Fluid simulation is today a hot topic in computer graphics. New highly optimized algorithms have allowed complex systems to be simulated in high speed. This master thesis describes how the graphics processing unit, found in most computer workstations, can be used to optimize the rendering of volumetric fluids. The main aim of the work has been to develop a software that is capable of rendering fluids in high quality and with high performance using OpenGL. The software was developed at Filmgate, a digital effects company in Göteborg, and much time was spent making the interface and the workflow easy to use for people familiar with Autodesk Maya. The project resulted in a standalone rendering application, together with a set of plugins to exchange data between Maya and our renderer. Most of the goals have been reached when it comes to rendering features. The performance bottleneck turned out to be reading data from disc and this is an area suitable for future development of the software.

This thesis work focuses on how to create realistic looking hair using only the vanilla version of Autodesk Maya. It describes two approaches, the widely used polygon-stripe based technique and the Maya built-in nHair. It also evaluates these two approaches in terms of ease of implementation, production speed and quality of final results. The conclusion is that nHair has the potential to produce realistic looking hair but contains various bugs and is not optimized at the current stage, while the polygon-stripe based approach is robust and flexible but the realism of rendering results is heavily dependent upon the skill level of artists.

Dagens spel har väldigt väl utvecklade karaktärer men hur skapar man en karaktär egentligen? Denna rapport kommer att handla om processen för att skapa en spelkaraktär, man kommer att ta en titt på vilka verktyg och program som kan användas sig av när man skapar en spelkaraktär. Man kommer även skapa en egen karaktär och använda sig utav några utvalda program för att skapa den och kommer även undersöka lite om de program som har använts i skapandet av den karaktär som kommer skapas för att få en bättre förståelse för hur man kan göra när man skapar en karaktär och kommer i slutet gå igenom resultatet av arbetet på denna karaktär och vad man har kommit fram till. Kraven på en designer är väldigt höga och processen för att skapa en spelkaraktär kan se ut på olika sätt så i denna rapport prövar vi en process.

Fler och fler väljer idag att arbeta som frilansare framför fast anställning. I denna studie har jag undersökt vad som gör en person till en framgångsrik frilansare. Litteratur har studerats på hur andra har beskrivit ett tillvägagångsätt för framgång hos frilansare vilket har jämförts med min kvalitativa studie där intervjuer har blivit utförda med frilansare. Litteraturen har fokuserats på frilansande gällande nätverkande, kunder, inre och yttre faktorer, marknadsföring och utveckling inom datorgrafik. Denna studie har baserats på en litteraturstudie samt en kvalitativ studie i form av djupgående intervjuer med sex frilansare inom branschen. Resultat har visat på att några av de intervjuade marknadsför sig genom hemsida. Nätverkande menade de flesta på var viktigt och kunder får man ofta via kontakter. De flesta intervjuade tycker att det är viktigt att ha social kompetens och talang. Många av de intervjuade menar på att det är lätt att följa med i utvecklingen av teknik och programvara och gör detta genom att läsa bloggar, tidningar och granska branschspecifika nyhetshemsidor. De skillnader jämfört med andra branscher jag har konstaterat utifrån intervjuresultatet till skillnad från litteraturen är hur viktigt det är att ha talang och stor social kompetens. Under analysen så påvisades likheter med litteraturen att man som frilansare bör vara duktig på att kommunicera, problemlösning och kunna hålla sig lugn i stressade situationer. Skillnaden mellan andra branscher är framförallt vikten av talang och social kompetens. Slutsatsen man kan dra är att frilansande inom datorgrafikbranschen skiljer sig i vissa avseenden från andra branscher.

No description available.

This thesis examined the antimicrobial activity of select neotropical plants from Costa Rica and traditional Q’eqchi Maya medicines from Belize. In particular the potential for interference with bacterial quorum sensing (QS) and biofilm formation as well as fungal growth were assessed. Of one hundred and twenty six extracts collected from Costa Rica, one third showed significant QS inhibition while 13 species displayed more biofilm inhibitory activities than the positive control allicin. The active species belonged to the Lepidobotryaceae, Melastomataceae, Meliaceae, Sapindaceae, and Simaroubaceae. Twelve Marcgraviaceae species were tested for the same biological activities; of these, three showed similar QS inhibition to that of the positive control Delisea pulchra (Greville) Montagne and five with at least 30% biofilm inhibition. Only one species inhibited fungal growth – Marcgravia nervosa Triana & Planch. Bioassay-guided isolation of this plant resulted in the identification of the active principle as a naphthoquinone, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 85 to 100 μM against Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Similarly, sixty one Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal plant species were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities. Of these, four species showed more QS inhibition than D. pulchra, seven with comparable biofilm inhibitory activities that of allicin, and two with similarly antifungal activity to berberine. Two spirostanol saponins were isolated from Cestrum schlechtendahlii G.Don, an active antifungal plant. The major saponin showed growth inhibition against Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Fusarium graminearum, with MICs of 16.5 μM and 132 μM, respectively. Further analyses of this compound using chemical genomics suggested that its antifungal mechanism of action is pleiotropic, affecting multiple targets. Taken together, these findings showed that neotropical plants and traditional Q’eqchi’ Maya medicines contain phytochemicals that interfere with bacterial biofilm formation and quorum sensing as well as fungal growth.

