The objective of this thesis is the development of algorithms for the simulation of the light transport in general environments to render high quality still images. To this end, first we have analyzed the existing methods able to render participating media, more concretely those that account for multiple scattering within the media. Next, we have devised a couple of two pass methods for the computation of those images. For the first step we have proposed algorithms to cope with the scenes we want to deal with. The second step uses the coarse solution of the first step to obtain the final rendered image.The structure of the dissertation is briefly presented below.In the first chapter the motivation of the thesis and its objectives are discussed. It also summarizes the contributions of the thesis and its organization.In the second chapter the principles of global illumination for general environments are reviewed, with the most important equations---the rendering equation and the transport equation---whose solution constitutes the global illumination problem. In order to solve the global illumination problem, a certain number of multi-pass methods exist. Their objective is to be able to skip restrictions on the number of types of light paths that could be dealt with a single technique, or increase efficiency and/or accuracy. We have opted to follow this philosophy, and a pair of two pass methods have been developed for general environments.The third chapter includes the study of the methods that perform the single scattering approximation, and also the study of the ones that take into account multiple scattering.The fourth chapter is devoted to our first pass method, which computes a rough estimate of the global illumination. Knowing the benefits of hierarchical approaches, two concrete algorithms based on hierarchies have been extended to be more generic: Hierarchical Radiosity with Clustering and Hierarchical Monte Carlo Radiosity.Our second pass is considered in the next chapter. Using the coarse solution obtained by the first pass, our second pass computes a high quality solution from a given viewpoint. Radiances and source radiances are estimated using Monte Carlo processes in the context of path tracing acceleration and also for final gather. Probability density functions (PDFs) are created at ray intersection points. For such a task, we initially used constant basis functions for the directional domain. After realizing of their limitations we proposed the Link Probabilities (LPs), which are objects with adaptive PDFs in the links-space.In order to take advantage of the effort invested for the construction of the LPs, we have devised two closely related progressive sampling strategies. In the second pass, instead of sampling each pixel individually, only a subset of samples is progressively estimated across the image plane. Our algorithms are inspired by the work of Michael D. McCool on anisotropic diffusion using conductance maps.The final chapter presents the conclusions of the thesis. Also possible lines of further research are suggested. / El objetivo de esta tesis es el desarrollo de algoritmos para la simulación del transporte de la luz en los entornos genéricos para generar imágenes de la alta calidad. Con este fin, primero hemos analizado los métodos existentes capaces de visualizar medios participativos, más concretamente los que tienen en cuenta la dispersión múltiple en los medios. Después, hemos ideado un par de métodos de dos pasos para el cómputo de esas imágenes. Para el primer paso hemos propuesto algoritmos que hacen frente a las escenas que deseamos tratar. El segundo paso utiliza la solución aproximada del primer paso para obtener la imagen final. La estructura de la disertación se presenta brevemente en lo que sigue.En el primer capítulo se discuten la motivación de la tesis y sus objetivos. También se resumen las contribuciones de la tesis y su organización. En el segundo capítulo se repasan los principios de la iluminación global para los ambientes genéricos, con las ecuaciones-más importantes (la ecuación de rendering y la ecuación de transporte) cuya solución constituye el problema global de iluminación. Para solucionar el problema global de iluminación, cierto número de métodos de múltiples pasos existen. Su objetivo es poder eliminar restricciones en el número de tipos de caminos de luz que se podrían tratar con una sola técnica, o aumentar su eficacia y/o exactitud. Hemos optado seguir esta filosofía, desarrollando un par de métodos de dos pasos para entornos genéricos.El tercer capítulo incluye el estudio de los métodos que utilizan la aproximación de dispersión simple, y también el estudio de los que consideran la dispersión múltiple.El cuarto capítulo está dedicado a nuestro método de primer paso, que computa un cálculo aproximado de la iluminación global. Conociendo las ventajas de los métodos jerárquicos, dos algoritmos concretos basados en jerarquías se han ampliado para ser más genéricos: radiosidad jerárquica con clustering y radiosidad jerárquica usando Monte Carlo. Nuestro segundo paso se considera en el capítulo siguiente. Usando la solución aproximada obtenida por el primer paso, el segundo paso computa una solución de la alta calidad para un punto de vista dado. Se estiman las radiancias usando procesos de Monte Carlo en el contexto de la aceleración de trazadores de rayos y también para final gather. Las funciones de densidad de probabilidad (PDFs) se crean en los puntos de interacción de los rayos. Para tal tarea, utilizamos inicialmente funciones constantes como base para el dominio direccional. Después de comprender sus limitaciones, propusimos establecer probabilidades directamente sobre los enlaces (link probabilities, o LPs), usando objetos con PDFs adaptativos en el espacio de los enlaces.Para aprovechar el esfuerzo invertido en la construcción de los LPs, hemos ideado dos estrategias de muestreo progresivas. En el segundo paso, en vez de muestrear cada pixel individualmente, solamente se estima progresivamente un subconjunto de muestras a través del plano de imagen. Nuestros algoritmos han sido inspirados en el trabajo de Michael D. McCool en la difusión anisotrópica usando mapas de conductancia.El capítulo final presenta las conclusiones de la tesis, y también sugiere las líneas posibles de investigación futura.

