This essay is a comparative case study of the democratization in Bhutan and Burkina Faso. The question this essay ask of its theories and empirical facts are that of ; what kind of similarities can be found in two cases so different, regarding their modern democratization process. To answer that question, two theories are used. Dankwart A. Rustows four phases of democratization and Samuel P. Huntingtons waves of democratization. They are later compared to the empirical data of Bhutan and Burkina Fasos political development and historical backgrounds to democracy. Whilst comparing them, similarities are found in that of leaders institutionalizing the democratic process, and in the rise of new political forums where the democratic process is being applied to actual political problems and then resolved and worked with by politicians. This research concludes with Bhutan being the exception to the democratic process, having had monarks giving up their absolute power to benefit the democratic process, whereas the former leader of Burkina Faso who institutionalized democratic process used it to gain and sustain his own power of the state.

Background: The Missed Opportunities for Maternal and Infant Health (MOMI) project, which aimed at upgrading maternal and infant postpartum care (PPC), implemented a package of interventions including the integration of maternal PPC in infant immunization services in 12 health facilities in Kaya Health district in Burkina Faso from 2013 to 2015. This paper assesses the coverage and the quality of combined mother-infant PPC in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services (RMNCH). Methods: We conducted a mixed methods study with cross-sectional surveys before and after the intervention in the Kaya health and demographic surveillance system. On the quantitative side, two household surveys were performed in 2012 ( N = 757) and in 2014 ( N = 754) among mothers within one year postpartum. The analysis examines the result of the intervention by the date of delivery at three key time points in the PPC schedule: the first 48 h, days 6 - 10 and during weeks 6 - 8 and beyond. On the qualitative side, in depth interviews, focus group discussions and observations were conducted in four health facilities in 2012 and 2015. They involved mothers in the postpartum period, facility and community health workers, and other stakeholders. We performed a descriptive analysis and a two-sample test of proportions of the quantitative data. The qualitative data were recorded, transcribed and analysed along the themes relevant for the intervention. Results: The findings show that the WHO guidelines, in terms of content and improvement of maternal PPC, were followed for physical examinations and consultations. They also show a significant increase in the coverage of maternal PPC services from 50% (372/752) before the intervention to 81% (544/672) one year after the start of the intervention. However, more women were assessed at days 6 - 10 than at later visits. Integration of maternal PPC was low, with little improvements in history taking and physical examination of mothers in immunization services. While health workers are polyvalent, difficulties in restructuring and organizing services hindered the integration. Conclusion: Unless a comprehensive strategy of integration within RMNCH services is implemented to address the primary health care challenges within the health system, integration will not yield the desired results.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Sub-Saharan African countries in general with particular reference to Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso depend mostly on agriculture which is seen as the main source of income. Agriculture provides income for a large percentage of the rural population, and employs about 70 per cent of its labour force with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about 30 per cent. Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso as well as a large majority of African countries depend on subsistence farming and the cultivation of subsistence crops helps provide food and ensures food security for the people. Although they mostly depend on subsistence crops, they also produce primary export crops such as cocoa for Ghana, coffee for Cameroon, and cotton for Burkina Faso which represent a major source of foreign exchange. Due to the significant importance of agriculture in the above countries Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso, gave great importance to agriculture by part taking in international trade negotiations or agreements on agriculture. These countries were involved more vigorously in the Uruguay Round where agricultural products were fully covered by multilateral trade rules for the first time. Farmers from Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso are faced with so many challenges in exporting their agricultural products to world markets despite their participation in the agricultural trade reforms. They have restricted access to rich countries agricultural markets and they also face unfair competition in their own domestic markets from subsidised imports of food staples from wealthy countries. Other challenges such as: trade barriers, inadequate trade infrastructure (logistics and transportation), and inadequate institution serving farmers and agriculture and lack of technology to transform traditional agriculture are also of great importance. With regard to the above challenges faced by Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso this research is to examine or analyse the impacts that international trade reforms have on the agricultural exports focusing on primary products (cash crops), such as cocoa, coffee and cotton which are a major source of export revenue for these countries and the livelihood basis for millions of rural households who grow these crops. The research will also look at the challenges faced by Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso in exporting their agricultural products to developed countries‘ markets despite their participation in the international trade agreements on agriculture. Taking a look at the international trade reforms it can be seen that while the Uruguay Round will have a significant impact on global trade and economic welfare, its effect on the above countries‘ agricultural exports is expected to be much smaller, and if anything maybe negative. Ghana, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and most African countries are likely to gain slightly from tariff cuts and the elimination of non-tariff barriers on manufactured products. These countries will find themselves slightly worse off as a result of cuts to developed countries' subsidies to their agricultural exports, which tends to increase world food prices.

