Atualmente existem inúmeros serviços multimídia que são transportados através da rede IP, dos quais, o tráfego dos serviços de vídeo experimentou um maior crescimento nos últimos anos. O sucesso de aplicações de streaming de vídeo é um dos fatores pelo qual, este tráfego se incrementou. Alguns recentes estudos projetam que este tipo de serviços no ano 2016, alcançará aproximadamente o 55% do tráfego total da Internet. Considerando a importância que os serviços de vídeo alcançarão nos próximos anos, este trabalho foca-se na avaliação da qualidade de experiência (QoE) dos usuários ao utilizar estes serviços. Assim, nesta tese é proposta uma métrica de avaliação de vídeo denominada eVsQM, do inglês enhanced Video streaming Quality Metric, a qual é baseada principalmente no número, duração e localização temporal dos congelamentos de imagens (pausas) durante uma transmissão de vídeo, considerando também o tipo de conteúdo do vídeo transmitido. Esta métrica foi determinada a partir de um modelo matemático que utilizou os resultados de testes subjetivos de avaliação de vídeo, pois, este tipo de testes são os que melhor se aproximam da QoE real do usuário. Cabe destacar, que na realização dos testes subjetivos foi utilizada uma metodologia concordante com o tipo de degradação que o vídeo possui, ou seja, a pausa. No streaming de vídeo novas soluções são criadas com a finalidade de melhorar a QoE do usuário. O DASH, do inglês Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, muda a resolução do vídeo transmitido de acordo com as características da rede. Porém, se a rede é muito flutuante existirão muitas variações de resolução e a QoE do usuário será degradada. Neste trabalho é proposto um parâmetro a ser utilizado no algoritmo DASH que funciona como um limiar para controlar a frequência destas comutações de resolução. Este parâmetro é denominado como SDF (do inglês Switching Degradation Factor) e permite que a QoE mantida em níveis aceitáveis, inclusive em situações onde a rede é muito flutuante. Adicionalmente, neste trabalho é proposto um novo modelo de faturamento nos serviços de telecomunicações, que inclua no processo de tarifação um parâmetro relacionado com a QoE, visando ter uma tarifação de serviços de comunicações mais justa do ponto de vista dos usuários. Desta forma, usuários que recebem uma menor qualidade no serviço devem pagar menos em relação aos usuários que recebem uma melhor qualidade do mesmo serviço. / Nowadays, there are several multimedia services, which are carried via IP networks. From these all services; the traffic regarding video applications had the greatest growth in the last years. The success of video streaming applications is one of the major contributors to video traffic growth. Some recent studies project that video services, will reach approximately 55% of the total Internet traffic in 2016. Considering the relevance that video services will achieve in the coming years, this work focuses on the users Quality of Experience (QoE) when using these services. Thus, this thesis proposes an evaluation metric named enhanced Video streaming Quality Metric (eVsQM), which is based primarily on the number, duration and temporal location of the image freezes (pauses) during a video transmission. Also, this metric considers the video content type and was determined from a mathematical model that used as inputs, the video quality assessment results from subjective tests due, these types of test are the most correlated with real users QoE. It is worth noting that to perform these subjective tests was used a methodology consistent with the kind of video degradation (pause). For another hand, new video streaming solutions are created for the purpose of improving the users QoE of the user. Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) changes the video resolution according to the network characteristics. However, if the network is very fluctuant, many video resolution switching events will be performed and users QoE will be degraded. This thesis proposes a parameter to be used in DASH algorithms that works as a threshold to control the resolution switching frequency. This parameter is named Switching Degradation Factor (SDF) and is responsible to maintain the QoE in acceptable levels, inclusive in scenarios in which the network capacity is very fluctuating.

[pt] O Reconhecimento Facial é o processo de identificação de uma pessoa a partir da imagem de sua face. Na forma mais usual, o processo de identificação consiste em extrair informações dessa imagem e compará-las com informações relativas a outras imagens armazenadas numa base de dados e por fim indicar na saída a imagem da base mais similar à imagem de entrada. O desempenho desse processo está diretamente ligado à qualidade das imagens, tanto das que estão armazenadas na base de dados, quanto da imagem do indivíduo cuja identidade está sendo determinada. Por isso, convém que a qualidade das imagens faciais seja avaliada antes que estas sejam submetidas ao procedimento de reconhecimento. A maioria dos métodos apresentados até o momento na literatura baseia-se em um conjunto de critérios, cada um voltado a um atributo isolado da imagem. A qualidade da imagem é considerada adequada se aprovada por todos os critérios individualmente. Desconsidera-se, portanto, o efeito cumulativo de diversos fatores que afetam a qualidade das imagens e, por conseguinte, o desempenho do reconhecimento facial. Essa monografia propõe uma metodologia para o projeto de métricas de qualidade de imagens faciais que expressem num único índice o efeito combinado de diversos fatores que afetam o reconhecimento. Tal índice é dado por uma função de um conjunto de atributos extraídos diretamente da imagem. O presente estudo analisa experimentalmente uma função linear e uma rede neural do tipo back-propagation como alternativas para a estimativa de qualidade a partir dos atributos. Experimentos conduzidos sobre a base de dados IMM para o algoritmo de reconhecimento baseado em padrões binários locais comprovam a o bom desempenho da metodologia. / [en] Face Recognition is the process of identifying people based on facial images. In its most usual form the identification procedure consists of extracting information from an input face image and comparing them to the records of other face images stored in a face data base, and finally indicating the most similar one to the input image. The performance of this process is directly dependent on the input image quality, as well as on the images in the data base. Thus, it is important that the quality of a face image is tested before it is given to the recognition procedure, either as a input image or as a new record in the face database. Most methods proposed thus far based on a set of criteria, each one devoted to an isolated attribute. The image quality is considered adequate if approved by all criteria individually. Thus, the cumulative effect of different factors affecting the image quality is no regarded. This dissertation proposes a methodology for the design of quality metrics of facial images that Express in a single scalar the combined effect of multiple factors affecting the quality. Such score is given by a function of attributes extracted directly from the image. This study investigates a linear and a non-linear approach for quality assessment. Experiments conducted upon the IMM face database for a Local Binary Pattern face recognition algorithm demonstrate the good performance of the proposed methodology.

Quality and quality management have gained importance in the construction industry also due to losses of life and property. For high-quality buildings, the amount of defects during the construction works must be reduced. Thus, it is important to determine the defects which lead to low quality in the construction projects / and architectural, structural and constructional standards to measure some indicators of quality like workmanship, design of components and usage of correct and highquality materials. Therefore a systematic approach is required to achieve good standards both in design and construction. CONQUAS quality assessment system and Six Sigma quality management system are systems that could provide this systematic approach. The objective of this research is to evaluate the quality in mass-housing projects via Six Sigma. Thus, level of construction quality of the three houses in ODT&Uuml / KENT housing units in Turkey were assessed through Six Sigma with the contribution of CONQUAS quality assessment system. CONQUAS was used for determination of standards, whilst Six Sigma was used for data analysis. After the evaluation of interviews with contractor, site-supervisor, occupants and visual observations, defects and their reasons were determined. Reasons of poor quality in ODT&Uuml / KENT housing units were listed as firstly poor workmanship, then improper or of poorquality material usage and lastly problems in design of detailing. Despite different construction dates of units studied, the results show that nothing was learned from the previous mistakes and same defects were repeated. This shows the importance of a system providing feedback and evaluation of quality level of a construction project and quality improvement efforts of the contractor, and measuring the progress over time like Six Sigma.

