Multi User Virtual Environments (MUVE) are a new class of Internet application with a significant user base. This thesis adds to our understanding of how MUVE network traffic fits into the mix of Internet traffic, and how this relates to the application's needs. MUVEs differ from established Internet traffic types in their requirements from the network. They differ from traditional data traffic in that they have soft real-time constraints, from game traffic in that their bandwidth requirements are higher, and from audio and video streaming traffic in that their data streams can be decomposed into elements that require different qualities of service. This work shows how real-time adaptive measurement based congestion control can be applied to MUVE streams so that they can be made more responsive to changes in network conditions than other real-time traffic and existing MUVE clients. It is shown that a combination of adaptive congestion control and differential Quality of Service (QoS) can increase the range of conditions under which MUVEs both get sufficient bandwidth and are Transport Control Protocol (TCP) fair. The design, implementation and evaluation of an adaptive traffic management system is described. The system has been implemented in a modified client, which allows the MUVE to be made TCP fair without changing the server.

The population of English Language Learners (ELLs) globally has been increasing substantially every year. In the United States alone, adult ELLs are the fastest growing portion of learners in adult education programs (Yang, 2005). There is a significant need to improve the teaching of English to ELLs in the United States and other English-speaking dominant countries. However, for many ELLs, speaking, especially to Native English Speakers (NESs), causes considerable language anxiety, which in turn plays a vital role in hindering their language development and academic progress (Pichette, 2009; Woodrow, 2006). Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT), such as simulation activities, has long been viewed as an effective approach for second-language development. The current advances in technology and rapid emergence of Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) have provided an opportunity for educators to consider conducting simulations online for ELLs to practice speaking English to NESs. Yet to date, empirical research on the effects of MUVEs on ELLs’ language development and speaking is limited (Garcia-Ruiz, Edwards, & Aquino-Santos, 2007). This study used a true experimental treatment control group repeated measures design to compare the perceived speaking anxiety levels (as measured by an anxiety scale administered per simulation activity) of 11 ELLs (5 in the control group, 6 in the experimental group) when speaking to Native English Speakers (NESs) during 10 simulation activities. Simulations in the control group were done face-to-face, while those in the experimental group were done in the MUVE of Second Life. The results of the repeated measures ANOVA revealed after the Huynh-Feldt epsilon correction, demonstrated for both groups a significant decrease in anxiety levels over time from the first simulation to the tenth and final simulation. When comparing the two groups, the results revealed a statistically significant difference, with the experimental group demonstrating a greater anxiety reduction. These results suggests that language instructors should consider including face-to-face and MUVE simulations with ELLs paired with NESs as part of their language instruction. Future investigations should investigate the use of other multi-user virtual environments and/or measure other dimensions of the ELL/NES interactions.

