There is extensive literature available on the topic of recovery from alcohol abuse. The research focus of this study explores diverse ways in which the practice of faith and spirituality in any form have affected individuals’ recovery and wellness from a post-positivist perspective. The following question is addressed: How does faith and spirituality impact the recovery process and wellness of alcohol abusers? The study was conducted by interviewing volunteer members of three Alcoholics Anonymous mutual-help groups located in Southern California. Participants were asked 15 open ending questions interview. The study uses open and axial coding for analysis. The indirect variables (IV) for this study are faith and spirituality and the direct variables (DV) are recovery and wellness. Qualitative data has been analyzed using Nvivo data analysis software. Some of the themes that emerged from the interviews after coding were family history, willingness to recover, sense of hope, acquired coping skills, belonging to a healing community, and long-lasting sobriety. The analysis of the interviews and these themes showed a positive correlation between the practice of faith and spirituality and recovery and wellness among the pool of participants. Alcoholics with three or more years attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings reported that they earned at least one year of sobriety through being willing to recover, having a sense of hope, the practice of new skills and spiritual tools, being consistent in attending the group meetings, and being at service of other alcoholics.

In this dissertation, we design and analyze five authentication protocols that answer to the a firmative the following fi ve questions associated with the authentication functions in computer networks. 1. The transport protocol HTTP is intended to be lightweight. In particular, the execution of applications on top of HTTP is intended to be relatively inexpensive and to take full advantage of the middle boxes in the Internet. To achieve this goal, HTTP does not provide any security guarantees, including any authentication of a server by its clients. This situation raises the following question. Is it possible to design a version of HTTP that is still lightweight and yet provides some security guarantees including the authentication of servers by their clients? 2. The authentication protocol in HTTPS, called TLS, allows a client to authenti- cate the server with which it is communicating. Unfortunately, this protocol is known to be vulnerable to human mistakes and Phishing attacks and Pharm- ing attacks. Is it possible to design a version of TLS that can successfully defend against human mistakes and Phishing attacks and Pharming attacks? 3. In both HTTP and HTTPS, a server can authenticate a client, with which it is communicating, using a standard password protocol. However, standard password protocols are vulnerable to the mistake of a client that uses the same password with multiple servers and to Phishing and Pharming attacks. Is it possible to design a password protocol that is resilient to client mistakes (of using the same password with multiple servers) and to Phishing and Pharming attacks? 4. Each sensor in a sensor network needs to store n - 1 symmetric keys for secure communication if the sensor network has n sensor nodes. The storage is constrained in the sensor network and the earlier approaches succeeded to reduce the number of keys, but failed to achieve secure communications in the face of eavesdropping, impersonation, and collusion. Is it possible to design a secure keying protocol for sensor networks, which is e fficient in terms of computation and storage? 5. Most authentication protocols, where one user authenticates a second user, are based on the assumption that the second user has an "identity", i.e. has a name that is (1) fi xed for a relatively long time, (2) unique, and (3) ap- proved by a central authority. Unfortunately, the adoption of user identities in a network does create some security holes in that network, most notably anonymity loss, identity theft, and misplaced trust. This situation raises the following question. Is it possible to design an authentication protocol where the protocol users have no identities? / text

This thesis treats a protocol for anonymous database search (or if one prefer, a protocol for user-private information retrieval), that is based on the use of combinatorial configurations. The protocol is called P2P UPIR. It is proved that the (v,k,1)-balanced incomplete block designs (BIBD) and in particular the finite projective planes are optimal configurations for this protocol. The notion of n-anonymity is applied to the configurations for P2P UPIR protocol and the transversal designs are proved to be n-anonymous configurations for P2P UPIR, with respect to the neighborhood points of the points of the configuration. It is proved that to the configurable tuples one can associate a numerical semigroup. This theorem implies results on existence of combinatorial configurations. The proofs are constructive and can be used as algorithms for finding combinatorial configurations. It is also proved that to the triangle-free configurable tuples one can associate a numerical semigroup. This implies results on existence of triangle-free combinatorial configurations.

