Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Senecan studies'

The most important finding to emerge from the studies reported in this thesis was the discovery that the newly arisen allopolyploid species, S. cambrensis Rosser, has originated on more than one occasion in Britain. A survey of isozyme variation for acid phosphatase (ACP) and a-esterase (a-EST) in S. cambrensis (2n = 60) and its putative parents, the Oxford Ragwort, Senecio squalidus L. (2n = 20) and the Common Groundsel, S. vulgaris L. (2n = 40), produced clear evidence that the Scottish and Welsh populations of S. cambrensis have separate origins. In addition, isozyme banding patterns for glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) indicated that populations of S. cambrensis from Wrexham and Mochdre in N. Wales also represent independent origins of the species in Britain. Extending the isozyme survey to include other populations of the two parental species led to the confirmation that the radiate allele in S. vulgaris has an introgressive origin from S. squalidus. Evidence for this came from an analysis of variation at the Got-1 locus. It was established that the Got-1a allele which is present in British S. squalidus populations at high frequency also occurs in the radiate morph of S. vulgaris, but is virtually absent from the non-radiate morph. The greater allelic variation found at the Got-1 locus in the radiate morph, compared to the non-radiate morph, was considered to be a direct result of this introgression. In contrast, at other loci, the non-radiate morph exhibited greater allelic variation than the radiate morph, despite having a higher level of inbreeding. The reduced level of genetic variation in the radiate variant at these loci is presumed to be due to the recent origin of the radiate morph in Britain. Of additional interest was the finding that S. squalidus contains a low level of genetic variation compared with most other outcrossing species that have been surveyed to date, probably due to a genetic bottleneck experienced by the species during its colonisation of Britain. Nevertheless, the level of variation within S. squalidus was still higher than that observed in the predominantly selfing S. vulgaris. Finally, evidence from the electrophoretic survey has confirmed the close evolutionary relationship of several other members of Senecio section Annui (S. viscosus, S. sylvaticus, S. vulgaris ssp. denticulatus, S. teneriffae and S. vernalis ) to S. vulgaris var. vulgaris and S. squalidus, but has failed to support the hypothesis that S. vulgaris originated from S. vernalis via autopolyploidy.

xi, 112 p.
This thesis explores the effects of: 1) traditional values, 2) parental involvement, and 3) poverty on student performance. Instead of regarding tradition and poverty as obstacles, this paper argues that they can play a positive role in improving the educational quality. This thesis draws on interviews in three communities with administrators, teachers, students, parents, and elders. They show that traditional culture plays an important role in ensuring student motivation, but it is not clear which aspects of tradition will be incorporated into the curriculum, and by whom. My work also shows that parental involvement in schools is largely limited to fund-raising, and there is demand for more engagement. Finally, this project reveals that poverty is a double edge sword: it contributes to the school drop-out problem but also can serve as a tremendous source of personal motivation for students who want to help improve the economic condition of their families.
Committee in charge: Dennis Galvan, Chairperson; Stephen Wooten, Member; Kathie Carpenter, Member

This dissertation examines disputing and dispute resolution primarily among married couples in the small city of Saint-Louis, in the northwest comer of Senegal, West Africa. The goal of this project is two-fold: first, to locate "couples disputing" in the context of the culture and systems of power in urban Senegal; second, to analyze how this context is reproduced and contested through disputing and participation in legal (state) and informal (non-state) dispute resolution processes. At another level, this project focuses on determining how and to what degree the law enables and empowers women to resist domestic violence, and, alternatively, allows it to persist. The place of domestic violence is examined through the lens of local culture and ideology, as well as legal and conflict-oriented behavior. Central to this project is the observation of a dynamic interaction between the daily lived reality of couples and intermediate and higher-level institutional frameworks. In other words, love, cooperation, arguing, disdain, beating, rape, separation, divorce, and reconciliation occur inseparably from the authority structures of family and community, selective coercion and empowerment by state and civil bodies, and the distant impositions of international entities. An ethnographic portrait of marital disputing and domestic violence is created using court observations and recorded speech, structured and unstructured interviews, documentary research on court records, and extended participant observation in the community.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of History, 2008.
Title from home page (viewed on May 11, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3277. Adviser: John H. Hanson.

