L’« intérêt de l’enfant » est un concept fondamental en droit de la famille puisqu’il constitue le critère déterminant dans toute décision qui concerne l’enfant. Le Code civil du Québec énonce, au second alinéa de l’article 33, les facteurs qui doivent servir à le déterminer, soit « les besoins moraux, intellectuels, affectifs et physiques de l’enfant, son âge, sa santé, son caractère, son milieu familial et les autres aspects de sa situation ». Les auteurs qui s’y sont intéressés l’ont abordé sous différents angles. Certains se sont intéressés à ses origines et à son évolution. D’autres en ont proposé leur propre définition. En ce qui nous concerne, nous avons choisi d’explorer ledit concept en nous intéressant aux diverses interprétations qu’il reçoit de la part des tribunaux dans les décisions relatives à la garde des enfants dans un contexte post-rupture, et ce, à la lumière du genre et de l’âge du décideur. Le concept d’intérêt de l’enfant étant hautement indéterminé, son interprétation est laissée à l’appréciation du juge qui en précisera le contenu en référence à la loi et aux faits particuliers de chaque cas d’espèce. Or, dans les situations où, une fois considéré le contexte factuel et normatif, le juge se retrouve face à une situation « neutre », c’est-à-dire où la garde exclusive et la garde partagée sont tout aussi envisageables, peut-on prétendre que son l’inclinaison vers l’une ou l’autre de ces modalités de garde est influencée par des facteurs autres que le droit et les faits mis en preuve ? Telle est la question au cœur de notre étude. Reposant sur des théories reconnues et bien établies affirmant l’importance de tenir compte du contexte social et de l’expérience individuelle du décideur dans la démarche interprétative que le droit sous-tend, l’hypothèse que nous soumettons est qu’au-delà des faits mis en preuve et du droit, des éléments indissociables au processus d’interprétation, à savoir les valeurs, les idéologies et les traits caractéristiques dominants que sous-tendent le genre et la génération du décideur, influent sur la teneur des jugements qu’il prononce. Sans admettre que ces éléments suffisent, à eux seuls, pour expliquer le produit judiciaire, nous sommes d’avis qu’on ne peut qualifier d’improbable l’incidence qu’ils exercent sur celui-ci. Nous intéressant au processus cognitif qui préside à la réflexion des décideurs, notre thèse vise à cerner, à travers une analyse interdisciplinaire, les facteurs humains et les forces sociales qui structurent les expériences et qui sont susceptibles d’avoir un impact sur les décisions judiciaires. L’objectif de notre étude n’est pas d’établir un lien de causalité entre le genre et l’âge du juge et les décisions qu’il rend, mais plutôt de vérifier si des corrélations peuvent être établies entre ces paramètres. Désirant aller au-delà des perceptions traditionnelles véhiculées par la doctrine classique, nos travaux se veulent davantage une contribution au développement d’une conception non formaliste du droit plutôt qu’une démonstration que le profil identitaire des décideurs conditionne systématiquement et invariablement leurs décisions. Une étude de ce genre comporte certes des difficultés en ce qu’elle confronte le juriste à des concepts et des théories qui appartiennent à d’autres champs disciplinaires et qui, partant, ne lui sont pas familiers. La compréhension plus fine du processus interprétatif et des décisions qui en résultent en justifie cependant le bien-fondé. / The “best interest of the child” is a fundamental concept of family law as it is the decisive criterion in each decision concerning a child. The Civil Code of Québec enumerates, in art. 33 para. 2, the criteria that must be taken into consideration, which are “the moral, intellectual, emotional and physical needs of the child, [his] age, health, personality and family environment, and [the] other aspects of his situation”. Scholars have approached this concept from different angles. While some of them have expressed interest in its origin and evolution, others have articulated their own definition. In this thesis, I chose to explore the concept of the “best interest of the child” by examining the manner in which courts have interpreted this principle in cases related to child custody, and to what extent it is affected by the gender and the age of the decision-maker. Indeed, whenever a child is part of a conflict, regardless of whether it concerns custody or any other matter, his best interest constitutes the central element. Yet the concept of the child's best interest is highly indeterminate: its interpretation is left to the discretion of the judge, who will specify its content according to the law and facts of each case. But once the judge has considered the factual and normative contexts, he can sometimes face a « neutral » situation, for which he could consider sole and shared custody as options. Would it therefore be accurate to assume that the judge’s inclination toward one or the other option of custody is governed by elements other than the law and facts of the case? This is the main question of this study. Based on recognized and well established theories asserting the importance of considering the social context and individual experience of the decision maker in the interpretative process, the