Portés par l’évolution rapide d’Internet, les réseaux sociaux sont devenus de nouveaux moyens d’expression pour émettre et consulter des communications de bouche-à-oreille (BAO). Les marketeurs sont intéressés pour mieux utiliser ce BAO dans une politique de communication. Ils élaborent pour cela des stratégies de « sollicitation » consistant à demander à une personne de recommander une offre à ses proches en vue d’atteindre un but. Si l’utilisation de sollicitations se développe, la question de la réponse d’un individu à une sollicitation de BAO reste en suspens. En se basant sur la théorie du comportement dirigé vers un but (Perugini & Bagozzi, 2001), cette recherche propose un modèle général de la réponse à une sollicitation de BAO qui intègre l’influence de la formulation de la sollicitation (gains vs. pertes), de l’éloignement de l’échéance et du type de projet. Le modèle est testé dans le contexte des campagnes de financement participatif où la sollicitation de BAO est fréquemment utilisée pour augmenter le faible taux de succès des campagnes (20%). Les résultats de six études montrent que (1) les individus répondent plus favorablement à une sollicitation de BAO quand l’échéance est proche et que cet effet dépend de la formulation de la sollicitation. (2) En adaptant la formulation à l’éloignement de l’échéance, une sollicitation est en mesure de rendre l’action de BAO plus désirable et de générer une émotion anticipée de fierté ce qui en retour augmente l’intention de BAO. L’effet modérateur du niveau de risque social est aussi validé dans la réponse à la sollicitation. (3) Finalement, la sollicitation de BAO permet bien de développer la visibilité et d’accroître le succès d’une campagne. / Driven by the rapid evolution of the Internet, online social networks have become new channels of expression to issue and consult Word-of-Mouth (WOM). Marketers are increasingly interested in better using WOM in a communication policy. They develop strategies of “solicitation” for asking a person a recommendation of an offer to his family and acquaintances in order to achieve a goal. If the use of solicited WOM is growing, the question of an individual's response to a WOM solicitation remains unsettled. Drawing on Goal-Directed Behaviour theory (Perugini & Bagozzi, 2001), this research proposes a general model of the response to a WOM solicitation which integrates the influence of the solicitation formulation (gain vs loss), time remaining before the deadline and the type of project. The model is tested in the context of crowdfunding where a WOM solicitation is frequently used to increase the campaigns' low success rate (20%). The results of six studies show that (1) individuals respond more favourably to a WOM solicitation when the deadline is close and that effect depends on the formulation. (2) By adapting the formulation to the deadline, a solicitation is able to make the WOM action more desirable and generate an anticipated emotion of pride which in turn increases the WOM intention. The moderating effect of social risk is also validated in the response to a solicitation. (3) Finally, a WOM solicitation makes it possible to develop the visibility and increases the campaign' success rate.

<p>With autonomous systems bringing greater demand for user data, in some applications, this also brings an opportunity to solicit data from users. To exploit this, a user interface will need to be designed to coax the user into achieving system goals, like data solicitation. One approach is to design a system to leverage an already present tendency for people to socially interact with technology. In this thesis, I argue that such an approach would involve incorporating interaction concepts that facilitate engagement into the design of recommender system interfaces that will improve the likelihood of obtaining data from users. To support this claim, I synthesize past work on human-computer interaction and recommender systems to derive a framework to guide scientific investigations into interface design concepts that will address the data solicitation problem.<br></p>

