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In this thesis, we present a detailed analysis of the conventions that appear in fictional spaceship design, including a discussion of their origins, their uses in emulating certain traits, and reasons these conventions might be followed or ignored. We uncover these conventions by examining and comparing popular spaceship designs from the past sixty years, which we present in a detailed survey. We also examine an aesthetic interpretation of information theory, which can be used to describe the balance of uniformity amidst variety, and discuss specific strategies for incorporating these principles into the creation of spaceship surface details. Procedural modeling describes a set of techniques used to allow computers to generate digital content such as 3D digital models automatically. However, procedural modeling to date has focused on very specific areas: natural scenery such as trees and terrain, or cityscapes such as road maps and buildings. While these types of models are important and useful, they focus on a specific subset of the procedural modeling problem. Though procedural generation can be an invaluable tool for providing viable and dynamic content, it is troubling that so few types of objects have been studied in this area. Using the aesthetic and spaceship principles we define, we have developed a prototype system to procedurally generate the surface details of a large scale spaceship. Given a surface representing the frame of a spaceship, we apply geometry automatically in a coherent manner to achieve the appearance of a spaceship by emulating important traits.

There is a growing body of research on interventions to decrease infant distress during painful procedures, and distraction is a particularly practical option. However, the effectiveness data for distraction for infant pain relief are mixed. Inconsistencies in response to distraction might be explained by unique characteristics of the infant patient. Some researchers argue that temperament is the best predictor of differences observed between individuals and also the most sensitive to novel environmental factors such as exposure to pain. This study examined whether infants’ temperament is predictive of response to immunization injection pain and whether temperament moderates the relation between a distraction intervention and infant distress. Data for this study came from two prior studies of healthy infants receiving immunizations (Cohen, 2002; Cohen et al., 2006). Participants included 252 healthy infants and toddlers who ranged from 1 to 22 months of age. Infants were randomly assigned to “typical care” condition or “distraction” condition. The period of time before, during, and after the injection was videotaped and observational coding was used to assess infant distress. Prior to the immunization, parents completed six pre-injection visual analogue scales about their child’s temperament. An oblique rotation factor analysis was conducted with the temperament data and provided two temperament factors that map onto the ‘easy/difficult’ and ‘time-to-warm-up’ dimensions documented in the literature; these two factors were used for analyses. After controlling for site and gender, regression analyses revealed that neither easy/difficult temperament (p = .098, b = .109) nor time-to-warm-up temperament (p = .572, b = -.037) was predictive of distress. There was a significant treatment condition and time-to-warm-up temperament interaction, b = .0011, SE = .0005, p = .0254, such that distraction decreased distress in infants that were slower to warm up, or warmed up neither slowly nor quickly. No other significant distraction x temperament interactions were found. Temperament was not found to impact infant distress during immunizations in this study but results speaking to whether temperament serves as a moderator of the relation between distraction and distress were mixed. Results suggest that temperament is a factor that warrants closer attention when examining how infants respond to interventions around pain.

In this thesis, we present a detailed analysis of the conventions that appear in fictional spaceship design, including a discussion of their origins, their uses in emulating certain traits, and reasons these conventions might be followed or ignored. We uncover these conventions by examining and comparing popular spaceship designs from the past sixty years, which we present in a detailed survey. We also examine an aesthetic interpretation of information theory, which can be used to describe the balance of uniformity amidst variety, and discuss specific strategies for incorporating these principles into the creation of spaceship surface details. Procedural modeling describes a set of techniques used to allow computers to generate digital content such as 3D digital models automatically. However, procedural modeling to date has focused on very specific areas: natural scenery such as trees and terrain, or cityscapes such as road maps and buildings. While these types of models are important and useful, they focus on a specific subset of the procedural modeling problem. Though procedural generation can be an invaluable tool for providing viable and dynamic content, it is troubling that so few types of objects have been studied in this area. Using the aesthetic and spaceship principles we define, we have developed a prototype system to procedurally generate the surface details of a large scale spaceship. Given a surface representing the frame of a spaceship, we apply geometry automatically in a coherent manner to achieve the appearance of a spaceship by emulating important traits.

Dendritic shapes are commonplace in the natural world such as trees, lichens, coral and lightning. Models of dendritic shapes are widely needed in many areas. Because of their branching fractal and erratic structures modeling dendritic shapes is a tricky task. Existing methods for modeling dendritic shapes are slow and complicated.<p>In this thesis we present a procedural algorithm of using path planning to model dendritic shapes. We generate a dendrite by finding the least-cost paths from multiple endpoints to a common generator and use the dendrite to build the geometric model. With the control handles of endpoint placement, fractal shape, edge weights distribution and path width, we create different shapes of dendrites that simulate different kinds of dendritic shapes very well. Compared with some existing methods, our algorithm is fast and simple.

The study examined whether an instruction-based strategy (studying the instructions before attempting the task) or a task-based strategy (attempting the task and referencing instructions) was more effective for procedural performance and learning. Four groups of participants learned to perform macram tasks and assembly tasks, and received detailed instructions at different times in the process of attempting the tasks. Performance was assessed at training and a week later by recording task completion time, correctness, and subjective cognitive load. The strategy for using instructions affected initial performance on the macram tasks, where instruction-based strategy was superior, but not later retention or transfer. This pattern of results was not found for the assembly tasks indicating that characteristics of the tasks influenced the effectiveness of the strategy for using instructions.

Propofol has been gaining increased attention as a sole agent in providing procedural sedation due to its predictable pharmacokinetics and favorable amnestic properties. Oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures are unique in duration and concomitant use of local anesthesia making it difficult to evaluate data obtained from other specialties. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the safety, efficacy and satisfaction among surgeons and patients using propofol only, for procedural sedation during the extraction of third molars. Propofol 10mg/ml was administered using an induction dose of 0.5 to 1mg/kg over 60 seconds followed by bolus doses of 10 – 20mg every minute to achieve a Ramsay sedation score of at least 3. Respiratory compromise was identified in 15% of patients. Hemodynamic compromise was identified in 15%. Patient and surgeon satisfaction was high however propofol does not represent the ideal drug as a sole agent for procedural sedation in oral surgery due to the frequent need for hand restraint (40%).

With the rapid expansion of the range of digital characters involved in film and game production, creating a wide variety of expressive characters has become a problem that cannot be solved efficiently through current animation methods. Key-frame animation is time-consuming and requires animation expertise. Motion capture is constrained by equipment and environment requirements and is most applicable to humanoid characters. Simulation can produce physically correct motion but does not account for expressiveness. This thesis focuses on developing a more efficient animation system using a procedural approach in which the skeletal structure and characteristics of motion that communicate weight and age in quadrupeds have been isolated and engineered as user-controlled tools and modifiers to build creature shape and synthesize cyclic gait animation. This new approach accomplished the goal of quick generation of expressive characters. It is also successful in achieving real-time animation playback and adjustment.

abstract: It is hypothesized that procedural justice influences citizens' satisfaction with the police. An alternative argument holds that police performance measures, such as perceptions of crime and safety, are more salient. This study empirically investigates the predictive validity of both theoretical arguments. Using mail survey data from 563 adult residents from Monroe County, Michigan, a series of linear regression equations were estimated. The results suggest that procedural justice is a robust predictor of satisfaction with police. In contrast, several police performance measures failed to predict satisfaction with police. Overall, these findings support Tyler and Huo's (2002) contention that judgments regarding whether police exercise their authority in a procedurally-just fashion influence citizens' satisfaction with police more than fear of crime, perceptions of disorder, and the like. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2012

RODRIGUES, Francisco Caio Maia. Evolução de split grammars para otimização de construções procedurais. 2014. 49 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Ciência da Computação)-Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2014. / Submitted by Anderson Silva Pereira (anderson.pereiraaa@gmail.com) on 2017-01-10T18:58:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_fcmrodrigues.pdf: 6745695 bytes, checksum: 7fd10d5fff50663bf084d4eb5ad0a949 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rocilda Sales (rocilda@ufc.br) on 2017-01-11T15:39:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_fcmrodrigues.pdf: 6745695 bytes, checksum: 7fd10d5fff50663bf084d4eb5ad0a949 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-11T15:39:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_fcmrodrigues.pdf: 6745695 bytes, checksum: 7fd10d5fff50663bf084d4eb5ad0a949 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Procedural modeling has been successfully applied to the automatic building generation problem. Among several techniques to tackle the problem of procedural building generation, the use of Split Grammars has increased, even being deployed in commercial CAAD (Computer-Aided Architectural Design) software. This work proposes a technique to optimize Split Grammars using Genetic Algorithm. The main goal is to automatically create grammars that only generate models with certain desirable characteristics, either from a series of manually written grammars or randomly created ones. The proposed thecnique searches the space of the input grammars’s rules to develop new better grammars, i.e., grammars that generate models with certain predefined feature. The proposed technique was successfully applied, as will be shown, to the maximization of symmetry of building facades, leading to the creation of realistic models. / Modelagem procedural tem sido aplicada com sucesso para resolver o problema da construção automática de ambientes urbanos. Dentre as várias técnicas existentes para a geração procedural de construções utilizando gramáticas, Split Grammars têm especial destaque devido ao seu amplo uso, estando presente até mesmo em softwares comerciais de CAAD (Computer-Aided Architectural Design). Este trabalho propõe uma técnica para otimização de Split Grammars utilizando algoritmos genéticos. O objetivo é gerar, automaticamente, gramáticas capazes de criar modelos que apresentem alguma característica desejada, seja a partir de uma série de gramáticas feitas manualmente por um usuário ou de gramáticas geradas aleatoriamente. O método proposto realiza uma busca no espaço das regras das gramáticas dadas como entrada a fim de criar novos tipos de gramáticas melhores, ou seja, que possuam uma boa estrutura de acordo com algum critério pré-definido pelo usuário. Assim, é demonstrada a eficácia da técnica proposta aplicando-a ao problema de maximização de simetria em fachadas de construções, obtendo modelos realisticamente plausíveis.