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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'West Africa'

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Published: 4 June 2021
Last updated: 29 July 2024

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1

Shiu, Janice. "Relationship Between West African monsoon precipitation characteristics and maize yields across Sub-Saharan West Africa." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/127147.

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Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, May, 2020
Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 27-32).
Sub-Saharan Africa faces significant challenges to its food security in the coming decades as climate change and rapid population growth strains its agricultural systems. In a region where crops are near exclusively rainfed, precipitation from the West African Monsoon (WAM) plays a significant role in the region's food production. This study aims to add to the limited literature on the relationship between country-level maize yields and the WAM, particularly through the use of high resolution precipitation estimates to characterize the spatiotemporal variability of the monsoon. Multi-year annual precipitation characteristics of the monsoon such as total precipitation, number of non-precipitating days, and timing were derived and aggregated across the maize growing regions of West African countries. Aggregated precipitation metrics were linearly regressed against country-level maize yields that have undergone timeseries analysis to remove trends occurring independently of the WAM. The metrics most correlated with maize yields while maintaining statistically significant slopes were the minimum of total precipitation, standard deviation of the number of non-precipitating days, and the minimum monsoon end date. The strong positive correlations of the minimum of total precipitation and minimum monsoon end date metrics suggest that the worst performing areas in terms of total precipitation and monsoon end date drive down annual country-level maize yields. The positive correlation found using the standard deviation of the number of non-precipitating days is uninterpretable as an instance of Simpson's paradox, as the opposite relationship is discovered in analyses using individual countries. These results show the efficacy of analyzing maize yields against satellite mapped precipitation characteristics of the WAM.
by Janice Shiu.
S.B.
S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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2

Davis, Glenda. "A sociolinguistic inquiry into wax-dyed cloth names in Togo and Côte d'Ivoire /." Thesis, McGill University, 2003. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=79837.

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According to Domowitz (1992), the Agni women of Cote d'Ivoire assign proverbs and aphorisms as names to wax-dyed cloth. Women then use the imagery and associated proverbs behind cloth names to send non-verbal messages they would otherwise be unable to express publicly. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to investigate wax-dyed cloth names including their underlying meanings and uses given by women in Cote d'Ivoire and Togo; and second, to investigate how these names are acquired in French by women who have no formal education. Qualitative results revealed that women in these two countries are very motivated to learn cloth names. New undocumented names and their underlying meanings were also found. Some of these meanings were found to be educational; others are used to maintain status or to clarify power relationships. At the same time, quantitative results indicated that knowledge and use of cloth names in both communities studied is in decline.
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3

Gyau-Boakye, Philip. "Filling gaps in hydrological runoff data series in West-Africa = Ergänzung lückenhafter Abflussreihen in West-Afrika /." Bochum : Ruhr-Univ, 1993. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=006430220&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.

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4

Tulloch, Owan Carl. "Industrial development in West Africa : policies and progress in the economic community of West African states." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70182.

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5

Rankin, John. "Healing the African Body: British Medicine in West Africa, 1800-1860." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2015. http://amzn.com/0826220541.

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This timely book explores the troubled intertwining of religion, medicine, empire, and race relations in the early nineteenth century. John Rankin analyzes the British use of medicine in West Africa as a tool to usher in a “softer” form of imperialism, considers how British colonial officials, missionaries, and doctors regarded Africans, and explores the impact of race classification on colonial constructs. Rankin goes beyond contemporary medical theory, examining the practice of medicine in colonial Africa as Britons dealt with the challenges of providing health care to their civilian employees, African soldiers, and the increasing numbers of freed slaves in the general population, even while the imperialists themselves were threatened by a lack of British doctors and western medicines. As Rankin writes, “The medical system sought to not only heal Africans but to ‘uplift’ them and make them more amenable to colonial control . . . Colonialism starts in the mind and can be pushed on the other solely through ideological pressure.”
https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1089/thumbnail.jpg
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6

Mero, Samantha A. "Language diversity in Guinea, West Africa." [Gainesville, Fla.] : University of Florida, 2003. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0000868.

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7

Cliff-Eribo, Kennedy O. "Adverse drug reactions in West Africa." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2016. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31289/.

