ABSTRACT: Worldwide, social responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic have been largely negative, with widespread revulsion to the illness manifesting in hatred, discrimination, rejection, exclusion, marginalisation and fear of those infected, such that witch-hunts, harsh criminal legislation, seclusion camps and other extreme reactions to the illness have been seen (Cameron, 2005). South Africa, despite having enacted a number of laws and policies to protect the rights of people living with HIV/Aids, has not been immune from the negative social response to the disease, with many HIV-positive South Africans having recounted stories of how being HIV-positive has led to alienation from family and friends, difficulties in accessing education and healthcare services, job loss, emotion and verbal abuse, and even physical violence (Campbell, 2003; Preston- Whyte, 2004; Stadler, 2004; Stein, 2004). Negative social responses to HIV/AIDS can be seen as having a detrimental effect on the ability of affected communities to deal with the challenges posed by the disease. For example, fear of the shame and disgrace attached to HIV/AIDS is often at the root of the failure of people to undergo testing, to reveal their HIVpositive status, to seek out treatment and routinely take medication. Cases have been cited of HIV-positive women who continue to breastfeed, despite the knowledge that this may endanger their child, in order to avoid being identified as having HIV, and of HIV-positive people who continue to engage in unprotected sex, for the same reason (Campbell, 2003; Preston-Whyte, 2004). Thus, it is important to tackle the challenge represented by negative social responses to people infected with HIV/AIDS. In order to do so, it is necessary to understand the nature, causes and consequences of responses to the disease. Towards this, this research study has attempted to examine the factors shaping negative social responses to HIV/AIDS among a selected group of white South Africans. Factors that emerged as influential include notions of blame, deviance and morality, as well as pre-existing prejudices, particularly along racial lines.

This study investigates whether the social facilitation effect takes place when a person performs a computerized task that includes an animated intelligent agent (IA). The moderating effects of two individual differences, locus of control (LOC) and microcomputer playfulness (MCP), are tested for. It was proposed that an IA's presence would cause participants to exhibit this effect and that LOC and MCP would moderate a participant's arousal, measured as state anxiety, such that those possessing an internal LOC and those exhibiting high MCP would experience less arousal when performing computerized tasks with an IA present. Data was analyzed using a 2 (task difficulty) x 4 (intelligent agent) repeated measures MANCOVA. Most hypotheses are not supported, however MCP does appear to moderate arousal depending on the behavior of the IA.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 100 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: This study investigates whether the social facilitation effect takes place when a person performs a computerized task that includes an animated intelligent agent (IA). The moderating effects of two individual differences, locus of control (LOC) and microcomputer playfulness (MCP), are tested for. It was proposed that an IA's presence would cause participants to exhibit this effect and that LOC and MCP would moderate a participant's arousal, measured as state anxiety, such that those possessing an internal LOC and those exhibiting high MCP would experience less arousal when performing computerized tasks with an IA present. Data was analyzed using a 2 (task difficulty) x 4 (intelligent agent) repeated measures MANCOVA. Most hypotheses are not supported, however MCP does appear to moderate arousal depending on the behavior of the IA. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The Computers are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm was proposed more than two decades ago to understand humans’ interaction with computer technologies. Today, as emerging media technologies including social robots and smartphones become more personal and persuasive, questions of how users respond to them socially, what individual factors leverage the relationship, and what constitutes the social influence of these technologies need to be addressed. As an expansion of the CASA paradigm, the Media are Social Actors (MASA) paradigm was applied in the current dissertation to understand users’ social perception, social attitudes, and social behavior in their interactions with humanoid social robots and smartphones. Two lab experiments with between-subjects factorial design were conducted. A total of 110 participants were asked to interact with a humanoid social robot and a smartphone respectively in a socio-emotional context and a task-oriented context. Four pairs of social cues were compared to understand their influence on users’ anthropomorphism of the