The large body of data which is available makes some members of the genus Senecio an ideal group on which to use molecular techniques to study biosystematic problems. Three major problems have been addressed:- (i) What is the degree of intraspecific DNA variation present in Senecio cambrensis, S. squalidus and S. vulgaris sl? (ii) Did S. vulgaris ssp. vulgaris var. hibernicus originate via the introgression of S. squalidus genes into S. vulgaris ssp. vulgaris var. vulgaris? (iii) Is S. cambrensis the allohexaploid hybrid of S. squalidus and S. vulgaris sl? These questions have been addressed using both the nuclear and chloroplast genomes. It has been demonstrated that molecular evidence can provide new insights into relationships, but can also produce results which are either contradictory to other evidence or inconclusive. Intraspecific variation was encountered in Senecio squalidus and S. vulgaris sl for both the nuclear (ribosomal DNA) and chloroplast genomes. This variation has provided new insights into the relationship between the two subspecies of S. vulgaris. It is proposed that S. vulgaris sl may have originated via reciprocal crosses between Senecio species possessing different chloroplast genomes. The hybrid nature of the majority of S. cambrensis populations was confirmed, since most of the Senecio species analysed could be distinguished on the basis of their ribosomal DNAs. Molecular techniques have produced contradictory evidence regarding the relationship of Senecio sgualidus to S. vulgaris ssp. vulgaris sl. In this case the two taxa have identical chloroplast genomes. This conflicts not only with the rDNA data but also with morphology, cytology and isozymes. The possible reasons for this conflict are discussed. The ribosomal and chloroplast genomes have produced inconclusive evidence regarding the introgressive origin of Senecio vulgaris ssp. vulgaris var. hibernicus. In this thesis some of the exciting applications of molecular biology to biosystematics have been reviewed and the need for multidisciplinary approaches to biosystematic problems is emphasised.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-124).
The November, 2007, street vendor riots in Dakar, Senegal, were one of the country's most powerful expressions of political and economic disintegration in recent times. Almost equally striking was the absence from these events of Enda Tiers Monde, Senegal's oldest, largest, and most influential indigenous NGO and the champion of the "popular economy." This thesis uses the vendor riots as a window into the response of an organization, Enda, to changing institutional contexts (i.e. different political regimes) and emerging development challenges (i.e. informal street vendors and urban spatial access). In its thirty years of operation, Enda has made significant contributions to urban development in Dakar and in cities throughout the global south. These contributions include extending access to basic services and improving housing in slums, organizing and advocating for the urban poor, and training local leaders in participatory governance. However, as demonstrated by its lack of involvement and influence in events surrounding the vendor riots, Enda's role and relationship with both grassroots actors and national policy-makers has changed. This thesis demonstrates that different types of relationships between Enda and the state affect the organization's relationship with its base, and therefore Enda's legitimacy with and connection to both actors. I also argue that these changing institutional contexts have affected Enda internally.
(cont.) Since an important political turnover in the year 2000 and the death of Enda's founder in 2002, Enda has been attempting to align its internal structure and functioning with its external institutional context. The challenge for Enda is to develop a system that will grant its teams the flexibility to experiment while supporting them with evaluation for learning and adaptation. This is essential for Enda's renewed visibility and influence in urban development in Dakar.
by Alexa E. Rosenbeg.
M.C.P.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Stoic philosophy taught along with the other prominent philosophical schools of the Hellenistic Era (i.e. the Academics, the Peripatetics and the Epicureans) that the goal or final end (telos) of human existence is our well-being or happiness (eudaimonia). The Stoics provided various definitions of this telos, the most famous being “living in agreement with nature” (ηὸ ὁκνινγνπκέλσο ηῇ θύζεη δῆλ) or “living according to nature” (secundum naturam vivere) and this goal essentially comes down to living according to perfect reason and virtue. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Seneca presents the Stoic doctrines regarding this topic in his Epistulae Morales (“Letters on Morality”) and to determine whether he managed to make the theoretical framework, proposed by the Stoics for the attainment of a happy life, more easily applicable in practice without compromising orthodox Stoic teachings. The orthodoxy of Seneca‟s philosophy may be judged by comparison with the doctrines of the early Stoic teachers, which is why this study will first look at the traditional Stoic teachings concerning the definition of the telos as well as the theory behind the attainment thereof. Thereafter it will be investigated how true Seneca stayed to these traditional teachings and whether he managed to make the Stoic telos more realistically attainable by the practical advice he offers in his letters.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Stoïsynse filosofie voer aan soos die ander prominente filosofiese skole van die Hellenistiese era (d.w.s. die Akademie, die Peripatetiese skool, en die Epikureërs) dat die einddoel (telos) van die mensdom welsyn of geluk (eudaimonia) is. Die Stoïsyne het verskillende definisies van die telos verskaf; die mees bekende is “om in ooreenkoms met die natuur te leef” (ηὸ ὁκνινγνπκέλσο ηῇ θύζεη δῆλ) of “om volgens die natuur te leef” (secundum naturam vivere) en hierdie einddoel kom in wese daarop neer om volgens volmaakte rede of deug te leef. Die doel van hierdie studie is om te ondersoek hoe Seneca die Stoïsynse leerstellings oor hierdie onderwerp in sy Epistulae Morales (“Briewe oor Moraliteit”) behandel en om te bepaal of hy dit makliker gemaak het om die teoretiese raamwerk, wat deur die Stoïsyne vir die bereiking van 'n gelukkige lewe voorgestel is, in die praktyk toe te pas sonder om die ortodokse Stoïsynse leerstellings te kompromitteer. Die ortodoksie van Seneca se filosofie kan beoordeel word deur dit met die leerstellings van die vroeë Stoïsyne te vergelyk. Hierdie studie begin dus met „n ondersoek na die tradisionele Stoïsynse leerstellings aangaande die definisie van die telos, sowel as die teorie oor die bereiking daarvan. Daarna word ondersoek hoe getrou Seneca was aan die tradisionele leerstellings en of hy deur die praktiese raad in sy briewe dit makliker gemaak het om die Stoïsynse telos te bereik.

This thesis provides a comparative analysis of the environmental values present in Ghana’s and Senegal’s coastal regions, and the implications that those have for the surrounding environment. The countries approaches to urban farming, mining and oil and gas extraction, fishing, marine debris and municipal waste management are assessed in order to reach a greater understanding of these environmental issues. In undertaking this thesis, I attempted to draw a correlation between the handling of these issues and how people perceive their environment. Through the comparison of environmental degradation and the level of effort to achieve a more sustainable developmental framework in both countries, I draw examples from successes in Senegal’s coastal management framework to recommend appropriate environmental policy for the Greater Accra Region.

This thesis explores West African Muslims in New York as a case study of the immigrant experience in America through discussion of the main theories of assimilation and modes of incorporation into American society. As foreign-born, black Muslims, the Murids of Senegal rely on cohesive social networks to protect themselves from discrimination. This thesis argues that through a process of “segmented assimilation” and reliance on the ethnic enclave, which provides a critical network of support, immigrants like the Murids of Senegal can better manage the challenges they face in the host environment and achieve upward social and economic mobility in urban America while maintaining their cultural identity.

This research begins to explore what political tools are necessary to elevate women’s position in society by transforming legislation. Women in Francophone West Africa do not enjoy certain basic rights and there is need to improve their status. The promotion and appointment of women to the position of prime minister, Mame Madior Boyé in Senegal in 2001 and Mariam Kaidama Cissé Sidibé in Mali in 2011, gives us hope that women-friendly agendas will be given priority. I pose the question: Did the appointment of these two women to the heads of their respective governments improve the status of women and their political representation in West Africa? There is existing research that suggests that more women in government increases the visibility of women’s issues. I argue that simply having women in positions of power is not sufficient; participation in informal politics and civil society is imperative. These women have to go into the position with a commitment to women’s issues and a willingness to work with the already existent networks of women’s associations dedicated to furthering women’s rights. I study the successful passage of a new woman-friendly constitution in Senegal. In particular, I look at each participant’s role in making this happen, the associations who pushed for reforms for many years, the reformist president Wade, and Boyé who was a founding member of one of the central women’s associations, the Association of Senegalese Female Legal Practitioners. I compare this with the unsuccessful signing of new family code in Mali. I discuss the disinterest and indecisiveness of the president and Sidibé, as well as the influence of the strong opposition from the conservative High Islamic Council. There are also institutional barriers to change, namely the pluralist legal system of customary law, Islamic law, and state law. Finally, I discuss other possible reasons for the differences in these two countries’ results, such as Senegal’s longer history of democracy and general acceptance of modernity and women’s rights.