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Adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports of countries varies due to differences in the prevalence of diseases and hence the types of drugs used. ADRs are a major health and economic burden worldwide. National health authorities monitor the safety of medicines to protect consumers from the hazards of drugs. ADR databases are also maintained from where reports are regularly evaluated to detect signals of new ADRs and determine the increase of those already known. A review of paediatric and general population studies conducted on ADRs from national ADR databases was carried out. The majority of studies identified were from countries in Europe and North America, and only one study on the general population was conducted from the Ethiopian ADR database in Africa. No paediatric study was identified in Africa. Skin reactions associated with antiretroviral drugs were the most frequent ADRs in the study conducted from the Ethiopian ADR database. Anti-infective agents, mostly vaccines, were mostly associated with the ADRs in children in Europe and Latin America, and drugs used for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) were implicated with the ADRs reported for children in North America. The ADR databases of Ghana and Nigeria were analysed to evaluate the ADRs reported for children and adults. The fatalities reported and the associated drugs in the two databases were also evaluated. The ADR reporting rates for children and the general population in Ghana and Nigeria were lower than the corresponding rates observed in the review. The majority of the ADRs in Nigerian adults were reported for antiretroviral drugs, and most of those who died suffered Stevens Johnson syndrome with antimalarials as the suspect drugs. ADRs reported for Nigerian children were mainly skin reactions associated with antibiotics. Most of the reported fatalities resulted from renal failure, linked with suspected contaminated teething mixtures. Antimalarials and anthelmintics were mostly associated with the ADRs in Ghanaian adults. Most of the reported fatalities resulted from Stevens Johnson syndrome. ADRs in Ghanaian children were mostly associated with vaccines. The majority of the reported deaths resulted from unknown causes linked with antimalarials.
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8

Lutz, Alexandra. "Groundwater resource sustainability in West Africa." abstract only (free order & download UNR users only), 2007. http://0-gateway.proquest.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3275835.

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9

Al-Hajri, Yasir Khalfan. "Quantifying cenozoic epeirogeny of West Africa." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.614239.

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10

Watkins, Gillian M. "The predictability of precipitation in West Africa." Thesis, University of Reading, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.427219.

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11

Traore, Ahmed Faya. "Rainfall estimation by meteosat in west Africa." Thesis, University of Reading, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.646000.

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Data from Meteosat thermal infrared (TIR) imagery are related to rainfall measured directly by gauges at meteorological stations in the Republic of Niger (West Africa), spanning between 0 and 14 °E and 12 and 18 ON. Quantitative physical parameters of 116 clouds from hourly TIR are then examined with the aim of establishing meaningful relations between them and ground observed rainfall.
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12

Iandolo, Alessandro. "Soviet policy in West Africa, 1957-64." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2f17b326-8c4e-427a-8ce4-040c34582083.

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Between 1957 and 1964 the Soviet Union sought to export to West Africa a model of economic and social development. Moscow’s policy was driven by the conviction that socialism was a superior economic system, and could be replicated in Ghana, Guinea, and Mali. However, Soviet confidence in the project was undermined by the unreliability of local leaders, and then by the Congo crisis. The setback in West Africa taught the Soviet leadership crucial lessons, including the importance of supporting ideologically reliable leaders, and the necessity of building military strength to bolster intervention. Combining Soviet and Ghanaian sources with those more readily available in the UK and the US, this thesis shows the importance of modernisation of the Third World for Moscow’s foreign policy during the Khrushchev era, and contributes to the new sets of literature on the cold war in the third world, and on the Soviet Union’s foreign policy.
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13

Jones, Basil Morris. "Growth, convergence and economic integration in West Africa : the case of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)." Thesis, University of Hull, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342964.

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14

Garrett, Bryan A. "Missionary Millennium: The American West; North and West Africa in the Christian Imagination." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2009. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc11043/.

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During the 1890s in the United States, Midwestern YMCA missionaries challenged the nexus of power between Northeastern Protestant denominations, industrialists, politicians, and the Association's International Committee. Under Kansas YMCA secretary George Fisher, this movement shook the Northeastern alliance's underpinnings, eventually establishing the Gospel Missionary Union. The YMCA and the GMU mutually defined foreign and domestic missionary work discursively. Whereas Fisher's pre-millennial movement promoted world conversion generally, the YMCA primarily reached out to college students in the United States and abroad. Moreover, the GMU challenged social and gender roles among Moroccan Berbers. Fisher's movements have not been historically analyzed since 1975. Missionary Millennium is a reanalysis and critical reading of religious fictions about GMU missionaries, following the organization to its current incarnation as Avant Ministries.
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Garrett, Bryan A. Stockdale Nancy L. "Missionary millennium the American West : North and West Africa in the Christian imagination /." [Denton, Tex.] : University of North Texas, 2009. http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-11043.

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16

Egbebiyi, Temitope Samuel. "Future changes in extreme rainfall events and African easterly waves over West Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20581.

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This study examines the relationship between African Easterly Waves (AEWs) and extreme rainfall events over West Africa, and investigates how climate change could alter this relationship in the future. Satellite observations, reanalysis data, and regional climate model (RCA4) simulations (forced with eight global climate simulations) were analysed for the study. The study used the 95th percentile of daily rainfall as a threshold to identify extreme rainfall events, and applied spectral analysis to extract 3-5 days and 6-9 days AEWs from 700hPa meridional wind component over West Africa. The capability of RCA4 to reproduce the rainfall climatology, extreme rainfall events, the characteristics of AEWs and the contribution of AEWs to extreme rainfall events over the region during the past climate (1971-2005) was examined and quantified using statistical analysis. The future changes (2031-2065) in these parameters were projected for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate-change scenarios. The results of the study show that RCA4 gives a realistic simulation of the West African climate, including the annual rainfall pattern, the structure of AEWs, and the characteristics of the African Easterly Jet that feeds AEWs. The bias in the simulated threshold of extreme rainfall is within the uncertainty of the observed values. The model also captures the link between the structure of AEWs and the rainfall pattern over West Africa, and shows that the percentage contribution of AEWs to extreme rainfall events over the region ranges from 20 to 60%, as depicted by reanalysis data. For the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, the RCA4 ensemble mean projects a future increase in annual rainfall and in the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events over the sub-continent, but the increase is generally higher for the RCP8.5 scenario. It also projects a decrease in the frequency of rain days, no changes in the structure of the AEWs, and an increase in the variance of the waves. However, the simulations from the ensemble mean shows no substantial changes in the contribution of AEWs to the extreme rainfall events, suggesting that the increase in the frequency and intensity of the extreme rainfall events may not be attributable to the changes in AEWs. The study's application is in understanding and mitigating the future impact of climate extremes over West Africa.
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17

Aye, Bernice Kwakyewa. "Cross-language communication in West Africa: An overview." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/27502.

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Socio-economic development of Africa's human resources is tied to language policies that are undergoing global pressures. Though the languages of colonization are the official and dominant languages of education and communication, African countries recognize the importance of promoting their indigenous languages. This descriptive study is an overview of cross-language communication as it relates first to the colonial heritage and then to changes brought about by globalization. Themes explored include literacy, democratization, evangelization, judicial processes and media. Information was compiled from literature on translation and multilingualism in Africa, recent conferences and personal experiences. The focus is on Cote d'lvoire, Ghana and Nigeria, which are representative of the language situation in West Africa. A few references are also made to other sub-Saharan African countries so as to show the intertwined regional phenomena of translation and interpretation. Currently, technology is being applied to linguistics, translation and terminology of indigenous languages to build knowledge societies. Translation and terminology development are empowering speakers of African languages to participate fully in the development of their communities.
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18

Deng, Zhixin. "Vegetation dynamics in Oueme Basin, Benin, West Africa /." Göttingen : Cuvillier, 2007. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=016504013&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.

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19

Smyth, Thomas Nathan. "Social media, elections, and democracy in West Africa." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/49042.

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Today is an exciting time to be a political activist in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for the technically inclined. New media technologies including the mobile phone, the Internet, and social media are proliferating rapidly and their potential as potent political tools is being realized. While 2012's Arab Spring in North Africa captivated the world, similar campaigns have been occurring south of the Sahara both before and since. But the embrace of social media for political ends raises the question of how, if at all, these new media actually perturb the political landscape. These questions have been well-studied in Western contexts, but remain virtually unexplored in developing regions where traditional media are scarcer, democracies are younger, and the effect of social media on politics has the potential to be quite distinct. This dissertation explores these questions by focusing on social media use during elections in Nigeria and Liberia in 2011. It asks how social media impacted the democratic process during these key events, and compares social media discourse to formal election monitoring operations. The findings suggest that given sufficient civil-society coordination, social media can be an effective tool for electoral scrutiny. Furthermore, for this and other reasons, it appears that social media has the potential to emerge as a key influence on public faith in electoral processes. Based on these results, it is further argued that social media's true disruptive power in developing world contexts lies in its ability to transcend the economics of scarcity that have dominated traditional media in such contexts. This observation is offered as an extension to the networked public sphere theory of Yochai Benkler that frames this work.
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Small, Audrey Holdhus. "Publishing and cultural identity in francophone West Africa." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2005. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=167833.

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This thesis examines the problems engendered by ongoing Western dominance in the field of francophone African publishing, with specific reference to Guinea and Senegal. This dominance raises complex issues of power, authority and voice that are familiar tropes in postcolonial analyses, but this thesis seeks to re-place such questions in a wider context, looking at the current material circumstances of the publishing industry and “socially contaminated” instances such as international donor funding and national language policy as a perspective. This allows the links between the two rather distinct fields of the cultural and the commercial to be explored.  The guiding theme is a critique of the argument for full indigenisation or africanisation of African publishing, a debate which is based on questions of language, critical authority and identity.  The thesis seeks to cut through the inevitable polemics raised by the dominance of Western publishers in African publishing, to clearly identify the problems thrown up by this imbalance, and to explore the ramifications for ‘African literature’.
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21

Bayor, Hypolite. "Diospyros in west Africa : morphology, molecules and climate." Thesis, University of Reading, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.558778.

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Diospyros is a pantropical genus occurring in the lower layers oftropical moist forests. As such the persistence of the forest may be critical to the survival of some species. Twenty-two species of Diospyros occur in the Upper Guinean biodiversity hotspot, seven of which are endemic. The effectiveness of vegetative characters used with computer-aided keys, DNA barcoding, phylogeny and species distribution modelling as tools to study the biodiversity of this area was investigated. A computer-aided multi-access key developed indicated that vegetative characters might be able to identify some species but more testing is required. The effectiveness of the proposed barcodes for plants (rbeL and matK) and psbA-trnH were tested. Bayesian trees showed that single regions produced unresolved trees but using the three regions combined could assign 26 accessions to species. Using TaxonDNA, matK and psbA-trnH were almost equally effective at 84.6% and 84.0% respectively in assigning field collected accessions to species however, rbeL identified only 37.4%. For a combined data set of Genbank and field data, proportion of accessions correctly assign to species was lower. TaxonDNA assigned 59.6%,49.3% and 75.1% accessions of rbeL, matK, and psbA-trnH respectively to species. Phylogenetic analysis using rbeL and matK shows that West African species may belong to at least four different lineages and these are scattered over the entire worldwide Diospyros phylogeny. Sister species mayor may not have overlapping ranges indicating that dispersal might contribute to speciation in Diospyros. The effect of climate change on five ofthe endemic species was investigated. Although reduction in predicted area for three species was observed, the area occupied by one was not affected while one species was predicted to have potential to expand its range which suggests genetic homogenization as a possible outcome. The availability and quality of data for species distribution modelling offive species was also investigated. Data were insufficient for two species not modelled and gaps in sampling were also evident. The effect of biased geographic sampling was to inflate AUC values of distribution models. Overall, it is clear that technologies such as computer-aided keys, DNA barcoding, phylogenetic analysis and climate envelope modelling help to study and understand diversity in this Western African biodiversity hotspot. The identification tools can be challenging to develop but will allow better surveys and in turn help to fill the data gaps revealed in the climate envelope modelling studies.
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22

Udezulu, Ifeyinwa E. "Imperialism or realism: United States and West Africa." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 1988. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/1339.

