This exploratory study describes microlinguistic errors in composition written by a population of forty adult students enrolled in advanced English classes in three English language teaching institutions in Dakar, Senegal. The subjects had Wolof as their L1, French as their L2 and English as their L3.The study indicates that EFL learners in this context made intralingual and transfer errors; however the latter type was predominant. Most of the borrowing was from French, very little from Wolof. Researchers have suggested as the reason for extensive negative transfer the similarity of the L2 and L3 and the necessity to get one's meaning across. This study concludes that there may be other causes of borrowing: prestige associated with tolerance of breaches and societal predilections for borrowing. Arguments for this claim are found in the native language and the culture of the population involved; it is argued that in the Senegalese situation one needs cultural, sociological and historical information to account for transfer from French as a linguistic behavior.Pedagogical implications are drawn from the findings of the study, suggestions concerning the teaching of English in contexts similar to that of Senegal are made, and avenues are suggested for future research in the area. / Department of English

In Senegal, rural communities depend on natural resources close to their settlement. Therefore,Natural Resource Management efforts require the effective participation of communities, specifically memberswhose socio-economic activities have the biggest impact on the resource. While men's participation is not anissue, social and cultural norms still govern women's participation and may prevent women from beinginvolved. Non-Governmental Organisations working in NRM have to evaluate the importance of this genderimbalance and its impact on the sustainability of their projects. Open-ended questions during semi-structuredexploratory interviews with NGO project staffs as well as the results of analyses using Progressive Focussinghighlight the role of a project staff’s perception of gender as a concept and its utility in achieving the project’sobjectives. The study concludes that project staff members interpret the concept of “gender integration” asmeaning “women integration”. The gender-sensitivity of the project staff is important if gender aspects are to beincluded in the project cycle. Finally, gender integration ensures the sustainability of NRM projects in Senegalwhen socio-cultural factors are taken into consideration.

This research project set out to develop and apply a framework for assessing how energy systems may be structured to help society progress towards sustainability. The general intent was to outline a way to decide upon the things that matter in order to make better decisions that will lead to positive near- and long-term outcomes. There are various ways of reaching the goal described above, and the path chosen in this dissertation centred on Gibson’s (2006) sustainability assessment framework, an approach to integrated sustainability-based decision-making. In order to contribute to extending and specifying Gibson’s approach to sustainability assessment for energy undertakings, this project developed a theoretical framework grounded in various forms of complexity and energy. The journey described in the dissertation begins with an exploration of the complexity of science, the subject of Chapter 2. We live in a world characterized by inherent uncertainty, multiple worldviews, conflicting values, power dynamics and a whole host of other challenges to science and decision-making. Many of the environmental and human challenges we currently face have arisen in part because we do not sufficiently respect the limits to knowledge and the personal biases we all bring to the table. Chapter 2 develops a framework for knowledge generation and decision-making situated within its social context, and operationalizes this framework through the process of criteria specification. Drawing from multiple sources of data – particularly documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews and observation – the criteria specification cycle provided the means of and determining and deciding upon the things that matter in a given case and context. The complexity of science is only half the story emerging from the complex systems literature. From a different perspective, it is evident that we live in a world of complex dynamics and interconnections, and it is important to ensure that whatever energy paths we set out on recognize these dynamics. Fortunately, there is a wide range of literature relating to the characteristics of complex systems in general, as well as their energy and material flows in societies. These literatures are explored in Chapter 3 to develop an understanding of and guidelines for managing complex systems to the extent possible and appropriate. Building on the theory developed in Chapters 2 and 3, the discussion in Chapter 4 began to develop an understanding of energy systems and energy decision-making and was structured around three general questions: (1) what is the energy problem? (2) what are the characteristics of an appropriate and constructive relationship with energy? and (3) how can the necessary and desired sociotechnical systems changes be achieved. These questions were largely addressed through an exploration of the soft energy path and transition management and led to two sets of guidelines designed to address energy systems structure and change. The theoretical framework developed over Chapters 2-4 was consolidated into a proposed set of sustainability criteria for energy undertakings. The sustainability criteria set represents the principal theoretical contribution of the dissertation to the academy and the broader assessment community, and outlines a suite of generally desirable system attributes and actions for achieving progress towards sustainability, as opposed to an acceptability threshold. The proposed sustainability criteria are primarily intended for application regarding energy undertakings at a wide variety of scales, but are much more broadly relevant. In a manner that is more iterative than can be described in this abstract, the sustainability assessment framework described in this dissertation was applied in, and enriched through, four distinct case studies that assessed (1) the 2006 Ontario Integrated Power Systems Plan proposed by the Ontario Power Authority. The Integrated Power Systems Plan was originally framed as a coal versus nuclear problem, as opposed to a critical appraisal of power systems planning; and in doing so it underplayed potential for conservation, demand management, increased renewable energy, and social change; (2) a small-scale biodiesel operation in Barbados. The plant owner collected used cooking oil from restaurants, roadside stands, and individual homes, and converted it into biodiesel using a first-generation processing technology known as transesterification. (3) a sugarcane-ethanol plant in the Tietê-Jacaré Watershed of São Paulo, Brazil. The sugarcane ethanol mill harvests approximately 21,000 hectares of sugarcane crops from seven municipalities and produces hydrated ethanol for domestic markets, and sugar for domestic and international markets; and (4) the agricultural and energy systems in Senegal. Senegal suffers from significant deforestation and soil fertility decline coupled with demographic change. The many interconnections between the energy and agricultural systems require an integrated assessment of both. Each individual case study stands alone in providing novel insights emerging from application of the framework in the particular case and context. At the more general level, five important insights emerged from the case studies, including: (1) the benefits of, and need for, maintaining a flexible unit of analysis so as to improve problem structuring; (2) the importance of grounding an assessment within its context; (3) the benefits of seeking integration and positive indirect effects; (4), the need to plan for and develop energy bridges towards feasible and desirable energy futures; and (5), the need for caution in the face of thresholds and uncertainty. The individual and general insights from the case studies were incorporated into the most recent version of the sustainability assessment framework described in this dissertation. The framework is suitable for application, with specification for particular case and context, to all types of energy systems at all scales.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2008.

