Orientador: Siome Klein Goldenstein / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto da Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T17:37:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rocha_AndersondeRezende_D.pdf: 10303487 bytes, checksum: 243dccfe5255c828ce7ead27c27eb1cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Neste trabalho de doutorado, propomos a utilizaçãoo de classificadores e técnicas de aprendizado de maquina para extrair informações relevantes de um conjunto de dados (e.g., imagens) para solução de alguns problemas em Processamento de Imagens e Visão Computacional. Os problemas de nosso interesse são: categorização de imagens em duas ou mais classes, detecçãao de mensagens escondidas, distinção entre imagens digitalmente adulteradas e imagens naturais, autenticação, multi-classificação, entre outros. Inicialmente, apresentamos uma revisão comparativa e crítica do estado da arte em análise forense de imagens e detecção de mensagens escondidas em imagens. Nosso objetivo é mostrar as potencialidades das técnicas existentes e, mais importante, apontar suas limitações. Com esse estudo, mostramos que boa parte dos problemas nessa área apontam para dois pontos em comum: a seleção de características e as técnicas de aprendizado a serem utilizadas. Nesse estudo, também discutimos questões legais associadas a análise forense de imagens como, por exemplo, o uso de fotografias digitais por criminosos. Em seguida, introduzimos uma técnica para análise forense de imagens testada no contexto de detecção de mensagens escondidas e de classificação geral de imagens em categorias como indoors, outdoors, geradas em computador e obras de arte. Ao estudarmos esse problema de multi-classificação, surgem algumas questões: como resolver um problema multi-classe de modo a poder combinar, por exemplo, caracteríisticas de classificação de imagens baseadas em cor, textura, forma e silhueta, sem nos preocuparmos demasiadamente em como normalizar o vetor-comum de caracteristicas gerado? Como utilizar diversos classificadores diferentes, cada um, especializado e melhor configurado para um conjunto de caracteristicas ou classes em confusão? Nesse sentido, apresentamos, uma tecnica para fusão de classificadores e caracteristicas no cenário multi-classe através da combinação de classificadores binários. Nós validamos nossa abordagem numa aplicação real para classificação automática de frutas e legumes. Finalmente, nos deparamos com mais um problema interessante: como tornar a utilização de poderosos classificadores binarios no contexto multi-classe mais eficiente e eficaz? Assim, introduzimos uma tecnica para combinação de classificadores binarios (chamados classificadores base) para a resolução de problemas no contexto geral de multi-classificação. / Abstract: In this work, we propose the use of classifiers and machine learning techniques to extract useful information from data sets (e.g., images) to solve important problems in Image Processing and Computer Vision. We are particularly interested in: two and multi-class image categorization, hidden messages detection, discrimination among natural and forged images, authentication, and multiclassification. To start with, we present a comparative survey of the state-of-the-art in digital image forensics as well as hidden messages detection. Our objective is to show the importance of the existing solutions and discuss their limitations. In this study, we show that most of these techniques strive to solve two common problems in Machine Learning: the feature selection and the classification techniques to be used. Furthermore, we discuss the legal and ethical aspects of image forensics analysis, such as, the use of digital images by criminals. We introduce a technique for image forensics analysis in the context of hidden messages detection and image classification in categories such as indoors, outdoors, computer generated, and art works. From this multi-class classification, we found some important questions: how to solve a multi-class problem in order to combine, for instance, several different features such as color, texture, shape, and silhouette without worrying about the pre-processing and normalization of the combined feature vector? How to take advantage of different classifiers, each one custom tailored to a specific set of classes in confusion? To cope with most of these problems, we present a feature and classifier fusion technique based on combinations of binary classifiers. We validate our solution with a real application for automatic produce classification. Finally, we address another interesting problem: how to combine powerful binary classifiers in the multi-class scenario more effectively? How to boost their efficiency? In this context, we present a solution that boosts the efficiency and effectiveness of multi-class from binary techniques. / Doutorado / Engenharia de Computação / Doutor em Ciência da Computação

