Por um cunho bibliográfico, esta tese se debruça sobre as caçadas de certas etnografias da Amazônia indígena buscando compreender as relações, aí estabelecidas, entre as perspectivas da predação e da familiarização. Trata-se de um ensaio comparativo, inspirado no método lévi-straussiano da análise dos mitos, que justapõe para o cotejo e a análise as etnografias [1] da caça yudjá aos porcos, [2] da caça coletiva dos Arara, [3] dos mitos yaminawa sobre os encontros cinegéticos e [4] da caça awá-guajá aos guaribas. A análise comparativa das etnografias sustentará, nas considerações finais deste texto, uma proposta nova para o entendimento dos conceitos de predação e familiarização. / From a bibliographic imprint, the present dissertation bend on the hunting of certain ethnographies from the indigenous Amazonia, seeking for understanding the relationships, there establish, between the perspectives of predation and familiarization. This is a comparative essay, inspired by Lévi-Straussian method for the analysis, which juxtaposes for collation and review the ethnographies [1] of Yudjá hunting to pigs, [2] the collective hunting of the Arara people, [3] the Yaminawa\'s myths of hunting and [4] the Awá-Guajá hunting to howler monkeys. At the ultimate remarks of this manuscript, the comparative analysis of the ethnografies will sustain a different proposal to comprehend the concepts of predation and familiarization.

Consacrée à l’étude de rapports sociaux qui se nouent autour de la chasse, cette thèse se veut une contribution à une sociologie des modes de vie qui, prenant en charge l’inscription spatiale du social, permet de donner concrètement à voir la dimension relationnelle de la construction des classes sociales. La constitution des mondes de la chasse à l’échelle nationale est d’abord retracée et mise en perspective aux plans historique et socio-démographique. L’attention est en particulier orientée vers les transformations des conditions de la chasse en lien avec les évolutions récentes des espaces ruraux et périurbains. Les deuxième et troisième parties de la thèse se fondent principalement sur l’analyse de matériaux recueillis, selon des méthodes de type ethnographique, sur deux espaces contrastés : le Germanois (Côte-d’Or) et les environs bellifontains (Seine-et-Marne). Sur chaque terrain, différents groupements cynégétiques ont été observés : sociétés communales de chasse, groupes de chasse à tir privés, équipages de chasse à courre. Les manières dont leurs adhérents, qui appartiennent à des classes et des fractions de classes diverses, embrassent les enjeux auxquels ils sont confrontés – au premier rang desquels la dégradation de l’image de la chasse et l’environnementalisation de sa pratique – sont restituées. L’analyse se resserre ensuite autour des modalités organisationnelles et des logiques d’investissement dans la chasse privilégiées par les représentants de certaines fractions de classes ; celles-ci permettent de rendre compte des significations de leur engagement et de les réinscrire dans les styles de vie qui sont les leurs. / This thesis, studying the social relationships linked to hunting, is contributing to a sociology of the lifestyles that shows how social relationships are linked to space, and how social classes are built through interactions. The first part recounts the constitution of the different hunting worlds on a national level, using historical and socio-demographical perspectives. Special attention is laid on the transformation of the conditions of hunting due to recent evolution of the rural and periurban spaces. The second and third parts are mainly based upon the analysis of data, which were collected using ethnographical methods on two contrasted spaces: the Germanois (Côte-d'Or) and around Bellifontain (Seine-et-Marne). On each field, different hunting groups have been observed: district (“commune”) shooting groups, private shooting groups, hunting with hounds crews. The members of these groups belong to different classes and fractions of these classes. This thesis studies the differentiated ways they cope with what is nowadays at stake in their activity, essentially the deterioration of the image of hunting and the “environmentalization” of their practices. The analysis focuses then on how some of them, representing different social classes and fractions of classes, organize and involve themselves into hunting. It allows to present the meanings of their commitment in keeping with their lifestyles.

(in English): The thesis is devoted to hunting in Early Middle Ages in Czech Republic. The work summarizes the current knowledge of written sources and iconography. This knowledge are compared with zooarchaeological dates from sites dating to the Early Middle Ages. The thesis deals with the hunting law, hunting reserves and the hunting organization. The major part of this work is focused on game and its use. A portion of game on several hill forts and rural sites was also studied because hunting was not available for all social classes.

It is widely acknowledged that the organised wildlife and hunting industry in South Africa contributes significantly to the country’s economy, as well as to the effective management and conservation of wildlife on privately owned land. Despite this, hunting has come under increasing attack by anti-hunting proponents who wish to bring a ban on hunting. A number of broad shifts across society at large and lobbying against hunting by anti-hunting proponents have given rise to legitimate concerns regarding the social acceptability of hunting. To maintain the social legitimacy of hunting, it is imperative to put strategies in place to actively broaden the base of public acceptance of hunting. Towards this aim, this study is an empirical investigation of the causal determinants of the public’s attitudes towards hunting and of the implications it holds for improving the social legitimacy of hunting. The study commenced by building a sound theoretical foundation from the available literature on the measurement of attitudes, the structure and formation of attitudes, the instrumental and experiential aspects of attitudes, attitudinal ambivalence, the psychology of strong attitudes, as well as the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance. Thereafter, the study turned to identify an adequate and empirically valid research approach for investigating attitudes and its causal determinants. A popular attitude theory in social psychology, namely the theory of reasoned action, was identified as a suitable conceptual framework for conducting this study. According to the reasoned action model, the salient behavioural beliefs people associate with a particular behaviour form the informational foundation (or cognitive foundation) on which their attitudes towards the behaviour are based. More specifically, the model suggests that peoples’ overall attitude towards a behaviour is a function of their perceived probability that a behaviour will produce certain outcomes (belief strength), as well as the degree to which they judge the perceived outcomes of the behaviour as positive or negative (outcome evaluation). The methodological design of the study’s empirical component was strictly based on the standard procedures prescribed by the theory of reasoned action. Two consecutive and methodologically interrelated surveys were conducted amongst members of the public to collect the study’s primary data. The main salient behavioural beliefs on which different attitudes towards hunting are based were identified and further investigated. The results were analysed from the perspective of the theory of reasoned action and a clear understanding of the causal determinants of different attitudes towards hunting were attained. Based on the findings of the study, a number of conclusions and recommendations were made that may guide the development of future strategies to improve the social legitimacy of hunting. Amongst other things, it was suggested that public education programmes should be developed to address the public’s misconceptions of hunting; that public relation campaigns be undertaken to improve the public’s negative image of hunters; and that hunter education programmes be put in place to make hunters aware of the role they could play at community level to improve the social acceptability of hunting. Detailed guidelines regarding the contents of such education programmes and public relation campaigns were provided.

Wildlife ranching is recognized as one of the important agricultural industries in South Africa, with hunting being the primary segment of the game industry. Hunting is an essential part of wildlife management and it contributes significantly to the conservation of biodiversity and to the economy. Despite this, the social acceptability of hunting is often questioned and negative attitudes towards hunting within the larger society may become a potential threat to the hunting industry. This may jeopardize the effective management of game and have a negative impact on conservation and the economy. This study is an empirical investigation of the attitudes of the economically active public in Port Elizabeth towards hunting. The objectives of this study are to investigate the nature and extent of the public's attitudes towards hunting, as well as to identify factors influencing the public's attitudes towards hunting. The study commenced with the establishment of a theoretical framework, based on a literature study on the psychology of human perceptions and attitudes towards hunting. The theoretical framework was then used to develop the empirical component of the study. A survey was conducted amongst a statistically representative sample of the economically active public in Port Elizabeth during 2009. The data was collected by means of personal interviews and self-administered questionnaires were used as the survey instrument. The study found that the economically active public in Port Elizabeth generally holds favourable attitudes towards hunting, with only a small proportion of the population wanting to ban hunting. The belief that hunting endangers wildlife was the most prominent reason for opposing hunting. Negative attitudes towards hunting were largely based on incorrect beliefs regarding hunting. The extent of a person's knowledge of hunting and exposure to hunting, as well as a person's social ties had a significant influence on their attitudes towards hunting.

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / The main objective of this study was to establish whether Generation Y job seekers consider the ethical reputation of organisations in their job-seeking endeavours. Further objectives were to identify whether job seekers from this generational group would, despite their preferences, consider working for any organisation that 1) is prepared to provide them with employment, or 2) offers competitive financial remuneration. A quantitative research study was conducted, utilising a self-developed questionnaire, labelled the Organisational Choice Indicator (OCI). Due to the inherent difficulty of obtaining unbiased responses on sensitive topics, the questionnaire measured respondents’ responses from two perspectives —self-report and non-self-report. The questionnaire was administered using a sample of convenience at a South African-based university (n = 1 992). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted, using principal axis factoring with direct oblimin rotation to facilitate interpretation. One reliable factor was extracted, containing the eight ethics-related items included in the questionnaire, and was labelled Ethical reputation. Three other (non-ethics-related) reliable factors were extracted, namely Organisational characteristics, Opportunities and benefits, and Transformation. Findings show that, although ethical reputation is a factor for consideration, the Opportunities and benefits factor has the highest mean score, and is thus considered more important than any of the other factors when making organisational choices. The analyses of variance showed that the respondents who indicated that they will consider the organisation's ethical reputation as a factor in their decision-making, in turn also admitted that they will work for any organisation that offers them employment. This could be due to the high levels of job scarcity leading to survival ethics. Furthermore, those individuals who indicated that they would consider the ethical reputation of the organisation in their job-seeking endeavours, later indicated that they will not work for any organisation purely because the pay is good. This indicates that these individuals will not work for any organisation, regardless of the financial package being offered, without considering the ethical reputation of the organisation. The four factors that were reliably extracted (Ethical reputation, Organisational characteristics, Opportunities and benefits, and Transformation) were significantly positively inter-correlated. In addition, the findings indicate that respondents tend to respond in a similar manner when reporting on the self and on the non-self.

College students participating in dyads played a game designed as an analog of early hunters whose survival, as a dyad and ultimately individually, depend on rabbits they hunt. Dyadic fitness was defined as both participants being able to hunt and it was measured by the proportion of trials in a condition that both participants hunted. The effects of scarcity (alternating rich and poor conditions) on dyadic fitness were examined in two experiments. First experiment results did not show a difference in dyadic fitness as a function of the independent variable. The second experiment increased the number of hunting seasons and also the discrepancy between scarcity in rich and poor seasons. Second experiment results show that dyads start fit in rich seasons and become increasingly fit in poor seasons. External variables could not be ruled out; therefore, additional experiments still need to be carried out to clarify results.

Le renforcement des populations naturelles exploitées par des individus captifs est rarement évalué, bien qu'il puisse induire des modifications notables sur la population naturelle à de nombreux niveaux : démographie, comportement, morphologie, génétique, pathogènes. Ce travail de thèse concerne les introductions de canards colverts Anas platyrhynchos réalisées à des fins cynégétiques. Cette pratique est très répandue en Europe, depuis plus de trente ans. Du fait de leur domestication en élevage, les canards lâchés subissent une mortalité naturelle très forte comparée aux oiseaux sauvages, à laquelle s'ajoute une plus grande vulnérabilité à la chasse. Une différenciation génétique marquée permet de discriminer les oiseaux lâchés de leurs congénères sauvages. Des croisements entre les deux groupes sont détectés, mais l'introgression reste limitée. Globalement, la contribution démographique et génétique des individus d'élevage à la population sauvage est faible, même si une modification morphologique attribuable aux lâchers a été constatée dans la population sauvage en trente ans. Les conséquences écologiques pour la population réceptrice semblent donc limitées, mais une vigilance continue doit s'exercer concernant la diffusion de pathogènes (forte prévalence occasionnelle de virus Influenza A dans les élevages) et les risques génétiques associés au renforcement sur le long terme. / The consequences of releasing captive-reared game animals into the wild have received little attention, despite their potential impact for receiving populations in terms of demography, behaviour, morphometrics, genetics and pathogens. The present study considers Mallards Anas platyrhynchos released for hunting purposes, an increasing practice in Europe over the last 30 years. Because of domestication process in game farm facilities, our study shows high natural mortality of these ducks once released compared to wild Mallards, in addition to high vulnerability to hunting. A clear genetic differentiation allows discrimination of released and wild Mallards. Hybridization with wild Mallards exists, but did not result into significant introgression. Generally, genetic as well as demographic contributions of captive-bred birds to the natural population were low, but a morphological modification associated with releases was recorded over 30 years in natural population. Ecological consequences of the releases for the wild population seem to be limited, but caution should be maintained on the possible transmission of pathogens (occasionally high prevalence of avian Influenza A in some breeding facilities) and the genetic risks associated with long-term releases.

This thesis presents the results of an examination conducted to determine the status of mourning doves in Throckmorton County, Texas.

abstract: Significance of real-world knowledge for Natural Language Understanding(NLU) is well-known for decades. With advancements in technology, challenging tasks like question-answering, text-summarizing, and machine translation are made possible with continuous efforts in the field of Natural Language Processing(NLP). Yet, knowledge integration to answer common sense questions is still a daunting task. Logical reasoning has been a resort for many of the problems in NLP and has achieved considerable results in the field, but it is difficult to resolve the ambiguities in a natural language. Co-reference resolution is one of the problems where ambiguity arises due to the semantics of the sentence. Another such problem is the cause and result statements which require causal commonsense reasoning to resolve the ambiguity. Modeling these type of problems is not a simple task with rules or logic. State-of-the-art systems addressing these problems use a trained neural network model, which claims to have overall knowledge from a huge trained corpus. These systems answer the questions by using the knowledge embedded in their trained language model. Although the language models embed the knowledge from the data, they use occurrences of words and frequency of co-existing words to solve the prevailing ambiguity. This limits the performance of language models to solve the problems in common-sense reasoning task as it generalizes the concept rather than trying to answer the problem specific to its context. For example, "The painting in Mark's living room shows an oak tree. It is to the right of a house", is a co-reference resolution problem which requires knowledge. Language models can resolve whether "it" refers to "painting" or "tree", since "house" and "tree" are two common co-occurring words so the models can resolve "tree" to be the co-reference. On the other hand, "The large ball crashed right through the table. Because it was made of Styrofoam ." to resolve for "it" which can be either "table" or "ball", is difficult for a language model as it requires more information about the problem. In this work, I have built an end-to-end framework, which uses the automatically extracted knowledge based on the problem. This knowledge is augmented with the language models using an explicit reasoning module to resolve the ambiguity. This system is built to improve the accuracy of the language models based approaches for commonsense reasoning. This system has proved to achieve the state of the art accuracy on the Winograd Schema Challenge. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Computer Science 2019