This thesis concerns the cultural meanings of zar spirit possession in Hofriyat, a Northern Sudanese village. It begins with an interpretive analysis of the Hofriyati everyday world, showing village kinship, marriage, and prevalent customs such as female circumcision to be informed by a common idiom: "interiority" or relative enclosure. In Part II it proceeds to discuss, in terms of that idiom, contexts in which the possession idiom might be invoked: who claims to be possessed, and under what conditions. Here it emerges that zar possession plays an important role in the negotiation and renegotiation of meaning by "rephrasing" interpersonal conflict, symbolically restructuring certain life experiences for the Hofriyati, and effecting realignments of kin relations and social positions in ways deemed favorable to the possessed. Next comes a comparison of the zar propitiation ritual and the local wedding ceremony, in which zar is seen to operate as a meta-cultural text, a comment upon the realities of everyday life and the informative idiom of village culture. This idea is carried forward into Part III, where the system of zar beliefs and spirit manifestations is discussed in its own right. Here possession is viewed as an esthetic form and ' potential messages to be derived from the identities and associations of the spirits are considered. In sum, this thesis is an attempt to describe Hofriyati cultural meanings — the logic of everyday life, its negotiation through acknowledgement of possession affliction, and its secondary or meta-cultural elaboration in ritual and in the system of zar beliefs. It draws principally upon the works of symbolic anthropologists such as Geertz, Turner, and Crapanzano, and upon the insights of Paul Ricoeur for theoretical guidance. However, the "theory of Hofriyati culture" which emerges in the dissertation is understood to be the result of interactions between the researcher and her Hofriyati informants. The thesis is an interpretation, a special sort of negotiated meaning. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

The People's Republic of China is home to numerous beliefs, practices, and customs dating back hundreds, if not thousands of years. In the time since the death of Mao Zedong, many practices have been revived, including the practice of spirit possession. Through careful examination of books, articles, videos, and other sources, I have come to the conclusion that individuals now capable of being possessed in China are a break from previously documented spirit-mediums, nor do they fit into the category termed `shamans' best defined by Mircea Eliade and I.M. Lewis. These individual are heirs to a long history, but have innovated as well as revived previous practices. They now embody a new category, one I have termed spirit-worker. Spirit-workers incorporate aspects of both traditional spirit-mediumship as well as what has been termed shamanism. Although I did not have a chance to do my own fieldwork, through looking at the various sources, we can come to understand how spirit-workers have begun to emerge in China, and what the future may hold for these individuals.

Provable Data Possession (PDP) schemes provide users with the ability to efficiently audit and verify the integrity of data stored with potentially unreliable third-parties, such as cloud storage service providers. While dozens of PDP schemes have been developed, no PDP schemes have been practically implemented with an existing cloud service. This work attempts to provide a starting point for the integration of PDP schemes with cloud storage service providers by providing a cost analysis of PDP schemes. This cost analysis is performed by implementing and analyzing five PDP schemes representative of the dozens of various PDP approaches. This paper provides analysis of the overhead and performance of each of these schemes to generate a comparable cost for each scheme using real-world cloud pricing models. Results show that the total cost of each scheme is comparable for smaller file sizes, but for larger files this cost can vary across schemes by an order of magnitude. Ultimately, the difference in cost between the simple MAC-based PDP scheme and the most "efficient" PDP scheme is negligible. While the MAC-PDP scheme may not be the most efficient, no other scheme improving upon it's complexity can be implemented without the use of additional services or APIs leading to the conclusion that the simplest, storage only PDP scheme is the most practical to implement. Furthermore, the findings in this paper suggest that, in general, PDP schemes optimize on an inaccurate cost model and that future schemes should consider the existing economic realities of cloud services.

Thesis advisor: Angela K. Harkins / Thesis advisor: Giovanni B. Bazzana / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

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No description available.

