Context. Producing NavMeshes for pathfinding in computer games is a time-consuming process. Recast and Detour is a pair of stateof-the-art libraries that allows automation of NavMesh generation. It builds on a technique called Scene Voxelization, where triangle geometry is converted to voxels in heightfields. The algorithm is expensive in terms of execution time. A fast voxelization algorithm could be useful in real-time applications where geometry is dynamic. In recent years, voxelization implementations on the GPU have been shown to outperform CPU implementations in certain configurations. Objectives. The objective of this thesis is to find a GPU-based alternative to Recast’s voxelization algorithm, and determine when the GPU-based solution is faster than the reference. Methods. This thesis proposes a GPU-based alternative to Recast’s voxelization algorithm, designed to be an interchangeable step in Recast’s pipeline, in a real-time application where geometry is dynamic. Experiments were conducted to show how accurately the algorithm generates heightfields, how fast the execution time is in certain con- figurations, and how the algorithm scales with different sets of input data. Results. The proposed algorithm, when run on an AMD Radeon RX 480 GPU, was shown to be both accurate and fast in certain configurations. At low voxelfield resolutions, it outperformed the reference algorithm on typical Recast reference models. The biggest performance gain was shown when the input contained large numbers of small triangles. The algorithm performs poorly when the input data has triangles that are big in relation to the size of the voxels, and an optional optimization was presented to address this issue. Another optimization was presented that further increases performance gain when many instances of the same mesh are voxelized. Conclusions. The objectives of the thesis were met. A fast, GPUbased algorithm for voxelization in Recast was presented, and conclusions about when it can outperform the reference algorithm were drawn. Possibilities for even greater performance gains were identified for future research.

This thesis is a study on solutions for cross-border insolvency of multinational corporate groups, with particular reference to the EU Regulation on insolvency proceedings recast 2015 (EIR Recast). Multinational corporate groups are important players in the modern business world; how to treat them in cross-border insolvency context has been hotly debated. The main issue is how to preserve the value of the group under circumstances where member companies in the same group are in more than one country and subject to more than one set of insolvency law. The existing solutions include substantive consolidation, procedural consolidation proposed by cross-border insolvency law scholars, market/hybrid legal solutions aiming to avoid group-wide insolvency, and the EIR recast which unprecedentedly provides 'group coordination proceedings' to respond to this issue as a procedural cooperation framework. All these solutions will be examined in this thesis in the light of insolvency law/cross-border insolvency law theories and multinational enterprises theories. The aim of this thesis is to examine the existing solutions for cross-border insolvency of multinational corporate groups on the basis of a combination of insolvency law/cross-border insolvency law theories and multinational enterprises theories. The thesis starts from theoretical grounds of corporate rescue and argues that preservation of going concern value and respecting entity law are the goals of corporate rescue law. It further considers theories regarding multinational enterprises and its implications on developing cross-border insolvency solutions for multinational corporate groups. With an understanding of relevant theories, the thesis examines the procedural consolidation solution which focuses on insolvency jurisdictional rules. The result is that procedural consolidation may not be in line with the reality of how the groups are operated and may not provide certainty to the creditors and market. The thesis moves on to examine the market/hybrid legal solutions which purport to be able to avoid group-wide cross-border insolvency. It shows certain merits of these solutions and also reveals the limitations and uncertainty of them. Finally, it argues that a general insolvency cooperation framework- the new group coordination proceedings- is desirable to work as an alternative to the above-mentioned solutions with improved certainty. The thesis tries to improve the utility of the proceedings by providing a recommendation to one of their main weaknesses-the opt-out mechanism.

La République Centrafricaine, 622 984 km2 pour 4,525 millions d’habitants en 2012, est une ancienne colonie française, indépendante le 13 août 1960. Durant les premières décennies post-indépendance, un État faiblement structuré a été mis en place. Au moment où les efforts conjugués des bailleurs de fonds commençaient à inscrire une nouvelle dynamique de stabilité, la rébellion de la Séléka conduite par Michel Djotodia, a pris le pouvoir le 24 mars 2013. Depuis lors, le pays est confronté à l’une de ses crises majeures, caractérisée par l’intermittence de la violence, la pluralité des acteurs et la complexité des facteurs belligènes. Le défi de sécurité étant un déterminant incompressible, ce travail est construit autour de l’impact irréversiblement positif de la refonte des Forces de défense et de sécurité dans la construction de la paix, de la stabilité et du développement. / The Central African Republic, 622,984 km2 area for 4.525 million inhabitants in 2012, is a former French colony that became independent on August 13, 1960. During the first decades of post-independence, a weakly structured state was established. At the time when the combined efforts of the donors were beginning to introduce a new dynamic of stability, the Séléka rebellion led by Michel Djotodia took power on March 24, 2013. Since then, the country has faced one of its major crisis, characterized by the intermittent violence, the plurality of actors and the complexity of the belligerent factors. The security challenge is an incompressible means, this academic work is built around the positive irreversibly impact of the armed forces and security in the building of peace, stability and development in Central African Republic.