<p>Redeterminacijom publikovanog i determinacijom novog materijala iz podfamilije Syrphinae na području Srbije su zabeležene 134 vrste iz 25 rodova. Sedam vrsta (<em>Chrysotoxum orthostylus </em>Vujić, in prep., <em>Chrysotoxum </em>aff.<em> festivum</em>, <em>Chrysotoxum </em>aff. <em>vernale, Dasysyrphus laskai</em> Doczkal &amp; St&aring;hls, in prep., <em>Melanostoma</em> aff.<em> mellinum, Paragus rarus</em> Vujić et al., in prep. i <em>Xanthogramma citrofasciatum </em>B Doczkal, in prep.) su nove za nauku i njihovi opisi se nalaze u pripremi. 14 vrsta su nove za faunu Balkanskog poluostrva, dok su 39 nove za faunu Srbije (uključujući i one koje su nove za Balkan).</p><p>Unutar vrste<em> Chrysotoxum festivum </em>uočena su dva fenotipa &bdquo;svetli&ldquo; i &bdquo;tamni&ldquo; koji se jasno razlikuju na osnovu niza morfolo&scaron;kih karaktera (&scaron;irina lica, &scaron;irina crne trake na licu, popra&scaron;enost čela, boja dlaka na mezonotumu i skutelumu, &scaron;irina oznaka na T2 i T3) kao i na osnovu veličine i oblika krila. Usled jasne divergencije pomenutih fenotipova kao i njihove simpatrije u pitanju su odvojene vrste.</p><p>Jasno izdvajanje fenotipova na osnovu morfolo&scaron;kih karaktera odraslih jedinki uključujući i parametre krila (veličinu i oblik) ustanovljeno je i unutar vrsta <em>Chrysotoxum vernale</em> i <em>Melanostoma mellinum.</em> Unutar vrste <em>Chrysotoxum vernale</em> se izdvajaju dva nezavisna taksona- <em>Chrysotoxum vernale</em> i <em>Chrysotoxum </em>aff. <em>vernale</em>, a unutar vrste <em>Melanostoma mellinum</em>- <em>Melanostoma mellinum </em>i<em> Melanostoma </em>aff. <em>mellinum</em>.</p><p>Zoogeografskom analizom je ustanovljeno da su najbrojnije vrste &scaron;irokog areala, koje čine čak 75,19% od ukupnog broja vrsta, 12 vrsta (9,02%) ima srednjeevropski, 10 severnoevropski (7,52%), a svega dve vrste (1,5%) južnoevropski tip areala. Dve vrste (1,5%) su ograničenog areala.</p><p>Dve vrste iz podfamilije <em>Syrphinae</em> spadaju u kategoriju strogo za&scaron;tićenih vrsta, dok pet spada u kategoriju za&scaron;tićenih vrsta na području Srbije (Uredbom Ministarstva za za&scaron;titu životne sredine i prostornog planiranja Republike Srbije od 2010. godine o za&scaron;titi strogo ugroženih i ugroženih divljih vrsta biljaka, životinja i gljiva). Razmatrajući status vrsta na evropskom nivou po Speight (2010) većina vrsta (118) pripada kategoriji neugroženih vrsta &bdquo;unthreatened&ldquo;, a po četiri kategoriji ugroženih vrsta &bdquo;threatened&ldquo; i vrsta čija se brojnost smanjuje &bdquo;decreasing&ldquo;.</p><p>Najvećim indeksom diverziteta (3,66) se odlikuje Duba&scaron;nica sa Malinikom, zatim slede Vr&scaron;ačke planine (H=3,62) i Kopaonik (H=3,59). Najniži indeks diverziteta imaju Bosilegrad (1,21) i dolina Tami&scaron;a (1,55) &scaron;to je i očekivano obzirom na broj sakupljenih primeraka i registrovanih vrsta.</p><p>Rad predstavlja sintezu faunističkih istraživanja vrsta iz podfamilije Syrphinae u Srbiji, taksonomsku analizu zabeleženih vrsta kao i razre&scaron;avanje taksonomskih problema unutar mnogih vrsta unutar kojih su oni bili prisutni.</p> / <p>This PhD thesis is about the taxonomic and faunistic revision of the Syrphinae hoverflies (Syrphidae) of Serbia. As a result of this study, 134 species of 25 genera were reported to Serbia. This account comprised seven species new to science: <em>Chrysotoxum orthostylus</em> Vujić, in prep.<em>Chryotoxum </em>aff. <em>festivum</em>, <em>Chrysotoxum</em> aff. <em>vernale</em>,&nbsp;<em> Dasysyrphus laskai</em> Doczkal &amp; St&aring;hls, in prep., <em>Melanostoma</em> aff. <em>mellinum</em>, <em>Paragus rarus</em>&nbsp;Vujić et al., in prep. and <em>Xanthogramma citrofasciatum</em> B Doczkal, in prep.. Additionally,&nbsp;&nbsp; 39 species were new to Serbia, 14 of them also new to the Balkan Peninsula.</p><p>A first approach to solve some taxonomic problems within three different hoverfly taxa is provided in this study. The examined material of <em>Chrysotoxum festivum</em> from Serbia exhibited two different phenotypes, &ldquo;light&rdquo; and &ldquo;dark&rdquo;. These phenotypes were defined by both landmark-based geometric morphometric characters of wings and other adult morphological characters (width of face, width of black stripe on face, frons pruinosity,colour of hairs on mesonotum and scutellum, width of stripes on terga 2 and 3, etc). The presented results together with the sympatry of the studied phenotypes suggested the&nbsp;&nbsp; existence of at least two different taxa within the species, currently known under the name <em>Chrysotoxum festivum</em>. Similarly, traditional characters in adult morphology and morphometric characters of wings (size and shape) showed the existence of two welldefined phenotypes both within the species <em>Chrysotoxum vernale</em> <em>(Chrysotoxum vernale</em> and <em>Chrysotoxum </em>aff. <em>vernale</em>) and the species <em>Melanostoma mellinum </em>(<em>Melanostoma mellinum </em>and <em>Melanostoma</em> aff. <em>mellinum</em>).