Je présente dans une première partie mes travaux de recherche sur les microcavités semi-conductrices en régime de couplage fort exciton-photon. Les modes propres dans ces systèmes sont des états mixtes exciton-photon appelés polaritons de cavité, qui présentent de fortes non-linéarités optiques provenant de l'interaction exciton-exciton. Je présente plusieurs applications de ces dispositifs dans les domaines de l'optique quantique (compression du bruit quantique, génération de faisceaux corrélés) des communications optiques et de l'opto-électronique de spin.<br /><br />J'aborde dans la deuxième partie mes activités théorique et expérimentale autour de la spectroscopie de l'ion H2+. Le but de l'expérience, qui a débuté en 2003 à l'université d'Evry, est de mesurer la fréquence d'une transition vibrationnelle à deux photons sans effet Doppler, et de la comparer à des prédictions théoriques précises pour en déduire une nouvelle détermination du rapport mp/me. Je décris les progrès des calculs de haute précision sur l'ion H2+ (niveaux d'énergie non relativistes, structure hyperfine), ainsi que le dispositif expérimental mis en place et les perspectives de l'expérience.

I am fascinated by the inner thoughts, the memories, and the cumulative experience that make us each a complex physiological puzzle. From birth, sociological building blocks are constructed forming emotional walls and unexpected doorways, boundaries and comfortable passageways through the architecture of our personalities. My thesis work, which is comprised of ceramic figures and interactive toys, offers playful memory triggers and evocative spaces in which viewers can deconstruct the building blocks of their social persona.

The study deals with investigation of acoustical characteristics of a hybrid silencer made up of a dissipative silencer and a quarter wave tube resonator. The theoretical and experimental analyses are performed to define acoustic characteristics of a simple expansion chamber and reactive perforated silencer, while the numerical and experimental solutions are presented for dissipative perforated silencer. Furthermore, the experiments and numerical solutions are extended to the hybrid silencer to find the effect of quarter wave tube resonator on the silencer performance. The experimental results of dissipative silencer are verified with theoretical solutions. The empirical expressions for acoustic impedance of perforation and filling material are presented in this study for use in a three-dimensional boundary element method (BEM). Besides, an experimental setup is also established to find the characteristic impedance and wavenumber of absorbing material to import BEM solution when the empirical expression cannot be used. The results found with BEM are compared by analytical and experimental results favorably.

Autobiographical writing acquired increasing importance during the apartheid period, with greater numbers of autobiographical texts being published by a more representative range of South Africans across race, class and gender categories. This thesis analyzes the implications of shifts in autobiographical production, in English, during the years 1948-1994 through the examination of selected texts. The readings are informed by poststructuralism, modified by information about indigenous black South African cultural practices, as well as by input supplied by some of the autobiographical texts themselves. This theoretical approach may be referred to as a "pratique de metissage" (Glissant). The texts selected for close reading are from a field of over 120 autobiographical texts. They were chosen for their ability to illustrate important trends in South African autobiographical writing, specifically with regard to the three constituent parts of autobiography: autos, bios, and graphe. The chapter dealing with the depiction of self interrogates the hierarchized discourses of male-biased humanism in Roy Campbell's Light on a Dark Horse (1951). In Ellen Kuzwayo's Call Me Woman (1985) I analyze the melding of the conceptual frameworks of indigenous black cultures and Western individualism by which the autobiographical subject is defined. Breyten Breytenbach's The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist (1984) is read as an exploration of the postmodernist decentred self. In the chapter focusing on the portrayal of life experiences, I examine the ways in which the narrator of Albert Luthuli's Let My People Go (1962) seeks to secure the reader's approval of his version of recent South African history; while the analysis of the sub-genre referred to here as worker autobiography is principally concerned with the politics of life-writing. In Chapter 5, I look at how Godfrey Moloi's My Life: Volume One (1987) uses the discourses of popular American movies of the 40s and 50s in order to validate a self victimized by racism, and also at the ways in which Lyndall Gordon's Shared Lives (1992) probes the limits and possibilities of biography through autobiographical speculation. In general, apartheid autobiography moves away from individualism to contribute, through various means, to social and political change. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.

Conducting musical analyses over three case studies, Electric, Eclectic, Canadian: Issues of Genre and Identity in the Music of the Guess Who considers issues of genre, culture, and identity in the music of Canadian rock band the Guess Who. The first case study discusses soft rock transformations in the songs “These Eyes” (1968), “Laughing” (1969), and “Undun” (1969). The second case study examines changes in audience identification with the song “American Woman” (1970), performing comparative analyses of the Guess Who original release to Lenny Kravitz’s version (1999). The final case study discusses ideas of authenticity in the folk rock-inspired protest songs “Hand Me Down World” (1970), “Share the Land” (1970), and “Guns, Guns, Guns” (1972), comparing them to the iconic songs “For What It’s Worth” (Buffalo Springfield, 1967), “Big Yellow Taxi” (1970), “Ohio” (Neil Young, 1970 and “Southern Man” (Young, 1970). The conclusions summarise various musical and socio-political aspects of the Guess Who’s output and places it in relation to questions of national identity.

