Journal articles on the topic 'Senegal – Social conditions'

In June, 1988 I arrived in Senegal to begin my doctoral field research as a member of an interdisciplinary team of social scientists from the U.S., Senegal, and France. At the invitation of the Senegalese government, I was to undertake a multi—year research initiative assessing the projected environmental and economic impacts resulting from cessation of the natural flood on the Senegal River. The main objective of the study was to understand how the impoundment of the Senegal River would affect the socioecological and political economic dimensions of production in the middle valley. It was also to document the responses of farmers, herders, and fishers to changing conditions of the river's hydrology and flooding. The river had been drastically altered in recent years by the construction of two dams, a high dam at Manantali, Mali completed in 1987, and a salt intrusion dam at Diama, Senegal, completed in 1986.

We present three cases of urethral prolapse in prepubertal females in Senegal who presented with vulvar bleeding. Careful gynecologic and urologic physical exams were performed and revealed urethral origin and prolapse. Conservative versus surgical approaches were taken in different patients, but ultimately, each patient received a urethral meatoplasty. Surgical excision of these masses yielded a full recovery in the patients. A careful review of the literature was then undertaken and showed that surgical excision or ligation of the prolapse is preferable to more conservative treatment. The case series article discusses the rare occurrence of urethral prolapse, as well as the epidemiology and prognostic and therapeutic implications of urethral prolapse in prepubertal females. Introduction. Urethral prolapse is a rare condition occurring mostly in young black females. It can be worrying to the parents as it often causes vulvar bleeding. Case Presentation. We present three cases of urethral prolapse in prepubertal females who presented with vulvar bleeding. Physical exams were performed and revealed urethral origin and prolapse. Each patient underwent a urethral meatoplasty and subsequently experienced a full recovery after respective follow-up of 2 years, 1 year, and 1 year. Conclusion. Urethral prolapse is a rare condition which can be managed successfully by surgery. Plain Language Summary. This case report on pediatric urethral prolapse showcases the different presentations and modalities of treatment, as the literature does not show that a specific treatment is always undertaken. In some countries, there are strong social considerations and they demonstrate difficulty separating sexual abuse from genitourinary pathologies, which are important to address in the treatment of these conditions.

Migration to Europe has become a major source of financial and social resources for an increasing number of Senegalese men who are the main providers for their natal households. European migration is seen as a transitory phase, since most of them plan to return to Senegal. We use qualitative interviews conducted in 2007 in a small town in northwest Senegal to explore the dynamics of migration among young Senegalese men, identifying their goals and examining how migration affects their lives and families. Motivations to migrate for these young men are related both to the social prestige associated with being a successful migrant and to the obligations they feel toward their elders to enable them to live out their old age in the best conditions. Because migrating is costly and demands mobilization of social networks, most migrants require the support of their elders to leave, thus reinforcing their obligations toward them and contributing to transforming the relationships between generations.

AbstractAfrican Muslim societies were characterised, in the 20th century, by the emergence of reformist movements that have gained, since the 1970s, major social, religious and political influence in a number of countries, including Northern Nigeria, Senegal, Zanzibar and Sudan. These movements of reform are, however, not recent phenomena. Rather, they look back to a history of several generations of reformist endeavour and thought that may have been influenced, to a certain extent, by external sources of inspiration. This contribution shows how the biographies of major reformist personalities such as Cheikh Touré in Senegal, Abubakar Gumi in Northern Nigeria and 'Abdallâh Sâlih al-Farsy in East Africa reflect a number of common features of Islamic reform in Africa, while their programmes of reform were shaped, at the same time, by local frame conditions.

Agroecology has become an ideological foundation for social and environmental transformation in sub-Saharan Africa. In Senegal, agroecological advocacy coalitions, made up of farmers’ organizations, scientists, NGOs, and IOs, are using agroecology as an umbrella concept for proposing policy changes at multiple scales. We describe the history of the agroecological movement in Senegal in the context of the constitution of a national advocacy coalition. We then examine the “repertoires of collective action” mobilized by the coalition. Four repertoires are identified: technical support and knowledge co-production, territorial governance, alternative food networks, and national policy dialogue. Our analysis highlights the potential that these multi-level approaches have to sustainably transform the current food systems in sub-Saharan Africa. However, our research also reveals the limited agency of farmer organizations and the limitations of a movement that is strongly dependent on NGOs and international donors, leading to a “projectorate” situation in which contradictory policy actions can overlap. We further argue that, although the central government has formally welcomed some of the principles of agroecology into their policy discourse, financial and political interests in pursuing a Green Revolution and co-opting agroecology are pending. This leads to a lack of political and financial autonomy for grassroots farmers’ organizations, limiting the development of counter-hegemonic agroecology. We discuss the conditions under which territorial approaches, and the three other repertoires of collective action, can have significant potential to transform Sub-Saharan Africa in the coming years.

Seit 2015 werden in Dakar Koranlektürekurse von einer Organisation angeboten, die verspricht, mittels einfacher und effizienter Methoden die Fähigkeiten zum eigenständigen Lesen des Korans innerhalb von drei Monaten zu vermitteln. Diese kostenpflichtigen Kurse sind auf eine spezielle Zielgruppe in frankophonen urbanen Bildungsmilieus zugeschnitten, die als „Intellektuelle“ bezeichnet wird. Der Artikel untersucht den Erfolg der Kurse und die soziale Positionierung der Beteiligten, die sich aus arabophonen (Lehrende) und frankophonen (Lernende) Bildungsgruppen rekrutieren. Letzteren wurde nach der Unabhängigkeit ein exklusiver Status als nationale Bildungselite zugeschrieben, der durch anhaltende Islamisierungsprozesse ‚von unten‘ zunehmend in Frage gestellt wird. Die Analyse zeigt, dass die Kurse dazu beitragen, die symbolischen Grenzen zwischen francisants und arabisants abzubauen und den frankophonen Teilnehmenden helfen, einen sozialen Status aufrecht zu erhalten, der respektable Modernität verkörpert. Eine wichtige Rolle für den Erfolg der Kurse spielen außerdem das effektive Zeitmanagement, die pädagogischen Methoden sowie die bürokratischen, räumlichen und materiellen Organisationsstrukturen, die dem Habitus der in säkularen, modernen Bildungssystemen sozialisierten Zielgruppe entsprechen. Qur’an Reading Courses for “Intellectuals” in Dakar, Senegal: Religious Adult Education in Francophone Middle Class Milieus Since 2015, a certain type of Quran reading course has been offered in Dakar. With their simple but efficient methods, these courses promise attendees the ability to read the Quran within three months. They are subject to fees and target a specific social group, identified as “intellectuals” and located within francophone educated urban milieus. The article examines the success of these courses and the social positioning of its participants, who are drawn from Arabic-speaking (teachers) and francophone (students) educated groups. Since Senegal’s independence, the latter have been ascribed an exclusive status as the national educated elite – a status that is increasingly questioned in ongoing Islamization processes ‘from below’. The analysis shows that the courses contribute to a weakening of the symbolic boundaries between francisants and arabisants and help the participants to reinforce a social status that embodies notions of respectable modernity. The specific method and pedagogy of the courses also play an important role in their success, as do their effective time management, their bureaucratic structures, and their spatial and material conditions, since these all correspond to the habitus of the target group whose members have been socialized within modern secular education systems.

Are “traditional” or “indigenous” land rights an obstacle to development? The question seems simple enough. And the liberal economic perspective currently being advanced by free market advocates such as the Bretton Woods institutions answers: yes, to the extent that those traditional relations hinder the free exchange of land, they do slow development. But of course the question is more complex and requires answers to a number of subsidiary and ancillary questions. Some are definitional and empirical: what are these “traditional land rights”? To what extent do they, rather than codified law or administrative practices, define the relationships of social actors and groups to land and to each other through land? Other questions are more hypothetical: what are the alternatives to the current regime, what costs would installing them incur, and what would be their costs and benefits, once in place? Finally, there are ancillary, but still central questions: what other factors, such as ecological conditions, state policies and non-state institutions, may account for development or the lack thereof, apart from land tenure regimes?

This paper is a critical qualitative study of African American male community college students’ education abroad experience in Senegal, West Africa. Currently, there is a lack of research that focuses directly on Black men who are studying abroad. Using African American male theory as the framework, four major themes emerged: men to boys, challenging the notion of counternarratives, identity, and not-so-distant cousins. These themes point collectively to a transformative experience for the participants. Notably, the educational experience transformed the participants’ cultural, social, and racial identities, as the trip fostered a combination of vulnerability and safety that created the conditions for Black men to grow and transform.

Ziguinchor, like the rest of African cities, has experienced rapid urbanization in this last years, determined by a strong demographic increase which is out of step with the urban planning capacities of the public authorities. That creates an expansion of informal districts. The creation and development of these informal districts are left to their own devices by the authorities, who refuse to condone the illegal occupation of the lands. These letters must resort to individual practices to face the problems of basic infrastructure, sanitation ... However, these unsuitable practices are sometimes likely to provide lasting solutions to the problems posed. They neither ensure an improvement of living conditions, but damage the environment of these neighborhoods. This article, based on the literary review, qualitative and quantitative surveys and interviews, aims to highlight the interactions between the problems induced by the informal districts of Ziguinchor city and their social and environmental consequences. The results show that informal districts suffer from a lack of public lighting, drinking water supply and sanitation; second, they reveal that the discharge of wastewater on the ground (90%) and the method of burning (87%) are the main methods for treating solid and liquid waste; and finally, they attest that physical and land insecurity, esthetic and olfactory nuisances as well as pollution of the groundwater are the impacts with which the populations of the informal districts are confronted.

AbstractIn the late 1930s, three mobile penal camps were established in the French colony of Senegal in order to assemble convicts with long sentences and compel them to work outside the prison. Senegalese penal camps were thus a place both of confinement and of circulation for convicts who constantly moved out of the prison to work on the roads. This article argues that the penal camps were spaces of multiple and antagonistic forms of mobility that blurred the divide between the “inside” and the “outside” world. The mobility of penal camps played a key role in the hazardous living and working conditions that penal labourers experienced. However, convict labourers were not unresponsive and a range of protests emerged, from breakout to self-mutilation. These individual and intentional forms of mobility and immobility threw a spanner in the works of the day-to-day functioning of Senegalese penal camps and, more broadly, in the colonial project of mise en valeur.

This article traces the rise and decline of a grassroots community organisation in rural Senegal. It has three aims. First, it problematises the sometimes idealistic nature of the rhetoric and literature on community-based development. Second, it suggests three factors that contribute to the effectiveness of rural self-help organisations: educated and technocratically skilled leadership, unintentionally benevolent state neglect, and a willingness to syncretically recycle elements of ‘traditional' social order and culture in the service of contemporary development tasks. Finally, the demise of the community-based organisation examined here suggests a need to shift focus away from the institutionalisation of community-based or civil society organisations per se, and to consider instead the routinisation of the participatory, empowering, and deliberative socio-political conditions that make possible the regular emergence of new grassroots organisations across time within a given community. Recent events (since 2005) in the village in question support this shift, as a new generation of community leaders has begun to craft a new community organisation, explicitly built from the detritus of the older organisation described in this article.

Renewable energy technology (RET) can help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies to both meet the need for a stable energy supply and contribute to the fight against climate change. In Senegal, SMEs have the opportunity through RET to become electricity prosumers. Whether it works as such in Senegalese SMEs is one of the questions we were able to address through qualitative interviews with 23 SMEs and 13 experts. Using qualitative content analysis, we examined what factors promote the adoption of RET by these SMEs. We also examined how well the established Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT2) can serve as a guiding framework for this type of investigation. We find that effort expectancy is generally underestimated. Performance expectancy, when high, may influence the adoption process positively, while social influence does not seem to play a role. Both SMEs and experts point to customer service and government support for SMEs adopting RET as important facilitating conditions. The cost of RET is another factor influencing the adoption of these technologies. However, we regard the UTAUT2 as only partially helpful for the Senegalese context, due to the informal sector economy in Senegal. This leads us to add the factors knowledge, communication channels and entrepreneurial orientation. Moreover, we question the unequivocally positive notion of prosumerism for African contexts, as the idea draws its motivating power from a Western mindset.

AbstractRecent infrastructural developments in Senegal have severely impacted on the livelihoods of female bana-banas from Mali, a group of mobile traders operating in the Mali–Dakar corridor: transportation costs have significantly increased, travelling has become a more exhausting experience, and fatal accidents have become more frequent during journeys. Why did the bana-banas continue these arduous journeys? Why was their physical presence required in Dakar, and why did they not rely more extensively on social networks to facilitate their transnational trade? This article examines the conditions of autonomy, flexibility and limited trust that characterized the bana-banas’ livelihoods and necessitated their continued mobility from Mali. The recent infrastructural transformations have led to an increased commercialization and disarticulation of Malian trade networks in the Senegalese capital, and, due to personal circumstances, the women have often been cut off from networks. However, unlike general expectations of the ways in which networks evolve under conditions of neoliberalism, the bana-banas have not turned to personalized relationships of trust in Dakar, which might have facilitated their trade from a distance. The article contributes to the growing literature on social networks and trust by exploring how transnational trade does and does not work at this historical moment and in the context of gendered constraints.

The dairy industry in Senegal is growing and evolving against a backdrop of rapid urbanisation and increasing consumer demand for dairy products. Consideration of appropriate cattle healthcare delivery and disease control in these evolving farming systems is of paramount importance given the risks posed by zoonotic pathogens and the economic consequences of disease for livestock keepers. Planning and implementation of disease control and healthcare delivery generally follows a top down approach. Often this does not take into account the views and perceptions of the farmers it impacts and who must behave in the expected way for successful outcomes to materialise. In this study, we asked 76 farmers to discuss their experience and opinions of farming milk producing cattle in 11 focus group discussions conducted in two peri-urban areas of Senegal. The objectives were to investigate farmers’ perceptions of the current conditions in farming, to understand how these might impact the future direction of this particular system and how this might affect the feasibility and appropriate methods of cattle healthcare delivery and disease control. The data collected were subjected to thematic analysis and four themes were identified; 1. Revered cattle, 2. The changing face of livestock keeping, 3. Powerlessness, 4. Optimism for the future. Farmers in our study had a deep affinity with their cattle, they respected the traditions surrounding cattle keeping at the same time as striving for advances within the system and their animal’s productivity. Within strong social groupings and hierarchical structures they recognised the inherent challenges they face but were hopeful and optimistic about growth and opportunity in the future of milk production. A holistic approach to embedding healthcare delivery and disease control within the broader context in which farmers operate may prove successful. This could involve consideration of funding channels for farmers, access to appropriate inputs and utilising the strong community spirit and social norms of farmers to initiate and facilitate change.

