[pt] O presente estudo tem como objetivo identificar e analisar alguns aspectos históricos da disciplina escolar Sociologia, no período de 1928 a 1936, na Escola Normal do Distrito Federal, atual Instituto Superior de Educação do Rio de Janeiro (ISERJ), no momento em que foi introduzida no currículo, por meio da reforma empreendida por Fernando de Azevedo em 1928, e seu percurso nos primeiros anos, após as mudanças que ocorreram com a posse de Anísio Teixeira na Diretoria de Instrução Pública em 1931, quando a Escola passa a se tornar Instituto de Educação. Para alcançar tal propósito, a metodologia utilizada foi a análise documental das diferentes fontes do período estudado, com destaque para aquelas do acervo do Centro de Memória da Educação Brasileira, localizado no ISERJ. O principal referencial teórico adotado foi a tradição inglesa da História das Disciplinas Escolares, tendo como referência a obra de Ivor Goodson, que entende currículo como um processo político, social e que, portanto, não é possível entendê-lo como conhecimento puro, descontextualizado. Foi possível analisar os programas das disciplinas Sociologia e Sociologia Educacional, relacionando-os com os movimentos e teorias educacionais em voga nas décadas de 1920 e 1930. / [en] The present study aims to identify and analyze some historical aspects of the school discipline Sociology, from 1928 to 1936, at the Escola Normal do Distrito Federal, currently the Instituto Superior de Educação do Rio de Janeiro (ISERJ), at the time it was introduced in the curriculum, through the reform undertaken by Fernando de Azevedo in 1928, and his path in the early years, after the changes that occurred with the ownership of Anísio Teixeira in the Directorate of Public Instruction in 1931, when the School became the Instituto de Educação . To achieve this purpose, the methodology used was the documentary analysis of the different sources of the studied period, with emphasis on those from the collection of the Centro de Memória da Educação Brasileira, located at ISERJ. The main theoretical framework adopted was the English tradition of the History of School Disciplines, having as reference the work of Ivor Goodson, who understands curriculum as a political, social process and, therefore, it is not possible to understand it as pure, decontextualized knowledge. It was possible to analyze the programs of the Sociology and Educational Sociology disciplines, relating them to the educational movements and theories in vogue in the 1920s and 1930s.

Le sujet de cette thèse porte sur la résolution d'équations d'opérateurs dans l'algèbre B(H) des opérateurs linéaires bornés sur un espace de Hilbert H. Nous étudié celles qui sont associées aux dérivations généralisées. Mon sujet de thèse explore aussi des équations beaucoup plus générales comme celles du type AXB - XD = E ou AXB - CXD = E où A, B, C, D et E appartiennent à B(H). Plus précisément il s'agit de donner une description des solutions de ces équations pour E appartenant à une famille précise(autoadjoint, normal, rang un, rang fini, compact, couple de Fuglède Putnam) et pour des opérateurs A, B, C et D appartenant à des bonnes classes d'opérateurs ( celles qui interviennent dans les applications, notamment en physique) comme les opérateurs autoadjoints, les opérateurs normaux, sous normaux,... En dehors du cas où les spectres de A et B sont disjoints, il n'existe pas de méthode générale pour construire de manière effective l'ensemble des solutions de l'équation de Sylvester AX - XB = C à partir des opérateurs A, B et C. Un des objectifs de mon travail de thèse est de fournir une méthode constructive dans le cas où A, B et C appartiennent à des bonnes classes d'opérateurs. Une étude spectrale des solutions est également faite. A coté de cette étude qualitative, il y a aussi une étude quantitative.Il s'agit d'obtenir aussi des estimations précises de la norme d'opérateur(ou norme de Schatten) des solutions en fonction des normes des opérateurs correspondants aux données. Ceci nous a d'ailleurs conduit à des résultats concernant quelques inégalités intéressantes pour les dérivations généralisées, et enfin quelques résultats concernant les opérateurs dans un espace de Banach sont également donnés / The subject of this thesis focuses on the resolution of operator equationsin B(H) algebra of bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space. We studythose associated with generalized derivations. In this thesis, we also exploremore general equations such as the type AXB - XD = E or AXB -CXD = E where A, B, C, D and E belong to B(H). Specifically it is adescription of the solutions of these equations for E belongs in a precisefamily (Self-adjoint, normal, rank one, finite rank, compact, pair of FugledePutnam) and the operators A, B, C and D belonging to the good classesof operators (Those involved in applications , especially in physics) as theself-adjoint operators, normal operators, subnormal operators... Apart fromthe case where the spectra of A and B are disjoint, there is not any generalmethod for constructing effectively all solutions of the Sylvester equationAX - XB = C from the given operators A, B and C. One objective of thisthesis is to provide a constructive approach in when A, B and C belong toconventional families of operators. A spectral study of the solutions is alsostudied. Besides this qualitative study, there is also a quantitative study.It is also to obtain accurate estimates of the operator norm (or norm ofSchatten) of the solutions in terms of operator norms corresponding to data.This also led us to obtain results concerning some interesting inequalitiesfor generalized derivations, and finally some examples and properties ofoperators on a Banach space are also given

