Shape reconstruction from gradient data

We present a novel method for reconstructing the shape of an object from measured gradient data. A certain class of optical sensors does not measure the shape of an object, but its local slope. These sensors display several advantages, including high information efficiency, sensitivity, and robustness. For many applications, however, it is necessary to acquire the shape, which must be calculated from the slopes by numerical integration. Existing integration techniques show drawbacks that render them unusable in many cases. Our method is based on approximation employing radial basis functions. It can be applied to irregularly sampled, noisy, and incomplete data, and it reconstructs surfaces both locally and globally with high accuracy.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, zip-file, submitted to Applied Optic

Medical Library

This departmental history was written on the occasion of the UND Centennial in 1983.https://commons.und.edu/departmental-histories/1039/thumbnail.jp

“Coach as Youth Worker:” understanding intern coaches' experiences in a professional development training for a TPSR-based youth development program

Many youth sport coaches operate in a hybrid position that alternates between athletics-based learning and social-emotional learning that is common toyouth work. Negotiating this dual role can be especially challenging when coaches serve youth in high needs' environments. In order to be effective, youth coaches require a unique skill-set that is neither inherent, nor a result of personal athletic accomplishment. However, these skills can and should be developed through coach education, training, and professional development (DuBois, Holloway, Valentine, & Cooper, 2002; Durlak, Weissberg, & Pachan, 2010). As such, this dual role coaches occupy should be termed, "Coach as Youth Worker" in order to provide clarity about what the job entails. Therefore, this study introduces a "Coach as Youth Worker" training framework that addresses competencies related to the hybrid nature of youth sport coaching. This study examined the lived experiences of a group of graduate students (n = 6) who participated in an original "Coach as Youth Worker" professional development training designed specifically for their internship practicum where they worked as strength and conditioning coaches. In doing so, the researcher sought to understand whether they perceive to have acquired "Coach as Youth Worker" competencies, and if so, how those competencies were learned. Additionally, it was important to learn participant's perceptions of the pedagogical approaches used throughout the training. As an exploratory study, it could serve as a model for developing coaches working in other similar contexts. The research in this investigation consists of three major stages; first, the design and delivery of a professional development training curriculum. Second, the delivery of those trainings, and a third subsequent investigation of coaches' experiences who participated in the training. The study details the conception of the professional development curriculum, starting with how the researcher developed nine " Coach as Youth Worker" competencies. This is followed by a description of the lessons and facilitation procedures used to deliver seven professional development modules that taught "Coach as Youth Worker" skills and competencies. Finally, the researcher collected and analyzed qualitative data that described each participant's experiences with the training. Data collected about participant's experiences included observations, written reflections, focus group, and individual interviews. Data from individual narratives constructed through a phenomenological perspective suggest that participants experienced change personally and professionally. Thematic analysis of data was also performed and yielded 480 codes that were organized into seven higher order themes: overall impressions of the training experience, skills−development and application, impressions of the professional development, beyond professional development−a combination of learning mechanisms, Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility, suggestions for future professional development, and original strategies. Based on the data from this study, 15 recommendations are presented for the Get Ready program that hosted the study participants, that may also be relevant for other sports based youth development programs, and for youth coach education and training programs. Some of the key recommendations include: promoting the importance of explicitly identifying coach development aims, development of competencies for coaches-in-training, incorporate pedagogy with practical applications and opportunities to practice skills, establish opportunities for structured reflection and feedback through formal and informal evaluation, opportunities for community outreach and development of cultural competence

Lerntheoretische und kognitive Aspekte in Gründung und Unternehmensentwicklung : eine Genderperspektive

Theorien zu Lernen und Chancenerkennung finden immer stärkeren Eingang in die internationale Entrepreneurship Forschung. Unabhängig davon steigt seit Beginn der neunziger Jahre – mit zunehmendem Anteil von Gründerinnen und selbständigen Frauen im Gründungs- und Wirtschaftsgeschehen der großen Industrieländer – das Forschungsinteresse an genderspezifischen Fragestellungen. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, einen Einblick in die wissenschaftliche Diskussion um Lernen und Chancenerkennung im Allgemeinen und insbesondere im genderspezifischen Kontext zu geben. Eine Auseinandersetzung mit zentralen Begrifflichkeiten wie Lernen, Chancenerkennung, Wissen und Kompetenzen geht dabei mit der Frage nach den Besonderheiten des Lernens bei Gründerinnen und Unternehmerinnen einher. Aus den dargestellten Ergebnissen werden Implikationen für das laufende Forschungsprojekt ‚Gewusst wie’, das sich mit der Herkunft und Wirkung selbständigkeitsrelevanten Wissens bei Frauen auseinandersetzt, abgeleitet

"Eine erfolgreiche Unternehmerin ist ganz sie selbst" - Fallstudien von Unternehmerinnen in Ost- und Westdeutschland

Beitrag Nr. 7 der Reihe zur KMU-Forschung ist eine Fallstudiensammlung mit 16 anonymisierten Fallstudien von Unternehmerinnen aus Ost- und Westdeutschland. Die Fallstudien wurden im Rahmen eines vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung geförderten Forschungsprojektes gewonnen. Sie basieren auf qualitativen, leitfadengestützten Interviews mit Unternehmerinnen und Gründerinnen verschiedenster Branchen und enthalten wesentliche Aspekte zum Werdegang der Unternehmerinnen, der Entwicklung ihrer Betriebe, ihren Zielen und Motiven sowie ihrem Erfolg und Erfolgsverständnis. Die Fallstudien ermöglichen es, einen aktuellen Blick auf Unternehmerinnentum in Deutschland in seinen vielfältigen Facetten werfen zu können. Neben einem tabellarischen Kurzüberblick über die Fallstudien enthält der Band weiterhin einige nach Themenbereichen untergliederte Fragen zur Fallstudienbearbeitung, die Anregungen für den vergleichenden Einsatz verschiedener Fallstudien in der GründerInnenausbildung geben sollen

Experimental Testbeds for ECOSEL: A Market Framework for Private Provision of Forest Ecosystem Services

We attempt to design a market framework (which we call ECOSEL) for private provision of forest ecosystem services. ECOSEL is a non-regulatory framework that uses a voluntary public good provision mechanism (in a form of an auction) in conjunction with a multiobjective optimization algorithm to create a market for forest ecosystem services. It is expected to be attractive to the demand side of the ecosystem service market since only Pareto-efficient bundles of services are offered for auction, and it is expected to be attractive to the supply side as well by creating a source of non-timber income for forest landowners. ECOSEL is capable of flexible response to demand for other relevant dimensions of forest-related environmental amenities such as biodiversity, viewshed or recreational services. Following Roth’s (2002) advice on behavior of economists as “market engineers”, we use both experimental economics to improve the design of the ecosystem services market. Concurrently, we provide experimental evidence on the efficiency and revenue-generating properties of a multi-good subscription game of incomplete information.Environmental Economics and Policy, Marketing,