Evidence and Formal Models in the Linguistic Sciences

This dissertation contains a collection of essays centered on the relationship between theoretical model-building and empirical evidence-gathering in linguistics and related language sciences. The first chapter sets the stage by demonstrating that the subject matter of linguistics is manifold, and contending that discussion of relationships between linguistic models, evidence, and language itself depends on the subject matter at hand. The second chapter defends a restrictive account of scientific evidence. I make use of this account in the third chapter, in which I argue that if my account of scientific evidence is correct, then linguistic intuitions do not generally qualify as scientific evidence. Drawing on both extant and original empirical work on linguistic intuitions, I explore the consequences of this conclusion for scientific practice. In the fourth and fifth chapters I examine two distinct ways in which theoretical models relate to the evidence. Chapter four looks at the way in which empirical evidence can support computer simulations in evolutionary linguistics by informing and constraining them. Chapter five, on the other hand, probes the limits of how models are constrained by the data, taking as a case study empirically-suspect but theoretically-useful intentionalist models of meaning

Bayesian Methods for Prediction of Atomic Migration Barriers for Quantum-Mechanics-Based Material Design

The scope of this project is to provide a set of Bayesian methods to be applied to the task of potential energy barriers prediction. Energy barriers define a physical property of atoms that can be used to characterise their molecular dynamics, with applications in quantum-mechanics simulations for the design of new materials. The goal is to replace the currently used artificial neural network (ANN) with a method that apart of providing accurate predictions, can also assess the predictive certainty of the model. We propose several Bayesian methods and evaluate them on this task, demonstrating that sparse Gaussian process (SGP) are capable of providing predictions, and their confidence intervals, with a level of accuracy equivalent to the current ANN, in a bounded computational complexity time

A satellite navigation system to improve the management of intermodal drayage

The intermodal transport chain can become more efficient by means of a good organization of the drayage movements. Drayage in intermodal container terminals involves the pick up or delivery of containers at customer locations, and the main objective is normally the assignment of transportation tasks to the different vehicles, often with the presence of time windows. The literature shows some works on centralised drayage management, but most of them consider the problem only from a static and deterministic perspective, whereas the work we present here incorporates the knowledge of the real-time position of the vehicles, which permanently enables the planner to reassign tasks in case the problem conditions change. This exact knowledge of position of the vehicles is possible thanks to a geographic positioning system by satellite (GPS, Galileo, Glonass), and the results show that this additional data can be used to dynamically improve the solution

La Marta i el joc de les comportes a s'Albufera des Grau

La Marta i el joc de les comportes a s'Albufera des Gra

Dynamic approach to solve the daily drayage problem with travel time uncertainty

The intermodal transport chain can become more e cient by means of a good organization of drayage movements. Drayage in intermodal container terminals involves the pick up and delivery of containers at customer locations, and the main objective is normally the assignment of transportation tasks to the di erent vehicles, often with the presence of time windows. This scheduling has traditionally been done once a day and, under these conditions, any unexpected event could cause timetable delays. We propose to use the real-time knowledge about vehicle position to solve this problem, which permanently allows the planner to reassign tasks in case the problem conditions change. This exact knowledge of the position of the vehicles is possible using a geographic positioning system by satellite (GPS, Galileo, Glonass), and the results show that this additional data can be used to dynamically improve the solution

Overview of the SCD1/Pegasus Mission

An overview of the third operational Pegasus mission, carrying the Brazilian Satelite de Coleta de Dados 1 (SCD1) satellite is presented. Developed by INPE, the 250 Ib, spin stabilized satellite will perform real time repeating of environmental data gathered by automatic ground stations throughout Brazil. The target orbit, 405 nm (750 km) at 25 deg inclination, was chosen to provide coverage of the entire Brazilian territory. A review of the SCD1 design, development and testing highlights the effectiveness of lightsat philosophy complemented by pc-based check-out and control equipment. A six month schedule from go-ahead to launch was achieved in spite of delays. Simple and effective hardware and interfaces allowed a straightforward, efficient and relatively short payload integration and test process. Mission planning addressed complex operations, including a cross country ferry flight, ground operations significantly removed from the control room, and a first time east coast Pegasus launch from a new range. A review of the flight results includes flight environments and final Pegasus guidance and performance results

Africanidade e contemporaneidade do Português de comunidades Afro-Brasileiras no Rio Grande do Sul

