[Patient education: state of the art of the programs in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in 2008 before the publication of official documents relative to the authorizations of the Regional Health Agency (ARS)].

Background: At the request of the Hospitalization Regional Agency (ARH)--in the context of the 2007-2011 plan aimed at improving the quality of life for patients affected by chronic diseases--the purpose of this work was to draw up a clear assessment of the 2008 Therapeutic Education programmes in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region. The study was carried out before the publication of the therapeutic education statutory orders and ARS (regional health agency) authorizations.

Methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out in the three sectors of medical management in the region--namely health-care institutions, ambulatory structures and health networks--made it possible to identify, first, which structures had actually launched therapeutic education programmes and then, how the procedures had been designed and set up.

Beyond the perception and the obvious: what sex offender registries really tell us and why.

This work examines the sex offender registries in 49 states in terms of the public information they offer from a social construction and social reality standpoint. Social construction is the dominant perspective for the information given about sex offenders to the point where the market for public information may be failing in this regard. This failure could indeed be caused by how difficult it is for a society to look at such acts, focusing on the offender instead.