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:31:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Derly Jardim do Amaral.pdf: 1303669 bytes, checksum: bdbed4159c19b330d3238392f94f5448 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-30 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / The study of organizational behavior has called the attention of the researchers interested in understanding the phenomenon of the leadership exerted in the organizations. The range of possibilities of these studies permeates several levels of analysis. The intention of this work was to identify and to analyze the factors that stimulate the relationships' construction in a dyadic level. The Leader-Member Exchange Theory - LMX, was adopted as the basic reference, not yet explored in Brazil. In LMX´s theory, high quality relationship is based on loyalty, affection, contribution and professional respect, this fourth dimension, recently discovered. The instrument chosen for this study was the one elaborated from Liden and Maslyn (1998) added with some assertive created on assumptions from the Theory of the Social Identity and the Theory of the self-categorization, both interpreted in literature as the bases of the construction of the dyadic relationship. The instrument was applied on a sample of 255 individuals. The result analysis permits to affirm that the four dimensions of LMX, except contribution, presented a correlation, among them and with the other variables of the study. The factor grouping obtained indicated that the Professional Respect dimension agglutinates the dimensions of the social identity and the auto-categorization giving evidence that the respondents perceive themselves as pertaining to the leader s closest circle. It was also verified that the perception of the quality of the relationship and the gender of the respondents were useful to discriminate the priorities given to the construction of this relationship. On the other hand, the same was not observed when it came to the type of company s respondent or to the elapsed time of dyadic relationship. Another outcome of the study was an acceptable structural model for formative and reflective variables. As a conclusion, high quality dyadic relationships can influence the results of personal performance, hence deserving, attention and investment from organizations. / O estudo do comportamento organizacional tem chamado à atenção dos pesquisadores interessados em compreender o fenômeno da liderança exercida nas organizações. A gama de possibilidades que estes estudos apresentam se dá em vários níveis de análise. O propósito deste trabalho foi o de identificar e analisar os fatores que estimulam a construção de relacionamentos no nível diádico. Adotou como referência fundamental a Teoria da Troca entre Líder e Liderado LMX, conhecida, em inglês, como Leader-Member Exchange Theory LMX e ainda não explorada no Brasil. Para a LMX, o relacionamento de alta qualidade é formado a partir da lealdade, do afeto, da contribuição e do respeito profissional, sendo essa uma quarta dimensão recentemente descoberta. Optou-se por utilizar o instrumento elaborado por Liden e Maslyn (1998). Foram adicionadas a esse instrumento assertivas concebidas a partir dos pressupostos da Teoria da Identidade Social e da Teoria da Autocategorização, ambas entendidas na literatura como bases que sustentam a construção do relacionamento diádico. A aplicação do instrumento envolveu uma amostra composta por 255 sujeitos. A análise dos resultados permite afirmar que as dimensões da LMX, exceto a Contribuição, se apresentaram correlacionadas entre si e com as outras variáveis envolvidas no estudo. O agrupamento fatorial obtido indicou que a dimensão Respeito Profissional aglutinou as dimensões da identidade social e da autocategorização, evidenciando que os respondentes se percebem identificados e pertencentes ao círculo mais próximo do líder. Verificou-se que a percepção da qualidade do relacionamento e o gênero dos respondentes foram capazes de discriminar as prioridades dadas à construção desse relacionamento. O mesmo não foi observado no tocante ao tipo de empresa a que o respondente pertence e ao tempo que possuem de relacionamento diádico. Obteve-se, ainda, um modelo estrutural considerado adequado, composto por variáveis formativas e reflexivas. Conclui-se que relacionamentos diádicos de alta qualidade podem influenciar os resultados do desempenho individual, merecendo, por conta disso, atenção e investimento das organizações.