Esta publicação contém uma coletânea de textos produzidos pelos participantes do Seminário Ibero-Americano da Diversidade Linguística, que aconteceu em Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, de 17 a 20 de novembro de 2014. O evento foi organizado pelo Departamento do Patrimônio Imaterial do Iphan e pela Diretoria de Relações Internacionais do Ministério da Cultura. Contou com a parceria e apoio da Universidade de Integração Latino-Americana (Unila), da Itaipu Binacional e da Secretaria Geral Ibero-americana (Segib) - Direitos LinguísticosAs pesquisas e enfoques na área de Sociolinguística e Dialetologia tem como foco central o estudo da relação entre o uso da língua falada e o contexto social. A correlação entre esses dois eixos – linguístico e ex- tralinguístico – em situações de contatos linguísticos e de plurilinguismo envolvendo línguas minoritárias em contato com o português, no entanto, só nos últimos anos, a partir das políticas de fomento da diversidade lin- guística vem ganhando um impulso mais significativo (cf. MELLO; ALTE- NHOFEN; RASO, 2011; ALTENHOFEN, 2013a). O objeto da pesquisa realizada no meu Doutorado aparece nessa perspectiva por ter abordado a “língua afro-brasileira”, sendo o tipo de contato historicamente um conta- to africano-português, porém sincronicamente uma modalidade de contato intervarietal, de variedades do português de base histórica distintaDepartamento do Patrimônio Imaterial do Iphan; Diretoria de Relações Internacionais do Ministério da Cultura; Universidade de Integração Latino-Americana (Unila); Itaipu Binacional e da Secretaria Geral Ibero-americana (Segib

Sistema de Coleta de Dados de Acidentes de Trânsito de Joinville

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Joinville. Bacharelado Interdisciplinar em Mobilidade.O Mapa da Violência, publicado pelo Governo Federal, apresenta taxas de óbito por 100 mil habitantes, decorrentes de acidentes de trânsito, em Joinville, superiores à média nacional. Em 2013, a taxa foi de 22,85 para Joinville e a média nacional foi de 20,12. Assim, o trânsito de Joinville possui dados alarmantes, sendo um dos responsáveis pela alta taxa de óbitos no município. Para se analisar os acidentes ocorridos e atuar na prevenção de novos acidentes, são necessários dados que contemplem a localização e todas as variáveis envolvidas, que possam explicar esses eventos. Nota-se que, protocolos de coleta de dados, os quais necessitam ser preenchidos a mão durante as ocorrências, tendem a ser abandonados ou preenchido sem os cuidados necessários. Sendo assim, é necessária à coleta de informações de forma sistematizada, para gerar uma base de dados confiáveis. Assim, este trabalho objetiva implementar um protocolo de coleta de dados para o planejamento urbano de Joinville, atuando nas ações dos órgãos que fazem a coleta – tais como Corpo de Bombeiros, Hospitais, etc. – a fim de garantir a confiabilidade dos dados e de centralizar as informações sobre os acidentes de trânsito. Com dados provenientes das coletas, então, pode-se fazer análises de riscos de acidentes com maior completude, confiabilidade e operacionalização

EXPORT AND MARKET SHARE PROJECTIONS FOR SOYBEANS AND THEIR PRODUCTS

International Relations/Trade,

Transparency, accountability, and governance: a literature review in the context of public hospitals

This study develops a literature review based on bibliometric analysis on the theme of transparency and accountability within the scope of governance of public hospitals, seeking to identify research lines, theories, research methods, and existing gaps through the analysis of scientific publications until 2020. The investigation followed the theoretical lens of transparency and accountability in the public sector to understand its framework within the scope of the governance of hospitals. Using the Bibliometrix software, and after the consultation process of the articles published in the Scopus and WoS databases, a sample with 118 articles was selected. It was found that, in the period between 2017-2020, approximately 85% of the publications were qualitative, and there is a growing trend in the study of transparency and accountability within the scope of governance of public hospitals. Transparency often appears interconnected with the accountability of agents (accountability), external communication policies (public reports), internal communication policies, and their comprehensibility. The predominance of publications of North American and Chinese origin was also noted. The study also identifies the scarcity of research using quantitative models that explore dependency relationships between the dimensions studied, limiting the comprehensibility of the interdependence between transparency practices and organizations' internal and external attributes. The study contributes to the knowledge about the interactions between transparency, accountability, and reporting within the scope of governance of public hospitals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio