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Commercial viewing was measured by a conjugate arrangement for 1 female and 3 male participants. Reinforcing qualities were evaluated according to screen variations and ratings. Subjects changed the screen clarity via knob pressing either making the screen more or less transparent, translucent or opaque based on commercial interest. Results were conducive to participant attentiveness or indifference to commercial viewing. Experimenter was able to identify the commercials that grasped and maintained the participants' viewing behavior. Conceptually this conjugate arrangement could enhance eye tracking technology to improve marketing and advertising strategies. This experiment yield results that suggest a more concrete analysis of consumer response to visual stimuli that maintains attending.

The Virginia Tech Optical Satellite Tracking Telescope (VTOST) aims to test the feasibility of a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) designed tracking system for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) data contribution. A novel approach is considered, combining two COTS systems, a high-powered telescope, built for astronomy purposes, and a larger field of view (FOV) camera. Using only publicly available two-line element sets (TLEs), orbital propagation accuracy degrades quickly with time from epoch and is often not accurate enough to task a high-powered, small FOV telescope. Under this experimental approach, the larger FOV camera is used to acquire and track the resident space object (RSO) and provide a real-time pointing update to allow the high-powered telescope to track the RSO and provide possible resolved imagery. VTOST is designed as a remotely taskable sensor, based on current network architecture, capable of serving as a platform for further SSA studies, including unresolved and resolved imagery analysis, network tasking, and orbit determination. Initial design considerations are based on the latest Raven class and other COTS based telescope research, including research by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), ExoAnalytic Solutions, and other university level telescope projects. A holistic system design, including astronomy, image processing, and tracking methods, in a low-budget environment is considered. Method comparisons and results of the system design process are presented. / Master of Science

State fish and wildlife agencies are increasingly expected to meet accelerating wildlife conservation needs while addressing systemic problems that limit who has historically been able to access wildlife and conservation. To effectively address both of these needs, agencies need to better understand their constituencies, including both long-standing supporters and those who have been historically excluded. This thesis set out to achieve this through three chapters. (i) Using a nationwide panel survey, we sought to understand how patterns of wildlife viewing differ between Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and White viewers, as well as what most strongly supports this participation. We found that participation rates differ across ethnoracial groups, with most BIPOC viewers participating less than White viewers, especially around their homes. Additionally, BIPOC viewers indicated that social support was a key factor in encouraging participation. Finally, despite wildlife viewing being of similar or greater importance to BIPOC participants, they generally self-identified less as viewers, suggesting historic exclusion from wildlife viewing locales may impact contemporary participation. (ii) Through a questionnaire of Minnesotans engaged with the MN Department of Natural Resources and their Nongame Wildlife Program, we examined what most encourages donations and volunteer participation. The findings of this chapter suggest that donors had specific motivations, namely supporting biodiversity and conservation, whereas volunteer motivations were more varied, such as place-based preferences and access to conservation professionals. (iii) Using a series of focus groups with outdoor recreation and community science practitioners and participants, we aimed to understand what encouraged BIPOC Minnesotans to participate in nature-based community science programs. We found that participants rely on numerous forms of cultural capital to persist in community science, especially in inhospitable environments. Often, this included utilizing social relationships and continuing to participate despite negative interactions. Overall, this research contributes to a growing body of literature aiming to understand diverse engagement in wildlife viewing and nature-based community science, as well as general engagement with state agencies. By laying a foundation for sustainable engagement and support of diverse communities, particularly BIPOC groups, this thesis provides insights and recommendations for fostering equitable conservation practices in an era of environmental change and social evolution. / Master of Science / North America and the world are witnessing unprecedented environmental changes, including biodiversity loss, climate change, and urbanization, impacting both human and wildlife communities. Concurrently, shifts in public engagement with state wildlife agencies and outdoor recreation are evident, with historic constituencies of hunters and anglers declining, posing challenges to conservation efforts. To address these challenges, state agencies strive to understand and diversify their supporters. Against this backdrop, this thesis investigates wildlife viewing patterns among ethnoracial groups, constituent engagement with state wildlife agencies, and factors motivating participation in community science initiatives among Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. Using a nationwide survey of wildlife viewers, we found significant differences in participation, both around and away from home. We also found that social support from friends, family, mentors, and peers was associated with increased participation. Additionally, despite wildlife viewing being of similar or greater importance to BIPOC participants, they generally self-identified less as viewers, suggesting historic exclusion from wildlife viewing locales may impact contemporary participation. Through a questionnaire of Minnesotans engaged with the MN Department of Natural Resources and their Nongame Wildlife Program, we examined what most encourages donations and volunteer participation. The findings of this chapter suggested that donors had specific motivations, namely supporting biodiversity and conservation, whereas volunteer motivations were more varied, such as place-based preferences and access to conservation professionals. Finally, using a series of focus groups with outdoor recreation and community science practitioners and participants, we aimed to understand what encouraged BIPOC Minnesotans to participate in nature-based community science programs. Our results suggested that social support, community-specific and community-led programs, and programs co-produced with community groups may facilitate participation in community science. Overall, this thesis provides vital recommendations for state agencies aiming to increase BIPOC participation in programs and better engage their constituencies. Through guidance on developing sustainable engagement strategies and how to best support diverse communities, particularly BIPOC groups, this thesis provides insights and recommendations for fostering equitable conservation in an era of environmental change and social evolution.