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-05-22T12:39:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 patriciaribeirodovallecoutinho.pdf: 6874504 bytes, checksum: dcfac5bfe827dd30517321e4731c09ce (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-05-22T17:30:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 patriciaribeirodovallecoutinho.pdf: 6874504 bytes, checksum: dcfac5bfe827dd30517321e4731c09ce (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-22T17:30:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 patriciaribeirodovallecoutinho.pdf: 6874504 bytes, checksum: dcfac5bfe827dd30517321e4731c09ce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-15 / Prosódia e cognição são os temas centrais do presente trabalho. Reivindica-se o lugar da fonologia na representação formal de construções gramaticais, uma vez que emparelhadas com informações semânticas, sintáticas e pragmáticas estão as informações fonológicas. A partir de contribuições teóricas da Linguística Cognitiva, o conceito de fonema é revisto, sendo tratado em termos de categoria de base corpórea e unidade construcional. Para essa nova visão, é fundamental, ao tratar do fenômeno, uma concepção que envolva a aquisição, o uso e a frequência de construções da língua. Ao se direcionar a atenção para o nível suprassegmental, enfatiza-se a função que a prosódia desempenha na interpretação e na negociação de sentidos. Defende-se que há uma ação conjunta e coordenada na produção da melodia da fala. A fim de analisar como a entoação pode apontar para a construção do significado, foi realizada, através de um programa computacional (PRAAT), a leitura acústica de dados de fala semiespontânea. Os resultados da submissão dos dados foram descritos no sentido de se observar as curvas da Frequência Fundamental (F0) nos trechos que encerram as respostas de entrevistados em coletivas de imprensa. A hipótese é a de que os contornos melódicos nessa transição de turno são descendentes e uma das razões para isso é o desgaste da pressão subglotal que ocorre no fluxo da fala. Outro ponto discutido é que a ação das pregas vocais pode ser considerada um caso particular entre as gestualidades produzidas pelo nosso aparato físico e perceptual. Estabelecendo uma projeção metafórica entre o domínio da coletiva de imprensa e o domínio da guerra, aposta-se na analogia entre os gestos produzidos pelas pregas vocais e os gestos dos braços em um combate. Enfim, quanto mais gestos "sonoros", de alta F0, ocorrem, maior é o poder de combate interacional do falante, na luta pelo turno. Se a F0 decai, dá-se a entrega do turno. São movimentos de caráter físico que estão estreitamente relacionados com o simbolismo conceptual da linguagem. / Prosody and cognition are the central subjects of the present work. The place of phonology in the formal representation of constructions is demanded, since phonological information is paired with semantic, syntactic and pragmatic information. From theoretical contributions of Cognitive Linguistic, the concept of phoneme is reviewed and reformulated with the notions of phoneme as an embodied category and phoneme as a constructional unit. For this new vision, it is fundamental a conception that involves the acquisition, the use and the frequency of language. To direct the attention for the suprassegmental level, it is emphasized the function that the prosody performs in the interpretation and management of meaning. One defends that there is a joint and coordinated action in the production of speech s melody. In order to analyze how the intonation can point out to the construction of meaning, an acoustics reading of data was accomplished through a computation program (PRAAT). The results of the submission of the data were described in order to observe the curves of fundamental frequency (F0) in the stretches that close the interviewed answers in the press conference. The work hypothesis is that the turn transition is configured by falling contours and one of the reasons for this is the deterioration of the subglotal pressure in the flow of the speech. Another point is that the action of vocal folds can be considered a particular case between the gestures produced by our physical and perceptual apparatus. From a metaphorical extension of the press conference's domain and the war's domain, it can be speculated the analogy between the gestures produced by the focal folds and the gestures of the arms in a combat.