A l'heure où la demande en quantité d'informations et le nombre d'utilisateurs explosent, toujours avec des limitations en allocation en fréquence et bande passante, les systèmes de télécommunication tendent à optimiser la gestion de leur capacité en s'orientant vers des systèmes reconfigurables. Dans le cas des filtres d'OMUX, apporter de l'accordabilité en conservant d'excellentes performances électriques, thermiques et mécaniques soulève de nombreuses difficultés.Nous avons dans un premier temps démontré la faisabilité sur un filtre à saut de canal à bande passante constante par le biais d'une cavité métallique chargée par un perturbateur en alumine en mouvement de rotation. Ensuite, nous avons proposé des solutions pour avoir un contrôle de la fréquence et de la bande passante en se basant sur la translation de matériaux diélectriques. Les facteurs de qualité mis en jeu sont de l'ordre de la dizaine de milliers. Enfin nous avons tiré profit de l'évolution des technologies d'impression plastique 3D pour valider différents concepts de filtres accordables. / At a time when the amount of information and the number of users go through the roof in telecommunication market, the telecommunication systems tend to improve the management of their capacity by moving toward reconfigurable RF devices. However frequency and bandwidth allocated are still restricted. Regarding tunable OMUX filters, the actuation systems generally degrade the overall performances of the device and raise questions in terms of mechanic and thermic.We first demonstrated the feasability of a two state filter with constant narrowband, using a dielectric material (alumina) in rotation inside a metallic housing. Then, we suggested solutions to control both frequency and bandwidth with the translation of a ceramics. We deal with quality factor in the range of ten of thousands for these applications. Eventually, we validated some principle for tunable filters thanks to the efficiency of 3D plastic printer.

More than half a century after the liberation of the majority of African countries, Africa is facing major socio-economic challenges including unemployment, slow economic growth and inequality. With waves of violent service delivery protests over the last few years throughout South Africa, it is now more than ever vital to identify the key challenges to development and the ways to overcome these trials. The importance of plans for development, and that reliable data plays an essential role in development have been wildly discussed, especially as the legitimacy and reliability of plans are highly dependent upon the quality of the data utilised. Even though data plays such a significant role in development, quality up to date data is expensive, difficult to obtain and in many instances not available. Furthermore, South Africa and many developing countries do not have the luxury of such data, nor the skills and resources to develop high quality statistics on a regular basis. In the light of the importance of accurate up-to-date data for planning and the lack of the aforementioned data in South Africa, the dissertation explores means of ‘accessing’ high quality up-to-date data by the use of ‘proxy indicators’. The dissertation seeks to explore whether it would be possible to use proxy indicators to measure local economic conditions and to identify a set of proxy indicators that accurately portray the economy. The study commences with an analysis on the relationship between a number of proxy indicators and the national economy in order to identify a set of proxy indicators that accurately portrays the economy where after the accurate indicators is empirically tested to that of the local economy in three study areas. The study established that six proxy indicators can be used to measure the local economy in South Africa. These are the (1) number of middle class residential properties sold, (2) growth in residential building activity, (3) retail sales of durable goods including business profit, (4) hardware sales including business profit, (5) volume of sales of spare parts for vehicles and (6) fuel consumption. Apart from the fact that the indicators mirror the economy to a high degree, a number of trends with regards to the dynamics of the relationship between the indicator and the economy were revealed. The study demonstrated that there is merit in further studies regarding the use of proxy indicators in planning / Dissertation (MTRP)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Town and Regional Planning / unrestricted

Nowadays, new approaches to fabricate high-performance electrode materials are of vital importance in the renewable energy field. Here, we present a facile synthesis procedure of 3D Ni(OH)2/graphene hybrids for supercapacitors via synchronous electrochemical-assisted exfoliation and assembly of graphene on 3D Ni(OH)2 networks. With the assistance of an electric field, the electrochemically exfoliated high-quality graphene can be readily, uniformly assembled on the surfaces of 3D Ni(OH)2. When serving as electrode materials for supercapacitors, the resulting 3D Ni(OH)2/graphene composites exhibited excellent specific capacitance (263 mF cm−2 at 2 mA cm−2), remarkable rate capability and super-long cycle life (retention of 94.1% even after 10 000 continuous charge–discharge cycles), which may be attributed to their highly porous, stable 3D architecture as well as uniform, firm anchoring of ultrathin graphene on their surfaces. Therefore, our approach provides a facile strategy for the large-scale synthesis of high-quality graphene based composites towards various applications.

