detail the specular logic through which the narrator confronts Africa as a space that alternately panders to or challenges the psycho-political narcissism of the settler. Dinesen’s memoir reveals the myriad operations of the narcissistic structure through which the narrator strives to fill the copula of the question, “What is Africa to you or you to Africa?”

In German scholarship of the post-war period, the category of space was regarded as discredited, because of its abuse during the Nazi period. This applies in particular to the 1970s and 80s, when novel approaches in social and economic history were developed. Research on proto-industrialisation, broadly examining its internal structures, did not take into account the export orientation of Central Europe’s early modern commodity production. At the same time, the expanding research on Europe’s Atlantic empires, including the trans-Atlantic slave trade, did hardly take notice of the manufactures from the Holy Roman Empire, distributed all around the Atlantic basin. This paper examines those conditions favouring German proto-industries which are relevant for a ‘spatial approach’ to the phenomenon. It also covers the late medieval beginnings of this process, in order to demonstrate the continuity of Central Europe’s entanglement with the Atlantic world. The paper further emphasises that any future research using spatial categories must be aware of the ideological contamination of the German term ‘Raum’ during the 19th and 20th century. The interlace of economic and social history with historiography demands a compilation from current and older research literature, some of it on different regions and subjects

The purpose of this paper is an investigation of the possible role of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) on water transport kinetics and mechanical properties of hydrated lime (CL90) and Portland cement (PC) mortars. The properties of hydrated lime are significantly different from those of cement and therefore modifying fresh and hardened properties of these mortars are vital for mortar/substrate optimisation in masonry construction. The parameters investigated in this paper often are the main barriers to the use of hydrated lime in construction practice. The results show that transfer sorptivity and time to dewater freshly-mixed hydrated lime mortars can be modified when binder is partially replaced with SCMs. Compressive strength of CL90 mortars is increased systematically with the increased replacement levels of SCMs and the results are supported with the microstructural images. The ability to modify the water transport kinetics and mechanical properties allows compatibility between the mortar and the substrate unit in masonry construction.

In the building acoustics field usually fibrous materials are used as sound absorbing materials. Nowadays polyester fiber is one of the most used but the pure chip of polyester has a problem. Polyester is obtained of petroleum and its price was increasing last years. This paper, presents an alternative polyester wool which obtained by PET treatment (recycle of plastic bottle’s). Absorption coefficient values at normal incidence measured in reverberation chamber were compared (new wool obtained by PET method and materials obtained from pure chip of polyester).Furthermore, this paper propound a empiric model that describe the acoustic performance of this new wool. The results have been good. The pure fiber has been replaced by recycle fiber in its manufacture process.