AbstractThe Atlantic era marks a turbulent period in the history of Senegambia, defined by dramatic reconfigurations in local socio-economic conditions. These ‘global encounters’ have often been equated with the subjection of African societies to the whims of an expanding capitalist economy. While the long-term effects of the Atlantic economy cannot be denied, conventional histories have often prioritized macro-trends and generalized process, thus glossing the complex mosaic of experiences that constituted the African Atlantic. By contrast, a closer look at how different categories of objects were consumed and circulated over time may provide more nuanced assessments of the impact of global forces on coastal societies. This article examines how these material entanglements took place in the Siin (Senegal), by following the social trajectories of several classes of objects in space and time, and charting their enmeshment in regimes of value, patterns of action, forms of power and historical experience. Combining these empirical insights with a broader theoretical reflection, the paper attempts to draw out the implications of rethinking the historical space of the African Atlantic through a more intimate engagement with the historicities, contingencies and materialities that fashioned African historical experiences. While this shift in conceptual priorities inevitably creates new silences, I suggest that it also re-establishes Africans as cultural and historical subjects, firmly grounded in world history, and that this perspective can provide a point of departure for the production of alternative historical imaginations and subjectivities.

IntroductionDespite the early implementation of hepatitis B vaccination and the ongoing decentralisation of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) care, over 10% of the Senegalese adult population lives with CHB and liver cancer remains a main cause of death. Investigating factors associated with CHB infection, prevention of CHB-related morbidity, and prevention and treatment of mortality secondary to CHB calls for a holistic and multidimensional approach. This paper presents the adaptation of the health capability profile (HCP) to a specific epidemiological issue and empirical setting: it seeks to identify and analyse inter-related abilities and conditions (health capabilities) in relation to the CHB epidemic in the rural area of Niakhar, Senegal.Methods and analysisThis ongoing study relies on a sequential social justice mixed-methods design. The HCP is comprehensively adapted to CHB in rural Senegal and guides the design and conduct of the study. Objective and subjective data are collected at the individual level following a mixed-methods explanatory core design. The quantitative module, embedded in the ANRS12356 AmBASS cross-sectional survey (exhaustive sampling), is used to select a purposeful sampling of participants invited for one-on-one qualitative interviews. Additional data are collected at the institutional and community level through health facility surveys and an ethnography (in-depth interviews) of local and national CHB stakeholders. Data analysis adopts a synergistic approach to produce a multilayered analysis of individual HCPs and crosscutting analysis of the 15 health capabilities. The data integration strategy relies on a mixed-methods convergent core design, and will use 0–100 health capability scores as well as flow diagrams to measure and characterise levels of development and interactions among health capabilities, respectively.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by Senegalese and French authorities. Results dissemination through local workshops and scientific publications aim at fuelling effective policy change towards CHB-related health capability.

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Agenda 2030 to guarantee sustainable, peaceful, prosperous, and just life, establishing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to this declaration, pursuing the path of sustainable development requires a profound transformation in how we think and act. People must have scientific competences—not only knowledge of science, but also skills, values, and attitudes toward science that enable them to contribute to the goals proposed. This overall approach, known as Education for Sustainable Development (EDS), is crucial to achieving the SDGs. Scientific competences not only depend on what students learn in their countries’ formal education systems but also on other factors in the environment in which the students live. This study aims to identify the factors that determine scientific competence in students in developing countries, paying special attention to the social and cultural capital and the environmental conditions in the environment in which they live. To achieve this goal, we used data provided by PISA-D in the participating countries—Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, and Senegal—and multilevel linear modelling. The results enable us to conclude that achieving scientific competence also depends on the social and cultural capital of the student’s family and on the cultural and social capital of the schools. The higher the score in these forms of capital, the greater the achievement in sciences.

The Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) is a pan-African program launched in 2007 to combat land degradation and bring about both ecological and socio-economic benefits in the Sahel. With projects in place on only one-fifth of the targeted land and uncertainty about the extent of positive impacts, there is a need for improved monitoring and evaluation of current projects to inform the design of future projects. In this paper, we focus on the evaluation of socio-economic impacts, drawing on development theory, to relate investments in sustainable land management (SLM) to outcomes in terms of human well-being. We deploy a conceptual model, which draws on both the capability approach to human development and the sustainable livelihood framework. To contextualize the framework to the Sahel, we undertook a literature review of scientific studies of the facilitative social conditions and socio-economic impacts of SLM interventions in four countries: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger and Ethiopia. We further refined the framework by examining project evaluation reports of Global Environmental Facility (GEF)-funded SLM projects. Our analysis of GEF projects shows that current monitoring and evaluation pays only limited attention to achieved outcomes in terms of well-being. We briefly discuss the application of the framework to SLM interventions and make recommendations for how it should be operationalized, including recommending more comprehensive measurement of the well-being impacts of these projects.

Hospitals have an optimal growth conditions for some germs, because of the high relative humidity and relatively high temperature. These germs, which are found in foods served in hospitals, could cause food poisoning in hospitalized patients. To help improve the hygienic quality of meals and to prevent risks related to social catering, we have chosen to conduct a study on the microbiological quality of meals served at the Main Hospital of Dakar. A total of 100 samples of hot meals were processed in the food microbiology laboratory of the Inter-State School of Veterinary Sciences and Medicine (EISMV) in Dakar. The following results were obtained: 56% of unsatisfactory samples, 40% are acceptable, 4% unsatisfactory, according to the microbiological criteria of the French Republic, which must satisfy certain animal or animal products. For the various flora sought, the percentages of samples exceeding the acceptability threshold are as follows: 10% for the total flora, 35% for the faecal coliforms, 1% for the sulfito-reducting anaerobes. Meals are fairly contaminated by fecal coliforms. It is therefore clear that the rate of bacterial contamination of meals is quite high, especially by fecal coliforms.

Countries around the world have passed laws specifically banning female genital mutilation/cutting. Legal restrictions vary as to whether they apply to both girls and adult women or to minors only, and few address a second set of genital cutting procedures known as ‘female genital cosmetic surgeries’. Different legal framings reflect variation in views regarding women’s autonomy and their ability to provide meaningful consent. Social norms theory has drawn attention to the fact that in societies where customary female genital mutilation/cutting is common, women can be under intense pressure to conform lest risking social inclusion, support and possibly marriage prospects. Hence, protectionist measures by the state have been invited. Much less attention has been directed towards the broader circumstances that can shape and constrain women’s autonomy, including economic instability, limited access to resources and services, political marginalisation and discrimination, and global factors such as climate change. In this article, I highlight the promise of intersectional analyses of factors influencing female genital mutilation/cutting and suggest that in moving beyond the problematic distinction of ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ societies, it is more fruitful to understand the multiple and combined factors that influence women’s empowerment. Drawing on case studies from Senegal, Kenya and the US, I illustrate that the logic to perform female genital mutilation/cutting or to resist engaging in community outreach on female genital mutilation/cutting may not only emanate from community norms, but also include broader conditions that influence people’s ability to cope with precarious livelihoods. A more comprehensive understanding of spheres of influence on women’s choices can be gained by examining how structural, material, social and individual domains overlap in a woman’s life. Programmes that aim to address female genital mutilation/cutting may be enhanced by expanding beyond a focus on legal reform and social norms to also address the broader structural and global factors that influence women’s agency.