</p><p>The zoogeographic analysis showed that most of the studied species are widespread in Europe (75,19%), and the rest of species are Central European (9,02%), Northern European (7,52%) or South European (1,5%).</p><p>At European level, 118 species are thought to be unthreatened, four threatened and four with decreasing populations according to the last version of Syrph the Net, the Database of European Syrphidae. In Serbia, two of the studied species are regarded as &ldquo;strictly protected&ldquo; and five as &ldquo;protected&ldquo; under the Regulation on the Promulgation and&nbsp;&nbsp; Protection of the Protected and Strictly Protected Wild Species of Plants, Animals and Fungi (Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, Serbia).</p><p>The localities of Duba&scaron;nica and Malinik have the highest values for the scored diversity index (H = 3.66), followed by Vr&scaron;ačke planine (H=3.62) and Kopaonik&nbsp; (H=3.59). Bosilegrad and Tami&scaron; have the lowest diversity values, 1.21 and 1.55 respectively, as it was expected by the low species richness and abundance of hoverflies recorded in these localities.</p>

<p>Redeterminacijom publikovanog i determinacijom novog materijala iz podfamilije Syrphinae na području Srbije su zabeleţene 134 vrste iz 25 rodova. Sedam vrsta (Chrysotoxum orthostylus Vujić, in prep., Chrysotoxum aff. festivum, Chrysotoxum aff. vernale, Dasysyrphus laskai Doczkal &amp; St&aring;hls, in prep., Melanostoma aff. mellinum, Paragus rarus Vujić et al., in prep. i Xanthogramma citrofasciatum B Doczkal, in prep.) su nove za nauku i njihovi opisi se nalaze u pripremi. 14 vrsta su nove za faunu Balkanskog poluostrva, dok su 39 nove za faunu Srbije (uključujući i one koje su nove za Balkan). Unutar vrste Chrysotoxum festivum uočena su dva fenotipa &bdquo;svetli&ldquo; i &bdquo;tamni&ldquo; koji se jasno razlikuju na osnovu niza morfolo&scaron;kih karaktera (&scaron;irina lica, &scaron;irina crne trake na licu, popra&scaron;enost čela, boja dlaka na mezonotumu i skutelumu, &scaron;irina oznaka na T2 i T3) kao i na osnovu veličine i oblika krila. Usled jasne divergencije pomenutih fenotipova kao i njihove simpatrije u pitanju su odvojene vrste. Jasno izdvajanje fenotipova na osnovu morfolo&scaron;kih karaktera odraslih jedinki uključujući i parametre krila (veličinu i oblik) ustanovljeno je i unutar vrsta Chrysotoxum vernale i Melanostoma mellinum. Unutar vrste Chrysotoxum vernale se izdvajaju dva nezavisna taksona- Chrysotoxum vernale i Chrysotoxum aff. vernale, a unutar vrste Melanostoma mellinum- Melanostoma mellinum i Melanostoma aff. mellinum. Zoogeografskom analizom je ustanovljeno da su najbrojnije vrste &scaron;irokog areala, koje čine čak 75,19% od ukupnog broja vrsta, 12 vrsta (9,02%) ima srednjeevropski, 10 severnoevropski (7,52%), a svega dve vrste (1,5%) juţnoevropski tip areala. Dve vrste (1,5%) su ograničenog areala. Dve vrste iz podfamilije Syrphinae spadaju u kategoriju strogo za&scaron;tićenih vrsta, dok pet spada u kategoriju za&scaron;tićenih vrsta na području Srbije (Uredbom Ministarstva za za&scaron;titu ţivotne sredine i prostornog planiranja Republike Srbije od 2010. godine o za&scaron;titi strogo ugroţenih i ugroţenih divljih vrsta biljaka, ţivotinja i gljiva). Razmatrajući status vrsta na evropskom nivou po Speight (2010) većina vrsta (118) pripada kategoriji neugroţenih vrsta &bdquo;unthreatened&ldquo;, a po četiri kategoriji ugroţenih vrsta &bdquo;threatened&ldquo; i vrsta čija se brojnost smanjuje &bdquo;decreasing&ldquo;. Najvećim indeksom diverziteta (3,66) se odlikuje Duba&scaron;nica sa Malinikom, zatim slede Vr&scaron;ačke planine (H=3,62) i Kopaonik (H=3,59). Najniţi indeks diverziteta imaju Bosilegrad (1,21) i dolina Tami&scaron;a (1,55) &scaron;to je i očekivano obzirom na broj sakupljenih primeraka i registrovanih vrsta. Rad predstavlja sintezu faunističkih istraţivanja vrsta iz podfamilije Syrphinae u Srbiji, taksonomsku analizu zabeleţenih vrsta kao i razre&scaron;avanje taksonomskih problema unutar mnogih vrsta unutar kojih su oni bili prisutni.