The Survival games genre is infamous for its lack of narrative. In this paper we look at thepossibility of emerging narrative in open world survival sandbox games. The survival aspectof a game is heavily tied to specific survival-centric mechanics that are frequently occurringin the genre. These mechanics and systems can in and of themselves give way to an unwrittennarrative for each individual player. By working with the concept of Narrative gamemechanics, we interviewed a pool of people about their stories and narrative experiences insurvival games. After analysing the results we found recurring patterns to indicate how certaintypes of survival-mechanics can lead to certain types of narrative situations.

<p dir="ltr">In this dissertation, I use methods of theoretical physics to study principles governing the stochastic dynamics of living timekeepers in a few different contexts. First, focusing on the phenomenon of stochastic growth and division processes in the simplest living organism (the bacterial cell), I present a procedure for analyzing high-throughput, high-precision dynamic datasets to identify emergent simplicities, in particular scaling laws, that provide new insights into a long-standing problem (that of cell size homeostasis). Recasting the question from a stochastic, intergenerational viewpoint (i.e., one that considers the entire life histories of individual cells without recourse to a priori mechanistic assumptions), and taking advantage of identified emergent simplicities to achieve dimensional reduction of the problem, permits a reformulation that captures the inherent stochasticity of individual cells. Identification of discrete modes by which homeostasis is maintained---in particular, via reflexive (elastic) adaptation of cell size and reflective (plastic) adaptation of growth rate---provides important insights into key system constraints that govern living bacterial cells, with additional implications for the design of functional adaptive synthetic homeostats. The observation of non-Markovian dynamics in single-cell growth rates implies the existence of intergenerational memory and plastic adaptation in these simple organisms. I also present my work on the process of early endosomal maturation in human cell lines, multi- fork DNA replication in Escherichia coli cells, and a physics principle and theory predictions for emergent periodicity in a decentralized follow-the-leader dynamic in a collective of randomly signaling agents. This body of work provides mechanistic insights into how temporal organization in outcomes emerges despite the inherently stochastic nature of the constituent dynamics, with each system adopting its own mechanism to achieve this universal goal.</p>

The present study explored the efficacy of a parent implemented emergent literacy intervention to promote reading readiness and to improve parent-child relationships among preschoolers and their caregivers. Subjects were 24 parents and their preschool children ranging in age from three to five years who attend preschool at the Mailman-Segal Institute (MSI) for Early Childhood Studies. An assessment of the students' pre -literacy skills was conducted and teacher and parent rating scales that measured social- emotional and behavioral functioning were collected. Parents were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Parents assigned to the experimental group learned to implement activities from the Parents Activate Literacy Skills (PALS) curriculum in their daily routine to promote pre-literacy skills. Parents assigned to the control group learned to implement parenting techniques to promote improved parent-child interactions in an adapted version of Russell Barkley's Parent Training Program. Adherence to interventions was monitored by parents' self-report, and fidelity of implementation was assessed throughout the research by trained observers. The proposed study seeks to understand better the skills required for early literacy acquisition among preschoolers. The children were assessed pre and post-intervention using selected subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III Achievement Battery and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Parents were asked to complete behavior rating scales and a measure of parenting stress, while teachers were asked to complete behavior rating scales prior to and post-intervention. One-way (treatment versus control) analyses of covariance were used to test for differences between groups. Results from the analyses revealed that children in the Literacy Intervention group performed significantly better than children in the Behavior Management group on Oral Comprehension, Sound Blending, and Phonemic Awareness subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson. Additionally, parents in the emergent literacy intervention showed a significant decrease on the parent-child dysfunctional interaction scale of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI)-Short Form.

Today the e-commerce market has become a bigger part of both organizations’ and consumers’ everyday-life. Earlier established strategies within retail can't be relied upon. The online-based organizations don’t act on the same conditions as traditional shops in terms of location, customer service and personal interaction to name a few. These are factors generally important to the traditional strategy formation within retail. E-commerce is an emerging market and to survive a well-formulated strategy formation is crucial in order to endure the environment. The aim of this research is to create an understanding of how strategy is formed in e-commerce organizations. In order to answer the research questions, a qualitative research, including a case study, have been performed. Empirical material has been conducted mainly through semi-structured interviews, with one of Sweden’s largest internet retailers, regarding their ink- and beauty supply segment. Whittington’s (2001) two perspectives; evolutionary and classical, have been used to get different viewpoints on the organization studied. We came to the conclusion that the key factors in strategy formation within e-commerce are experience in combination with available information about the environment they act within. When making recommendations for future studies, a suggestion has been made to examine the whole strategic process and review successful strategies as a consequence of well-analyzed formation. Finally, to examine the impact of maturity of organizations in relation to their strategic processes, would create an understanding of how the relationship between experience within the organization and the data accessible is constructed.

This study uses ethnographic tools to document the multiple literacy practices of two Mayan families living in a rural community in Yucatan, Mexico. It explores how young emergent bilingual children make sense of written language through their everyday practices. Data includes field notes from participants observations, video and audio recordings and literacy samples collected during fieldwork. The literacy events extracted from the data were analyzed in terms of the communicative function written language serves, the use of linguistic resources, and particular ways of socialization within literacy events. The findings of this study challenge public discourses which define marginalized children and their families as deficient. Literacy is part of the everyday life activities of minoritiezed families and these experiences provide their children with vast amounts of literacy knowledge. Through the two case studies presented, we document how different language and literacy practices shape children's different pathways to bilingualism and biliteracy.

Syftet med studien är att synliggöra vilka tankar och uppfattningar barn i förskoleklassen har om det skrivna språket. Syftet har mynnat ut i två olika frågeställningar som vill undersöka hur barn i förskoleklassen uppfattar betydelsen av att lära sig skriva och hur barnen uppfattar lärprocessen gällande skrivutveckling. För att lyfta barns perspektiv om skriften användes semistrukturerade gruppintervjuer med sammanlagt 28 stycken barn i två olika förskoleklasser. Ett resultat var att barnen uppfattade skriften som en viktig komponent för den framtida skolgången och vuxenlivet. De fördelar som barnen uppfattade om att lära sig skriva var att det bidrar till ett nytt sätt att kommunicera med andra och att det ökade graden av självständighet. Ett resultat var att barnen hade olika inställningar till skriften, både positiva och negativa. Barnen uttryckte olika faktorer som påverkar deras egen lärprocess samt vilka strategier de använder för att utvecklas. De vuxna hade stor betydelse för inlärningen och barnen behövde lugn och ro i sitt skrivande. De nämnde även att specifika material spelar roll för motivationen.Studien kan medföra till att vuxna får en ökad medvetenhet om vilka tankar barnen har om det skrivna språket. Barnen vill ha stöd i sin utveckling och material som tilltalar dem. Miljöerna och undervisningen bör anpassas på ett sätt som kan stödja barns skrivutveckling.

