Ein Denken, welches sich mit möglichen Alternativen unseres Handelns beschäftigt tritt oft in unserem Alltag oft auf. Die Frage „was wäre geschehen, wenn ich…“ stellt sich jeder oft genug. Wir Menschen haben die Eigenschaft uns vielfach alternative Versionen von Ereignissen und Strukturen vorzustellen und uns mögliche Folgen einer veränderten Entscheidung in der Vergangenheit auszumalen. Wir spekulieren, indem wir die verschiedenen möglichen Konsequenzen unseres Tuns abwägen und eine Entscheidung treffen.1 Manchmal überlegen wir nicht und handeln gewissermaßen aus Affekt, später findet sich dann aber doch der Grund. Manchmal scheint es jedoch gar keinen Grund zu geben und wir produzieren etwas Zufälliges. Zufall und Kontingenz in der Strukturgeschichte, mit einem Fragezeichen wohlbemerkt, ist das Thema dieser Arbeit .

One way of increasing 3D rendering performance is the use of foveated rendering. In this thesis a novel foveated rendering technique called gaze contingent depth of field tessellation (GC DOF tessellation) is proposed. Tessellation is the process of subdividing geometry to increase detail. The technique works by applying tessellation to all objects within the focal plane, gradually decreasing tessellation levels as applied blur increases. As the user moves their gaze the focal plane shifts and objects go from blurry to sharp at the same time as the fidelity of the object increases. This can help hide the pops that occur as objects change shape. The technique was evaluated in a user study with 32 participants. For the evaluated scene the technique helped reduce the number of primitives rendered by around 70 % and frame time by around 9 % compared to using full adaptive tessellation. The user study showed that as the level of blur increased the detection rate for pops decreased, suggesting that the technique could be used to hide pops that occur due to tessellation. However, further research is needed to solidify these findings. / Ett sätt att öka renderingsprestanda i 3D applikationer är att använda foveated rendering. I denna uppsats presenteras en ny foveated rendering-teknik som kallas gaze contingent depth of field tessellering (GC DOF tessellering). Tessellering är när geometri delas i mindre delar för att öka detaljrikedom. Tekniken fungerar genom att applicera tessellering på alla objekt i fokalplanet och gradvis minska tesselleringsnivåer när oskärpan ökar. När användaren flyttar sin blick så flyttas fokalplanet och suddiga objekt blir skarpa samtidigt som detaljrikedomen i objektet ökar. Det kan hjälpa till att dölja de ’pops’ som uppstår när objekt ändrar form. Tekniken utvärderades i en användarstudie med 32 del- tagare. I den utvärderade scenen visade sig tekniken minska antalet renderade primitiver med ca 70 % och minska renderingstiden med ca 9 % jämfört med att använda full adaptiv tessellering. Användarstudien visade att när oskärpa ökade så minskade antalet som sa sig se ’pops’, vilket tyder på att tekniken kan användas för att dölja de ’pops’ som uppstår på grund av tessellering. Det behövs dock ytterligare forskning för att säkerställa dessa fynd.

Contingent Convertibles (CoCos) are a new type of hybrid debt instrument characterized by forced equity conversion or write-down under a specified trigger event, usually indicating a state of near non-viability of the Additional Tier 1 capital category, giving them additional features such as possible coupon cancellation. In this thesis, the structure of CoCos is presented and different pricing approaches are introduced. A special focus is put on structural models with the Analytically Tractable First Passage Time(AT1P) Model and its extensions. Two models are applied on the write-down CoCo issued by Svenska Handelsbanken, starting with the equity derivative model and followed by the AT1P model. / Contingent Convertibles (Cocos) - villkorade konvertibla obligationer, är en ny typ av hybridinstrument som kännetecknas av konvertering till eget kapital eller nedskrivning av lånet vid en viss utlösande händelse, som vanligtvis indikerar ett tillstånd där den emitterande banken har behov av att absorbera förluster. Under strikta villkor kan dessa CoCo obligationer tillhöra primärkapital, där de kännetecknas av bland annat möjlig inställning av kuponger. I denna avhandling presenteras CoCons struktur och olika prissättningsmodeller läggs fram. Ett särskilt fokus läggs på strukturella modeller med “Analytically Tractable First Passage Time (AT1P) Model” och dess utvidgningar. Två modeller tillämpas på CoCon emitterad av Svenska Handelsbanken: “equity derivative” modellen och AT1P modellen.

Consistent high levels of physical activity are necessary for improved health in fitness in all individuals. Children are expected to engage in 60+ minutes a day of physical activity, but most do not meet this level (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Methods to increase physical activity in these populations via social consequences and environmental manipulations have demonstrated efficacy in the past (Larson, Normand, Morley, and Miller, 2013) though primarily in a one-on-one setting. As most children’s opportunities for physical activity occur in group settings (i.e., recess) this study evaluates a possible observational learning approach to increasing physical activity among small play groups of young children via contingent delivery of praise. This study will evaluate the effects of contingent delivery of praise to one child on the physical activity of the entire group. The information obtained may be useful for the development of more effective methods of increasing physical activity in recess settings. Results, their implications, and potential future directions of research are discussed.

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Contingent praise is widely recognized as a universal, practical, and highly effective classroom management tool. While previous research has examined the effectiveness of performance feedback to increase teachers’ use of contingent praise in the classroom and to observe its effects on students’ behavior, no research exists on the effects of increased ratios of praise-to-behavior correction statements by paraprofessionals in the classrooms of preschoolers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This research was conducted in an urban, specialized pre-school program, for young students with developmental disabilities. The researcher implemented a performance feedback protocol, measuring two paraprofessionals’ ability to achieve a target 1:1, followed by a 4:1 ratio of praise-to-behavior correction statements. Students’ on-task, off-task, and disruptive behaviors were also measured. Results demonstrated that: (a) performance feedback was an effective and well received tool for in / Applied Behavioral Analysis

The case of the National Liberation Army (NLA) in Macedonia, taking up arms against the state in 2001, is a largely underrepresented in the literature. Thus, basing this study on the theory of contingent events and a relational perspective, the purpose of this study is to examine the processes and motives behind individuals joining the National Liberation Army in Macedonia. This was done by conducting semi-structured interviews with former rebels and combatants from Macedonia and analysing the material qualitatively, using the constant comparative method through the lens of the theory. The study of civil wars and rebel participation and mobilisation have long been dominated by quantitative studies and rational choice theory, which is why this study instead is qualitative in nature and based on the personal and individual perspectives of former combatants. I found that the main reasoning behind joining the NLA was to increase the rights for Albanians in Macedonia. Further, rebel participation, as well as the development of the motives behind it, were the result of a process of experiencing discrimination and contingent events. The eruption of violence can be contributed to the relationship and interactions between the Albanians experiencing discrimination and the Macedonian state, having acted as an oppressor. Thus, the results include not only understanding why individuals joined the NLA, but also how.