As immigrants arrive in a new culture, they must modify their behaviors to adapt to their host society. Through a review of current literature, I will examine the psychological and sociological aspects of immigration and the effects on migrant identity. I will argue that migrants most desire a bicultural identity, in which they retain some elements of their ethno-cultural identity while adopting some values of French society. The construction of a bicultural identity presents a challenge due to the particular philosophical foundations of the French nation-state and French culture. In the next chapter, I will analyze the challenges Senegalese migrants confront as they seek to build a bicultural identity. France’s assimilationist tradition presents an ideological barrier to successful integration and a model which must be examined to understand France’s identity politics. Resulting secondary barriers are evident in France’s social and economic policies, which have an exclusionary impact on immigrants and ethnic minorities. Senegalese migrants comprise a particularly vulnerable minority group in France, and socioeconomic pressures are especially influential on the integration of Senegalese migrants due to religious differences, the practice of polygamy, a high concentration in the service sector, and one the largest average household sizes. I will examine how France’s policies and societal behavior affect Senegalese-migrant identity and integration. In the last chapter, I will examine Senegalese perceptions of France and immigration, which are radically different from the true experiences of Senegalese migrants in France.

This paper explores the relationship between security concerns and political development in three case studies: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Senegal. It first analyzes the foundations of political institutions within the three states by exploring the creation of nationalist leaders in the pre-independence era, and how their personal development within these years affected their governance style after independence. Afterwards, the discussion separates into the three distinct case studies. The purpose of this analysis is to first outline the major developments within each country in the political field, highlight the major security concerns within the country, and then analyze how these two sectors have affected the other, or if they have not, why there has been little connection between the two.

This thesis investigates the preconditions for a new type of migration among the highly skilled between Senegal and the EU, namely circular migration. The three most prominent actors in the shaping of the future migration pattern –the EU (administration), the Senegalese government and the future highly skilled migrants i.e. Senegalese university students –are studied by a combination of social constructivism and critical discourse analysis. The discourses are derived from official EU and Senegalese documents and from a survey as well as from semi-structured interviews with students at the two largest universities in Senegal. The analysis of the discourses shows three factors that point towards a change of the migration practice in favour of circular migration: first, an interdiscursivity between the migration, development and economic growth discourses; second, a resemblance between the three actors discourses on migration; and third, a willingness among all three actors to act for a mobility of knowledge and experience. Consequently, there are preconditions for circular migration between Senegal and the EU.

The 2.1 Ga Kedougou-Kenieba Inlier in West Africa hosts outstanding mineral wealth, with ~45 Moz of gold and 630 Mt of iron ore hosted along the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone (SMSZ). To the west of the SMSZ the Faléme’ Volcanic Belt (FVB). Detailed petrography and analysis of igneous rocks by solution lCP-MS and AES show that the FVB is comprised of calc-alkaline volcaniclastic sediments, lavas and plutonic rocks, hosts iron ore in a series of magnetite skam deposits. To the east of the SMSZ, the Kofi series is comprised of clastic sedimentary rocks and peraluminous granite plutons. Orogenic Au hosted in the Loulo-Bambadj i district of the Kofi Series (including the Gara, Yalea and Gounkoto mines) is spatially associated with epigenetic tourmaline alteration, while widespread albite alteration is associated with early stages of mineralisation in both the FVB and the Kofi Series. A >400 ppm boron soil anomaly along >100 km strike length of the SMSZ is related to widespread tourrnalinisation of sedimentary rocks in the Kofi Series. The Au deposits of the Kofi Series are characterised by a Fe-As-Cu-Au-Ag i REES-W-Ni-Te metal association. Ore assemblages are pyrite and arsenian pyrite dominated with accessory chalcopyrite, Ni-sulphides, scheelite and REE phosphates. Two distinct hydrothermal fluids were involved in Au mineralisation in the Kofi Series: 1) a moderate temperature (315-340 °C), low salinity (<10 wt. % NaCl equiv.), low density (31 gcm -3), HzO-COZ-NaCl-HZSiNz-CH4 fluid; and 2) a high temperature (up to 445 oC), hypersaline (~40 wt. % NaCl equiv.), high density (~1.3 gcm -3), H2O-CO2-NaCl+-FeCl2-B fluid. This hypersaline fluid has been interpreted as being sourced from crystallising magmatic bodies, new data presented here suggests otherwise. Stable isotope data (0, C and S from silicate, carbonate and sulphide minerals) indicate that volatiles involved in ore formation were generated through metamorphic devolatilisation reactions within the Kofi Series; this is interpreted to be the source of the low salinity fluid. Isotopically heavy delta 34 values (+25 %o) from diagenetic pyrite together with 11 B-enriched isotopic ratios in hydrothermal tourmaline (-4.6 to +19.8 %), measured by SIMS, suggest that the hypersaline fluid formed through dissolution of evaporite units formerly present in the Kofi Series. Furtheirnore, dating of magmatic zircons from nearby plutons by LA-ICP-MS shows a considerable time gap between magmatism at ~2100 Ma and mineralisation at ~2030 Ma. Fluid inclusion data from the Gounkoto deposit indicates that phase separation in the metamorphic sourced fluid was an important mechanism for ore deposition. In addition, discrete sections of the deposit exhibit evidence that partial mixing of the high salinity and low salinity end member fluids enhanced phase separation through retrograde boiling. The hypersaline fluid is widely distributed along the SMSZ, with increasing abundance toward the FVB in the west. Hypersaline inclusions at the Karakaene Ndi magnetite skam deposit in the FVB imply that the hypersaline fluid played a significant role in the development of the magnetite skarn deposit. The NaCl content allowed efficient transport of Fe to sites of ore formation in F6C120 complexes.

Introduction: The Home-based Management of Malaria (HMM) is a cornerstone of malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and is recommended by WHO to provide prompt access to antimalarial treatment for children in under-served areas. Although HMM has been shown to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality with chloroquine, it has not been examined previously in the era of artemisinin-based combination therapies. The objectives of this study were to determine whether HMM reduced: 1] the time from when a mother or guardian realized her child was ill to the time when the child was brought for treatment and 2] malaria morbidity in children less than 5 years of age.

Methodology: This cross-sectional retrospective study (2008-2014) was performed in intervention villages (receiving HMM) and control villages (not receiving HMM) to examine the effectiveness of HMM.