A infecção crônica do trato respiratório é responsável pela grande morbidade e mortalidade em pacientes com fibrose cística (FC). P. aeruginosa, S. aureus e bactérias do complexo Burkholderia cepacia (CBc) estão entre os patógenos mais encontrados em pulmões de pacientes com FC, mas também são encontradas outros bacilos gram-negativos não fermentadores (BGN-NF) emergentes como Achromobacter sp., Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Ralstonia sp., Pandoraea sp., entre outros. A correta caracterização desses patógenos impacta na sobrevida e qualidade de vida desses pacientes, e é um dos grandes desafios para laboratórios de microbiologia clínica devido à similaridade fenotípica entre eles. Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar e propor estratégias e esquema de identificação acessível à maioria dos laboratórios para a identificação de BGN-NF emergentes e listar bactérias isoladas de pacientes com FC atendidos no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto - USP (HCFMRP-USP), com ênfase nos BGN-NF emergentes. Foram utilizados meios de cultura seletivos, reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR), análise de polimorfirmos (RFLP). Foram coletadas 264 amostras clínicas de 107 pacientes com FC no HCFMRP-USP entre julho/2011 a setembro/2012. Inicialmente, para selecionar os BGNNF dos pacientes com FC, deve ser realizada triagem fenotípica (coloração de Gram, teste da oxidação/fermentação de glicose e produção de oxidase). Devido à dificuldade de identificação dos BGN-NF emergentes por provas bioquímicas, deve ser realizada PCR com DNA destes microrganismos para identificação de gênero e/ou espécie, utilizando os primers específicos, nas condições estabelecidas pela padronização, a qual foi realizada para aumentar a especificidade de alguns primers que apresentaram amplificação de produtos inespecíficos. Provas bioquímicas convencionais devem ser realizadas para confirmar gêneros e identificar algumas espécies não detectadas por PCR, e para resultados fenotípicos diferente da PCR deve ser realizado API® - NE. Para identificação das bactérias do CBc, deve ser realizado análise de polimorfismo, o qual se mostrou mais efetivo do que PCR para identificação de espécies e genomovares. Dos 107 pacientes, 17 estavam colonizados por bactérias do CBc, 13 colonizados por Achromobacter sp., 10 colonizados por S. maltophilia, 2 colonizados por Ralstonia sp. e um paciente colonizado por Cupriavidus sp. e Pandoraea sp., com um isolamento de cada gênero. Os genomovares mais prevalentes foram B. cenocepacia IIIB, seguido de B. vietnamiensis, B. pyrrocinia, B. cepacia e B. multivorans. A maioria dos BGNNF esteve presente em crianças com idade até 17 anos. Os meios de cultura seletivos foram extremamente necessários por permitir o isolamento de vários BGN-NF, não isolados em outros meios de cultura utilizados. A metodologia de identificação empregada foi capaz de identificar todos BNG-NF isolados e pode ser muito útil e acessível à maioria dos laboratórios clínicos. / Chronic infection of the respiratory tract accounts for the high rate of morbidity and mortality of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and bacteria of the Burkholderia cepacia (BCc) complex are among the pathogens most commonly found in the lungs of CF patients, but other emergent non-fermenting gram-negative bacilli (NFGNB), such as Achromobacter sp., Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Ralstonia sp., Pandoraea sp., among others, are found as well. The correct identification of these pathogens affects the survival rate of patients and, due to their phenotypic similarity, presents itself as one of the great challenges that clinical microbiology laboratories face. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and propose strategies and methods that are accessible to the majority of laboratories for identifying emergent NFGNBs and listing isolated bacteria (with a focus on emergent NFGNB) in CF patients receiving routine care at the Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo - USP (HCFMRPUSP). The study employed selective culture media, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). From July 2011 to September 2012, 264 clinical samples were gathered from 107 CF patients at the HCFMRP-USP. A phenotypic screening (Gram staining, oxidase production and oxidation/fermentation of glucose) should be conducted as the first step to select the NFGNBs of CF patients. Due to the difficulty in identifying emergent NFGNBs via biochemical tests, a PCR using the DNA of these microorganisms should be carried out to identify their genus and/or species. The PCR should utilize the specific primers, at conditions established by this study, which was performed to increase the specificity of some primers that showed nonspecific amplification products. Conventional biochemical tests should be conducted to confirm genera and identify some species that the PCR failed to detect, and, in the case of phenotypic results that differ from those of the PCR, an API bacterial identification test should be conducted. RFLP analysis proven more effective than PCR in identifying species and genomovars, should be conducted to identify BCc bacteria. Of the 107 patients, 17 had positive cultures for BCc, 13 for Achromobacter sp., 10 for S. maltophilia, two for Ralstonia sp. and one patient had positive culture for Cupriavidus sp. and Pandoraea sp., with the genera isolated from each other. The most prevalent genomovar was the B. cenocepacia IIIB, followed by B. vietnamiensis, B. pyrrocinia, B. cepacia and B. multivorans. The majority of the NFGNBs were present in children up to age 17. Selective culture media were extremely necessary to allow the isolation of various NFGNBs that could not be isolated via alternative culture media. The identification methodology employed enabled the identification of all isolated NFGNBs and can be very useful and accessible to the majority of clinical laboratories.