In this thesis, I am examining how East Tennessee State Normal School in East Tennessee and Appalachian State Normal School in Western North Carolina interpreted progressive education differently in their states. This difference is that East Tennessee State began as a state funded school to educate future teachers therefore their school and their curriculum was more rounded and set to a structured schedule. Appalachian State Normal School was initially founded to educate the uneducated in the “lost provinces” therefore, curriculum was even more progressive than East Tennessee State’s – based strongly on the practices of farming, woodworking, and other practical skills. I will also be looking at what these different interpretations tell about the states, what it says about the Appalachia region, and how both schools applied these progressive ideas in their schools. Lastly, I will be answering how Progressive education, and normal schools affected the communities in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

ARAÚJO, Helena de Lima Marinho Rodrigues. A tradicional Escola Normal Cearense chega ao Bairro de Fátima: formação das primeiras professoras primárias (1958 - 1960). 2014. 308f. – Tese (Doutorado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-graduação em Educação Brasileira, Fortaleza (CE), 2014. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-15T15:42:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_hlmraraujo.pdf: 4509805 bytes, checksum: b20e489875fdf03193045b802d1f4d41 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo(marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-15T15:43:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_hlmraraujo.pdf: 4509805 bytes, checksum: b20e489875fdf03193045b802d1f4d41 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T15:43:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_hlmraraujo.pdf: 4509805 bytes, checksum: b20e489875fdf03193045b802d1f4d41 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / The Normal Schools were the first institutions in Brazil to work with the education of primary teachers, particularly the female ones, contributing to improve the education in the initial courses. In Ceará, its relevant role is so notorious that it became a tradition to the society since its foundation in 1884. The main objective of this PhD research is to understand how the education of the first female primary teachers happened from 1958 to 1960 in Fatima neighborhood. The specific objectives are: keep track of the arrival of the Normal School in that neighborhood, knowing the perspectives of the “normalistas” about this change, including the building and the school´s around; to know the educational curriculum of the course, trying to understand its pedagogical aspects in relation to the institution´s the purpose: primary teachers education; to understand the class planning as well as the teaching practice preparation and to figure out what studying in the Normal School means to them, trying to understand the place that institution occupied in the normalistas’ memories. In the theoretical approach, the following concepts were used: (i) tradition, from the authors Hobsbawm (1997) and Balandier (1997); (ii) teacher education, highlighting the authors Lima (1966), Arroyo (2000), Fontana (2005), Nóvoa (1992), Novaes (1992) and (iii) Normal School: Silva (2009; 2001), Carvalho (1998), Olinda (2005), Holanda (2001). Beyond those authors, we searched in documental sources, Brazilian educational legislation and newspapers. About the methodology, the research was classified as qualitative and case study using semitructured interviews and testimonials with sixteen (16) subject of which ten (10) normalistas: two (2) of the 2nd class and eight (8) of the 3rd class; the husband of a “normalista”; the Colonel Pergentino Maia’s grandson; the director of the intermediary public file; the current director and 2 (two) institution employees. The results showed that although the “normalistas” had experienced major challenges during the course, such as the move to a building under renovations, the neighborhood still being structured, and the educational context reformulating guidelines for the Normal School (1958-1959), we conclude that the tradition