In this thesis, we consider a distributed collaborative platform in which each peer hosts his private information, such as the URLs he liked or the news articles that grabbed his interest or videos he watched, on his own machine. Then, without relying on a trusted third party, the peer engages in a distributed protocol, combining his private data with other peers' private data to perform collaborative filtering. The main objective is to be able to receive personalized recommendations or other services such as a personalized distributed search engine. User-based collaborative filtering protocols, which depend on computing user-to-user similarity, have been applied to distributed systems. As computing the similarity between users requires the use of their private profiles, this raises serious privacy concerns. In this thesis, we address the problem of privately computing similarities between peers in collaborative platforms. Our work provides a private primitive for similarity computation that can make collaborative protocols privacy-friendly. We address the unique challenges associated with applying privacy-preserving techniques for similarity computation to dynamic large scale systems. In particular, we introduce a two-party cryptographic protocol that ensures differential privacy, a strong notion of privacy. Moreover, we solve the privacy budget issue that would prevent peers from computing their similarities more than a fixed number of times by introducing the notion of bidirectional anonymous channel. We also develop a heterogeneous variant of differential privacy that can provide different level of privacy to different users, and even different level of privacy to different items within a single user's profile, thus taking into account different privacy expectations. Moreover, we propose a non-interactive protocol that is very efficient for releasing a small and private representation of peers' profiles that can be used to estimate similarity. Finally, we study the problem of choosing an appropriate privacy parameter both theoretically and empirically by creating several inference attacks that demonstrate for which values of the privacy parameter the privacy level provided is acceptable.

This research first defines money and lists its functions and properties. Among these properties, the anonymity and off-line capability of money are pointed out. Then the history of money is briefly discussed, to show that money has evolved similarly to the Lamarckian evolution of species. The examination of the history of money helps us justify why electronic money is necessary, and to point out that money will continuously evolve towards Pure Money. The definition of electronic money conducted afterwards, draws the lines within which the model will be proposed. The proposed model is formally constructed and evaluated accordingly with the use of micropayment evaluation frameworks. The model is a hardware based model considering as baseline smart cards with secure co-processors, and allows transactions with cross-challenging. The model is evaluated with respect to technologic, social and economic dimensions, and taking into account the associated computational and storage costs.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Submitted by José Lamartine de Andrade Lima Neto (joselamartineneto@gmail.com) on 2017-01-19T14:04:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LIMA NETO,2016-(tese)Metamodelo SIIG em NA.pdf: 4987867 bytes, checksum: c5bc1bf2f3c642a924851f327e81070f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Auxiliadora da Silva Lopes (silopes@ufba.br) on 2017-01-19T15:01:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 LIMA NETO,2016-(tese)Metamodelo SIIG em NA.pdf: 4987867 bytes, checksum: c5bc1bf2f3c642a924851f327e81070f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-19T15:01:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LIMA NETO,2016-(tese)Metamodelo SIIG em NA.pdf: 4987867 bytes, checksum: c5bc1bf2f3c642a924851f327e81070f (MD5) / RESUMO O uso de substâncias psicoativas tem sua origem quando o homem, já em sociedade, se aproveita de recursos naturais para se adaptar às dificuldades do meio em que vivia. O uso continuado pode desencadear a adicção, termo aqui empregado como uso repetitivo de uma substância com consequências danosas a longo prazo. Existem alguns modelos que explicam o efeito do uso de drogas, mas são poucos ou de difícil acesso os modelos que explicam a recuperação do uso de drogas. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi propor um metamodelo explicativo das relações sistêmicas entre os indivíduos em grupos de ajuda-mútua de Narcóticos Anônimos (NA) no processo de recuperação do uso de drogas com olhar a partir da complexidade e da multirreferencialidade usando instrumentos da Dinâmica dos Grupos, Psicologia Cognitiva, Redes Sociais e Redes Semânticas de Discursos Orais. É uma pesquisa aplicada de abordagem quali-quantitativa com objetivo descritivo evoluindo a propositivo, que utiliza o estudo de caso único com múltiplas unidades de análise. O lócus englobou os grupos de NA da cidade de Salvador-BA, seus documentos, registros, literatura, e a experiência dos membros. Coletou-se dados diretos de 123 pessoas através de questionários, bem como por meio de observação participante. Foram citados 286 membros de NA. A análise dos dados encontrados nos documentos oficiais de NA indica que seus membros começam a se drogar na média de idade entre 10 e 15 anos. Depois de uma média de uso por 20 anos, ingressam em NA e, aos poucos, vão se adaptando a uma nova ecologia cultural. O grupo de NA adota normas e padrões que, de maneira informal, vão sendo compartilhados pela maioria dos membros. O elemento central é a apresentação de um metamodelo sistêmico acerca do processo de recuperação. Concluiu-se que a rede social estudada tem indícios de características topológicas do tipo livre de escala com os “hubs” exercendo papel importante na difusão de novos conhecimentos e comportamentos que comporão mudanças significativas de atitudes nos novos membros tendo como resultado melhorias importantes nas áreas de qualidade de vida. / ABSTRACT The use of psychoactive substances has its origin when the man, already in society, takes advantage of natural resources to adapt to the difficulties of the environment in which he lived. Continued use can trigger addiction, the term here used as the repetitive use of a substance with harmful long-term consequences. There are some models that explain the effect of drug use, but there are few or difficult models to explain the recovery of drug use. The aim of this research was to propose an explanatory metamodel of the systemic relationships between individuals in the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) mutual help groups in the drug recovery process with a view of complexity and multi-referentiality using Group Dynamics, Cognitive Psychology, Social Networks and Semantic Networks of Oral Discourses. It is an applied research of qualitative-quantitative approach with descriptive objective evolving to propositive, that uses the single case study with multiple units of analysis. The locus encompassed the NA groups of the city of Salvador-BA, its documents, records, literature, and members' experience. Direct data of 123 people were collected through questionnaires, as well as through participant observation. Were cited 286 NA members. Analysis of the data found in the official NA documents indicates that their members begin to get high on the average age between 10 and 15 years. After an average use for 20 years, they enter NA and gradually adapt to a new cultural ecology. The NA group adopts norms and standards that, informally, are shared by most members. The central element is the presentation of a systemic metamodel about the recovery process. It was concluded that the studied social network has indications of topological characteristics of the free-of-scale type with the hubs playing an important role in the diffusion of new knowledge and behaviors that will make significant changes of attitudes in the new members, resulting in important improvements in the areas of quality of life.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Em resposta ao crescente consumo de Ãlcool e dos problemas relacionados, como uso prejudicial e/ou dependÃncia, o Brasil vem estabelecendo polÃticas pÃblicas como a de atenÃÃo integral a usuÃrios de Ãlcool e outras drogas que, por sua vez, destaca a atenÃÃo psicossocial baseada em uma rede de apoio organizada pelos Centros de AtenÃÃo Psicossocial (CAPS), articulada aos demais serviÃos de saÃde e dispositivos comunitÃrios. Grupos de auto-ajuda, como AlcoÃlicos AnÃnimos (AA), estÃo se tornando cada vez mais comuns, à medida que seus membros se organizam para conviver com o alcoolismo e resolver seus prÃprios problemas. Esta pesquisa objetivou apreender da vivÃncia de alcoolistas o modo como um grupo de auto-ajuda se constitui como dispositivo da rede de apoio social. Estudo descritivo, desenvolvido em um AA do municÃpio de Fortaleza â CearÃ, com 20 sujeitos maiores de 18 anos, que desejaram participar e se encontravam afiliados ao grupo escolhido por, no mÃnimo, um ano, frequentando regularmente as reuniÃes; e que apresentavam condiÃÃes fÃsicas e emocionais para responder aos questionamentos. Os dados foram coletados atravÃs de entrevista individual, utilizando-se um roteiro semi-estruturado; organizados em quadros; agrupados em quatro categorias que emergiram das falas dos entrevistados; o processo de anÃlise teve por base os preceitos da anÃlise de conteÃdo, de Bardin. Os resultados mostram as diferentes caracterÃsticas dos sujeitos quanto aos aspectos sociais, demogrÃficos e histÃricos de uso de drogas e vivÃncia de conseqÃÃncias adversas à sua saÃde, com interferÃncia negativa em todos os aspectos da vida: pessoal, familiar, social e econÃmica. Nos relatos, os sujeitos mencionaram a busca de ajuda espiritual, em serviÃos de saÃde e em um grupo de auto-ajuda para o tratamento da dependÃncia quÃmica; enfatizaram a contribuiÃÃo do AA na promoÃÃo da saÃde, nÃo somente pelo fato de restabelecer sua condiÃÃo fÃsica, mas, tambÃm, por ofertar subsÃdios para o empowerment e proporcionar a reinserÃÃo de pessoas com histÃrico de exclusÃo social. O grupo de auto-ajuda mostrou-se como