Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis is an exploration of the historical, socio-cultural, economic, and political settings in which identities are negotiated and performed among Cameroonian immigrants in Cape Town. Focusing on language as localized practices and different interaction regimes, the thesis investigates how Cameroonian immigrants maintain and reconfigure the Anglophone/Francophone identity options in novel and hybrid ways. In addition, the study examines how ideologies favouring different languages are reproduced and challenged in translocal and transnational discourses. Guided by the poststructuralist theories the thesis explores the stance that reality is socially constructed, based on symbolic and material structural limitations that are challenged and maintained in interaction. That is, whatever we do or believe in, is supported by some historical or cultural frames of meanings in our lived world, which often gives room to some manoeuvre to do things in a new way. The study adopts a multiplex interpretive approach to data collection. This entails a qualitative sociolinguistic approach where interviews, discussion and observations at different socio-economic places namely; meetings, workplaces, homes, restaurants, drinking spots and many sites from all over Cape Town, were explored. The study suggests that Cameroonians have a multiplicity of identity options, which are manifested and negotiated performatively through language, dress code, song, food, business, and other practices that comprise their lifestyles. These identities are translocal and transnational in nature, and tend to blend South African, Cameroonian, and even American traits. It is also suggests that the different identity options which they manifest are highly mobile, enabling Cameroonians to fit into South African social structures as well as the Cameroonian ways of doing things. Additionally, the multiplicity of identities that Cameroonians manifest, blur the fault-line between Anglophone/Francophone identities. It is evident from the study that hybridity and the reconstruction practices are not only confined to languages. Hybridity also extends to discourse orders especially in terms of how meetings are conducted. The Cameroonian meetings captured through the activities of Mifi Association and CANOWACAT are characterised by ‘disorder of discourse’ in which both formal and informal versions of English and French are used separately or as amalgams alongside CPE and their national languages, not only in side talks, but also when contributing to the meeting proceedings. Ultimately, the study concludes that Cameroonians are social actors making up an indispensable part of the social interaction in the Cape Town Diaspora. Just as they influence the languages, the entrepreneurial practices, and spaces in which they interact, the Cameroonian immigrants are also transformed. The major contribution of the study is that it adds to the recent debates about the nature of multilingualism and identities in late modern society. It emphasises that languages and identities are fluid, complex, and unstable. The distinction or boundaries between the various languages in multilingual practices are also not as clear-cut. This leads to a reframing of voice and actor hood as meaning is constructed across translocal and transnational contexts and domains in a networked world transformed by the mobility of endless flows of information, goods, ideas, and people. Thus, the study contributes to those arguing for a paradigm shift in sociolinguistic theory in which language is not a property of groups, nor is it an autonomous and bounded system fixed in time and space. Thus, identities, languages and the spaces of interaction are not fixed systems; identities, languages, and spaces are dynamic and in a state of flux. This in turn questions the notions of multilingualism and language itself, as well as the veracity of concepts such as code-switching, speech community, language variation, as the search for a sociolinguistic framework that can deal with phenomena predicated by motion, instability, and uncertainty, continues. / South Africa

By investigating the foundation of the Jesuit Vice-Province of West Africa (VPAO), this dissertation analyzes how a global Roman Catholic men’s religious order adjusted to political and ecclesiastical changes in the wake of African independence movements, the Second Vatican Council, and the Generalate of Pedro Arrupe. Although the founding of the VPAO attempted to harmonize the work of the Jesuits in Africa with a renewed Jesuit global ethos, it stumbled over the meaning and application of Africanization, a stated priority for the Roman Catholic Church since the time of Pope Benedict XV. This dissertation argues that prior to the creation of the Vice-Province, in 1973, Jesuits emphasized different aspects of Africanization in their two largest missions of Chad and Cameroon. French Jesuit Frédéric de Bélinay founded