of graduating in the Normal School cearense, prevailed because it was the primary institution in the education of teachers for the initial courses. / As Escolas Normais no Brasil foram as primeiras instituições a trabalharem com a formação de professores primários, sobretudo de professoras, contribuindo para a melhoria da educação nas séries iniciais. No Ceará, também é notório o seu papel relevante que se tornou uma tradição para a sociedade desde o seu funcionamento no ano de 1884. Esta pesquisa de Doutorado “A tradicional Escola Normal Cearense chega ao bairro de Fátima: formação das primeiras professoras primárias (1958 – 1960)” teve como objetivo principal compreender como aconteceu a formação das primeiras professoras primárias em 1958-1960 no bairro de Fátima e como objetivos específicos: historiar a chegada dessa instituição nesse bairro, conhecendo as perspectivas das normalistas sobre essa mudança, incluindo o prédio e o entorno da escola; conhecer o currículo escolar do curso, buscando compreender seus aspectos pedagógicos em relação ao propósito da instituição: formação de professores primários; entender o planejamento das aulas, como também, a preparação da prática docente ou tirocínio das normalistas e compreender o que significava para elas estudar na Escola Normal, buscando entender qual o lugar que esta instituição ocupava na memória dessas normalistas. Na abordagem teórica, utilizou-se dos conceitos: i) tradição, a partir dos autores: Hobsbawm (1997) e Balandier (1997); ii) formação de professores, destacando-se os autores: Lima (1966), Arroyo (2000), Fontana (2005), Nóvoa (1992); Novaes (1992) e iii) Escola Normal: Silva (2009; 2001), Carvalho (1998), Olinda (2005) e Holanda (2001). Além desses autores, pesquisou-se em fontes documentais, legislação educacional brasileira e jornais. Na metodologia, classificou-se a pesquisa como qualitativa e estudo de caso, utilizando-se da entrevista semiestruturada e depoimentos com 16 (dezesseis) sujeitos dos quais 10 (dez) normalistas: 2 (duas) da 2ª turma e 8 (oito) da 3ª turma; o marido de uma normalista; o neto do coronel Pergentino Maia; o diretor do arquivo público intermediário; a diretora atual e 2 (dois) funcionários da instituição. Os resultados apontaram que embora as normalistas tivessem vivenciado grandes desafios durante o curso: a mudança para um prédio em reformas, o bairro ainda se estruturando e o contexto educacional reformulando as diretrizes para o Ensino Normal (1958-1959), mesmo assim, conclui-se que prevaleceu a tradição de se formar na Escola Normal cearense, por ser a instituição primordial na formação de professores para as séries iniciais.

Submitted by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-05-29T14:38:33Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) VersaoFinal.pdf: 2882901 bytes, checksum: a35c6d27fe0f9aa61dfe3a96244b3140 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-05-29T14:38:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) VersaoFinal.pdf: 2882901 bytes, checksum: a35c6d27fe0f9aa61dfe3a96244b3140 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-29T14:38:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) VersaoFinal.pdf: 2882901 bytes, checksum: a35c6d27fe0f9aa61dfe3a96244b3140 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-12 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The traditional estimation of mixture regression models is based on the assumption of normality of component errors and thus is sensitive to outliers, heavy-tailed and/or asymmetric errors. Another drawback is that, in general, the analysis is restricted to directly observed predictors. We present a proposal to deal with these issues simultaneously in the context of mixture regression by extending the classic normal model by assuming that, for each mixture component, the random errors and the covariates jointly follow a scale mixture of skew-normal distributions. It is also assumed that the covariates are observed with error. An MCMC-type algorithm to perform Bayesian inference is developed and, in order to show the efficacy of the proposed methods, simulated and real data sets are analyzed. / A estimação tradicional em mistura de modelos de regressão é baseada na suposição de normalidade para os erros aleatórios, sendo assim, sensível a outliers, caudas pesadas e erros assimétricos. Outra desvantagem é que, em geral, a análise é restrita a preditores que são observados diretamente. Apresentamos uma proposta para lidar com estas questões simultaneamente no contexto de mistura de regressões estendendo o modelo normal clássico. Assumimos que, conjuntamente e em cada componente da mistura, os erros aleatórios e as covariáveis seguem uma mistura de escala da distribuição normal assimétrica. Além disso, é feita a suposição de que as covariáveis são observadas com erro aditivo. Um algorítmo do tipo MCMC foi desenvolvido para realizar inferência Bayesiana. A eficácia do modelo proposto é verificada via análises de dados simulados e reais.

