The rasa theory of Indian aesthetics is concerned with the nature of the genesis of emotions and their corresponding experiences, as well as the condition of being in and experiencing the aesthetic world. According to the Indian aesthetic theory, rasa ("juice" or "essence," something that is savored, that is tasted) is an embodied aesthetic experienced through an artistic performance. In this thesis, I have investigated how the aesthetics of rasa philosophy account for creative presence and its experiences in Karnatik vocal performances. Beyond the facets of grammar, Karnatik rāga performance signifies a deeper ontological meaning as a way to experience rasa, idiomatically termed as rāga-rasa by South Indian rāga practitioners. A vocal performance of a rāga ideally depends on a singer's embodied experience of rāga and rāga-bhāva (emotive expression of rāga), as much as it does on his/her theoretical knowledge and skillset of a rāga's svaras (scale degrees), gamakas (ornamentation), lakṣhaṇās (emblematic phrases), and so on. Reflecting on my own experience of being a Karnatik student and performer for the last two decades, participant observation, interviews, and analysis of Indian aesthetic theory of rasa, I propose a way of understanding that to sing rāga is to embody bhāva opening the space that brings rasa into being. Reflecting on the epistemology of rāga theory, particularly its smaller entities of svaras and gamakas, and through a phenomenological description of the process through which a vocalist embodies rāga (including how a guru transmits this musical embodiment to his shishya [disciple]), I argue that the notion of rāga-rasa itself has agency in determining the nature of svaras and its gamakas in a rāga performance. Additionally, focusing on the relationship between performers and rasikas (drinkers of the juice), this thesis examines how the embodiment of rāga-bhāva and the experience of rasa open the possibility for musicians and audiences to live rāga-rasa in a performance.

[pt] O uso de métodos geofísicos nas engenharias civil, de minas e ambiental cresceu significativamente nas últimas décadas, e continua se expandindo na medida em que há uma queda em seus custos, decorrente do maior domínio da metodologia por parte de especialistas, bem como um maior conhecimento das técnicas existentes por parte dos engenheiros, que geralmente são os responsáveis por especificar as técnicas de investigação em um empreendimento. Este trabalho apresenta alguns dos métodos de investigação rasa mais utilizados, analisando-os do ponto de vista de sua aplicação em obras lineares. São analisados ainda alguns casos de estudos realizados, apresentando-se por fim uma sugestão de fluxograma de trabalho a partir das lições aprendidas nestes casos. / [en] The use of geophysical methods in Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering has significantly grown over the past years, and continues to grow due to lower costs, which is a consequence of the greater knowledge by specialists, as well as more access to information on its benefits by engineers, usually the ones to define the survey methods. This piece presents some of the most used methods of shallow investigation, analyzing them based on their applicability on linear structures. Some real cases are presented and studied, and a suggestion of workflow is made based on the lessons learnt on those cases.

Submitted by Alice Araujo (alice.caraujo@ufpe.br) on 2018-05-07T18:00:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO Liza Ellen de Oliveira.pdf: 3334596 bytes, checksum: 37dc1ffe138114e3550830b03949654a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-07T18:00:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO Liza Ellen de Oliveira.pdf: 3334596 bytes, checksum: 37dc1ffe138114e3550830b03949654a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-29 / CNPQ / Em plataformas continentais, a cobertura sedimentar atual é o reflexo da natureza predominante dos componentes (sejam terrígenos ou marinhos), pela ação de transporte e retrabalhamento promovido pela hidrodinâmica local, por sua vez, o sedimento tem como função ser um compartimento aquático ativo, além de ser uma importante fonte de informações geoquímicas sobre o ambiente deposicional. Um dos componentes do sedimento é a matéria orgânica que possui uma extrema importância em estudos ambientais, visto que a interpretação de sua ocorrência representa uma grande contribuição sobre o ciclo - origem, natureza e destino - dessa matéria no ambiente marinho. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar as distribuições e composições sedimentares das áreas de plataformas continentais internas adjacentes à Ilha de Itamaracá e ao Porto do Recife e da plataforma insular do arquipélago de Fernando de Noronha e, a fim de avaliar o impacto das ações antrópicas nas condições ambientais atuais por meio de estudos sobre a composição geoquímica da matéria orgânica sedimentar. Para isto foram analisados os conteúdos de matéria orgânica total, carbonato de cálcio, carbono orgânico e nitrogênio total, fósforo (sua composição fracionada - orgânica e inorgânica - e a total), as razões isotópicas de δ13C e δ15N, e as razões elementares C/N e C/P para descrição geoquímica dos sedimentos, além de análises granulométricas, da fração arenosa e morfoscopia dos grãos. Foram executadas também análises de correlação (Spearman), componentes principais e agrupamento (Cluster). A plataforma interna de Itamaracá apresentou cobertura sedimentar arenosa, com granulação predominante de areia grossa, moderadamente selecionada. Com 50% das amostras litoclásticas e 50% das amostras bioclásticas, com baixos teores de matéria orgânica total (MOT<3,5%, COT<5,40%, δ¹³C -27,52‰ PDB a -21,12‰ PDB), caracterizando a origem mista da matéria orgânica sedimentar da plataforma. A plataforma interna adjacente ao Porto do Recife apresentou uma cobertura sedimentar arenosa, com granulação predominante de areia média, pobremente selecionada, com material predominantemente composto por sedimentos biolitoclásticos e bioclásticos, com teores medianos de matéria orgânica total (MOT 4,08% em média, COT<8,11%, δ¹³C -26,24‰ PDB a -20,70‰ PDB), caracterizando a origem mista da matéria orgânica sedimentar da plataforma. Independente do período sazonal, a plataforma insular adjacente à costa abrigada do arquipélago de Fernando de Noronha apresentou uma cobertura sedimentar arenosa, com predominância de areia fina, grãos bem selecionados. O material é composto por sedimentos bioclásticos, com baixos teores de matéria orgânica total (MOT>2,87%, COT>4,29%, δ¹³C -23,31‰ PDB a -18,80‰ PDB), de origem marinha. Com base nos dados obtidos, é possível inferir que há uma ampla similaridade entre as plataformas (tanto continentais como insular) estudadas, visto que são regidas por grandes teores de areia e com a presença de elevados teores de carbonato. E dentre todas as plataformas avaliadas, a batimetria mais irregular e atividades antrópicas foram relevantes na plataforma adjacente ao Porto do Recife, onde o quebra-mar possibilitou uma retenção do material aportado pelo sistema estuarino do Capibaribe, imprimindo dois ambientes deposicionais com características em distintas em sua composição sedimentar e geoquímica. Por fim, o material carbonático das plataformas é oriundo da cobertura de algas carbonáticas e demais organismos calcários componentes na biota, propício à ciclagem e sequestro de carbono, permitindo assim um balanço na interface oceano-atmosfera-litosfera. / In continental shelves, the current sedimentary cover reflects the predominance of the components nature (whether terrigenous or marine), the transport action and reworking promoted by hydrodynamic processes, as a function of being an active aquatic compartment, plus to be an important source of geochemical information about the depositional environment. One of the sediment components is organic matter that has a great importance in environmental studies, and the interpretation of its occurrence is a great contribution about the cycle - origin, nature and destiny - of this matter in the marine environment. The present work aimed to study the distributions and sedimentary of the areas of inner continental shelves adjacent to Itamaracá Island and the Port of Recife and insular shelf of Fernando de Noronha archipelago, and evaluates the impact of anthropic activities on modern environmental conditions through studies about geochemical composition of sedimentary organic matter. The employed methods were total organic matter contents analysis, calcium carbonate, organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorus (its fractional composition - organic and inorganic - and the total), contents of δ13C and δ15N isotopic ratios, C/N and C/P elemental ratios, the geochemical description of the sediment, grain size, the coarse fraction analysis and morphoscopy. They were also performed correlation analysis (Spearman), principal components and clustering (Cluster). The inner Itamaracá shelf presented a sandy sedimentary cover, with predominance coarse sand, moderately sorted. Is characterized by 50% of lithoclastic sediments, with low contents of total organic matter (MOT<3,5%, COT<5,40%, δ ¹³C -27,52‰ PDB to -21,12‰ PDB), from mixed origin. The adjacent inner shelf to the Port of Recife presented a sandy sedimentary cover, with predominant grain size of medium sand, poorly sorted with a material predominantly composed of biolithoclastic and bioclastic sediments, with median levels of total organic matter (MOT 4,08% average, COT<8,11%, δ ¹³C -26,24‰ PDB to -20,70‰ PDB) and mixed origin. Regardless of the seasonal period, the northern adjacent shelf of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago presented a sandy sedimentary cover, with a predominance of fine sand and well sorted grains. The material consists of bioclastic sediments, with low organic matter (MOT<2,87%, COT<4,29%, δ ¹³C -23,31‰ PDB to -18,80‰ PDB) content of marine origin. Based on these data, we can infer that there is a broad similarity between the studied platforms (both continental and insular), since they are governed by large sand content and the presence of high carbonate content and low organic matter contents. Among all the studied shelves, physiography and human activities were relevant in the adjacent platform to the Port of Recife, where the break-water prints an artificial mud depositional system with retention of material input from the Capibaribe estuarine system. Lastly, the carbonate material from these 3 shelves is mainly originated from the carbonaceous algal cover and other calcareous organisms from biota components, conducive to cycling and carbon sink, thus allowing a balance in the ocean-atmosphere-lithosphere interface.