proposed hypothesis is that beyond the facts and the law, there are other elements that have a crucial influence on the process of interpretation (and on the content of the decision that a judge renders), most notably the identity profile of the judge (i.e., gender and age, including their underlying values and ideologies). Indeed, and although the values, ideologies, and dominant social characteristics are not sufficient in themselves to explain the judicial outcomes, I nevertheless consider that the impact that the former has on the latter cannot be denied. By examining the cognitive process that governs the reasoning of the decision maker, this thesis aims to identify, through interdisciplinary analysis, human factors and social forces that shape individual experiences and are likely to have an impact on judicial decisions. The objective of this research is not to establish a causal link between the profile of the judge and his/her decisions, but rather to determine whether a correlation can be established between these parameters. Wishing to go beyond traditional perceptions conveyed by the traditional doctrine, this thesis is a contribution to the development of a non-formalist conception of law, as a way of demonstrating the idea that the profile of the judge systematically and consistently frames his decisions. A study of this kind certainly faces difficulties, in that it confronts the lawyer with concepts and theories that belong to other disciplines, and which therefore may not be familiar. However, the deep understanding of the interpretive process and resulting decisions justify the importance of this kind of research.

The aim of the diploma thesis Media Representation of Adultery and Its Participants From the 1970s is to analyze and describe the image of partner infidelity in selected Czech and Czechoslovak television series through the time and sociocultural context. The analyzed material and topic requires first an outline of the basic media theories, with focus on the theory of media construction of reality. Then follows the theoretical concept of partnership and adultery, at first seen through the optics of social context and then through the partnership itself, which helps us to understand the imaging analysis, models and stereotypes in the stories. The third theoretical chapter brings a brief description of the history of the Czechoslovak and Czech series, with an emphasis on the period since the 1970s accompanied by the theory of construction of reality in television series. We analyze three series - Nemocnice na kraji města, Život na zámku and Ordinace v růžové zahradě; our analysis is based on qualitative methods, specifically the naratological and discourse analysis, which helps us in the end to answer the defined research questions, to record the occurrence of certain models or stereotypes in the image of unfaithful characters, plots and other interesting phenomena within the social context of the series.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a importância social das formas estéticas abordadas pelos romances modernos de autoria dos artistas que formaram o grupo Orpheu, responsável pelo primeiro modernismo em Portugal. O corpus de análise é formado pelas obras A engomadeira, publicada em 1917, por José de Almada Negreiros; A confissão de Lúcio, publicada em 1914, por Mário de Sá-Carneiro; e Livro do desassossego, publicação póstuma com autoria de Fernando Pessoa. Para isso, são adotadas diversas teorias que vinculam o romance à sociedade, com uma atenção maior para Ascensão do romance, de Ian Watt. De acordo com ele, os elementos que caracterizaram o romance tradicional nos séculos XVIII e XIX são signos materiais que respondem ao processo de consolidação da classe burguesa. Dessa maneira, os textos analisados procuram a ruptura dos elementos apontados por Watt, o que revela uma atitude política de subversão dos signos burgueses no momento em que eles passam a estar em declínio no contexto europeu, com exceção de Portugal. Configura-se, portanto, como uma intervenção política a atitude desses três artistas. / This paper aims to analyze the social importance of aesthetic forms approached in modern novels by artists who formed the Orpheu group, which was responsible for the first modernism movement in Portugal. The corpus of analysis of this work is composed by the literary works The ironing girl (A engomadeira), published in 1917 by José de Almada Negreiros; Lucio’s confession (A confissão de Lúcio), published in 1914 by Mário de Sá-Carneiro; and The book of disquiet (Livro do desassossego), a posthumous publication authored by Fernando Pessoa. For this purpose, several theories that link novel to society are adopted, giving greater attention to The rise of the novel, by Ian Watt. According to this author, the elements that characterized the traditional novel in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries are material signs that respond to the process of consolidation of the bourgeois class. Therefore, the analyzed texts seek to break the elements mentioned by Watt, which reveal an attitude of subversion of bourgeois signs when they start to decline in the European context, with the exception of Portugal. Thus, the novels of these three artists are characterized as a political intervention.