the Chad Mission. In the missionary context of establishing the Catholic Church in Chad, his successors Joseph du Bouchet, Paul Dalmais, Henri Véniat, and Charles Vandame adopted a “bottom-up” Africanization or vernacularization that included building churches, educating the masses, biblical and catechetical translations, and the production of grammars and religious art. The Jesuits de-Latinized the liturgy, Christianized the yondo (Chad’s initiation rite), and raised up lay personnel able to carry out the work of evangelization. They failed, however, to build a local clergy and Chadian leadership for the church. In Cameroon, with its particular context of mission devolution and nation building, the Jesuits emphasized the “top-down” Africanization of leadership. They developed the field of African Studies, and trained a Cameroonian diocesan clergy and an elite generation of public servants. However, western Jesuit missionaries generally remained unwilling to cede leadership positions to their African colleagues. The failure of European missionaries either to build a local clergy in Chad or to promote a Cameroonian leadership demonstrated an incomplete Africanization that carried over into the creation of the VPAO. The first Cameroonian Jesuits Eboussi Boulaga, Engelbert Mveng, Meinrad Hebga and Nicolas Ossama expressed great disappointment at the creation of the VPAO. They believed that the leadership and territorial map of the VPAO were symbolic of a neocolonial organization, and a setback to Africanization. Thus, the Cameroonian reception of the VPAO represented a local resistance to Jesuit globalism as defined by western ecclesial authorities. / 2022-06-30T00:00:00Z

This qualitative study uses the lens of expectation theory to highlight the educational achievements of Cameroonian youths in American educational institutions as it also examines their individual educational experiences and the many challenges (social, cultural, and academic) that each encountered in his or her journey toward significant educational outcomes. Findings from this study challenge the misconception that students coming into the United States other than from Asia and Europe are academically inferior to their counterparts born in the U.S. Six francophone Cameroonian-born young adults between the ages of 19-30 residing in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area participated in this study. Each had completed at least one full academic year in an American educational institution. Data collection included virtual interviews with follow-ups carried out via text exchanges and phone conversations. Participants reported experiences language barriers in U.S. education settings. Even students with strong knowledge of English or multiple years in English-speaking classrooms struggled with differences between British/Cameroonian spoken English and American pronunciations and accents. In addition, many students did not feel a sense of belonging in school until they had opportunities to be in classes with or interact with other students that share a similar background or until teachers recognized their potential. All participants felt a strong sense of parental expectation and were influenced by perceptions of teachers’ expectations. Findings of this study align with previous studies that identified influential factors of educational attainments for immigrant youths including the importance of family expectations, teacher expectations, and students’ sense of self-efficacy. Data also suggest that gender and birth order influence Cameroonian parents’ expectations related to household responsibilities and obligations towards siblings and that both male and female participants equally perceived parental expectations to achieve academically. This study suggests that institutions serving Cameroonian immigrant student, specifically, and immigrant students in general may better serve those students by understanding their needs and the specific barriers they may face. It may be helpful to provide language support, even for students who have strong command of written English, and to create meaningful opportunities to create supportive social networks during the transition to schooling in the U.S.

Intitulée « la répression des infractions relatives à la protection de la nature dans les systèmes juridiques français et camerounais », cette thèse a pour objectif principal de recenser les instruments juridiques et institutionnels utilisés par la France et le Cameroun en vue de parvenir à la limitation des dommages écologiques et partant aboutir à un arsenal juridique et institutionnel perfectible dans les deux systèmes. / Entitled "Punishment of Crimes related to the protection of nature in French and Cameroonian legal Systems", this Thesis main objective is to identify the legal and institutional instruments used by France and Cameroon to limit or stop the environmental damage and thus lead to a perfectible legal and institutional arsenal in both systems.