Världen blir alltmer digitaliserad och i med det, utvecklas nya metoder för att kunna underlätta arbetet för oss människor med automatiserade system som bland annatkontrolleras av AI (artificiell intelligens). Nya utmaningar står inför dörren för att fåsamhällen att anpassa sig till den nya framtiden. En av dessa metoder är chattbottar sommed hjälp av AI kan automatisera en stor del av det manuella arbetet.Denna uppsats bygger på ett projekt som vi blev tilldelade av CGI, att utvecklaen chattbot som en demoprodukt. Syftet med demoprodukten är att ge CGI möjlighetatt visa för kunder vad en chattbot är för något och vilka användningsområden den kanha. Chattbotten utvecklades med hjälp av ett open source-projekt som kallas för Rasasom är ett ramverk för att utveckla chattbottar med. Resultatet är en demoprodukt i formav en chattbot som kan boka semester och möten samt hjälpa användare att få ett nyttlösenord om de har glömt sitt och svara på vanliga frågor. / The world becomes more and more digital and with that, new methods are being deve-loped to ease the work for us humans with automatic systems including those controlledby AI (Artificial Intelligence). New challenges are faced every day to make us moreaccustomed to the new future. One of the methods is chatbots and with the help of AIthey can be used to automate a big chunk of the manual labour.This dissertation is based on an assignment by CGI, to develop a chatbot as ademo. The purpose of the demo is for CGI to show to customers what a chatbot is andwhat use cases a chatbot can have. The development of the chatbot used an open sourceproject called Rasa which is a framework to create chatbots with. The result is a demo inthe shape of a chatbot that can book vacations and meetings as well as help users receivea new password if they forgot theirs and answer frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Att utveckla en sofistikerad chatbotlösning kräver stora mängder textdata för att kunna anpassalösningen till en specifik domän. Att manuellt skapa en komplett uppsättning textdata, specialanpassat för den givna domänen och innehållandes ett stort antal varierande meningar som en människa kan tänkas yttra, är ett enormt tidskrävande arbete. För att kringgå detta tillämpas dataaugmentering för att generera mer data utifrån en mindre uppsättning redan existerande textdata. Softronic AB vill undersöka alternativa strategier för dataaugmentering med målet att eventuellt ersätta den nuvarande lösningen med en mer vetenskapligt underbyggd sådan. I detta examensarbete har prototypmodeller utvecklats för att jämföra och utvärdera effekten av olika textaugmenteringsstrategier. Resultatet av genomförda experiment med prototypmodellerna visar att augmentering genom synonymutbyten med en domänanpassad synonymordlista, presenterade märkbart förbättrade effekter på förmågan hos en NLU-modell att korrekt klassificera data, gentemot övriga utvärderade strategier. Vidare indikerar resultatet att ett samband föreligger mellan den strukturella variationsgraden av det augmenterade datat och de tillämpade språkparens semantiska likhetsgrad under tillbakaöversättningar. / Developing a sophisticated chatbot solution requires large amounts of text data to be able to adapt the solution to a specific domain. Manually creating a complete set of text data, specially adapted for the given domain, and containing a large number of varying sentences that a human conceivably can express, is an exceptionally time-consuming task. To circumvent this, data augmentation is applied to generate more data based on a smaller set of already existing text data. Softronic AB wants to investigate alternative strategies for data augmentation with the aim of possibly replacing the current solution with a more scientifically substantiated one. In this thesis, prototype models have been developed to compare and evaluate the effect of different text augmentation strategies. The results of conducted experiments with the prototype models show that augmentation through synonym swaps with a domain-adapted thesaurus, presented noticeably improved effects on the ability of an NLU-model to correctly classify data, compared to other evaluated strategies. Furthermore, the result indicates that there is a relationship between the structural degree of variation of the augmented data and the applied language pair's semantic degree of similarity during back-translations.