Orbiviruses are vector-borne pathogens that can cause notifi­able diseases in animals, such as bluetongue (BT) and epizootic haemorrhagic disease of deer (EHD) in ruminants, or African horse sickness (AHS) in equines. The relatively recent expansion of BT in Europe to higher latitudes than expected has evidenced the need to explore the ways of introduction and exposure of other orbiviruses in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin. AHS was successfully eradicated from Europe since the 1990s but continues to be endemic in many African countries. Of the nine AHS serotypes, two have been present in Mediterranean coun­tries: AHS-9 (1966) and AHS-4 (1987-1990). The last outbreaks (up to 2008) of AHS in Africa classified by serotype occurred in Senegal (AHS-9), Kenya (AHS-4), and Nigeria, Senegal and Ethiopia (AHS-2). EHD is caused by 10 serotypes and is notifi­able to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) since 2008. It is present in America, Australia, Asia and Africa and is known to affect wild ruminants as well as cattle. EHD has been present in cattle in North Africa (EHD-9) and the Middle East (EHD-7) since 2006. Transport of infected Culicoides from Northern Africa to Southern Europe by wind is a proved way of orbivirus introduction. Import of infected asymptomatic animals from an endemic country also happened the first time AHS was introduced in Spain. Then, certain environmental conditions such as warm temperatures can favour perpetuation of the dis­ease in animals exposed to infected vectors. The frequent con­sideration of horses as expensive leisure animals can worsen the economic and social consequences of a possible outbreak. However, nowadays there are good diagnostic techniques for AHS. Eradication can be achieved with the available polyvalent live vaccines and control measures. This is not the case for EHD, because an effective vaccine is urgently needed and there have been cross-reactions in the diagnoses between BT and EHD. European countries can prepare against other orbivirus outbreaks by prevention through educational campaigns and inactivated vaccine banks for AHS, and by further research on the possible vectors, the overwintering capacity of certain orbiviruses, the infectivity in all affected species, the identification of other pos­sible reservoirs, and the development of risk assessments and modelling.

Local religions, Islam and Christianity influence and shape West African livelihoods where for many spirituality is an integral part of work, time and making a living. For farmers the spiritual imbues their understanding of the natural world, as well as affecting the control and allocation of resources and their timely use. For the Sufist Mouride brotherhood of Senegal their work ethic nurtures agriculture and supports a diaspora of petty traders and businesses. Meanwhile, the Christian Pentecostal Church encourages myriad small businesses, and its promotion of a work ethic that has occasioned the contention of a Weberian-style transformation. The creation of sustainable networks of socio-economic change through religious adherence is not in doubt, but whether this will promote a general developmental shift is more contentious. Pentecostals emphasize education and literacy, a priority for most governments, but without job opportunities there is widespread discontent among the young, even the educated. Furthermore, the young are disenchanted by patrimonial-clientelist societies, and it is through religion that violent dissent is articulated. Assertions that religion per se is inimical to social and economic change in West Africa are difficult to substantiate. What is a problem for farmers and small businesses is the uncertainty not just of their immediate environments, but of the volatility and dysfunctional nature of the state, and a lack of enabling conditions. Thus, religion and spirituality provide help in difficult times for people, but also opportunities for improvement in their livelihoods and lifestyles.

Abstract The goal of drought-related weather index insurance (WII) is to protect smallholder farmers against the risk of weather shocks and to increase their agricultural productivity. Estimates of precipitation and vegetation greenness are the two dominant satellite datasets. However, ignoring additional moisture- and energy-related processes that influence the response of vegetation to rainfall leads to an incomplete representation of the hydrologic cycle. This study evaluates the added value of considering multiple independent satellite-based variables to design, calibrate, and validate weather insurance indices on the African continent. The satellite data include two rainfall datasets, soil moisture, the evaporative stress index (ESI), and vegetation greenness. We limit artificial advantages by resampling all datasets to the same spatial (0.25°) and temporal (monthly) resolution, although datasets with a higher spatial resolution might have an added value, if considered as the single source of information for localized applications. A higher correlation coefficient between the moisture-focused variables and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), an indicator for vegetation vigor, provides evidence for the datasets’ capability to capture agricultural drought conditions on the ground. The Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) rainfall dataset, soil moisture, and ESI show higher correlations with the (lagged) NDVI in large parts of Africa, for different land covers and various climate zones, than the African Rainfall Climatology, version 2 (ARC2), rainfall dataset, which is often used in WII. A comparison to drought years as reported by farmers in Ethiopia, Senegal, and Zambia indicates a high “hit rate” of all satellite-derived anomalies regarding the detection of severe droughts but limitations regarding moderate drought events.

In 1988, a Europe-wide, multicentre study on nutrition and health in the elderly (SENECA: Survey Europe on Nutrition in the Elderly: a Concerted Action) was started to examine dietary patterns in the elderly in relation to lifestyle, social and economic conditions, health, and performance. This paper evaluates the process of obtaining the baseline measurements of this longitudinal study and discusses quality control and difficulties encountered in gathering and comparing data in a cross-cultural, multicentre study.

Los efectos de la crisis económica han tenido un profundo impacto en el conjunto de la población, aunque la repercusión para la población inmigrante extranjera en general se ha visto magnificada por una serie de condiciones de partida que ya los situaban en posiciones de vulnerabilidad social. En este texto se pretende mostrar cómo los inmigrantes senegaleses de la ciudad de Granada han sufrido igualmente los efectos de esta crisis y cómo han puesto en marcha una serie de estrategias, basadas en el sentimiento de una cultura compartida y de una identidad senegalesa, mediante las cuales han hecho frente a la desatención institucional que ha sido justificada principalmente en términos económicos. El análisis de estas estrategias pone de manifiesto la manera en la que el colectivo senegalés afronta la crisis con menores costes sociales y personales, amortiguando el impacto negativo que la reducción de recursos públicos destinados a la atención de la población inmigrante ha tenido. The effects of the economic crisis have had a profound impact on the whole population, although the impact for the foreign immigrant population has been magnified due to a serie of initial conditions which allocated them in positions of social vulnerability. This text is intended to show how Senegalese immigrants of the city of Granada have also suffered the effects of the economic crisis and how they have developed certain strategies based on the feeling of a shared culture and a Senegalese identity whereby they have faced the crisis and the institutional neglect that has been justified primarily in economic terms. The analysis of the strategies shows how the Senegalese community faces the crisis with the lower social and personal costs, cushioning the negative impact that the reduction of public resources destined to the attention of the immigrant population has had.