本論文中，我利用雷蒙‧威廉斯的文化唯物論，來分析伊莉莎白‧蓋茲凱爾的第二本「社會問題小說」《北與南》中所呈現出的經濟制度、社會與文化間的關係，並進一步探討蓋茲凱爾對維多利亞時代的社會問題所提出的「解決方案」。 由於《北與南》這本小說的主要焦點在於工業化資本主義規章與生活型態的討論，故一直以來，《北與南》所接受的批評也多屬於社會議題層面，與其相關的解決之道，多數批評家，尤其是馬克斯主義的批評家，多半批評蓋茲凱爾試圖以「資本主義」架構解決當代的經濟與社會問題，但我則認為玆凱爾並非完全認同資本主義文化，而是藉由小說中所呈現出的各種衝突，塑造一種新興文化，=而威廉斯理論中有關「下層結構」與「上層結構」之間，以及殘留、統治、與新興這三種文化間的辦證關係，不僅能讓我門重新衡量經濟、社會與文化間的關係，更提供了閱讀蓋茲凱爾小說的另一種文化觀點。 / In this thesis, I apply Raymond Williams's theory of cultural materialism to analyze the relationships among the economic system, society, and culture presented by Elizabeth Gaskell in her second "social-problem" novel, North and South, and thus to examine Gaskell's "solution" to her contemporary social problems. With its focus on the dominant philosophy of industrial capitalism, North and South has received repeated criticism on several social issues and their related solutions. When most critics, especially the Marxist critics, attack Gaskell's "capitalist" solutions to economic and social problems in her society, I argue that Gaskell actually portrays an emergent culture within various conflicts in her novel. Williams's convepts of dialectical relationship between "the base" and "the super-stucture," and among the residual, the dominant, and the emergent cultures not only help to re-evaluate relations among economy, society, and culture, but also offer a cultural reading of Gaskell's novel.

My essay is concerned with intercultural leadership and practical knowledge. The essay is about ethical dilemmas and the diversity of issues we face constantly at the preschool. In my story I examine the different views of knowledge and the opportunities to lead people in an intercultural way, and how they relate to each other. I start by looking at the ethical ideas that form the basis for our actions and our view of knowledge. Then, I examine how the practical wisdom guides the ethical dilemmas that arise at the preschool. Thus, that leads me to the different forms of knowledge which are made visible in our daily work at the preschool, how they can be understood in the cultural environment in which they arise, and how they can be related to leadership. I show how the thinking ways and traditions we create shape the leadership. My inquiry is related to my colleagues since my professional role as a preschool teacher is made possible only in a social context with them. I find that the relationship between my own understanding of the practical knowledge and intercultural management can be related to my colleagues, as well as to parents and preschool children. The environment at the preschool is based on different ways of thinking and traditions that are transmitted and transformed in different processes. The inter-cultural leadership is questioned in the working group and the desire for authoritarian leadership is brought to question. Our view of knowledge is dependent on the ethical values we choose to make use of. Knowledge and leadership is created in a process that never ends, together with the people who create and recreate it.