Key Results: More mothers and guardians were informed about the malaria control activities performed (98% vs. 24%) in intervention than control villages (p < 0.001). Consistent with that result, mothers and guardians in intervention villages sought care for their sick children earlier than mothers in control villages (p < 0.001) and were more likely to obtain treatment from community health workers (CHWs) in their home villages. In contrast, more children were referred for malaria treatment to health posts and health centers from control than intervention villages (p < 0.001). Likewise, more children with complicated malaria were referred for treatment from control villages (p < 0.001), although those conclusions were limited by the small numbers of complicated (severe) malaria cases.

Conclusions: These results indicate HMM shortens the time mothers wait before taking their children to receive treatment. Because more children with uncomplicated or complicated malaria are referred for treatment from control than intervention villages, these results indicate that the availability of HMM treatment in the child’s home village reduces morbidity (the risk of severe malarial disease). However, additional studies with larger numbers of subjects will be necessary to determine if HMM reduces mortality.

Can cross-border interaction: interpersonal, economic, and otherwise, help ease relations between neighbouring political entities facing conflicts of interest and other differences?

1. How and why are border crossing communication routes created and maintained?

2. Under what circumstances are they used and how?

3. In what ways do they alter the conditions of a conflict between the parties that they link?

4. How do governments relate to the communication route and in what ways do they fit it into their policies?

Seeking to reconcile the theories of the international system advanced by Hedley Bull and John W. Burton, we conduct a comparative case study, based on contemporary media and scholarship, of the situations regarding Senegal and the Gambia, as well as the two de facto (if not de jure) republics of Cyprus to answer these questions. Having sought to estimate the causes and effects of border crossing, we find that host factors, in particular divergent economies and the utilization of international partners, may in fact come to stem from the issues of border-crossing activity and contribute to complicating existing conflicts rather than resolve them.

Dance
Ph.D.
This dissertation positions Germaine Acogny’s Modern African Dance Technique (“the Technique”) as a mode of knowledge that reveals insight into nationalism, Négritude, modernism and perspectives on modernity during the early years of Senegal’s independence. By investigating the Technique in relationship to its historical context, this study aims to identify how cultural and political values, which comprise the Technique’s embodied knowledge, are evident in its aesthetic design and philosophical underpinnings. A hybrid methodological approach is employed that merges theoretical analysis with autoethnography. Fieldwork in Senegal, archival research, interviews and embodied practice informed this study. A new theoretical frame, Wòrándá, is introduced that contributes to existing theories on embodiment in African and Diasporic dance techniques and performance. The findings of this dissertation conclude that the Technique sits at the junction of African and Euro-American cultural templates, which coalesce in the production of a codified movement technique that both embodies and confronts constructivist influences. Correlations are suggested between the Technique, Africentric perspectives and cultural nationalism. The Technique also fulfills Léopold Sedar Senghor’s vision of métissage (cultural blending) and cultural progress. Each of these ideological influences underscores the Technique’s significance as a modernist intervention on the genre of neo-traditional African concert dance, as its progenitor seeks to challenge dominant expectations of the African body in dance.
Temple University--Theses

xiv, 246 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
This project is a critical and comparative investigation of Western and non-Western practices of body modification. Situated in the realm of feminist political theory, the project engages the literature and debates concerning embodiment, or the symbolic and concrete meanings of women's bodies. I specifically explore two examples of the physical construction of women's bodies: breast implantation in the United States and female genital cutting (FGC) in Senegal. I demonstrate that each of the practices molds bodies into preexisting naturalized forms. For this project, I conducted eighty in-depth, open-ended, and semi-structured interviews with women and men in twelve different locations in Senegal. Then, I carried out sixty-five in-depth, open-ended, and semi-structured interviews with American men and women from twenty-one different cities. I argue that the information that emerges from looking at body normalization comparatively allows me to make two important claims. The first is that the material that originates from interviews in this comparative study disrupts existing hegemonic discourse on sex-based body modifications. In particular, the comparative findings challenge the viewpoint that espouses a "Western women are free, African women are oppressed" binary. Second, examining FGC in Senegal alongside breast implantation in the US can uncover normalization that is invisible within social fields, or in the lives of women and men. Normalization is hard to see when in it, but easier to see if an individual steps outside of herself, her context, and her patriarchy. Thus, though many women do not recognize the normalizing structures within their own lives, they often are able to see these hegemonic structures in the lives of others. Women stepping outside of their own contexts can provide fresh, critical eyes that recognize embedded normalizations and oppression in other contexts. Further, this realization also can push them to return that critical gaze onto their own environment, which is the beginning of locating mechanisms of control within their own field. The construction of sex and the imprinting of gender norms upon bodies are manifestations of regulation and normalization that occur within socio-cultural contexts, and which individuals can potentially locate through a comparative conversation of this type.
Committee in charge: Dennis Galvan, Chairperson, Political Science; Julie Novkov, Member, Political Science; Leonard Feldman, Member, Political Science; Stephen Wooten, Outside Member, Anthropology

Le corpus de films est constitué par les films amateurs tournés par les coloniaux dans les colonies françaises, Madagascar et le Sénégal. Ce corpus source est enrichi des films contemporains les utilisant. Dans le cadre d'une pratique d'action-recherche, deux films ont été réalisés. En 3 mouvements nous avons essayé de déterminer la valeur des films amateurs coloniaux aujourd’hui. Nous nous sommes appuyés sur l’anthropologie pragmatique et la philosophie de l’ordinaire pour comprendre les enjeux de ces films. Nos enquêtes révèlent que cette absence de valeur correspond à un déni de réalité de la situation coloniale, niant à la fois les injustices et les liens affectifs qui avaient pu être créées principalement entre les enfants de colons et les domestiques. D'où le paradoxe : des films dits "domestiques", les domestiques sont absents. Cette absence est essentielle. Sans les nounous et les boys, ces films sont des no man’s land. De plus, le contexte colonial crée un rapport d'illégitimité voir d'illégalité de ces films. En conclusion nous proposons d'une part une méthode de reconstruction cinématographique qui mette au cœur de son dispositif les trois acteurs liés aux films amateurs : les filmeurs, les filmés, les personnes dans le Hors champs. D'autre part nous proposons la création d'un institut des films amateurs coloniaux reposant sur des principes établis par un éthique de l'archivistique audiovisuelle et qui permettrait aux anciens colonisés de se réapproprier les images spoliées de leur propre passé à une époque où il y avait un monopole des moyens de production audiovisuelle. Cela répondrait à une justice mémorielle, audiovisuelle et affective
The films corpus is made by amateur films shot by colonials in the French colonies, Madagascar and Senegal. This source corpus is enriched by contemporary films using these amateur films and films from the colonial era. As part of a practice of action research, two films were made. In 3 movements we tried to determine the value colonial home movies may have today. We relied on the pragmatic anthropology and ordinary philosophy to understand the issues of these films. The starting assumption was that these films had been abandoned, they had no more value as a result of a colonial state denied by settlers. Our historical and sociological surveys show that this lack of value is a denial of reality of the colonial situation, denying both injustice and emotional ties that had been created mainly between the settler children and servants. Hence the paradox of films called "domestic" is that domestics are absent. This lack is essential. Without nannies and boys, these films are a no man's land. Moreover, the colonial context creates a report view illegitimacy illegality of these films. In conclusion we propose firstly a cinematic reconstruction method that puts the heart of its system linked to the three actors amateur films: the filmmakers, the filmed people and those in the fields Out. Secondly we propose the creation of an institute of colonial amateur films based on principles established by an ethic of audiovisual archiving that allow former colonized to reclaim the images of their own past at a time when there was a monopoly of audiovisual means of production. This would respond to a memorial, audiovisual and emotional justice