Based on the author's Thesis (doctoral)--University of Lagos. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 309-332) and index.

Based on the author's Thesis (doctoral)--University of Lagos. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 309-332) and index.

La notion de représentation culturelle n’a pas fait l’objet, jusqu’à présent, d’une analyse approfondie qui aurait pu permettre d’en dégager la spécificité. L’intérêt de cette étude portant sur les représentations culturelles de la folie au Sénégal a permis de délimiter un champ de recherche à l’interface de l’individuel et du collectif par une analyse pluridisciplinaire de type complémentaire et une synthèse interdisciplinaire sous l’angle sociologique.Le recueil et la synthèse des données culturelles traditionnelles de la folie au Sénégal et l’analyse des entretiens au sein de l’Hôpital Fann à Dakar ont permis d’entrevoir l’intégration de référentiels issus de multiples univers de sens sacré/profane, magico-religieux/bio-médical au sein des représentations. Cette complexité des données manifestes et latentes, concernant des représentations différentes, au sein d’un même discours remet en question les grilles de lecture simplifiant l’univers polymorphe et changeant des représentations et rappelle l’importance de l’appréhension et de la compréhension des mécanismes d’évolution culturelle et leur impact sur les acteurs sociaux. / The concept of cultural representation was not the object, until now, of a thorough analysis which could have made it possible to release specificity from it. Interest of this study relating to the cultural representations of the madness in Senegal was to delimit a field of research to the interface of individual and collective by a multi-field analysis of complementary type and an interdisciplinary synthesis from a sociological angle.The collection and the synthesis of the traditional cultural data of the madness in Senegal and the analysis of talks from the Hospital Fann in Dakar made it possible to foresee integration of reference frames resulting from multiple universes from crowned/layman and magic-religious/biomedical direction in the representations. This complexity of the manifest and latent data, concerning different representations, within the same speech calls in question the grids of reading simplifying the polymorphic universe and changing representations and recalls the importance of the apprehension and the comprehension of the mechanisms of cultural evolution and their impact on the social actors.

Le développement et la croissance font l’objet de diverses approches. D’une approche purement économique, traditionnellement centrée sur les technologies, la démographie et les marchés, les théories du développement et de la croissance convergent aujourd’hui vers une approche institutionnaliste qui montre que ce sont les institutions qui déterminent les performances des économies nationales. Les courants significatifs de l’économie institutionnelle permettent de mieux cerner le concept d’institutions qui sont les règles formelles et informelles du jeu dans une société selon North. Les institutions ont des liens complexes avec le développement défini comme la croissance économique durable accompagnée d’un changement efficace des institutions. Il importe alors de montrer la validité du concept d’institutions en Afrique et de préciser ces liens dans ses aspects réel, financier, politique et social. L'aspect financier et surtout réel du lien institutions-développement a longtemps retenu l'attention des chercheurs. Mais les défaillances institutionnelles enregistrées ont revalorisé et réactualisé les études centrées sur les questions politiques et sociales en portant une attention particulière sur la dimension pauvreté. C'est pourquoi la soutenabilité politique et sociale des réformes est au cœur du débat sur le développement dominé en Afrique par les plans d'ajustement structurel. Le Sénégal est par conséquent concerné par ce débat. Ce pays connaît des déséquilibres économiques et financiers depuis la fin des années soixante-dix avec l'existence de trappes financières et de trappes à la pauvreté. Malgré les réformes mises en œuvre, le Sénégal est encore aujourd'hui confronté à une grave crise économique, financière et sociale. Cette crise apparaît au travers de l'étude de ses régimes de croissance et de l'analyse méso-économique de sa croissance qui est par ailleurs influencée par des facteurs informels parmi lesquels il y a le rôle des Mourides et celui du capital humain. Tout en veillant à la laïcité de l’État, l'exemple des Mourides mérite d'être suivi puisque cette communauté religieuse impacte positivement le développement du Sénégal. Quant au capital humain, il renvoie à la question de l'émigration ainsi qu'à celle de l'adaptation du système éducatif aux besoins réels de l'économie. L'évaluation instrumentale de la démocratie au Sénégal fait apparaître la nécessité de cette adaptation et permet de mettre en évidence le fait que les droits basiques ne sont pas satisfaits pour la majorité des Sénégalais. D'où la nécessité de poursuivre les réformes que nos recommandations cherchent à rendre plus efficaces. / The theory of development and growth, despite many contributions, neglect other items like social factors and institutions. Traditionally they are based on the technologies, the demography and the markets. Today, they are convergent to recognize an approach institutionalized which shows that the institutions are matter and can determine the economic performances of a country. The significant currents of the institutional economy allow to encircle better the concept of institutions which are the formal and informal rules of the game (set,play) in a company (society) according to North’s contribution. Institutions have complex links with the development defined as the longlasting (sustainable) economic growth accompanied with an effective change of quality of life and social welfare. It is then important to show the validity of the concept of institutions in Africa and to specify these links in its real, financial, political and social aspects. The financial aspect and especially reality of the link institutions-development held first our attention. But we enlarged the registered (recorded) with an evaluation of institutional failures. The new dimension shows how power people with informal markets attempts to finance their activities with their own resources or their imagination or creative innovations. By this updated approach, our thesis pays attention to the political and social questions like the dimension poverty. That is why the political and social sustainability of the reforms is at the heart of the debate on the development and not on Structural adjustment programs dominating the path of economic debate in Africa. Senegal is, consequently, concerned by this debate. This country has known economic and financial imbalance since the end of the seventies with the existence of financial and poverty traps. In spite of the implemented reforms, Senegal is confronted even today with a large economic, financial and social crisis. This crisis appears through the study of its diets (regimes) of growth and the meso-economic analysis of its growth which is also influenced by informal factors (mailmen) among which there is a role of Mourides and that of the human resources. While watching the secularism of the State, the example of Mourides deserves to be followed because this monastic community impacts positively on the development of Senegal. As for the human resources, it dismisses the question of emigration as well as that of the adaptation of the educational system to the real needs of the economy.

La thèse s'attache à restituer les technologies de réparation du malheur social et de représentation des griefs au Sénégal. Elle démontre que la contestation, la mobilisation et la protestation ne s'équivalent pas toujours et plaide pour que leurs frontières analytiques soient précisées. S'appuyant sur les critiques du tournant culturel et celles des études féministes adressées aux théories de l'action collective, la thèse souligne les postulats et les points aveugles du concept de mouvement social. Historiquement situé, ce concept ne permet pas de saisir certaines des formes d'action collective sur des terrains non-occidentaux. A partir d'une enquête qualitative et quantitative menée, entre 2007 et 2012, principalement auprès d'une association de mères de migrants, la thèse montre qu'il existe, au Sénégal, une option qui consiste à mobiliser sans protester. Cette expression signifie que des acteurs sociaux peuvent employer un répertoire organisationnel hybride (association revendicative, self-help, mutuelle d'épargne, coopérative de travail) - qui vise autant l'État qu'il s'en dispense - ainsi que des modes d'action non-confrontatifs aux autorités publiques (témoignages dans les médias, participation à des meetings politiques ou conférences internationales). Sans recourir à l'action protestataire, les discours et les pratiques de ces mobilisations non-protestataires n'en sont pas moins politisées. La thèse montre en particulier comment le monde de l'aide et du développement s'est saisi de techniques genrées et d'entrepreneures de mobilisation propres au champ politique sénégalais afin de mener ses propres missions. / The thesis focuses on the technologies of solving social problems and of expressing grievance in Senegal. lt demonstrates that dissent, mobilization and protest are not always equivalent and argues for their analytical boundaries to be specified. Drawing on criticisms of the cultural turn and those of feminist studies addressed to the theories of collective action, the thesis stresses the postulates and blind spots of the concept of social movement. Historically located, this concept does not capture some of the forms of mobilization on non-Western areas. Based on a qualitative and quantitative survey, carried out between 2007 and 2012, mainly of an association of migrants' mothers, the thesis shows that in Senegal there is an option that may consist of mobilizing without protest. This expression means that social actors can use a hybrid organizational repertoire (advocacy association, self-help, mutual savings, work cooperative) - which targets the State as much as it does not - as well as modes of non-confrontational action to public authorities (testimonies in the media, participation in political meetings or international conferences). Without resorting to protest action, the discourses and practices of these non-protest mobilizations are nonetheless politicized. The thesis shows in particular how the industry of aid has seized gendered techniques of mobilization and entrepreneurs specific to the Senegalese political field in order to carry out its own missions.

No description available.