This thesis explores the use of advanced language models, specifically OpenAI’s Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT), in the context of interactive tutoring systems built within a Unity-based game environment. The central problem addressed is whether the recent advancements in large language models make them feasible and useful to function as tutors specifically in providing meaningful, engaging, and educationally rich user interactions on a dialogue based learning platform developed by Fictive Reality. There is also a comparison on the effectiveness of GPT versus the model that previously powered the learning platform built in Rasa. The importance of this problem lies in offering people learning opportunities that might not otherwise be available to them, and in seeing if recent advancements in generative AI are sufficient for developing useful interactive AI tutors of soft skills. The Fictive Reality learning platform is powered by a Rasa model that generates appropriate responses to users in the context of roleplay-based learning scenarios while keeping an internal state of the progress of the dialogue. The project entails replacing this model with GPT and a comparison of their performance and respective merits. We also explored the potential for a hybrid model, leveraging the strengths of both systems. Using Rasa for internal state tracking and answering simpler queries, and utilizing GPT to handle those queries whose intent Rasa cannot determine. The first part of this project was integrating GPT with the existing functionality of the platform, this includes changes to the platform that allow people to create and play GPT powered learning scenarios and adopting the existing features and user interface. Additionally, prompt engineering GPT to act as a tutor and to stay within the context of a learning environment. Changes had to be made to the platform so that the already existing features of Rasa scenarios could be replicated in GPT scenarios. Finally there is a systematic comparison of the user experience and performance metrics when interacting with either a GPT or a Rasa chatbot in a learning scenario. Specifically these metrics are determined from the conversational flow between bot and user, the context and continuity, finish rate, chit-chat handling and length of average session. The results suggest a distinct user preference for the GPT model due to its superior conversational capabilities, despite Rasa’s faster response times and state-tracking feature. The study suggest that GPT is sufficient for creating useful learning scenarios in restricted contexts. Therefore we suggest that large language models can be leveraged in interactive learning systems, with potential impacts on edtech, AI in education, and conversational AI. / Detta examensarbete utforskar användningen av avancerade språkmodeller, särskilt OpenAI’s Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT), tillsammans med interaktiva handledningssystem byggda i en Unity-baserad spelmiljö. Det centrala problemet som tas upp är om det är genomförbart och användbart att använda GPT som handledare. Vidare genomfördes också en jämförelse av effektiviteten hos GPT jämfört med en mer traditionell modell, Rasa, när det gäller att tillhandahålla meningsfulla, engagerande och lärorika interaktioner. Detta problem har betydelse för att erbjuda människor lärandemöjligheter som annars kanske inte skulle vara tillgängliga för dem och för att se om de senaste framstegen inom generativ AI är tillräckliga för användbar interaktiv handledning av mjuka färdigheter, så kallade soft skills". Lärplattformen Fictive Reality drivs av en Rasa-modell som genererar lämpliga svar till användare i samband med vissa inlärningsscenarier samtidigt som man behåller ett internt tillstånd av dialogens framsteg. Projektet syftar till att ersätta denna modell med GPT och göra en jämförelse av prestandan och hos respektive modell. Vi undersökte också potentialen för en hybridmodell som utnyttjar båda systemens styrkor genom att använda Rasa för intern tillståndsspårning och svara på enklare frågor, och använda GPT för att hantera de frågor vars avsikt Rasa inte kan avgöra. Den första delen av projektet var att integrera GPT med plattformens befintliga funktionalitet, detta inkluderar förändringar av plattformen som gör det möjligt för människor att skapa och spela GPT-drivna inlärningsscenarier med det befintliga användargränssnittet och funktioner för Rasa-drivna scenarier. Förändringar var tvungna att göras på plattformen så att de redan befintliga funktionerna i Rasa-scenarier kunde replikeras i GPT-scenarier. Slutligen gjordes en systematisk jämförelse av prestandan och användarupplevelsen när man interagerar med antingen en GPT- eller en Rasa-chatbot i ett inlärningsscenario. Resultaten tyder på en distinkt användarpreferens för GPT-modellen på grund av dess överlägsna konversationsförmåga, trots Rasa:s snabbare svarstider och tillståndsspårningsfunktion. Studien tyder på att GPT är tillräckligt för att skapa användbara lärande scenarier i begränsade sammanhang. Denna studie tyder på att stora språkmodeller kan utnyttjas i interaktiva inlärningssystem, med potentiella effekter på edtech, AI inom utbildning och konversations-AI-områden.