The different reactions of parents to the discovery that their children had ADD/ADHD has an effect on the primary relationship established between mother and child. This is essential in the later involvement, experience and meaning attribution of the child with respect to all subsequent relationship formation on the child's journey towards his ultimate target, namely self-actualisation. It was felt that psychological intervention could help parents to bond, communicate with and relate to their children without experiencing negative feelings which would enhance parental acceptance. In this study, ten mothers were used to participate in an adapted group Filial Therapy programme. This unique therapy involves parents as the primary agents to resolve child-related problems and to encourage children's healthy psycho-social development. Results were positive. The mothers felt that they had formed better relationship with their children. They were empowered with knowledge and coping mechanisms, such as reflective listening, setting limits and providing choices. For the first time they were enjoying their ADD/ADHD children. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

The present thesis explores the Spirituality of following Jesus according to the Fourth Gospel by investigating the whole profile of the term akoloutheo. In particular, this thesis probes what theological implications are communicated by the association of akoloutheo with correlated motifs in the pericopes where it is employed in spiritual connotation. The texts investigated are: John 1:35-51; 8:12; 10:1-42; 12:26; 13:36-14:3; 21:1-19. Each text communicates the particular and manifold aspects of the Spirituality of following Jesus. Yet, the most distinctive aspects of the Johannine Spirituality of following Jesus imparted throughout almost all the research texts can be summarized by “directional” and “relational.” The life of following Jesus is a journey toward a destination to which Jesus leads his followers, that is, into a relationship with the Father by being with Jesus where he is, and by being with him where he goes and will be in glory. It is ultimately participating in the Son’s communion with the Father. Jesus, who was with the Father and in the bosom of the Father, came down (descended) to bring his followers to the Father, and ascends to the Father taking them with him, so they may be with him where he is with the Father in love and glory. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Christian Spirituality)