Background. The problem of self-determination of an artist who apprehends oneself as a representative of a certain nation, but is forced to selfactualize in the cultural space of a multinational empire, remained relevant for a long period for the majority of representatives of the Polish creative intelligentsia. Among them, it is appropriate to recall, in first, Karol Szymanowski, whose creative development took place in a multicultural environment. The outstanding musician was feeling his involvement not only in the European tradition in general, but also in the Antique, Eastern, Polish, Russian, and, especially, Ukrainian culture, because his life for 36 years was related with Ukraine. The temporal distance that has formed between the eras, the changes in cultural paradigms that have now taken place, encourage us to rethink the approaches to the various cultural-creating activities of artists in past eras, to evaluate them from modern positions. If we consider multiculturalism in a positive sense – as a phenomenon of social life characterized by coexistence and active interaction within one society of many cultures, then the analysis of Szymanowski’s creative evolution in this context looks relevant for modern cultural figures. At the same time, in Ukraine, there has not yet been a steady interest of scientists in the work by K. Szymanowski, although certain steps are being taken in this direction: PhD theses by Anatolii Kalynychenko, Hanna Seredenko, Oleksandr Serdiuk, Dmitriy Poliachok have appeared that explore some aspects of the Polish artist’s creativity, taking into account modern methodological tools. An important function of stimulating interest in the creative figure of Szymanowski is performed, in particular, by the “Kropyvnytskyi Museum of Musical Culture named after K. Szymanowski” (headed by Olexandr Polyachok) that initiates various projects related to the popularization of Shimanovsky’s creative heritage, including holding scientific conferences and publishing. A significant contribution to the study of various aspects of the K. Szymanowski’s creative activity was made by Polish scientists, in particular, Malgorzata Komorowska, Zofia Helman, Teresa Chilińska, but their works are in a greater degree focused on the analysis of the musician’s creativity in the Polish cultural context. Objectives of the study. This article is destined to examine the creative personality of the Polish artist in a new problematic field. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the creative formation and growth of K. Szymanowski in the context of multiculturalism. The object of analysis is the creative activity of K. Szymanowski; the subject, on which the attention is focused, is the peculiarities of cultural and creative attitudes formation, the principles of artistic activity, the means of cultural communication of K. Szymanowski in the conditions of multiculturalism. Research results. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the identification of little-known facts of the creative biography of K. Szymanowski and their new interpretation, the formation of new ideas about the specifics of his creative approaches both in composing and literary work. The important role of self-education in his creative development, the ability for self-development, conscious cultural pluralism formed in the context of multicultural conditions, a tendency to innovate (for example, intense interest in new artistic and stylistic trends) are emphasized. Attention is drawn to the originality of Szymanowski’s relationships with various cultural environments, with which he was closely linked by fate. After all, his formation as a personality took place under the influence of several cultures, the features of which were intertwined, coexisting in the everyday life of his family estate in the Ukrainian village Timoshivka and Elisavetgrad, the city of his childhood and youth. The significant influence of regular visits to European cultural centers and travels to the countries of the Arab East on the formation of the cultural identity of the artist is also noted. The analysis of archival materials, in particular, comments in the margins of the pages of books from the family library, showed the enormous influence of literary texts on the composer’s cultural identity. Szymanowski carefully read, thought over and discussed with his close ones literary works, various works of philosophers and art historians. Szymanowski’s archives contain notes on the history of art of Ancient Greece in French, the history of the culture of Ancient Rome in German and Russian, extracts from the history of the origins of Christianity, the culture of Sicily and the life of King Roger II, notes from the letters by Seneca, Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelli, works of Novalis, studies on oriental culture, etc. The composer was fascinated by the ideas of the synthesis of cultures (Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, Byzantine, Arabic, Proto-Slavic), of religious syncretism in various forms (Christian modernism, paneroticism, etc.). Embodying his creative intentions, Szymanowski went through a fascination with a wide variety of aesthetic ideas. In the process of realizing artistic synthesis, along with the idea of cultural syncretism, signs of aesthetics of romanticism and impressionism, symbolism and modernism, expressionism and neo-folkloric trend often coexisted and intersected in his works. As a conclusion, we note: the creative formation and evolution of K. Szymanowski took place in multicultural conditions. Realizing himself a descendant of the Polish gentry family, he was at the same time a citizen of the Russian Empire and was formed as a person under the influence of many cultures, which were intricately intertwined in the space where the formation of his individuality took place, which, eventually, determined the multicultural profile of his artistic work. Szymanowski’s cultural positioning we propose to consider, to a certain extent, according to the formula: “one of our own among strangers, a stranger among our own”, because his creative searches, in which the polylogue of cultures acquired signs of multiculturalism, were not always perceived adequately by his contemporaries, especially in those cultural centers, where the traditional values of the national culture were considered priority. The artistic, aesthetic and cultural paradigms of the 21st century turn out to be largely consonant with those that determined the creative preferences of the Polish artist, which leads to the actualization of the creativity of the latter in the conditions of the dominance of the postmodern situation in the contemporary cultural space.

AbstractAs part of a reintroduction project in Senegal, 23 (9.14) captive-born Dorcas gazelles were released into a 440-ha fenced-in area in Katané (North Ferlo Fauna Reserve, Senegal) in March 2009. After 4 years of seasonal monitoring, the gazelles showed progressive adaptation of their behavior to semi-wild living conditions. Breeding gradually became seasonal, and 53.8% of births occurred during the rainy season (July to September). Gazelle group size and composition varied seasonally. Groups were smallest during the dry season (2.29±1.72) and largest at the beginning of the rainy season (4.18±2.73). Social group composition also showed seasonal variation. There were always a larger proportion of solitary males than solitary females and mixed couples were observed throughout the year. All-male groups were found the least. The proportion of adult females with subadults and juveniles decreased during the early rainy season, while mixed adults, subadults and juveniles groups increased during this period. The mortality rate during the first weeks after release was 13%. Four years of monitoring after release, demographic traits of this released population reveal its adaptation from captive to natural-living conditions.

Abstract Background Several studies have shown that social conditions in which children are raised and family psychosocial factors affect their oral health. Oral health literacy (OHL) has been shown to be associated with prevalence of dental caries, access to care and prevention of oral diseases. No studies have addressed this issue in Senegal. Objective: To study the characteristics of the mothers’ OHL and its association with children’s dental health. Methods Cross- sectional study in the district of Pikine, a suburb of Dakar including 16 municipalities. Two-stage cluster sampling and a sample comprising 315 children from 3 to 9 years old and their mothers. Data on oral health status were collected from clinical examinations, sociodemographic and OHL (Sistani et al’ OHL-AQ) data were collected during face-to-face interview. Results More than half of the mothers (56.5%) had a low OHL, but 68.9% had an adequate score for the communication/interactive dimension. The level of OHL increased significantly with education level, household wealth and dynamism of the social support. Prevalence of dental caries was 64.8%, following a social gradient and significantly associated with the mothers’ OHL level (OR = 5.2) CI[2.2-14.1]. The oral health behaviour of families was significantly associated with the level of OHL and children’s dental health. A structural equation model showed the OHL was a mediating factor between social characteristics and oral health behaviours. Conclusions The OHL of mothers is an important variable to be included in the study of social inequalities in oral health. The communication/interactive dimension seems to be decisive in the African context of an oral culture and dynamic social support which makes it possible to provide better knowledge and preventive behaviour. Key messages High maternal OHL should be reinforced to lessen oral health inequalities among Senegalese children. The communication/interactive dimension seems to be decisive in the African context of an oral culture and dynamic social to enhance OHL.

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) have been adopted by FAO’s Committee of Fisheries in 2014. In this short research report, we present action research with self-selected men and women in small-scale fisheries in Senegal, a country with a large and dynamic SSF, which suffers, however, from diminishing profitability as a result of multiple pressures. We report ongoing work on the principles and approaches of the Small-Scale Fisheries Academy as a way to support the implementation of these Guidelines. The first phase of developing the SSF Academy focuses on testing learning methods aimed at developing critical thinking, planning and action. Respectful dialogue in the secure space of the Academy made academy learners, particularly women and younger participants, gradually more confident, articulate, and active. They started harvesting the results of enacted planning. We cautiously argue that it would be useful to expand these tests combining dialogue, the art of hosting communication and visual thinking to different places in Senegal and elsewhere. They provide an opportunity to address sensitive social issues like gender equity and intra-household violence and open perspectives on other societal challenges that hamper the implementation of the Guidelines. Despite the difficult conditions of the pandemic and given the rather limited work during the pilot phase before, the Academy’s participatory and inclusive learning and empowerment approach had an impact on the individual learners and the group and thus contributed to the implementation of the SSF Guidelines.