</p> / <p> This PhD thesis is about the taxonomic and faunistic revision of the Syrphinae hoverflies (Syrphidae) of Serbia. As a result of this study, 134 species of 25 genera were reported to Serbia. This account comprised seven species new to science: Chrysotoxum orthostylus Vujić, in prep., Chrysotoxum aff. festivum, Chrysotoxum aff. vernale, Dasysyrphus laskai Doczkal &amp; St&aring;hls, in prep., Melanostoma aff. mellinum, Paragus rarus Vujić et al., in prep. and Xanthogramma citrofasciatum B Doczkal, in prep.. Additionally, 39 species were new to Serbia, 14 of them also new to the Balkan Peninsula. A first approach to solve some taxonomic problems within three different hoverfly taxa is provided in this study. The examined material of Chrysotoxum festivum from Serbia exhibited two different phenotypes, &ldquo;light&rdquo; and &ldquo;dark&rdquo;. These phenotypes were defined by both landmark-based geometric morphometric characters of wings and other adult morphological characters (width of face, width of black stripe on face, frons pruinosity, colour of hairs on mesonotum and scutellum, width of stripes on terga 2 and 3, etc). The presented results together with the sympatry of the studied phenotypes suggested the existence of at least two different taxa within the species, currently known under the name Chrysotoxum festivum. Similarly, traditional characters in adult morphology and morphometric characters of wings (size and shape) showed the existence of two well-defined phenotypes both within the species Chrysotoxum vernale (Chrysotoxum vernale and Chrysotoxum aff. vernale) and the species Melanostoma mellinum (Melanostoma mellinum and Melanostoma aff. mellinum). The zoogeographic analysis showed that most of the studied species are widespread in Europe (75,19%), and the rest of species are Central European (9,02%), Northern European (7,52%) or South European (1,5%). At European level, 118 species are thought to be unthreatened, four threatened and four with decreasing populations according to the last version of Syrph the Net, the Database of European Syrphidae. In Serbia, two of the studied species are regarded as &ldquo;strictly protected&ldquo; and five as &ldquo;protected&ldquo; under the Regulation on the Promulgation and Protection of the Protected and Strictly Protected Wild Species of Plants, Animals and Fungi (Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, Serbia). The localities of Duba&scaron;nica and Malinik have the highest values for the scored diversity index (H = 3.66), followed by Vr&scaron;ačke planine (H=3.62) and Kopaonik (H=3.59). Bosilegrad and Tami&scaron; have the lowest diversity values, 1.21 and 1.55 respectively, as it was expected by the low species richness and abundance of hoverflies recorded in these localities.</p>

<p>Istraživanje faune insekata opra&scaron;ivača(Hymenoptera: Apoidea i Diptera: Syrphidae) u<br />Vojvodini je rezultiralo registrovanjem 238 vrsta iz 7 familija na četiri tipa zemlji&scaron;nog<br />pokrivača klasifikovanih po CORINE nomenklaturi&nbsp; (2.1.1.&nbsp; -&nbsp; Nenavodnjavan oobradivo zemlji&scaron;te, 2.4.3.&nbsp; -&nbsp; Pretežno poljoprivredna zemlji&scaron;ta sa većim područjima prirodne vegetacije,&nbsp; 3.1.1.&nbsp; -&nbsp; Listopadne &scaron;ume&nbsp; i 3.2.1. - Prirodni travnjaci). Po broju&nbsp; zabeleženih vrsta izdvaja se pokrivač&nbsp; Listopadne &scaron;ume (158).&nbsp; Na prirdonim&nbsp; travnjacima nađeno je 124 vrste, na poluprirodnim stani&scaron;tima 62 i najmanji broj vrsta registrovan je na poljoprivrednim područjima (8).