International actors from International Organizations, Western States, Think tanks, risk management consultancies, NGOs, and private security companies understand borderless threats like clandestine migration, drug trafficking, and international terrorism to emanate from ‘ungoverned spaces’ in the Global South. The Sahelian sub-region of West Africa has taken a prominent place in global discourses of insecurity and borderless threats. These non-traditional security concerns have been translated into an expanding array of transnational governance initiatives that bring together the activities and practices of a wide range of state and non-state, global and local, and public and private actors in efforts to deal with the challenges that borderless threats are assumed to present. This dissertation argues that attempts to govern drug trafficking in the Sahel are producing global assemblages of security intervention: shifting, multi-scalar, institutional orders that reorient and reconfigure the security practices, knowledges, mentalities, technologies, and priorities of multiple sets of governance actors across disparate jurisdictional spaces. The effects of the transnationalized security governance and capacity-building initiatives that unfold in simultaneous, connected spaces of intervention amplify and alter positions of social power and prominence in local fields of conflict. Through the practices and projects of global security experts and capacity-builders in the Sahel, new forms of international capital are introduced and become realized in local settings that intensify rivalries between local, national, and regional security institutions over the question of the recognition of their authority over security matters. In their relationships with international capacity-builders and other global actors, sets of local recipients of security governance interventions practice forms of extraversion whereby their structural positions of dependence and differentials of power and resources are leveraged to accumulate forms of international capital that they then use to dominate the fields of power in which they are embedded. The dissertation examines three components of the assemblages of security intervention in West Africa: the effects of the transnational field of capacity- building in the Sahelian interior; the establishment and operation of the UNODC Airport Communications drug interdiction project (AIRCOP) at Dakar’s International Airport, and the joint UNODC/World Customs Organization Container Control Programme operating at the port of Dakar. It advances new empirical material from these case studies, and makes contributions to debates in three sub-fields of International Relations: critical security studies, global governance, and international statebuilding.

Gum arabic was exposed to varying degrees of ionising gamma irradiation. The result confirms the lability of certain sugar and amino acid residues in the gum structure. A chemical deproteination was carried out on a gum arabic solution using butan-1-o1, and confirms previous results which indicate that the protein content of gum arabic cannot be totally isolated from the polysaccharide structure. Mild sequential Smith degradations were carried out on gum arabic, these degradations were less structurally destructive than previous periodate oxidations. Gum arabic was also fractionated by its ability to emulsify limonene oil and associate with its molecular surface. All the previous degradative studies give valuable structural information to elucidate the gum's heterogeneous branched nature. An analytical study was carried out on ten gum arabic samples of Sudanese and Nigerian origin, collected between 1950-1989. The gum's polysaccharide and amino acid composition were fully characterised and their emulsification stability determined. There are convincing indications that gum arabic has remained remarkably constant in chemical nature over the past 40 years. Seven gum exudates of the genus Albizia, four Acacia gum exudates and six Combretum gum exudates, all of which are not permitted as food additives, were analysed for their polysaccharide and amino acid composition. Food manufacturers require analytical data to characterise non-permitted gums to prevent their use as adulterants to substitute for gum arabic.

Français Tirailleur (FT) är ett pidginspråk som talades av västafrikanska soldateroch deras vita officerare i den franska kolonialarmen cirka 1857-1954. Den häruppsatser beskriver denna språkvatietet utifrån ett korpus som består av de dokumenteradeyttranden som hittills hittats. Studien visar bland annat att standardnegation uttrycks med en pre-verbal partikel (pas), ja/nej-frågor uttryckts främstgenom intonation, genussystemet är inte produktivt, det finns ingen skillnad mellansubjekt och objekt i pronomensystemet och attributiv ägande uttrycks med possessivapronomen, juxtaposition eller prepositioner. Den standardiserade type-token-rationär 26%, vidare forskning om ordförråd i pidginspråk och jämförelser med talat språkbehövs. Det finns två former som är väldigt frekventa och som anses vara mycketkarakteristiska för FT: ya och yena. Dessa former har tidigare beskrivits som stativaverb, relativmarkörer och finithetsmarkörer. De förekommer i majoriteten av alladokument i korpuset. De fungerar som stativa verb, kopula eller kopulalika markörer,samt potentiellt även som predikatsmarkörer. Frågan om huruvida adjektiv är enrelevant språklig kategori i denna pidgin diskuteras också i denna uppsats.
Français Tirailleur (FT) is a pidgin language that was spoken by West Africansoldiers and their white officers in the French colonial army approximately 1857-1954.The aim of this study is to investigate a corpus of previously unanalyzed utterancesof FT in order to discern linguistic structures and test previous statements about thenature of FT. Much of previous literature on FT is based on an anonymous manualpublished by the French military in 1916, this thesis aims to provide new informationto our understanding of this pidgin. These are some of the findings: standardnegation is expressed by means of a preverbal particle (pas), polar interrogation byintonation, grammatical gender is not a productive category and attributive possessionis expressed by possessive pronouns, juxtaposition (possessum - possessor) andprepositional constructions. The standardized type-token-ratio of this corpus, 26%,suggests that the lexicon of pidgins needs to be further studied. Comparisons withcorpuses of spoken language are needed. There are two very frequent pre-predicatemarkers that are considered characteristic of FT: ya and yena. These two markershave previously been described as stative verbs, relativizers and markers of finiteness.The two markers are very frequent in a majority of the sources and are highly polysemous,functioning as stative verbs, copula or copula-like markers and possibly alsopredicate markers. The status of adjectives as a part-of-speech in FT is also discussed.

