Language and trade: the (new) route of portuguese in the 21st century

Globalisation has eliminated frontiers and in the case of Europe helped the crossing of borders and changed forever the concept of social (and I would also say individual) geography: the rest of the world is out there; we can pretend not to see it, but we cannot avoid it. Moreover, Europe is undergoing a serious crisis, also economic, and new markets and business partners are welcome. In this context, cultural bonds like a common language can open new investment paths and give rise to successful stories. In this paper we intend to present an example of how low linguistic distance can lead to good business, even if a) in the internationalization process of the companies’ language is often forgotten as a management element and b) consumers of language products (like User Guides) are also not stimulating investment in language by the companies. Through the results of 2 studies carried out in 2010 and 2011 we will show how a pluricentric language like Portuguese is managed in multinational companies (MC) and Small and medium Enterprises (SMEs). The second study is based on an online survey questioning the effectiveness, efficiency and general quality of User Guides and the reaction of consumers to language. Results show that although playing a role in the internationalization process of companies in the same linguistic space, language is opportunistically used. On the other hand, Portuguese and Brazilian consumers show a very functional perception of the Portuguese language...

Phonological development in relation to native language and literacy: Variations on a theme in six alphabetic orthographies

Phonological development was assessed in six alphabetic orthographies (English, French, Greek, Icelandic, Portuguese and Spanish) at the beginning and end of the first year of reading instruction. The aim was to explore contrasting theoretical views regarding: the question of the availability of phonology at the outset of learning to read (Study 1); the influence of orthographic depth on the pace of phonological development during the transition to literacy (Study 2); and the impact of literacy instruction (Study 3). Results from 242 children did not reveal a consistent sequence of development as performance varied according to task demands and language. Phonics instruction appeared more influential than orthographic depth in the emergence of an early meta-phonological capacity to manipulate phonemes, and preliminary indications were that cross-linguistic variation was associated with speech rhythm more than factors such as syllable complexity. The implications of the outcome for current models of phonological development are discussed.

Enhancing reflexivity and technology in translation learning: case study on the use of ePortfolio as a training environment

In this paper we describe a casestudy of an experiment on how reflexivity and technology can enhance learning, by using ePorfolios as a training environment to develop translation skills. Translation is today a multiskilled job and translators need to assure their clients a good performance and quality, both in language and in technology domains. In order to accomplish it, for the translator all the tasks and processes he develops appear as crucial, being pretranslation and posttranslation processes equally important as the translation itself, namely as far as autonomy, reflexive and critical skills are concerned. Finally, the need and relevance for collaborative tasks and networks amongst virtual translation communities, led us to the decision of implementing ePortfolios as a tool to develop the requested skills and extend the use of Internet in translation, namely in terminology management phases, for the completion of each task, by helping students in the management of the projects deadlines, improving their knowledge on the construction and management of translation resources and deepening their awareness about the concepts related to the development and usability of ePorfolios.

Effects of home environment and center-based child care quality on children’s

This study examined the joint effects of home environment and center-based child care quality on children’s language, communication, and early literacy development, while also considering prior developmental level. Participants were 95 children (46 boys), assessed as toddlers (mean age = 26.33 months;Time 1) and preschoolers (mean age = 68.71 months; Time 2) and their families. At both times, children attended center-based child care classrooms in the metropolitan area of Porto, Portugal. Results from hierarchical linear models indicated that home environment and preschool quality, but not center-based toddler child care quality, were associated with children’s language and literacy outcomes at Time 2. Moreover, the quality of preschool classrooms moderated the association between home environment quality and children’s language and early literacy skills – but not communication skills – at Time 2, suggesting the positive cumulative effects of home environment and preschool quality. Findings further support the existence of a detrimental effect of low preschool quality on children’s language and early literacy outcomes: positive associations among home environment quality and children’s developmental outcomes were found to reduce substantially when children attended low-quality preschool classrooms.

Abstract Timers and their Implementation onto the ARM Cor tex-M family of MCUs

Presented at Embed with Linux Workshop (EWiLi 2015). 4 to 9, Oct, 2015. Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Exploring the long-term associations between adolescents’ music training and academic achievement

There is a positive relationship between learning music and academic achievement, although doubts remain regarding the mechanisms underlying this association. This research analyses the academic performance of music and non-music students from seventh to ninth grade. The study controls for socioeconomic status, intelligence, motivation and prior academic achievement. Data were collected from 110 adolescents at two time points, once when the students were between 11 and 14 years old in the seventh grade, and again 3 years later. Our results show that music students perform better academically than non-music students in the seventh grade (Cohen’s d = 0.88) and in the ninth grade (Cohen’s d = 1.05). This difference is particularly evident in their scores in Portuguese language and natural science; the difference is somewhat weaker in history and geography scores, and is least pronounced in mathematics and English scores (η2 p from .09 to .21). A longitudinal analysis also revealed better academic performance by music students after controlling for prior academic achievement (η2 p = .07). Furthermore, controlling for intelligence, socioeconomic status and motivation did not eliminate the positive association between music learning from the seventh to the ninth grade and students’ academic achievement (η2 p = .06). During the period, music students maintained better and more consistent academic standing. We conclude that, after controlling for intelligence, socioeconomic status and motivation, music training is positively associated with academic achievement.