This is a thesis that deals with the norms and rules of players playing online games together. It is also a thesis about believability, the current capabilities of non-player characters (NPCs) and the attitudes amongst game developers towards dynamic and systemic games AI. The primary theme of this thesis considers which means of communication and coordination in terms of norms and rules are present in groups of players and particularly in guilds and clans playing Massively Multi Online Games (MMOGs) and First Person Shooters (FPSs) respectively. The presence of norms in these types of groups has been overlooked in previous research even though guilds have been addressed to some extent. When rules have been discussed in games research, the actual use, meaning and interpretation behind these rules from a player perspective has been omitted. In this thesis rules and norms are interpreted from a guild and clan perspective as important means for coordination, used in order to keep the group together. The implicit rules are further seen as implicit rules made explicit through guild and clan forums where these groups of players express how to preserve the shared game experience. The absence of rituals, norms and rules has also been studied in temporary groups of one MMOG, with the explanation that existing relations with other players are maintained in these game sessions, but new relations are usually seen as too costly to invest in. The second theme is directed at believability and the state of current NPCs, how immersion is influenced by NPCs that do not act in believable ways. The second theme is also influenced by the first theme, whereby rules and norms are seen as valuable tools for creating believability in NPCs, directly targeting the social layer, a slightly overlooked area of research. The last section is directed at applying the results from the first section, how players play by the rules and norms of the group, and how this could foster believability in NPCs. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: In press. Paper 5: In press. Paper 6: In press.</p>

Basotho family odes (diboko) form part of oral literature, and refer to names of families, clans or totems. They constitute poetic compositions conveying information about clans' historical origin, philosophy and ancestors. The performance of this oral art form makes use of formulaic techniques such as linking, parallelism, alliteration, etc., which are commonly used in praise poetry. As basis to the content of these oral art forms, the genealogies of the various Basotho clans are discussed to show the reflection of the progenitor names in the clan praises. The functions of family odes are of educational, social and religious nature. Other functions include their use in compositions of other genres, such as, praise poems, mine workers' chants, traditional doctors' falls (mawa) and songs. The recitation of this oral art form is characterised by the instability of the texts, which takes the form of extensions, additions, truncations, improvisations and genre transitions. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

The aim of this master thesis is to describe the origin, development and current state of the highland games in Scotland, the Czech Republic and around the world. The emphasis is put on the description of the origin of the highland games within the clan society, subsequent marginalisation of the highland traditions and its "rebirth". The work also deals with the development of the modern highland games from the end of the 18th century to the present. The description of the current highland games' disciplines is also included. At the end of the thesis the culture identity is defined and it is applied on the phenomenon of the highland games. Key words: highland games, clans, the Highlands, disciplines at the highland games, cultural identity, traditions

This paper studied about the ´guarda-mor´ MANOEL FERNANDES PENNA, central role of this work, and his wife FRANCISCA LUIZA DE LIMA, who settled in the central region o Rio Grande do Sul state, between 1806 and 1808. Aspects of geographical, social, economical and political trajectory of the family were reconstructed based on their first generations. It was studied the scenery of this couple and the formation of clans generated by their offspring from the biographical and genealogical inventory of their descendants and spouses. This study is in the area of concentration: History and Cultural Estate, and research line: Documental Heritage. It was aimed the clear out the clans from the reconstitution of parental bonds and the biography data. Once the genealogical matrix was being done, the bibliographical information was being taken. It was used as sources articles, dissertations and books on the local and regional historiography, baptism, wedding and death parish books from of Viamão, Santo Amaro, Cachoeira, Santa Maria, São Martinho and Cruz Alta, parish books which had the registration of lands and post mortem inventories from Cachoeira, Santa Maria, São Martinho, Júlio de Castilhos, Santo Ângelo and Cruz Alta, internet material and by interviewing some key‟ people. It was noticed: a) a fast, embracing, long lasting and intelligent insertion of the family in local and regional societies and a considerable social and economical development; b) a large number of descendants left by the patriarch couple and; c) the insertion of clans in the local and regional society, considering their comprehensiveness, activities and participation in society. Later, will be published the inventory biographical and genealogical of the descendants of the patriarch and the spouses (principal product) and on the scenery of their trajectory as well as the formation of the derived clans. / Esta pesquisa tratou do estudo a respeito do Guarda-mor MANOEL FERNANDES PENNA, figura central do trabalho, e sua esposa FRANCISCA LUIZA DE LIMA, estabelecidos, na Região Central do Rio Grande do Sul, entre 1806 e 1808. Reconstruíram-se aspectos das origens e trajetória geográfica, social, econômica, cultural e política da família, pesquisa centrada nas primeiras gerações. Estudou-se o cenário da trajetória do casal e família e a formação dos clãs derivados de sua prole, a partir do inventário biograficogenealógico da descendência e cônjuges. O estudo se insere na área de concentração: História e Patrimônio Cultural e linha de pesquisa: Patrimônio Documental. Buscou-se esclarecer a respeito dos clãs, a partir da reconstituição dos laços parentais e acréscimo de dados biográficos. À medida que se ia elaborando a matriz genealógica, obtinham-se as informações biográficas. Utilizou-se, como fontes, artigos, dissertações e livros da historiografia local e regional, livros de assentos de batismo, casamento e óbito de Viamão, Santo Amaro, Cachoeira, Santa Maria, São Martinho e Cruz Alta, livros paroquiais de registro de terras e inventários post mortem de Cachoeira, Santa Maria, São Martinho, Júlio de Castilhos, Santo Ângelo e Cruz Alta, material da Internet e entrevistas com pessoas-chave. Pôde-se verificar uma: a) rápida, abrangente, duradoura e inteligente inserção da família na sociedade local e regional e um considerável desenvolvimento sócioeconômico; b) larga descendência deixada pelo casal genearca e c) inserção dos clãs na sociedade local e regional, considerando a abrangência, atividades desenvolvidas e participação na sociedade. Tem-se como fim, a publicação do inventário biograficogenealógico da descendência do guarda-mor e cônjuges (produto principal) e sobre o cenário da trajetória do casal genearca e a formação dos clãs derivados.