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The purpose of the thesis is to utilize the realist-neorealist paradigm to analyze the United States policy objectives in West Africa, comparably to other African regions. The basic premise of the realist paradigm purports that states are unitary actors and they act to protect their national interest. Through a critical analysis of secondary data, my findings clearly point to the fact that the former colonial powers, Britain and France are the major actors in West Africa not the United States. The United States policy strategy centers solely on the crisis areas of other regions, the Horn, Central Africa and Southern Africa. This is because of the power struggle between the super powers and because these areas are endowed with vast mineral resources. The Nigerian oil and Chadian conflict with Libya are the only two areas of U.S. interest in West Africa.
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23

Niang, Abibou [Verfasser]. "Rice yield gaps in West Africa / Abibou Niang." Bonn : Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn, 2019. http://d-nb.info/118688858X/34.

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24

Wiggins, Trevor. "Issues for music and education in West Africa." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/2802.

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My published output represents an ongoing engagement with the issues of studying, learning, understanding and transmitting music. More specifically, it has the music of Ghana in West Africa as its primary focus. This music is then considered from a number of points of view:- • as music, where the sonic events can be charted, documented and analysed • as 'ethnic' music where the function and meaning of this music for its culture can be considered • as a cultural artefact where the changing processes of transmission and preservation are observed • as pedagogical material where the nature of learning related to culture and the processes of translation by the teacher and the learner are examined. Music as object for documentation and discussion is a substantial part of Xylophone music from Ghana, the two articles in Composing the Music of Africa and the article in the British journal of Ethnomusicology as well as the COs, 'Bewaare - they are coming' Dagaare songs and dances from Nandom, Ghana and 'In the time of my fourth great-grandfather ... ' Western Sisaala music from Lambussie, Ghana. These same publications also consider the roles and function of the music within its culture. Music as a cultural artefact, its transmission and preservation, particularly in relation to formal education, is the focus of the two articles in the British journal of Music Education, the Music Teacher publication, the article in Cahiers de Musiques Traditionelles, and the ESEM conference paper. Pedagogical issues and materials form the basis for Music of West Africa, Kpatsa, and the symposium papers.
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Fischetti, Lucia. "Molecular aspects of HIV in Ghana, West Africa." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.614809.

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Arsan, Andrew Kerim. "Lebanese migrants in French West Africa, 1898-1939." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.608460.

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Miller, Charlotte S. "520,000 years of environmental change in West Africa." Thesis, Open University, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.607487.

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Global temperatures are predicted to rise by 2- 2.5°C by 2065, profoundly affecting the Earth's environment. The response of ecosystems to past climate fluctuations can inform on how systems will respond in the future. This thesis focuses on Quaternary environmental changes in West Africa, a region important because of its high ecological value and role in the global carbon cycle. In 2004, the International Continental Drilling Program recovered c. 291 m of sediments spanning the last c. 1 Myr from Lake Bosumtwi (Ghana). Pollen, charcoal and nitrogen isotopes (815N) were analysed from the most recent c. 150m (c. 520 kyr). The latitudinal position and long duration of this core makes it unique for understanding West African monsoon dynamics and vegetation change. To aid characterisation of the Bosumtwi pollen succession, an atlas of present-day pollen was constructed for 364 pollen and spore taxa. The pollen record from Bosumtwi reveals dynamic vegetation change over the last c. 520 kyr, characterized by eleven biome shifts between savannah and forest. Savannah vegetation is dominated by Poaceae (>55%) associated with Cyperaceae, Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae and Caryophyllaceae. Forest vegetation is palynologically diverse, but broadly characterised by Moraceae, Geltis, Uapaca, Macaranga and Trema. Low 815N values correspond to forest expansion and these are driven by high lake levels. The timescale indicates that the six periods of forest expansion correspond to global interglacial periods. The record indicates that the wettest climate occurred during the Holocene, and the driest during Marine Isotope Stage 7. The vegetation and 815N records show a strong response to glacial-interglacial variability between 520- 320 kyr and 130- 0 kyr. Between 320- 130 kyr there is a weaker response to glacial-interglacial cycles probably related to high eccentricity during the peak of the 400-kyr component of eccentricity, with high eccentricity resulting in greater seasonality and ultimately drier conditions.
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Kamanda, Mamusu. "School attendance at basic education in West Africa." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2013. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/366479/.

