The subject of this diploma thesis is the protection of an injured party in criminal proceedings. Throughout the thesis author analyzes the relevant laws, specialized legal literature and case laws. When there is a debate amongst the professional public, author summarizes the key arguments and provides his own perspective. The paper provides a general definition of the term injured party, which includes a positive and negative definition and distinction between the terms injured party and a victim. The author more closely examines when the injured party is not allowed to exercise his rights. There are also described, from the view of current legislation and also de lege ferenda, the circumstances under which a person is not allowed to join the criminal proceeding as an injured party. Furthermore the author breaks down the rights of an injured party with the emphasis being put on the right of the injured party to consent to prosecution and the right to demand for his/her claims to be satisfied in accordance with the 59/2017 Sb., on the use of funds acquired from property penal sanctions imposed in criminal proceedings, which has been in effect for over a year now in March 2019. The paper also examines collateral proceeding, especially the conditions under which the injured party can assert his claim...

Syftet med undersökningen var att få en bredare kunskap och förståelse för hur polisen uppfattar att de bemöter människor i sitt arbete, och hur detta bemötande kan stärka polisens legitimitet och vara en del av det brottsförebyggande arbetet, samt om poliserna upplever det möjligt att arbeta brottspreventivt genom bemötande i alla situationer. Vi utgick från teorin om procedurrättvisa och vi använde oss av en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Vårt urval bestod av poliser som arbetade eller har arbetat som områdespoliser eller i polisens ingripandeverksamhet. Det viktigaste resultatet i vår undersökning är att det finns en stor medvetenhet och förståelse hos alla poliser som deltagit i studien, för hur bemötande kan påverka det brottsförebyggande arbetet på ett positivt eller negativt sätt. Det andra viktiga resultatet visar att polisen upplever att det kan finnas situationer eller faktorer som gör att det är svårare eller inte alltid möjligt, att arbeta brottspreventivt genom sitt bemötande. / The purpose of our study was to gain a broader knowledge and understanding about how the police perceive their treatment when interacting with citizens in their work. How this treatment can strengthen the legitimacy of the police and be a part of the crime prevention work. If the police feel it is possible to work crime preventing through treatment in all situations. We started from the theory of procedural justice and we chose to use a qualitative survey method. Our selection consisted of police officers who worked or had worked as community police officers or with intervention. We collected empirical data through semi-structured interviews. The most important results in our study showed that there was a great awareness and understanding among the police who participated. Understanding and awareness about how treatment can affect crime prevention work in a positive or negative way. The other important result in the study showed that the police experience situations or factors that doesn’t make crime prevention possible through their treatment.

Procedural level generation is a novel area of research within the field of computer graphics and game development. However, current research and implementations of procedural generation for cooperative games is sparse. Further study is required to validate the use of automatic level creation and to test additional methods of optimization for cooperative games. Additionally, despite many recent developments, many areas within the field of virtual reality remain underexplored. We propose a mathematically defined total cost function for controlling a procedural level generation algorithm for cooperative virtual reality games. This cost term controls an algorithm which gradually improves a generated solution over a series of iterations, bringing it to an optimal state. We present here two games with procedurally created levels and gameplay elements using this mathematical total cost function, as well as proposed experiments to validate the effectiveness of this content in encouraging cooperation and potential use cases for this technology.

As movies, television shows, and other forms of media have progressed over the last century, the use of destruction sequences as a form of entertainment have seemingly grown exponentially. From ginormous explosions to cities collapsing, more destruction sequences have drawn people’s attention in ways that are quite captivating. However, as content producers continue to push the limit of what is possible, the reliance on practical effects starts to dwindle in comparison to the usage of computer generated scenes. This thesis acknowledges the trend and dissects the entire process of how a general destruction sequence is made, from the research and planning process to the actual simulation of the effects. Various methods are discussed in how to attempt the creation of destruction with a singular project in mind. The goal is to not only to complete the sequence, but to do so in an efficient manner that can rival a professional workflow.