This thesis examines the extent to which climate change is able to affect the security of states, with Burkina Faso and the Republic of Djibouti chosen as the case studies for this investigation. While the general effects of climate change on security are understood, the academic community appears to disagree on the subject of conflict-generation via climactic pressures. Consequently, the analysis is divided into two sections: The first part utilizes over 2,000 individual events collected by the Armed Conflict and Event Data program and examines the relationship between climate change and their occurrence. This is done firstly through a preliminary keyword analysis, then through a multivariate regression analysis of the relevant climate change factors. The second part takes a pseudo-qualitative approach by merging the Fragile State Index methodology and a weighted systems model in order to calculate values for each relevant state dimension that has been affected, thereby numerically quantifying the effect. The results indicate that currently, weak to moderate negative effects may be observed on the two states, depending on the security dimension examined. The economic and sociodemographic aspects appear to be most susceptible to environmental pressures.

Africa, especially tropical West Africa, is increasingly affected by climate change making it one of the most vulnerable regions in the world. Developing countries, including Burkina Faso, are severely hit due to their high exposure to climate stress and low adaptive capacity. Adequate climate change adaptation policies and plans are therefore essential to increase their resilience. This master thesis research project focuses on the science-policy interface for climate change adaptation in Burkina Faso, more precisely on how scientific information on climate impacts and adaptation is produced and integrated into policy formulation at a national level. The document analysis and the interviews conducted with ministerial technical units, independent academics, research agencies, civil society organisations and technical and financial partners confirm that climate change is a major threat to Burkina Faso and its impacts are increasingly being felt across numerous sectors. The recently elaborated National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) prove that adaptation has gained importance on the political agenda. However, the scientific basis of these documents and other sectoral development policies remains weak. It was identified that this was mainly due to a lack of financial and human resources, gaps in existing data and difficult access to this data. In addition, there is a need for increased awareness on the issue of climate change across all levels, institutionalisation linking researchers and policy-makers, capacity building of the stakeholders and dissemination of scientific information with the support of knowledge brokers. Reinforcing this science-policy interface would allow Burkina Faso to anticipate the impacts of climate change and plan adaptation measures accordingly, ultimately reducing the risks its population is exposed to. / Afrika, särskilt tropiskt Västafrika, påverkas allt mer av klimatförändringar vilket gör det till en av de mest utsatta regionerna i världen. Utvecklingsländerna, inklusive Burkina Faso, drabbas hårt på grund av deras höga exponering för klimatbelastning och låg adaptiv kapacitet. Lämpliga anpassningsstrategier och planer för klimatförändringar är därför avgörande för att öka deras motståndskraft. Detta examensarbete fokuserar på vetenskapspolitiska gränssnittet för anpassning av klimatförändringar i Burkina Faso, närmare bestämt hur vetenskaplig information om klimatpåverkan och anpassning är producerat och integrerat i politisk formulering på nationell nivå. Dokumentanalysen och intervjuerna med ministeriska tekniska enheter, oberoende akademiker, forskningsorgan, civila samhällsorganisationer och tekniska och finansiella partner bekräftar att klimatförändringarna utgör ett stort hot mot Burkina Faso och dess konsekvenser blir alltmer känt inom flera sektorer. De nyligen utarbetade nationella anpassningsplanerna visar att anpassningen har fått betydelse för den politiska agendan. Den vetenskapliga grunden för dessa dokument och andra sektors utvecklingspolitiska åtgärder är dock fortsatt svag. Det visade sig att detta främst berodde på brist på finansiella och mänskliga resurser, luckor i befintliga data och svår tillgång till dessa uppgifter. Dessutom finns det behov av ökad medvetenhet om klimatfrågan på alla nivåer, institutionalisering som kopplar forskare och beslutsfattare, aktörernas kapacitetsuppbyggnad och spridning av vetenskaplig information med stöd av kunskapsmäklare. Förstärkning av detta vetenskapspolitiska gränssnitt skulle göra det möjligt för Burkina Faso att förutse klimatpåverkanens konsekvenser och planera anpassningsåtgärder i enlighet därmed, och i sista hand minska riskerna som befolkningen utsätts för.