La croissance rapide du commerce mondial au cours des deux dernières décennies a été caractérisée par une évolution économique accrue couplée à de l’instabilité économique des pays émergents. D’après la littérature, la spécialisation technologique est souvent associée à la croissance, la compétitivité et la stabilité économique. Partant de ce double constat, nous analysons dans cette thèse l’impact de la spécialisation des pays émergents sur leur croissance et leur stabilité économique et nous évaluons l’impact de la compétitivité (elle-même liée à la spécialisation) de ces pays sur leurs performances à l’exportation.Dans un premier chapitre, nous délimitons le contour définitionnel des notions de spécialisation selon les différentes théories.Après avoir déterminé le plus objectivement possible une liste de pays émergents en se référant aux critères les plus utilisés dans la littérature et après avoir mesuré le degré de spécialisation de ces pays, nous étudions la carte de leur spécialisation technologique sur la période 1995-2014. D’après cette cartographie, nous remarquons une mauvaise orientation de la spécialisation dans ces pays. Ces derniers se caractérisent essentiellement par une forte spécialisation dans les articles manufacturés à forte intensité de main-d’œuvre et provenant de ressources naturelles et dans les articles à faible technologie qui sont des spécialisations à faible valeur ajoutée. La spécialisation dans la haute technologie est en grande partie tirée par les importations, les produits exportés étant principalement issus d’activités de montage.Dans le duexième chapitre, nous évaluons dans un premier temps l’impact des spécialisations technologiques des pays émergents sur la croissance économique et nous comparons les résultats trouvés à ceux des pays développés et en développement. Nous constatons que les différents types de spécialisation ont un impact positif sur la croissance des pays émergents. Mais cet impact positif, ne peut pas occulter la mauvaise orientation de cette spécialisation (résultat du chapitre 1).Dans un deuxième temps, nous étudions l’impact de la compétitivité (prix et hors-prix) des pays émergents sur l’évolution de leurs exportations. Nous remarquons que l’impact de la compétitivité-prix sur l’évolution des exportations des pays de notre échantillon varie selon l’indicateur utilisé. Il est négatif quand nous utilisons le taux de change et positif quand nous utilisons la productivité.Nous trouvons aussi que l’impact de la compétitivité structurelle, expliquée par les dépenses dans la haute technologie et par la spécialisation dans la haute technologie, est positif. Cela peut être expliqué par la demande mondiale croissante dans les produits de haute technologie.Dans le troisième et dernier chapitre, nous nous intéressons à la relation entre spécialisation et stabilité économique et nous comparerons cette relation avec celle observée dans les pays développés. Nous constatons que les pays dont la spécialisation est basée sur les ressources naturelles sont plus instables et que l’impact de la spécialisation dans la haute technologie dépend du niveau de développement du pays. L’impact est négatif pour les pays développés et positif pour les pays émergents. Cette différence dans l’impact peut être due à la politique d’assemblage utilisée par la plupart des pays émergents, politique qui consiste à importer la majeure partie des produits de haute technologie (HT) sous forme de pièces et composants. / The fast growth of the world trade during the last two decades was characterized by an improved performance as well as an economic instability of emerging countries. According to the literature, the technological specialization is often associated with growth, competitiveness and economic stability. Recognizing this, we analyze the impact of the specialization of emerging countries on their growth and on their economic stability and we estimate the impact of the competitiveness (itself related to specialization) of these countries on their export performance.In a first chapter, we outline the contours of the notion of specialization according to the various theories.Having determined as objectively as possible a list of emerging countries referring to the most criteria used in the literature and having measured the degree of specialization of these countries, we study the map of the technological specialization in emerging countries over the 1995-2014 period. According to this cartography, we notice a bad orientation of their specialization. These countries are essentially characterized by a strong specialization in Labour-intensive and resource-intensive manufactures and low-tech items that are low value-added specialization. The specializing in high technology is largely driven by imports. Exports are mainly drawn by assembly activities.In the second chapter, we