Genetic resource enhancement is the foundation of any good breeding program. Landraces from West Africa, interspecifics between Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima and improved lines from the West African Rice Development Association and other research centers were introduced to the Beaumont Rice Research center for in situ evaluation and characterization. Beside the introduction of seeds, milled samples were also introduced for grain chemistry analysis. Field evaluation combined with physicochemical and molecular characterization revealed unique characteristics among African germplasm. New rice for Africa (NERICA) lines performed well in the USA environment. Varieties like Nerica 2, Nerica 3, Nerica 4, and Nerica 5 need more attention because of their superior performance in yield and grain quality. Landraces did not perform well due to their height and late maturity and their resulting problems with lodging. The rapid visco analyzer RVA profiles showed that the cultivar Jaya has unusually strong paste viscosity features. Comparing West Africa samples grown in Cote d’Ivoire with those grown in Texas, parameters like AA, ASV, Hot, Cool, and CT were not stongly affected by the environment. According to the Stbk value, cultivars grown in Cote d’Ivoire will cook softer than when they were grown in Texas. The lack of the environmental effect is somewhat surprising considering the difference in latitude, soil types, weather patterns, and management practices between the two locations. Apparent amylose is a key element to characterize a rice cultivar; however certain varieties like Cocodrie and Dixiebelle have similar apparent amylose content but dramatically different functional qualities. A population derived from Cocodrie and Dixiebelle was developed for genotypic and phenotypic analysis of grain chemistry traits that affect functionality. It was concluded that the amount of soluble amylose in the grain had a significant effect on flour pasting properties, even when total apparent amylose content did not vary. Marker association studies revealed that the Waxy microsatellite and the Waxy exon 10 SNP markers were associated with soluble amylose content and RVA characteristics. These markers will speed up the development of new rice cultivars with desirable quality characteristics in West Africa and in the USA.

This study investigated peacekeeping in West Africa, with particular focus on Nigeria’s roles (diplomatic, political, cultural, socioeconomic, peacekeeping and peace enforcement) in the West Africa region, from 1990 to 2005. This time frame is particularly important, because in the 1990s, the West African region experienced an outbreak of inter/intra state conflicts. These conflicts have been studied extensively by social scientists, political analysts and other scholars. In many of these studies, the analysts have focused mostly on the intervening roles of groups and organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). What this study found missing, however, is an in-depth analysis of the role/s of individual member states, such as Nigeria. The inter-agency framework for conflict analysis in transition and the contemporary history approaches were utilized to further understand the dynamics of peacekeeping in West Africa and the extent of Nigeria’s peacekeeping roles in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The conclusion drawn from the findings suggest that Nigeria plays pivotal peacekeeping roles in the West African region. These roles though necessitated by the limited role of the international community in Africa since the end of the Cold War, and by the need for regional political stability and security, have placed added burden on Nigeria as evidenced by the case studies of the Liberian and Sierra Leonean crises of the 1990s.

This thesis analyses conflict dynamics in West Africa and assesses the role of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a security organisation in its response to armed conflict. In so doing, it argues that conventional approaches misinterpret key feature of the civil wars in the “Greater Mano River Area” which includes Liberia, Sierra Leone and C??te d’Ivoire. It demonstrates that the progression and spread of conflict is engendered primarily by transversal political structures. The thesis utilises a critical international society approach to consider patterns of security and insecurity across the sub-region of West Africa. However, rather than accepting that West African politics operates within a single, comprehensive international society, it argues instead that it should be understood at two levels. One level is state-centric international society, where West African inter-state relations can largely be explained according to existing constructivist paradigms. At the second level is “transversal” society that cuts across state borders, generating a regional, normative structure that prescribes and constrains behaviour within and between communities outside of the international society framework. The thesis proceeds in two parts. In the first section it works towards an understanding of the transversal politics of regional conflict in the Greater Mano River Area. Conflict is nominally internal, and centralised state authority is the object of both attack and transformation. However, a close examination of civil violence in Liberia, Sierra Leone and C??te d’Ivoire reveals that it cannot be completely understood without recognising the non-state structures of authority and domination that disrupt the traditional domestic/international divide. The transversal communities generated by conflict create a regional cycle of violence that is resistant to efforts made to resolve it. The second section of the thesis is concerned with the ability of ECOWAS to foster durable peace. As West Africa’s key regional organisation, ECOWAS would seem well-placed to respond to regional conflict. It is well-integrated, has significant normative legitimacy and has developed sophisticated security mechanisms. Critically however, as it was created within inter-state international society, ECOWAS is limited by its assumption that states are and should remain unitary actors. Its failure ultimately lies in its inability to respond to the alternative political contours of transversal communities.