La spiritualité des jeunes en général et celle des jeunes en difficulté en particulier suscitent un intérêt croissant dans la recherche récente. La présente recherche s’inscrit dans une démarche de compréhension de la spiritualité comme expression de la quête de sens chez les jeunes en difficulté du Centre d’Accueil et de Réinsertion Sociale de Salbisgo (CARSS). Comment ces jeunes, malgré les difficultés qui les ont amenées au CARSS et les ont déboussolés dans leur quête identitaire, vivent-ils leur spiritualité? C’est cette préoccupation qui sous-tend notre recherche. Pour répondre à cette question existentielle, nous sommes allé sur le terrain afin de collecter des données. Nous avons analysé et interprété ces données dans le but de comprendre comment se manifeste l’expérience spirituelle des jeunes en difficulté. Quel rapport existe-t-il entre les difficultés et la spiritualité? L’une influence-t-elle l’autre ou y a-t-il une influence mutuelle? L’objectif de cette recherche est de comprendre la spiritualité des jeunes qui sont en situation de difficulté. La théorisation ancrée a été retenue comme méthode pour cette recherche qualitative. Elle consiste à faire émerger une théorie à partir de l’observation du milieu naturel. L'analyse des résultats des données recueillies lors d’enquêtes menées auprès des jeunes a permis de saisir l’expérience spirituelle des jeunes en difficulté comme une quête de sens dans un processus dynamique. À partir des analyses, nous avons retenu que la spiritualité se développe et atteint une profondeur si toutes les conditions sont réunies. Or, les jeunes en difficulté sont marginalisés et aliénés, vivant dans des conditions précaires aux plans social, familial, cognitif et affectif. Il est donc peu surprenant que leur spiritualité soit problématique. Elle est, pour ainsi dire, étouffée et manque d’un cadre social d’expression. Pour qu’elle se développe et s’épanouisse, elle a besoin d’un environnement social propice. La convivialité du milieu social de ces jeunes en difficulté s’avère déterminante pour leur expérience spirituelle. La théorie qui se dégage largement de cette recherche se résume comme suit : l’expérience de jeunes du CARSS est une spiritualité en quête de la koinōnia. L’ouverture au divin s’avère déterminante pour la quête de sens. / The spirituality of youth in general, and that of troubled youth in particular, has become a topic of growing interest in recent research. The current study investigates the spirituality of troubled youth living at the ‘Centre d’Accueil et de Reinsertion Sociale de Salbisgo’ (CARSS). How do these young people in search of meaning live their spirituality in spite of the challenges that brought them to CARSS and disoriented their quest for an identity? This is the underlying concern for our research. To answer this central question, we analyzed and interpreted data gathered in the field in an effort to understand how youth facing serious life challenges perceive their spiritual experience. What is the relationship between those life challenges and the spirituality of these young people? Do the challenges they face condition their spiritual experience? Does their spiritual experience affect how challenges are perceived and faced? Do these two elements influence one another? The aim of this research is to understand the spirituality of young people as they face challenging situations. Grounded theory, a form of qualitative research, is the method applied in this research project. This research method is designed to develop a theory based on observations carried out in the natural environment. The analysis of the data collected during interviews with the youth of CARSS allowed us to understand the spiritual experience of youth facing challenges as a quest for meaning in a dynamic process. As a result of our analysis, we found that the spirituality of troubled youth can develop and deepen when the conditions are right. However, the troubled youth of CARSS came from lives in which the development of their spirituality proved problematic because of social, familial, cognitive and emotional instability. Under these conditions, spiritual life is suppressed, lacking both the favorable social environment and a framework within which to express itself. The conviviality of the social environment of the youth of CARSS has proved decisive for their spiritual experience. The theory which emerges from our research may be summarized as follows: the youth of CARSS experience their spirituality as a quest for koinōnia. Opening up to the divine has proved decisive in their quest of meaning.