technologies. Multivariate analyses and textual analyses were conducted. Results suggested that users developed more trust in the social robot with a human voice than with a synthetic voice. Users also developed more intimacy and more interest in the social robot when the robot was paired with humanlike gestures. However, individual differences such as users’ attitudes toward robots, robot use experiences, and suspension of disbelief affected users’ psychological responses to the social robot. Although users’ responses to the smartphone did not vary based on the language styles and the modalities, factors such as individuals’ intensive smartphone use, mobile use habits, and their source orientation and re-orientation moderated the social influence of the smartphone. The dissertation has theoretical value in expanding the CASA paradigm to social robots and smartphones. It also tests the validity of the propositions of the MASA paradigm. The results can lead to more comprehensive, nuanced, and exciting discoveries of the social implications, ethical implications, and practical guides of using these emerging media technologies in the future. / Media & Communication

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L’objectif de ce mémoire est de faire un état des lieux des connaissances produites sur les risques environnementaux et la vulnérabilité et appliquer ces connaissances à la ville de Kigali (Rwanda). Après avoir présenté différentes approches, nous avons retenu le cadre d’analyse qui s’inscrit dans l’approche de J.C. Thouret et R.D’Ercole (1996). Cette approche est articulée autour de trois dimensions : enjeux, facteurs de la vulnérabilité et réponses sociales. A travers l’application des éléments pertinents de ces trois dimensions dans le cas de la ville de Kigali, réalisée grâce à une analyse qualitative, centrée sur l’analyse des documents et des entrevues semi-dirigées, voici les principaux résultats que nous avons obtenus: l’analyse des enjeux a révélé que la ville de Kigali est confrontée à plusieurs dommages, parmi lesquels, on peut mentionner les pertes des vies humaines, la démolition des maisons, la contamination des rivières, la prolifération des maladies et la perturbation des besoins de base ( eau potable, électricité, transport) dues aux risques. Cette situation s’explique par la combinaison de plusieurs facteurs dont le relief collinaire, le sol granitique, les pluies violentes, le caractère centrifuge du réseau hydrographique, le sous-dimensionnement des ouvrages d’évacuation et le réseau d’assainissement insuffisant. D’autres facteurs amplifient la vulnérabilité dont l’explosion démographique consécutive à une urbanisation spontanée et inconsciente en zones inondables, l’ensablement des lits des rivières, le vide juridique, les politiques fragmentaires et le dysfonctionnement des acteurs impliqués dans la gestion des risques. Cette situation aurait probablement été améliorée si les réponses sociales étaient efficaces. Or, d’un côté, la faible perception de risque chez les résidants affectés par les risques accélère davantage la vulnérabilité et de l’autre côté, l’intervention significative des CIB n’est pas accompagnée d’actions complémentaires des institutions publiques et des agences internationales. / The purpose of this research is to make an inventory of knowledge produced on environmental risks and vulnerability and apply this knowledge to the Kigali city (Rwanda). After presenting different approaches, we used the analytical framework that is part of the approach of J. C. Thouret and R. D’Ercole (1996). This approach is articulated around three dimensions: issues, factors of vulnerability and social responses. Through the implementation of relevant elements of these three dimensions in the case of Kigali city, conducted through a qualitative analysis focusing on the analysis of documents and the interpretation of semi-directed interviews, here are the main results we have obtained: the analysis of the issues has revealed that the Kigali city is facing damages, including the loss of human lives, demolition of houses, contamination of rivers, proliferation of diseases, and disruption of basic needs (drinking water, power and transportation) due to riks. This situation is explained by the combination of several factors including the hilly terrain, the granite soil, heavy rains, the centrifugal character of the river system, under-sizing of spillways and the inadequate sewerage system. Others factors exacerbate the vulnerability, including the demographic explosion due to an unconscious and spontaneous urbanization in flood areas, the silting of river beds, the legal vacuum, fragmentary policies and dysfunctional stakeholders involved in risks management. This situation would probably have been improved if social responses were effective. However, on one side, low risk perception among residents affected by the risks, accelerates the vulnerability and on the other side, the significant intervention of CIB is not accompanied by complementary actions of public institutions and international agencies as well.