''New technologies are advancing at an unprecedentedly accelerating pace over the years. The distance humanity has covered in 2200 years, from the Antikythera mechanism of ancient Greek world, the oldest known analogue computer, to the 4-bit first microprocessor in 1971, is not even comparable to the advancement of technology in the last 50 years. This dazzling journey of technological development has impacted all aspects of modern life, including industry.Earthquake engineering is one of the disciplines that has embraced new technologies. Earthquake engineers, accustomed to dealing with highly nonlinear and dynamic problems that require complex mathematical and often iterative approaches, are called nowadays to summon dexterity on advanced coding, and masteries on statistics and handling of large amount of data. Artificial Intelligence, Sensing Technologies of all sorts, and Big Data Analytics emerge as essential tools for reducing uncertainty, facilitating engineering process and enhancing knowledge. This Special Issue is a manifestation of the fact that the new technologies can be useful for the most challenging problems of earthquake engineering, opening new prospects in the field.''
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In this track we therefore welcomed papers that investigate or show how incorporating ethical reflection in the design process can foster creative solutions for future use of technology. Or the other way around: how design can cater for a creative approach to ethical deliberation. Completely in line with the theme of our track, the submitted papers show that there are multiple other creative ways to connect ethics and design.
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Two strong earthquakes hit Thessaly region on March 3rd, 2021 (Mw = 6.3) and on March 4th, 2021 (Mw = 6.1). The epicentres of the earthquakes were located at approximately 23 and 29 km respectively NW of Larissa, one of the most populous cities in Greece. Several aftershocks followed thereafter. Although no injuries were recorded, several structures suffered significant damage close to the epicentre, while some others collapsed. Approximately 300 residents of the village of Damasi were transferred to temporary settlements and tents. The event occurred during the COVID19 lockdown and created significant stress and disruption to residents. This paper focuses on the earthquake swarm itself as well as the damages observed in residential buildings, schools, and churches in the earthquake-stricken region. The earthquakes mainly impacted low-rise domestic masonry buildings, while the more modern reinforced concrete structures built following the recent seismic regulations were almost unaffected. The typology of buildings in the region, together with photographs demonstrating the extent of damage are presented herein. Despite the rather satisfactory performance of modern buildings in recent earthquakes in Greece, the preliminary investigations from the Thessaly Earthquakes showed that there is still a significant level of vulnerability in existing masonry building stock constructed using traditional methods and materials. This issue could re-emerge in future earthquakes striking other rural areas of Greece, something that needs to be addressed systematically in the future.
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