Pour être confortable la classification littéraire ne parvient pas toujours à rendre compte de la complexité des productions humaines et de leur réception. C’est d’autant plus vrai à une époque de grands changements, politiques, économiques, sociaux et culturels, comme le XVIIIe siècle européen. Tributaire d’une terminologie limitatrice, l’histoire littéraire a contribué à enclore les Lumières dans une cadre resserré, qui soulignait de manière dyadique les différences entre auteurs chrétiens et philosophes, raison et sensibilité. C’est dans le dépassement de ce débat que s’inscrit notre réflexion sur la symbolique de la possession à l’époque des Lumières. Cette étude est consacrée à l’analyse d’un corpus de textes qui, estimés à la lumière d’une problématique anthropologique, prennent une teinte autre que moralisatrice, fantastique, picaresque ou dramatique. Ces genres sont diffusés par les œuvres de Guevara, Lesage, Cazotte, Beckford, Goethe, Lewis, Chamisso et Potocki au fil de détours narratifs et temporels porteurs d’une modernité littéraire. L’interdépendance des enjeux esthétiques, narratifs et psychologiques marque résolument l’ancrage sociologique de la fabula dans la cité. Ces nouvelles, romans et drame assurent la naissance d’un genre d’investigation sociologique et psychologique, encore non conceptualisé à l’époque de leur parution, d’une contemporanéité manifeste avec la société en pleine mutation qui constitue son substrat et son horizon d’attente. Distincte du mythe de Satan et du Romantisme à venir, la symbolique de la possession est un regard sur l’avènement de la reconnaissance, encore confuse à l’époque des Lumières, de l’individualité irréductible / Convenient though it may be, literary classification sometimes fails to account for the complexity of human productions and of their reception. This is all the more so at an age of sweeping political, economic, social and cultural changes such as the European eighteenth century. Literary history, dependent as it is on restrictive terminology, has contributed to enclose the Age of the Enlightenment within a narrow framework which dyadically underscored the difference between Christian authors and philosophers, between sense and sensibility. The present reflexion on the symbolics of possession at the turn of the Enlightenment aims to transcend such a debate. The study is dedicated to the analysis of a corpus of texts which, seen from an anthropological perspective, take on a dimension other than moralistic, fantastic, picaresque or dramatic. Those genres were circulated by the works of Guevara, Lesage, Cazotte, Beckford, Goethe, Lewis, Chamisso and Potocki, by narrative and temporal means laden with literary modernity. The interdependence of aesthetic, narrative and psychological stakes resolutely shows how anchored within the body politic the fabula is. Those short stories, novels and dramas paved the way for a genre of sociological and psychological investigation – a genre not yet conceptualized when those works came out – in obvious keeping with the thoroughly changing society which is both its background and its horizon of expectations. The symbolics of possession, to be distinguished from the myth of Satan and the oncoming Romanticism, is an outlook on the advent of the acknowledgement – still confused at the turn of the Enlightenment – of irreducible individuality

La première partie de cette thèse fait le bilan des formes de possessions sorcière, démoniaque ou liée à l’esprit d’un mort, par une incursion historique et anthropologique. Elle aborde aussi les rites, mis en œuvre par les sociétés, pour s’en protéger et pour traiter les cas de possessions. Des éléments propres à la question des démons, du diable et de l’exorcisme dans le christianisme sont ensuite présentés, avant de faire le bilan de la problématique par les aliénistes et les psychiatres, français pour la plupart. Les liens entre médecins et prêtres, face à de telles plaintes sont abordés. La seconde partie traite des aspects contemporains de la problématique. En effet, bien que ce thème puisse sembler à contre-courant de notre époque et de notre culture occidentale organisée par le discours scientifique, il est très actuel. Nous présentons les plaintes qui apparaissent sur des sites Internet qui parfois n’hésitent pas à tenter d’en tirer profit. Au début du 21e siècle, des crimes qualifiés de « satanistes » ont été médiatisés et les exorcistes invités à prendre place dans le débat. Le recours à l’exorciste et les demandes d’exorcismes se sont multipliées. L’Eglise catholique a dû s’organiser et de nombreux prêtres ont été amenés à tenir ce “Ministère” d’exorcisme. La liberté dont ils jouissent, les amène à pratiquer des rituels en adéquation avec leur croyance à un diable métaphorique ou, au contraire, personnifié. Des chapitres sont consacrés à leur organisation, à leur pratique dans le cadre d’un travail d’observation participante. Celle du père J., un exorciste qui chasse le diable est longuement abordée. Selon notre hypothèse, elle tend à générer le sentiment de possession par le diable, chez le consultant. Enfin, la troisième partie est constituée tout d’abord d’un bilan des points de vue psychanalytiques sur la question du diable et de la possession. Puis nous présentons des cas cliniques rencontrés dans le cadre de nos travaux de recherches et de notre profession. Des réflexions personnelles sur la problématique viennent conclure cette thèse. / The first part of this thesis makes an assessment of the various forms of possession witch possession, demonic possession or bound to the spirit of a deceased person, by reference to history and anthropology. It also approaches the rites implemented by societies to protect themselves and to handle the cases of possession. Various elements appropriate to the question of evil spirits, the devil and exorcism in the Christian religion are then presented, before making an assessment of the problem as seen by alienists and psychiatrists, mostly French. The links between doctors and priests confronted with such complaints are also examined. The second part handles contemporary aspects of the problem. Indeed, although this theme may seem to go against the current of our time and of our scientific oriented western culture, it is very topical. We present the complaints that appear on web sites which sometimes do not hesitate to attempt to make profit out of them. At the beginning of the 21st century, crimes qualified as "Satanists" received considerable media coverage the exorcists were invited to take place in the debate. The recourse to the exorcist and the requests of exorcisms then multiplied. The Roman Catholic Church had to get organized and numerous priests were brought to hold this "Ministry" of exorcism. The freedom which they enjoy brings them to practise rites in adequacy with their faith in a metaphoric devil or, on the contrary, a personified one. Several chapters are dedicated to their organization, to their practice within a period of observation and cooperation task. That of father J., an exorcist who chases away the devil is largely presented. In our hypothesis, this practice tends to generate the feeling of possession by the devil for the consultant. Finally, the third part mainly consists in an assessment of the psychoanalytical points of view on the question of the devil and possession. Then we present clinical cases that we have come across in the course of our research works and of our professional practice. Personal reflections on the problem come to conclude this thesis.

