Nous avons documenté et comparé les caractéristiques environnementales potentiellement associées à la participation sociale de Québécois âgés, selon le niveau de ruralité. Une enquête a été réalisée auprès de Québécois âgés de 65 ans et plus recrutés par différents regroupements d’aînés et les réseaux sociaux. Les répondants ont rempli le Questionnaire du potentiel de participation sociale, développé à partir d’une recension systématique des écrits. Selon les 515 aînés, âgés en moyenne de 71,5 ans, les caractéristiques environnementales liées à la participation sociale, ainsi que la convivialité des villes et des quartiers, sont perçues plus favorablement dans les milieux métropolitains et urbains que dans les milieux ruraux. Toutefois, l’accès à l’autobus ainsi que l’accueil et l’ouverture des gens du quartier sont davantage appréciés par les aînés ruraux. Ces résultats témoignent de la présence d’inégalités de participation sociale selon le niveau de ruralité et permettent d’envisager de nouvelles pistes d’action.

We describe the case of a 56-year old woman with no prior psychiatric history who was diagnosed with hormone receptor positive early-stage breast cancer and who developed severe mood changes after administration of anastrozole, which resolved after discontinuation of treatment. Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are the preferred hormonal approach for postmenopausal women with estrogen hormone sensitive breast cancer. The third-generation agents (anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane) have been shown to be more effective and safer than the selective estrogen receptor modulators tamoxifen and raloxifen. Treatment strategies with these agents include the use of an AI as an upfront strategy for 5 years, as a sequential approach after 2–3 years of tamoxifen, or as extended use after the classical 5 years of tamoxifen. The side effects of AIs, as compared with selective estrogen receptor modulators, are different, reflecting the specific mechanism of action of these drugs. AIs are well tolerated and cause a lower incidence of gynecological symptoms (vaginal bleeding, discharge, and endometrial neoplasia), venous thromboembolic events, and hot flashes compared with tamoxifen. However, the use of AIs have been associated with loss of bone density, arthralgia, myalgia, a negative effect on lipid metabolism, and cardiovascular risk (Tomao et al., 2011). Mood disturbances, somnolence, anxiety, fatigue, hot flashes, and memory impairment have been reported among patients receiving anastrozole as adjuvant therapy.

Le projet SAFRAN a pour objectif le développement d'une interface dédiée à I'enseignement du français assisté par ordinateur, interface dans laquelle sont intégrés progressivement des outils de traitement automatique des langues naturelles. Ces outils, dans le cadre du projet SAFRAN, sont I'analyseur syntaxique et le synthétiseur vocal FIPSvox, le dictionnaire électronique conceptuel FR-Tool et le conjugueur FLEX, lls permettent I'accès à des ressources linguistiques riches et variées, favorisent I'expérimentation et enfin, offrent un support au diagnostic. Notre article fait le compte-rendu de deux années d'activités scientifiques pour lesquelles nos efforts ont porté sur le développement d'un module sur I'enseignement de la phonétique du français qui intègre les outils de TALN mentionnŕs supra.

The basic tenet of constructivism is that learners construct their knowledge on their own by associating new with prior information. The significance of the learner’s interaction with his/her social and physical environment is here of great importance; the learner is at the center of the learning process while the tutor is seen as a facilitator, a guide. Considering the paradigm shift in education and language learning, the assumptions of the constructivist philosophy encourage the use of computers in second language acquisition. Computer technology is capable of providing the context for collaboration and social interaction in which learners will construct the knowledge of the target language on their own by being engaged in meaningful activities. Moreover, computers allow learners to interact not only with the learning materials but also with other people. The combination of the social and individual aspect is best expressed by social constructivism. Placing language learning in a socio-cognitive context, we will approach second language acquisition from a social constructivist perspective and indicate the value of such an approach for the design and evaluation of Computer Applications in Second Language Acquisition (CASLA). Firstly, an overview of constructivism as a theory of learning is required in order to make clear the basic assumptions of the constructivist theory. Secondly, the focus is placed on social constructivism which is examined in relation to second language acquisition. This in tandem exploration will lead us to provide a framework which integrates all four language skills in a general theoretical framework of social interaction and shows how social constructivism can promote second language acquisition. Finally, one type of on-line application such as WebQuest, which is best developed in project-driven language learning, will be provided as a potential example of good practice in approaching Computer Applications in Second Language Learning through a social constructivist perspective.