9,675 research outputs found

    Annals [...].

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    Pedometrics: innovation in tropics; Legacy data: how turn it useful?; Advances in soil sensing; Pedometric guidelines to systematic soil surveys.Evento online. Coordenado por: Waldir de Carvalho Junior, Helena Saraiva Koenow Pinheiro, Ricardo Simão Diniz Dalmolin

    Foundations for programming and implementing effect handlers

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    First-class control operators provide programmers with an expressive and efficient means for manipulating control through reification of the current control state as a first-class object, enabling programmers to implement their own computational effects and control idioms as shareable libraries. Effect handlers provide a particularly structured approach to programming with first-class control by naming control reifying operations and separating from their handling. This thesis is composed of three strands of work in which I develop operational foundations for programming and implementing effect handlers as well as exploring the expressive power of effect handlers. The first strand develops a fine-grain call-by-value core calculus of a statically typed programming language with a structural notion of effect types, as opposed to the nominal notion of effect types that dominates the literature. With the structural approach, effects need not be declared before use. The usual safety properties of statically typed programming are retained by making crucial use of row polymorphism to build and track effect signatures. The calculus features three forms of handlers: deep, shallow, and parameterised. They each offer a different approach to manipulate the control state of programs. Traditional deep handlers are defined by folds over computation trees, and are the original con-struct proposed by Plotkin and Pretnar. Shallow handlers are defined by case splits (rather than folds) over computation trees. Parameterised handlers are deep handlers extended with a state value that is threaded through the folds over computation trees. To demonstrate the usefulness of effects and handlers as a practical programming abstraction I implement the essence of a small UNIX-style operating system complete with multi-user environment, time-sharing, and file I/O. The second strand studies continuation passing style (CPS) and abstract machine semantics, which are foundational techniques that admit a unified basis for implementing deep, shallow, and parameterised effect handlers in the same environment. The CPS translation is obtained through a series of refinements of a basic first-order CPS translation for a fine-grain call-by-value language into an untyped language. Each refinement moves toward a more intensional representation of continuations eventually arriving at the notion of generalised continuation, which admit simultaneous support for deep, shallow, and parameterised handlers. The initial refinement adds support for deep handlers by representing stacks of continuations and handlers as a curried sequence of arguments. The image of the resulting translation is not properly tail-recursive, meaning some function application terms do not appear in tail position. To rectify this the CPS translation is refined once more to obtain an uncurried representation of stacks of continuations and handlers. Finally, the translation is made higher-order in order to contract administrative redexes at translation time. The generalised continuation representation is used to construct an abstract machine that provide simultaneous support for deep, shallow, and parameterised effect handlers. kinds of effect handlers. The third strand explores the expressiveness of effect handlers. First, I show that deep, shallow, and parameterised notions of handlers are interdefinable by way of typed macro-expressiveness, which provides a syntactic notion of expressiveness that affirms the existence of encodings between handlers, but it provides no information about the computational content of the encodings. Second, using the semantic notion of expressiveness I show that for a class of programs a programming language with first-class control (e.g. effect handlers) admits asymptotically faster implementations than possible in a language without first-class control

    How to Be a God

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    When it comes to questions concerning the nature of Reality, Philosophers and Theologians have the answers. Philosophers have the answers that can’t be proven right. Theologians have the answers that can’t be proven wrong. Today’s designers of Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games create realities for a living. They can’t spend centuries mulling over the issues: they have to face them head-on. Their practical experiences can indicate which theoretical proposals actually work in practice. That’s today’s designers. Tomorrow’s will have a whole new set of questions to answer. The designers of virtual worlds are the literal gods of those realities. Suppose Artificial Intelligence comes through and allows us to create non-player characters as smart as us. What are our responsibilities as gods? How should we, as gods, conduct ourselves? How should we be gods