Avec les récentes réformes, dont la loi Hôpital, Patient, Santé et Territoires (HPST) de Juin 2009, l’hôpital s’est transformé non seulement dans sa forme organisationnelle par la mise en oeuvre des pôles mais aussi dans son rapport à son environnement. Cette organisation polaire vise à rechercher une performance par une approche médico-économique. Ainsi les dispositifs de gestion ont été mis en place et cherchent à rendre compte de cette performance. Dans ce contexte, comment peuvent travailler des professionnels de champs aussi différents que celui de la gestion et celui du soin ? La gestion sous-entend une optimisation des moyens, alors que le service public défend en priorité des valeurs d’utilité sociale et d’attention aux usagers. Les acteurs du soin ont une forte identification professionnelle à cette mission d’utilité sociale. Dans ce travail, nous proposons d’identifier en quoi les décalages culturels au sein des pôles hospitaliers, participent à une perte de sens et de reconnaissance des agents à leur travail. Ces écarts culturels seront appréciés plus précisément au travers de l’appropriation des outils de gestion. Cette étude se base sur des entretiens réalisés au sein de différents hôpitaux (CHU et CH) et de secteur Médecine, Chirurgie, Obstétrique (MCO) et psychiatrie. Elle révèle lanécessité de pratiques managériales innovantes tournées notamment vers la gestion interculturelle afin que chaque acteur de ces nouvelles structures hospitalières se sente compris et intégré dans cette dynamique. L’étude proposée peut constituer un retour d’expérience intéressant pour mieux comprendre et améliorer l’utilisation des nouveaux outils de gestion. Des préconisations sont proposées et peuvent constituer des pistes de réflexion afin de répondre aux défis actuels de l’hôpital public. / With the latest reforms, among which the Hospital, Patient, Healthcare and Territory (HPST) Law, the French Hospital has changed not only the form of its organisation through the implementation of a polar organisation, but also its environmental concern. This polar organisation aims to strive for performance and efficiency via an managerial and medical approach. Thus, some management tools have been set up aimed in particular at giving feedback on such performance. In this context, how can professionals from such distinct fields as management and healthcare work? Management implies the optimization of resources when the public sector above all upholds values of social usefulness and patient care. Healthcare actors feel very much involved in this mission of social usefulness. In this work we propose to identify how cultural gaps within hospital poles contribute to a loss of meaning and acknowledgment among healthcare agents. Those cultural gaps will be examined more particularly through management tool appropriation. This study relies on interviews conducted in various healthcare facilities (PCO and psychiatric hospitals of various capacities such as CHU and CH). It reveals the need for innovative managerial practices, especially designed for intercultural management, so that every actor of these new hospital facilities may feel that they are understood and integrated in this dynamic process. The proposed study can make up interesting feedback to better understand and improve the use of these new management tools. Recommendations are issued that can be food for thought to meet the current challenges of public hospitals.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T14:52:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 claudio takao karia.pdf: 2242096 bytes, checksum: 8b502fdb3ff4995409e0345270eaaed3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-21 / Plant genetic resources maintained ex situ, in germplasm banks, are few used in agricultural systems and genetic plant breeding programs. One of the main reasons of this incipient use is the difficulty to obtain information about stored accessions, especially the characterization and preliminary evaluation data. Stylosanthes guianensis is a predominantly self-pollinated and diploid species, which has a great number of this stored accessions and potential for use in agricultural systems. There are approximately one thousand accessions of the S. guianensis in Embrapa&#8223;s germplasm bank. Moreover, only one genotype of this species is now available to commercial growers in Brazil, the cultivar Mineirão. To promote the use of these resources, this study aimed to characterize accessions of S. guianensis, stored in the germplasm bank of Embrapa, using morpho-agronomic traits and microstellites markers (SSR). In morpho-agronomic characterization 535 accessions were evaluated using 23 quantitative traits. The data were analyzed by a principal component analysis (PCA), the Ward's agglomerative hierarchical clustering method, and by univariate analysis of variance, associated to a Tukey test for comparisons among means of the established groups. Thirteen similarity accession groups were established, five of them were considered the ones with the highest potential use in agricultural systems. Regarding these potential groups, it is possible to reduce from 535 to 126 accessions to be thoroughly evaluated. The molecular characterization was made in 437 accessions, using seven microsatellites fluorescent primers, and the detection of the DNA fragments generated by PCR (Polimerase Chain Reaction) was accomplished by a capillary electrophoresis. The seven loci provided 45 alleles (6.43 alleles/locus), of which four were private alleles. Both, principal coordinates analysis and cluster analysis, in this case, by UPGMA agglomerative method, showed a tendency to group accessions together by botanical varieties (canescens, guianensis and pauciflora), except for the microcephala variety. The correlation between the genetic and morpho-agronomic dissimilarities was highly significant, however, it was of low magnitude (r = 0.23, P &#8804; 0.0001). This indicates that both evaluations are important and should be performed to achieve a more complete characterization of these accessions and, possibly, of the species. Taking account the germplasm accessions with agronomic potential, selected based on the morpho-agronomic evaluation, several of them presented significant genetic dissimilarities to the Mineirão cultivar. These accessions should be better assessed for agronomic traits, and crossed with this cultivar in breeding programs of the species. The results of this research will allow increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the germplasm bank activities, helping the choice of genotypes to be tested in agronomic evaluations, and stimulating further researches with these genetic resources. / Os recursos genéticos vegetais armazenados ex situ, em geral, são pouco utilizados nos sistemas de produção e no melhoramento genético de plantas. Um dos principais motivos deste uso incipiente é a dificuldade de se obterem as informações sobre os acessos armazenados, sobretudo os dados de caracterização e avaliação preliminar. A espécie Stylosanthes guianensis, diplóide e preferencialmente autógama, possui grande quantidade desses acessos e potencial de utilização em sistemas agrícolas. Somente no Banco de Germoplasma da Embrapa existe uma coleção com cerca de mil acessos registrados de S. guianensis. Por outro lado, apenas um genótipo dessa espécie é hoje comercializado no Brasil, a cultivar Mineirão. Para promover a utilização desses recursos, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar os acessos de S. guianensis, armazenados no Banco de Germoplasma da Embrapa, utilizando-se caracteres morfoagronômicos e marcadores de locos microssatélites (SSR). Na caracterização morfoagronômica, foram avaliados 535 acessos acerca de 23 caracteres quantitativos. Os dados correspondentes foram estatisticamente investigados empregando-se a análise de componentes principais, a análise de agrupamento, pelo método aglomerativo de Ward, e a análise de variância (univariada), associada ao teste de Tukey, para comparar as médias dos grupos identificados. Foram estabelecidos treze grupos de acessos similares, dos quais, cinco foram considerados de maior potencial para a utilização nos sistemas agrícolas. Considerando-se apenas os grupos potenciais, é possível reduzir o número de acessos a serem avaliados mais detalhadamente, de 535 para 126 acessos. Na caracterização genético-molecular foram considerados 437 acessos da coleção, utilizando-se sete primers microssatélites, marcados com fluorescência, e a detecção dos fragmentos de DNA obtidos via PCR (reação da polimerase em cadeia) foi feita por meio da técnica de eletroforese em capilar. Os sete locos produziram 45 alelos (6,43 alelos/loco), dos quais quatro foram alelos privados. Tanto na análise de coordenadas principais, como na análise de agrupamento, neste caso pelo método UPGMA, os acessos demonstraram tendência de se reunirem em grupos, conforme as variedades botânicas da espécie (canescens, guianensis e pauciflora), exceto para a variedade microcephala. A correlação entre as dissimilaridades genéticas e morfoagronômicas foi altamente significativa, porém, de baixa magnitude (r = 0,23; P &#8804; 0,0001), indicando que ambas as avaliações são importantes e devem ser realizadas para a melhor caracterização desses acessos e, possivelmente, da espécie. Considerando-se os grupos com potencial agronômico, selecionados na avaliação morfoagronômica, identificaram-se acessos geneticamente bastante dissimilares da cultivar Mineirão, que devem ser mais bem avaliados agronomicamente, para compor possíveis cruzamentos com essa cultivar, em programas de melhoramento da espécie. Assim, os resultados deste trabalho permitirão aumentar a eficiência e a eficácia das atividades no Banco de Germoplasma em estudo, subsidiar a escolha de genótipos a serem testados em avaliações agronômicas, podendo, ainda, estimular outras pesquisas com esses recursos genéticos.