dispositivo de apoio aos sujeitos estudados desde o acolhimento, perpassando pela oferta de um programa com metas atingÃveis, por funcionar como espaÃo que possibilitava a expressÃo do alcoolista, e por se articular com outros dispositivos da rede de apoio, fortalecendo-se enquanto tal. Com base na realidade apreendida, refletimos sobre a necessidade de, nÃs profissionais de saÃde, nos engajar mais na luta contra o uso de drogas psicoativas, tendo uma atuaÃÃo mais decisiva na construÃÃo de polÃticas e prÃticas que percebam e atendam esta condiÃÃo como problemÃtica de saÃde pÃblica complexa e que necessita de aÃÃes intersetoriais. Dada esta complexidade, esta participaÃÃo necessita de algumas condiÃÃes primordiais, como o reconhecimento da importÃncia de outros conhecimentos e dispositivos de apoio, e a realizaÃÃo de parcerias como estratÃgia de cuidado e inserÃÃo social. / In response to growing consumption of alcohol and its related problems, exemplified by harmful use and/or dependence, Brazil has been setting public policies such as full attention on alcohol and drugs users which, in turn, highlights the psychosocial care based on a support network organized by the Psychosocial Care Center (PCA), linked to other health services and community groups. Self-help groups as the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are becoming increasingly common, as its members organize themselves in order to live and solve their own alcohol related problems. This research aimed to learn, from the experience of handling with alcoholics, how a self-help group develops itself as a social support network. The descriptive study took place in an AA from Fortaleza (CE), with 20 participants aged over 18 years-old, who wished to take part and were affiliated and regularly attending the group meetings for at least one year, and also were in physical and emotional conditions to properly respond the questionnaire. Data were collected through individual interviews, using a semi-structured road map and organized in tables, then grouped in four main categories that emerged from the interviewed testimonies. The analysis process was based on the precepts of BardinÂs Content Analysis. The results shows the diversity of characteristics about social, demographic and historical aspects related to the use of drugs, with a history of heavy use of alcohol and its adverse consequences to the health of the participants, including all sorts of negative interference in all aspects of their lives: personal, family, social and economic. It was reported by the participants the search for spiritual assistance in health services and self-help groups to drug-dependency treatment. It was also emphasized the AA contribution to the Health Promotion, not only because it restores their physical condition, but also by offering them subsidies for empowerment, and giving the possibility of reintegration of those ones previously victimized by social exclusion. The self-help group proved to be an efficient support environment to the participants, permeated by the offer of a program with attainable goals, by working as a space where the participant has a voice, and by its intersectorial ability of articulation within support network groups. Based on the perceived reality, comes the perception about the need of more health professionals engaged in the fight against the use of psychoactive drugs, taking a more decisive role in the construction of policies and practices that meet this condition and provide solutions for it. To the given complexity, this participation requires some key conditions, such as the recognition of the importance of knowledge from other areas and the capability of building partnerships as a strategy for care and social inclusion.

A eficácia e a segurança do acamprosato foram avaliadas no tratamento ambulatorial de setenta e cinco pacientes do sexo masculino, com idade entre 18 e 59 anos, com diagnóstico de dependência de álcool pelo CID-10. O estudo foi controlado duplo-cego, com duração de 24 semanas. Transtornos clínicos e/ou psiquiátricos que necessitassem de internação, uso de medicação psiquiátrica, quadros psicóticos prévios independentes do consumo de álcool e hipersensibilidade ao acamprosato foram critérios de exclusão. Após um período de desintoxicação de uma semana, os pacientes foram divididos aleatoriamente em dois grupos: o primeiro grupo recebeu acamprosato (6 comprimidos de 333 mg por dia durante 12 semanas), e o segundo recebeu placebo (6 comprimidos por dia durante 12 semanas). Após as primeiras 12 semanas, os pacientes continuaram o tratamento por mais 12 semanas sem uso de medicação. Os grupos foram comparados quanto a sintomas depressivos, uso de álcool, efeitos colaterais das medicações, exames laboratoriais e tempo de abstinência contínuo. 