Depression, intertwined with sleep deprivation and self-esteem, presents a significant challenge to mental health worldwide. The research shown in this paper employs advanced statistical methodologies to unravel the complex interactions among these factors. Through log-linear homogeneous association, multinomial logistic regression, and generalized linear models, the study scrutinizes large datasets to uncover nuanced patterns and relationships. By elucidating how depression, sleep disturbances, and self-esteem intersect, the research aims to deepen understanding of mental health phenomena. The study clarifies the relationship between these variables and explores reasons for prioritizing depression research. It evaluates how statistical models, such as log-linear, multinomial logistic regression, and generalized linear models, shed light on their intricate dynamics. Findings offer insights into risk and protective factors associated with these variables, guiding tailored interventions for individuals in psychological distress. Additionally, policymakers can utilize these insights to develop comprehensive strategies promoting mental health and well-being at a societal level.

Through the specialized lens of one-class classification, anomalies–irregular observations that uncharacteristically diverge from normative data patterns–are comprehensively studied. This dissertation focuses on advancing boundary-based methods in one-class classification, a critical approach to anomaly detection. These methodologies delineate optimal decision boundaries, thereby facilitating a distinct separation between normal and anomalous observations. Encompassing traditional approaches such as One-Class Support Vector Machine and Support Vector Data Description, recent adaptations in deep learning offer a rich ground for innovation in anomaly detection. This dissertation proposes three novel deep learning methods for one-class classification, aiming to enhance the efficacy and accuracy of anomaly detection in an era where data volume and complexity present unprecedented challenges. The first two methods are designed for tabular data from a least squares perspective. Formulating these optimization problems within a least squares framework offers notable advantages. It facilitates the derivation of closed-form solutions for critical gradients that largely influence the optimization procedure. Moreover, this approach circumvents the prevalent issue of degenerate or uninformative solutions, a challenge often associated with these types of deep learning algorithms. The third method is designed for second-order tensors. This proposed method has certain computational advantages and alleviates the need for vectorization, which can lead to structural information loss when spatial or contextual relationships exist in the data structure. The performance of the three proposed methods are demonstrated with simulation studies and real-world datasets. Compared to kernel-based one-class classification methods, the proposed deep learning methods achieve significantly better performance under the settings considered.

Algebraic Quantum Field Theory (AQFT) is a mathematically rigorous framework that was developed to model the interaction of quantum mechanics and relativity. In AQFT, quantum mechanics is modelled by C*-algebras of observables and relativity is usually modelled in Minkowski space. In this thesis we will consider a generalization of AQFT which was inspired by the work of Abramsky and Coecke on abstract quantum mechanics [1, 2]. In their work, Abramsky and Coecke develop a categorical framework that captures many of the essential features of finite-dimensional quantum mechanics. In our setting we develop a categorified version of AQFT, which we call premonoidal C*-quantum field theory, and in the process we establish many analogues of classical results from AQFT. Along the way we also exhibit a number of new concepts, such as a von Neumann category, and prove several properties they possess. We also establish some results that could lead to proving a premonoidal version of the classical Doplicher-Roberts theorem, and conjecture a possible solution to constructing a fibre-functor. Lastly we look at two variations on AQFT in which a causal order on double cones in Minkowski space is considered.

Algebraic Quantum Field Theory (AQFT) is a mathematically rigorous framework that was developed to model the interaction of quantum mechanics and relativity. In AQFT, quantum mechanics is modelled by C*-algebras of observables and relativity is usually modelled in Minkowski space. In this thesis we will consider a generalization of AQFT which was inspired by the work of Abramsky and Coecke on abstract quantum mechanics [1, 2]. In their work, Abramsky and Coecke develop a categorical framework that captures many of the essential features of finite-dimensional quantum mechanics. In our setting we develop a categorified version of AQFT, which we call premonoidal C*-quantum field theory, and in the process we establish many analogues of classical results from AQFT. Along the way we also exhibit a number of new concepts, such as a von Neumann category, and prove several properties they possess. We also establish some results that could lead to proving a premonoidal version of the classical Doplicher-Roberts theorem, and conjecture a possible solution to constructing a fibre-functor. Lastly we look at two variations on AQFT in which a causal order on double cones in Minkowski space is considered.