    AIUCD 2022 - Proceedings

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    L’undicesima edizione del Convegno Nazionale dell’AIUCD-Associazione di Informatica Umanistica ha per titolo Culture digitali. Intersezioni: filosofia, arti, media. Nel titolo è presente, in maniera esplicita, la richiesta di una riflessione, metodologica e teorica, sull’interrelazione tra tecnologie digitali, scienze dell’informazione, discipline filosofiche, mondo delle arti e cultural studies

    In search of 'The people of La Manche': A comparative study of funerary practices in the Transmanche region during the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (250BC-1500BC)

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    This research project sets out to discover whether archaeological evidence dating between 2500 BC - 1500 BC from supposed funerary contexts in Kent, flanders and north-eastern Transmanche France is sufficient to make valid comparisons between social and cultural structures on either side of the short-sea Channel region. Evidence from the beginning of the period primarily comes in the form of the widespread Beaker phenomenon. Chapter 5 shows that this class of data is abundant in Kent but quite sparse in the Continental zones - most probably because it has not survived well. This problem also affects the human depositional evidence catalogued in Chapter 6, particularly in Fanders but also in north-eastern Transmanche France. This constricts comparative analysis, however, the abundant data from Kent means that general trends are still discernible. The quality and volume of data relating to the distribution, location, morphology and use of circular monuments in all three zones is far better - as demonstrated in Chapter 7 -mostly due to extensive aerial surveying over several decades. When the datasets are taken as a whole, it becomes possible to successfully apply various forms of comparative analyses. Most remarkably, this has revealed that some monuments apparently have encoded within them a sophisticated and potentially symbolically charged geometric shape. This, along with other less contentious evidence, demonstrates a level of conformity that strongly suggests a stratum of cultural homogeneity existed throughout the Transmanche region during the period 2500 BC - 1500 BC. The fact that such changes as are apparent seem to have developed simultaneously in each of the zones adds additional weight to the theory that contact throughout the Transmanche region was endemic. Even so, it may not have been continuous; there may actually have been times of relative isolation - the data is simply too course to eliminate such a possibility

    STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IN SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING IN INDONESIA

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    This research aims to understand the ways the preparers of sustainability reports in Indonesia embed stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting. This research seeks to understand the perceived role of stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting and examines whether the report preparers decouple their stakeholder engagement disclosures from the actual practices. The neo-institutional theory is used to illuminate the companies’ non-conformity responses to institutional influences. This research utilises mixed methods by deploying questionnaires, sustainability reports and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire survey was analysed using descriptive statistics. The interviews were conducted face-to-face and analysed using thematic analysis. Content analysis of stakeholder engagement disclosures was also undertaken on the 2007 to 2018 sustainability reports issued by the companies participating in the interviews. The findings of this research reveal that the report preparers attempt to embed stakeholder engagement in the companies’ sustainability reporting in response to coercive, normative and mimetic influences. However, stakeholder engagement is loosely embedded as a result of contextualising the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)’s conception of stakeholder engagement into Indonesia’s local contexts. Stakeholder engagement is perceived as having important roles in mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes and materiality assessment to define the report content. External stakeholders are engaged more inclusively in the former whereas internal stakeholders take control of the latter. It is not evident that the report preparers in Indonesia decouple stakeholder engagement disclosures from practices. However, the ways in which the companies practise their stakeholder engagement (means) deviate from the goals of stakeholder engagement suggested by the GRI’s principles for defining the report content (ends), known as the means-ends decoupling. The report preparers in Indonesia accept the GRI’s concept by meeting the suggested indicators, but unintentionally overlook the GRI’s principles that are required to be implemented as a new institution, rather than intentionally avoiding them. The main contribution of this research to the literature is that it provides insights into the need to embed stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting in an integral way, including by translating the GRI’s global conception into local context. This research also provides insights into the presumption that ‘companies report the practice’ of stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting—as suggested by the GRI and the extant literature. Just because the companies report the practice (means) by making reference to the GRI, it does not necessarily follow that the companies have conformed to the goals of stakeholder engagement suggested by the GRI’s principles for defining the report content (ends). Taking into full consideration Indonesia’s politicoeconomic, sociocultural and legal contexts, which can be dissimilar to other local contexts, this research contributes to an understanding of decoupling, especially the means-ends decoupling, which tends to be unintentional in the companies’ non-acquiescent response to institutional influences. The decoupling indicates that the report preparers consider the GRI’s stakeholder engagement indicators as technical prescriptions leading to box-ticking activities, rather than being thoroughly understood and implemented as a new institution. Besides, this research offers a practical contribution in that the companies’ sustainability reporting consultants could shepherd their clients’ stakeholder engagement, guided by the GRI standards (previously called guidelines), to go beyond merely meeting the GRI indicators and producing ‘nice to read’ sustainability reports