Au cours de ce travail, le taux d’extractibles de cinq essences camerounaises a été évalué par la technique d’extraction accélérée ASE 200 et au Soxhlet. Le taux d’extractibles varie de 4,4 à 17,7%. Le screening des extraits a révélé la présence de polyphénols, de saponines, de flavonoïdes, de stérols et de terpènes. Les phénols totaux contenus dans les extraits ont été évalués par la méthode de Folin–Ciocalteu en utilisant l’acide gallique comme standard. La teneur varie de 16,5 à 165,83 mg éq acide gallique / g d’extrait. Le dosage des tannins condensés par la méthode colorimétrique a permis de montrer que ces derniers varient de 0,15 à 23,61 g cyanidin équivalents / 100 g de matière sèche. L’identification des composés contenus dans les extraits par GC-MS a permis d’identifier de l’homopterocarpine et de la pterocarpine dans les extraits de padouk. Les extraits de tali contiennent de la catéchine, l’acide gallique et du pyrogallole. L’acide gallique, le squalène et les triterpènes sont les composés majoritairement identifiés dans les extraits de movingui. La durabilité naturelle des bois a été évaluée par la norme européenne EN 350-1, 1994. Il ressort que les pertes de masse deviennent plus importantes lorsque les éprouvettes de bois ont été extraites. La perte de masse des éprouvettes non extraites varie de 0,1 à 59% (le hêtre a été pris comme référence). Les essais d’inhibition de croissances sur les champignons de pourriture ont montré qu’à des concentrations de 250 ppm, nos extraits étaient fongistatiques et qu’à des concentrations de 500 ppm certains extrait étaient fongicides (extrait de tali). L’évaluation des propriétés antioxydante et colorante des extraits pour envisager de potentielles applications industrielles a été effectuée. Le pouvoir antioxydant des extraits a été évalué par la méthode d’inhibition du linoléate de méthyle induite par l’azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). Les résultats obtenus sont satisfaisants car l’activité antioxydante varie de 10 à 86%. Le pouvoir anti-radicalaire des extraits a été évalué en utilisant le radical 2,2-diphényl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH.). Les concentrations nécessaires pour consommer 50% du radical varie de 2,7 à 60,5 mg/L. La capacité des extraits aqueux et alcalins à teindre les fibres naturelles et artificielles a été évaluée. La mesure de la coloration prise par les fibres s’est faite à l’aide d’un colorimètre Datacolor D65°10. Les résultats montrent que ces extraits donnent une coloration jaune avec les extraits de movingui et une coloration rouge avec les extraits de padouk. L’utilisation des extraits pour inhiber la croissance bactérienne a montré que les extraits étaient bactériostatiques pour les concentrations testées / In this work, the accelerated technical ASE 200 and Soxhelet was used to evaluate the amount of extractives contained in five Cameroonian wood species. The amount of extractives ranged from 4.4 to 17.7% with respect to oven-dry matter. Phytochemical screening of the extractives revealed the presence of polyphenols, saponins, flavonoïds, sterols and terpenes. The total phenolic content of the extracts was measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method using gallic acid as standard. The phenolic content ranged from 16.5 to 165.83 mg eq gallic acid/g of extract. The condensed tannins, evaluated by colorimetric method, ranged from 0.15 to 23.61 g cyanidin equivalents/100 g of dry matter. GC-MS identified the homopterocarpine and pterocarpin as major compound in extracts of padouk. Catechin, gallic acid and pyrogallole were the major compounds found in the extracts of tali. Extracts of movingui consisted mainly of diterpenes and several compounds not readily identifiable. Gallic acid, squalene and triterpenes were the predominant compounds identified in the extracts of movingui. The natural durability of wood was evaluated using the European Standard EN 350-1. Mass losses increased when the wood samples were extracted. Mass losses of non-extracted samples ranged from 0.1 to 59% (with beech taken as a reference). The effect of extractives on fungal growth showed that at 250 ppm concentrations, the extracts were fungistatic and that at 500 ppm concentrations, the extracts of tali were fungicidal.Valorization of the extractives in the food and the textile industries was attempted. In food, the antioxidant activity of the extracts by inhibition of methyl linoleate induced by AIBN was evaluated. The results obtained were satisfactory because all the extracts showed antioxidant activity which varied from 10 to 86%. Then the anti-radical capacity of our extracts was assessed by the DPPH method. The concentration necessary to consume 50% of DPPH varied from 2.7 to 60.5 mg/L. Aqueous and alkaline extracts were used to dye natural and artificial fibers. The coloration taken by the fibers was measured using a Datacolor D65°10 apparatus. These extracts gave a yellow color with extracts of movingui and a red color with extracts of padouk. The effect of extractives on bacteria growth showed that the extracts were bacteriostatic at the tests concentrations