[pt] Inferência ecológica reúne o conjunto de procedimentos estatísticos para se prever dados desagregados quando só estão disponíveis dados agregados. Duas novas metodologias propostas recentemente vêm motivando novos desenvolvimentos na área: o modelo baseado na normal bivariada truncada (MNBT) e o modelo hierárquico binomial-beta (MHBB). A tese reavalia estas metodologias e explora implementações computacionais mais eficientes através do Algoritmo EM e uma de suas extensões, o Algoritmo ECM. Comparando-se com métodos de quase-Newton, uma versão estável, porém mais lenta, é obtida para implementação do MNBT e uma versão estável e mais rápida é obtida para o MHBB. Adicionalmente, as metodologias são comparadas em termos de suas capacidades preditivas através de um extenso experimento de Monte Carlo e da aplicação sobre bases de dados reais selecionadas. A superioridade do MNBT se evidencia na maioria dos casos. Problemas de modelagem do MHBB são corrigidos e é apontada uma limitação assintótica das previsões produzidas por este último. / [en] Ecological inference comprises the set of statistical procedures for the prediction of disaggegate data when data are available only in aggregate form. Two recently proposed approaches have motivated new developments in the field: the model based on a truncated bivariate normal (MNBT) and the hierchical binomial-beta model (MHBB). The thesis reevaluates these approaches and explores more efficient computational implementations via the EM Algorithm and one of its extensions, the ECM Algorithm. As compared to quasi-Newton algorithms, a stable yet slower version is obtained for the implementation of the MNBT, and a stable and faster version is obtained for the MHBB. The methodologies are compared in predictive terms by means of an extensive Monte Carlo experiment and of the application to real datasets. The superiority of the MNBT is evident in the majority of cases. Modeling mistakes of the MHBB are corrected and an asymptotic restriction of the predictions made with this model is pointed. / [es] La inferencia ecológica reúne un conjunto de procedimentos estatísticos para prever datos desagregados cuando solo están disponibles datos agregados. Dos nuevas metodologías propuestas recientemente han motivando nuevos desarrollos en el área: el modelo que tiene como base la normal bivariada truncada (MNBT) y el modelo jerárquico binomial- beta (MHBB). La tesis reevalúa estas metodologías y explora implementaciones computacionales más eficientes a través del Algoritmo EM y una de sus extensiones, el Algoritmo ECM. Estos métodos se comparan con métodos de quase- Newton. Se obtiene una versión estable aunque más lenta, para la implementación de MNBT y una versión estable y más rápida para el MHBB. Adicionalmente, se comparan las metodologías en función de sus capacidades predictivas a través de un extenso experimento de Monte Carlo. Em la mayor parte de los casos se observa superioridad del MHNBT. Se corrigen problemas de modelaje del MHBB apuntadando uma limitación asintótica de las previsiones producidas por este último.

