This dissertation, "Ban Hammer: Rhetorics of Community Management in the Computer Game Industry," argues that community management, as an emerging corporate discipline, manages community discourse to produce particular subject-consumer attitudes and behaviors. Employing a multi-perspectival, suspensionist methodology, this dissertation analyzes the discursive practices of community managers working in the computer game industry, along with the communities themselves, to discover how computer game communities and computer game development organizations employ a wide variety of rhetorical strategies as they attempt to exert power over one another. Drawing from a wide range of sources in the study of rhetoric, community management, fan studies, computer game development, psychoanalysis, new media studies, and professional communication, this project argues that community manager's inhabit a unique discursive space, one characterized by unresolved and unresolvable discursive tension, and that the work of community managers has an ever increasing importance to both the computer game development cycle and the production of fan communities.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation is basically a summary, with some interpretation, of published research by the author. The scope is limited to the fields of turbo-machinery, computational fluid dynamics and solar chimney power plants. The main contribution in the field of turbo-machinery in general is in the development of a through-flow method that automatically satisfies mass conservation. Concerning fan design, the contributions are the realization of the importance of the exit kinetic energy in the determination of the efficiency of rotor-only axial flow fans, and the quantification of the effect of off-axis inflow into cooling system fans on their performance. In the field of centrifugal fans and compressors an original, unifying model for the prediction of slip factor was developed. To investigate accident scenarios in closed cycle gas turbine nuclear reactors, all possible operational modes of multi-stage axial compressor operation caused by flow and rotation direction were investigated experimentally and computationally. Spanning the fields of turbo-machinery and solar chimneys, the basic theory of solar chimney turbines was developed, showing that high turbine efficiency was possible. In the field of solar chimneys, an original thermodynamic approach was developed to predict the main relationships that govern solar chimney performance, and to solve the through-flow equations for non-ideal systems with losses. Equations for the accurate determination of all the thermodynamic variables in a solar chimney as dependent on chimney height, wall friction, additional losses, internal drag and area change were derived and solved. Coefficients of wall friction, bracing wheel loss and exit kinetic energy were determined experimentally, and empirical equations were developed to predict the loss coefficient of the collector to turbine transition section and and the turbine inlet flow angle. A simple power law approach allowed the calculation of the optimal turbine pressure drop in solar chimney power plants. A comparison of two sets of equations used to calculate the heat fluxes into, inside and leaving the solar collector, resulted in similar air temperature rises in the collector, and similar produced power. It turned out however that the optimal flow for minimal turbine pressure drop was dependent on the heat transfer models. Investigation of the performance of various solar chimney turbo-generator layouts using analytical models and optimisation techniques showed that the optimal number of turbines varies with plant size, but the individual turbine size, the number of blades and even the efficiency remains close to constant. It was found that the cost of a turbogenerator system, however, varies significantly with size. A joint paper with several German universities and institutions did a comparative cost analysis of solar chimney power plants / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie verhandeling is basies ’n opsomming, met interpretasie, van gepubliseerde navorsing deur die outeur. Die omvang is beperk tot die gebiede van turbomasjinerie, berekeningsvloeidinamika en sonskoorsteenkragstasies. Die hoof bydrae op die gebied van turbomasjinerie in die algemeen is in die ontwikkeling van ’n deurvloeimetode wat outomaties massabehoud bevredig. Wat waaierontwerp betref is die bydrae die besef van die belangrikheid van die uitlaat kinetiese energie in die bepaling van waaierbenuttingsgraad, en die kwantifisering van die effek van af-as invloei in verkoelingswaaiers op hulle gedrag. Op die gebied van sentrifugaalwaaiers en -kompressors is ’n oorspronklike, samevattende model vir die voorspelling van glipfaktor ontwikkel. Om ongeluk-scenario’s in geslote kringloop gasturbine kenreaktors te ondersoek is al die moontlike werksmodusse veroorsaak deur vloei en rotasie rigting van ’n multistadium aksiaalkompressor eksperimenteel en numeries ondersoek. As brug tussen turbomasjinerie en sonskoorstene is die basiese teorie van sonskoorsteenturbines ontwikkel met die aanduiding dat hoë turbine benuttingsgraad moontlik is. Op die gebied van sonskoorstene is ’n oorspronklike termodinamies benadering ontwikkel om die hoofverwantskappe te voorspel wat sonskoorsteen gedrag bepaal, en om die deurvloei vergelykings op te los vir nie-ideale stelsels met verliese. Vergelykings vir die akkurate bepaling van al die termodinamiese veranderlikes in ’n sonskoorsteen soos afhanklik van skoorsteenhoogte, wandwrywing, bykomstige verliese, interne sleur en oppervlakte verandering is afgelei en opgelos. Koëffisiënte vir wandwrywing, verstywingswiel-verlies en uitlaat kinetiese energie is eksperimenteel bepaal, en empiriese vergelykings is ontwikkel om die verlieskoëffisiënt van die kollektor-tot-skoorsteen oorgang en die turbine inlaatvloeihoek te bepaal. ’n Eenvoudige magswet benadering het dit mootlik gemaak om die optimum turbine-drukval in sonskoorsteen aanlegte te bepaal. ’n Verglyking van twee stelle vergelykings om warmtevloede in, binne en uit die sonkollektor te bereken het gelei na soortgelyke temperatuurstygings en gelewerde drywing. Die optimale vloei vir maksimum drywing was egter afhanklik van die warmteoordrag modelle. Ondersoek van die gedrag van verskeie turbo-generator uitlegte, deur gebruik van analitiese modelle en optimeringstegnieke het getoon dat die optimale aantal turbines wissel met aanleg grootte, maar die individuele turbine grootte, die aantal lemme en selfs die benuttingsgraad bly feitlik konstant. Daar is egter gevind dat die koste van ’n turbogenerator stelsel beduidend wissel met grootte. ’n Gesamentlike artikel met verskeie Duitse universiteite en instansies het ’n vergelykende koste analise van sonskoorstene gedoen.

