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The purpose of this study was to compare nonverbal emotional expressiveness between substance users and nonsubstance users.

Ce mémoire cherche à réfuter la critique dont l’œuvre de Françoise Sagan a été sujette. D’une part, ses écrits autobiographiques : Toxique et Les bleus à l’âme seront analysés afin de prouver que Françoise Sagan étaient un auteur passionné et engagé. D’autre part, les actions de ses héroïnes, pourtant sévèrement jugées, seront observées sous un regard sociocritique. Il va s’avérer que Françoise Sagan, au contraire, met en évidence les limites réservées aux femmes dans la société française d’aprèsguerre. Le but de ces conclusions étant de montrer que François Sagan devrait avoir une place dans le canon de la littérature française. / This essay aims to refute the criticism against the works of Françoise Sagan. To do so, first we make an examination of her autobiographical writings: Toxique and Les bleus à l’âme in order to prove that Sagan was indeed a passionate and engaged writer. Secondly a sociological analysis is made of some of her severely judged female heroes. It will show that it is quite the opposite, as Françoise Sagan exposes the limits of the French post-war society for women. The conclusion of this essay is that Sagan’s works should have a position in the French literary canon.

The rise in America’s drug poisoning rates has been described as a public health crisis and has long been attributed to the rapid rise in opioid supply due to increased volumes of medical prescribing in the United States that began in the mid-1990s and peaked in 2012. In 2016, the introduction of the “deaths of despair” hypothesis provided a more nuanced explanation for the rising rates of drug poisoning deaths: increasing income inequality and stagnation of middle-class worker wages, driven by long-term shifts in the labor market, reduced employment opportunities and overall life prospects for persons with a high school degree or less, driving increases in “deaths of despair” (i.e., deaths from suicide, cirrhosis of the liver, and drug poisonings). This focus on economic and social conditions as capable of shaping geospatial differences in drug demand and attendant drug-related harms (e.g., drug poisonings) provides a larger context to factors potentially underlying the heterogeneous distribution of prescription opioid supply across the United States. However, despite the likelihood that economic and social conditions may be important demand-side factors that also interact with supply-side factors to produce the rates of fatal drug poisonings, little information exists about the effect of area-level socioeconomic conditions on fatal drug poisoning rates, and no study has investigated whether socioeconomic conditions interact with prescription opioid supply to affect area-level rates of fatal drug poisonings. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to test the independent and joint effects of supply- and demand-side factors, operationalized as prescription opioid supply and socioeconomic conditions, on fatal drug poisoning in the U.S. First, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to critically evaluate the evidence on the ecological relationship of prescription opioid supply and socioeconomic conditions on rates of drug poisoning deaths. The systematic review provides robust evidence of the independent effect of each prescription opioid supply and socioeconomic conditions on rates of drug poisoning deaths. The gap in the literature on the joint effects of prescription opioid supply and socioeconomic conditions was clear, with no study examining the interaction between supply- and demand-side factors on rates of fatal drug poisonings. Moreover, although greater prescription opioid supply was associated with higher rates of fatal drug poisonings in most of the studies, two studies presented contradictory findings, with one study showing no effect of supply on drug poisoning deaths and the other showing locations with higher levels of prescription opioid supply were associated with fewer drug-related deaths. Three limitations were also identified in the reviewed studies that could partially explain the observed associations. First, although studies aggregated data on drug poisoning deaths to a range of administrative spatial levels, including census tract, 5-digit ZIP code, county, 3-digit ZIP code, and state, no study investigated the sensitivity of findings to the level of geographic aggregation. Second, spatial modeling requires the assessment of spatial autocorrelation in both the unadjusted and adjusted data, but few studies even assessed spatial autocorrelation in the data, and fewer still incorporated spatial dependencies in the model. This is important because when spatial autocorrelation is present, the independence assumption in standard statistical regression models is violated, potentially causing bias and loss of efficiency. Third, studies operationalized prescription opioid supply and socioeconomic conditions using a variety of different measures, and no study assessed the sensitivity of findings to the different measures of supply and socioeconomic conditions. Second, the ecological relationship between prescription opioid