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:59:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_luis_willian_pacheco_arge.pdf: 2893589 bytes, checksum: d2e275d77781d5e9508058a77fa20f96 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-31 / This study aimed to assess the diversity, structure and the genetic relationship, evaluated by phenotypic and molecular of 75 Prunus rootstocks collection belonging to EMBRAPA Clima Temperado. The phenotypic analyzes were conducted by the evaluation of 21 qualitative and 26 quantitative traits of different plant organs and molecular analyzes were based on evaluation of 17 SSR loci. The data of quantitative traits were categorized by Scott & Knott method and submitted along with the qualitative data to statistical analysis (hierarchical by Jaccard coefficient) and clustering of phenotypic relationship. Molecular data were first converted to different formats and subjected to various statistical analyzes. The UPGMA dendogram obtained by genetic distance matrix calculated by Li & Nei coefficient, using the data of SSR loci evaluated was not able to distinguish between Tsukuba-1, Tsukuba-2 and Tsukuba-3 accesses, however, showed phenotypic effective to distinguish them. The dendograms of both analyzes together with the results of Bayesian approaches allowed the identification of three pools with high relation with the different groups that make up the collection. It was found that principal coordinates analysis based on phenotypic data, proved most effective for the detection of three pools detected with the hierarchical and the Bayesian approach. With the molecular data, the principal coordinates analysis corroborated with results obtained by the dendogram and the Bayesian approach. The access of group South Brazilian originating from samples collected in orchards in the region of Pelotas, which have no known pedigree, had largely down genetic and phenotypic distance, low 0.49 per both analyzes, with Aldrighi and Capdeboscq, and other known access. These accesses were traditionally used in the past as rootstocks in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. For both phenotypic and molecular analyzes, the group access of other species contributed more to genetic and phenotypic diversity, as expected, because are different species and with low similarity of features. Phenotypic and genetic characterization proved effective for elucidating the diversity, structure and genetic, and phenotypic relationship of the rootstocks of Prunus collection. / O presente trabalho objetivou avaliar a diversidade, estrutura e relação genética, por avaliação molecular, e fenotípica de uma coleção de 75 acessos de porta-enxertos de Prunus da EMBRAPA Clima Temperado. As análises fenotípicas foram conduzidas com a avaliação de 21 caracteres qualitativos e 26 quantitativos de diferentes órgãos das plantas, e as análises moleculares foram baseadas na avaliação de 17 loci SSR. Os dados dos caracteres quantitativos foram categorizados pelo método de agrupamento Scott & Knott e submetidos juntamente com os dados qualitativos às análises estatísticas de agrupamento (hierárquica pelo coeficiente de Jaccard) e de relação fenotípica. Os dados moleculares foram convertidos primeiramente para diferentes formatos e submetidos às diferentes análises estatísticas. O dendograma UPGMA obtido a partir da matriz de distância genética calculada pelo coeficiente Nei & Li, utilizando os dados dos loci SSR, não foi capaz de distinguir os acessos Tsukuba-1, Tsukuba-2 e Tsukuba-3, no entanto, os dados fenotípicos mostraram-se eficazes para distingui-los. Os dendograma de ambas as análises, juntamente com a abordagem Bayesiana, possibilitaram a identificação de três pools, com alta relação com os diferentes grupos que compõem a coleção. Verificou-se que análise de coordenadas principais, baseada em dados fenotípicos, mostrou-se mais eficaz para a detecção dos três pools detectados com as abordagens hierárquica e Bayesiana. Com os dados moleculares, a análise de coordenadas principais corroborou parcialmente com os resultados obtidos pelo dendograma e pela análise Bayesiana. Os acessos do grupo sul-brasileiro originários de coletas realizadas em pomares da região de Pelotas, os quais não possuem genealogia conhecida, apresentaram em grande parte baixa distância genética e fenotípica, abaixo de 0,49 por ambas as análises, em relação aos acessos Aldrighi e Capdeboscq. Estes acessos foram tradicionalmente usados no passado como porta-enxertos no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Por ambas as análises, fenotípicas e moleculares, o grupo de acessos de outras espécies foi nalmente quem mais contribuiu para a diversidade genética e fenotípica, como já era esperado, pois são espécies distintas e com baixa similaridade de características. A caracterização genética por ambas as técnicas de análise mostrou-se efetiva para a elucidação da diversidade, estrutura e relação genética e fenotípica da coleção de porta-enxertos de Prunus avaliada.