Abstract Sanofi Espoir Foundation evaluated impact of its decade long investments, in the amount of over 5 million Euros, on addressing health inequalities globally. Focusing on Saint-Louis department in Senegal, they have mapped specific profiles' experience like pregnant teenager suffering from community stigma, and finally linked each key moment with the health determinants, actors and initiatives. This study puts into perspective the impact the health system, including healthcare practitioners, can have on the pregnancy experience in regards of the influence of other determinants such as religion, culture, education, transportation, labor conditions, physical environment, health habits as well as local actors and initiatives. Each social determinant is highly and quite equally influencing the ante- and post-natal experience of the women, whereas the health system is the key factor during childbirth experience. If social determinants in health are well known, they are not reflected as such into health programs and funding processes. Maternal and newborn health in vulnerable situations is not simply a technical concern but a complex social issue that needs to be managed with an integrated, specifically “local” approach, transforming the objective 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals about partnering and breaking down silos, from an abstract paradigm into a daily process, thanks to community engagement and global accompaniment.

State-building process in Africa appears in different conditions to those experienced on other continents. It is primarily characterized by the presence of fixed borders. The article repurposes evolutionary and identitarian theories on the development of political communities for the African realities. It highlights the necessity to develop policies creating territorial division between the population of the state and the external environment and utilizing armed forces for the protection of the state against such an environment for the state-building process to succeed. In cases of Eritrea, Senegal, and Burkina Faso, three hypotheses are being tested with an outcome that state-building process connected to the creation of Nomos does not have to be violent but requires a connection of the armed forces to the society. Once the division between the Nomos and the hostis develops inside of the state, such entities are not able to develop power projection capabilities inside their borders.

Water deficit is considered by several authors to be the most limiting factor for agricultural production in the subtropics (Kizito et al., 2006; Porcel and Ruiz-Lozano, 2004; Bader et al., 2006; Logan et al., 2010; Rodriguez-Gamir et al., 2011; Conedera et al., 2011). On woody plants, only a few isolated studies (on Acacia, and combretaceae) exist in the tropical zone south of the Sahara. Noteworthy are the works done on Sahelian forest species, Acacia tortilis (Diouf, 1996), Combretum glutinosum, Guiera senegalensis; Piliostigma reticulatum; Balanites aegyptica, Boscia senegalensis, A. senegal and Ziziphus mauritiana (Fournier, 1995; Kizito et al., 2006; Lufafa et al., 2008). Characterization of plant water functioning is a tool for selecting plants and/or varieties for their tolerance to water deficit (Lufafa et al., 2008; Zhu Qiuan et al., 2011; Logan et al., 2010). It is most often done at young age for ease of use (nursery and early field establishment of seedlings). However, even as adults, woody plants remain dependent on climatic factors such as rainfall (Kisito et al., 2007; Lufafa et al., 2008). It is therefore important to understand the in situ water functioning of adult plants to better explain the depressive effects of such complex water stress at a young age. However, the behavior of plants in situ is influenced by the climatic conditions and the uniformity (age) of the subjects (tamarind plants) to be followed. The present work was carried out on adult T. indica plants in situ in Senegal (Niokhoul in the Sahelian zone and Mbassis in the Sudano-Sahelian zone) and aimed mainly to: (1) understand and describe the physiological water management strategies of tamarind under arid conditions; and (2) understand the impact of this water management strategy on phenology and productivity. The study was conducted in Senegal, characterized by a dry and arid climate. It adopted a field approach (Seghieri, 2010; Conedera et al., 2010) based on adult stands and climatic data collected at the study sites. Ultimately, the adaptation mechanism of tamarind to water deficit would be that of avoidance, described by various authors (Khalfaoui, 1985; Lacape, 1996; Nwalozie and Annerose, 1996; Rouhi et al., 2007; Roussel, 2008; Maes et al., 2009). Indeed, the plant first proceeds to a decrease in water potential (case of the Mbassis stand) and in case of continuous water deficit, it integrates the reduction of the leaf surface by the progressive fall of the leaves and flowers which can go up to the total defoliation (case of the stand of the Sahelian zone in Niokhoul).

Abstract Background Malnutrition is the primary cause of death in infants and children. Malnutrition is very common in individuals aged from 6 to 60 months due to the lack of high-quality protein and to deficiencies in the intake of vitamin A, D, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, calcium and iron. In low-income countries, the nutritional approach to treat child malnutrition is mainly based on RUTFs (Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods). Being produced by donor countries, RUTFs do not solve the problem of malnutrition at source: RUTFs are expensive for low-income communities and are distant from their local tradition. The use of ingredients not locally available and the passive participation of the community are the main cause of RUTFs failure among mothers of malnourished children. Community engagement and educating the local populations represent a key element in addressing the causes and treatment of malnutrition. Results Based on these concepts, the Pappa di Parma project, developed at Department of Food and Drug of University of Parma, aims to create a hyper-energetic and nutritional balanced meal, tailored on children from 6 to 60 months suffering from severe/moderate malnutrition, including only affordable local ingredients and technologies, providing in this way a potential long-term solution to decrease malnutrition. Conclusions The Pappa di Parma approach has been applied in Sierra Leone, Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, Senegal, Togo from 2009 adapting to the different context. The Pappa di Parma approach consists in: (a) identifying the local food and creating a nutritional database; (b) developing recipes with accessible-to-family ingredients and with local technologies; (c) testing in loco the recipes in the real setting; (d) creating educational materials aiming to enhance awareness about the importance of a balanced nutrition.

Diarrhoeal diseases remain a major public health problem, causing more than half a million child deaths every year, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite existing knowledge on the aetiologies and causes of diarrhoeal diseases, relatively little is known about its spatial patterns in LMICs, including Senegal. In the present study, data from a cross-sectional survey carried out in 2016 were analysed to describe the spatial pattern of diarrhoeal prevalence in children under the age of 5 years in the secondary city of Mbour in the south-western part of Senegal. Bayesian conditional autoregressive (CAR) models with spatially varying coefficients were employed to determine the effect of sociodemographic, economic and climate parameters on diarrhoeal prevalence. We observed substantial spatial heterogeneities in diarrhoea prevalence. Risk maps, stratified by age group, showed that diarrhoeal prevalence was higher in children aged 25-59 months compared to their younger counterparts with the highest risk observed in the north and south peripheral neighbourhoods, especially in Grand Mbour, Médine, Liberté and Zone Sonatel. The posterior relative risk estimate obtained from the Bayesian CAR model indicated that a unit increase in the proportion of people with untreated stored drinking water was associated with a 29% higher risk of diarrhoea. A unit increase in rainfall was also associated with an increase in diarrhoea risk. Our findings suggest that public health officials should integrate disease mapping and cluster analyses and consider the varying effects of sociodemographic factors in developing and implementing areaspecific interventions for reducing diarrhoea.