&nbsp; Nova&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; za&nbsp; nauku&nbsp;<em> Eumerus pannonicus</em>&nbsp; sp.&nbsp; nov.&nbsp; Ricarte,&nbsp; Vujić&nbsp; i Radenković,&nbsp; zabeležena&nbsp; je&nbsp; na&nbsp; lokalitetu Pa&scaron;njaci velike droplje u okviru klase 3.2.1.</p><p>Shannon-ov indeks diverziteta je najveći za Listopadne &scaron;ume (3,385). Za Prirodne travnjake indeks diverziteta je 3,022. Vrednost indeksa za poluprirdona stani&scaron;ta je 2.431, dok je za poljoprivredna područja najmanji (0.765). Shannon-ov indeks diverziteta je računat i za svaki lokalitet&nbsp;&nbsp; posebno.</p><p>Prema&nbsp; Jaccard-ovom&nbsp; koeficijentu&nbsp; sličnosti,najsličnije&nbsp; su&nbsp; faune&nbsp; Slanog&nbsp; Kopova&nbsp; i&nbsp; Pa&scaron;njaka velike&nbsp; droplje&nbsp; (32,7%). Najmanju sličnost pokazala je fauna lokaliteta Đurđevo u kombinaciji sa faunama Fru&scaron;ke gore, Vr&scaron;ačkih planina I, Okanj bare i Vr&scaron;ačkih planina II, gde su svi koeficijenti imali vrednost ispod 4%.</p><p>Na&nbsp; području&nbsp; Vojvodine&nbsp; tri&nbsp; nađene&nbsp; vrste&nbsp; iz&nbsp; reda Hymenoptera&nbsp; uvr&scaron;tene&nbsp; su&nbsp; na&nbsp; IUCN-ovu&nbsp; crvenu listu. Prema nacionalnom Pravilniku o progla&scaron;enju i za&scaron;titi strogo za&scaron;tićenih i za&scaron;tićenih divljih vrsta biljaka, životinja i gljiva, iz kategorije strogo za&scaron;tićenih vrsta nađena je jedna, a od za&scaron;tićenih vrsta nađene su dve osolike muve.</p><p>RDA&nbsp; analizom&nbsp; pokazano&nbsp; je&nbsp; da&nbsp; su&nbsp;&nbsp; statistički značajne&nbsp; sve&nbsp; ispitivane&nbsp; varijable:&nbsp; ko&scaron;enje,&nbsp; UOP(udaljenost&nbsp; od&nbsp; poljoprivrednih&nbsp; područja),nadmorska visina i ispa&scaron;a.</p><p>Ekonomska vrednost ekosistemske usluge polinacije procenjena za period od 2009-2014.godine pokazuje rastući trend. Vrednost polinacije tokom&nbsp; godina rasla je sa 110,5miliona EUR u 2009. godini do 203,7 miliona EUR u 2014.</p> / <p>Research of pollinators fauna&nbsp; (Hymenoptera: Apoidea i Diptera: Syrphidae) in&nbsp; Vojvodina results in a finding of 238 species within 7 families on 4 CORINE land&nbsp; cover habitat types (2.1.1.&nbsp; -&nbsp; Non-irrigated arable&nbsp; land, 2.4.3.&nbsp; -&nbsp; Land principally occupied by agriculture, with significant areas of natural vegetation, 3.1.1. &nbsp;- Broad- leaved forest and 3.2.1.&nbsp; -&nbsp; Natural grasslands). The highest number of species has been recorded on class Broad-leaved forest (158). On class Natural grasslands were found 124 species, on the seminatural habitats 62 species and the lowest&nbsp; number was registered on arable&nbsp; land (8). New species for science Eumerus&nbsp; pannonicus&nbsp; sp.nov.&nbsp; Ricarte,&nbsp; Vujić&nbsp; i Radenković has been recorded in locality Pa&scaron;njaci velike droplje within the class 3.2.1.</p><p>Broad-leaved forest class have&nbsp; the highest values for the scored&nbsp; diversity index (3,385), followed by&nbsp; Natural grasslands (3,022) and saminatural habitats (2,431). Arable land class have&nbsp; the lowest diversity values, only 0,765. The Shannon diversity index is calculated for each locality.</p><p>According to Jaccard similarity coefficient, Slano Kopovo and Pa&scaron;njaci Velike Droplje have shown to be most similar faunistically (32,7%). The fauna of Djurdjevo had the lowest similarity value comparing to faunas of Fruska gora, Vrsacke planine I, Okanj bara and Vrsacke planine II, where all the coefficients were below 4%.</p><p>Two of the 238&nbsp; recorded bee species in Vojvodina are included in the IUCN red list. Acording to Serbian&nbsp; regulatory&nbsp; act&nbsp; &bdquo;Regulation on the promulgation and protection of the protected and strictly protected wild species of plants,&nbsp; animals and fungi&ldquo; one&nbsp; Syrphidae species&nbsp; is catalogued as a Strictly Protected,while two found hoverflie species are Protected. RDA analysis has demonstrated that all the environmental variables used for the analysis are of statistical significance: mowing, UOP(distance from the agricultural area), elevation and grazing intensity.</p><p>Economic value of insect pollination was estimated for&nbsp; a length of&nbsp; time 2009.-2014., and displays&nbsp; an&nbsp; increasing&nbsp; trend.The value of pollination&nbsp; has increased&nbsp; over these years, starting with 110,5 millions of EUR in 2009., up to 203,7 millions of EUR in 2014.</p>

