Carlos Pereira - Böcker

Embedded computing systems have started to carry out the key control functions in diverse domains such as telecommunications, automotive electronics, avionics and even complete industrial manufacturing lines. Traditionally, such embedded control systems have been implemented in a monolithic, centralized manner. However, distributed and parallel solutions have been steadily gaining popularity. In a distributed setup, the control task is carried out by a number of controllers distributed over the entire system and interconnected as a network by communication components such as field buses. More demanding local control applications require controllers based on parallel architectures or processors with dedicated co-processors. Distribution and parallelism in embedded system design increase the engineering challenges and demand new development methods and tools.From Model-Driven Design to Resource Management for Distributed Embedded Systems contains 16 original contributions as well as 12 invited papers by distinguished invited speakers. These papers were presented at the Working Conference on Distributed and Parallel Embedded Systems (DIPES 2006), which was held in October 2006 in Braga, Portugal, and sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).This volume covers the following very timely topics: model-driven design, test and evolution of embedded systems, timing analysis and predictability, scheduling, allocation, communication and resource management in distributed real-time systems.

Brazil is the world's sixth-largest economy, and for the first three-quarters of the twentieth century was one of the fastest-growing countries in the world. While the country underwent two decades of unrelenting decline from 1975 to 1994, the economy has rebounded dramatically. How did this nation become an emerging power? Brazil in Transition looks at the factors behind why this particular country has successfully progressed up the economic development ladder. The authors examine the roles of beliefs, leadership, and institutions in the elusive, critical transition to sustainable development. Analyzing the last fifty years of Brazil's history, the authors explain how the nation's beliefs, centered on social inclusion yet bound by orthodox economic policies, led to institutions that altered economic, political, and social outcomes. Brazil's growth and inflation became less variable, the rule of law strengthened, politics became more open and competitive, and poverty and inequality declined. While these changes have led to a remarkable economic transformation, there have also been economic distortions and inefficiencies that the authors argue are part of the development process.Brazil in Transition demonstrates how a dynamic nation seized windows of opportunity to become a more equal, prosperous, and rules-based society.

This paper assesses and measures regulatory governance in 21 infrastructure regulators in Brazil. Regulatory Governance is decomposed into four main attributes: autonomy; decision-rules; means and tools; and accountability. A ranking is proposed and the main areas for improvement identified. A comparison of the proposed regulatory governance index and other indexes internationally available is performed. Section 2 sets up the analytical framework for the report, identifying key components of regulatory governance, namely, autonomy (political and financial), procedures for decision-making, tools and means (including personnel), and accountability. Section 3 assesses each of these components in practice, reporting the results of a survey with 21 regulatory agencies in Brazil, which was designed and implemented in 2005. Section 4 measures regulatory governance based on three related indexes, ranks the Brazilian regulators among themselves, and compares the proposed indexes with other two indicators available in the literature. Section 5 presents the conclusions.

Embedded computing systems have started to carry out the key control functions in diverse domains such as telecommunications, automotive electronics, avionics and even complete industrial manufacturing lines. Traditionally, such embedded control systems have been implemented in a monolithic, centralized manner. However, distributed and parallel solutions have been steadily gaining popularity. In a distributed setup, the control task is carried out by a number of controllers distributed over the entire system and interconnected as a network by communication components such as field buses. More demanding local control applications require controllers based on parallel architectures or processors with dedicated co-processors. Distribution and parallelism in embedded system design increase the engineering challenges and demand new development methods and tools.From Model-Driven Design to Resource Management for Distributed Embedded Systems contains 16 original contributions as well as 12 invited papers by distinguished invited speakers. These papers were presented at the Working Conference on Distributed and Parallel Embedded Systems (DIPES 2006), which was held in October 2006 in Braga, Portugal, and sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).This volume covers the following very timely topics: model-driven design, test and evolution of embedded systems, timing analysis and predictability, scheduling, allocation, communication and resource management in distributed real-time systems.

Military Presence and Civic Integration in Hispania Ulterior from Sertorius to Caesar offers an interdisciplinary reassessment of Roman activity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the 1st century BC. The book integrates archaeological, epigraphic, numismatic, and literary evidence to illuminate the complex interplay between military conflict, social transformation, and processes of civic integration in Hispania Ulterior.Covering the period framed by the wars of Sertorius and Caesar, and situated within the broader struggles between populares and optimates, the volume examines how Roman armies and provincial communities—both Hispanian and Italic—shaped one another through coexistence, violence, adaptation, and cultural interaction. By analysing the role of the western provinces as providers of manpower, resources, and strategic enclaves, the studies collected here contribute to ongoing debates on the Roman war economy and the evolving nature of provincial participation in Republican military structures.The three-part structure reflects the thematic breadth of the book. The first section investigates the military conflicts of Hispania Ulterior from the early stages of Roman expansion to the Caesarian–Pompeian civil war, highlighting the involvement of local communities, the mobilisation of regional resources, and the strategic importance of sites such as Cáceres el Viejo and Ulia. The second section focuses on the archaeological evidence of Roman military presence—camps, weaponry, coinage, and ceramic assemblages—revealing patterns of territorial control and the daily interactions that fostered cultural exchange. The final section analyses the legal and civic integration of provincial populations, tracing how colonial towns, the granting of Latin rights, and the expansion of Roman citizenship contributed to the emergence of new urban, administrative, and social landscapes. These developments, exemplified by the colonisation and municipalisation programmes of Caesar and Augustus, laid the groundwork for the consolidation of the Hispanian provinces under the Principate.By emphasising the active role of provincial communities and challenging traditional narratives of unilateral Roman domination, Military Presence and Civic Integration in Hispania Ulterior from Sertorius to Caesar provides a nuanced understanding of Romanisation as a dynamic and multifaceted process. It presents the 1st century BC not merely as a period of civil war but as a transformative era in which new forms of identity, loyalty, and civic belonging emerged, reshaping the trajectory of Hispania within the Roman world.