Murray Forman’s text The ‘Hood Comes First: Race, Space, and Place in Rap and Hip-Hop provides insightful commentary on the workings of and relationship between place and space. To highlight the difference of scale between these two parameters, he writes that, “place defines the immediate locale of human interaction in the particular, whereas space is the expanse of mobile trajectories through which subjects pass in their circulation between or among distinct and varied places” (25). This statement reflects Doreen Massey’s earlier observation from her book Space, Place, and Gender that “one view of a place is as a particular articulation” of the spatial (5). These descriptions clarify how human action shapes, and is shaped by, what Forman describes as the “more narrowly circumscribed parameters” of place (25) and the broader realm of space. Clearly, these two terms describe interconnected components that are socially constructed and dynamic: that is, they operate at different scales but are constructed in time, constantly reshaped by human action and perception. “Space and time are inextricably interwoven,” states Massey. She continues: “It is not that the interrelations between objects occur in space and time; it is these relationships themselves which create/define space and time” (261). If place and space represent different scales of social interaction and space and time are interconnected, place and time must be linked as well.While this indicates that human experience and representation operate on different scales, it is important to note that these two factors are also interrelated. As Stuart Hall writes, “[I]t is only through the way in which we represent and imagine ourselves that we come to know how we are constituted and who we are” (473). There is no objective experience, only that which is subjectively represented through various means. Through depictions of these relationships between place, space, and time, rap music shapes listeners’ comprehension of these parameters. DJs, MCs, producers, and other creative artists express personal observations through the influence of both the local and global, the past and present. In rap lyrics and their musical accompaniment, countries, cities, neighbourhoods, and even specific government housing developments inform the music, but the identities of these places and spaces are not fixed – for the performers or for the audience. They are more than the backdrop for what happens, inanimate structures or coordinates of latitude and longitude. Their dynamic nature, and their representation in music, serves to continually redefine “how we are constituted and who we are” (473).In MC Solaar’s Léve-toi et Rap from his 2001 album Cinquième as and his song Nouveau Western, from 1994’s Prose Combat, this is demonstrated in two very different ways. Léve-toi et Rap, a personal history told in the first person, clearly demonstrates both American hip-hop lineage and the transnational influences of Solaar’s upbringing. This song serves as an example of the adoption of American musical and lyrical techniques as means through which personally empowering, often place-based stories are told. In Nouveau Western, the narrative demonstrates the negative effects of globalization through this story about a geographically and temporally transported American cowboy. This track employs musical materials in a way that reflects the more critical lyrical commentary on the repercussions of American cultural and economic power. Through the manner of his storytelling, and through the stories themselves, MC Solaar explicitly demonstrates his own agency in representing, and thus constructing the meaning of, dynamic place and space as they are defined from these two perspectives.As a Paris-based French rapper, MC Solaar often makes his affiliation to this geographic focal point significant in his lyrics. This is especially clear in Léve-toi et Rap, in which Parisian banlieues (HLM government housing projects), nightclubs, and other places figure prominently in the text. From the lyrics, one learns a great deal about this rapper and his background: MC Solaar was born in Senegal, but his parents brought him to France when he was young (MC Solaar, “Léve-toi et Rap”; Petetin, 802, 805). He grew up struggling with the isolation and social problems of the banlieues and the discrimination he faced as an immigrant. He began rapping, established a musical career, and now encourages others to rap as a means of making something constructive out of a challenging situation. In the excerpt below, MC Solaar explains these origins and the move to the banlieues (Solaar, “Lève-toi et rap;” All translations by the author).Lève-toi et rap elaborates on the connection between the local and global in rap music, and between place, space, and time. The lyrics and music represent these properties in part by appropriating American rap’s stylistic practices. The introductory chorus incorporates sampled lyrics of the American artists Lords of the Underground, the Beastie Boys, Nas, and Redman (Various Contributors, “‘Lève-toi et rap’ Direct Sample of Vocals/Lyrics,” whosampled.com.). A bassline originally recorded by the funk group The Crusaders grounds the musical accompaniment that begins with the first verse (partially printed above), in which MC Solaar begins to depict his own place and space as he has experienced it temporally.In this chorus, the first sample is “I remember way back in the days on my block” from Lords of the Underground’s song Tic-Toc. This leads to “Oh My God” and “Ah, Ah, Ah,” both samples from Q-Tip’s contribution to the Beastie Boys’ song Get It Together. “I Excel,” which appears in Nas’s It Ain’t Hard to Tell comes next. The last sample, “Who Got the Funk,” is from Can’t Wait by Redman (Lords of the Underground, “Tic-Tic;” Beastie Boys and Q-Tip, “Get It Together;” Nas, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell;” The Crusaders, “The Well’s Gone Dry”).Scratching begins the introductory chorus (printed below), which ends with a voice announcing “MC Solaar.” At this point, the sampled bassline from The Crusaders’ 1974 song The Well’s Gone Dry begins.[Scratching]I remember back in the days on my block... Lords of the UndergroundOh my God... Ah, Ah, Ah... Beastie Boys and Q-TipI excel… NasWho got the funk... RedmanMC Solaar[Crusaders sample begins] The rap samples all date from 1994, the year Solaar released his well-received album Prose Combat and most are strategically placed: the first sample originated in the last verse of Tic-Toc, the Q-Tip samples in the middle are from the middle of Get It Together, and the last sample, “I Excel,” is from the first line of It Ain’t Hard to Tell. As Lève-toi et rap continues, MC Solaar’s statement of the song title itself replaces the iteration “MC Solaar” of the first chorus. In a sense, “Lève-toi et rap” becomes the last sample of the chorus. Through these American references, Solaar demonstrates an affiliation with the place in which rap is commonly known to have originally coalesced. For French rappers consciously working to prove their connection to rap’s lineage, such demonstrations are useful (Faure and Garcia, 81-82). Achieved by sampling music and lyrics from 1974 and 1994 from sources that are not all that obvious to a casual listener, Solaar spatially connects his work to the roots of rap (Shusterman, 214). These particular samples also highlight a spatial relationship to particular styles of rap that represent place and space in particular ways. Nas and Lords of the Underground, for instance, have added to the discourse on street credibility and authenticity, while Q-tip has provided commentary on social and political issues. MC Solaar’s own story widens the parameters for illustrating these concepts, as he incorporates the personally significant places such as Senegal, Chad, and the Saint Denis banlieue to establish street credibility on a transnational scale; the lyrics also describe serious social and political issues, including the “skinheads” he encountered while living in Paris. Dynamic place is clear throughout all of this, as everything occurring in these places is meaningful in part because of the unavoidable relationship with the passing of time – Solaar’s birth, his upbringing, and his success occurred through his choices and social interactions in specific places.Looking more closely at the representation of place and time, Lève-toi et rap is less than straightforward. As discussed previously, some of the vocal samples are rearranged, demonstrating purposeful alteration of pre-recorded material; in contrast, the use of a repeated funk bassline sample during a clear narrative of Solaar’s life juxtaposes a linear story with a non-linear musical accompaniment. To this, MC Solaar made a contemporary textual contribution to later choruses, with the title of the song added as the chorus’s last line. Such manipulation in the context of this first-person narrative to express this movement supports the conclusion that, far from being a victim of political and economic forces, MC Solaar has used them to his advantage. After all, the title of the song itself, Lève-toi et rap, translates roughly to “get up and rap.”In addition to manipulating the materials of American rap and funk for this purpose, Solaar’s use of verlan, a type of slang used in the banlieues, brings another level of locality to Lève-toi et rap. The use of verlan brings the song’s association with French banlieue culture closer: by communicating in a dialect fluently understood by relatively few, rappers ensure that their message will be understood best by those who share the constellation of social and temporal relations of these housing developments (Milon, 75). Adding verlan to other slang and to unique grammatical rules, the rap of the banlieues is to some extent in its own language (Prévos, “Business” 