Ce mémoire porte sur les jeux de rôle participatifs en environnement virtuel (JRPEV), un phénomène qui, dans le champ des game studies, n’a jamais été défini jusqu’ici. Une définition est donc apportée afin d’établir leur spécificité au regard des environnements virtuels, des jeux vidéo, des MMOG et des jeux de rôle traditionnels (sur table et grandeur nature) tout en mettant en lumière les dimensions qui en font un hybride mi-jeu vidéo, mi-jeu de rôle. Pour ce faire, les JRPEV seront définis en tant que jeux, jeux de rôle, pratiques représentatives de la culture participative (Jenkins 2006) et environnements virtuels. À la suite de cette définition, un modèle théorique flexible sera décrit qui rendra compte de l’expérience vidéoludique des joueurs au sein des JRPEV. Pour ce faire, des alternatives aux notions polémiques et polysémiques de «cercle magique» et «d’immersion», très présentes dans la littérature scientifique portant sur les jeux de rôle et les jeux vidéo, sont d’abord apportées : le cadrage de l’expérience vidéoludique et l’allocation des ressources attentionnelles. De plus, le modèle intègre les styles de jeu et les postures interprétatives privilégiées par les joueurs sur les œuvres dont les JRPEV constituent une adaptation vidéoludique ou sur les textes appartenant à l’architexte (Genette 1982) de ces JRPEV. En effet, ces styles de jeu et ces postures interprétatives contribuent à structurer l’expérience vidéoludique. Enfin, ce modèle inclura la dynamique sociale dans laquelle est vécue l’expérience vidéoludique sur les JRPEV en mobilisant le concept de «communauté herméneutique conflictuelle». Cette entreprise conjoint les perspectives herméneutique et sociocritique dans l’étude de jeux perçus comme une médiation ludique (Genvo 2011) (Henriot 1989), soit comme la rencontre d’une attitude et d’une structure ludiques. Elle repose à la fois sur un travail métathéorique et sur l’observation des jeux de rôle goréens, des JRPEV organisés sur Second Life qui illustreront de manière concrète les spécificités de ce phénomène vidéoludique.

Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) and Massively Multi-player On- line Games (MMOGs) are a popular, immersive genre of computer game. For some disabled users, eye-gaze offers the only input modality with the potential for sufficiently high bandwidth to support the range of time-critical interaction tasks required to play. Although, there has been much research into gaze interaction techniques for computer interaction over the past twenty years, much of this has focused on 2D desktop application control. There has been some work that investigates the use of gaze interaction as an additional input device for gaming but very little on using gaze on its own. Further, configuration of these techniques usually requires expert knowledge often beyond the capabilities of a parent, carer or support worker. The work presented in this thesis addresses these issues by the investigation of novel gaze-only interaction techniques. These are to enable at least a beginner level of game play to take place together with a means of adapting the techniques to suit an individual. To achieve this, a collection of novel gaze based interaction techniques have been evaluated through empirical studies. These have been encompassed within an extensible software architecture that has been made available for free download. Further, a metric of reliability is developed that when used as a measure within a specially designed diagnostic test, allows the interaction technique to be adapted to suit an individual. Methods of selecting interaction techniques based upon game task are also explored and a novel methodology based on expert task analysis is developed to aid selection.