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本研究以2002至2004年非金融業之臺灣上市櫃公司為研究對象，從經營績效、股權結構及公司治理特性等觀點，探討企業發生委託書徵求事件之決定性因素、經營績效及其與盈餘管理行為之關聯性，並進一步分析企業特質對企業從事常態性委託書徵求行為之影響。就委託書徵求事件之決定性因素而言，本研究發現，整體績效表現愈差、獲利能力愈差、現金股利發放愈少、內部人持股比率愈低、董監事質押比率愈高、最終控制者之股份控制權愈低、席次偏離股份控制權程度愈大之企業，發生委託書徵求事件之機率愈高。經營績效之實證結果顯示，徵求委託書、利用金字塔及交叉持股之控股結構、控制權偏離所有權程度愈大之企業，當期之經營績效較差。前述實證結果亦適用於常態性徵求委託書之企業。至於委託書徵求事件與盈餘管理行為之關聯性而言，委託書徵求為企業從事盈餘管理行為之誘因之一，尤其在常態性徵求委託書之情況更為顯著。企業之董監事質押比例愈高、負債比率愈高、席次控制權偏離盈餘分配權程度愈大、控股結構複雜度(金字塔結構或交叉持股)愈高，其盈餘管理幅度較高。 / Based on a sample of non-baking corporations listed on Taiwan Securities Exchange and Over the Counter over the period of 2002 to 2004, this thesis first investigates the determinants and operation performance of proxy solicitation behavior, followed by examining the relationship between proxy solicitation and earnings management. In addition, the characteristics of companies that appeal to proxy solicitation on a regular basis are also studied. The empirical results show that companies with poorer overall performance, poorer profitability, lower cash dividend payout ratio, lower insiders shareholdings, higher share pledge ratio by the board members, lower control rights, and higher deviation in control rights from cash flow rights, are more likely to apply proxy solicitation. The empirical findings also indicate that companies with proxy solicitation, pyramid and cross-holdings structures, and higher deviation in control rights from cash flow rights, tend to have worse operating performance for the current period. The findings aforementioned can also apply to the companies that repeatedly employ proxy solicitation. This research documents that proxy solicitation is strongly associated with earnings management behavior, especially for companies that apply proxy solicitation repetitively. Companies with higher share pledge ratio by the board members, higher debt ratio, higher deviation in control rights from cash flow rights and employing pyramid and cross-holdings structures, are found to be associated with higher magnitude of earnings management.

1 Thesis title, keywords and abstract Thesis title: Sexually motivated cybercrime Keywords: cybercrime, virtual child pornography, sexting, pornographic performances, cyber grooming, sexual solicitation of children This master thesis deals with the issue of cybercrime against persons more specifically with sexually motivated crimes. The thesis is divided into five separate chapters. The first chapter deals with cybercrime in general, its taxonomy and the necessary terminology, it also describes some of the criminogenic factors of cybercrime relevant for the issue. The second chapter presents the most important applicable international legal instruments. The third chapter describes the issue of illicit pornography especially child pornography. For the subsequent chapters the author's own taxonomy was used and they overlap in part. The fourth chapter explores the phenomenon of sexting and the use of web cameras for sexual purposes as a consensual activity. In the fifth chapter the misuse of these activities for the purposes of child grooming, extortion and commercial sexual exploitation of children is examined. The chapters three to fine represent the core of the thesis and are outlined as follows: First, the criminological aspects are analyzed. Then some general thoughts on legal regulation of the given...

Afin de survivre dans un environnement fluctuant, les plantes ont développé la capacité de percevoir et de répondre à des stimuli externes divers et parfois extrêmes. Les sollicitations mécaniques jouent un rôle important au cours du développement des plantes et un nombre croissant d’études s’intéresse à la mécanoperception. Le dessin de la voie de signalisation entre la perception du signal et la régulation des gènes précoces reste incertain. Un modèle de la mécanoperception, proposant que la variable mécanoperçue soit la déformation de la membrane, a été vérifié à l’échelle de la plante entière mais doit être validé au niveau cellulaire. Pour cela, et afin d’identifier les acteurs moléculaires précoces de la réponse à la sollicitation mécanique, nous avons analysé la régulation du gène mécanosensible PtaZFP2 sur cultures cellulaires de peuplier. Le gène PtaZFP2 appartient à la famille multigénique des Q-type C2H2-ZFPs codant des facteurs de transcription putatifs et comprenant 16 membres chez le peuplier. Une analyse phylogénétique et l’analyse de l’expression de ces gènes en réponse à différents stress abiotiques ont montré l’existence de deux groupes phylogénétiques. Ils se différencient par des doigts de zinc caractéristiques et deux nouveaux motifs protéiques (MALEAL et LVDCHY) spécifiques à chacun des groupes. Cette étude nous a également permis d’identifier un autre gène, PtaZFP1, proche phylogénétiquement de PtaZFP2 et fortement induit par une flexion. Après avoir mis au point un système de sollicitation mécanique sur cultures cellulaires, nous avons démontré l’implication du calcium, des calmodulines, des jasmonates et du H2O2 dans l’induction précoce du gène PtaZFP2 par un signal mécanique. Nos travaux suggèrent également l’existence d’une interaction entre la NADPH oxydase (enzyme impliquée dans la production d’EAO) et les calmodulines en amont de PtaZFP2. Finalement, des résultats préliminaires suggèrent une localisation nucléaire de cette protéine et une accumulation transitoire au sein des tiges 2h après une flexion. Les outils moléculaires produits au cours de ce travail (anticorps, protéines recombinantes) permettront de comprendre le rôle de PtaZFP2 dans cette voie de signalisation. / The ability of plants to perceive and respond to various and even extreme environmental stimuli is crucial for their survival in a fluctuant environment. Mechanical solicitations play a key role during plant development and an increasing number of studies are dedicated to mechanosensing. The way how plants sense mechanical signals and bring about the changes in gene expression is still unknown. Recently, a model of mechanosensing, suggesting that the physical variable perceived by cells is the plasma membrane strain, has been confirmed at the whole plant scale but remains to be validated at the cellular level. In this aim and to identify the molecular components involved in the early steps of the mechanical signaling pathway, the regulation of the mechanosensitive gene PtaZFP2 was analyzed in poplar cells cultures. The mechanosensitive PtaZFP2 gene belongs to the multigenic Q -type C2H2 -ZFPs family encoding putative transcription factors, consisting of 16 members in poplar. A phylogenetic study and the expression analysis of several of these genes in response to abiotic stresses, allowed us to detect two phylogenetic groups. These two groups are distinguished essentially on their different signatures of their two zinc finger domains and on the two additional conserved motifs MALEAL and LVDCHY, specific to each phylogenetic group. Another gene of the Q -type C2H2 -ZFP family, PtaZFP1, related to PtaZFP2, was shown to be regulated by bending. After several adjustments to apply a mechanical solicitation to cells cultures, such treatments revealed the involvement of calcium, calmodulins, jasmonic acid and H2O2 in the rapid induction of PtaZFP2 gene expression in response to mechanical stress. Furthermore, our data showed an interaction between an NADPH oxidase enzyme (involved in ROS production) and calmodulins upstream of PtaZFP2. Finally, preliminary results suggested a nuclear localization of PtaZFP2 and a transient accumulation of this protein in the stem 2 hours after bending. The molecular tools that have been produced during this work (antibody, recombinant protein) will be used to study the role of PtaZFP2 in the mechanical signaling pathway.