<p>Fans are often used in equipment such as home appliances andelectronic equipment where the margin of profit is small butcustomers demands on a low noise level are high. Therefore,methods for predicting the noise emitted by an applicationincluding one or several fans are desirable in order toimprove, accelerate and reduce the cost of low-noise design.The Noise Shaping Technology (NST) has been developed withinthe EC-project NABUCCO in order to fulfil the aboverequirements on a prediction method. According to NST, thenoise source (not necessary a fan) is described by one orseveral noise descriptors, CSSs, and the correspondingtransmission paths through the structure described by one orseveral transfer functions, ACFs. In this thesis, theapplicability of NST is evaluated on a cabinet for electronicequipment where small axial cooling fans constitute the primarysources of the airborne sound.</p><p>As an axial fan is a complex source of sound,simplifications are necessary when modelling its acousticproperties. Therefore, the sound radiation of an axial fan infree space was examined by expanding the generated soundpressure field into spherical harmonics. The conclusion on asource model for the cabinet example, where the fans are moreor less In-duct mounted, is a modified single axial dipole. Themodel is expected to be valid in the entire frequency range ofinterest except in the mid-frequency range where the modaldensity is low. In order to improve the source model in thisfrequency range, a future model based on a rotating dipole isproposed.</p><p>The sound power of a small axial fan is measured in an ISO10302 test-rig. In order to take account of flow conditions,acoustically transparent ducts have been developed. These shallbe attached to the test-rig when measuring the sound power ofthe fan. A simple but practical method of how to correct thesound power for the baffling effect of the test-rig has alsobeen developed. Finally, the sound power can be converted intodipole force, which is the airborne CSS corresponding to thesingle axial dipole model.</p><p>The corresponding airborne transfer function (ACF), i.e.,from dipole force at the source point to sound pressure at thereceiver point, is measured reciprocally by taking use ofLyamshevs reciprocity relation.</p><p>From multiplication of the CSS and the ACF, the soundpressure can be predicted. The prediction shows quite goodagreement with the measured values.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>axial fan, airborne sound, sourcecharacterisation, transmission path analysis, In-duct,spherical harmonics, rotating dipole, installation effects, ISO10302, flow conditions, baffling effect, acousticallytransparent ducts, Lyamshevs reciprocity relation, reciprocity,CSS, ACF, GSM, NST.</p>