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The proportion of children entering primary school at the stipulated age in 2010 in Sub-Saharan Africa was 57%. For the same year, the net attendance ratios for primary and lower secondary education were 76% and 47% respectively. These figures are correlated in that delayed school enrolment increases the risk of dropout which in turn shortens the school life expectancy for children. These observations are the motivation behind this research. By writing this thesis, three substantive research questions have been explored: (1) what is Sierra Leone’s progress towards achieving universal basic education (2) what are the determinants of school attendance at basic education in West Africa and (3) does living in a community with more educated mothers enhance children’s school attendance at basic education. Three countries have been used: Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ghana. Sierra Leone and Liberia have been used to reflect poor and post-conflict states with transitional and premature education systems respectively. Ghana is representative of middle income and politically stable countries with more advanced education systems in the region. The most recent Demographic and Health Survey for the three countries are used for analysis. Four empirical chapters are presented. The first chapter addresses research question 1. It applies simple statistical analyses to United Nations indicators for evaluating progress towards universal education. The second and third chapters answer the second research question and the final chapter answers the third research question. These three chapters employ multilevel statistical techniques to model the determinants of primary and junior secondary school attendance. The second empirical chapter focuses on the interaction between household and community poverty with the aim of investigating whether the attendance of poor children suffers more than affluent children by residing in a poor community. The third empirical chapter explores the determinants of junior secondary school attendance with the aim of deducing whether there are significant differences between post-conflict countries and more stable countries. The final chapter focuses on the relationship between mothers’ education and school attendance at basic education, arguing that living in a community with a high proportion of more educated mothers enhances the likelihood that a child will attend school, irrespective of the child’s background. The results from the first chapter show that the realisation of UBE is distant in Sierra Leone. There has been a decline in the number of children entering primary education; junior secondary education has however doubled although it remains low at 21%. Children from the poorest households are the most excluded from school followed by rural children and girls. The results from the second empirical chapter showed that there is a significant interaction between household and community poverty where poor children living in poor communities experience a greater depreciation in their probability of attending school than more affluent children who live in the same deprived environment in Sierra Leone. No such interaction was found in Liberia or Ghana. In the third empirical chapter, the sex of the child, agricultural livelihood within a community, household wealth and area of residence were significant in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In Ghana, sex of the household head and maternal orphanhood were significant. The hypothesis of the relationship between mothers’ community education and children’s school attendance for the final empirical chapter was confirmed.
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Bernard, Tanguy. "Three essays on peasant organizations in West-Africa." Clermont-Ferrand 1, 2005. http://www.theses.fr/2005CLF10002.

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Cette thèse analyse l'émergence, le fonctionnement et le rôle des Organisations Paysannes (OP) dans le développement rural en Afrique de l'Ouest, sur la base de données collectées au Sénégal et au Burkina Faso en 2002-2003. Ces organisations sont des groupes d'individus, se rassemblant pour améliorer le bien-être de leurs ménages et celui de leurs communautés. Elles se sont développées de manière importante depuis le milieu des années 1980, suite au désangagement des Etats du secteur rural, et sont maintenant présentes dans la grande majorité des villages. Cependant, malgré cette richesse organisationnelle et l'intérêt croissant des agences de développement pour les OP, la pauvreté rurale en Afrique de l'Ouest reste parmi les plus élevées du monde. Notre analyse suggère que les OP représentent un canal majeur pour atteindre les ménages pauvres ruraux, mais que leur impact sur la pauvreté est en général limité par leur manque de ressources financières. Nous montrons également que les communautés villageoises dans lesquelles les OP évoluent sont de première importance : dans les environnements caractérisés par d'importantes "normes égalitaires", les OP dont la fonction est de générer des profits pour leurs membres sont contraintes lors de leur émergence et dans leur fonctionnement. En retour, l'émergence de telles organisations influence leurs communautés en provoquant un changement institutionnel par lequel la différentiation économique et sociale des individus est rendue possible au sein même de leur communauté.
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Adjalala, Toyimi Médès Frida. "Three Essays on Monetary Union in West Africa." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/41579.