L'usage des outils technologiques dans l'entreprise engendre généralement des détournements susceptibles d'influencer sa finalité. Dans cette étude nous nous intéressons à l'appropriation d'outils par les acteurs en vue de prédire la performance technologique des entreprises.Pour étayer cette préoccupation, deux approches méthodologiques ont été empruntées. Une première approche qualitative, soutenue par 13 entretiens menés auprès des responsables d'entreprises du secteur financier camerounais, a facilité la conception d'un questionnaire compréhensible par les enquêtés. À l'aide d'une seconde approche quantitative complémentaire, 365 cadres financiers au Cameroun ont répondu à ce questionnaire.Les résultats obtenus restent dans le prolongement de la perspective structurante adoptée dans cette recherche mais suggèrent la prise en compte de la diversité socio-économique et culturelle dans les questionnements d'appropriation d'outils. Contrairement aux idées majoritaires de la littérature, les outils technologiques utilisés par nos enquêtés ne sauraient être orientés à d'autres fins que celles prédéfinies par leur hiérarchie. Les limites d'usage, la faible intensité d'utilisation d'outils et le niveau de formation moyen des usagers justifieraient le manque d'idées d'appropriation d'outils dans ce secteur. En somme, seule la rapidité d'exécution est perçue comme une performance technologique par les cadres financiers camerounais. Cette performance est déterminée significativement par deux types d'appropriation : l'une, innovante, développée pour résoudre les imprévus de l'activité de travail et une autre, légitimée, acquise naturellement par expérience. Cette recherche interpelle donc les managers à tenir compte des facteurs sociologiques des organisations pour favoriser leur performance technologique. / The use of technological tools in companies can creates a change in the goals expected. This work deals with how these tools are used in order to predict the technological performances of companies.To reach this objective, we have combined, firstly, a quality method which, through interviews of 13 companies' executives of Cameroonian financial sector, made it easy for us to work out a set of questions understandable by everyone. Secondly, a complementary quantity method in which 365 financial agents of Cameroon working in Douala and Yaoundé answered different questions related with the mastering of technological tools.The results obtained respect the main objective of this research work, but , however, imply that social, economic and cultural parameters are taken into account in questions on the mastering of technological tools. Contrary to what suggested in the list of documents consulted, in the Cameroonian financial sector, technological tools are used only to reach the goals fixed by the hierarchy in advance. Non expected results are due to rough and low use of tools in companies, as well as to average training level of users. Which clearly means that technological tools are not mastered in that sector.On the whole, only one aspect of performance is noted in the use of technological tools by Cameroonian financial agents, depending on the environment: speedy execution. This performance is determined by two appropriation methods, one of which tends at innovating in order to solve unpredicted problems that appear in everyday work, the other naturally acquired through experience from everyday use of tools. This research work calls on managers' attention to integrate sociological factors of organizations so as to favor their technological performance.

La facilité de communication et de télécommunication a pour corollaire l'accroissement de la criminalité et plus particulièrement de la criminalité internationale. On peut se poser la question de savoir si le droit camerounais répond aux exigences de la mondialisation en matière de lutte contre la criminalité internationale. Le constat peut en premier lieu se décliner en un sentiment de satisfaction en ce qui concerne les normes internes de lutte contre la criminalité, qui ont une incidence sur la sphère internationale. Ensuite, il est décevant en ce qui concerne l'intégration des normes d'incrimination des infractions internationales par nature et des modalités de collaboration avec les juridictions pénales internationales, d'où la nécessité de l'amélioration de la législation pénale camerounaise. / The development of communication and telecommunication has as a corollary the increase in crimes and in particular international crimes. The question may there for be raised whether Cameroonian penal law responses to the exigencies of the world in the fight against international criminality. A close examination of the above question reveals that at first sight, it seems satisfactory as regards internal norms for fight against crime, which in certain circumstances have an incident on the international atmosphere. On the other sight, it is not satisfactory because international offences by their nature have been simply ignored in Cameroonian criminal law. The state of Cameroon is not in the mode to cooperate with this jurisdiction. There is the need for reforms to ameliorate the penal legislation of the country.