<p>Kultfilmsfankulturen uppstod i början av 1980-talet. Den baseras på en misstänksamhet mot den föreställda mainstreampubliken. Kultfilmerna betraktas av fansen med allt från förakt till dyrkan. Utifrån Sarah Thorntons mer kritiska perspektiv på subkulturer har forskare som Mark Jancovich, Joanne Hollows och Jacinda Reed visat hur kultfilmsfankulturen är en klass-och könsbunden (maskulin) konstruktion och att både ”kult” och ”mainstream” är begrepp som konstrueras inom själva subkulturen.</p><p>På internet finns en uppsjö av sajter som inriktar sig på att recensera kultfilmer. Båda ovan nämnda typer av fankritik och olika schatteringar däremellan finns representerade. Ofta flyter de in i varandra. På grund av mediets öppna karaktär är sajterna ofta mer censurerade än tryckta kultfilmsfansin. Sidorna riktar sig först och främst till fans och är mer eller mindre exkluderande mot utomstående. Det heterosexuellt ”grabbiga” tilltalet och det sadistiska våld mot kvinnor som förekommer i många av de recenserade filmerna kan ha en utestängande effekt mot kvinnor och icke-heterosexuella. Överlag tycks det dock ha skett en uppluckring av den av fansen föreställda gränsen mellan deras egen subkultur och mainstreamkulturen. Mycket beror det på den ökade mediala och akademiska uppmärksamheten kring kultfilm. Filmerna är också lättare att få tag på.</p><p>Bilden av det typiska kultfilmsfanet är en utbildad, vit (heterosexuell) man från medelklassen och så tycks även vara fallet på sajterna. Det finns dock några aktiva kvinnor som tycks ha hittat sin plats i fangemenskapen utan att ”kulturellt sett vara en grabbarna”. De manliga sajtinnehavarna har å ena sidan en maskulin roll inom subkulturen som webbmaster, men måste samtidigt tillgripa olika strategier för att värja sig från den feminiserade bilden av fanet/nörden utanför subkulturen. Stämningen sajtinnehavare och recensenter emellan är i allmänhet mycket god och många fans tycks uppleva en stor gemenskap på nätet, samtidigt som det finns en stark individualistisk hållning och ett ägandetänkande kring de egna sajterna.</p>

2 pp. / In the semi-arid climate of southern AZ, evaporative cooling systems are commonly used and very effective for cooling homes (swamp coolers), outdoor areas (misters), and for greenhouses used for commercial and horticultural plant production (pad-and-fan, high-pressure-fog). The purpose of this brochure is to educate users about strategies they can employ to save water and improve the performance of evaporative cooling systems. Principles of operation, a list of advantages and disadvantages, and a comparison of common systems is also included, to help users decide the best system for them.

This dissertation project provides a methodological contribution to the field of critical rhetoric by positioning narrative theory as a powerful yet underutilized tool for examining the power dynamic between producer and consumer in a participatory media context. Drawing on theories of author and audience from rhetorical narratology, this study shows how producers of media texts provide rhetorical cues to audiences that allow them to reassert their power in the form of creative authority vis-à-vis consumers. The genre of professional wrestling serves as an ideal text for examining such power dynamics, as WWE has adapted to changing fan participatory behaviors throughout its sixty-year history. Focusing on pivotal moments in which WWE altered its narrative address to its audience in order to reassert its control over the production process, this study demonstrates the utility of narrative theory for understanding how creative authority shows power at work in media texts. Further, this study situates rhetorical narratology in conversation with theories of rhetorical persona, scholarship on subcultures, and the discursive construction of the “people.” In so doing, I show how a nuanced understanding of author and audience augments critical rhetorical scholarship’s focus on power. Finally, by applying narrative theory as a method for both close textual analysis of single texts as well as a tool for piecing together a critical text from narrative fragments, I also address questions of the role of the text in rhetorical criticism and the role of authorship in an era when audiences exert influence on media texts as they are produced.