<p>U&nbsp; radu&nbsp; je&nbsp; izvr&scaron;en&nbsp; integrativno-taksonomski&nbsp; pristup analize&nbsp; kompleksa&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; <em>Merodon</em>&nbsp; <em>avidus&nbsp; </em>(Diptera: Syrphidae),&nbsp; na&nbsp; geografski&nbsp; i&nbsp; vemenski&nbsp; obimnom materijalu.&nbsp; U&nbsp; okviru&nbsp; genetičke&nbsp; karakterizacije&nbsp; kriptičnih vrsta&nbsp; navedenog&nbsp; kompleksa,&nbsp; bazirane&nbsp; na&nbsp; 3&#39;&nbsp; i&nbsp; 5&#39;<br />fragmentima&nbsp; mitohondrijalnog&nbsp; COI&nbsp; gena,&nbsp; određeni&nbsp; su parametri&nbsp; genetičke&nbsp; varijabilnosti&nbsp; i&nbsp; utvrđeni&nbsp; jedinstveni&nbsp; i deljeni&nbsp; haplotipovi&nbsp; u&nbsp; okviru&nbsp; i&nbsp; između&nbsp; pretpostavljenih vrsta.&nbsp; Rezultati&nbsp; genetičke&nbsp; varijabilnosti&nbsp; COI&nbsp; DNK&nbsp; sekvenci pokazali&nbsp; su&nbsp; da&nbsp; jedinke&nbsp; sa&nbsp; ostrva&nbsp; Krf&nbsp; i&nbsp; Evia&nbsp; i&nbsp; poluostrva Peloponez,&nbsp; preliminarno&nbsp; identifikovane&nbsp; kao M. moenium, predstavljaju&nbsp; novu,&nbsp; endemsku&nbsp; vrstu&nbsp; proučavanog<br />kompleksa.&nbsp; Dijagnostički&nbsp; enzimski&nbsp; lokusi&nbsp; pokazali&nbsp; su&nbsp; da M.&nbsp; avidus&nbsp; i&nbsp; M.&nbsp; moenium&nbsp; predstavljaju&nbsp; sestrinske&nbsp; vrste, koje&nbsp; su&nbsp; se,&nbsp; u&nbsp; okviru&nbsp; kompleksa&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp;<em> M.&nbsp; avidus,&nbsp; </em>poslednje razdvojile.&nbsp; Zaključeno&nbsp; je&nbsp; da&nbsp; se&nbsp; kompleks&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; M.&nbsp; avidus sastoji od 5 vrsta: <em>M. avidus, M. moenium, M. megavidus, M.&nbsp; ibericus&nbsp; i&nbsp; M.&nbsp; aff.&nbsp; moenium</em>.&nbsp; U&nbsp; nastavku,&nbsp; oslanjajući&nbsp; se na&nbsp; moderne&nbsp; tehnike&nbsp; ve&scaron;tačke&nbsp; inteligencije,&nbsp; izvr&scaron;eno&nbsp; je modelovanje&nbsp; distribucije&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; i&nbsp; poređenje&nbsp; sličnosti utvrđenih&nbsp; ekolo&scaron;kih&nbsp; ni&scaron;a.&nbsp; U&nbsp; poslednjem&nbsp; segmentu istraživanja,&nbsp; prednosti&nbsp; ve&scaron;tačke&nbsp; inteligencije&nbsp; iskori&scaron;ćene su&nbsp; u&nbsp; modelovanju&nbsp; sistema&nbsp; za&nbsp; determinaciju&nbsp; jedinki sestrinskih vrsta u uzorku, na osnovu adekvatne varijable.Ovo&nbsp; istraživanje&nbsp; doprinelo&nbsp; je&nbsp; karakterizaciji&nbsp; biodiverziteta osolikih&nbsp; muva,&nbsp; rasvetljavanju&nbsp; taksonomskog&nbsp; statusa&nbsp; vrsta i&nbsp; kreiranju&nbsp; smernica&nbsp; za&nbsp; definisanje&nbsp; budućih konzervacionih&nbsp; programa&nbsp; za&scaron;tite&nbsp; biodiverziteta&nbsp; vrsta <em>Merodon avidus </em>kompleksa.</p> / <p>During this research, an integrative-taxonomic&nbsp; analysis of M. avidus species complex was performed. The study was based on geographically and temporally extensive material. Genetic characterisation of cryptic species, based on 5&rsquo; and 3&rsquo; regions of COI gene, defined parameters of genetic variability. Shared and unique haplotypes between and within of cryptic species were detected. The results of genetic variability analysis based on COI gene showed that specimens from the islands Corfu, Evia and half-island Peloponnese, which were preliminarily identified as M. moenium, represent a new, endemic species of the selected complex. Diagnostic enzyme loci showed that M. avidus and M. moenium represent sibling species, which were the last one who separated within M. avidus complex. According to current information, it was concluded that M. avidus complex consists of 5 species: M. avidus, M. moenium, M. megavidus, M. ibericus and M. aff. moenium. In the next&nbsp; chapter, relying on modern techniques of artificial&nbsp; intelligence, the species distribution modelling and the comparison of ecological niches were performed. In the last part of the research, the advantages of artificial intelligence were used in order to model a system that was able to determinate one of two sibling species, based on appropriate predictor. This research has generally contributed to a characterization of hoverfly diversity and helped resolving a taxonomic status of species in one of the most challenging groups in Syrphidae family. Genetic differentiation data represent directions for defining future conservation strategies for biodiversity protection of defined cryptic species of Merodon avidus complex</p>