This paper analyzes the influence of Russian elite clans on Russian foreign policy-making. The goal of this paper is to discover the missing link that connects the changes in the International System to the formation of Russian foreign policy, more specifically the Russo-Georgian War, the occupation of Crimea, and the intervention in Syria. Therefore, the theory of neo-classical realism is applied to a systematic process analysis in order to trace the chain of causal relations in which the struggle of elite clans influences foreign policy-making. The combination of neo-realism and state capacity analysis complements the approach of neo-classical realism. This paper argues that the beliefs of the elite clans play an important role in shaping Russia’s foreign policy. The elite clans struggle to establish themselves and consolidate their power within the Russian government structures, which affected the shift from pragmatism and a multipolar approach to a transimperialist approach in Russian foreign policy.

Ce mémoire porte principalement sur une perspective de développement chez les pêcheurs lau des Iles Salomon. L’industrialisation de la pêche pourrait-elle s ’effectuer en tenant mieux compte des systèmes sociaux des Lau, basés sur une structure clanique? Par des éléments de prospective nous exprimons une proposition exploratoire selon laquelle, comme voie de développement, la formule des coopératives pourrait être mieux adaptée à la société lau. / Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2018

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Chinese

MA (Xitsonga) / Eka Senthara ya M. E. R. Mathivha ya Tindzumi ta Xiafrika, Vutshila na Mfuwo / Ndzavisiso lowu wu kanela hilaha swithopo swi nga na nkucetelo hakona eka mahanyelo ya Vatsonga. Nkoka wa dyondzo leyi i ku komba Vatsonga laha va humaka kona na mahanyelo lama hlohloteriwaka hi swithopo swa swivongo swa vona. Xikongomelonkulu xa ndzavisiso lowu i ku lavisisa swin’wana swa swithopo swa swivongo swa Vatsonga na nkucetelo wa swona evuton’wini bya vanhu lava. Ntirho lowu wu ta languta swithopo swa makumembirhin’we leswi nga kona eka swivongo swa Vatsonga. Mulavisisi u hlawurile swivongo handle ko landzelela maendlelo yo karhi, kambe u ta hlawula ngopfu swivongo leswi kumekaka hi xitalo kumbe leswi taleleke hi vavulavuri eka Vatsonga. Nkanelo wa mahungu wu langute eka swihlawulekisi swa swithopo swa swivongo na nkucetelo eka vinyi va swona. Vakhegula na vakhalabye vo ringana ntlhanu eka xivongo xin’wana na xin’wana lava nga na vutivi bya matimu ya swivongo va hlokohlisiwile ku kuma swithopo na matimu ya swona eka xivongo xin’wana na xin’wana. / NRF

This thesis offers a model for the underlying architecture of the narrative reality in science-fiction works by Philip K. Dick, arguing that Dick's fictional worlds are grounded in the pervasive metamorphosis - the overarching perception of the shifting - of the narrative fabric operating under the conditions of non-rationality and non-reality. The hyphenated coinages conveniently stand for the paradigms of the reality and mental configurations in PKD subverting the seemingly natural dichotomizing oppositions and hierarchies of the real/unreal and the rational/irrational. Bringing in Gilles Deleuze's ontology of difference, this thesis explains the non-rationality and non-reality of Dick's worlds in Deleuzian terms as, firstly, inducing the perception of fictional reality as realizing the innate potential of being by the perpetual becoming of being in multiplicity and, secondly, engendering - in the vein of Deleuzian simulacra - the impossibility of apprehending and categorizing fictional reality unequivocally. The thesis considers and evaluates the underlying assumptions and claims common to various approaches to the subject of reality in PKD's fictions in order to provide the essential context for the following development of the theoretical basis for non-rationality and non-reality shifting....