The general aim of the dissertation is to contribute to an understanding of Islamic reform in West Africa. To this end fieldwork was conducted among the Songhay of eastern Mali, a people who experienced a sudden rise in the popularity of Islamic reform in the early 1970's which divided many communities along religious lines. The term 'Wahhabiyya', often used to describe a trend in religious reform in West Africa which is inspired largely by the Saudi Arabian model of puritan Islam, is accepted by most members of this Songhay movement. In the region of Gao, in which this locally-based Wahhabi movement emerged, the situation is one in which Islamic reform among the village population is more 'radical' and uncompromising than among town dwellers. The central concerns of the dissertation are to compare the social backgrounds and religious orientations of 'moderates' and 'radicals' and, in particular, to account for the strong appeal of Islamic reform among the villagers. In order to assess the impact of religious reform attention is paid throughout the dissertation to the social and religious life of the non-reformist population. In tracing the background of the topic it was necessary to explore the history of the Songhay with specific reference to the introduction of Islam and its place in the 'traditional' religious complex as well as changes in the family, the economy and the politicaltostructure which have occurred since the advent of French colonization. These issues are set within a general comparison of the reformist and traditionalist communities which includes consideration of the way Islam is observed, the place of leadership and organization, and the way Islamic education is implemented.

Yes / This paper is a comparative analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Management in West Africa focusing on Ghana, Mali and Nigeria. The paper offers a rich discussion on Municipal Solid Waste, (hereinafter referred to as MSW), its negative impacts, possible benefits and missed opportunities due to mismanagement of the same. The discussion focuses on both international and domestic legislation of the case study states on MSW and the right to environment. Inevitably, this extends to policy considerations in as far as they impact on MSW management, and to recommendations intended to enable the case study states realise the benefits of a proper MSW management system that is in line with global standards and the right to clean and healthy environment.

This thesis is an ethnographic study of music and authoritarianism in Conakry, Guinea. Representations in the scholarly and popular literature often emphasize African music as a site for resistance and oppositional politics, while musicians who support the state are seen as tools of propaganda. In this thesis, I examine instead the choices and subjectivities of musicians who sing for an authoritarian state. As I show, musicians in Conakry, across genres and generations, rarely express dissent and overwhelmingly adopt cautious and conservative positions towards the state. I describe these stances as operating within a politics of silence that has emerged over the past half-century of authoritarian rule in Guinea, deriving from norms of ambiguity and secrecy in Mande culture. I begin in Chapter One by considering the foundational moment of the Guinean Cultural Revolution to examine how music became intertwined with a political culture of control under the regime of Guinea’s first president Sékou Touré. In Chapters Two, Three and Four I then investigate the legacy of the Revolution in shaping musical practice in Conakry today. My analysis is based on ethnographic research conducted in 2009, following a military coup d’état. I use the particular circumstances of the post-coup moment in 2009 as a lens through which to understand the ongoing legacy of authoritarianism on Conakry’s musical and political landscape. I consider the afterlife of musical nationalism as musicians from the Revolution seek to find a place in the post-nationalist state; anxieties about praise-singing and music professionalization that have sharpened since the Revolution’s end; and the politics of youth music as young people negotiate between ideals of protest and the quiet accommodation of power. As I argue, silence is a form of agency for musicians in Conakry as they attempt to negotiate the complexities of life in an authoritarian state.

This dissertation investigates overall the impacts of the modern extractive mining industry on the lives of local people in the region of Kedougou, and in particular in the villages of Sabodala and Faloumbo. It explores also, how the utilitarian narratives about corporate mining impacts shape both the understanding of the scope of mining- and of corporate-community relationships. Sabodala is one of the many communities all over the world that lack significance in the global economy simply because they are geographically isolated and were abruptly introduced to modern corporate mining. This dissertation investigates the impacts of modern extractive industry on the lives of rural communities in eastern Senegal. It investigates also how utilitarian discourses by the Senegalese state and corporations contradict the reality of corporate social (ir) responsibility in the mining region. Using the lenses of political economy, political ecology and livelihood sustainability, I investigate how governance plays out in the process of implementing corporate social responsibility as a vehicle for local community development. This case study has also shed the light on the fact that the state has neglected ethical issue. Doing an anthropology of place in Sabodala helped me to understand how this place is "wired" into the global market of gold and how this new "order" creates "disorders" at the local level. For example and interestingly, the realignment of power relations in the community was responsible for tensions, conflicts and de-structuring social cohesion and traditional stratification, as some members of the community have seen their economic status changed overnight while others were deprived. In reality, the expected grand benefits haven't "trickled down" to the wider society, and to paraphrase Ferguson, industrial mining in Senegal is not "socially thick". Meanwhile, as the pace of gold mining increases in Sabodala so too, do its rapacious demands on local natural resources (land, water, flora, and fauna), which simultaneously affect local livelihoods system.

No description available.

SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS AND THE 2014-16 EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE OUTBREAK IN GUINEA, LIBERIA, AND SIERRA LEONE INTRODUCTION: Ebola virus disease (EVD) is an infectious disease transmitted by close contact with an estimated case fatality rate fluctuating around 50%. The most affected countries by the 2013-16 West African Ebola outbreak were Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. These countries reported a total of 28616 probable, suspected and confirmed cases. However, we are still learning about the sociodemographic factors that contributed to the outbreak characteristics at the subnational level. METHODS: Data were collected from the World Health Organization, Demographic Health Surveys, and Global Data Lab for 37 districts (8 for Guinea, 15 for Liberia, and 14 for Sierra Leone). The outcome of interest was epidemic size at the district level for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (cumulative number of EVD patient confirmed and probable cases). Socio-demographic predictors included household density, sanitation level, mobility, and wealth status. We also controlled for the timing of the start of the outbreak across districts. Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression were employed in our analyses. Model building was informed by a review of the relevant literature. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the impact of potential outliers. RESULTS: In the final multivariable regression model, wealth status and household density were positively associated with the epidemic size while sanitation level and the difference in the outbreak start dates were negatively associated with the outcome. These results did not change in the sensitivity analyses. The regression model explained 57% of the variance in epidemic size (Adj R-Sq=0.57), with the largest contribution from the international wealth index (semi-partial R-square=0.22). CONCLUSION: District sociodemographic characteristics such as household density, wealth and sanitation levels contributed to the EVD outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, which is in agreement with recent studies. However, further research should consider other sociodemographic indicators as well as the role of migration and connectivity among regions.

Aerosol particles are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and their properties impact on the atmospheric energy balance. They scatter and absorb incoming sunlight and can perturb cloud microphysical properties, which affects cloud lifetimes and albedo. Africa is one of the world’s largest sources of aerosol due to both its large deserts and prolific biomass burning during the dry seasons. Nevertheless, the continent's atmosphere has, to date, been among the least studied in the world. The southern coast of West Africa is developing rapidly, with both population and anthropogenic emissions being predicted to increase substantially in coming years. It is therefore becoming ever more important to understand the characteristics of aerosols in this region, which will have consequences for issues as diverse as local health and global climate change. This project addresses this problem in two ways: first, laboratory experiments were carried out to characterise biomass burning aerosol at source. Biomass burning is one of the most poorly understood aerosol sources, but one of the most prevalent in tropical regions. Second, aircraft observations were made in southern West Africa during the Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) field campaign in summer 2016, to observe the broad-scale distribution of chemical and physical aerosol properties. Results were collected in-situ with Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometers (AMS) and other online aerosol instrumentation; they were considered alongside observations from DACCIWA ground sites and model results. Distinguishable chemical signatures were reliably observed during three phases of combustion events in the laboratory study. This gave insight into the mechanisms linking combustion phases and emissions. Airborne observations in southern West Africa revealed a remarkably consistent background of aged, accumulation mode aerosol present across the region in the boundary layer, including in the region upwind of the cities on the south coast. It was demonstrated that this likely originated from large-scale biomass burning in central and southern Africa, which had become entrained into the boundary layer above the Atlantic and transported north. A second result from the DACCIWA campaign showed that the hygroscopic growth of these particles, due to the high humidity in the region during June and July, more than doubled the mean dry aerosol optical depth. Taken together, these findings shed light on the substantial impacts that biomass burning aerosol, in particular, has on the atmosphere above southern West Africa.