INTRODUCTION: Il existe peu d’évidences sur l’association entre le taux de chômage dans le milieu résidentiel (CR) et le risque de maladies cardiovasculaires parmi les résidents de milieux urbains. De plus, on ne sait pas si ce lien diffère entre les deux sexes. Cette thèse a pour objectif de déterminer la direction et la taille de l’association entre le CR et le risque de maladies cardiovasculaires, et d’examiner si cette association varie en fonction du sexe. MÉTHODES: Un sous-échantillon de 342 participants de l’Étude sur les habitudes de vie et la santé dans les quartiers montréalais a rapporté ses habitudes de vie et sa situation socio-économique. Des mesures biologiques et anthropométriques ont été recueillies par une infirmière. Le CR a été opérationnalisé en fonction d’une zone-tampon d’un rayon de 250 m centrée sur la résidence de chacun des participants à l’aide d’un Système d’Information Géographique (SIG). Des équations d’estimation généralisées ont été utilisées afin d’estimer l’association entre le CR et l’Indice de Masse Corporelle (IMC) et un score cumulatif de Risque Cardio-métabolique (RC) représentant la présence de valeurs élevées de cholestérol total, de triglycérides, de lipoprotéines de haute densité et d’hémoglobine glyquée. RÉSULTATS: Après ajustement pour l’âge, le sexe, le tabagisme, les comportements de santé et le statut socio-économique, le fait de vivre dans un endroit classé dans le 3e ou 4e quartile de CR était associé avec un IMC plus élevé (beta pour Q4 = 2.1 kg/m2, IC 95%: 1.02-3.20; beta pour Q3 = 1.5 kg/m2, IC 95%: 0.55-2.47) et un taux plus élevé de risque cardiovasculaires Risque Relatif [RR pour Q4 = 1.82 (IC 95 %: 1.35-2.44); RR pour Q3 = 1.66 (IC 95%: 1.33-2.06)] par rapport au 1er quartile. L'interaction entre le sexe et le CR révèle une différence absolue d’IMC de 1.99 kg/m2 (IC 95%: 0.00-4.01) et un risque supérieur (RR=1.39; IC 95%: 1.06-1.81) chez les femmes par rapport aux hommes. CONCLUSIONS: Le taux de chômage dans le milieux résidentiel est associé à un plus grand risque de maladies cardiovasculaires, mais cette association est plus prononcée chez les femmes. / INTRODUCTION: Little is known about whether area-level unemployment is independently associated with individual-level Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in an urban setting. Furthermore, it is unclear whether this relationship differs by sex. This thesis examined the direction and magnitude of the association between area-level unemployment (ALU) and Body Mass Index (BMI) and a marker for CVD risk, and whether this association differs by sex. METHODS: A sample of 342 individuals from the Montreal Neighbourhood Survey of Lifestyle and Health (MNSLH) self-reported behavioural and socioeconomic information. A registered nurse collected biochemical and anthropometric data. ALU was operationalised within a 250 m radius buffer centered on individual residence using a Geographic Information System (GIS). Generalized Estimating Equations were used to determine if body mass index (BMI), and a cumulative score for total cardiometabolic risk (TCR) representing elevated values for total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glycosylated hemoglobin, were associated with ALU. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, gender, smoking status, behavioural, and socioeconomic covariates, living in an area in the upper ALU quartiles was associated with an elevated BMI [Q4 beta = 2.1 kg/m2 (95% CI: 1.02-3.20)] and greater TCR [Q4 RR = 1.82 (95 % CI: 1.35-2.44); Q3 RR = 1.66 (95% CI: 1.33-2.06)] relative to the 1st quartile. Sex-by-ALU interaction revealed a 1.99 kg/m2 (95% CI: 0.00-4.01) difference in BMI and 1.39-fold (95% CI: 1.06-1.81) greater TCR Score for women compared to men. CONCLUSIONS: Area-level unemployment is associated with greater CVD risk in men and women but associations are stronger among women.

