The role of phonological processes in determining the vowel inventory of Brazilian Portuguese

This article deals with the non-final posttonic vowel subsystem of Brazilian Portuguese, specifically it questions if the high-mid vowels /e, o/ have undergone neutralization in this position. Three accounts have been provided so far to answer this question. Câmara Jr. (1999) proposes that the nonfinal posttonic subsystem is composed of four vowels /i, e, a, u/; Bisol (2003) advocates for a three-vowel subsystem /i, a, u/, and Ribeiro (2007) defends a five-vowel subsystem /i, e, a, o, u/. In this paper, I show that mid-vowel alternation in nonfinal posttonic context is the key to defining what the vowel subsystem is, which must be composed of five vowels /i, e, a, o, u/; however, differently to what has been proposed by Ribeiro (2007) for whom mid-vowel alternation is a case of lexical diffusion, I show that a rule-based approach is more explanatory of the phenomena

Facebook As A Campaign Tool During The 2012 Elections: A New Dimension To Agenda Setting Discourse

The social networking site Facebook has risen to become an important campaign tool for politicians while also raising new questions about how its use is reshaping the agenda setting paradigm. This research examines the extent to which the Facebook messages of presidential nominees during the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign were transferred to the online public on Facebook and, via a two-step flow, to the greater citizen’s agenda. Findings demonstrate that in their political campaigns on Facebook, politicians are successfully transferring their first- and, to a lesser extent, second-level agendas to the Facebook public agenda, which largely mirrors the greater public agenda.

Dynamic Properties of Modified Systems

A set of methods is presented for convenient calculation of the changes in the frequency and shape of any mode of undamped vibration of a structure due to changes in the parameters of the system. Previously reported methods of similar type did not include the possibility of changes in the system that increase the number of degrees of freedom. The extension to cases in which degrees of freedom are added is effected by perturbation methods. In particular, the methods presented can treat close or multiple frequencies. Some sample numerical results are given for separated frequencies and multiple onesNational Science Foundation under Grants No. NSF CEE 82-03973 and NSF DSR 84-19191Department of Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USAUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ingeniería::Facultad de Ingeniería::Escuela de Ingeniería Civi

Dynamic Analysis of Modified Structural Systems

The subject of this study is the development of a set of methods for the calculation of the changes in the frequency of vibration and mode shape of a structure due to changes in the physical system. Such changes may consist of variations of the structural properties of a given system or even of the addition of new degrees of freedom.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ingeniería::Instituto Investigaciones en Ingeniería (INII

Contemporary societies "under the veil" of A Theory of Justice / Sociedades contemporâneas "sob o véu" de Uma Teoria da Justiça

The present work evaluated, from the perspective of John Rawls' A Theory of Justice, the data released by the United Nations Development Program in the 2017 Human Development Report. From this information, it was demonstrated that the classification proposed by the Human Development Index adjusted to Inequality, conveyed in this document, presents dissonance in relation to the Rawlsian perspective. Therefore, through the analysis of multiple criteria such as religious freedom, gender equality and ethnic-racial isonomy, a reflection was established regarding the need to adjust the quality of life — up until now established as a parameter for 'ranking' countries — for an approach to social justice

The status of unstressed lax-mid vowels in northern dialect of Brazilian Portuguese

This study experimentally analyses the claim that northern dialects of Brazilian Portuguese show a pattern of reduction via laxing. With an experiment of sentence reading that resulted in a corpus of 4800 tokens, the analysis showed that it is possible to predict the surfacing of tense-mid vowels. In the data, they either result from [+ATR] harmony or coarticulation. Lax-mid vowels, however, cannot be fully predicted as the result of harmony. It is also shown that the quality of unstressed lax-mid vowels is not different from their stressed counterpart, a further evidence that reduction via laxing in fact, exists. --- Original in English

O LIVRO DIDÁTICO DO PORTUGUÊS: uma análise da oralidade

Este artigo analisa a abordagem da oralidade em livros didáticos do português. A inegável relevância dos materiais curriculares no processo de ensino/aprendizagem requer que tais ferramentas atendam às necessidades oriundas dessa relação priorizando questões asseguradas pelos PCNs, como é o caso da oralidade. É imprescindível, desta forma, que o livro didático – um dos mais importantes materiaiscurriculares – esteja preparado para auxiliar neste complexo processo. Sendo assim, esta análise incide sobre dois livros didáticos, um adotado no ensino fundamental e outro, no médio, com o intuito de contribuir para o desenvolvimento e aperfeiçoamento dos livrosdidáticos de português, além de propor atividades para desenvolver nos alunos essa competência.Palavras-chave: Língua portuguesa. Livro didático. Oralidade.ABSTRACTThis paper analyses how Portuguese didactic books approaches orality. The undeniable importance of curricular material on teaching/learning process requires these tools to serve the necessities of this relation prioritizing matters assureds by PCNs, as is the case of orality. Therefore, it is indispensable that the didactic book – one of the most important curricular materials – is prepared to assist this complex process. Thus, this analyze fall upon two didactic books, one used on elementary school and the otherone, on high school, intending to contribute to the improvement of Portuguese’s didactic books, and also to propose activities to develop the competence of the students.Keywords: Portuguese language. Didactic book. Orality

A SÍNCOPE REVISITADA: análise com base no corpus do alima

Estudo que analisa a síncope em proparoxítonas no falar maranhense. Investiga-se os motivadores linguísticos e extralinguísticos que condicionam o aparecimento do fenômeno na fala de 44 indivíduos (homens e mulheres), naturais de 10 municípios maranhenses, distribuídos igualmente em duas faixas etárias. Baseado metodologicamente na sociolinguística, o estudo aponta a relevância do traço de articulação da vogal,do contexto fonológico precedente, do contexto fonológico seguinte, da escolaridade e da localidade, como condicionantes do fenômeno. Assim, pôde-se concluir que o fenômeno ocorre em contextos específicos, e não gerais (ARAÚJO, 2007), bem como que os fatores extralinguísticos atuam de forma conjunta sobre o fenômeno investigado, não exercendo, portanto, influência isoladamente.  Palavras-chave: Proparoxítonas. Síncope. Tonicidade.Abstract:  Study that analyzes the syncope in proparoxitones on Maranhão’s speech. It searches the linguistics and extra linguistics motivators that leads to the emergence of the phenomenon on the speech of 44 individuals (men and women), born and raised in 10 different cities of Maranhão, equally distributed into two age groups. Methodologically based on the sociolinguistics theory, the paper highlights the relevancy of vowel articulation feature, precedent phonological context, following phonological context, schooling and locality as relevant towards the phenomenon appearance. Thus, it concludes that the phenomenon occurs in specific contexts, not in general (ARAÚJO, 2007), as well as the extra linguistics variables acting as a group with the other variables, not carrying out, therefore, the influence isolated.  Keywords: Proparoxitones. Syncope. Tonic

Hotspots of predation persist outside marine reserves in the historically fished Mediterranean Sea

8 páginas, 4 figuras, 2 tablas.The Mediterranean Sea has sustained historically high levels of fishing since pre-Roman times. This onceabundant sea has witnessed major declines in apex predators, now largely restricted to isolated pockets within marine reserves. This depletion could critically impact macrophyte communities that are strongly structured by top-down processes.We evaluated rates of predation on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, a key herbivore of macroalgal and Posidonia oceanica seagrass seascapes, across a large stretch of the Western Mediterranean coastline. Fish predation was generally higher inside reserves, but was equally high at several locations outside these boundaries. Although critically low at some locations compared to reserves, predation was functionally ubiquitous in most habitats, seasons and sites. Fish were still primarily responsible for this predation with no clear evidence of meso-predator release. Macroalgal habitats were consistently subject to higher predation than in seagrass meadows, functionally critical given the vulnerability of macroalgal systems to overgrazing. Predation hotspots were clearly associated with high fish predator numbers and low refuge availability. Taken together, these results suggest that long-term overfishing may not necessarily reflect a complete loss of trophic function. Pockets of fish predation may still persist, linked to habitat complexity, predator behavioral adaptations and landscape-level features. Given the essential role top-down control plays in macroalgal communities, regulating fishing at these predation hotspots is vital to effectively conserve habitats from future hysteretic shifts. Even historically fished seas may retain areas where trophic function persists; identifying these areas is critical to preserving the remaining ecological integrity of these coastlines.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (projects CTM2010-22273-C02-01-02 and CTM2013-48027-C03-R) and supported J. B. (scholarship BES-2011-043630) and CSIC- 201330E062 supported R. A.'s visitorship.Peer reviewe

Comunicação móvel: a alternativa como mídia independente

Demonstra a importância que as comunicações voltadas para dispositivos móveis têm assumido na sociedade contemporânea e que elas podem ser melhores exploradas. Demostra que este setor está em crescimento, através de uma análise histórica, social e com base em dados de pesquisas mercadológicas e de usos de aparelhos móveis. Com o intuito de provar a existência de um mercado de conteúdo mobile, este trabalho exemplifica o projeto EI Móvel, do grupo de mídia Esporte Interativo, com entrevistas com o presidente do grupo, Edgar Diniz, e com o vice-presidente de novas mídias, Maurício Portela. Baseado nas ideias de Marshall Mcluhan, Derrick de Kerckhove e Pierre Lévy, este projeto lança uma visão otimista sobre a comunicação voltada para dispositivos móveis dentro de uma era da cibercultura e do ciberespaço