supply and fatal drug poisonings was examined. For this, pooled cross-sectional time series data from 3,109 U.S. counties in 49 states (2006-2016) were used in Bayesian Poisson conditional autoregressive models to estimate the effect of county prescription opioid supply on four types of drug poisoning deaths: any drug (drug-related death), any opioid (opioid-related death), any prescription opioid but not heroin (prescription opioid-related death), and heroin (heroin-related death), adjusting for compositional and contextual differences across counties. Comparisons were made by type of drug poisoning (any drug, any opioid, prescription opioids only, heroin), level of geographic aggregation (county versus state), and measure of prescription opioid supply (rate of opioid-prescribing per 100 persons and morphine milligram equivalents per-capita). Results indicated a positive association between prescription opioid supply and rates of fatal drug poisonings consistent across changes in type of drug poisoning, level of aggregation, and measure of prescription opioid supply. However, removing confounders from the model caused the direction of the effect estimate to reverse for drug poisoning deaths from any drug, any opioid, and heroin. These results suggested that differences in adjustment for confounding could explain most of the inconsistent findings in the literature. Finally, a rigorous test of the hypothesis that worse socioeconomic conditions increase risk of fatal drug poisonings at the county level, and interact with prescription opioid supply was conducted. This analysis used the same pooled cross-sectional time series data from 3,109 U.S. counties in 49 states (2006-2016). The analysis modeled the effect of five key socioeconomic variables, including three single socioeconomic variables (unemployment, poverty rate, income inequality) and two index variables (Rey index, American Human Development Index [HDI]) on four types of drug poisoning deaths: any drug (drug-related death), any opioid (opioid-related death), any prescription opioid but not heroin (prescription opioid-related death), and heroin (heroin-related death). Using a hierarchical Bayesian modeling approach to account for spatial dependence and the variability of fatal drug poisoning rates due to the small number of events, the independent effect of socioeconomic conditions on rates of drug poisoning deaths and their joint multiplicative and additive effect with prescription opioid supply were estimated. Results showed that rates of fatal drug poisonings were higher in more economically and socially disadvantaged counties; the five key indicator variables were differentially associated with drug poisoning rates; and the American Human Development Index (HDI) and income inequality were most strongly associated with fatal drug poisoning rates. Finally, the results indicate that both HDI and income inequality interact with county-level prescription opioid supply to affect drug poisoning rates. Specifically, the effect of higher prescription opioid supply on rates of fatal drug poisonings was greater in counties with higher HDI and more equal income distributions than counties with lower HDI and less equal income distributions. Overall, this dissertation increased knowledge about the separate and conjoint roles of supply- and demand-side factors in the geospatial distribution of fatal drug poisonings in the U.S. The idea that area-level prescription opioid supply are key drivers of prescription drug use, misuse, and addiction and the attendant consequences, including nonfatal and fatal drug poisonings, has been in the literature for well over a decade. However, no study to date has shown that area-level socioeconomic conditions modify the effect of prescription opioid supply on fatal drug poisonings. By identifying important contextual factors capable of modifying the effect of prescription opioid supply reductions on mortality, high-risk geographic areas can be prioritized for interventions to counter any unintended effects of reducing the prescription opioid supply in an area. As federal and state policies continue to target the rising rates of fatal drug poisonings, these findings show that area-level socioeconomic conditions may represent an important target for policy intervention during the current drug poisoning crisis and a critical piece of information necessary for predicting any future drug-related crises.

This study is devoted primarily to a consideration of socio-economic status in relation to achievement in mathematics. However, a review of socio-economic status in relation to intelligence (as revealed in studies in the field) is first made because of the wide use of intelligence tests in an attempt to determine the child’s ability to succeed in school.

This thesis describes the paradigm of complex systems and discusses possibilities of their modeling and simulations. The work shows the suitability of using multi-agent modeling for creating abstraction of social environment, that is one of the major complex systems. Thesis content includes an analysis of tools that are available for creating multi-agent simulators. The core of this thesis are processed research documents and a demonstrative model of social phenomenon known as procrastination.

