Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1987. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 39).

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo na área de mesas interativas e uso de gestos como forma de entrada. Primeiramente é analisado um conjunto representativo de métodos de elicitação existentes que geram um vocabulário de gestos para aplicações de superfícies multitoque, como mesas interativas. Algumas das características analisadas são: custos, clareza de informações e se avalia o vocabulário final criado. São obtidos, assim, os pontos positivos e negativos dos métodos. Em seguida, as informações obtidas na análise feita, juntamente com outras informações e definições na área, permitiram a criação de um metamétodo. Esse metamétodo pode ser utilizado como base para criação de métodos, pois define desde a escolha de quais usuários utilizar nos testes até o desenvolvimento da aplicação utilizando o vocabulário de gestos criado. / This work details a study in the area of interactive tables and the use of gestures as input. First, a representative set of elicitation methods that create a vocabulary of gestures for multitouch surface application, such as interactive tables, are analyzed. Some of the characteristics analyzed are: costs, clarity of informations and whether the final vocabulary of gestures is evaluated afterwards. This way the pros and cons of the methods are established. The insights obtained in the analysis, along with other information and definitions on the area, allowed the creation of a metamethod. This metamethod can be used as a basis for creating other methods, since it defines all the steps required, from the selection of users for the test to the development of the application that will use the vocabulary of gestures created.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo na área de mesas interativas e uso de gestos como forma de entrada. Primeiramente é analisado um conjunto representativo de métodos de elicitação existentes que geram um vocabulário de gestos para aplicações de superfícies multitoque, como mesas interativas. Algumas das características analisadas são: custos, clareza de informações e se avalia o vocabulário final criado. São obtidos, assim, os pontos positivos e negativos dos métodos. Em seguida, as informações obtidas na análise feita, juntamente com outras informações e definições na área, permitiram a criação de um metamétodo. Esse metamétodo pode ser utilizado como base para criação de métodos, pois define desde a escolha de quais usuários utilizar nos testes até o desenvolvimento da aplicação utilizando o vocabulário de gestos criado. / This work details a study in the area of interactive tables and the use of gestures as input. First, a representative set of elicitation methods that create a vocabulary of gestures for multitouch surface application, such as interactive tables, are analyzed. Some of the characteristics analyzed are: costs, clarity of informations and whether the final vocabulary of gestures is evaluated afterwards. This way the pros and cons of the methods are established. The insights obtained in the analysis, along with other information and definitions on the area, allowed the creation of a metamethod. This metamethod can be used as a basis for creating other methods, since it defines all the steps required, from the selection of users for the test to the development of the application that will use the vocabulary of gestures created.

Temat för detta examensarbete är brädspel, därför börjar studien med en genomgång av brädspelens historia. Därefter följer en generell genomgång av ett flertal berättartekniker. Detta görs för att ge kontext till resten av arbetet. Forskningsfrågan för arbetet är: Hur påverkas personens agerande i en fiktiv värld utifrån dess känslomässiga koppling till ett narrativ? Denna fråga besvarades med hjälp utav ett brädspel. Detta brädspel hade två versioner, en med ett narrativ och en utan narrativ för att sedan kunna påvisa skillnader mellan dessa. Tjugo personer testade sedan de två artefakterna. Efter testningen hölls kvalitativa intervjuer. Dessa användes för att svara på forskningsfrågan ställd. Att testarnas agerande varierade mellan de två versionerna var det ingen tvekan om. De narrativa testarna kände en starkare känslomässig koppling till karaktärerna i spelet. Om arbete på undersökningen skulle fortsätta hade en större testgrupp med större mångfald varit att föredra. / The theme for this paper is table-top games, therefore the study will begin with a history review of table-top games. Following will be a general rundown of multiple narrative techniques. This is for giving a context for the rest of the work. The research question asked for this paper is: How is a person’s behavior affected by their emotional connections to a narrative?  This question was answered with the help of a table-top game. The game had two variants, one with a narrative and one without. This was for finding differences between the two. Twenty persons tested the two artefacts. After the testing, qualitative interviews took place. These were used to answer the question. There was no doubt that the behavior of the testers differentiated between the two variants. The narrative testers felt a stronger emotional connection to the characters in the game. If the study would have continued, a larger test group with a greater diversity would have been preferred.