Algebraic Quantum Field Theory (AQFT) is a mathematically rigorous framework that was developed to model the interaction of quantum mechanics and relativity. In AQFT, quantum mechanics is modelled by C*-algebras of observables and relativity is usually modelled in Minkowski space. In this thesis we will consider a generalization of AQFT which was inspired by the work of Abramsky and Coecke on abstract quantum mechanics [1, 2]. In their work, Abramsky and Coecke develop a categorical framework that captures many of the essential features of finite-dimensional quantum mechanics. In our setting we develop a categorified version of AQFT, which we call premonoidal C*-quantum field theory, and in the process we establish many analogues of classical results from AQFT. Along the way we also exhibit a number of new concepts, such as a von Neumann category, and prove several properties they possess. We also establish some results that could lead to proving a premonoidal version of the classical Doplicher-Roberts theorem, and conjecture a possible solution to constructing a fibre-functor. Lastly we look at two variations on AQFT in which a causal order on double cones in Minkowski space is considered.

Algebraic Quantum Field Theory (AQFT) is a mathematically rigorous framework that was developed to model the interaction of quantum mechanics and relativity. In AQFT, quantum mechanics is modelled by C*-algebras of observables and relativity is usually modelled in Minkowski space. In this thesis we will consider a generalization of AQFT which was inspired by the work of Abramsky and Coecke on abstract quantum mechanics [1, 2]. In their work, Abramsky and Coecke develop a categorical framework that captures many of the essential features of finite-dimensional quantum mechanics. In our setting we develop a categorified version of AQFT, which we call premonoidal C*-quantum field theory, and in the process we establish many analogues of classical results from AQFT. Along the way we also exhibit a number of new concepts, such as a von Neumann category, and prove several properties they possess. We also establish some results that could lead to proving a premonoidal version of the classical Doplicher-Roberts theorem, and conjecture a possible solution to constructing a fibre-functor. Lastly we look at two variations on AQFT in which a causal order on double cones in Minkowski space is considered.

Spirituality is a neglected dimension in psychology, but has recently been growing in importance. Depression is a widespread phenomenon, worldwide, although presenting differently in different cultures, including South Africa. The aim of this study was to give an opportunity to those who have experienced spirituality and depression to voice their experiences in their respective contexts. The ontological framework was postmodernism and the guiding epistemology was social constructionism. Qualitative research was the method of research selected, because it suited the aims of the research. The specific method of analysis was a "categorical content analysis". In depth interviews with eight participants from various faith backgrounds were conducted. The participants' stories were interpreted by the researcher in the form of themes. Recurring and pertinent themes were compared and discussed with other voices in the field, such as the literature and societal and cultural discourses. The study facilitated rich, detailed and complex descriptions of people's experience of spirituality and depression. The researcher hopes the voice of this research will lead to new understandings of these phenomena in a South African context. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Denna studie berör intersektionalitet, genus och litteraturreception. Jag ville ta reda på om 2010-talets elever urskiljer och reflekterar kring de köns- och maktstereotyper som finns i svensk 1880-talslitteratur. Undersökning ägde rum i en i åk 9 under tre lektioner. Den var konstruerad som en uppgift i det nationella provet i svenskämnets läsförståelsedel. Texterna som användes var utdrag ur August Strindbergs Fröken Julie och Victoria Benedictssons Fru Marianne. Eleverna som deltog i undersökningen urskiljer de traditionella köns- och maktstrukturerna. Undersökningen visar att flickor och pojkar uttrycker sig olika om de strukturer de urskiljer. Flickorna uttrycker sig mer kritiskt, medan pojkarna är mer accepterande i sitt resonemang. / This study involves intersectionality, gender and literary reception. I wanted to find out if secondary school pupils of the 2010s can descry th gender and power structures in Swedish literature of the 1880s and se how the reason about it. The investigation took place in a ninth grade during three lessons. It was designed to resemble the reading literacy part of the national tests in Swedish. The texts used were excerpts from August Strindberg's Miss Julie and Victoria Benedictsson's Fru Marianne. The pupils who participated in the investigation uncovered the traditional gender and power structures. The investigation shows though that girls and boys express themselves differently about the structures the find. The girls express themselves more critically while the boys are more accepting in their reasoning.