I barnmorskans ansvarsområde ingår handläggning av normal förlossningen. Studier visar att förlossningsvården blir alltmer medikaliserad och att barnmorskor har svårt att främja den normala förlossningen eftersom tydliga gränser för vad som anses vara normalt saknas. Syftet med studien är att undersöka barnmorskors uppfattning kring normal förlossning. I studien används en kvalitativ metod med induktiv ansats. Totalt har tio barnmorskor deltagit i tre fokusgruppdiskussioner under våren 2015. Texten har analyserats enligt kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Analysen har resulterat i tre kategorier, med det övergripande temat Osäkerhet kring innebörden av begreppet normal förlossning. Kategorierna visar olika aspekter som bidrar till barnmorskors osäkerhet, dessa är; Olika synsätt på normal förlossning, Det som är vanligt blir normalt samt Barnmorskor känner sig styrda. Resultatet visar att barnmorskor har olika uppfattning av vad en normal förlossning innebär. De upplever också att läkare har ett annat synsätt på normal förlossning. Medicinska interventioner som är vanligt förekommande har normaliserats och uppfattas ingå i normal förlossning. Även förlossningsavdelningarnas organisation och riktlinjer påverkar synen och handläggningen av normal förlossning. I barnmorskans huvuduppgifter ingår det att främja normal förlossning och att stödja och stärka kvinnor i barnafödandet. Det är av stor vikt att barnmorskan har kunskap om den normala förlossningen så att rätt stöd och beslut om adekvata åtgärder vidtas för att främja den. / Normal childbirth is the midwife´s responsibility. Previous studies shows that the normal childbirth becomes more and more medicalised. Midwives have a hard time promoting normal birth, since there are no distinct boundaries. The aim for this study is to examine the midwives perceptions of the normal childbirth. The study was conducted with a qualitative inductive approach. A total of ten midwives participated in three focus groups discussions during spring 2015. The interviews were analyzed according to a qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in three categories, with a connecting theme Uncertainty about the concept of normal childbirth. The categories show different aspects that contribute to the midwives uncertainty, they are; Different approach to normal childbirth, What’s commonly used becomes normal and Midwives feels controlled. The result shows the midwives have different perceptions of what a normal birth entails. They also feel that doctors have a different approach to normal childbirth. Medical interventions that were commonly used become normalized and are now a part of normal childbirth. The organization and guidelines set by the ward also affected the perspective and management of normal birth. The midwife has a responsibility to promote normal childbirth but also to support and empower women during the delivery. It is therefore important that the midwife has knowledge of the normal childbirth so she can give the right support and make appropriate decisions to promote it.

Dans le contexte actuel du vieillissement de la population, il importe de s’intéresser aux changements qui surviennent avec l’avancement en âge. Le vieillissement s’accompagne de modifications pour différentes fonctions cognitives, dont la mémoire de travail (MdeT), un système permettant le maintien temporaire et la manipulation d’une petite quantité d’informations. Les travaux de cette thèse portent sur le vieillissement normal de la MdeT et des fonctions de contrôle attentionnel (FCA) qui la sous-tendent (l’alternance, l’inhibition et la mise à jour). D’abord, la première étude (Chapitre II) visait à préciser l’effet du vieillissement normal sur la MdeT et sur chacune des FCA qui la sous-tendent. Elle avait également pour but d’identifier les FCA qui contribuent à la réalisation de différentes tâches de MdeT, et si cette contribution diffère selon le groupe d’âge. Des tâches mesurant chacune des FCA ainsi que des tâches de MdeT ont été administrées à des personnes âgées et à des jeunes adultes. Les analyses contrôlant pour le ralentissement cognitif ont révélé que les habiletés d’alternance et de mise à jour sont préservées chez les personnes âgées, mais que l’inhibition est atteinte comparativement aux jeunes adultes. Les analyses ont également montré que l’impact du vieillissement sur la MdeT dépend de la tâche utilisée. Enfin, les résultats ont indiqué que la contribution des FCA à la MdeT dépend à la fois de la tâche de MdeT et du groupe d’âge. En particulier, la mise à jour contribue davantage à la MdeT des personnes âgées qu’à celle des jeunes, ce qui pourrait refléter une tentative de compensation. La seconde étude (Chapitre III) avait pour objectif de caractériser la variabilité interindividuelle au niveau des FCA, pour les personnes âgées et pour les jeunes adultes. Des analyses hiérarchiques en grappes réalisées sur les habiletés d’alternance, d’inhibition et de mise à jour, ont permis de déterminer si différents profils de contrôle attentionnel étaient présents. L’étude cherchait également à déterminer si les individus appartenant à des profils de contrôle attentionnel distincts diffèrent quant à certaines variables intellectuelles ou de santé. Les analyses ont mis en évidence