25% dos pacientes que estavam recebendo acamprosato e 20% dos pacientes que estavam recebendo placebo foram excluídos do seguimento. Os pacientes que receberam acamprosato mostraram maior taxa de abstinência contínua no final das 24 semanas de tratamento quando comparados aos que receberam placebo (57% versus 25%, p = 0,014), e tiveram uma duração média de abstinência contínua de 18,8 semanas enquanto o grupo placebo teve uma duração média de abstinência contínua de 12 semanas (p = 0,003). Efeitos colaterais foram registrados. O acamprosato mostrou-se ser seguro e eficaz no tratamento de pacientes dependentes de álcool e na manutenção da abstinência durante 24 semanas. / The efficacy and security of acamprosate were evaluated in the treatment of 75 men, between 18 and 59 years of age, with diagnosis of alcohol dependence by ICD-10. It was a double-blind, placebo controlled study, 24 weeks long. Patients with disorders that should be treated in an inpatient setting, using psychiatric medications, relating previous psychoses without alcohol use and with hipersensibility to acamprosate were excluded. After a one-week detoxification period, the patients were randomily divided in two groups: the first group received acamprosate (6 tablets of 333 mg a day during 12 weeks) and the second group received placebo (6 tablets during 12 weeks). After the first 12 weeks, the patients continued the follow-up for 12 weeks more without medication. The groups were compared in terms of depressive symptoms, use of alcohol, side effects of medications and laboratory tests. 25% of patients who were receiving acamprosate dropped out, whereas 20% of the placebo-treated patients dropped out of the study. Patients who were receiving acamprosate showed significantly higher continuous abstinence rate within the 24 weeks of treatment compared with patients who were assigned to placebo treatment (57% versus 25%, p = 0,014), and they had significantly longer mean abstinence duration of 18,8 weeks versus 12 weeks abstinent (p = 0,003). Few side effects were related. Acamprosate proved to be safe and an effective aid in the treatment of alcohol dependent patients and in maintaining the abstinence of patients during 24 weeks.

Esta pesquisa objetivou estudar o princípio do melhor interesse da criança tanto em seu viés teórico quanto prático, na tentativa de se concluir se é possível ou não adotar-se critérios predeterminados para serem seguidos na tomada de decisões em questões envolvendo crianças e adolescentes. Na primeira parte, teórica, estudou-se o conteúdo do melhor interesse, e se poderia ele ser entendido como regra de interpretação, direito fundamental ou princípio. Já a segunda parte, prática, buscou analisar como os tribunais vêm decidindo algumas questões que resvalam no melhor interesse. Para tal, alguns institutos foram selecionados (guarda, adoção, parto anônimo, visitas e educação). A análise da guarda passou pela sua diferenciação entre colocação em família substituta e atribuição a um dos pais em caso de separação. Discutiu-se a possibilidade de atribuição a terceira pessoa e de imposição da modalidade compartilhada. Estudou-se o direito de visitas para o caso de a guarda ter sido atribuída a somente um dos pais. Estendeu-se a pesquisa para a hipótese de garantir-se esse direito a amigos, padrastos, madrastas e padrinhos. A adoção foi estudada nas modalidades à brasileira, intuitu personae e internacional. Ainda, analisou-se a possibilidade de adoção por casal homoafetivo. Embora inexistente no direito brasileiro, o parto anônimo foi analisado para se observar se viável e necessário em nosso ordenamento. Por fim, estudou-se o direito à educação, realçando-se alguns aspectos como a possibilidade de o ensino ser realizado fora de estabelecimentos oficiais, transporte de crianças até suas escolas e a possibilidade de exigirem-se vagas em creches. / This research aimed to study the principle of the best interest of the child, both in theory and in practice, in an attempt to conclude whether it is possible or not to adopt predetermined criteria to be followed in making decisions on issues involving children and adolescents. In the first part, theoretical, the content of the best interest was studied, as well as the possibility of understanding it as a rule of interpretation, fundamental right or principle. The second part, practical, sought to analyze how the courts have been deciding issues involving the best interest. In doing so, some institutes were selected (guardianship, adoption, anonymous childbirth, visits and education). The analysis of the guardianship passed by differentiating between placement in foster family and its assignment to one of the parents in case of separation. The possibility of assigning it to a third person and the imposition of shared custody were discussed. The visitation rights in case when the custody has been awarded to only one parent was studied. The research was extended to the hypothesis of granting this right to friends, stepfathers, stepmothers and godfathers or godmothers. The research studied Brazilian, intuitu personae and international adoptions, as well as the possibility of adoption by homosexual couples. Although non-existing under Brazilian law, the anonymous childbirth was analyzed to observe if it is viable and needed in our system. Finally, the right of education was studied, and aspects such as the possibility of homeschooling, transportation of children to their schools and the requiring of vacancies in childcare facilities were highlighted.