This study is part of the AHRC funded project “A History of Television for Women in Britain, 1947-1989”. The research is based upon the data gathered from interviews carried out with thirty geographically and generationally dispersed women about their memories of watching television in Britain between 1947 and 1989. I have used generation and gender as analytical categories, and have paid particular attention to the role of memory work in this type of historical research. This thesis aims to build upon previous work which has investigated the connection between generation and interaction with popular culture, but which has not theorised those relationships (Press, 1991; Moseley, 2002). The shifts and, indeed, continuities in the lives of different generations of British women are considered to gain a sense of the importance of generation in the production of identity. Significant differences arose between generations in terms of reflexivity and around questions of quality, value and taste as generations intersected with feminist and neoliberal cultures at different life stages. What was particularly interesting, however, was that despite the dramatic social change wrought by this post-war period, the narratives of women of different generations were surprisingly similar in terms of their everyday lives. Their memories largely centred around domestic relationships, and the women’s role as mother was often central to these. Following my investigation of the significance of motherhood to women’s production of gendered identity I consider the moments which disrupted that pattern and where women are enabled to conceive of an identity outside their familial role. Talk around pop music programming and desire had generational significance in the production of individual identities, again pointing to the importance of generation as an analytical category.

<p>Personens egen erfarenhet samt subjekts/objektssyn och ansvarsyn har visats vara viktiga förklaringsfaktorer till empati för en annan. Den här studien undersökte huruvida empati har samband med empatisörens egna erfarenheter, tillskrivet ansvar och subjekts/objektssyn samt hur en person som blir utsatt för våld i sitt förhållande upplevs av andra. En enkätundersökning utfördes på fyra gymnasieklasser där eleverna läste en fiktiv berättelse om en kvinna som blir utsatt för våld i sitt förhållande. De besvarade frågor om deras upplevelse av kvinnan samt deras erfarenhet av våld. Resultatet av studien behandlades främst kvalitativt, men också genom statistiska analyser. Studien fann inte något samband mellan empati och tidigare erfarenhet men ett samband framträdde mellan empati och ansvarssyn samt empati och subjektssyn.</p> / <p>Research has shown that similar experience is not the only explanation for empathy. Other factors that can influence empathy are: subject/object viewing and responsibility. The focus of the present study was to investigate the relationship between (a) similar previous experience and empathy, (b) attribution of responsibility and empathy and (c) subject view and empathy. A questionnaire was handed out to four upper secondary school classes. The students were asked to read a story about a woman who was abused by her husband. They also answered questions about how they perceived the woman and about their own previous experience of violence. The results of this study are accounted for qualitatively and with statistical analyses. The study showed no association between similar experience and empathy but there was a strong correlation between responsibility, subject view and empathy.</p>

Personens egen erfarenhet samt subjekts/objektssyn och ansvarsyn har visats vara viktiga förklaringsfaktorer till empati för en annan. Den här studien undersökte huruvida empati har samband med empatisörens egna erfarenheter, tillskrivet ansvar och subjekts/objektssyn samt hur en person som blir utsatt för våld i sitt förhållande upplevs av andra. En enkätundersökning utfördes på fyra gymnasieklasser där eleverna läste en fiktiv berättelse om en kvinna som blir utsatt för våld i sitt förhållande. De besvarade frågor om deras upplevelse av kvinnan samt deras erfarenhet av våld. Resultatet av studien behandlades främst kvalitativt, men också genom statistiska analyser. Studien fann inte något samband mellan empati och tidigare erfarenhet men ett samband framträdde mellan empati och ansvarssyn samt empati och subjektssyn. / Research has shown that similar experience is not the only explanation for empathy. Other factors that can influence empathy are: subject/object viewing and responsibility. The focus of the present study was to investigate the relationship between (a) similar previous experience and empathy, (b) attribution of responsibility and empathy and (c) subject view and empathy. A questionnaire was handed out to four upper secondary school classes. The students were asked to read a story about a woman who was abused by her husband. They also answered questions about how they perceived the woman and about their own previous experience of violence. The results of this study are accounted for qualitatively and with statistical analyses. The study showed no association between similar experience and empathy but there was a strong correlation between responsibility, subject view and empathy.