Tableau d’honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, 2012-2013. / "L'étude de la participation de trois cohortes d'imams et de prêcheurs de Ouagadougou dans les débats sociopolitiques entre 1960 et 2012 souligne l'importance de l'analyse des interactions intergénérationnelles pour saisir les profondes mutations qu'a subies l'islam burkinabé depuis l'indépendance : ses rapports complexes avec l'État, les relations internes souvent tendues entre ses différentes tendances ainsi que sa visibilité accrue et le nouveau rôle joué par les imams et les prêcheurs, dont plusieurs sont des jeunes, dans l'émergence d'une sphère publique musulmane depuis la transition démocratique amorcée en 1991. Les discours des imams et prêcheurs, longtemps marqués par les querelles dogmatiques et l'apolitisme, sont davantage orientés vers la remoralisation de la sphère publique depuis les années 1990. Parallèlement, les rapports intergénérationnels entre les aînés, qui détiennent l'« autorité traditionnelle » fondée sur l'âge, et les jeunes imams et prêcheurs sont marqués par une dynamique de rapprochements malgré certaines tensions persistantes."

Cette recherche de type qualitative porte sur la prostitution des jeunes filles d'âge mineur à Bobo-Dioulasso au Burkina Faso. A travers des guides d'entretien semi-structures, 15 jeunes filles de 14 à 18 ans et 10 informateurs clés ont été interviewés. Cette démarche a conduit à identifier d'une part les caractéristiques personnelles, familiales, sociales et culturelles des jeunes filles et d'autre part les motifs les ayant conduites à la prostitution. L'application de la théorisation ancrée comme méthode d'analyse des données a permis de mettre à jour des facteurs de risques récurrents et divergents ainsi que l'émergence de deux concepts clés à savoir les jeunes filles désabusées et les jeunes filles téméraires. Le constat est que certaines jeunes filles ont développé des facteurs de resilience qui leur ont permis d'affronter leurs vécus traumatisants. Les principaux facteurs de risque qui ont exposé ces jeunes filles à la prostitution sont : les abus sexuels précoces, l'inceste, la précarité économique, la négligence parentale, la maltraitance, la migration, les mariages précoces et forcés, la stigmatisation familiale, l'aliénation parentale, le VIH et la traite. Les facteurs de protection qui ont été identifiés sont : la bonne qualité des liens familiaux, la scolarisation, la meilleure situation économique familiale, la stabilité dans leur environnement du village, la non-imposition d'un mari qu'elles n'aimaient pas, l'estime de soi. Des recommandations ont été formulées à la fin de cette recherche pour prévenir la prostitution des jeunes filles d'âge mineur et intervenir auprès de celles qui y sont déjà impliquées. L'intérêt de ce travail réside dans des propositions pratiques élaborées afin de lutter contre le phénomène de la prostitution des jeunes filles mineures à Bobo-Dioulasso.