This master thesis is focused on marketing of Santé, the private clinic. The first part is theoretical and has two main chapters. Marketing in the field of health care is the first chapter, including the differences between health care marketing and marketing in other fields and other characteristics of the medical system. Next a product is defined, in health care it is the provided service. Marketing mix is described not as 4P but as 4C. Then there is the practical point of view on the health care system. Very important is the patients' satisfaction, which is measured by many different surveys, such as the best hospital, or quality perceived by the patients. The other chapter discusses used methods, defines marketing research and the S-T-P strategy. The practical part of thesis introduces the company Santé followed by the description of their clientele, which is differentiated as individual and companies' clientele. Marketing mix of the company consists of the 4 components already mentioned higher. Next is the SWOT analysis. Analysis of the competition focused on the main competitors of Santé. Very significant moment is the research project created to suit the needs of this thesis only. A complex questionnaire researching the privet clinic market as a whole was prepared. Analysis of the data was complex as well. Open questions were analyzed separately, closed questions were processed with the help of SPPS computer program. By the end of the thesis there are some recommendations for the company that originate in the research project and also from the confrontation of the theory and practice. Last is the conclusion, bibliography and the annex, where you can find already mentioned questionnaire.

As the United States' baby boom generation ages, the future of nursing home care becomes increasingly important. Through this study the researcher seeks to understand quality in nursing home care from the family's perspective. Surveys were collected at one North Texas nursing home, and data were analyzed to determine how gender and level of family involvement impact their concept of quality. Further, the information in this study is aimed at clarifying if interventions, specifically empowered CNA teams, have an impact on how family members view quality. Findings are identified and recommendations for future study are made.

No description available.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine specific prekindergarten- through 8th-grade reading programs, instructional best practices, academic interventions, and educational activities that are perceived as successful practices in four high achieving schools within the parameters of Northeast Tennessee. This study was accomplished through a protocol of open-ended interviews with 15 participants comprised of 4 school principals, 4 primary reading teachers, 4 intermediate reading teachers, 2 Title I reading specialists, and 1 district language arts coordinator. Additionally, school-specific documentation and basal reading programs were reviewed to triangulate the findings of this investigation. The findings from this study suggested that the educational perceptions among Title I and nonTitle I participants as well as the perceptions among school principals, reading teachers, and reading specialists were parallel. In general the participants' perceptions held in common were associated with frequent opportunities for classroom reading practice; the incorporation of self-selected literature; the appropriation of differentiated instruction; a blending of reading, writing, and grammar; strategic progress monitoring through formative assessment checkpoints; and the implications of summative assessment data. Major recommendations from this study included the consideration of providing students with frequent and consistent classroom reading time; opportunities for frequent nonfiction reading assignments; the provision of self-selected literature; the appropriation of a blended approach to reading, writing, and grammar; and the implementation of differentiated instruction within the prekindergarten- through 8th-grade reading classroom.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur förskollärare gör för att bygga trygga relationer till barnen i förskolan samt undersöka varför anknytning är en viktig del i relationsbyggandet. Tidigare forskning påvisar att trygga anknytningar mellan förskollärare och barn har en positiv effekt på barns sociala utveckling, både i det tidiga och senare stadiet i livet. Det är en kvalitativ undersökning där enkäter med fem öppna frågor har använts. Enkäterna har skickats ut via epost till förskolor samt på den sociala nätverkstjänsten Facebook i stängda grupper för förskollärare. Empirin analyserar vi utifrån John Bowlbys anknytningsteori. Resultatet visar att respondenterna är överens om att de aktivt tänker på hur de bygger relationer med barnen i förskolan. Resultatet visar även att vara lyhörd, närvarande, stöttande och se barns individuella behov är viktiga egenskaper att förhålla sig till som förskollärare när det handlar om att bygga trygga relationer till barnen i förskolan. Slutsatsen är att förskollärarens arbete kring relationer och anknytning till barnen i förskolan har betydelse för barns lärande och utveckling.

The conditions in the international business market changed rapidly andunexpectedly when Covid-19 evolved into a pandemic in March of 2020. As a result of this, businesses had to adapt their operations to the new circumstances. The new circumstances implied, among other things, not being able to meet B2B customers in person. Before the pandemic, meeting customers in person was the usual way of building trust in business relationships. This is especially true for companies in the high-end segment as their customers value trust in their suppliers in their purchasing decisions. Therefore, this thesis investigates how high-end companies' trust and relationships have been affected by the pandemic. It also examined which factors have been crucial for high-end businesses when managing relationships and trust. A qualitative method has been utilized as a foundation for this thesis. Theoretical data were collected by reviewing several studies related to the topic. Empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with seven case companies. With the gathered data as a foundation, three themes were formed: B2B relationships, trust, and crisis. The themes are reoccurring throughout the thesis to provide the reader with a red thread. The themes are continuously related to high-end sales. The data has been analyzed to investigate the relationships between the themes. This thesis concludes that Covid-19 positively has impacted high-end companies' trust and relationships. Crucial factors for managing trust and relationships during Covid-19 have proven to be mutual understanding, local presence on the international market, transparency, and flexibility.