According to recent cognitive science, our perceptive senses help develop human cognition, and the process of organizing our inner representations of the world around us. As a result, conceptual metaphors are deemed to be essential to our understanding of abstract entities; how we perceive an organization depends for instance on what metaphor is used to describe it. Thus, conceptual metaphor theory has been given a lot of attention in the past thirty years. The Metasaga philosophy was established on the Shetland Islands in 2008. The idea is for participants to explore the environment and create reflective questions involving metaphors which can be used for reflective purposes in connection to work, school, businesses or other organizations. In this paper, linguistic metaphors involving organizations in 228 reflective questions were studied. The linguistic metaphors were sorted according to which organization conceptual metaphor they appeared to belong to. A broad category called Organization Is Physical Structure was set up, and the name was taken from Joseph Grady’s list of primary metaphors in Lakoff and Johnson (1999 pp. 50-55) Four sub-categories of organization metaphors were subsequently established: Organization Is An Artificial Structure, Organizational Help Is Support, Organization Is A Plant and Organization Is A Living Creature. Almost 55 % of the reflective questions involving organization shared the common theme of a description of an organization as some kind of artificial structure. Thus, it seems likely that we often think of organizational arrangement as some kind of concrete structure and also that we use different metaphors depending on how the organization is structured.

The Sound and the Fury is William Faulkner’s story of the Compson family’s downfall in the American South during the early 20th century. The novel illustrates the impact on the cultural identity of the South of strictly defined social roles and the tension they created in the aftermath of slavery and defeat in the Civil War. In my analysis, I have chosen to focus on gender issues, especially in their Southern manifestation. The Compsons’ daughter, Caddy, figures prominently in the sons’ narratives, but is only portrayed through their perceptions and memories. My aim is to determine Caddy’s significance in the novel by exploring her relationships with her brothers, as seen through their eyes, and how she is characterized by them. In Benjy’s narrative, I examine her actions as a little girl in light of the Eve myth and the icon of the virgin mother. Quentin’s obsession with Caddy's sexuality as a teenager reveals the implications of associating female sexuality with death, the role of language in reproducing and combating established gender power structures, and the impact of traditional gender roles on women and men. Jason’s binary categorization of women as virgins or whores turns the few glimpses of Caddy as a mother into that of a woman treated as a commodity of exchange. In each of their narratives, Caddy is a dynamic character whose words, body, and actions expose prevailing social and gender power struggles. By conjuring her presence through her absence, her brothers reveal the depth and destructiveness of the social imperatives that underlie their attempts to control her. I suggest that Caddy’s role in the novel is to disrupt the brothers’ narratives and challenge the underlying Southern social and gender constructs that imbue them.

Bien qu’il existe un large consensus de la communauté scientifique quant au rôle des indices acoustiques dans la compréhension de la parole, les mécanismes exacts permettant la transformation d’un flux acoustique continu en unités linguistiques élémentaires demeurent aujourd’hui largement méconnus. Ceci est en partie dû à l’absence d’une méthodologie efficace pour l’identification et la caractérisation des primitives auditives de la parole. Depuis les premières études de l’interface acoustico-phonétique par les Haskins Laboratories dans les années 50, différentes approches ont été proposées ; cependant, toutes sont fondamentalement limitées par l’artificialité des stimuli utilisés, les contraintes du protocole expérimental et le poids des connaissances a priori nécessaires. Le présent travail de thèse s’est intéressé { la mise en oeuvre d’une nouvelle méthode tirant parti de la situation de compréhension de parole dégradée pour mettre en évidence les indices acoustiques utilisés par l’auditeur.Dans un premier temps, nous nous sommes appuyés sur la littérature dans le domaine visuel en adaptant la méthode des Images de Classification à une tâche auditive de catégorisation de phonèmes dans le bruit. En reliant la réponse de l’auditeur { chaque essai à la configuration précise du bruit lors de cet essai, au moyen d’un Modèle Linéaire Généralisé, il est possible d’estimer le poids des différentes régions temps-fréquence dans la décision. Nous avons illustré l’efficacité de notre méthode, appelée Image de Classification Auditive, à travers deux exemples : une catégorisation /aba/-/ada/, et une catégorisation /da/-/ga/ en contexte /al/ ou /aʁ/. Notre analyse a confirmé l’implication des attaques des formants F2 et F3, déjà suggérée