This dissertation aimed to investigate the use of Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) as supportive materials in students&rsquo / learning process. In this respect, a MUVE named Quest Atlantis had been used by students in formal and informal learning settings. The students participated in a project that was developed based on an ecological problem resulted in fish decline in a river. As being a multiple case study research, data were collected from four separate cases, selected from three different places. Specifically, students&rsquo / and teachers&rsquo / perceptions were gathered, and challenges and barriers of implementations were investigated. The research results indicated that most of the students liked learning in environments using MUVEs. Besides being intrinsically motivated towards learning science topics, the students stated that it was a good way of reinforcing what they learn in school settings. Students found MUVEs effective learning environments as it allowed them to learn with active participation / rather than being taught as it usually happens in school context. The teachers had positive opinions about the use of MUVEs. They claimed that MUVEs have the potential to support students&rsquo / learning visually and let students learn through an inquiry-based learning approach with situated information to virtual settings. According to the teachers, MUVEs allowed various skill developments of the students and it created a dynamic learning environment in which students interacted and collaborated with each other. Even though students and teachers have positive perception about the use of MUVEs in learning setting, it is quite challenging to place these applications to learning settings, especially to formal ones. There are numerous challenges and barriers that can be faced with during the implementation process. In this research, the challenges and barriers are grouped under four main categories: 1) teacher related, 2) student related, 3) system related, and 4) technology related. When the implementation results of formal and informal learning setting were compared, it was possible to see how the very dimensions of formal learning settings made the innovative technology-based implementations difficult. On the other hand, informal learning settings were more flexible learning environments allowing a better learning experience for the students.

Ce m??moire porte sur les jeux de r??le participatifs en environnement virtuel (JRPEV), un ph??nom??ne qui, dans le champ des game studies, n???a jamais ??t?? d??fini jusqu???ici. Une d??finition est donc apport??e afin d?????tablir leur sp??cificit?? au regard des environnements virtuels, des jeux vid??o, des MMOG et des jeux de r??le traditionnels (sur table et grandeur nature) tout en mettant en lumi??re les dimensions qui en font un hybride mi-jeu vid??o, mi-jeu de r??le. Pour ce faire, les JRPEV seront d??finis en tant que jeux, jeux de r??le, pratiques repr??sentatives de la culture participative (Jenkins 2006) et environnements virtuels. ?? la suite de cette d??finition, un mod??le th??orique flexible sera d??crit qui rendra compte de l???exp??rience vid??oludique des joueurs au sein des JRPEV. Pour ce faire, des alternatives aux notions pol??miques et polys??miques de ??cercle magique?? et ??d???immersion??, tr??s pr??sentes dans la litt??rature scientifique portant sur les jeux de r??le et les jeux vid??o, sont d???abord apport??es : le cadrage de l???exp??rience vid??oludique et l???allocation des ressources attentionnelles. De plus, le mod??le int??gre les styles de jeu et les postures interpr??tatives privil??gi??es par les joueurs sur les ??uvres dont les JRPEV constituent une adaptation vid??oludique ou sur les textes appartenant ?? l???architexte (Genette 1982) de ces JRPEV. En effet, ces styles de jeu et ces postures interpr??tatives contribuent ?? structurer l???exp??rience vid??oludique. Enfin, ce mod??le inclura la dynamique sociale dans laquelle est v??cue l???exp??rience vid??oludique sur les JRPEV en mobilisant le concept de ??communaut?? herm??neutique conflictuelle??. Cette entreprise conjoint les perspectives herm??neutique et sociocritique dans l?????tude de jeux per??us comme une m??diation ludique (Genvo 2011) (Henriot 1989), soit comme la rencontre d???une attitude et d???une structure ludiques. Elle repose ?? la fois sur un travail m??tath??orique et sur l???observation des jeux de r??le gor??ens, des JRPEV organis??s sur Second Life qui illustreront de mani??re concr??te les sp??cificit??s de ce ph??nom??ne vid??oludique.