Résumé Le premier article de la thèse se veut une revue systématique des données empiriques mettant en lumière les antécédents à la base de l’émergence du leadership narcissique dans les organisations, ses composantes psychologiques ainsi que ses incidences tant pour les organisations que pour leurs membres. Conséquemment, cette étude brosse initialement une recension détaillée des principaux facteurs idiosyncrasiques, culturels, environnementaux et structurels participant à la manifestation du leadership narcissique dans les organisations. Par la suite, elle en sonde la teneur en isolant l’existence de cinq composantes psychologiques, soit le charisme, l’influence intéressée, la motivation fallacieuse, l’inhibition intellectuelle et la considération simulée. Enfin, elle souligne les conséquences négatives de son actualisation dont les principales sont : la production de prises de décisions volatiles et risquées; la création d’un climat organisationnel toxique; la destruction de la confiance des subordonnés; la détérioration de l’efficacité organisationnelle; l’émergence d’une gestion dysfonctionnelle; et la manifestation de comportements non-éthiques. Le deuxième article s’avère une analyse comparative de deux types de leadership se révélant, de prime abord, trompeusement analogues. Ces deux types sont le leadership transformationnel et le leadership narcissique. Quoique se situant aux antipodes en matière de satisfaction de besoins (influence idéalisée versus influence intéressée), de promotion de visions (motivation inspirationnelle versus motivation fallacieuse), de réceptivité à la rétroaction d’autrui (stimulation intellectuelle versus inhibition intellectuelle) et de traitement des relations interpersonnelles (considération individualisée versus considération simulée), les leaderships transformationnel et narcissique partagent entre eux un élément commun : le charisme du leader. C’est précisément cette dernière caractéristique, conférant à son détenteur un puissant halo magnétisant, qui se révèle le creuset de la spéciosité du leadership narcissique opérant essentiellement lors des tout premiers contacts avec le leader. En fait, le charisme du leader narcissique sert en quelque sorte de fard, composé de charme et de fascination, masquant une décevante réalité psychologique et dont les propriétés captieuses s’étiolent rapidement. Le troisième article de la thèse est une étude conceptuelle examinant la structuration idiosyncrasique des criminels en col blanc ayant commis des fraudes financières se chiffrant à plusieurs dizaines de millions de dollars. Exploitant le croisement des deux dimensions fondamentales de l’agression, soit sa fonction (proactive ou réactive) et sa forme (directe ou indirecte), cette étude propose une taxonomie archétypique de différents types de psychopathie susceptible de mieux cerner la psychologie du criminel en col blanc d’envergure. L’agression est dite proactive lorsqu’elle est motivée par des impératifs de prédation indépendants de l’état émotionnel de l’individu. L’action de l’individu prédateur est intentionnelle et instrumentale. Elle vise l’atteinte d’objectifs préétablis avant l’actualisation de l’agression. Par contre, elle est considérée réactive lorsque la préservation de l’intégrité physique ou psychologique de l’individu est l’objet d’une menace émergeant de son environnement externe immédiat. Dans ce cas, la réaction agressive de l’individu est émotionnellement conditionnée. Par ailleurs, nonobstant la nature de sa fonction, l’agression peut s’exprimer directement ou indirectement. Elle est considérée directe lorsqu’elle a pour cible l’agressé en tant que tel. La forme physique d’agression peut être physique (sévices corporels) ou verbale (menaces et insultes). Par contre, lorsqu’elle emprunte des modes d’expression plus subtils, tels les rumeurs, l’humour malicieux et la tromperie, l’agression est dite indirecte. Le pairage des deux dimensions fondamentales de l’agression permet la construction d’un modèle d’analyse bidimensionnelle englobant quatre types de psychopathie, à savoir les psychopathies parasitique (préservation indirecte), colérique (préservation directe), cynégétique (prédation directe) et sympathique (prédation indirecte). C’est précisément cette dernière forme de psychopathie, le type sympathique caractérisé par un étaiement idiosyncrasique narcissico-machiavélique, qui traduit le mieux la psychologie des criminels en col blanc d’envergure. Enfin, le quatrième et dernier article de la présente thèse se propose d’explorer une problématique de recherche n’ayant reçu que très peu d’attention de la part des membres de la communauté scientifique, à savoir l’examen de l’adéquation d’un modèle dimensionnel du narcissisme pathologique inspiré du modèle développé par Roche, Pincus, Lukowitsky, Ménard et Conroy (2013). Au moyen d’une étude de cas exploratoire, il a été possible d’associer la vulnérabilité narcissique au segment décompensatoire (échec des stratégies inadaptées d’agrandissement de soi) du modèle théorique inspiré de celui de Roche et al. (2013) et ce, conformément à ses prescriptions. En effet, la comparaison des résultats de l’un des deux participants de l’étude, madame H, obtenus lors des deux