par de précédentes études, mais a également permis de révéler des indices inattendus. Dans un second temps, nous avons employé cette technique pour comparer les résultats de participants musiciens experts (N=19) ou dyslexiques (N=18) avec ceux de participants contrôles. Ceci nous a permis d’étudier les spécificités des stratégies d’écoute de ces différents groupes.L’ensemble des résultats suggèrent que les Images de Classification Auditives pourraient constituer une nouvelle approche, plus précise et plus naturelle, pour explorer et décrire les mécanismes { l’oeuvre au niveau de l’interface acoustico-phonétique. / There is today a broad consensus in the scientific community regarding the involvement of acoustic cues in speech perception. Up to now, however, the precise mechanisms underlying the transformation from continuous acoustic stream into discrete linguistic units remain largely undetermined. This is partly due to the lack of an effective method for identifying and characterizing the auditory primitives of speech. Since the earliest studies on the acoustic–phonetic interface by the Haskins Laboratories in the 50’s, a number of approaches have been proposed; they are nevertheless inherently limited by the non-naturalness of the stimuli used, the constraints of the experimental apparatus, and the a priori knowledge needed. The present thesis aimed at introducing a new method capitalizing on the speech-in-noise situation for revealing the acoustic cues used by the listeners.As a first step, we adapted the Classification Image technique, developed in the visual domain, to a phoneme categorization task in noise. The technique relies on a Generalized Linear Model to link each participant’s response to the specific configuration of noise, on a trial-by-trail basis, thereby estimating the perceptual weighting of the different time-frequency regions for the decision. We illustrated the effectiveness of our Auditory Classification Image method through 2 examples: a /aba/-/ada/ categorization and a /da/-/ga/ categorization in context /al/ or /aʁ/. Our analysis confirmed that the F2 and F3 onsets were crucial for the tasks, as suggested in previous studies, but also revealed unexpected cues. In a second step, we relied on this new method to compare the results of musical experts (N=19) or dyslexics participants (N=18) to those of controls. This enabled us to explore the specificities of each group’s listening strategies.All the results taken together show that the Auditory Classification Image method may be a more precise and more straightforward approach to investigate the mechanisms at work at the acoustic-phonetic interface.

It has previously been determined that using 3 or 4 points on a categorized response scale will fail to produce a continuous distribution of scores. However, there is no evidence, thus far, revealing the number of scale points that may indeed possess an approximate or sufficiently continuous distribution. This study provides the evidence to suggest the level of categorization in discrete scales that makes them directly comparable to continuous scales in terms of their measurement properties. To do this, we first introduced a novel procedure for simulating discretely scaled data that was both informed and validated through the principles of the Classical True Score Model. Second, we employed a measurement invariance (MI) approach to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in order to directly compare the measurement quality of continuously scaled factor models to that of discretely scaled models. The simulated design conditions of the study varied with respect to item-specific variance (low, moderate, high), random error variance (none, moderate, high), and discrete scale categorization (number of scale points ranged from 3 to 101). A population analogue approach was taken with respect to sample size (N = 10,000). We concluded that there are conditions under which response scales with 11 to 15 scale points can reproduce the measurement properties of a continuous scale. Using response scales with more than 15 points may be, for the most part, unnecessary. Scales having from 3 to 10 points introduce a significant level of measurement error, and caution should be taken when employing such scales. The implications of this research and future directions are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Cette recherche suit la trajectoire de la catégorie savante et d’action publique des « relations interculturelles » en scrutant ses premières formulations dès la fin des années 1960, ses différentes formes d’institutionnalisation tout au long des années 1980 et en décrivant, jusqu’au tournant des années 2000, le processus d’invisibilisation dont elle fait l’objet. Elle analyse ses investissements savants, administratifs et politiques par divers acteurs, amenés dans le cadre de leurs activités respectives, à repenser la présence des immigrants dans la société française. Parce qu’ils logent la question des cultures des travailleurs immigrés au cœur de l’analyse, ces sociologues, pédagogues et agents administratifs reformulent la question de l’immigration en s’écartant à la fois d’une lecture en termes de classes sociales et