Visualizing and manipulating volumetric data is a major component in many areas including anatomical registration in biomedical fields, seismic data analysis in the oil industry, machine part design in computer-aided geometric design, character animation in the movie industry, and fluid simulation. These industries have to meet the demands of the times and be able to make meaningful assertions about the data they generate. The shear size of this data presents many challenges to facilitating realtime interaction. In the recent decade, graphics hardware has become increasingly powerful and more sophisticated which has introduced a new realm of possibilities for processing volumetric data. This thesis focuses on a suite of techniques for viewing and editing volumetric data that efficiently use the processing power of central processing units (CPUs) as well as the large processing power of the graphics hardware (GPUs). This work begins with an algorithm to improve the efficiency of a texture-based volume rendering. We continue with a framework for performing realtime constructive solid geometry (CSG) with complex shapes and smoothing operations on watertight meshes based on a variation of Depth Peeling. We then move to an intuitive technique for deforming volumetric data using a collection of control points. Finally, we apply this technique to image registration of 3-dimensional computed tomography (CT) images used for lung cancel treatment, planning.

Svenska filmbranschen styrs av ett filmavtal mellan staten och olika aktörer i branschen. Detta avtal skall förnyas under år 2013. Staten har i en avsiktsförklaring för det nya avtalet uttryckt en vilja till en förändring kring villkoren för att få statligt stöd för filmproduktion i Sverige. En så kallad teknikneutralitet skall införas som innebär att filmproduktioner inte längre på förhand behöver ha säkrat en biografdistribution för att få statligt ekonomiskt stöd. Detta skulle kunna innebära en förändring för den svenska filmens distribution i Sverige som i nuläget består av tämligen fast ordning på visningsfönster, där just biografdistributionen har en särställning. Vår forskning behandlar svenska filmproducenters, distributörers och biografägares tankar och åsikter kring distribution av svensk långfilm i Sverige. Kvalitativa intervjuer gjordes med representanter från dessa aktörer för att få en övergripande bild av situationen idag samt eventuella möjligheter som framtiden bär med sig. Uppsatsen tar exempelvis upp biografens betydande ställning, Video on demands framfart, och producenter och distributörers önskningar om en större flexibilitet kring distributionen av film. Möjligheten att kunna skapa skräddarsydd distribution för varje enskild film och fönstersystemets påverkan på filmens aktualitet. / The swedish film industry is regulated by a film contract between the state and representatives of the industry. This contract shall be renewed during 2013. The swedish state has in a declaration of intention expressed a wish of changes about the conditions to acquire financial support from the state for film production in Sweden. A so-called technology neutrality shall be instated which means that film production no longer in forehand needs to have secured a cinema distribution deal to acquire financial support from the state. This could mean a change for distribution of swedish films in Sweden which now consist of a somewhat strict order of viewing windows. Our research addresses how swedish film producers, distributors and cinema owners think about the distribution of swedish feature films. Qualitative interviews were conducted with these professionals to get a conclusive picture of the situation in Sweden to date and what the future might bring. The essay deals with the cinema's importance, the growth of Video on demand, and producers and distributers wishes of a more flexible way for distribution of film. The possibility to be able to tailor the distribution for every individual film and the window systems impact on the films up-to-dateness.

This thesis reports the results of a study designed to investigate the influence of exposure to televised medical dramas on perceptions of medical miracles. Four hundred and eighty-one college students participated in a survey in which they responded to different questions about their medical drama viewership and their different beliefs with regard to medical miracles. Results found that heavy medical drama viewers perceived belief in medical miracles to be less normal than non-viewers. Similarly, heavy viewers perceived medical miracles to occur less often than non-viewers. Interestingly, heavy viewers perceived medical dramas to be less credible than non-viewers. In addition, this study found that personal experience with medical miracles affected responses across all three measured viewership levels. The study concludes that, when compared to no exposure to medical dramas, heavy exposure has the potential for creating a more realistic view of medical miracles. Future research should continue to study genre-specific cultivation effects with regard to health perceptions.