Baigiamojo darbo tikslas – atlikti gyvenamųjų daugiabučių namų kvartalų atnaujinimo galimybių tyrimą, išanalizuoti pasirinktų šalių pastatų kokybės vertinimo sistemų pavyzdžius bei juos pritaikyti Lietuvoje. Tikslui pasiekti nustatomos dabartinės renovuojamų daugiabučių gyvenamųjų namų problemos ir trūkumai Lietuvoje ir jos išsprendžiamos remiantis pateiktais užsienio valstybių reikalavimais. Pagrindinė priežastis, kodėl tokia analizė buvo atliekama – tai noras įdiegti naują ir patikimą pastatų kokybės atnaujinimo ir jos kontrolės įvertinimo sistemą Lietuvoje. Tokios sistemos iki šiol šalyje nebuvimo. Todėl atlikus daugiabučių gyvenamųjų namų kvartalų kokybės tyrimą, buvo nustatyta, kad pastatų atnaujinimas yra būtinas, sukuriant darnią sistemą. Darbą sudaro: įvadas ir užduoties analizė, pavyzdžiai, Lietuvoje ir užsienyje naudojamų kokybės vertinimo sistemų apžvalga ir analizė, jų pritaikymas Lietuvoje, įvertinant daugiabučius namus pasirinktuose penkiuose Vilniaus miesto rajonuose, darbo rezultatų aptarimas ir išvados, informacijos šaltiniai, priedai. / The purpose of the final project is to perform feasibility study on refurbishment of blocks of flats, to analyze examples of total quality assessment systems and to apply them in Lithuania practice. Therefore, actual problems and defects must be determined in renovated buildings using other countries requirements. Then the purpose will be achieved. Other reason of this assessment is to perform a new and reliable quality assessment system of refurbishment and control in Lithuania. Results of this analysis show the need of sustainable system of modernization. The final project is performed by introduction and analysis, some samples, review of quality assessment systems in Lithuania and aboard, application of them in zones of Vilnius in Lithuania, results and conclusions, information data, annexes. The size of the final work: 166 pages without annexes, 30 illustrations, 42 tables, 2 annexes.

Disertacinio tyrimo objektas – universitetinių studijų akreditavimo procesas. Nagrinėjant šį objektą, sprendžiama tyrimo problema – universitetinių studijų kokybės vertinimo sistemoje nėra suformuoto visuotinai priimto akreditavimo proceso modelio. Tyrimo problema konkretizuojama probleminiu klausimu – kokia turėtų būti universitetinių studijų akreditavimo proceso modelio struktūra, kad būtų užtikrinta vieša universitetų atskaitomybė ir sudarytos prielaidos palyginamų vertinimo metodologijų formavimui? Tyrimo tikslas – sukurti teorinį universitetinių studijų akreditavimo proceso modelį ir empiriškai patikrinti jo pagrįstumo vertinimą. Šio darbo rezultatų naujumą atskleidžia sukurtas ir teoriškai pagrįstas universitetinių studijų akreditavimo proceso modelis, kuris europinėje studijų kokybės vertinimo sistemoje siūlomas palyginamoms metodologijoms formuoti ir universitetų atskaitomybei užtikrinti. Teoriniu atžvilgiu disertacinis tyrimas atskleidžia universitetinių studijų akreditavimo proceso kompleksiškumą ir išryškina esmines atskirų šio proceso etapų charakteristikas. Praktinis rezultatų reikšmingumas: siūlomas universitetinių studijų akreditavimo proceso modelis bei atskiri jo elementai gali būti sėkmingai taikomi aukštojo mokslo institucijose, siekiant užtikrinti aukštą studijų kokybę; tyrimo procese išryškėjo tobulintini universitetinių studijų akreditavimo proceso aspektai, kuriais remiantis pateikiamos rekomendacijos šiam studijų kokybės vertinimo procesui gerinti. / The object of the research is the accreditation process of university studies. While analysing this object, the problem of the research is being solved – the system of quality assessment of university studies lacks a universally accepted model of accreditation process. The object of the research is made more explicit by the following problematic question: what structure of the university studies accreditation process model should there be to ensure public accountability of universities and to create the background for the formation of comparable evaluation methodologies. The aim of the research is to create a theoretical model of university studies accreditation process and to test its validity assessment empirically. The