The main focus of this diploma thesis is picturing ethnicity and race of "non-humans" in first two series of science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica a Defiance. It is based on the postcolonialistic theory, which is dealing with the dominant relationship of the colonist over the colonized. This relationship was created between western civilization colonists and native inhabitants of newly discovered territories. In the case of science fiction, the "non- humans" are in the position of colonized and humans in the position of colonists. Some space is also given to the posthumanistic theory of a creature being based on combination of both biological and mechanical parts. The chosen series are examined through the method of quantitative content analysis. It has been shown, that humans in science fiction are the race, from which the picturing of all other "non-human" races is derived. Also, in most cases, humans are the race superior to other races, which is shown in various fashion. Values accepted by today's western society are presented as values of all human kind. From these values, the perception of "non-humans" and their societies is derived. Science fiction is also mirroring the problems western society had during its beginnings.

1 Abstract The thesis analyzes three novels with utopian features written by African American authors: Sutton E. Griggs's Imperium in Imperio (1899), George S. Schuyler's Black Empire (1936-1937) and Toni Morrison's Paradise (1997). The novels and their description of alternative all-black spaces are analyzed on the background of Michel Foucault's theory of heterotopias. In the first part of the thesis, I provide the introduction to the genre of utopia and its brief history, and I state a definition of utopia for the purposes of the thesis. Next I discuss the specificity of American context and introduce the concept of heterotopias as opposed to traditional utopias. The crucial features are simultaneity, juxtaposition, mutual relationships and mirroring. In the latter part of the thesis, I proceed to the analysis of the novels themselves, stressing mainly their treatment of race and racism. In Griggs's Imperium in Imperio, I describe the parallels between the white and black world in their use of rhetoric and in the Imperium's inspiration by the American War of Independence. I also examine the role of Du Boisian double-consciousness and its working in the concept of heterotopia. In the analysis of Schuyler's Black Empire, I focus on the fascist rhetoric resembling that of Italy in Italo-Ethiopian War,...

Healing the Wounds of the Colonised Body: Writing Back in Twenty-first-century Works by British Caribbean Women Writers Thesis abstract Veronika Vítková Black women`s position within the world of male superiority and white supremacy came to be characterised by the term "double colonisation". Both patriarchal and imperial social order focused on their corporeality to justify their subjugation. Accordingly, black women writers came to conceptualise their experience of colonisation and slavery as wounds suffered by the black female body. They thereby use the master`s tools to dismantle the master`s house. Their "writing back" - a means of healing the body - constitutes a multi-level response to both sets of mythologies as well as other types of marginalisation and othering, which the two involved, such as sexual, territorial or discursive. It results in the construction of a complex space - a healing vision - which is not dissimilar to Homi Bhabha`s empowering theoretical concepts. However, while providing such progressive literary vision, black women writers also maintain connection with reality, where, as Gayatri Spivak argued, there is no space from where the subaltern sexed subject can speak. Their broad historical and geographical perspective, which is a product of the multi-levelness of their oppression,...

Neste trabalho de pesquisa foi realizado um estudo do método de deconvolução visando melhor adequação à situação encontrada na escala de investigação rasa para a estimativa da forma de onda e da resposta impulsiva da Terra. Procedimentos determinísticos e estatísticos (métodos cegos) foram avaliados sobre dados sintéticos e dados reais adquiridos com fontes de impacto e com uma fonte pseudo-aleatória. / In this research work a study of the method of deconvolution was conducted in order to improve the adequacy to the shallow subsurface scale of investigation to the estimate of the seismic wavelet and of the earth impulse response. Deterministic and statistical (blind) procedures were evaluated over synthetic and real data acquired with impact sources and a pseudo-random source.