    A Novel Neurorehabilitation Model Designed to Examine the Neural Plasticity Involved in Disease

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    Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that that is most often characterised for its motor impairments. However, people with PD (PwPD) often experience a range of mental health and non-motor issues alongside their physical symptoms. Exercise has shown to positively impact and improve PD motor symptoms, less research observations have been shown in PD mental health and non-motor symptoms. Dance is a great form of exercise which provides both aerobic and anaerobic movements. Dance is constantly changing providing a creative outlet, dance provides flexibility and balance/coordination, develops social skills thereby improving mental health, and lastly dance with music combination allows this form of exercise to be unique in that it encompasses a multisensory component that exercise alone cannot provide. My dissertation aims to understand how dance impacts PD motor, non-motor symptoms and if the changes are associated to specific brain related alterations. Using behavioral, motor and EEG approaches, I will present three separate experiments to test the effects of dance on people with PD by first studying the potential impacts of dance on short-term behavioral changes in PwPD and their overall Quality of Life (QoL) after a 12-week dance intervention. Second I will present a novel examination of the interaction of dance on both behavioural measures and electroencephalography (EEG) activity before and after the short-term (1.25 hour) course of a single dance class. The third study is a novel examination of the interaction of dance on the progression of both behavioural measures and non-motor symptoms over the long-term course of participating in multiple dance classes over a 3-year period of time. Finally, EEG activity changes over the long-term course of participating in multiple dance classes over a 3-year period of time is presented. The results of these studies strengthen the idea of dance being an alternative or additional therapy for PwPD and also provides putative neuroplastic changes in the diseased brain

    The Efficiency of Polynomial Regression Algorithms and Pearson Correlation (r) in Visualizing and Forecasting Weather Change Scenarios

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    In this chapter, we will discuss the application of Python using the polynomial regression approach for weather forecasting. We will also evoke the role of Pearson correlation in modifying the trend of climate forecast. The weather data were processed via Aqua Crop by introducing daily climate observations. Accordingly, the software outputs are: reference evapotranspiration, maximum and minimum temperature, and precipitation. Additionally, we focused on the interference of the input data on the efficiency of predicting climate change scenarios. For that matter, we used this machine learning algorithm for two case studies, depending on the type of input data. As a result, we found that the outcome of polynomial regression was very sensitive to those input factors

    Maternal immunometabolism adaptation in pregnancy

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    Pregnant women undergo a series of metabolic and immunologic changes to ensure provision of nutrients to, and prevent rejection of, the fetus. To ensure continuous supply of glucose to the fetus, the mother increases glucose production, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. To meet her own energy demands, the mother transitions from lipid storage to lipolysis. To prevent rejection of the fetal semi-allograft, the mother’s immune system must be regulated, whilst maintaining protection against pathogens. Hypothesis: Well-recognised metabolic changes in pregnancy could impact maternal immune function. The aims of this project are to landscape the lipidomic profile using novel mass spectrometry techniques, and to determine whether monocytes undergo metabolic adaptation, if this occurs at 28 weeks of gestation, and if maternal obesity sabotages immunological adaptations. In addition, aims included investigation into the mechanisms which may protect the mother and fetus against SARS-CoV-2. Key findings unveiled significant phenotypic adaptations in the monocyte subsets during pregnancy, which are sabotaged by obesity. As the effect of maternal obesity is poorly understood, other immunological adaptations were investigated which revealed a shift to a Th1 and Th17 response which might contribute to the detrimental effects of obesity on pregnancy. At term, the monocytes illustrate a strong metabolic adaptation where their oxidative phosphorylation capabilities are reduced, confirmed by alterations in their mitochondria, with a downstream effect on their functionality with reduced production of lipid mediators and cytokines. While risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 is low to pregnant women and the fetus, there is increased risk of preterm birth and admission into ICU. The fetus is relatively protected against infection, with cases of vertical transmission being rare. This thesis illustrates an elevated presence of soluble SARS-CoV-2 related molecules in breast milk and amniotic fluid which are postulated to act as decoy traps for the virus, which protects the neonate. In conclusion, this thesis has revealed novel findings into the immunometabolism adaptation to pregnancy