This thesis examines Hieronymus Bosch's Table Top of the Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things. Instead of using an iconographical analysis, the thesis investigates the relationship between Bosch's art and the Devotio Moderna, which has been speculated by many Bosch scholars. For this reason, a close study was done to examine the Devotio Moderna and its influence on Bosch's painting. Particular interest is paid to the seven day prayers of the Devotio Moderna, the subjects depicted in Bosch's painting, how Bosch's painting blesses its viewer during the time of one's prayer, and how the use of gaze ties all of these ideas together.

Extreme weather events have become a common occurrence and coastal communities are adversely affected by it. Studies have shown that the changing climate has increased the frequency and severity of storms, surging sea levels, and floods, as was seen with Hurricane Sandy (2012) and Typhoon Haiyan (2013). The need to be proactive in preparing for these events, as a means of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, is evident. This study focuses on the formal definition, measurement and simulation of coastal community preparedness and response to severe storm events. Preparedness and response requires resources, emergency plans, informed decision making and the ability to cope with unexpected events. A suite of preparedness indicators is developed using a three level hierarchical framework in the construction of a coastal community preparedness index to evaluate resources and plans. Informed decision making for emergency management personnel in the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) is evaluated through a table-top exercise using a five-phase approach. Lastly, decision making with risk is introduced with a storm decision making simulation model. This study is applied to the case of the breakwater failure in the coastal community of Little Anse, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Contrast agents are often crucial in medical imaging for disease diagnosis. Novel contrast agents, such as gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and lanthanides, are being ex- plored for a variety of clinical applications. Preclinical testing of these contrast agents is necessary before being approved for use in humans, which requires the use of small animal imaging techniques. Small animal imaging demands the detection of these contrast agents in trace amounts at acceptable imaging time and radiation dose. Two such imaging techniques include x-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT) and photon-counting CT (PCCT). XFCT combines the principles of CT with x-ray fluorescence by detecting fluorescent x-rays from contrast agents at various projections to reconstruct contrast agent maps. XFCT can image trace amounts of AuNPs but is limited to small animal imaging due to fluorescent x-ray attenuation and scatter. PCCT uses photon-counting detectors that separate the CT data into energy bins. This enables contrast agent detection by recognizing the energy dependence of x-ray attenuation in different materials, independent of AuNP depth, and can provide anatomical information that XFCT cannot. To achieve the best of both worlds, we modeled and built a table-top x-ray imaging system capable of simultaneous XFCT and PCCT imaging. We used Monte Carlo simulation software for the following work in XFCT imaging of AuNPs. We simulated XFCT induced by x-ray, electron, and proton beams scanning a small animal-sized object (phantom) containing AuNPs with Monte Carlo techniques. XFCT induced by x-rays resulted in the best image quality of AuNPs, however high-energy electron and medium-energy proton XFCT may be feasible for on-board x-ray fluorescence techniques during radiation therapy. We then simulated a scan of a phantom containing AuNPs on a table-top system to optimize the detector arrangement, size, and data acquisition strategy based on the resulting XFCT image quality and available detector equipment. To enable faster XFCT data acquisition, we separately simulated another AuNP phantom and determined the best collimator geometry for Au fluorescent x-ray detection. We also performed experiments on our table-top x-ray imaging system in the lab. Phantoms containing multiples of three lanthanide contrast agents were scanned on our tabletop x-ray imaging system using a photon-counting detector capable of sustaining high x-ray fluxes that enabled PCCT. We used a novel subtraction algorithm for reconstructing separate contrast agent maps; all lanthanides were distinct at low concentrations including gadolinium and holmium that are close in atomic number. Finally, we performed the first simultaneous XFCT and PCCT scan of a phantom and mice containing both gadolinium and gold based on the optimized parameters from our simulations. This dissertation outlines the development of our tabletop x-ray imaging system and the optimization of the complex parameters necessary to obtain XFCT and PCCT images of multiple contrast agents at biologically-relevant concentrations. / Graduate

