How accurately people perceive interpersonal relationships, both among others and with themselves, forms the basis of social inferences about the structure of the social environment and one's place in it. Six hypotheses were tested using the cognitive social structures method from social network analysis with five independent but similar student networks from two universities. Results from all networks were meta-analyzed. Participants gave both their self-reported friendship ratings for every alter in their group and also gave their perceptions of the ratings the other member would give. Perception ratings were correlated to self-report ratings for each participant as a measure of accuracy of social network perception. Participants perceived more structural balance than was present in self-reports in four out of five networks and in the meta-analysis, providing evidence for the balance schema. Attachment anxiety correlated negatively with accuracy for one of the networks but was not statistically significant in the meta-analysis. Being located in a tightly-knit subgroup reduced overall network accuracy, consistent with the strength of weak ties (SWT) theory, in one network but not in the meta-analysis. In only one network did participants overestimated how central they were, though not significantly in the meta-analysis. Being more central in the social network was unrelated to accuracy, as was the mean social network distance between perceiver and targets. Results provide meta-analytic support for the balance schema and limited support for attachment, SWT, and egocentric bias in social network perception.

Fisheries straddling or migrating between international maritime boundaries represent a typical case of the tragedy of the commons. Over two dozen Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) have been created to manage these fisheries, which means it also represents a typical case of 'regime complexity' or 'governance architecture'. These literatures recognise that such institutions do not operate independently and therefore institutional functions such as attracting participants, practising their regulatory role, and performing their mandate should be understood as interdependent. This thesis proposes that we study such institutions together with actors and architectures of relations between and among them, which together I term 'governance complexes', by means of a relational approach. This relational approach combines relational theory, which posits the operation of endogenous relational mechanisms alongside exogenous explanations such as institutional design, with network methods that enable structural insights and robust inference that takes into account these interdependencies. The dissertation comprises two main parts that describe and explain the global fisheries governance complex, respectively. The first describes how the governance complex's three main components, states, RFMOs, and states participation in these RFMOs, have evolved. A topological typology utilising key network concepts is proposed and employed to show that the global fisheries governance complex is not fragmenting but becoming more overlapped and nested. The second part explains how this governance complex has evolved in terms of (1) participation, (2) practice, and (3) performance. First, it finds that while states find institutional design features such as an RFMO’s internal organisation attractive, relational mechanisms such as popularity and closure also provide important heuristics for participatory decisions in complex settings. Second, it finds that high levels of organisation also enables higher regulatory activity, but so do relational mechanisms such as coercion or imitation. Third, it proposes the concept of net effectiveness to gauge an institution’s "take-home" performance once its position in the broader governance complex has been taken into account. The result is not only an explanation of the evolution of global fisheries governance but also a developmental step towards an institutional relationalist theory of governance complexes.

Diploma thesis discusses one of the largest social network sites - Facebook. It aims to find out how is perceived by its older users, that means, trying using semi-structured individual interviews to answer the following questions: "How adults uses Facebook? What does it lead to? And can be find similar criteria in Facebook in the use of Facebook as among adolescents or is more suitable use the approach with the help of a typology users?" Based on research it was found that the development of adults use on Facebook passes through similar stages as development of adolescents use, but with large differentiation, not only between the two different age groups, but also between adults. Grasping the behaviors of adults seem to be more appropriate with the creation of their typology which allows more account of the individual features of individuals, whether they are Provokatéři, Neználci, Závislí or Ledabylí users. KEYWORDS Adult Facebook Social network sites Typology User

Nos recherches ont porté sur l'étude des différences de prononciation pouvant exister pour certains phonèmes arabes, dans deux parler, urbain et bédouin, en fonction des intervenants évoluant au sein d'un espace social particulier, la diwaniyya, au Koweït. La diwaniyya est un espace réservé propre à la structure sociale koweïtienne. Elle regroupe une salle principale aménagée pour la réception des invités. L'atmosphère qui y règne est semblable à celle des clubs sociaux, cercles culturels et littéraires et salons politiques. Notre problématique, ancrée dans le champ sociolinguistique, explore l'impact d'une variable extralinguistique, ici un lieu de rencontre qui est la diwaniyya, sur les productions langagières des sujets qui la fréquentent et sur les éventuelles influences qu'exercent les sujets les uns sur les autres au sein de cette structure sociale. Nous nous posons également la question de savoir comment se manifeste concrètement cette influence et si le chef de la diwaniyya, au centre du réseau social, exerce une emprise sur ses frères et ses amis, en agissant sur leur façon de parler. Nous avons principalement eu recours aux travaux de Labov ainsi que ceux de Milroy et de Gordon. Nous représentons les relations existant entre les personnes constituant le réseau en nous inspirant des schémas établis par Milroy et Gordon et de la notion de réseau "dense" et de réseau "lâche". L'intérêt de ce travail de recherche est donc d'analyser la réalisation de phénomènes choisis selon les locuteurs et de quelle façon celle-ci peut varier en fonction des membres appartenant à un groupe social donné. En outre, le paramètre à l'origine bédouine ou urbaine des locuteurs est prise en compte et analysée dans le cadre d'une étude phonétique et phonologique, en vue d’expliquer certaines variations des phénomènes cités. / Our research focuses on the study of differences occuring in the pronunciation of certain Arab phonemes in Urban and Bedouin dialects, depending on the speakersand operating within a particular social space, the diwaniyya in Kuwait. The diwaniyya is particular to the Kuwaiti social structure. This space includes a main hall equipped for the reception of guests. The atmosphere that prevails is similar to that social clubs, cultural and literacy circles and political salons. Our problematic is rooted in the field of sociolinguistics. It explores the impact of extra linguistic variables - i.e. the diwaniyya as a meeting place - on the language productions of the speakers as well as the possible influences of each others' within this social structure. We also analyze the way this influence occurs concretely and wether the chief of the diwaniyya, as the center of the social network, exercices control over his brothers and friends, thus influencing their way of speaking. We mainly had recourse to the work of Labov and those of Milroy and Gordon. We represent the relationships between the persons in the network with established diagrams inspired by Milroy and Gordon and the concept of "dense" and "loose" networks. The interest of this research is to analyze the realization of chosen phonemes according to the speakers and the way this realization can vary according to members belonging to a particular social group. In addition, the parameter of the Bedouin or urabn origin of speakers has to be taken into account and analyzed in the frame of a phonetical and phonological study, in order to explain the variations of some of the phonemes.

This diploma thesis deals with electronic form of the language of young people on social networks. Based on a more than three-year monitoring of events on social networks, the typical and specific features of communication of the youth in new media are examined and analyzed in the thesis. The first part introduces the reader especially the issues of application and changes of the language under the impact of new media; the second part focuses more on problems of social networks - it brings their definitions, deals about their origin and importance. The third and most extensive part consists of an analysis of the language of the youth on social networks, substantiated with concrete selections. The final chapter is made up by a questionnaire proving how the language on social networks is reflected by its users among young people.

This master thesis aims to map the behavioral patterns of Facebook usage and the dependence of these patterns on the users' characteristics. This thesis had the goal to generate hypothesis about peoples' behavior on Facebook - what information, where and why people look for and what information, with whom and why they share. In other words, to describe "the life on Facebook" and to contribute to expanding the knowledge about Facebook's social role, its deeper theoretical reflection and to anchor Facebook more solidly into the system of media theories. In the first theoretical part I have characterized and defined Facebook, sketched its history and development, briefly summarized the studies concerned with Facebook and as well described the contemporary media studies theoretical approach to Facebook. The research itself was carried out through the series of qualitative interviews with Facebook users. Based on this data analysis I have formulated various hypotheses about peoples' behavior on Facebook, about the regularities in the way people share and search for information on Facebook. These hypotheses should serve as a basis and foundations of the subsequent quantitative research.

This diploma thesis deals with personal data protection of data subjects, i.e. natural persons to whom the data refer, in social networks in relation to possibilities of personal data liquidation, i.e. their permanent deletion both from physical data carrier and controller's database, or processor, and from the Internet. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate current law, to show its imperfections, and to present European Commission's regulation proposal that should solve these imperfections. The first chapter of this thesis focuses on privacy law, development of personal data protection, basic legal principles of their protection, necessary terminology of personal data protection, conception and development of social networks, and question of privacy in social networks. This foundation is followed by an extensive chapter on legal framework of protection which comprises the core of this diploma thesis. The chapter legal framework of protection is formed by problems of territoriality and applicable law, legal relationship of social network service provider and user, and predominantly by data liquidation and legal means of protection. The second chapter concentrates on preparation of new law on the EU level, which should harmonise personal data protection laws in all EU member states, and is to...

Doctor of Philosophy / Security Studies / David Graff / How does the social network structure of China’s Central Committee influence the direction and timing of intra-Party events, domestic policies, and foreign policies? How do changes in network structures explain specific patterns and propensities for policy change? The purpose of this study is to describe the social network structure of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee from 1922 to 2011 and to explore the relationship between changes in the network and policy trends. This study draws on policy network theory, network dynamics, Veto Player Theory and Prospect Theory which together posit that dynamic network structural characteristics influence policy outcomes. I introduce a dynamical theory of policy networks and describe some observable implications. This mixed method analysis is based on a new network dataset and follows two major lines of investigation. A structured, focused comparison of case studies associates changes in the Central Committee’s network structure in 1969, 1978, 1982, and 1997 with consequent policy outcomes and demonstrates the explanatory power of the dynamical theory. Statistical analyses of China’s foreign policies (1949-1978 and 1984-1995) and China’s domestic policies (1984-1995) suggest the dynamical theory is generalizable. Changes in paramount leader and potential competitor centralities and Central Committee centralization are important causal factors explaining the timing and type of intra-Party, domestic, and foreign policies.

The thesis deals with development of social networks, their characteristics and characteristics of users from global and regional point of view. The main part of the thesis is concerning social media marketing. It describes and analyzes current situation in social media marketing between firms and the most important aspects of brand strategies within social media. Finally, the thesis shows the aspects on examples of the most successful brands in social media marketing.

A presente tese apresenta, discute e avalia criticamente o conteúdo e o contributo de uma seleção de trabalhos de pesquisa submetidos ou publicados em revistas internacionais no campo das ciências do esporte. Coletivamente, esses trabalhos contribuem para o campo da análise de jogo em jogadores jovens e adultos de futebol, com implicações para aperfeiçoar a avaliação e o treinamento. As pesquisas foram em parte moldadas pela experiência do autor na prática profissional e acadêmica, mas principalmente impulsionada por necessidades emergentes identificadas durante os anos de atuação prática e em parceria com profissionais atuantes em clubes de futebol. Um total de duas revisões sistemáticas (apresentadas na presente tese como introdução ao campo de estudo), sendo uma metaanálise, e três estudos de campo revisados por pares estão incluídos. Esta tese apresenta criticamente resultados e discussões sobre dois principais fluxos: (i) validação de testes físicos em ambiente de jogo, de acordo com as características gerais e exigências específicas das partidas; (ii) análise dos fatores contextuais e posicionais que afetam potencialmente o desempenho no futebol. Os trabalhos de pesquisa são apresentados em uma sequência conceitual dentro dos dois temas, em vez de uma ordem estritamente cronológica, para demonstrar a coerência e a sinergia dentro dos dois fluxos. Esta tese fornece uma reflexão crítica sobre a contribuição geral para o corpo atual de conhecimento científico e o impacto coletivo dos trabalhos que foi alcançado. As limitações dos estudos encontradas no decorrer do trabalho são discutidas como temas atuais, possibilitando um direcionamento para futuras pesquisas. Por fim, todo conhecimento produzido foi traduzido em forma de um e-book para maior acesso por diferentes recursos humanos / This thesis presents, discusses and critically evaluates the content and the contribution of a selection of research papers submitted or published to international peer-reviewed sports science journals. Collectively, these papers make novel insights to the field of match analysis in young and adults\' soccer players, with implications for improving assessment and training. The researches were partly shaped by the authors\' experience in professional and academic practice, but mainly driven by emerging and evolving needs-analyses identified within his work, identified during the years of practice and in partnership with professionals working in soccer teams. A total of two systematic reviews (presented in this document as an introduction to the field of study), one of them being a metaanalysis, and three original articles are included. These papers present critically comments on work in two main streams: (i) validation of physical fitness tests in a game context, according to general characteristics and specific requirements of the match; (ii) analysis of contextual and positional factors that potentially affect the soccer performance. The original research papers are presented in a conceptual sequence within the two themes, rather than a strictly chronological order to demonstrate coherence and synergy within the two collections. The document provides critical reflection on the general contribution to the current body of scientific knowledge and the collective impact of the work that has been achieved. The limitations of the studies found during the course of the work are discussed as current themes, allowing a direction for future research. Finally, all scientific knowledge produced was translated into an e-book for greater access by different human recourses