Social Disorganization Theory (SDT) stated that in poor and unstable neighbourhoods, residents may have difficulty developing and maintaining social order, due to the weaknesses of their social networks and the infrequent exercise of informal control. As a consequence, in those areas criminal victimization tends to be high and persists over time. Latin American poor neighbourhoods are often characterised by high residential stability, dense informal networks, strong social cohesion, and yet they often have high levels of violent crime, which constitutes a challenge for SDT. Studies from new ecological approaches have asserted that even if informal networks are weak, neighbours can engage in actions to prevent crimes when the form of intervention is appropriately targeted and the activity is conducted in a partnership with agencies of public control, such as the police or local authorities. Thereby, the general distrust in police and local authorities, and the weak nexus between those institutions and local communities, which characterize most poor areas of Latin-American cities, represent relevant obstacles for the encouragement of neighbours' involvement in crime prevention initiatives. Despite the low rates of violent crimes in Chile, global figures tend to hide how complex the crime phenomenon is in the country, and particularly in Santiago city. In the capital and largest city of Chile, the distribution of High-Social-Impact crimes is highly unequal with a greater concentration of violent crimes in the most marginalized and poorest districts of the city. In this context is worth asking, to what extent do neighbourhood structural conditions, community-organizational mechanisms and new forms of public control influence the experiences of violent and property victimization in households of Santiago neighbourhoods? And, to what extent do such mechanisms mediate the relationship between structural conditions and the likelihood of being victim of a crime in Santiago neighbourhoods? To address these questions, the present study draws on an integral theoretical framework aimed at providing a holistic multilevel approach to explaining victimization risk across Santiago neighbourhoods. Data for this study are drawn from a community-survey of 5,860 persons (from 15 to 90 years old) who lived in 242 selected neighbourhoods of the Santiago city. The survey was conducted in 2010 by the Centre for Studies on Citizen Security (CESC), based at the University of Chile, in the context of their research project 'Crime and Urban Violence'. The hierarchical structure of the data (incorporating both individual and neighbourhood level measures) and the adaptation of internationally validated measurements, presents an excellent opportunity to evaluate complex hypothesis with advanced statistical tools. The research has shown that in neighbourhoods with a high concentration of poverty and low residential stability the probability of being a victim of violent crime is greater than in rich areas. However, when people manifest positive sentiments toward their neighbourhood, perceive collaboration and social cohesion among neighbours, and have positive perceptions with respect to police responses, this largely mediates the negative effects of structural conditions on household victimization by violent crimes, thereby eliminating these effects. These findings have important policy implications. They suggest that in disadvantaged communities it is imperative that police and local authorities not only try to reduce crime through traditional approaches, but also improve trust and engagement of the public aiming to build sustainable partnerships.

No contexto de avanço da globalização, o Investimento Estrangeiro Direto (IED) mostra-se como um dos principais veículos para a inserção internacional dos países. Como os objetivos das empresas transnacionais e dos Estados hospedeiros não são os mesmos, há a necessidade de adoção de políticas que levem à convergência. No plano legal, observou-se nas últimas décadas a consolidação do regime internacional dos investimentos, com o crescimento exponencial do número de tratados de investimento e de arbitragens investidor-Estado fundadas nos mesmos. Mas há insatisfações de parte a parte com o sistema. Por um lado, os países tentam limitar o ativismo dos árbitros mediante a revisão de seus tratados. Por outro, tanto os investidores como os Estados começam a perceber que não há vencedores reais na arbitragem, dadas as suas diversas deficiências. Nomeadamente: custos elevados, longa duração, incoerência nas decisões e desgaste para as relações investidor-Estado no longo prazo. Nesse diapasão, surgem propostas de alternativas. Pensadores do sistema, valendo-se do Planejamento de Sistemas de Disputas, têm desenvolvido Políticas de Prevenção de Controvérsias. Tais políticas fundamentam-se nas dinâmicas de busca de soluções baseadas em interesses contrapostas às baseadas na força e nos direitos seguindo processos de administração precoce de conflitos. Diversos países, em diferentes níveis de desenvolvimento, têm