Les récepteurs à la vasopressine V1bR et à la sérotonine 5HT3R jouent des rôles physiologiques importants dans la détection des signaux extracellulaires, les mécanismes de transmission nerveuse et diverses pathologies dont le cancer, le diabète et des maladies des SNC et SNP. Mes études avaient pour but de générer ou trouver des modulateurs peptidiques de ces deux récepteurs. Pour le V1bR, j’ai développé plusieurs anticorps de type VHH et les ai caractérisés aux plans biochimique et fonctionnel. L’un de ces VHHs agit comme un agoniste allostérique complet et spécifique du V1bR humain (hV1bR). In vitro ce VHH est capable d’activer les voies de signalisation de l’inositol phosphate et des MAP kinases et d’induire l'internalisation du hV1bR. Dans des îlots pancréatiques surexprimant le hV1bR, il induit une augmentation du Ca2+ intracellulaire et une sécrétion d'insuline. Pour le 5HT3R, j’ai criblé par SPR 31 venins de serpents sur des récepteurs recombinants immobilisés et mis en évidence une interaction à partir d’un de ces venins. Suite à purification par chromatographie liquide et identification par spectrométrie de masse, j’ai identifié une toxine préalablement caractérisée comme une enzyme à activité Ca2+-dépendante. Cette toxine interagit avec les 5HT3R A et AB indépendamment du Ca2+ et avec des valeurs de Kd ≤ 10 nM. L’analyse fonctionnelle par électrophysiologie suggère qu’elle agit comme un PAM de l’activité canal du 5HT3R. Des images de ME en coloration négative montrent la toxine fixée sur le domaine extracellulaire du 5HT3R, à distance du site pour la 5HT. Le VHH et la toxine pourraient être utilisés comme outils pharmacologiques et/ou agents thérapeutiques. / The vasopressin V1bR and serotonin 5HT3R receptors play important physiological roles in the detection of extracellular signals, in the mechanisms for neuronal transmission, and in various pathologies including cancer, diabetes, and CNS and PNS diseases. My studies were aimed at generating or finding peptidic modulators of these two receptors. For the V1bR, I developed several antibodies of the VHH type and characterized them biochemically and functionally. One of these VHHs acts as a complete allosteric agonist specific for the human V1bR (hV1bR). In vitro this VHH is able to activate the signaling pathways of inositol phosphate and MAP kinases and to induce the internalization of hV1bR. In pancreatic islets overexpressing hV1bR, it induces an increase in intracellular Ca2+ and a secretion of insulin. For the 5HT3R, using SPR I screened 31 snake venoms on immobilized recombinant receptors and for one of these venoms, evidenced an interaction. Following purification by liquid chromatography and identification by mass spectrometry, I identified a toxin previously characterized as an enzyme with Ca2+-dependent activity. This toxin interacts with the 5HT3R A and AB independently of Ca2+ and with Kd values ≤ 10 nM. Functional analysis by electrophysiology suggests that it acts as a PAM of the 5HT3R channel activity. Images recorded by negative staining EM show that the toxin binds to the 5HT3R extracellular domain, at a distance from the 5HT binding site. Both this VHH and this toxin could be used as pharmacological tools and / or therapeutic agents.