This ethnographically informed dissertation focuses on the ways rural Yucatec Maya women, midwives and state health care workers participate in the production of childbirth and maternal health care practices. It further addresses how state health programs influence the relationships and interactions between these groups. Although childbirth practices in Yucatan have always been characterized by contestation, negotiation and change, their intensity and speed have significantly increased over the last decade. Drastic changes in the maternal health of rural indigenous communities in Mexico and throughout the world are directly connected to intensified state interventions that favor biomedicine over traditional health systems. In rural Yucatan, state health programs such as Oportunidades and Seguro Popular support a biomedical approach to birth by distributing medical resources to government clinics/hospitals and encouraging program participation of poor women through conditional cash incentives. This dissertation seeks to interrogate changing childbirth practices in a rural indigenous community in Quintana Roo, MX to gain a deeper understanding of the complex politics that shape local understandings and approaches to childbirth. It further explores how shifting social relations and political alliances are created within the context of reproductive health. This ethnography highlights how Yucatec Maya women envision a productive, yet negotiated, relationship with the state that allows them control of their prenatal and maternal health while engaging with state health programs. Focusing on the cultural production of childbirth in a rural community in southwestern Quintana Roo, this research seeks to explore the dynamic ways in which indigenous communities are reproduced over time through moments of engagement and contestation with the state. The Maya women in this dissertation exist at the margins of the Mexican government’s concerns, policies, and resources. Yet, even at the margins the influence and power of state ideology and policies intimately affect the lives of rural indigenous women. The core argument of this dissertation is that these women, who rely on traditional and historical experience, create strategies for survival and social reproduction despite their marginalized position within the Mexican state. This research draws from over a decade of fieldwork. Predissertation fieldwork took place during the summer months of 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2010. I completed my dissertation fieldwork from January to October of 2013. During that time, I conducted 60 formal and informal interviews and a small survey. Additionally, a large portion of my research took place with a local family that consisted of female healers and health educators, whom I extensively interviewed and conducted hundreds of hours of participant observation. The family was the locus of authoritative knowledge in the community and they provided vital insights into community life and local understandings and approaches to reproductive health. This dissertation follows the Latin American tradition of using testimonios to articulate—and reflexively examine—the layered meanings and intersecting politics that shape changing childbirth practices in rural Yucatan.

Indigenous adoptee scholars across Turtle Island and beyond have done good work in coming to understand their identity through community connection, culture, education and practice. A plethora of research has guided young Indigenous interracial adoptees on their journey, yet there are few stories focused on the experiences of interracial Maya adoptees reconnecting to their culture in KKKanada. Currently there is limited research documenting Maya adoptees experiences of displacement and cultural reclamation in KKKanadian adoption studies. Research must make more space for these stories and the stories of local Indigenous communities supporting them. In this story (thesis), through engagement with current literature and ten research questions, I explored what it meant to live as an interracial adoptee in West Coast Indigenous communities. An Indigenous Youth Storywork methodology was applied to bring meaning to relationships I have with diverse Indigenous Old Ones, mentors and Knowledge Keepers and their influence on my journey as a Maya adoptee returning to my culture. My personal story was developed and analyzed using an Indigenous decolonial framework and Indigenous Arts-based methods. This storying journey sheds light on the intricate intersections of interracial adoption, specifically for Maya Indigenous Youth who currently live in KKKanada. The intention of this Youth Storywork research work is to create space for Indigenous, Interracial, Transracial and Maya adoptees in Child and Youth Care, Social Work and Counselling Psychology education, policy and practice. / Graduate / 2021-11-18

This thesis aims to identify the possible origins of the peoples who immigrated into the archaeological sites of Guajilar and Lagartero, located in the upper Grijalva River Basin region in southern Chiapas, Mexico, during the Late Classic period (AD 650-900). First, I present the Late Classic burial data from both sites according to four basic descriptive criteria: burial location, grave type, burial type, and grave goods. Then, I conduct a comparative analysis of the burial practices found at these two sites based on these criteria so that patterns in burial practices can be identified. Following the comparative analysis between Guajilar and Lagartero, I then compare their burial practices to those from two sites in the southern Maya Lowlands (Altar de Sacrificios and Seibal) and those found at various sites in the Guatemala Highlands (which border the upper Grijalva River Basin region to the north and east, respectively). The analysis reveals greater similarities in burial practices with sites in the Guatemala Highlands than with those in the southern Maya Lowlands. This suggests that peoples from the Guatemala Highlands were more likely to have immigrated into Guajilar and Lagartero during the Late Classic period.

No description available.