saisies de données espacées d’un intervalle d’une année, indique une diminution de la vulnérabilité narcissique lors de la période de re-compensation. En outre, cette diminution est accompagnée de celle de la grandiosité narcissique. En somme, la relation positive entre les deux dimensions du narcissisme pathologique se révèle, sur un plan longitudinal, constante dans les deux segments – compensatoire (recours à des stratégies inadaptées d’agrandissement de soi) et décompensatoire – du modèle théorique inspiré de celui de Roche et al. (2013). Par ailleurs, les résultats obtenus auprès des deux participants à l’étude de cas, monsieur B et de madame H, s’avèrent éclairants eu égard à la prépondérance respective de chacune des dimensions (grandiosité et vulnérabilité) narcissiques en fonction des segments compensatoire et décompensatoire du modèle théorique inspiré de celui de Roche et al. (2013). Se trouvant en mode de compensation narcissique lors des deux saisies de données, monsieur B affiche une grandiosité narcissique supérieure à sa vulnérabilité narcissique. Cette constatation respecte en tous points les prescriptions théoriques du modèle. Quant à madame H, qu’elle soit en mode de compensation ou de décompensation narcissique (postulat non démontré eu égard aux prescriptions du modèle théorique utilisé), sa vulnérabilité narcissique demeure constamment plus élevée que sa grandiosité narcissique. Théoriquement, selon les prescriptions du modèle, la prépondérance devrait être observée chez la dimension « grandiosité narcissique » en période de compensation. De toute évidence, les données obtenues auprès de madame H s’écartent de ces prescriptions. / The first article of the thesis offers a systematic review of the empirical data highlighting the precursors to the emergence of narcissistic leadership in organizations, its psychological components, as well as its impact on both organizations and their members. Accordingly, this study begins by compiling a detailed list of the main idiosyncratic, cultural, environmental and structural factors at play in the manifestation of narcissistic leadership in organizations. It then explores their nature by identifying the existence of five psychological components: charisma, self-interested influence, deceptive motivation, intellectual inhibition and simulated consideration. Finally, it underscores the negative consequences of the emergence of narcissistic leadership, including, notably: the production of volatile and risky decision making; the creation of a toxic organizational climate; the destruction of subordinates’ trust; the degradation of organizational effectiveness; the emergence of dysfunctional management; and the manifestation of unethical behaviour. The second article proposes a comparative analysis of two types of leadership that appear at first glance to be deceptively similar. These two types of leadership are transformational leadership and narcissistic leadership. Although diametrically opposed in terms of the satisfaction of needs (idealized influence versus self-interested influence), the promotion of visions (inspirational motivation versus deceptive motivation), the receptiveness to feedback (intellectual stimulation versus intellectual inhibition) and the treatment of interpersonal relations (individualized consideration versus simulated consideration), transformational and narcissistic leadership share a common element: the charisma of the leader. This charisma places a powerful, magnetic halo on the head of the leader and it is precisely this characteristic that is the crucible of the deceptive attractiveness of narcissistic leadership that is felt upon the very first contact with the leader. In fact, the narcissistic leader’s charisma serves as a sort of mask that combines charm and fascination to conceal a disappointing psychological reality and whose attractive qualities quickly fall away. The third article of the thesis is a conceptual study of the idiosyncratic patterns of white-collar criminals who have committed fraud in the tens of millions of dollars. Based on the intersection of the two basic dimensions of aggression – i.e., its function (proactive or reactive) and its form (direct or indirect), this study proposes an archetypal taxonomy of the different types of psychopathy with a view to gaining a better understanding of the psychology of large-scale white-collar criminals. Aggression is said to be proactive when it is motivated by predatory imperatives that are independent of the individual’s emotional state. The action taken by the predatory individual is intentional and instrumental. Its aim is to meet predetermined objectives prior to the actualization of the aggressive behaviour. On the other hand, it is considered reactive when the preservation of the individual’s physical or psychological integrity is threatened by the immediate, external environment. In this case, the individual’s aggressive reaction is emotionally conditioned. Moreover, notwithstanding the nature of its function, aggression can be expressed directly or indirectly. It is considered direct when it targets the victim specifically. The form of the aggression can be physical (bodily injury) or verbal (threats and insults). On