Generalization of LOD2 building models using the aggregation method Abstract The thesis proposes and implements a method of 3D building models aggregation. The procedure achieves global optima by the means of mathematic optimization. Buildings are aggregated according to similarity characteristics typical for LOD2, e. g. roof type. Aggregation process is driven by minimalization of volume changes and of the aggregate count. The optimization problem was implemented as a Python script with optional parameters to meet custom demands of a wide range of users. Input data models of buildings are created by the method of procedural modelling. Its outcome is further restructured into form of continuous blocks. Finally, the visualization procedure is designed and implemented to illustrate the results of optimized aggregation of 3D building models. Keywords: 3D GIS, generalization, aggregation, mathematical optimization, procedural modelling

As virtual reality and interaction possibilities in game technology evolve and become more user-friendly, accessible and cheaper, this technology suddenly gets useful in occupational areas that traditionally have not used them, one being urban planning. By using a game engine and a virtual neighborhood that utilizes procedural generation the user has the option of having a cost-effective, replicable environment with great control from the user.  According to the Broken Windows Theory small differences in appearance can have a big impact on how an urban neighborhood will be perceived. Therefore it would be interesting to investigate how the perception of street scenes is affected by the different aesthetic properties of dirt, graffiti, broken windows, building height and greenery (trees and bushes). By implementing a virtual neighborhood that utilizes procedural generation the basic structure of the neighborhood can stay the same, while separately adjusting the specific properties that are being evaluated. Through surveys and interviews the results show that every one of the chosen properties are very significant except for building height. Generally the more trees that were present, the more safe the neighborhood felt, and the order of significance of dirt, graffiti and broken windows differed between the two evaluation methods. / Då virtual reality och interaktionsmöjligheterna inom spelteknologi utvecklas och blir mer användarvänliga, mer tillgängliga och billigare, blir denna teknik plötsligt användbar inom yrkesområden som traditionellt sett inte har använt dem, där ett exempel är stadsplanering. Genom att använda en spelmotor och en virtuell stadsdel som utnyttjar procedural generation får användaren en kostnadseffektiv, replikerbar miljö med stor kontroll från användaren. Enligt Broken Windows Theory så kan små skillnader i utseende ha en stor inverkan på hur en stadsdel kommer att uppfattas. Därför vore det intressant att undersöka hur synen på virtuella gatscener påverkas av olika estetiska egenskaper som smuts, graffiti, trasiga fönster, bygghöjd, och grönska (träd och buskar). Genom att implementera en virtuell stadsdel som utnyttjar procedural generation kan grundstrukturen vara densamma, medan man separat justerar de specifika egenskaperna som ska utvärderas. Genom enkäter och intervjuer visar resultaten att var och en av de valda egenskaperna är mycket betydande, med undantaget för byggnadshöjd. Generellt så kändes stadsdelen mer säker desto mer träd som fanns, och ordningen av signifikansen för smuts, graffiti, och trasiga fönster skiljde sig mellan enkäterna och intervjuerna.

Manual design of levels can be an expensive and time consuming process. Procedural content generation (PCG) entails methods to algorithmically generate game content such as levels. One such way is by using cellular automata (CA), and in particular evolved cellular automata. Existing research primarily considers specifically determined starting states, as opposed to randomly initialized ones. In this paper we investigate the current state of the art regarding using CA’s that have been evolved with a genetic algorithm (GA) for level generation purposes. Additionally, we create a level generator that uses a GA in order to evolve CA rules for the creation of maze-like 2d levels which can be used in video games. Specifically, we investigate if it is possible to evolve CA rules that, when applied to a set of random starting states, could transform these into game levels with long solution paths and a large number of dead ends. We generate 60 levels over 6 experiments, rendering 58 playable levels. Our analysis of the levels show some flaws in certain levels, such as large numbers of unreachable cells. Additionally, the results indicate that the designed GA can be further improved upon. Finally, we conclude that it is possible to evolve CA rules that can transform a set of random starting states into game levels.