trois profils de contrôle attentionnel distincts parmi les personnes âgées, l’inhibition étant une FCA critique pour distinguer entre les trois sous-groupes. Trois profils de contrôle attentionnel ont également été identifiés chez les jeunes adultes, et ces profils étaient caractérisés par moins de variabilité intra-individuelle que ceux des âgés. Les analyses ont par ailleurs montré que les profils de contrôle attentionnel se distinguent sur certaines variables intellectuelles et de santé. Les implications théoriques et cliniques de ces résultats seront discutées en fin de thèse (Chapitre IV). / As the population is aging, it is increasingly important to study the changes that occur with advancing age. Normal aging is characterized by changes in various cognitive functions, such as working memory (WM), a limited capacity system that temporarily holds and manipulates a small quantity of information. The work presented in this thesis focused on the normal aging of WM and of the attentional control functions (ACFs) that underlie this system (shifting, inhibition, and updating). The first study (Chapter II) aimed at exploring the impact of normal aging on WM and on each of the ACFs. We also sought to determine which ACFs contribute to performance on different WM tests, and whether age group has an impact on those contributions. Tasks measuring each ACF as well as WM tasks were administered to healthy older adults and to younger adults. The analyses controlling for cognitive slowing revealed that older adults’ shifting and updating abilities are preserved, but that their inhibition abilities are impaired compared to younger adults. Moreover, the impact of normal aging on WM is task-dependent. The results also indicated that the relative contribution of the ACFs to WM depends on both the WM task used and the age group. In particular, older adults relied more than younger adults on updating to perform WM tasks, which might reflect a compensation attempt. The second study (Chapter III) aimed at characterizing interindividual variability in the ACFs of both older and younger adults. Cluster analyses were performed on the shifting, inhibition, and updating abilities, in order to determine whether different attentional control profiles were present. This study also explored whether the individuals that belonged to distinct attentional control profiles differed as to intellectual and health variables. The analyses revealed three attentional control profiles among older adults, and inhibition was the ACF for which the three profiles differed the most. Three attentional control profiles were also identified among younger adults, and their profiles were characterized by less intra-individual variability than those of older adults. The results also showed that individuals belonging to different attentional control profiles differed on some intellectual and health variables. The theoretical and clinical implications of those findings are discussed in Chapter IV.

La voix est tout sauf un stimulus auditif ordinaire. Pour cause, elle prend son importance de manière très précoce chez l’Homme lorsque, dans l’environnement amniotique, le fœtus entend pour la toute première fois la voix de sa mère. C’est en quelque sorte par l’intermédiaire de cette voix que les premiers contacts avec le monde extérieur, mais également avec l’Autre, s’effectuent. Le statut particulier de la voix humaine perdure au fil du développement, devenant plus tard le principal médium véhiculant le langage oral, si significatif pour l’Homme. En parallèle, et de manière tout aussi adaptative, elle permet la transmission d’informations non langagières renseignant sur l’identité, l’état émotionnel mais également le statut social de chaque individu. C’est ainsi que simplement en entendant la voix d’une personne inconnue, il est généralement possible d’en extrapoler son âge, son genre, mais également d’avoir une idée assez précise de l’état émotionnel dans lequel elle se trouve. Les capacités permettant d’extraire de la voix les divers éléments informationnels qu’elle contient ne seraient toutefois pas stables au fil du temps. Ainsi, le vieillissement normal semble associé à des difficultés de traitement des informations vocales de nature langagière, mais également non langagière. De nombreuses études se sont intéressées au déclin des capacités de traitement du discours avec l’âge. Beaucoup moins de travaux ont cependant considéré les conséquences du vieillissement sur le domaine paralinguistique et, lorsque des travaux s’y sont attardés, c’est essentiellement la sphère affective qui a été investiguée. En raison de ce peu d’études, mais également de leur focus portant spécifiquement sur la sphère émotionnelle, il est extrêmement ardu de généraliser les résultats obtenus au traitement vocal général. La présente thèse s’est donc intéressée aux capacités de traitement de la voix dans le vieillissement normal. La première étude de cette thèse (Article 1) avait pour objectif d’évaluer l’impact du vieillissement normal sur les capacités comportementales de traitement paralinguistique vocal non émotionnel. Pour ce faire, une batterie informatisée composée de quatre tâches a été élaborée : la batterie d’évaluation de la perception vocale (Batterie EPV; tâches de catégorisation de genre, de