novelty of the results of this work is evidenced by the worked out and theoretically substantiated model of university studies accreditation process. The model is recommended for the formation of comparable methodologies and university accountability assurance in the European system of study quality assessment. From the theoretical point of view, this doctoral thesis research reveals the complexity of university studies accreditation process and highlights the main characteristics of separate stages of this process. Practical significance: the proposed model of university studies accreditation process and its separate elements can successfully be applied in higher education institutions to ensure high quality of studies; in the course of the research some... [to full text]

Šiame magistro baigiamajame darbe ištirta ir įvertinta Lietuvos hidrometeorologijos tarnybos teikiamų paslaugų efektyvumas, kokybė, vertinimas bei tobulinimo galimybės, iškeltos paslaugų kokybės vertinimo problemos bei pateikti pasiūlymai šių problemų sprendimui. Pirmoje dalyje tiriamos paslaugų sampratos, paslaugų ypatumai, vieša ir meteorologijos paslauga bei vartotojų pasitenkinimo indeksas. Išanalizuoti šeši pagrindiniai paslaugų kokybės modeliai. Antroje dalyje pateikta tyrimų metodologija. Aprašytas instrumentarijus dviejų atliktų tyrimų. Pirmasis tyrimas - hidrometeorologijos tarnybos vieša vartotojų pasitenkinimo apklausa atlikta tarnybos tinklalapyje. Antrasis tyrimas - hidrometeorologijos tarnybos paslaugų kokybės vertinimas, paslaugų vartotojų anketavimo būdas. Trečiojoje dalyje aprašoma hidrometeorologijos tarnybos charakteristika, atliktų tyrimų rezultatai. Aptartos tobulinimo galimybės. Pateikiami paslaugų kokybės gerinimo būdai. / This master's thesis investigates and assesses the efficiency of services, services‘ quality, assessment and improvement opportunities, raises the problems of services‘ quality and provide suggestions for solving these problems in Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service. The first part explores the concept of services, services’ features, public meteorological service and customer satisfaction index. There are analyzed six main service quality models. The second part is intended to explain the methodology. There are described two instrumentations used for analysis. The first analysis aims to investigate public users’ satisfaction with Hydrometeorological Service and was implemented in the Authority's website. The second analysis covers Hydrometeorological Service services’ quality assessment and was implemented by questioning service’ customers. The third part describes basic characteristics of Hydrometeorological Service and examines research results. There are possibilities for improvements discussed and methods how to improve the quality of services explained.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamas socialinių paslaugų kokybės vertinimas: Kelmės rajono savivaldybės atvejis. Darbe atlikta mokslinės literatūros analizė. Pirmame darbo skyriuje atlikta socialinių paslaugų sampratos analizė. Antrame darbo skyriuje atlikta socialinių paslaugų kokybės vertinimo analizė. Darbe panaudotas kokybinis tyrimas, pusiau struktūruotas interviu metodas. Tyrime dalyvavo dvi tiriamųjų grupės: specialistai, dirbantys Kelmės socialinių paslaugų tarnyboje ir socialinių paslaugų paslaugų gavėjai. Tyrimo metu buvo nustatyta, kad socialinių paslaugų kokybė labai priklauso nuo paslaugas teikiančių darbuotojų profesinio pasirengimo ir gebėjimų. Tam, kad profesinė veikla tobulėtų, reikia nuolat tobulinti specialistų kvalifikaciją, plėsti teorines žinias bei lavinti praktinius įgūdžius. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad klientai teikiamų socialinių paslaugų namuose kokybe yra patenkinti, tačiau jaučiasi izoliuoti nuo visuomenės, tik maža vyresnių žmonių dalis turi galimybę bendrauti su artimaisiais, palaikyti socialinius ryšius su kitais. Darbo pabaigoje buvo pateiktos išvados ir rekomendacijos socialinių paslaugų kokybei gerinti. / The Bachelor‘s thesis investigates quality assessment of social services: the case of Kelmė district municipality. An analysis of scientific literature was carried out in the thesis. The first section of the paper comprises an analysis of the conception of social services. The second section presents an analysis of quality assessment of social services. A quantitative analysis was applied in the thesis as well as the half structured interview method. Two groups of respondents took part in the investigation: specialists working in Kelmė social services centre and receivers of social services. During the investigation it was found that the quality of social services depends to a great extent on the professional training and competences of specialists providing the services. In order for professional activity to develop, it is necessary to constantly raise specialists’ qualification, expand theoretical knowledge and develop practical skills. The investigation’s results revealed that customers are satisfied with the quality of services provided at home but feel isolated from society as only a small number of elderly people have the possibility to talk to their families and maintain social relations with other people. The last part of the thesis gives conclusions and recommendations for improvement of the quality of social services.

Tone mapping operators aim to compress high dynamic range (HDR) images to low dynamic range ones so as to visualize HDR images on standard displays. Most existing works were demonstrated on specific examples without being thoroughly tested on well-established and subject-validated image quality assessment models. A recent tone mapped image quality index (TMQI) made the first attempt on objective quality assessment of tone mapped images. TMQI consists of two fundamental building blocks: structural fidelity and statistical naturalness. In this thesis, we propose an enhanced tone mapped image quality index (eTMQI) by 1) constructing an improved nonlinear mapping function to better account for the local contrast visibility of HDR images and 2) developing an image dependent statistical naturalness model to quantify the unnaturalness of tone mapped images based on a subjective study. Experiments show that the modified structural fidelity and statistical naturalness terms in eTMQI better correlate with subjective quality evaluations. Furthermore, we propose an iterative optimization algorithm for tone mapping. The advantages of this algorithm are twofold: 1) eTMQI and TMQI can be compared in a more straightforward way; 2) better quality tone mapped images can be automatically generated by using eTMQI as the optimization goal. Numerical and subjective experiments demonstrate that eTMQI is a superior objective quality assessment metric for tone mapped images and consistently outperforms TMQI.

Funkcionalumo kokybė interaktyviame interneto žemėlapio naudojimo procese yra kritiškai svarbi, nes būtent nuo funkcionalumo priklauso ir per jį išreiškiamos naudotojo galimybės: peržiūros, analizės ar visapusiško žemėlapio elementų valdymo. Darbe pristatoma sukurta originali metodologija, kuri leidžia kompleksiškai kiekybiškai įvertinti įvairių tipų bei sudėtingumo interaktyvių interneto žemėlapių funkcionalumo kokybę atsižvelgiant į naudotojų poreikius. Metodologija sudaryta apjungiant naudotojų patirčių, ekspertų nuomonių bei šiuo metu žinomų pavyzdinių interneto žemėlapių funkcijų tyrimų rezultatus į kompleksinę, plečiamą, kaupiamąją funkcionalumo vertinimo kriterijų ir rodiklių sistemą. Sukurta originali interneto programa CartoUI (www.cartoui.com) realizuojanti šią metodologiją praktikoje ir teikianti priemones tyrimų rezultatams analizuoti. Programa išbandyta praktiškai verifikuojant metodologiją. CartoUI programa pasiekiama viešai ir gali būti panaudota interaktyvių interneto žemėlapių funkcionalumo tyrimams vykdyti bei naudotojų poreikiams analizuoti. Darbe taip pat pristatomos detalios rekomendacijos skirtingo tipo ir skirtingoms naudotojų grupėms skirtiems interaktyviems interneto žemėlapiams kurti. Rekomendacijos suformuotos pritaikius sukurtą metodologiją ir atlikus praktinį tyrimą su konkrečia naudotojų grupe naudojant CartoUI programą. / The quality of performed functions is crucially important in the process of use of interactive Internet maps. Functionality