A presente dissertação de mestrado tem por escopo examinar os aspectos fundamentais do usucapião coletivo, instituto previsto no art. 1.228, §§ 4º e 5º, do Código Civil de 2002. A dissertação é composta de oito capítulos. Nos primeiros, é apresentada pesquisa acerca da evolução histórica do instituto do usucapião e de seus atributos em outros países (Portugal, Alemanha, Itália e Argentina). A seguir, esmiuçou-se o direito à propriedade e à moradia, suas implicações, limitações, bem como o aspecto da função social coligada à propriedade e à posse. Adiante, foram analisadas as modalidades de usucapião previstas na legislação brasileira, seus requisitos e especificidades. Por fim, procurou-se, com mais detalhe, responder questões polêmicas relacionadas ao instituto previsto nos parágrafos 4º e 5º art. 1228, do Código Civil de 2002, dentre elas se trata de modalidade de usucapião ou de desapropriação; de quem seria a responsabilidade pelo pagamento da indenização prevista no parágrafo 5º e quais os critérios para sua quantificação; o que seria utilização por número considerável de pessoas; quais características deveriam possuir as obras e serviços realizados no imóvel usucapiendo; além de questões processuais e registrais relacionadas, principalmente, à propositura e/ou oposição, citação e registro da sentença. / This dissertation has the aim to examine the fundamental aspects of collective adverse possession, institute preview in the article Nº 1228, §§ 4th and 5th of the Civil Code of 2002. The dissertation consists of eight chapters. In the first, is presented research on the historical evolution of the institute of adverse possession and their attributes in other countries (Portugal, Germany, Italy and Argentina). Then broke in pieces the right to property and housing, its implications, limitations, and the aspect of social function related to ownership and possession. Ahead, we analyzed the terms of adverse possession provided in Brazilian law, its requirements and specificities. Finally, it was, with more detail, answering controversial issues related to the institute provided in paragraphs 4th and 5th of article nº 1228 of the Civil Code, among them if is a type of adverse possession or condemnation; who would be responsible for payment of compensation referred to in paragraph 5th and the criteria for quantifying it; what would be used by large number of people; which features should have the works and services performed in the possession property; in addition to procedural issues and matters relating mainly to the initiation and/or opposition, summoning and record of the declaratory judgment.

Cette thèse traite de la manière dont les Tandroy, population originaire de l’extrême Sud de Madagascar, produisent leurs identités collectives en situation de migration urbaine dans la ville de Toliara. Les Tandroy, qui vivent depuis près d’un siècle en situation de circulation à travers l’île, sont le plus souvent assignés à un statut de migrants précaires, pour lesquels la ville demeure un espace étranger. Je montre, à travers une ethnographie de situations rituelles, comment cet état de la migration peut être considéré comme un espace de transition, dans lequel se joue le passage d’un état de mobilité à un état d’ancrage. Je montre également comment ce passage implique la remise en cause d’une identité collective construite avec la colonisation, et cristallisée au début des années 1970, époque où sévit une révolte paysanne menée par Monja Jaona, leader politique tandroy d’envergure nationale. Mes enquêtes se situent dans deux domaines, celui de la politique, et celui de la possession. Dans les deux cas, l’ancrage en ville s’exprime de manière paradoxale à partir du maniement de symboles ancestraux, pourtant fragilisés par le phénomène migratoire et jugés inadaptés à l’espace urbain : le poteau sacrificiel hazomanga, et l’esprit de possession kokolampo. Je m’intéresse à la manière dont ces éléments participent à l’élaboration de constructions symboliques confrontant des catégories identitaires articulées à l’expression d’une mémoire collective, et porte une attention particulière à la musique produite dans les situations ethnographiées, laquelle peut amener à une forme alternative de relation à l’identité collective, favorisant l’expérience de l’ancrage. / This thesis deals with the way the Tandroy people native of the South of Madagascar, produce their collective identities in situation of urban migration in the city of Toliara. The Tandroy have lived for almost a century in situation of migration through the island. They are assigned most of the time to a status of precarious migrants, for whom cities remain a foreign space. I show, through an ethnography of ritual situations, how this state of the migration can be considered as a space of transition, in which a state of mobility to a state of sedentarization takes place. I also show how this passage implies the question of the building of a collective identity with the colonization, and enhanced at the beginning of the 1970s, when arises a peasant revolt led by the tandroy political leader Monja Jaona. My inquiries focus on two domains : politics and spirit possession. In both cases, urban sedentarization is expressed in a paradoxical way from the manipulation of ancestral symbols, nevertheless weakened by migrations and considered unsuitable for the urban space : hazomanga-stake, and spirit possession kokolampo. I am interested in the way these elements participate in the elaboration of symbolic constructions confronting categories articulated in the expression of a collective memory and I thoroughly observe the music produced, which can bring to an alternative relationship to the collective identity, favoring the experiment of the sedentarization.