discrimination de sources sonores, adaptative de discrimination et de mémorisation). Cette batterie permettait de comparer les performances d’adultes jeunes et âgés lors du traitement de stimuli vocaux et non vocaux, mais également lors du traitement de divers stimuli vocaux. Cette première étude met en évidence, pour trois des quatre tâches comportementales, des performances inférieures chez les adultes âgés et ce, malgré le contrôle statistique des contributions du déclin auditif et cognitif. Pour les aînés, le traitement de stimuli vocaux, en comparaison au traitement de stimuli non vocaux, n’était toutefois pas systématiquement inférieur à celui des jeunes adultes. Sans que les performances ne puissent être prédites par la mesure cognitive utilisée comme covariable (performances au MoCA), il appert que les demandes cognitives inhérentes aux tâches participent à ces différences intergroupes. Le second article de ce travail visait quant à lui à explorer à l’aide de l’imagerie par résonnance magnétique fonctionnelle (IRMf), l’influence du vieillissement normal sur les réseaux neuronaux sous-tendant le traitement de l’information vocale, une telle investigation n’ayant jamais été effectuée auparavant. Pour ce faire, une tâche d’écoute passive (permettant le contraste de blocs de sons vocaux et non vocaux) ainsi qu’une tâche adaptative de discrimination ont été utilisées. La tâche adaptative, basée sur une type de protocole psycoacoustique « up-down », assurait l’obtention de niveau de performance équivalent entre les deux groupes, une condition nécessaire pour la comparaison de groupe au niveau neurofonctionnel. La comparaison des adultes jeunes et âgés n’a mis en évidence aucune disparité quant au recrutement des aires répondant préférentiellement à la voix : les aires vocales temporales (AVT). Ce résultat suggère que l’âge n’affecte pas la mobilisation des aires spécialisées dans le traitement de la voix. Néanmoins, à l’extérieur des AVT et chez les aînés, le sous recrutement d’une portion du cortex auditif a été observé, en parallèle au recrutement additionnel de régions pariétale, temporale et frontale (Article 2 – Étude 1). Lors de la réalisation d’une tâche adaptative de discrimination, contrairement à ce qui était attendu, les seuils de discrimination des deux groupes d’âges étaient comparables. Pour effectuer la tâche, les participants âgés ont cependant recruté un réseau neuronal plus étendu que celui des jeunes adultes, et pour les aînés, l’activation additionnelle de régions frontale et temporale sous-tendaient la réalisation de la tâche (Article 2 - Étude 2). Les données comportementales présentées dans cette thèse suggèrent que l’effet délétère que semble avoir le vieillissement normal sur les capacités de traitement paralinguistique vocal affectif est également retrouvé lors du traitement d’informations vocales émotionnellement neutres. En parallèle, la mise en place de phénomènes de plasticité cérébrale est objectivée. Ces derniers ne toucheraient cependant pas les réseaux spécialisés dans le traitement de la voix, qui seraient recrutés de manière comparable par les adultes jeunes et âgés. Néanmoins, la tâche d’écoute passive a mis en évidence la présence, chez les aînés, du recrutement sous-optimal d’une portion du cortex auditif (gyrus temporal transverse). En parallèle, et ce pour les deux tâches, des réseaux neuronaux surnuméraires étaient sollicitées par les adultes âgés, permettant potentiellement d’assurer, chez les ainés, le maintien de performances adéquates. / Amongst all the sounds present in our environment, the human voice is probably the most significant one. Indeed, it takes its importance very early on, when, in the amniotic environment, the foetus hears the voice of its mother. Through this voice, the first contacts with the World but also with others are made. This special status of voice remains during the development, since it later becomes the medium via which speech is carried. Indeed, not only does voice convey oral language, but it also passes on a wide array of paralinguistic information characterising each individual. In fact, simply by hearing a voice, we are generally able to determine the age, identity, social status but also the mood in which the speaker is at the moment. However, during normal aging, the processing of the information contained in voice, may it be linguistic or not, appears to become more difficult. In the paralinguistic domain, the deleterious effects of normal aging were mainly explored via affective prosody. It is thus quite difficult to generalize those results to the processing of vocal information in general. In addition, cerebral reorganization accompanying normal aging was characterized for speech perception, but the effects of age on the cerebral processing of paralinguistic vocal information still remain unclear. The main purpose of this work was to palliate to this shortcoming. The first study presented in this thesis (Article 1) evaluated the impact of normal aging on the behavioral processing of non affective paralinguistic vocal information by comparing the performances of young and older adults. To do so, a computerized battery was created: the Voice Perception Assessment battery, which comprised four behavioral tasks (VPA battery; gender categorization