Le gossypol, pigment principal des semences de coton, représente une cible de choix pour les chimistes organiciens du fait de ses multiples applications pharmacologiques : contraceptif oral chez l'homme, remède naturel pour le traitement de la bronchite, inhibiteur total de la réplication du virus HIV 1, agent antiviral in vitro contre le virus de l'herpès simple type 2, le virus de l'influenza, propriétés anticancéreuses. Ce sont ses propriétés anticancéreuses qui suscitent à l'heure actuelle le plus d'intérêt. Des travaux récents (≥ 2000) montrent que le gossypol est un très bon ligand des protéines de la famille Bcl-2 qui constituent un point de contrôle majeur pour la régulation de l'apoptose (mort naturelle cellulaire dont le processus est perturbé dans les situations de cancers). Le présent travail fournit des nouvelles substances analogues du gossypol. Les voies chimiques originales mises au point permettent de remplacer les groupes isopropyle et méthyle du gossypol par des groupes structurellement proches (éthyle, n-propyle, n-butyle, etc.).<br />La première méthode générale de préparation de dérivés de l'acide vératrique substitués en position C2 par ortho-lithiation a été développée. L'acide vératrique commercial est métallé efficacement en position C2 par le LTMP. L'acide 3,4-diméthoxy-2-méthylbenzoïque ainsi obtenu est à son tour métallable latéralement par le LDA. Il a d'autre part été montré que la position C3 de l'acide 8-isopropyl-4,6,7-triméthoxynaphtalène-2-carboxylique est métallable par LTMP. Lorsque la position C8 est occupé par un méthyle, la métallation se fait exclusivement dans cette position avec LTMP. Les acides 2,3-diméthoxybenzoïques substitués en position C2 par des groupements divers conduisent après condensation de Stobbe à des composés naphtaléniques eux-mêmes précurseurs — par dimérisation oxydante — du squelette binaphtalène présent dans gossypol et l'apogossypol. Le 5,5'-didésisopropyl-5,5'-diméthylgossypol racémique et le 5-désisopropyl-5-méthylhémigossypol ont été préparés selon ces méthodes.

<p>The purpose of this research is to study the effect of different demographic and socio economic factors on the contraceptive use among currently married women of age 15-49 in the two regions of Ethiopia, Amhara (17,214,056) and Oromiya (27,158,471). Data are obtained from the 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). Information on contraceptive use was provided by current use 1334 (14.7), future use 4017 (52.0), unmet need for spacing 1817 (20.0) and limiting 1249 (13.3) currently married women aged 15&ndash / 49 interviewed in the 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS).</p>

The overall aim of this thesis was to inestigate Swedish adolescents' perceptions and behaviours regarding sexual risk taking. Specific objectives were to explore teenagers' perceptions of contraceptive use, unintended pregnancy, and abortion; teenage girls' experiences of decision making process and support connected to abortion; and male adolescents' perceptions of sexual risk taking and barriers to practicing safe sex. Another objective was to evaluate the effect of advance provision of emergency contraceptive pills to teenage girls. The methodologies included focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and a randomized controlled trial. Among the adolescents in our studies, teenage parenthood was generally viewed as a "catastrophe", and the majority expressed supportive attitudes towards abortion (studies I-IV). Occasions of failure to use contraceptives were common, especially when sex was unplanned (studies I-V). Pregnancy prevention was perceived as the woman's responsibility. However, many girls were reluctant about using homonal contraceptives due to worries about negative side effects (I, III). Initiating condom use was difficult for girls, as well as for boys, for a number of reasons (I-IV): fear of ruining an intimate situation, associations with disease, distrust, pleasure reduction, and (for the boys) the fear of loosing one's erection. Males generally perceived personal and partner-related risks connected to unprotected intercourse as low. Few males were worried that an unintended pregnancy would be carried to term, and the majority would urge the girl towards abortion if she seemed ambivalent (II, IV). Girls viewed the abortion decision as a natural, yet difficult choice, strongly influenced by attitudes of partners, parents, peers and societal norms (III). Teenage girls provided with emergency contraceptive pills in advance used it more frequently and sooner after unprotected intercourse compared with controls, without jeopardising regular contraceptive use (V).