    Derek Walcott : the development of a rooted vision (poetry and drama)

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    Since his first publications in the late forties, Derek Waleott has made a remarkable achievement as poet and dramatist. This thesis aims to trace his development towards a native vision in the corpus It covers Walcott's published works in poetry and drama from 1949 to 1972. Another Life (New York, 1973), the latest book of poetry which establishes Walcott as a major writer on the world scene, was published too late to be included in this investigation. It was, however, consulted as work in progress, am bears upon our analysis at several important points. Walcott evolves towards a vision of the region as an integral cultural entity whose destiny is in a renascence of the myth-making Imagination. It must start from an elemental self-exploration to fulfil the original purpose of such a role: to arrive at self-awareness in inventing new names for its new angst and aspirations. Roth the need and potential for this renascence derive from history. The dislocations and abnegations of history have left Caribbean man a reduced, isolated figure in the New World. It is a position which returns him to the primal. In dislocating the peoples of the region from their parent myths, however, history has left the vestigial traces of these myths reduced to their essentials. This combines with the closeness to the elemental to make the sense of the archetypal immanent in the New World setting. This means in essence that Wa1cott sees a native rehabilitation solely in terms of a self-dependent effort. It cannot be in terms of the recovery of the spiritual heritage of any parent tradition, such as the AfrIcan. The routes which the myth-making Imagination must traverse preclude any such single orientation. In ''What the Twilight Says", the classic essay which prefaces Dream on Monkey Mountain and Other Plays vi (New York, 1970), he expresses it thus: ". the darkness must be total, and the cave should not contain a single man-made, mnemonic object" (p.5). Placing emphasis on the self-creative effort, Walcott stands mainly for a critical attitude towards the shortcomings of his society, rather than a position of protest. His words in ''What the Twilight Says" show how consistent this approach is with the vision outlined above. It is not merely the debt of history, Walcott explains, which is Caribbean man's claim to the New World, but the spiritual revelation to be attained in his effort to "name" his own modes of experience (p.l7). It is through his own self-exploration that Walcott arrives at these definitions. He starts with a keen sense of the denials of history. As the young colonial artist nurtured on Western tradition, he is confounded in his effort to identify the conflict in the master's terms. Overcoming this, he moves into a period of intense self-exploration to discover the true sources of the predicament in his unique circumstances. Walcott is dependent on the elemental principles of Mind for this effort, and it gives rise to overreaching strains. But he has identified a native image in the process and found his bearings for resolving the residual conflicts of the effort, coming to terms with them, he is able to "name" the destiny of the region, and articulate a native myth. The pattern of this development is parallel in the poetry and the drama, which are complementary to each other in a unified achievement, The two are dealt with separately in this work: Part I deals with the poetry, and Part II, the drama. Thus treated, the complementary pattern between them is focussed more clearly. The emphasis in Walcott is on the individual effort. What emerges in his creative self-exploration in the poetry is authenticated in the original experience of the environment featured in the drama. This pivots on one essential link between the two. Walcott's persona dominates the poetry. In the drama, his main heroes are drawn from the most deprived and representative areas of experience in the region. They represent a pattern of experience which emerges as the direct counterpart to Walcott's own in the poetry - thus showing the rootedness of the vision
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