tido êxito na implementação dessas políticas. A difusão das melhores práticas, movimento apoiado por organizações internacionais, oferece oportunidades para a melhora da governança, através da promoção de maior coerência e coordenação nas ações do Estado, da transparência e do império da lei. O tema é de interesse para o Brasil, país que, diferentemente dos demais, nunca ratificou um único tratado de investimento. Isso porque já surgem vozes na indústria clamando por uma mudança de posição, diante da emergência do país também como um exportador de capital. Caso tal inflexão se confirme, o Brasil tem a oportunidade de tomar partido das melhores experiências internacionais, usando tais tratados como instrumentos na sua estratégia de desenvolvimento. / Against the background of globalization, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is perceived as one of the key vehicles in the pursuit of countries for global insertion. Since the purposes of transnational corporations and host States do not coincide, there is a need to implement policies leading to convergence. In the legal dimension, the last two decades have witnessed the consolidation of the international investment regime, with an exponential growth in the number of investment treaties and investor-State arbitration proceedings based on them. However, both sides are experiencing discontent with the current system. On the one hand, countries attempt to limit arbitrators activism, undertaking a review of treaties they are parties to. On the other, both investors and States have come to realize that there are no true winners in arbitration, in light of its several shortcomings. Namely: high costs, long duration, discrepant decisions and damages to the long term relationship between investors and States. In line with these concerns, several proposals for alternatives have come to light. System thinkers, based on concepts of Dispute Systems Design, have been developing Dispute Prevention Policies. Such policies are rooted in seeking interest-based solutions as opposed to power and rights-based ones following processes of early conflict management. Several countries, with varying levels of development, have succeeded in implementing such policies. Spreading best practices, an initiative supported by international organizations, allows for improvements in domestic governance, through the promotion of greater coherence and coordination in State actions, transparency and the rule of law. This matter is of interest to Brazil, a country that, unlike others, has never ratified a single investment treaty. There are now growing demands from Brazilian corporations for a shift in position, in view of the countrys emergence as a source of outward FDI. Should such a shift take place, Brazil has in its hands the opportunity to learn from international best practices and use such treaties as instruments in its development strategy.

No contexto de avanço da globalização, o Investimento Estrangeiro Direto (IED) mostra-se como um dos principais veículos para a inserção internacional dos países. Como os objetivos das empresas transnacionais e dos Estados hospedeiros não são os mesmos, há a necessidade de adoção de políticas que levem à convergência. No plano legal, observou-se nas últimas décadas a consolidação do regime internacional dos investimentos, com o crescimento exponencial do número de tratados de investimento e de arbitragens investidor-Estado fundadas nos mesmos. Mas há insatisfações de parte a parte com o sistema. Por um lado, os países tentam limitar o ativismo dos árbitros mediante a revisão de seus tratados. Por outro, tanto os investidores como os Estados começam a perceber que não há vencedores reais na arbitragem, dadas as suas diversas deficiências. Nomeadamente: custos elevados, longa duração, incoerência nas decisões e desgaste para as relações investidor-Estado no longo prazo. Nesse diapasão, surgem propostas de alternativas. Pensadores do sistema, valendo-se do Planejamento de Sistemas de Disputas, têm desenvolvido Políticas de Prevenção de Controvérsias. Tais políticas fundamentam-se nas dinâmicas de busca de soluções baseadas em interesses contrapostas às baseadas na força e nos direitos seguindo processos de administração precoce de conflitos. Diversos países, em diferentes níveis de desenvolvimento, têm tido êxito na implementação dessas políticas. A difusão das melhores práticas, movimento apoiado por organizações internacionais, oferece oportunidades para a melhora da governança, através da promoção de maior coerência e coordenação nas ações do Estado, da transparência e do império da lei. O tema é de interesse para o Brasil, país que, diferentemente dos demais, nunca ratificou um único tratado de investimento. Isso porque já surgem vozes na indústria clamando por uma mudança de posição, diante da emergência do país também como um exportador de capital. Caso tal inflexão se confirme, o Brasil tem a oportunidade de tomar partido das melhores experiências internacionais, usando tais tratados como instrumentos na sua estratégia de