This thesis explores conviviality, a set of processes surrounding everyday living with difference. Based on 18 months of fieldwork (2007-2010) equally split between Casamance, Senegal, and Catalonia, Spain, the comparison takes the transnational lives of Casamançais and their embeddedness in both local fields into account. Locally, Casamançais often spoke of cohabitation (French) and convivencia (Castilian). Exploring discourses as well as practices related to encounters with difference and everyday socialising, this thesis addresses three questions: (1) How do migrants who come from a context of religious and ethnic diversity manage to make their way within new social contexts of cultural diversity? (2) How do their pre-migration experiences of diversity affect the ways in which they deal with the changing configurations of diversity that they encounter in Europe? (3) How do ways of living together with difference change over time in both sending and receiving contexts due to migration and other concurrent societal transformations? In four ethnographic chapters, I firstly explore everyday neighbourhood encounters and the centrality of multilingual greeting and temporary gatherings in open spaces for conviviality. A second chapter focuses on cultural and religious festivities and argues that, apart from the political recognition of diversity, the local residents’ sensuous experiences of difference are a crucial dimension of conviviality. Addressing challenges to conviviality, the third chapter engages with the processes of social closure, isolation and homogenisation which reveal alternative ways of living with difference. The fourth ethnographic chapter puts migration-related inequalities centre-stage, showing how conviviality also involves subtle forms of inequality. Analytically, this thesis suggests that conviviality is not a static conception of sociality, but one that is in-process. I find that socio-cultural differences are permanently negotiated, that ways of dealing with difference are translated between the old and new contexts of diversity, and that discourses and practices of living with difference are continuously (re)produced in everyday interactions. Casamançais perspectives reveal ways of maintaining minimal sociality among local residents who remain different.

RÉSUMÉ

Au Sénégal, on estime que 28% des femmes sont victimes de MSF et les Diolas sont une des ethnies au Sénégal qui pratique cette tradition. Dans ce mémoire, j’ai l’intention en premier de comprendre et d’interpréter les raisons qui justifient, selon les Diolas, cette pratique par la méthode d’abduction et selon la théorie du néo-institutionnalisme. Mon intention en second lieu est de comprendre les éléments de la prétendue diminution de cette pratique dans certaines zones chez les Diolas. Je veux aussi comprendre le rôle de l’ONG Tostan dans la réduction de ce phénomène. Pour réaliser mon projet d’étude, j’ai fait mon étude de terrain dans deux villages au sud du Sénégal.

Le résultat que j’ai obtenu est que les Diolas prennent les MSF comme étant la première phase, c'est-à-dire la première partie du cycle d’initiation d’une femme. Une fille ne peut pas entrer dans la deuxième partie de son cycle d’initiation qui est une partie essentielle pour réussir dans la société Diolas si elle ne passe pas la première partie grâce aux MSF. En plus, j’ai compris que les raisons principales pour justifier cette pratique sont que les Diolas pensent que c’est une recommandation islamique. Donc, la pratique des MSF est venue avec l’islamisation.

Après les programmes habituels de Tostan dans les villages, les deux villages de mon étude de cas ont fait leur déclaration publique contre les MSF. Selon les villageoises, dans le premier village, le rôle de Tostan est qu’elle les avait aidées à sensibiliser et à stabiliser le village dans l’abandon de la pratique. Mais il faut souligner que le procès d’abandon avait déjà commencé avant l’arrivée de Tostan. Je trouve qu’il y avait des éléments nécessaires pour cesser la pratique qui a existé dans le village avant l’arrivée de Tostan qui a facilité le choix de vraiment laisser la pratique.

Le deuxième village témoigne de l’importance de Tostan et affirme que sans Tostan, le village n’aurait pas abandonné la pratique des MSF. En même temps, il y a des indicateurs qui montrent que tous les habitants du village n’ont pas cessé la pratique.

Une remarque inattendue est que la norme féminine est sous transformation. Aujourd’hui, les femmes non excisées sont mieux considérées que les femmes excisées par toute la société dans les villages de cas de cette étude. Une autre observation intéressante est que les villageoises témoignent que les jeunes femmes étaient les plus difficiles à convaincre d’abandonner la MSF contrairement aux femmes plus âgées alors que se sont elles, qui peuvent fondamentalement réclamer d’avoir été préjudiciées a cause de nous au Nord, il est normalement difficile de moduler les différentes traditions à cause des anciennes générations au sein de la société.

An estimated 28% of Senegalese women are victims to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The Jola tribe in Senegal is one of the ethnics that practice this tradition. In this thesis, I have the intention to interpret and try to understand the reasons the Jolas have to justify this practice. This will be made by an abdication method with the help of the New Institutional Theory. My purpose is furthermore to understand why the practice of FGM has reduced in some Jola-zones. Furthermore, I would like to comprehend the role of the NGO Tostan in the reduction process. To fulfil my intentions, I have made a Minor Field Study of two case studies conducted in two villages in the south of Senegal.

The result of this thesis is that the Jolas use FGM as the first phase of the women’s initiation cycle. A girl is not allowed to enter the second phase of her initiation cycle, which is an essential step in order to succeed in the Jolas society, if she has not already passed the first phase. I have understood that the main reason to justify the practice is that the Jolas think that FGM is an Islamic decree. This signifies that the practice of FGM has come to the Jolas with the Islamization.

After conducting ordinary programs of Tostan in the villages, both case villages have made an official declaration against FGM. According to the villagers in the first village, the role of Tostan was to help them be aware and stabilise so that they could implement the declaration. It is important to stress that the process of abandoning the practice had already started before the intervention of Tostan in this village. This study shows that there already existed certain important elements in the village that had facilitated the work of Tostan.

The second village confirmed the importance of Tostan and affirmed that they would not have abandoned the practice without the intervention of Tostan. On the other hand, I found indications which show that all the habitants of the village have not yet abandoned the practice.