d’une approche assimilationniste. Sont identifiées les conditions d’émergence d’une catégorie savante forgée par la mise en forme de savoirs critiques et celles d’une catégorie d’intervention publique réformatrice qui cible les représentations et mentalités pour éduquer une « opinion publique raciste ». L’enquête s’inscrit à la croisée de la socio-histoire des catégories et de l’étude de la construction des problèmes publics et s’appuie sur l’exploitation d’archives (en partie inédites) d’organisations publiques chargées, sous l’égide du ministère des Affaires sociales, de la mise en œuvre des politiques d’insertion et de promotion des relations interculturelles. Elle s’appuie aussi sur la littérature savante produites par les principaux promoteurs de cette cause, la littérature grise émanant de diverses instances de l’État et enfin des entretiens avec les promoteurs de la cause et des agents d’organisations publiques chargés de la mise en œuvre de la politique d’insertion. Ce matériau est exploité à partir de deux approches : l’analyse des rapports entre savoirs et action publique d’une part et celle des rapports entre organisations et action publique d’autre part. Ce faisant, la thèse démontre que si l’idéal de structuration de la société par des relations interculturelles harmonieuses, n’est pas resté inscrit durablement à l’agenda, la catégorie se cristallise de façon plus pérenne comme mode de régulation des interactions entre agents de guichet des services publics et administrés immigrés. Elle montre que l’institutionnalisation de ces savoirs dans une organisation aux marges de l’État et les modalités discursives et pratiques de mise à distance d’une « opinion publique raciste » contribuent à forger et à nourrir un antiracisme dépolitisé. En enquêtant sur une catégorie peu visible, la thèse donne à voir les processus de redéfinition de la frontière entre État et société au cœur desquels se trouve l’affirmation d’un rôle pédagogique de l’État. / This study follows the trajectory of the category of “intercultural relations”, both an academic and a public policy category. It analyses, in the French context, its first formulations in the beginnings of the 1960’s, its various forms of institutionalization along the 1980’s and describes its progressive invisibilization until the 2000’s. This study investigates the way different actors use this category in a scientific, administrative or political way in order to consider the presence of immigrants in the French society. The mobilization of this category led these sociologists, educationalists and civil servants to rethink the immigration phenomenon. Instead of looking at the dynamics of social classes or with an assimilationist view, they put the cultural dimension of immigrant workers’ presence in France at the heart of the analysis. At the centre of this study lies the analysis of the emergence of this scientific category coined via critical knowledge and used as a reforming public policy category which targets representations of a so-called “racist French public opinion”. The investigation is carried out at the crossroads of socio-historical analysis of a category and the study of the construction of policy problems. It is based on (partly unreleased) archives of public organizations, depending from the Ministry of social affairs, in charge of implementing insertion policies and promoting intercultural relations. This study also relies on the grey literature produced both by the main promoters of this cause, and various State agencies as well as interviews with both kinds of actors. These empirical data are examined through two approaches: first the analysis of the relations between knowledge and public policy; and second, the relations between organisations and public policy. The thesis shows that the idealistic dimension of this category promoting a harmonious management of intercultural relations has not been present very long in the government’’ agenda. However, this category has been used as a long-lasting regulation device for the interactions between street-level civil servants and immigrants constituents. It also shows that the institutionalization of this knowledge in an organization at the margin of the State and the strategies developed to fight a “racist public opinion” contributed to forge and feed a depoliticized antiracism. Investigating on a barely visible category, the thesis aims at giving an account of the process of the redefinition of the boundary between State and society which is at the heart of the pedagogical role of the State.

The topic of this diploma thesis is the Consumer protection in the food supplements area. The work has been devided into three parts. The first part is devoted to the overview about categorization of the products with the impact on health. This part of this work also includes the elementary terms, which are: food, food supplements, medicinal products, cosmetics products and medical devices. The second chapter is devoted to the matter of food supplements as such. The third chapter deals with the terms health and nutrition claims. The last chapter includes the survey between the consumers of the food suplements and also the survey between the pharmacies.