the other hand, when it is expressed in more subtle forms, such as rumours, malicious jokes and deception, the aggression is said to be indirect. Pairing the two main dimensions of aggression allows for the construction of a two-dimensional model of analysis encompassing four types of psychopathy, namely: parasitic psychopathy (indirect preservation), choleric psychopathy (direct preservation), cynegetic psychopathy (direct predation) and sympathetic psychopathy (indirect predation). It is precisely this last form of psychopathy – the sympathetic form characterized by a narcissistic and Machiavellian underpinnings idiosyncratic – that best reflects the psychology of large-scale white-collar criminals. Finally, the fourth and last article of this thesis proposes to explore a research problem that has received very little attention from members of the scientific community, namely how adequate is a dimensional model of pathological narcissism based on the model developed by Roche, Pincus, Lukowitsky, Ménard and Conroy (2013). On the basis of exploratory case study, it was possible to link narcissistic vulnerability to decompensatory segment (failure of maladaptive self-enhancement strategies) of this model. This linkage conforms to the hypothesis of the model. Indeed, the results of one of two study participants, Ms. H, indicate a decrease of narcissistic vulnerability in the re-compensatory period. Furthermore, this decrease is accompanied by a decrease of narcissistic grandiosity. In others words, on a one year longitudinal plane, the positive relationship between the two dimensions (narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability) of pathological narcissism is found to be constant in two segments – compensation (use of maladaptive self-enhancement strategies) and decompensation – of the theoretical model based on the model of Roche et al. (2013). Moreover, the results for two study participants, Mr. B and Ms. H, prove to be enlightening according to respective preponderance of each narcissistic dimension of theoretical model based on the model developed by of Roche et al. (2013). In tests in 2012 and in 2013, Mr. B displays greater narcissistic grandiosity greater than narcissistic vulnerability, and was deemed to be in compensatory mode. This observation conforms to the hypothesis of the model. As for Ms. H, her narcissistic vulnerability remains consistently much higher than her narcissistic grandiosity. Theoretically, whether she is in narcissistic compensatory or decompensatory mode (unproven assumption in view of the theoretical model used), narcissistic vulnerability should only be dominant in the period of decompensation. Obviously, the results of Ms. H do not conform to the model.

The provision of compositionality in distributional models of meaning, where a word is represented as a vector of co-occurrence counts with every other word in the vocabulary, offers a solution to the fact that no text corpus, regardless of its size, is capable of providing reliable co-occurrence statistics for anything but very short text constituents. The purpose of a compositional distributional model is to provide a function that composes the vectors for the words within a sentence, in order to create a vectorial representation that re ects its meaning. Using the abstract mathematical framework of category theory, Coecke, Sadrzadeh and Clark showed that this function can directly depend on the grammatical structure of the sentence, providing an elegant mathematical counterpart of the formal semantics view. The framework is general and compositional but stays abstract to a large extent. This thesis contributes to ongoing research related to the above categorical model in three ways: Firstly, I propose a concrete instantiation of the abstract framework based on Frobenius algebras (joint work with Sadrzadeh). The theory improves shortcomings of previous proposals, extends the coverage of the language, and is supported by experimental work that improves existing results. The proposed framework describes a new class of compositional models thatfind intuitive interpretations for a number of linguistic phenomena. Secondly, I propose and evaluate in practice a new compositional methodology which explicitly deals with the different levels of lexical ambiguity (joint work with Pulman). A concrete algorithm is presented, based on the separation of vector disambiguation from composition in an explicit prior step. Extensive experimental work shows that the proposed methodology indeed results in more accurate composite representations for the framework of Coecke et al. in particular and every other class of compositional models in general. As a last contribution, I formalize the explicit treatment of lexical ambiguity in the context of the categorical framework by resorting to categorical quantum mechanics (joint work with Coecke). In the proposed extension, the concept of a distributional vector is replaced with that of a density matrix, which compactly represents a probability distribution over the potential different meanings of the specific word. Composition takes the form of quantum measurements, leading to interesting analogies between quantum physics and linguistics.