Elucidating patterns of connectivity for species of conservation concern is crucial in the design of networks of ecologically coherent marine protected areas, and therefore is considered in the design of such a network recently proposed to the UK Government. However, data concerning connectivity are deficient for most invertebrate sessile taxa. Therefore, this study used microsatellite panels developed de novo to assess the population genetic structure and genetic connectivity of two temperate octocorals in the North East Atlantic. Microsatellite panels for both species show evidence of cross-species transferability, and therefore in future may prove to be useful monitoring tools for the target species but also for congenerics further afield in Europe. Eunicella verrucosa (O. Alcyonacea: S.O.Holaxonia: F. Gorgoniidae), a threatened and IUCN red-listed sea fan, was sampled in the northerly extremes of its eastern Atlantic range in southern Portugal, Brittany, the South West UK and western Ireland. In this vicinity, connectivity appears to be defined at regional scales and localised cases of inbreeding and differentiation suggest that the population structure of this species is best described as a metapopulation. Alcyonium digitatum (O. Alcyonacea: S.O. Alcyoniina: F. Alcyoniidae), a soft coral, was sampled in the central portion of its range in Brittany, western Ireland, south west UK and the North Sea. This species exhibited very little population structure and apparent panmixia across the sampled range. However, high levels of heterozygote deficiencies and inbreeding in the majority of populations implies that the genetic structure of some populations of this species may be defined by self-seeding and rarer dispersal events that occur sufficiently often to offset divergence via genetic drift. Coalescent analyses indicate that in both species, migration between regions occurs asymmetrically. The presence of few duplicate genotypes in both datasets implies that sexual reproduction predominates in both species in the sampled area. Eunicella verrucosa is a charismatic species that is often used to promote marine conservation efforts in the UK and A. digitatum is a ubiquitous animal around western European coasts; the two species often occur together and both may suffer the damaging effects of mobile fishing gears. This research represents the first population genetic assessment of both species and the first time microsatellites have been used to assess population structure of octocorals in the North East Atlantic.

Title: The analysis clubs in Mattoni NBL and their work with fans Objectives: The main objective of the work is, how the clubs work with their fans. The thesis also shows the marketing of the clubs, marketing mix, promotion, promotion actions and fan base. The data, which I recieved from the clubs, I compare and analyse. From this data I deduce conclusions, which can improve communication and the presentation of the clubs to the public and can help improve attendance. Key words: marketing, promotion, merchandising, charity, attendance, tickets, fan, basketball

Title: Marketing communications of AC Sparta Praha Objectives: The main objective of this thesis is to analyze contemporary state of marketing communications with the audience of AC Sparta Praha, identify deficiencies and develop a proposal to improve the marketing communications with fans of this club. Methods: In this thesis have been used methods of case study, analysis of available documents and texts, structured interview with director od marketing, and director of communications and public relations of AC Sparta Praha. Results: By the analysis of marketing communications of AC Sparta Praha has been found that several projects could be added. The proposal has been followed the concept of marketing communications, because i had not been detected considerable deficiencies. The proposal has come from the possibilities of the club to be realized. Keywords: sport marketing, football, communication strategy, social media, fan

Orientador: Alvaro Luiz Hattnher / Banca: Aparecido Donizete Rossi / Banca: Vera Helena Gomes Wielewicki / Resumo:Com o intuito de descrever e verificar os recursos mais recorrentes utilizados na criação de fanfictions sobre Harry Potter por autores brasileiros, discute-se neste trabalho o movimento de consumidores a uma cultura participativa nas últimas décadas, suas implicações nos debates sobre propriedade intelectual e o impacto da evolução da tecnologia na produção e circulação de produtos midiáticos. O surgimento das fanfictions e os mecanismos existentes na reinterpretação de narrativas originais também são abordados, bem como os números expressivos que representam o sucesso dos livros de J.K. Rowling como fenômeno editorial e como comunidade na internet. Tendo em vista a atividade significativa de fãs brasileiros da série e sua produção de histórias inspiradas em Harry Potter, três fanfictions representativas da produção do fandom no Brasil foram analisadas e constatou-se que os recursos mais frequentes em seu desenvolvimento são: universo alternativo, foco em personagem secundário, o subgênero slash e extensão da linha do tempo, premissa que evidencia predileção de autores e leitores por maior espaço para criação própria / Abstract: In order to describe and verify the most common resources used in the creation of Harry Potter fanfictions in Brazil, this study presents the movement of consumers towards a more participative culture in the last two decades, its implications to debates on intellectual property and the impact of technological evolution on the production and circulation of media content. The work also examines the history of fanfiction and the existent mechanisms of reinterpretation of original narratives, as well as the expressive numbers that represent the success of J.K. Rowling's books both as an editorial phenomenon and fandom on the internet. Given the significant production inspired in the Harry Potter series by Brazilian fans, three representative fanfictions are analyzed, in the light of the specific ways the original is rewritten. Alternative universe, focus on secondary characters, slash and timeline expansion, which were found to be the most recurrent procedures in the rewritings, evince partiality for personal creation on the part of authors and readers / Mestre