The use of child soldiers in armed conflicts has been common the world over for a long time now. However, over the last few decades, this practice has become widespread in Africa where armed groups recruit children as part of their war strategy and to help sustain their campaigns. This practice has left thousands of children physically and psychologically bruised with many still suffering from post war effects long after the end of such conflicts. Many negative effects still haunt many of the children who were recruited into the ranks of the government and rebel forces during the decade civil war in Sierra Leone. The civil war in Sierra Leone has been considered to be one of the most gruesome in the history of conflicts in Africa not only because of its high level of brutality but also in the manner in which children were forced into combat and abused both physically and psychologically. It is estimated that between 7000 - 10 000 children below the age of 15 years, some as young as seven were recruited into armed forces or groups during the war. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2011. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / nf2012 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The main objective of the study is to show how the use of tax incentives as means of attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is threatening the realisation of socio-economic rights in Africa. Particular attention is given on how the granting of generous tax incentives can affect the proper and adequate provision of public services and infrastructures by highly reducing government revenue. The research does not intend to analyse the impact of loss of revenue through tax incentives on each and every socio-economic right. Rather the focus is on its general impact on obligations of African states to respect, protect and fulfill socio-economic rights as derived from the major international, regional and national human rights instruments / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Mr Pramod Bissessur, Faculty of Law and Management, University of Mauritius / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This research is founded upon three fundamental premises. The first is that good governance is central to human development. The second premise is that the realisation of socio-economic rights is a necessary condition for the attainment of human development. The third premise is that pro-poor growth policies and frameworks are veritable tools through which human development can be delivered and socio-economic rights realised. The research Focuses on the view that human development should be the end of every growth policy regime and good governance the means to such end. Socio-economic rights on the other hand should serve as indicators to the formulation, implementation and the measurement of such policies / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr Lilian Chenwi of the Community Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Cette recherche interroge la question du jeu dans les EHPAD accueillant des personnes âgées atteintes de la maladie d’Alzheimer ou troubles apparentés. Elle a été réalisée dans le but d’inscrire le jeu libre et son cadre au cœur des projets d’établissements.Après une présentation de la maladie d’Alzheimer et de sa prise en charge non pharmacologique, une exploration de l’utilisation du jeu dans le soin été réalisée nous conduisant à réinterroger le concept de jeu, ses modalités de mise en œuvre et l’intérêt de viser le plaisir du jeu en première intention.Trois démarches distinctes ont ensuite été menées en parallèle. La première, dialectique et relativiste, tente de mettre en lien les enseignements offerts par les sciences du jeu avec la philosophie actuelle de la prise en soin des résidents d’EHPAD atteints de la maladie d’Alzheimer. La seconde démarche, vise à présenter les conditions matérielles et humaines pour la mise en place d’un cadre ludique adapté à la population en s’inspirant du modèle des ludothèques. Enfin, la troisième démarche, biomédicale, évalue l’impact de la situation de jeu libre dans une étude randomisée en simple aveugle auprès de 54 résidents dans six établissements. Des échelles et questionnaires ont permis d’évaluer la qualité de vie des résidents, leurs troubles du comportement ainsi que appréhension de l’outil de médiation par les soignants.La discussion des résultats interroge le cadre du jeu libre comme un objet frontière à l’interface du divertissement et de la thérapie non médicamenteuse. La médiation peut être mise en perspective d’une application clinique du modèle théorique contemporain de la résilience du sujet âgé et se présenter comme une application concrète des doctrines pédagogiques en éducation nouvelle. / The purpose of this PhD research is to evaluate the usefulness of games in eldercare homes (EHPAD in French), for people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and diseases related to Alzheimer’s. It was carried out in order to include free play in the wider scope of the homes’ project. After a presentation on Alzheimer’s disease and a non-pharmacological approach to care, an in-depth study of the issue will be given, based on the review of medical literature that leads us to reconsider game design and implementation. This study used three different approaches that were implemented simultaneously. The first one presents the human and material working conditions that are necessary to set up a framework for the game, making certain that it is adapted to the people concerned. Game libraries and therapeutic mediations served as models. The second step, which is relativistic and dialectical, attempts to associate the benefit of game playing with the current approach to treating eldercare home residents who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, the biomedical model evaluates the impact of the game in a randomized single-blind study of 54 residents in six eldercare homes. Different scales were used to assess the residents’ quality of life. The behavioral disorders were evaluated. The caregivers were given questionnaires to determine their understanding of the mediation tool used.The analysis of the findings supports free play as a tool which has both entertainment and therapeutic value. The role of mediation may be seen as a support mechanism to enhance resilience in elderly people. It is also a concrete implementation of progressive teaching methods.