La présente étude intitulée « utilisation des technologies de l’information et de la communication dans l’enseignement secondaire et développement des compétences des élèves en résolution de problèmes mathématiques au Burkina Faso » est une recherche descriptive de type mixte examinant à la fois des données qualitatives et quantitatives. Elle examine les compétences en résolution de problèmes mathématiques d’élèves du Burkina Faso pour révéler d’éventuelles relations entre celles-ci et l’utilisation des TIC par les élèves ou leur enseignant de mathématiques. L’intérêt de cette recherche est de fournir des informations aussi bien sur la réalité des TIC dans l’enseignement secondaire au Burkina que sur les effets de leur présence dans l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des mathématiques. Les éléments théoriques ayant servi à l’analyse des données sont présentés suivant trois directions : la résolution des problèmes, le développement des compétences, et les relations entre les TIC, le développement de compétences et la résolution de problèmes. Du croisement de ces éléments émergent trois axes pour le développement de la réponse apportée à la préoccupation de l’étude : 1) décrire l’utilisation de l’ordinateur par les élèves du Burkina Faso pour améliorer leur apprentissage des mathématiques ; 2) identifier des rapports éventuels entre l’utilisation de l’ordinateur par les élèves et leurs compétences en résolution de problèmes mathématiques ; 3) identifier des rapports entre les compétences TIC de l’enseignant de mathématiques et les compétences de ses élèves en résolution de problèmes. Les processus de la résolution de problèmes sont présentés selon l’approche gestaltiste qui les fait passer par une illumination et selon l’approche de la théorie de la communication qui les lie au type de problème. La résolution de problèmes mathématiques passe par des étapes caractéristiques qui déterminent la compétence du sujet. Le concept de compétence est présenté selon l’approche de Le Boterf. Les données révèlent que les élèves du Burkina Faso utilisent l’ordinateur selon une logique transmissive en le considérant comme un répétiteur suppléant de l’enseignant. Par la suite, il n’y a pas de différence significative dans les compétences en résolution de problèmes mathématiques entre les élèves utilisant l’ordinateur et ceux qui ne l’utilisent pas. De même, l’étude révèle que les enseignants présentant des compétences TIC n’ont pas des élèves plus compétents en résolution de problèmes mathématiques que ceux de leurs collègues qui n’ont pas de compétences TIC. / This study entitled "Use of information and communication technologies in secondary education and development of students in mathematical problems solving skills in Burkina Faso" is a mixed descriptive research examining both qualitative and quantitative data. It examines the math problem solving skills of students from Burkina Faso to reveal possible relationships between them and the use of ICT by students or teachers in mathematics. The interest of this research is to provide information as well on the reality of ICT in secondary education in Burkina Faso as on the effect of their presence in teaching and learning mathematics. The theoretical elements used for data analysis are presented in three areas: problem solving, skills development and the relationship between ICT, skills development and problem solving. From crossing these areas rose three directions in witch the response to the concern of the study is presented: 1) describe the use of computers by students from Burkina Faso to improve their learning of mathematics; 2) identify possible relationship between the use of computer by students and their mathematical problems solving skills; 3) identify relationships between mathematics teachers ICT skills and their students problems solving skills. The problem solving process is presented according the gestalt theory that takes it through an enlightenment, and according to the communication theory approach that links it to the type of problem to solve. Mathematical problems solving goes through characteristic stages that determine the subject’s abilities. The concept of competence is presented using the approach of Le Boterf. The data show that students from Burkina Faso are using the computer in a transmissive way taking it as a substitute for the teacher. Subsequently, in mathematical problem solving skills there is no meaningful difference between students who use computer and those who do not use it. Similarly, the study found that students whose teacher has ICT skills were not more competent in mathematical problems solving than those whose teacher does not have ICT skills.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.