Procedural Content Generation (PCG) in games often suffers from a lack of emotional connection with the player as well as a perceived sameness. This thesis aims to design and test a tool for PCG game levels for the game To the Skies! which incorporates an emotional intention based upon the color-emotion theory proposed by Fugate and Franco, 2019.  Russell’s (1980) Circumplex Model of Affect was used as a foundation for the parameterization of emotions, which were implemented in a PCG test level for the game, developed in Unreal Engine. By adopting research through design, this thesis goes through an iterative process where the tool is under constant improvement through quantitative testing using the Self Assessment Manikin method proposed by Lang & Bradley (1994). The tests indicate that, although colors can to some degree elicit emotions, the player’s perception of the test levels did not match the expected emotional response based on color alone for all emotional states tested. The thesis concludes that, while color-emotion association can aid in generating PCG with emotional intent, additional complementary elicitors are likely required, and further tests are needed that incorporate shapes, placement, and weather patterns.

Background: Procedural content generation (PCG) has become an important subject as the demand for content in modern games has increased. Paradox Arctic is a game development studio that aims to be at the forefront of technological solutions and is therefore interested in furthering their knowledge in PCG. To this end, Paradox Arctic has expressed their interest in a collaborative effort to further explore the subject of procedural floor plan generation. Objective: The main goal of this work is to test whether a solution based on growth, subdivision or a combination thereof, can be used to procedurally generate believable and varied floor plans for game environments, while also conforming to predefined constraints. Method: A solution capable of generating floor plans with the use of growth, subdivision and a combination of both has been implemented and a survey testing the believability and variation of the generated layouts has been conducted. Results & Conclusions: While the results of the subdivision and combined solutions show that more work is necessary before the generated content can be considered believable, the growth based solution presents promising results in terms of believability when generating smaller to medium sized layouts. This believability does however come at the cost of variation. / Bakgrund: Procedural content generation (PCG) har blivit ett alltmer viktigt ämne allteftersom kravet på mängden innehåll i moderna spel har ökat. Paradox Arctic är en spelutvecklingsstudio vars målsättning är att ligga i teknologins framkant och de är därför intresserade av att vidareutveckla sin kompetens inom PCG. Av denna anledning har de uttryckt intresse för ett samarbete inom området “procedurell generering av planlösningar”. Syfte: Det huvudsakliga syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka huruvida lösningar baserade på att växa ytor, fördela ytor i mindre delar eller en kombination av dessa, kan användas för att skapa trovärdiga och varierade planlösningar för spelmiljöer, utan att bryta förutbestämda krav. Metod: En lösning som procedurellt genererar planlösningar genom att växa och/eller fördela dem har implementerats och en undersökning, med syftet att utvärdera trovärdigheten och variationen i de genererade planlösningarna, har utförts. Resultat & Slutsatser: Lösningen som baseras på fördelning av ytor och den kombinerade lösningen, visades av resultaten kräva ytterliggare arbete för att anses generera trovärdiga resultat. Lösningen som baseras på att växa ytor däremot, visade positiva trovärdighetsresultat när små och medelstora planlösningar genererades. Detta goda resultat uppstod dock på bekostnaden av variation mellan de genererade planlösningarna.

The learning difficulties prevalent among mathematics students are widely documented. This case study explores the difficulties experienced by National Certificate (Vocational) Level 2 mathematics students at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in Gauteng in the learning of functions. The primary research question was: What conceptual and procedural knowledge difficulties do NC(V) L2 students experience when learning the concept of functions in mathematics? Qualitative data was generated from the students (n=17) through lesson observations, test responses and interviews. The convenient sample of students all belonged to one L2 mathematics class. The findings revealed that the students experience conceptual knowledge difficulties in terms of defining a function, identifying functions, translating between representations of functions, and interpreting the behaviour of a function. The findings also revealed procedural knowledge difficulties prevalent among the students. The errors that students committed in this regard included factorisation errors, structural errors, misapplication and modification of the rules. In general, the findings indicated that the students in this sample lack procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding of functions. The lesson observations revealed a prevalence of several misconceptions regarding functions among the students which were seemingly not recognised nor remedied by the teacher. The teacher’s instructional practices thus appeared to be among the possible sources of the difficulties that the students experience in the learning of functions. This finding was also confirmed by the students during the interviews. Shaky foundations from previous grades were also a factor. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted