Rock climbing participation is growing throughout the United States. Information on the participation patterns and preferences of groups of climbers can be used to help mangers make better informed decisions, allowing them to cater to the specific interests of climbing participants, ensure participant satisfaction and encourage continued patronage. This study explores variation in participant characteristics across segments of the climbing population. Because an individual's level of specialization will align him with other like-minded participants, an understanding of a participant's stages of involvement and level of specialization assists in understanding the social world's views and behaviors toward the resource and toward other participants. Information on participants' level of experience, level of commitment, and demographic dimensions can be used to better understand and manage climbers. This study aimed to identify differences among groups of climbers. The study measured across 484 participants. The participants were described by various dependent variables, which included demographic factors, level of specialization, motivations for climbing, types of conflicts and constraints experiences, and setting preferences. Measuring the climbers' participation patterns identified participant sub-world groups. The four groups of climbing participants, as identified by this study, were: infrequent climbers, frequent outdoor climbers, frequent indoor climbers, and avid climbers. While demographics are not significantly descriptive of climbing sub-world affiliations, this study found that there were differences among sub-world affiliates in terms of specialization level, motives, conflicts, constraints, and setting preferences.

Rock climbing participation is growing throughout the United States. Information on the participation patterns and preferences of groups of climbers can be used to help mangers make better informed decisions, allowing them to cater to the specific interests of climbing participants, ensure participant satisfaction and encourage continued patronage. This study explores variation in participant characteristics across segments of the climbing population. Because an individual's level of specialization will align him with other like-minded participants, an understanding of a participant's stages of involvement and level of specialization assists in understanding the social world's views and behaviors toward the resource and toward other participants. Information on participants' level of experience, level of commitment, and demographic dimensions can be used to better understand and manage climbers. This study aimed to identify differences among groups of climbers. The study measured across 484 participants. The participants were described by various dependent variables, which included demographic factors, level of specialization, motivations for climbing, types of conflicts and constraints experiences, and setting preferences. Measuring the climbers' participation patterns identified participant sub-world groups. The four groups of climbing participants, as identified by this study, were: infrequent climbers, frequent outdoor climbers, frequent indoor climbers, and avid climbers. While demographics are not significantly descriptive of climbing sub-world affiliations, this study found that there were differences among sub-world affiliates in terms of specialization level, motives, conflicts, constraints, and setting preferences.

This study addresses the role of the possible or virtual in Shakespearean drama. It argues that the possible component constitutes an integral part of Shakespearean drama, and that they are as important as the actual events or component. To underscore its paramount importance, the study stresses two aspects of the possible in Shakespearean drama: its potentiality and its cognitive function. Potentiality highlights the power of the virtual in opening up different meanings and interpretations, suggesting alternative possibilities and creating new storylines out of the original ones. The cognitive function of the virtual or possible underlines its role in rendering the actual events and happenings more intelligible, probable and comprehensible. The study builds on the theoretical framework of possible worlds theory as well as Classical and Renaissance rhetoric; it argues that Shakespeare’s familiarity with and employment of these notions can be attributed to his rhetorical training, which formed an essential part of Elizabethan education. The study deals with the drama both as a fictional story and as theatre. On the level of theatre, it demonstrates that, despite its materiality, theatre must stimulate an imaginary virtual reality if the physical events and happenings onstage are to be fully meaningful. On the level of the fictional story, it shows that virtual or possible events form the beliefs and intentions of characters. They help to set the conflict on track and help the audience to access the characters’ inwardness. Although the possible is thought of as an ontological category, the study highlights its cognitive dimension, and argues that features of the possible even shape our image of the actual past. It addresses this question in relation to the representation of history in Shakespeare’s history plays. Finally, it deals with counterfactual statements in Shakespeare and uses a multidisciplinary approach to study their significance.

Thesis--Philipps-Universität Marburg/Lahn. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-236).

This thesis presents a critical reading of the theme of phenomenology in the work of the contemporary French philosopher Alain Badiou. My criticism is exercised through a reading of Badiou’s references to this theme. I demonstrate that Badiou’s magnum opus, Being and Event, and its sequel, Logiques des Mondes, are the two pillars between which the philosopher exercises his constructive attack against the phenomenological tradition. I argue that Badiou’s developmental logic is driven by a subterranean and disavowed dialogue with phenomenology, a tradition he deliberately marginalises. / The thesis begins with a literature review of academic responses currently in circulation. Six respondents and their critiques of Badiou’s enterprise are examined for key points, significance to this research, gaps and omissions, and consequences thereof. Each respondent’s primary focus (for example, existential criticism or the phenomenon) is detailed for its specific connection to Badiou’s disregard for phenomenology. The thesis then examines ten of Badiou’s works and meticulously lists specific references (or lack thereof) to phenomenology. I demonstrate that Badiou’s philosophical arguments all carry the ghost of phenomenology that the philosopher has, largely, left unexamined. / The thesis ends with a detailed exegesis of Badiou’s most recent text, Logiques des Mondes. With the release of this text, Badiou returns to the question of phenomenology to present an explicit position regarding questions of experience, existence, phenomenality and appearing. Badiou’s references to phenomenology throughout his texts prior to the release of this sequel are clearly marginal, but his attack on the phenomenological tradition is renewed here via a new theory of appearing. Highly dependent on arguments established in Being and Event, Badiou’s theory of appearing provides him with a superior mathematico-logical model (category theory and set theory) to explain the philosophical notions of ontology (what-is) and being-there (there-is) which create the material world.

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This thesis presents a critical reading of the theme of phenomenology in the work of the contemporary French philosopher Alain Badiou. My criticism is exercised through a reading of Badiou’s references to this theme. I demonstrate that Badiou’s magnum opus, Being and Event, and its sequel, Logiques des Mondes, are the two pillars between which the philosopher exercises his constructive attack against the phenomenological tradition. I argue that Badiou’s developmental logic is driven by a subterranean and disavowed dialogue with phenomenology, a tradition he deliberately marginalises. / The thesis begins with a literature review of academic responses currently in circulation. Six respondents and their critiques of Badiou’s enterprise are examined for key points, significance to this research, gaps and omissions, and consequences thereof. Each respondent’s primary focus (for example, existential criticism or the phenomenon) is detailed for its specific connection to Badiou’s disregard for phenomenology. The thesis then examines ten of Badiou’s works and meticulously lists specific references (or lack thereof) to phenomenology. I demonstrate that Badiou’s philosophical arguments all carry the ghost of phenomenology that the philosopher has, largely, left unexamined. / The thesis ends with a detailed exegesis of Badiou’s most recent text, Logiques des Mondes. With the release of this text, Badiou returns to the question of phenomenology to present an explicit position regarding questions of experience, existence, phenomenality and appearing. Badiou’s references to phenomenology throughout his texts prior to the release of this sequel are clearly marginal, but his attack on the phenomenological tradition is renewed here via a new theory of appearing. Highly dependent on arguments established in Being and Event, Badiou’s theory of appearing provides him with a superior mathematico-logical model (category theory and set theory) to explain the philosophical notions of ontology (what-is) and being-there (there-is) which create the material world.

This study examines the social worlds of mature students. Data was collected through participant observation in campus settings and in-depth interviews with mature students. The focus is on their experiences as they navigated the passage to student status. A variety of constraints to the progress of the passage are documented, as well as mature students' negotiation strategies used to overcome these constraints. Attention is then paid to how mature students adjust to the new realities that university life poses. Dealing with university administration, learning new skills, and renegotiation processes are analysed. The status passage to mature student is viewed as problematic for the individual, as a new set of meanings must be negotiated with significant others for the passage to be successful. This study suggests that the case of mature students offers explanation into the nature of status passage in later life, and contributes new knowledge to the nature of generic social processes. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

There has been a significant increase in the number of internet business and e-commerce transactions being entered into over the last couple of years. More recently, the development of virtual worlds on the internet has become a more important feature of the environment businesses operate in. Although the tax consequences of income earned in virtual worlds have been researched in the United States of America before, no research of this kind exists within South Africa. This study extends prior research by performing a critical analysis of the tax treatment from a South African tax perspective. The study’s specific aim was to determine whether income earned by South African residents from structured and unstructured virtual worlds respectively, would qualify as gross income according to the South African Income Tax Act 58 of 1962. The study builds on previous international research performed, but provides a new perspective from a South African point of view. From a theoretical perspective, the study will make a valuable contribution to the application of basic principles of gross income but on a brand new concept which did not exist when the principles were laid down. The study was limited to determine whether the income earned in virtual worlds by South African residents who are taxed on their world wide income, will be included in gross income as defined by the South African Income Tax Act. Capital gains tax consequences were not considered for any transaction where the income was classified to be of a capital nature. The study did not consider which deductions might be available to taxpayers in terms of the income being included in gross income and no detailed discussion were included to determine when a taxpayer would only be considered to engage in virtual worlds as a hobby versus when the taxpayer’s action would constitute a business. Future research can be extended to this very area. This research concluded that most transactions in virtual worlds resulting in income will qualify as gross income under the South African Income Tax Act. At this stage the only possible disqualification in terms of the South African gross income definition appears to be the qualification of income received as, “of a capital nature”. Copyright / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Taxation / unrestricted

The vast majority of videogames is consisting of fiction. One of the ways of approaching fiction is the literary theory of fictional worlds. However, this begs a question if we would be able to use this theory. The purpose of our thesis is to determine how literary theorists define fictional worlds. Furthermore, we will look at the way that this concept is used by ludologists and how they work with it. If our hypothesis, that we can apply this theory to videogames, will be confirmed, then we investigate how those worlds are different from the literary ones. Then, with the help from the acquired knowledge, we will conduct case studies on selected games. Finally, we will demonstrate how researching of fictional worlds can be profitable for game studies and how to utilize the theory more.