L’avancement des technologies a permis aux agresseurs sexuels de mineurs d’avoir de nouvelles opportunités de commettre des infractions à caractère sexuel en ligne (Fortin, Paquette, & Dupont, 2018; Seto, Hanson, & Babchishin, 2011). Avec un nombre de plaintes criminelles croissant (Wolak, Finkelhor, & Mitchell, 2012), le phénomène du leurre informatique pose de nombreux défis pour les enquêteurs qui doivent développer des méthodes d'enquête pour distinguer les dossiers ayant le plus de risque de passage à l’acte afin d’assurer la protection du public. Le projet de recherche vise à distinguer les différents types de cyber-relations basées sur les stratégies utilisées dans les discours d’auteurs de leurre. En analysant les différences entre les auteurs de leurre qui ne demande pas un contact hors ligne, ceux qui n’ont pas été capables d’obtenir un contact et ceux qui ont obtenu un contact hors ligne, on vise à identifier les stratégies associées aux discoures des interactions menant aux contacts hors ligne. L’étude utilise une combinaison d’approche qualitative et quantitative. L’analyse des conversations en ligne a été faite à partir de données policières de la Surêté du Québec . La transformation des données qualitatives en quantitative a été fait pour conduire les analyses statistiques. Les résultats suggèrent que les stratégies associées aux interactions qui ont mené au passage hors ligne sont : la persistance, la pratique en ligne des fantaisies sexuelles et d’avoir des opportunités à risque limité de détection d’une figure faisant autorité. Les auteurs de leurre avec contact ont utilisé ces stratégies de manière plus récurrente que les auteurs de leurre sans contact. En outre, les victimes qui participent plus et qui résistent le plus ont été associées à des relations menant au contact hors ligne. Les auteurs de leurre ayant eu un contact hors ligne avec leurs victimes avaient un plus grand nombre de conversations, en moyenne. Donc, ils avaient plus de temps pour utiliser différentes stratégies pour surpasser les résistances des victimes. Les implications de cette recherche suggèrent que les typologies identifiées dans la littérature scientifique n’ont pas trouver les caractéristiques scientifiquement associées à chacun des types. / The advancement of technology created new opportunities for online sex solicitors to cyber victimize minors online (Fortin et al., 2018; Seto et al., 2011). With the increasing number of police reports (Wolak et al., 2012), online sex solicitors pose numerous challenges for police practices. This research project aims to distinguish the differences between the types of interactions that seek offline contact based on the strategies seen in their discourses. By analyzing the differences between the strategies used by various types of interactions, we aimed to identify the strategies which are associated with offline contact interaction group. This study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to achieve the research goal. We used a qualitative methodology to do a thematic analysis and codify the chatlogs. The strategies used for codification were taken from previous studies and observation of the police data from the Sûreté du Québec . After the codification, we transformed the thematic results into quantitative data. The quantitative research methodology was employed to test the differences in frequency of each strategy between types of interactions. The results demonstrate that the strategies associated with offline contact are persistence, fantasy rehearsal and the presence of opportunities with limited risk of exposure. Contact group used more frequently these strategies compared to the noncontact group. Moreover, contact victims showed more participatory and oppositional behaviours. Offenders who met their victims offline showed longer interactions, on average. Consequentially, offenders from the contact group had more time to use the various strategies to surpass the victims' resistances. The implication of this research lays in the contradiction of these results compared to literature's results. The particularities of each types are not associated with previous typologies.