first assess the impact of technological specializations of emerging countries on their economic growth and we compare the results with those found in the developed and developing countries. We find that different types of specialization have a positive impact on the growth of emerging countries. But this positive impact cannot hide the misdirection of this specialization (result of Chapter 1).Second, we study the impact of competitiveness (price- and non-price competitiveness) of emerging countries on the development of their exports. We note that the impact of price-competitiveness on the evolution of the exports of the countries in our sample depends on the indicator used. It is negative when we use the exchange rate and positive when we use productivity.We also find that the impact of the structural competitiveness, measured by the expenses in the high technology and by the specialization in the high technology, is positive. It can be explained by the more and more increasing world demand in the high-technology products.In the last chapter, we focus on the relationship between specialization and economic stability and we compare this relationship with that observed in developed countries. We find that countries whose specialization is based on natural resources are more unstable and that the impact of specialization in high technology depends on the country's level of development. The impact is negative for developed countries and positive for emerging countries. This difference in the impact may be due to the assembling policy used by most emerging countries and which leads to import of high-tech products (HT) as parts and components.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka den fysiska miljöns betydelse för barnens intresse gällandeläsning i förskolan. Studien har pedagogers inställning till läsning och läsmiljö som fokus.Undersökningen utfördes med förskollärare från fem olika förskolor inom samma kommun.Metoderna som användes var kvalitativa intervjuer och observationer. Resultatet visar att det mestcentrala i studien var att alla informanter var eniga om att det är grundläggande för en givandeläsmiljö att miljön är planerad, organiserad och att miljön ständigt ska vara föränderlig. Ett begreppsom återkommer upprepade gånger i studien är att materialet i läsmiljön ska vara lättillgängligt.Informanterna menar att det inte räcker med en bra läsmiljö, utan det behövs kunskap och intressehos pedagogerna till att kunna bearbeta materialet i miljön. Slutligen anser dem att det ärpedagogernas ansvar att skapa en givande läsmiljö som inspirerar hos barnen på förskolan till att läsadå detta är något som inte finns naturligt. / <p>Godkännande datum: 2019-06-07</p>

<p>Problem:</p><p>To identify how the ideas for the reorganization at Mälardalen University surfaced and explain how the strategy then translated into the organization. This will be studied by using models intended for private organizations that hold relevance for public organizations.</p><p>- What parts of the process can be described as emergent, deliberate, intended, realized and unrealized?</p><p>- What influenced the reorganization process?</p><p>- In this process, how does Mälardalen University use the concept of strategy?</p><p>Purpose:</p><p>The aim of this thesis is to explain a strategic organizational change process in a large organization. The choice fell on Mälardalen University due to its accessibility and significant size. By interpreting the empirical material, the underlying causes will be brought to the surface. The result will aim to explain how a change process might occur in a large organization and how internal and external influences were reflected in the strategic path.</p><p>Method:</p><p>The empirical data collected for this thesis was obtained through qualitative semi-structured interviews with organizational members on a managerial level. One focal organization was used for a case study. The theoretical framework had a knowledge base, based on some theories by Henry Mintzberg. After the collection of primary data additional theories were added.</p><p>Results:</p><p>The reorganization at Mälardalen University was an emergent process where the solutions and impacts were altered and adjusted along the way. In this reorganization the process has been evolving and progressing within a frame created by a few predetermined desires and plans. It also became evident that strategy for Mälardalen University is a way to achieve a position where they can benefit from their competitive advantages. The position is the goal and the way in which to get there is not as important. This has opened up the process to be as emerging as it has been. This emergent process has been allowed to progress in changing directions where decisions are taken as the solutions are found, muddling their way through the process.</p>