task, auditory source discrimination task, adaptive discrimination task and memory task). The tasks created allowed the comparison of vocal and non vocal processing, as well as the comparison of the processing of different types of vocal stimuli. Our results indicate that, while controlling for cognitive and auditory decline, older adults were less efficient than younger participants for three of the four VPA tasks. However, a systematic age-related decline for vocal processing was not observed. The task performances could not be predicted by the cognitive measure selected as a control variable (MoCA scores). However, the disparities in task demands seem to explain a portion of the paralinguistic vocal processing age-related decline observed. The main purpose of the second article was to empirically assess, using functional magnetic resonance imagery (fMRI), the impact of normal aging on the neural networks underlying the processing of human voice, as it has never been done yet. To do so, a passive listening task (contrasting vocal and non vocal blocks of sounds) and an adaptive discrimination task were used. The adaptive task, based on a transformed up-down protocol, allowed us to insure equivalent performance levels in both age-groups, a necessary condition to neurofunctional group comparison. Our results indicate that young and older adults recruited similarly the cortical areas preferentially responding to voice, the Temporal Voice Areas (TVA). In parallel, outside the TVA, an age-related under recruitment of a portion of the auditory cortex was observed, as well as an over recruitment of parietal, temporal and frontal regions (Article 2 – Study 1). For the adaptive discrimination task, contrary to what was expected, the discrimination thresholds of both age-groups were similar. Nevertheless, to be able to perform the task, older adults needed to engage cortical regions in the temporal and frontal lobes that younger adults did not recruit (Article 2 – Study 2). The behavioral data presented in this work suggest that normal aging can be associated with a decline of the capacity to process non affective paralinguistic vocal information. The observed age-related differences appear to be more salient when the cognitive demands of the task are high. In parallel, mechanisms of cerebral plasticity appear to take place as well. Those phenomena however do not seem to affect the way the cortical areas specialized in the processing of human voice are recruited, which remains the same between young and older adults. However, the passive listening task elicited an age-related under-recruitment for a portion of the auditory cortex (left transverse temporal gyrus). Both for the passive listening task and the adaptive discrimination task, an over-recruitment of additional networks were observed for older adults. This extended network could contribute to the preservation of adequate performance in older adults.

Stein's method is a powerful technique that can be used to obtain bounds for approximation errors in a weak convergence setting. The method has been used to obtain approximation results for a number of distributions, such as the normal, Poisson and Gamma distributions. A major strength of the method is that it is often relatively straightforward to apply it to problems involving dependent random variables. In this thesis, we consider the adaptation of Stein's method to the class of Variance-Gamma distributions. We obtain a Stein equation for the Variance-Gamma distributions. Uniform bounds for the solution of the Symmetric Variance-Gamma Stein equation and its first four derivatives are given in terms of the supremum norms of derivatives of the test function. New formulas and inequalities for modified Bessel functions are obtained, which allow us to obtain these bounds. We then use local approach couplings to obtain bounds on the error in approximating two asymptotically Variance-Gamma distributed statistics by their limiting distribution. In both cases, we obtain a convergence rate of order n^-1 for suitably smooth test functions. The product of two normal random variables has a Variance-Gamma distribution and this leads us to consider the development of Stein's method to the product of r independent mean-zero normal random variables. An elegant Stein equation is obtained, which motivates a generalisation of the zero bias transformation. This new transformation has a number of interesting properties, which we exploit to prove some limit theorems for statistics that are asymptotically distributed as the product of two central normal distributions. The Variance-Gamma and Product Normal distributions arise as functions of the multivariate normal distribution. We end this thesis by demonstrating how the multivariate normal Stein equation can be used to prove limit theorems for statistics that are asymptotically distributed as a function of the multivariate normal distribution. We establish some sufficient conditions for convergence rates to be of order n^-1 for smooth test functions, and thus faster than the O(n^-1/2) rate that would arise from the Berry-Esseen Theorem. We apply the multivariate normal Stein equation approach to prove Variance-Gamma and Product Normal limit theorems, and we also consider an application to Friedman's X² statistic.