One unexpected observation that I achieved to track during my fieldwork is that the female norm is under transformation. Today, the non-circumcised women are considered more attractive than circumcised women. Another interesting observation is that the villagers claimed that it is actually more complicated to convince the younger female generations to abandon the practice of FGM, and not the elder females, which basically can be claimed to be the prejudice we carry with us from the North, when talking about different traditions which are difficult to change because of the old generations in a society.

Depuis la fin des années 1980, les mouvements religieux, musulmans pour la plupart, sont particulièrement visibles dans les sphères politiques sénégalaises mais aussi au sein des différents établissements d’enseignement supérieur. Autrefois caractérisés par la présence du militantisme politique de gauche, les milieux universitaires sont aujourd’hui occupés par les croyants. Les jeunes disciples mourides ou tidjianes, ou encore sûnites, emplissent les différents espaces au sein du campus, où ils organisent conférences islamiques, cours de Coran et séances de prière. En outre, un secteur d’enseignement islamique privé émerge en dehors des universités laïques. Basée sur un travail de terrain de longue durée (2003-2009 puis 2010-2015), notre étude vise à mettre en lumière ces différentes dynamiques religieuses au sein des lieux d’enseignement supérieur, que ce soient les universités laïques ou les établissements islamiques. Cette thèse s’articule en deux parties : la première consiste à étudier la construction historique des différentes figures de lettrés musulmans et leurs lieux de savoirs-pouvoirs au Sénégal ; la deuxième analyse la vie religieuse des « étudiants musulmans » d’aujourd’hui, ainsi que leurs sphères d’expression à la fois académique et religieuse.Notre analyse sur la transformation des figures de lettrés musulmans, depuis un demi-siècle, montre que la nouvelle génération se compose davantage d’individus issus de la classe populaire, à la différence de l’ancienne génération des années 1960 et 1970, regroupant surtout des militants des idéologies de gauche et des membres de l’élite universitaire ou religieuse. Les nouveaux types de mouvements religieux adoptent une forme idéologique conforme aux exigences et aux aspirations de la jeunesse sénégalaise urbaine, plus libérale et à la recherche d’autonomie par rapport aux normes sociales et politiques fondées par la génération précédente – intellectuels francophones ou « ku jang ekool » –. Ce travail met en exergue l’importance des nouveaux types de mouvements politico-religieux dans le contexte de la crise idéologique et sociopolitique des années 1980 et 1990, puis de l’arrivée du libéralisme politique et l’émergence de sphères politiques populaires dans les années 2000. Ce qui rassemble ces deux générations de militants, politiques et/ou religieux, est ce que nous avons appelé l’« énergie sociétale » : ils sont en effet les producteurs et les porteurs d’un modèle et d’une théorie qui répondent à la crise du monde, en même temps que les transformateurs de la société. Les nouveaux mouvements religieux proposent aux fidèles des lieux d’épanouissement qui les conduisent à participer au développement de la société, tout en s’appuyant sur les valeurs de l’islam.Nous avons démontré, ensuite, la diversité et la transversalité de ces jeunes musulmans, véritables producteurs de dynamiques sociales et politiques. Nous nous sommes intéressée au parcours de chaque catégorie de croyants ainsi qu’à leurs liens avec leurs environnements socioculturels : université, foyers religieux ou écoles d’enseignement de l’arabe et de l’islam. Il existe aujourd’hui en effet une grande disparité quant à la manière d’être musulman. Aussi, ces jeunes croyants sont très flexibles dans leur façon d’interpréter la religion et naviguent entre différentes sphères et valeurs, en l’occurrence l’islam normatif, le spiritualisme soufi, la modernité occidentale et la culture traditionnelle sénégalaise. Nos descriptions et analyses ont montré comment ils vivent leurs religiosités, en s’appuyant sur leurs propres valeurs de l’islam, et à travers un engagement corporel et spatial « flexible » au sein de l’université ou bien en dehors de celle-ci
Since the late 1980s, Muslim movements have become visible in public universities and in the Senegalese political scene. Murid or Tidjian “dahiras” (communities) and other reformist associations organize various on-campus activities, such as weekly religious meetings, Islamic conferences, Quran lessons, and prayers. In addition to the emergence of these movements at public universities, the number of private Islamic schools has also increased since the 1990s, encouraged by the former government of Abdoulaye Wade (2000–2012) and supported by partners from Arab countries. This study examined these religious dynamics at institutions of higher education. Why and how do Muslim scholars represent a growing dynamic in institutions of higher education in contemporary Senegal, and how do they contribute to the production of new knowledge and power (savoirs-pouvoirs)? The answer to this question is given in two sections: a historical construction of Senegalese Muslim scholars and their relation to politics and education; and a new generation of Muslim actors, their religious life and spheres of expression, knowledge, and power.The first part of this study focuses on the historical construction of Muslim scholars since the colonial time and their relations to politics and education. A study of the change in higher education and State politics over the past half century showed the deep transformation of Senegalese society and the recent evolution of a new type of Muslim scholar. Since the colonial time, Muslim intellectuals and “arabisants” (the Arabic-speaking elite) have played an essential role in politics in Senegal. Often intermediaries between the French colony and the Senegalese indigenous population, this elite created its own status, roles, and identity. However, with the creation of modern French institutions of higher education, a new French-speaking elite or “ku jang ekool” has emerged.Between 1960 and 1980, the University of Dakar became a place of political struggle, and students developed Marxist ideologies, although there were very few religious associations and few of the Arabic/French-speaking elite were involved in the Islamic associations. The new generation of young Muslim scholars who emerged after 1980 consisted of a completely different population, as compared with the previous generation; its members were originally from the non-elite class and attracted to the traditional religious solidarity of Sufi brotherhoods. Young, liberal, and autonomous, the new religious actors are challenging the social and cultural norms of the previous generation. This transformation explains the change in the larger Senegalese political and educational scene. In fact, new politico-religious movements developed during the ideological and sociopolitical crisis of the 1980s and 90s, and the arrival of political liberalism in 2000. During this time, the universities have become more popular and associated with the lower social classes, rooted in traditional Islamic educational spaces (Quranic schools and Sufi brotherhoods) and involved in the new political scene. However, the two generations of political/religious activists share a common characteristic: both create what we call “societal energy”, promoting a new model of society for young people who are keen to participate in social and political reform.The second part of this study, based on field observations made between 2003 and 2015, describes today’s Muslim scholars and their political and religious involvement. Our observations found great diversity in the experience of “being Muslim” among young people who navigate through different values, such as Islamic teaching, Sufi spiritualism, Western modernity, and traditional Senegalese culture. They create “shifting” corporal and spatial practices inside and outside the universities. In fact, their flexibility and liberty vis-à-vis religion and politics have created new social and political dynamics in Senegal

This thesis aims to illuminate Seneca’s criticisms of Neronian Rome through a novel exploration of the philosopher’s collection of moral letters – the so-called Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium. Noting the glaring absence of court politics in these letters the thesis identifies themes of dissimulation and veiled criticism, penned by Seneca in a concealed manner to ensure his safety during a time of dire political unrest. The first chapter establishes the cultural context of this collection by examining how they fit in with the practice of elite Roman letter writing. This line of inquiry stems from a longstanding question in the scholarship as to whether the Epistulae Morales are letters in the earnest sense, or merely a literary-philosophical exercise contrived by Seneca. The chapter concludes that the letters can be seen as genuine, exchanged with their addressee. They were, however, also written for the wider senatorial class who are clearly the subject of Seneca’s moral discussions. The second chapter examines the circumstances which preceded the writing of these letters in order to identify points of political tension under Nero’s reign. Drawing on the Neronian books of Tacitus’ Annals and earlier Senecan treatises, this chapter identifies themes of political ideology (clemency, libertas, tyranny, superbia) which shaped the ongoing altercations between senate and emperor during Nero’s rule. With the political tensions identified, the third chapter unearths the underhanded ways in which Seneca criticises Nero’s reign throughout the letters. Additionally, this chapter showcases a range of techniques employed by Seneca to disguise his criticisms in order to maintain deniability and avoid persecution. The fourth and final chapter examines Letters 14 and 18 in detail, illustrating the techniques discussed in the preceding chapter and bringing to light Seneca’s veiled criticisms of Nero’s regime. The pair of case studies demonstrates that Senecan criticisms are present throughout the collection, and are apparent in both letters with overt political themes (eg. Letter 14) and those which are, at first glance, seemingly mundane and commonplace (eg. Letter 18).
Thesis (MPhil) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2021

Sociologists have used boundary work theory to explore the strategies deployed by professionals to define and defend jurisdictional authority in the arenas of the public, the law and the workplace. My dissertation investigates how medical providers and public health professionals negotiate authority over abortion in Senegal. Although induced abortion is prohibited in Senegal, medical providers are permitted to treat complications of spontaneous and induced abortion, known as post-abortion care (PAC). Introduced to Senegal in the late 1990s, the national PAC program is primarily supported by American development aid. This study explores how medical providers manage complications of abortion and in particular, how they circumvent the involvement of criminal justice authorities when they encounter suspected cases of illegal abortion. I also study how boundary work is accomplished transnationally through the practice of PAC within the policy framework of American anti-abortion population assistance and the national prohibition on abortion. Findings are based on an institutional ethnography of Senegal's national PAC program conducted over a period of 19 months between 2009 and 2011. Data collection methods included in-depth interviews with 89 individuals, observation of PAC services, and review of PAC records at three hospitals. I also conducted an archival review of abortion and PAC in court records, the media, and public health literature. Findings show that medical providers and public health professionals perform discursive, technical and written boundary work strategies to maintain authority over PAC. Although these strategies have successfully integrated PAC into maternal health care, they have reinforced the stigma of abortion for women and health professionals. They have also reproduced gendered disparities in access to quality reproductive health care. PAC has been implemented in nearly 50 countries worldwide with varying legal restrictions on abortion. This study illustrates not only how medical professionals practice abortion care in such settings, but also how they navigate a precarious array of medical, legal and global health obligations.

We followed up with about 2,000 smallholder households in Senegal, two years after these households participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at reducing levels of aflatoxins in smallholders’ stored maize. In the initial intervention, treated households were provided with training on proper post-harvest practices, low-cost moisture meters for testing if maize was sufficiently dry to store, plastic tarps for drying maize of the ground, and hermetic (airtight) storage bags to mitigate aflatoxin development in stored maize. Using cross-sectional follow up data on aflatoxins levels and drying and storage practices from 2019 along with baseline demographic data from 2016, we estimate both the longer-term intention-to-treat (ITT) effects and the treatment on the treated (TOT) effects that the four inputs provided on households’ aflatoxins levels in stored maize. The ITT analyses estimate the intervention’s average effect by treatment group, but this may underestimate the true impact for households who complied with recommended post-harvest practices and adopted the recommended technologies. The TOT analyses estimate the local average treatment effects (LATE) of the intervention, that is its impacts on those who were driven by the intervention to follow best practices or use a given technology. Since the decision to follow these practices or adopt a technology was not random, we instrumented the usage decision with the exogenous, random treatment group assignment to get an unbiased estimate. Outside of our main models, we conducted a heterogeneity analysis to test if households with different characteristics benefit differently from the intervention. We interacted each treatment assignment with various household characteristics, including the woman’s level of involvement in the intervention. Additionally, we estimate the cost-effectiveness of providing training and a tarp, according to WHO guidelines for public health interventions.

This thesis seeks to highlight the importance of a geographic and culturally specific knowledge base to guide natural resource management and governance policy, particularly within the West African context. In order to demonstrate the level of complexity that may exist within this realm, the Kedougou region of Senegal is used as a case study. Traditional Method of Subsistence (TMoS), Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and ethnic diversity are considered in order to validate the need to go beyond a superficial involvement of community within models such as Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). Focus groups were conducted for this case study in order to identify areas of similarity and difference that exist along ethnic lines. Two areas of concern that all ethnic groups agreed upon was a depletion of water resources and a diminished growing season that leads to an annual food shortage in the region. Three primary areas of difference were found to coincide with traditional ethnic boundaries in the region: traditional religious belief, wealth accumulation and social hierarchy. The findings of this research demonstrate that while areas of cohesive community concern may serve as a focal point for CBNRM programs, it is also important to consider areas of ethnic difference which hold the potential to significantly influence sustainable and equitable resource management. For example, while traction methods for intensified agriculture are identified as important by all ethnic groups represented in this thesis: (A) traditional agricultural ethnic groups already have experience with these methods, and may only need access to assistance such as micro-credit opportunities, (B) the pastoral ethnic groups already have an abundance of traction animals, and so equipment may be what is primarily needed, while (C) the horticultural group may not have access to the land necessary for optimal traction agriculture. It is therefore suggested that CBNRM programs must be structured around community variables found along cultural lines in order to be of value to government and non-government conservation programs and policy formation in the region.