Teenage pregnancies are often not intended, and there is a high risk that unintended pregnancies will lead to abortion. The wide-spread availability of Youth Clinics, the subsidizing of contraceptives and the introduction of new and effective contraceptives have failed to lower the abortion rates. The aim of this thesis was to study possible risk groups and to highlight underlying reasons for contraceptive failure. Methods: Study I and II were quantitative studies with the aims of investigating whether teenagers who sought emergency contraception (Paper I) and teenage mothers (Paper II) were at risk for new unintended pregnancies during a 12-month follow-up period. Study III and IV were qualitative studies. The aim in study III was to see how contraceptive use was documented in medical records (MRs) concerning teenagers who had attended for induced abortion. In study IV the aim was to find out reasons for non- use or inconsistent use of contraceptives among teenagers attending for abortion. Results: In study I and II data were collected from medical and antenatal records. The results showed that both groups, despite contraceptive counselling, were at high risk for new unintended pregnancies leading to abortion. Attendance at the postpartum visit was low and 24% of the teenage mothers did not receive any recommendation about using a particular contraceptive method. Within 12 months 25% had a new pregnancy and of these one third led to legal abortion. In Study III two themes were generated from the analysis of the MRs; ‘Contraceptive methods previously used’ and ‘Plan for future contraceptive use’. All MRs did not contain information about contraceptive use. In study IV one theme was generated from the analysis of the interview text: ‘Struggling with feelings of uncertainty and patterns of behaviour’. Conclusion: Teenagers using emergency contraceptive pills and teenage mothers were at high risk for unintended pregnancies. Contraceptive failure in teenagers who have had an abortion may be due to in part to the absence of contraceptive counselling at abortion visits and in part to problems with contraceptive use due to insufficient knowledge and not knowing what do when side-effects occurs.

This qualitative study explored the information available on abortion, contraception and parenting from websites accessible to internet users in Canada. The research questions focused on a comparison of pro-life and pro-choice websites on the discourse in Canada around reproductive rights. A textual analysis was conducted of five websites, with data analyzed using phenomenological research methodology. Themes emerged highlighting key differences between pro-choice and pro-life websites. Pro-choice websites offer accurate and up-to-date information presented in a static resource format, while pro-life websites offer value-laden and inaccurate information presented in an interactive, user-friendly fashion. The analysis highlights how the internet, as an emerging 21st century information resource, is also a site of production for reproductive rights discourse in Canada. These results have direct implications for social work practice and policy, particularly emphasizing the need for client referrals to accessible and accurate websites, and engagement with reproductive rights advocacy and public health education.

This qualitative study explored the information available on abortion, contraception and parenting from websites accessible to internet users in Canada. The research questions focused on a comparison of pro-life and pro-choice websites on the discourse in Canada around reproductive rights. A textual analysis was conducted of five websites, with data analyzed using phenomenological research methodology. Themes emerged highlighting key differences between pro-choice and pro-life websites. Pro-choice websites offer accurate and up-to-date information presented in a static resource format, while pro-life websites offer value-laden and inaccurate information presented in an interactive, user-friendly fashion. The analysis highlights how the internet, as an emerging 21st century information resource, is also a site of production for reproductive rights discourse in Canada. These results have direct implications for social work practice and policy, particularly emphasizing the need for client referrals to accessible and accurate websites, and engagement with reproductive rights advocacy and public health education.

This dissertation consists of three chapters on labor economics. The first two chapters focus on education, and the third examines inequality and incarceration. Chapter one explores whether college students strategically delay exiting college in response to poor labor market conditions. It exploits variation in U.S. state unemployment rates to identify the causal impact of unemployment rates on time to graduation. Strategic delay is observed among both men and women. Results indicate that students delay graduation by approximately 0.4 months for each percentage point increase in junior-year unemployment rates, implying the average student delays by approximately half a semester during a typical recession. Effects are greatest for men with freshman majors in education, professional and vocational technologies, the humanities, business, and the sciences, and for women in education, the sciences, or undeclared. Delays are robust to fluctuations in students’ in-school work hours, earnings, and job market conditions. Chapter two assesses the impact of over-the-counter access to emergency contraception on women’s educational attainment using variation in access produced by state legislation since 1998. Approximately 5% of American women of reproductive age experience an unintended pregnancy annually, indicating a significant unmet need for contraception. Results indicate that cohorts with greater access to emergency contraception are more likely to graduate from high school and attain the associate’s degree. Effects for high school graduation are most pronounced among black women, while increases in associate’s degree attainment are driven primarily by white and Hispanic women. Chapter three explores the relationship between incarceration and generational inequality. Using a calibrated OLG model of criminal behavior with race, inheritance and endogenous education, I calculate how much longer prison sentences, and a higher likelihood of capture and conviction contribute to income inequality. Results indicate that changes to criminal policy mirroring those of the “tough on crime” legislation of the 1980s and 1990s, including an 18% increase in criminal apprehension and a 68% increase in prison sentence length, have little impact on inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient. Instead, the model provides evidence that these enhanced enforcement measures deter crime and decrease incarceration rates. / text