This study examined the association of social anxiety, loneliness, and problematic Internet use (PIU) with the online solicitation of minors. Within a convenience sample of adult Internet users from Germany, Finland, and Sweden (N = 2,828), we compared the responses of participants who had not interacted sexually with strangers online (n = 2,049) with participants who sexually interacted with unknown adults online (n = 642), and both groups with adults who sexually solicited unknown minors online (n = 137). Online sexual interaction with adults was associated with higher levels of social anxiety, loneliness, and PIU compared with not sexually interacting with strangers online. Sexually soliciting minors online was associated with higher levels of social anxiety, loneliness, and PIU compared with sexually interacting with adults and not sexually interacting with strangers at all. Interestingly, compared with those with adult contacts, loneliness was specifically pronounced for participants who solicited children, whereas social anxiety and PIU were pronounced for participants soliciting adolescents. These findings suggest that social anxiety, loneliness, and PIU may be among the motivators for using the Internet to solicit individuals of different age groups for sexual purposes. These factors emerged as specifically relevant for adults who sexually solicited minors and who reported greater impairments compared with adults who sexually interacted with adults. These characteristics may thus be important to consider for assessment and treatment procedures for individuals soliciting minors online.

Objectives: This study examined how frequently online sexual solicitation of adolescents and children by adults occurs and what characteristics the perpetrators have using a novel methodological approach. Method: In an online survey, we investigated the frequency of online sexual solicitation exhibited by adult Internet users (N ¼ 2,828), including a subgroup recruited on pedophilia-related websites. Perpetrators soliciting adolescents were compared to those soliciting children concerning solicitation outcomes (e.g., cybersex) and demography. Results: In total, 4.5 percent reported soliciting adolescents and 1.0 percent reported soliciting children. Most solicitors of adolescents and children were from pedophilia-related websites (49.1 and 79.2 percent). Solicitation frequently involved sexual outcomes (47.5 percent), which also followed nonsexual interaction. The minors’ age did not affect the odds of sexual outcomes. A substantial proportion of perpetrators were female. Conclusions: This study offers unprecedented data on the number of adults soliciting minors. Although adolescents were more often target of solicitation, the risk of sexual outcomes was equally high in solicitation of children, suggesting younger children to be considered in prevention efforts as well. Nonsexual interactions resulting in sexual outcomes need to be more closely examined to inform appropriate prevention efforts. Moreover, awareness should be raised about females as perpetrators.

Text in English / This study explores the phenomenon of auditor switching. The purpose of this study is to further contribute to the auditor switching literature by examining the reasons client companies in South Africa switch auditors, where the topic has not previously been studied and following a period of rapid and significant change in the auditing profession. Using previous literature as a foundation, forty-four variables that contribute to auditor switching are presented and tested based on empirical data elicited by means of a questionnaire survey of sample companies that experienced auditor switching during the period 1 January 1998 to 30 June 1999 as obtained from Practitioners in the KwaZulu-Natal Region. The factors motivating auditor switching were based on a questionnaire response of seventy-five companies (response rate 67% ). The empirical study also tested whether or not the switch variables thus identified are statistically related to auditor switching. The findings of this study revealed that audit fees are both the most frequently cited reason for switching auditors and found to be statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance. Dissatisfaction over the overall quality of services provided by the auditor, lack of communication including the lack of responsiveness to client needs, poor working relationship with audit partner followed as switch factors but were not found to be statistically significant at 0. 05 level. The findings of this study revealed that two other variables, namely, management change and the need for group auditor rationalisation, appear to be significantly related to auditor switching at the 0.05 1evel of significance. / Auditing / M. Comm. (Auditing)