determines and describes the capabilities provided to the user: e.g., viewing, analysis or integral management of map elements. The dissertation presents original methodology that allows for integral quantitative evaluation the quality of implementation of functions of Internet maps of various types and complexity. The users‘ needs are taken into account. The methodology is based on the results of three investigations: user experiences, expert opinions and actual functions of existing interactive maps. All these aspects are combined into one complex, cumulative and flexible system of criteria and indices for qualimetric assessment of quality of implemented map functions. Original Internet based CartoUI software (www.cartoui.com) has been developed for practical implementation and verification of this methodology. The software also provides tools for analysis of information collected during particular research or for selected time span. CartoUI is available for everyone to use it for investigation into functionality of interactive Internet maps and for analysis of users‘ needs. The dissertation also provides detailed practical recommendations for development of diverse interactive internet maps tailored for different user groups. The recommendations are based on research on particular users‘ needs clarified by means of CartoUI.

The quality of performed functions is crucially important in the process of use of interactive Internet maps. Functionality determines and describes the capabilities provided to the user: e.g., viewing, analysis or integral management of map elements. The dissertation presents original methodology that allows for integral quantitative evaluation the quality of implementation of functions of Internet maps of various types and complexity. The users‘ needs are taken into account. The methodology is based on the results of three investigations: user experiences, expert opinions and actual functions of existing interactive maps. All these aspects are combined into one complex, cumulative and flexible system of criteria and indices for qualimetric assessment of quality of implemented map functions. Original Internet based CartoUI software (www.cartoui.com) has been developed for practical implementation and verification of this methodology. The software also provides tools for analysis of information collected during particular research or for selected time span. CartoUI is available for everyone to use it for investigation into functionality of interactive Internet maps and for analysis of users‘ needs. The dissertation also provides detailed practical recommendations for development of diverse interactive internet maps tailored for different user groups. The recommendations are based on research on particular users‘ needs clarified by means of CartoUI. / Funkcionalumo kokybė interaktyviame interneto žemėlapio naudojimo procese yra kritiškai svarbi, nes būtent nuo funkcionalumo priklauso ir per jį išreiškiamos naudotojo galimybės: peržiūros, analizės ar visapusiško žemėlapio elementų valdymo. Darbe pristatoma sukurta originali metodologija, kuri leidžia kompleksiškai kiekybiškai įvertinti įvairių tipų bei sudėtingumo interaktyvių interneto žemėlapių funkcionalumo kokybę atsižvelgiant į naudotojų poreikius. Metodologija sudaryta apjungiant naudotojų patirčių, ekspertų nuomonių bei šiuo metu žinomų pavyzdinių interneto žemėlapių funkcijų tyrimų rezultatus į kompleksinę, plečiamą, kaupiamąją funkcionalumo vertinimo kriterijų ir rodiklių sistemą. Sukurta originali interneto programa CartoUI (www.cartoui.com) realizuojanti šią metodologiją praktikoje ir teikianti priemones tyrimų rezultatams analizuoti. Programa išbandyta praktiškai verifikuojant metodologiją. CartoUI programa pasiekiama viešai ir gali būti panaudota interaktyvių interneto žemėlapių funkcionalumo tyrimams vykdyti bei naudotojų poreikiams analizuoti. Darbe taip pat pristatomos detalios rekomendacijos skirtingo tipo ir skirtingoms naudotojų grupėms skirtiems interaktyviems interneto žemėlapiams kurti. Rekomendacijos suformuotos pritaikius sukurtą metodologiją ir atlikus praktinį tyrimą su konkrečia naudotojų grupe naudojant CartoUI programą.