902-903).Referring to MC Solaar’s 1994 album Prose Combat, André Prévos observed that this material “clearly illustrates the continuity of this tradition, all the while adding an identifiable element of social and personal protest as well as an identifiable amount of ‘signifying’ also inspired by African American hip-hip lyrics” (Prévos, “Postcolonial” 43). While it is clear at this point that this is also true for Lève-toi et rap from Cinquème as, Nouveau Western from Prose Combat demonstrates continuity in different way. To start, the samples used in this song create a more seamless texture. A sample from the accompaniment to Serge Gainsbourg’s Bonnie and Clyde from 1967 undergirds the song, providing a French pop reference to a story about an American character (Various Contributors, “Nouveau Western” whosampled.com). The bassline from Bonnie and Clyde is present throughout Nouveau Western, while the orchestral layer from the sample is heard during sections of the verses and choruses. Parts of the song also feature alto saxophone samples that provide continuity with the jazz-influenced character of many songs on this album.The contrasts with Lève-toi et rap continue with the lyrical content. Rather than describing his own process of acquiring knowledge and skill as he moved in time from place to place, in Nouveau Western MC Solaar tells the story of a cowboy named “Harry Zona” who was proud and independent living in Arizona, hunting for gold with his horse, but who becomes a victim in contemporary Paris. In the fabled west, the guns he carries and his method of transportation facilitate his mission: Il erre dans les plaines, fier, solitaire. Son cheval est son partenaire [He wanders the plains, proud, alone. His horse is his partner.]. After suddenly being transported to modern-day Paris, he orders a drink from an “Indian,” at a bistro and “scalps” the foam off, but this is surely a different kind of person and practice than Solaar describes Harry encountering in the States (MC Solaar, “Nouveau Western”).After leaving the bistro, Harry is arrested driving his stagecoach on the highway and shut away by the authorities in Fresnes prison for his aberrant behaviour. His pursuit of gold worked for him in the first context, but the quest for wealth advanced in his home country contributed to the conditions he now faces, and which MC Solaar critiques, later in the song. He raps, Les States sont comme une sorte de multinationale / Elle exporte le western et son monde féudal / Dicte le bien, le mal, Lucky Luke et les Dalton [The States are a kind of multinational”/ “They export the western and its feudal way/ Dictate the good the bad, Lucky Luke and the Daltons] (MC Solaar, “Nouveau Western”).Harry seems to thrive in the environment portrayed as the old west: as solitary hero, he serves as a symbol of the States’ independent spirit. In the nouveau far west [new far west] francophone comic book characters Lucky Luke and the Daltons sont camouflés en Paul Smith’s et Wesson [are camouflaged in Paul Smith’s and Wesson], and Harry is not equipped to cope with this confusing combination. He is lost as he negotiates le système moderne se noie l’individu [the modern system that drowns the individual]. To return to Bonnie and Clyde, these ill-fated and oft-fabled figures weren’t so triumphant either, and in Gainsbourg’s song, they are represented by 1960s French pop rather than by even a hint of local 1930s musical traditions. “Harry Zona” is not the only person whose story unfolds through the lens of another culture.While Solaar avoids heavy use of verlan or other Parisian slang in this song, he does use several American cultural references, some of which I have already mentioned. In addition, the word “western” refers to western movies, but it also serves as another term for the United States and its cultural exports. “Hollywood” is another term for the west, and in this context MC Solaar warns his listeners to question this fictional setting. Following his observation that John Wayne looks like Lucky Luke, “well groomed like an archduke,” he exclaims Hollywood nous berne, Hollywood berne! [Hollywood fooled us! Hollywood fools!]. This is followed by, on dit gare au gorille, mais gare à Gary Cooper [as they say watch out for the gorilla, watch out for Gary Cooper]. Slick characters like the ones Gary Cooper played have ultimately served as cultural capital that has generated economic capital for the “multinational” States that Solaar describes. As Harry moves “epochs and places,” he discovers that this sort of influence, now disguised in fashion-forward clothing, is more influential than his Smith and Wesson of the old west (MC Solaar, “Nouveau Western”).It is important to note that this narrative is described with the language of the cultural force that it critiques. As Geoffrey Baker writes, “MC Solaar delves into the masterpieces and linguistic arsenal of his colonizers in order to twist the very foundations of their linguistic oppression against them” (Baker, 241). These linguistic – and cultural – references facilitate this ironic critique of the “new Far West”: Harry suffers in the grip of a more sophisticated gold rush (MC Solaar, “Nouveau Western”).Lève-toi et rap transforms musical and verbal language as well, but the changes are more overt. Even though the musical samples are distinctly American, they are transformed, and non-American places of import to MC Solaar are described with heavy use of slang. This situates the song in American and French cultural territory while demonstrating Solaar’s manipulation of both. He is empowered by the specialized expression of place and space, and by the loud and proud references to a dynamic upbringing, in which struggle culminates in triumph.Empowerment through such manipulation is an attractive interpretation, but because this exercise includes the transformation of a colonizer’s language, it ultimately depends on understanding rap as linked to some extent to what Murray Forman and Tricia Rose describe as “Western cultural imperialism” (Rose, 19; Forman, 21). Both Rose and Forman point out that rap has benefitted from what Rose describes as “the disproportionate exposure of U.S. artists around the world,” (Rose, 19) even though this music has provided an avenue through which marginalized groups have articulated social and political concerns (Rose, 19; Forman 21). The “transnational circulation of contemporary culture industries” that Forman describes (21) has benefitted multinational corporations, but it has also provided new means of expression for those reached by this global circulation. Additionally, this process has engendered a sense of community around the world among those who identify with rap’s musical and lyrical practices and content; in many cases, rap’s connection to the African diaspora is a significant factor in the music’s appeal. This larger spatial connection occurs alongside more locally place-based connections. Lève-toi et rap clearly manifests this sense of simultaneously negotiating one’s role as a global citizen and as an individual firmly grounded in the place and space of local experience.Even though rap has been a music of resistance to hegemonic social and economic forces for people around the world, it is nonetheless important to recognize that the forces that have disseminated this music on a global scale have contributed to the unequal distribution of wealth and power. Working within this system is almost always unavoidable for rappers, many of whom criticize these conditions in their music, but depend on these transnational corporations for their success. Paul A. Silverstein writes that “hip-hop formations themselves, while enunciating an explicit critique of both state interventionism and the global market, have directly benefited from both and, to be sure, simultaneously desire their end and their continuation” (47-48). This is very clear in Nouveau Western, which Silverstein writes “portrayed neo-liberalism as a ‘new Far West’ where credit cards replace Remingtons.” (48) That this critique has reached a large audience in the francophone world and elsewhere highlights the irony of the situation: under the current system of popular musical production and circulation, such material often must reach its audience through complicity with the very system it denounces. This view on the mixture of the local and global presented in these songs illustrates this confusing situation, but from another perspective, the representation of social interaction on varying scales connects to the factors that have contributed to rap since its inception. Local places and geographically broad spatial connections have been articulated in constantly changing ways through musical and lyrical sampling, original lyrical references, and the uses that creators, listeners, and the industry enact vis-à-vis global rap culture. Whether revealed through clear references to American rap that facilitate a personal narrative or through a more complicated critique of American culture, MC Solaar’s songs Lève-toi et rap and Nouveau Western expose some accomplishments of a French rapper whose work reveals personal agency both outside and within the “multinational” United States. ReferencesBaker, Geoffrey. “Preachers, Gangsters, Pranksters: MC Solaar and Hip-Hop as Overt and Covert Revolt.” The Journal of Popular Culture 44 (2011): 233-54.Beastie Boys and Q-Tip. “Get It Together.” Ill Communication. Grand Royal Records, 1994. CD.Faure, Sylvia, and Marie-Carmen Garcia. “Conflits de Valeurs et Générations.” Culture Hip Hop Jeunes des Cités et Politiques Publiques. Paris: La Dispute SNÉDIT, 2005. 69-83. Forman, Murray. “Space Matters: Hip-Hop and the Spatial Perspective.” The ‘Hood Comes First: Race, Space and Place in Rap and Hip-Hop. Middletown: Wesleyan UP, 2002. 1- 34. 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