La parole politique est l'instrument principal d’exercice du pouvoir au Cameroun, dirigé par Paul Biya depuis trente-cinq ans. Confrontée aux postures du sujet politique, cette parole trahit à l’arrière-plan discursif, les pensées profondes de l’homme politique. Apporter un éclairage sur cette situation particulière est la tâche principale que nous nous sommes assigné dans cette thèse de Doctorat qui s'intéresse à la relation entre le pouvoir et la mise en scène argumentative dans le discours de Paul Biya à l'ère du multipartisme au Cameroun. Le cadre épistémologique dans lequel se positionnent nos travaux est l’analyse du discours avec une orientation vers l’argumentation rhétorique. Empruntant les démarches intégrative et analytique de l’analyse de discours, nous puisons les concepts opératoires de notre recherche principalement dans les sciences du langage. Nous procédons aussi à l’exploration textométrique de notre corpus à l’aide du logiciel d’analyse statistique Hyperbase. L’analyse nous invite également à constituer de nouvelles notions pour rendre compte des particularités du discours de Paul Biya. La thèse montre que dans sa communication, Paul Biya procède à une mise en scène fondée sur des arguments logico-affectifs, ancrée dans la réalité sociale et les pratiques des différents pouvoirs traditionnels camerounais. Derrière le masque discursif, l'analyse met au jour des stratégies de persuasion, l'évolution de la vie sociopolitique camerounaise. Cette recherche révèle comment Paul Biya incarne un pouvoir fort, sacralisé voire mythifié; s'arrogeant une aura nationale exclusive apte à apaiser le peuple et à inhiber toute action rivale. C’est ainsi qu’il a réussi à mettre en place un régime politique qui joue constamment sur des contrariétés en vue de pérenniser son pouvoir. / Political speech is the main tool used in order to wield power in Cameroon, a country which is being run by Paul Biya for the past 35 years. The various stands taken by this political figure is revealed through these speeches which inform on the argumentative background and inner thoughts of this politician. The doctorate thesis which studies the relationship between power and the argumentative strategies in Paul Biya speeches in the multiparty era in Cameroon therefore sets out to throw more light on this peculiar situation. This research work is discussed from the vantage point of discourse analysis, more specifically on rhetoric argumentation. Using integrative and analytical approaches to discourse analysis, the work draws its key concepts mainly from language sciences. The textometric analysis of the corpus is carried out using the Hyperbase Statistics Analysis software. Also, the analysis of the corpus has brought us to coin new terms in order to address the specificities of Paul Biya speehes. The findings reveal that in his speeches, Paul Biya makes use of a set-up which is grounded on logico-affective arguments anchored in the social reality as well as in the practices of the various traditional powers in Cameroon. The analysis also brings to the fore the various persuasive strategies and the evolution of the sociopolitical life in Cameroon. This research work also reveals how Paul Biya incarnates a strong, sacred and mythified power which gives him the privilege of having an exclusive aura at the national level which can appease the Cameroonian people and nip in the bud all the initiatives of his rivals. He has therefore succeeded in establishing a political regime which takes advantage of disharmony in order to perpetuate his power.