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This dissertation reports on an investigation of corrective feedback provided by instructors to learners in sixteen online asynchronous and synchronous interactions. The overarching objective of this study was to examine the provision of corrective feedback in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments. This study also sought to examine the frequency of corrective feedback types and the relationship between learner error and corrective feedback provision. Finally, this study investigated what types of corrective feedback led to repaired learner responses.Over the course of one university semester, the instructors and students in four second-semester Spanish courses participated in bulletin board and chat room discussions and a detailed analysis of the transcripts revealed that instructors do provide learners with corrective feedback in online asynchronous and synchronous environments. The results also reveal that corrective feedback is more prevalent in the asynchronous environment than in the synchronous environment. A total of six corrective feedback typesexplicit correction, recasts, metalinguistic feedback, clarification request, elicitation, and repetitionwere found in these environments. All corrective feedback types were present in the asynchronous environment while repetition was not observed in the synchronous environment. The results indicate instructors overall preference for explicit correction in the asynchronous environment and preference for recasts in the synchronous environment. In the synchronous environment, different types of learner errors are followed by different types of corrective feedback. Recasts most often follow grammatical and lexical errors, while an opportunity to negotiate form is most often provided for multiple errors.

This study investigated the different types of errors that EFL learners produce in chat logs and also analyzed the different types of corrective feedback given by the teacher. An eye tracker was employed to study the eye movements of the participants to see how they notice the corrective feedback. This investigation can assist teachers to act better in online classrooms and helps them understand which type of corrective feedback is most likely to result in uptake based on noticing. The results showed that the most common errors in chat logs were related to grammar. It was also found that both recasts and metalinguistic feedback were noticed most of the time during the chat sessions although only a few of them led to uptake in post task session.

This mixed methods research study centers on learner-learner interactions; thus, contributing to the on-going investigation within negotiation and interaction, computer-mediated-communication and its role in second language learning. The specific aim was to investigate corrective feedback types, incidences, and the relationship between error and feedback type among peers within online synchronous environments in EFL classes in Slovenia, Europe. Interactional characteristics of corrective feedback with learners having a documented special need (SN) also were explored using qualitative analyses. The study encompassed 208 students that were randomly placed into 104 dyads within intact classes of Grades 7, 8, 10, and 11. There were 32 dyads in Grade 7, 16 dyads in Grade 8, 24 dyads in Grade 10, and 32 dyads in Grade 11. Three participants had a documented special need. Quantitative analysis did not reveal statistical significant difference in the incidence of corrective feedb feedback and grade level, the relationship among the type of corrective feedback and grade level, or the relationship between learner error and type of corrective feedback across grade levels. Corrective feedback types were similar to those studied in traditional classroom research (i.e., explicit corrections, recasts, negotiation of form). However, descriptive statistics and qualitative analyses revealed conversational techniques that are specific to text-based online discourses providing insight into interactional characteristics among interactants within a discourse environment that differs both from speech and written texts. Consequently, an additional corrective feedback type emerged from the data, coded as feedback request. The most frequent corrective feedback type provided was explicit corrections. Frequency data revealed that corrective feedback tended to decrease as the grade level increased. Data with SN learners indicated distinctive discourse techniques.Overall, low incidences of corrective feedback and error types might have been affected by the learner's developmental levels, social readiness, and/or psychological readiness (Oliver, 1998), as well as the learner's individual conversational styles and socio-cultural factors. Consequently, further research is warranted in examining these factors. In addition, longitudinal studies are warranted in examining whether online negotiated work lead towards L2 acquisition. Finally, the role of phantom corrective moves when coding qualitative online text data also need to be examined further.

Interactional feedback has received a lot of attention recently in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). In particular, the literature on the effects of recasts (correct reformulation of a learner’s utterance) has produced conflicting results. The object of the present study is to contribute to the recent investigation of interactional feedback on L2 acquisition by examining the effects of recast, elicitation, and recast plus elicitation on the development of question formation by ESL learners in a typical classroom environment. The study followed a pre-test/post-test design and was carried out over 7 weeks. Results provide some support for short-term effects of recasts, long-term effects of elicitations and delayed effects for recasts in combination with elicitation. These results suggest that recasts and elicitation may both be effective forms of feedback in different ways. As well, the results also imply that recasts may be most effective when their saliency is enhanced in some manner.

Interactional feedback has received a lot of attention recently in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). In particular, the literature on the effects of recasts (correct reformulation of a learner’s utterance) has produced conflicting results. The object of the present study is to contribute to the recent investigation of interactional feedback on L2 acquisition by examining the effects of recast, elicitation, and recast plus elicitation on the development of question formation by ESL learners in a typical classroom environment. The study followed a pre-test/post-test design and was carried out over 7 weeks. Results provide some support for short-term effects of recasts, long-term effects of elicitations and delayed effects for recasts in combination with elicitation. These results suggest that recasts and elicitation may both be effective forms of feedback in different ways. As well, the results also imply that recasts may be most effective when their saliency is enhanced in some manner.