This dissertation examines how honor was fashioned in the New South by examining the masculine roles performed by William Greene Raoul, Jr. Raoul wrote his autobiography in the mid-1930s and in it he reflected on his life on the New South's frontier at the turn of the century as change came to the region in all aspects of life: politically, economically, socially, sexually, and racially. Raoul was an elite son of the New South whose memoirs, "The Proletarian Aristocrat," reveals a man of multiple masculinities, each with particular ways of retrieving his past(s). The paradox of his title suggests the parallel organization of Raoul's recollections. The "aristocrat" framed the events of a lifetime through a lens of honor, sustained by southern gentlemen who restrained masculine impulses on the one hand and avoided dependency on the other. Raoul the "proletarian" cast honor through an ideological retrospective whereby traumatic memories of disappointment and failure were re-fashioned through a distinctly politicized view constructed rather than recalled. Raoul's business failures led him to re-conceptualize masculine honor as a quality possessed more by the emerging working class than the rising commercial class. Memory operates in this project as more than mere methodology as assumptions about access to the past through memory are subordinated to an examination of the meaning of the memories rehearsed by Raoul. Raoul wrote his autobiography at a bittersweet moment in his life. While his personal fortune had been nearly wiped out by the stock market crash of October 1929, he clearly looked back on his career in the New South as a committed radical with delight as the Great Depression called into question the legitimacy of the capitalist system that he had long held responsible for his own professional failures in a variety of endeavors, from the cotton-mill industry to box-car building and from saw manufacturing to a practicing accountant. Raoul converted to Socialism in part to join what he regarded as society's most progressive and virile force. It is these two voices, the proletarian and the aristocrat, that are under examination here.

<p>The purpose of this research is to study the effect of different demographic and socio economic factors on the contraceptive use among currently married women of age 15-49 in the two regions of Ethiopia, Amhara (17,214,056) and Oromiya (27,158,471). Data are obtained from the 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). Information on contraceptive use was provided by current use 1334 (14.7), future use 4017 (52.0), unmet need for spacing 1817 (20.0) and limiting 1249 (13.3) currently married women aged 15&ndash / 49 interviewed in the 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS).</p>

Young women with breast cancer have been found to experience their disease more negatively and more intensely than their older counterparts. However 'young' is not uniformly defined within the literature. Studies have reported on a wide range of ages considered to be 'young', such as samples simply divided by menopausal status or other researcher-defined parameters. For the purpose of this study, young women with breast cancer were defined as those diagnosed at 40 years of age or younger. The overarching aim of the study was to explore the problems faced by this group of young women using qualitative methodology, guided by constructionist epistemology, and grounded in symbolic interactionism and social constructionism. The study was conducted longitudinally, with data collected three times over a 12-18 month period using one-to-one in-depth semi-structured interviews. Baseline data were collected in the first phase of the study (n=35). A sub-group of participants (n=13) were chosen to be followed twice more approximately six months apart, which made up the next two phases. Themes derived from the literature guided the first phase of the study, data collection and analysis. Data analysis was performed after each data collection phase, with findings informing the next phase/s of the study. Thematic and content analysis were utilized in regards to the analysis of the first phase of the study, providing a framework identifying the most pressing concerns, such as those centred around children and partners, emotional aspects and negative physical consequences of treatment. Interrelationships between these themes were apparent. Findings suggest that the emotional support needs of this group of young women remains a challenge. Basic analytical principles of data reduction, data display and drawing conclusions guided the following phases of the analysis. NUD*IST (N6) software was utilized to help undertake in-depth analysis of all follow-up data. The literature concentrates on infertility as a concern for young women with breast cancer, however the study found that fertility per se was a concern for this group of women. Issues of maintained and regained fertility were reported, i.e., concerns surrounding suitable, safe and reliable contraception, pregnancy and breastfeeding after breast cancer. Over time, perceptions of fertility changed. Decisions related to unplanned pregnancies and breastfeeding were particularly onerous. The study also provided other insights into the participants' lives. Body image is suggested to be of greater concern for younger women with breast cancer than their older counterparts. Perceptions of breast symbolism, societal and personal, were explored, as were perceptions of the external portrayal of their bodies. In addition, the participants reported how their experience of breast cancer differed from that of older women with breast cancer, e.g., to be and dress more sexually. Theories and notions of social constructionism and the social construction of the body helped explain the participants' experiences. The women were acutely aware of the sexual importance society placed on women's breasts. Social norms and expectations and cultural trends, that is the youth and beauty culture, were found to greatly influence the participants' perceptions and hence decisions made. Prosthesis use and breast reconstructive surgery were viewed as normalising efforts undertaken by participants to reduce stigma related to breast loss/disfigurement and to enhance body image. The findings from this study provide a greater understanding of the issues, concerns and experiences of young women with breast cancer and provide information that could be utilized in the redesign of educational/information resources to provide these women with relevant information. Currently available support services may also benefit from these findings as greater understanding of these women's experiences may facilitate and promote the provision of more age-appropriate support for young women with breast cancer diagnosed in the future.