desenvolvimento. / Against the background of globalization, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is perceived as one of the key vehicles in the pursuit of countries for global insertion. Since the purposes of transnational corporations and host States do not coincide, there is a need to implement policies leading to convergence. In the legal dimension, the last two decades have witnessed the consolidation of the international investment regime, with an exponential growth in the number of investment treaties and investor-State arbitration proceedings based on them. However, both sides are experiencing discontent with the current system. On the one hand, countries attempt to limit arbitrators activism, undertaking a review of treaties they are parties to. On the other, both investors and States have come to realize that there are no true winners in arbitration, in light of its several shortcomings. Namely: high costs, long duration, discrepant decisions and damages to the long term relationship between investors and States. In line with these concerns, several proposals for alternatives have come to light. System thinkers, based on concepts of Dispute Systems Design, have been developing Dispute Prevention Policies. Such policies are rooted in seeking interest-based solutions as opposed to power and rights-based ones following processes of early conflict management. Several countries, with varying levels of development, have succeeded in implementing such policies. Spreading best practices, an initiative supported by international organizations, allows for improvements in domestic governance, through the promotion of greater coherence and coordination in State actions, transparency and the rule of law. This matter is of interest to Brazil, a country that, unlike others, has never ratified a single investment treaty. There are now growing demands from Brazilian corporations for a shift in position, in view of the countrys emergence as a source of outward FDI. Should such a shift take place, Brazil has in its hands the opportunity to learn from international best practices and use such treaties as instruments in its development strategy.

No description available.

La présente thèse porte sur la mise en place d'un cadre théorique (conceptualisation et formalisation), visant à décrire la propagation de l'obésité au sein d'un réseau d'individus, pour parvenir à mettre en place les bonnes politiques de prévention, afin de limiter la diffusion de cette épidémie, dont la contamination est à caractère social. Pour ce faire, j’ai commencé d'abord à mettre en place une analyse approfondie des différents déterminants de l'obésité. Une fois cette étape achevée, j’ai développé un modèle de réseau, dans lequel les relations entre les individus (représentés par les nœuds du réseau) sont régies par des règles permettant d'évaluer la présence/absence de liens selon certaines valeurs d'influence, fonction de la tranche d'âge des nœuds en question et de leur caractère homophilique. Ce modèle, fondé sur la structuration en âges et la démographie, comporte deux processus; le premier permet de décrire l'obésité au niveau individuel, sous forme de compartiments épidémiologiques. Le deuxième, quant à lui, représente le niveau inter-individuel, sous forme de réseau individu-centré. Par la suite, une fois analysé le comportement asymptotique du modèle, j'ai étudié la structure sociale obtenue, pour y repérer les individus les plus influents. Ces derniers seront ceux à cibler dans la politique de prévention. Enfin, pour valider le modèle par des données de terrain, j'ai réalisé une enquête au sein d'un collège tunisien, et j'ai comparé les résultats obtenus par cette dernière avec ceux d'une enquête réalisée dans un collège français. / This thesis deals with the establishment of a theoretical framework (conceptualization and formalization) capable of describing the obesity spread within a network of individuals, in order to achieve the right prevention policies and limit the epidemic spread. To do this, I started by initiating an in-depth analysis of the different obesity determinants. Once this stage completed, I developed a network model in which the relations between the individuals, (represented by the nodes of the network) are governed by rules allowing to evaluate the presence/absence of links according to their values of influence, age of the concerned nodes and their homophilic characteristics. This model, based on the age structure and demography, is constituted by two processes: the first one describes obesity at the individual level, by using epidemiological compartments. The second one describes the inter-individual level by using an individual-based network. Later, when the model reached its asymptotic behavior, I studied the social structure obtained to locate the most important individuals to be targeted in the prevention policy. Eventually, to validate the model with data, I realized an investigation in a Tunisian college and compared the obtained results from this study with those obtained from a French college survey.