Interventions for children and their families have traditionally stemmed from two interrelated frameworks: play-based child therapies, and family therapies (Gil, 2015). Integrated family play therapy frameworks aim to capitalize on the strengths of both approaches by combining meaningful engagement of children through play, and systems-level insights into patterns of family functioning and interaction (Gil, 2015). A virtually unexplored avenue for play-based therapeutic applications of role-play that may lend themselves to an integrated family play therapy framework are tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs); cooperative and narrative-based games wherein players adopt the role of fictional characters as they navigate a fantasy setting arbitrated by a game master. Case studies on the use of TRPGs with children and young adults have yielded initial evidence of their potential therapeutic utility (e.g., Blackmon, 1994; Enfield, 2007; Rosselet & Stauffer, 2013), however, research on their application is limited, particularly with families. The current study pilot tested an original TRPG module (“The Family Tabletop Adventure”) for use with families to establish the module’s potential therapeutic utility and identify targets for further refinement. A sample of three family groups (N = 11) were recruited to participate in six weekly online sessions (a 1-hour introductory session, four 1.5- to 2-hour game sessions, and a 1-hour exit interview). A variety of mixed-method measures were used to assess family functioning at baseline and post-game, including observational coding, self-report, and qualitative group interviews. Exploratory analyses of the findings indicated the module’s feasibility of implementation and ease of use, low iatrogenic risk, perceptions by families as fun and engaging, and potential utility across a range of family processes relevant to therapeutic contexts, including communication and problem solving, positive interactions and relationship building, and the generation of novel insights about family members. Family feedback was used to identify several targets for additional refinement of the game module to improve families’ comprehension and engagement with the game. The implications of these findings and their relevance to the use of TRPGs in family intervention contexts are discussed. / Graduate / 2023-08-26

The diploma thesis deals with the design of a rotary table for machining large non-rotary workpieces up to a maximum weight of 65 000 kg. The aim of the work is to analyze and evaluate the current state of knowledge in the field of rotary tables, to create a table design according to the assignment and its 3D model with part of the drawing documentation. The theoretical part of the work searches for solutions used in the construction of rotary tables in the category of table according to the assignment. The information obtained is further used in the design of rotary table solution variants. By evaluating the weight of the required properties and their degree of fulfillment, a variant of the design solution of the table is selected, which is then designed. The individual design steps are described and explained in the text part of the work accompanied by pictures and calculations. The result of the process is a structural design of the mechanical part of the rotary table with a 3D model and partially processed drawing documentation. The contribution of the work is the summarization of relevant information for the design of rotary tables, the processed procedure of solving the design of the table and the modeled design of the rotary table. These outputs can be further treated as documentation for the production of the designed table, the development of the rotary table design to deeper details or technical development in this area.

In 2018, the Swedish Parliament decided to make the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child acivil law, which will be implemented in the year 2020. The consequences of the decision are notunproblematic. The public debate, as well as research, shows that parents have a problem seeing howtheir style of parenting could correlate with the Convention’s legal text. The parents expresshopelessness towards the notion of child upbringing.This thesis is an exploratory pilot study aiming to prepare and generate new knowledge for a projectcommissioned by Save the Children with the goal to develop a game to decrease the knowledge gapbetween parents and children regarding what the Convention means for their relationship. The thesisalso asks the question: how can a game, played by parents and children meant to teach them about softvalues in accordance with the Convention look like.Beyond traditional qualitative research methods, this thesis used Research through Design anddeveloped a presumptive prototype for the project in order to explore the research subject. Findingsshowed that the games narrative and the power to change the narrative through player choices play anessential part in the participant’s ability to immerse in the game, and that this interactive narrative isclosely connected with the ability to learn. The thesis also shows designer directions to consider whendeveloping a game meant to teach the players about soft values.