En prenant le contre-pied des méthodes généralisées et universalisantes d’évaluation mondiale des institutions de la science, la présente thèse décrit les savoirs générés par le discours universitaire au moment de leur mise à l’épreuve de validation par des instances d’évaluation d’un espace localisé. Le cadre d’observation est le système d’évaluation en vigueur au Cameroun qui sert de dispositif de promotion sociale des enseignants-chercheurs, et de légitimation du travail universitaire. Le décryptage des formes de savoirs produits en situation d’évaluation endogène prend appui sur l’épistémologie historique et l’archéologie foucaldienne des discours. Les résultats de l’analyse montrent que le savoir produit, s’inscrivant dans une temporalité discursive est anonyme et marqué historiquement, culturellement et géographiquement. Ce savoir appartient en outre à un réseau de discours qui dépasse la seule sphère des universités et des disciplines. Les mécanismes et stratégies d’élaboration des savoirs sont soumis à des règles et à des normes qui elles-mêmes produisent de manière permanente des formes de pouvoir. Les référents théoriques et méthodologiques mobilisés dans ce travail participent à l’enrichissement des cadres de référence traditionnels des sciences de l’information et de la communication. / In addition to the general and universal evaluation methods of scientific instituions, this thesis describes knowledge generated by university discourse during validation by local authorities. The framework of experience is the evaluation system in force in Cameroon which serves as social promotion for university lecturers and researchers and legitimizes university work. Deciphering forms of knowledge produced in an endogenous evaluation system is based on historical epistemology and Foucaldian archeology of discourse. The results of the analysis show that knowledge produced falls within the purview of discursive temporality and is anonymous and geographically, culturally and historically marked. It belongs moreover to a network of discourse which goes beyond the lone sphere of universities and disciplines. Knowledge generation mechanisms and strategies are subject to rules and standards which themselves permanently produce forms of power. The theoretical and methodological referents mobilised in this work contribute to the development of traditional frames of information and communication sciences

La présence chinoise en Afrique est généralement présentée par les médias occidentaux sous un angle défavorable. Les Chinois porteraient atteinte à la bonne gouvernance locale, ils ne respecteraient pas les droit africains du travail ou ne transféreraient pas suffisamment leur technologie. La thèse confirme l'existence de ces risques en démontrant notamment le manque de transparence des investissements directs chinois et les difficultés de l'Afrique subsaharienne à protéger ses intérêts. Mais à travers l'analyse du système juridique sud-africain et camerounais, l'auteur prouve que les risques que peuvent présenter les investissements chinois pour les Africains diffèrent d'un pays à l'autre, en fonction du droit local des affaires. La démonstration soulève par ailleurs un point peu traité des relations Chine-Afrique : les investissements directs chinois à destination du continent noir nécessitent, plus que ceux des Occidentaux, d'être sécurisés. L'auteur y voit deux raisons. Premièrement, la coopération juridique et judiciaire sino-africaine, par rapport à celle qui existe entre l'Occident et l'Afrique, est limitée. Deuxièmement, les investissements chinois en Afrique soulèvent des problèmes de droit international privé inédits. Entre autres, la détermination de la loi applicable peut être difficile en cas de litige opposant un investisseur chinois à son cocontractant africain. Face à cette situation de risques partagés entre l'investisseur chinois et l’État africain hôte de l'investissement, l'auteur souligne les limites du droit international et des traités bilatéraux d'investissement sino-africains tout en proposant des solutions pour équilibrer les contrats. / Western media typically portrays Chinese presence in Africa unfavorably. Chinese are accused of impairing good governance, breaching local labour laws, and impeding the transfer of technologies. This PhD thesis examines these risks; including the Jack of transparency on the part of Chinese investors and the difficulties faced by African states in protecting their interests. Analysis of South African and Cameroonian legal systems shows that the degree of risk facing African countries depends greatly on local business laws. In addition, the thesis makes a point seldom raised in debates about China-Africa relations: Chinese direct investments need, more than western countries, to be secured. According to the author, this is for two reasons. Firstly, Sino-African legal and judiciary cooperation, compared to existing relationships between the West and Africa, is limited. Secondly, Chinese investments into Africa present unanticipated problems with private international law. Among others, determining applicable laws can be problematic in the event of a conflict between a Chinese investor and his African partner. In situations where risks are shared by both the Chinese investor and the African host state, the author addresses the limits of international investment law, as well as the failings of Sino-African bilateral investment treaties, and proposes solutions to balance the scales and mitigate risks.