The social environment has been recognised as one of the key aspects in determining the quality of life throughout the human lifespan. Human behaviour, thoughts, feelings and attitudes are socially constructed and can only be understood when viewed from the perspective of social interaction. Older individuals, who live in residential facilities experience a diminished quality of life due to factors such as loss of independence, reduced social networks, functional dependence, and contextual changes. Depression, loneliness and social isolation are an integral part of these individuals’ lives. People develop specific styles of relating, also referred to as interpersonal styles. The systems theory is used to explain the circular processes of the interaction between people. In particular the Self-Interactional Group Theory (SIGT) is proposed as theoretical framework to explore the relational qualities of older people in a residential care facility. SIGT views the interaction between people on three levels, namely the intra-personal level, the interpersonal level and the group level, which operate interdependently in the interaction between people. The interpersonal level of analysis consists of the definition of the relationship, relational qualities, motivation to engage with people to address needs and needs satisfaction as well as the circular processes of which the interaction consists of. The interactions between people always take place in an interpersonal context, embedded in broader environments. A qualitative and exploratory research design was selected to explore the relational qualities in interactions between older individuals living in a residential care facility. This study is based on data collected during a primary research study at a residential care facility for older individuals in 2013. The purpose of study was to explore the quality of life of older individuals residing in a residential care facility in Gauteng, South Africa. The data-gathering process in the primary research study involved the Mmogo-Method, a visual projective data-gathering method, the World Café method and person-centred interviews to gain insight into the participants’ life experiences at the residential care facility. For the purpose of this research, only the person-centred interviews were used for the secondary analysis of the data. Twelve purposely-selected individuals (aged 80 to 95; 3 men and 9 women) from the residential care facility participated voluntarily in the person-centered interviews, which were audio recorded. The collected data were transcribed verbatim and subjected to two different methods of analyses. First, data were analysed thematically by adopting an inductive approach. The themes identified in this first phase were next subjected to a deductive content analysis. The themes were categorised according to the relational variables in accordance with the Interactional Pattern Analysis (IPA), thereby contributing to the trustworthiness of the findings. The findings revealed that the interactions between older individuals take place in a broader environment that advocate the active participation of people. Active participation takes place both in and outside the facility and older people reported that this contributed to their quality of life. The relational qualities that could be described as enhancing interpersonal connectivity and satisfying older people’s needs for confirmation were identified as empathy, unconditional acceptance of others, confirmation and interpersonal flexibility. This research, however, highlighted relational qualities that restrained quality of life of older people, namely confusing self-presentation, ineffective expression on needs and withdrawal due to physical immobility. Needs were expressed in a very unspecific, blaming or manipulative manner, and consequently needs were not satisfied, but provoked, instead, feelings of frustration, pain and guilt. This research highlighted the predicament that older people find themselves in. Their decreased physical abilities and limited emotional repertoire to move towards others and the environment also limit their needs satisfaction. The presenting problem of social isolation can be explained by the combination of limited physical mobility and relational qualities that restrain quality of life for older people. This research study thus holds important implications for relationship-focused approaches in residential facilities for older individuals in order to empower and enable them to enhance their quality of life. Specific recommendations include interventions to assist older people to express their needs more effectively and to use opportunities in interaction to confirm them as autonomous functioning older people. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Chronic headache may be the most frequently reported somatic symptom, yet it puzzles health experts and poses a considerable treatment challenge. It was suggested that this is because conventional views of headache, adhering to a Newtonian-Cartesian epistemology, focus almost exclusively on intrapsychic factors ignoring the wider social context in which the problem is embedded. An overview of the existing body of knowledge on the most widely researched headache conditions was presented, and it was argued that a conceptual shift is required to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. This study was conducted within an holistic, ecosystemic epistemology. A qualitative approach employing a case study method was adopted to provide rich descriptions of the contexts in which two chronic headache sufferers' symptoms were embedded. The case study presentations also illustrated the attempts that were made to intervene into the headache contexts from a second-order cybernetics stance. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans / Bestuursmodelle word vandag oor die algemeen as diagnostiese instrumente in organisasies benut. Die struktuur van hierdie bestuursmodelle word selde ondersoek om te bepaal of dit met die empiriese realiteit verband hou. Hierdie studie het ten doel om so 'n model, die bestuursbevoegdheidmodel wat deur Hall( 1988) ontwikkel was, te evalueer. Hall se model gee antwoorde op vrae oor die algemene bestuursklimaat van die organisasie. Die installing waar die navorsing gedoen was, is 'n Suid-Afrikaanse militere installing. Die Ramona-program is gebruik om te bepaal of daar wei passing is tussen die empiriese realiteit en bestuursprestasie in die betrokke organisasie waar die studie uitgevoer is. Daar is gevind dat daar gebrekkige passing tussen die empiriese realiteit en bestuursprestasie bestaan. Die waarde van die studie le daarin dat die betrokke organisasie in staat gestel word om alternatiewe modelle te oorweeg wat bes moontlik meer effektief sou kon wees. / Management models are used today as diagnostic instruments in organisations. The structure of these management models is seldom investigated for its validity and reliability. The aim of this study is to evaluate the Competence Process model developed by Jay Hall(1988). This model provides answers on the general management climate of the organisation. The research was performed at a South African military institution. The Ramona-programme was utilised in order to determine the match between the empirical reality and management performance in the particular organisation where this study was performed. The finding was that there is insufficient match between the empirical reality and management performance. The value of this study is that the specific organisation can now consider alternative models of management performance that are more effective. / Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a importância social das formas estéticas abordadas pelos romances modernos de autoria dos artistas que formaram o grupo Orpheu, responsável pelo primeiro modernismo em Portugal. O corpus de análise é formado pelas obras A engomadeira, publicada em 1917, por José de Almada Negreiros; A confissão de Lúcio, publicada em 1914, por Mário de Sá-Carneiro; e Livro do desassossego, publicação póstuma com autoria de Fernando Pessoa. Para isso, são adotadas diversas teorias que vinculam o romance à sociedade, com uma atenção maior para Ascensão do romance, de Ian Watt. De acordo com ele, os elementos que caracterizaram o romance tradicional nos séculos XVIII e XIX são signos materiais que respondem ao processo de consolidação da classe burguesa. Dessa maneira, os textos analisados procuram a ruptura dos elementos apontados por Watt, o que revela uma atitude política de subversão dos signos burgueses no momento em que eles passam a estar em declínio no contexto europeu, com exceção de Portugal. Configura-se, portanto, como uma intervenção política a atitude desses três artistas. / This paper aims to analyze the social importance of aesthetic forms approached in modern novels by artists who formed the Orpheu group, which was responsible for the first modernism movement in Portugal. The corpus of analysis of this work is composed by the literary works The ironing girl (A engomadeira), published in 1917 by José de Almada Negreiros; Lucio’s confession (A confissão de Lúcio), published in 1914 by Mário de Sá-Carneiro; and The book of disquiet (Livro do desassossego), a posthumous publication authored by Fernando Pessoa. For this purpose, several theories that link novel to society are adopted, giving greater attention to The rise of the novel, by Ian Watt. According to this author, the elements that characterized the traditional novel in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries are material signs that respond to the process of consolidation of the bourgeois class. Therefore, the analyzed texts seek to break the elements mentioned by Watt, which reveal an attitude of subversion of bourgeois signs when they start to decline in the European context, with the exception of Portugal. Thus, the novels of these three artists are characterized as a political intervention.