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Chapter 1- How well-off or worse-off a country can be by joining a currency union in the presence of structural heterogeneity and idiosyncratic shocks? In light of the proposed creation of a currency union for the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS), we develop a three-region DSGE model to explore the question. We divide the ECOWAS into three regions-Nigeria, the existing WAEMU (West-African Economic Monetary Union), and the rest. Considering two monetary regimes (monetary union and monetary independence), we assess the heterogeneity in the responses to country-specific productivity and terms-of-trade shocks in these two regimes, as well as the costs related to the loss of monetary independence. Our results indicate that shocks hitting a given region generate cross-border spillover effects, whose sign and magnitude depend not only on the nature of the disturbance but also on its origin and on the monetary policy regime considered. Moreover, the propagation of shocks across regions is magnified under the monetary union regime. Shocks hitting Nigeria's economy tend to have a more destabilizing effect on the other regions, especially when they are inside the union. Our results also suggest that the proposed monetary union for the ECOWAS region can potentially lead to welfare improvement for all the members, but the magnitude of the welfare gain is relatively small. Chapter 2- In this chapter, we develop a multi-region New-Keynesian Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) of the West-African countries to provide a quantitative analysis of intergovernmental fiscal transfers in the context of the proposed creation of a monetary union. We assess the potential role of fiscal transfers in the stabilization of business cycle fluctuations in the projected monetary union in the presence of idiosyncratic shocks. Starting from a baseline scenario with no fiscal transfers among the regions, we analyze the dynamic and welfare impacts of full and partial fiscal equalization schemes with nominal tax revenue sharing within the union. We consider adverse productivity and term-of-trade shocks. Our simulation results suggest that the transfer mechanism is an efficient stabilizing tool. However, the stabilization property of the fiscal transfer system hinges upon the full or partial nature of the compensation system. Moreover, the ability of the transfer system to absorb the negative effects of idiosyncratic shocks depends not only on the type of shock but also on the size of the region directly affected. Chapter 3- We analyze in this chapter the macroeconomics effects of fiscal policy shocks in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). To that end, we use a Global Vector Autoregression (GVAR) model, which allows us to assess both the within country and the cross borders spillover effects of the fiscal shocks. For the dynamic analysis, we consider negative country-specific public spending and revenue shocks affecting Nigeria as well as regional public spending and revenue shocks affecting two groups of countries in the area, namely the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Rest of ECOWAS (RECOWAS). We provide evidence of considerable cross-country heterogeneity in fiscal spillovers; for instance, spillovers are high for fiscal shocks affecting Nigeria, while the cross-border spillover effects on Nigeria are weak for shocks affecting WAEMU and RECOWAS. Our results also suggest that fiscal policy is very relevant in stimulating real output in each of the ECOWAS countries but limited for the cross-country output stimulation.
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31

Keidel, Paul R. "Pedagogical principles for training pastors in West Africa." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1994. http://www.tren.com.

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32

Smapane-Donko, Eric. "Molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pneumoniae in West Africa." Thesis, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London), 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.550376.

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33

Kortenhoeven, Cornell. "Genomics of West Nile viruses from South Africa." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/32944.

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West Nile Virus (WNV) forms part of the Japanese encephalitis serocomplex in the genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae. This enveloped positive single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA ) virus is the etiological agent of West Nile fever, and in more severe cases WNV neuroinvasive disease, in both humans and animals. WNV is distributed worldwide and is phylogenetically classified into five distinct lineages. The WNV genome is ~11 Kb in length and encodes a single open reading frame (ORF) that is post-translationally cleaved into three structural proteins and seven non-structural proteins. In this study, two contemporary and two historic South African WNV strains were genetically characterised as lineage 2 strains based on complete genome sequences. Genetic change as a result of passage number and propagation system was quantified on both the consensus genome- and quasispecies level. A lack of variation was observed amongst the consensus genome sequences of WNV strains subject to changes in propagation system from BHK-21 cell culture to mouse brain and vice versa. In contrast, variation amongst the latter was observed on the quasispecies level. Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles as well as full-length haplotype sequences reconstructed from ultra deep sequence data indicated that high levels of quasispecies diversity persists, particularly in the capsid gene region, during changes in propagation environment. The changes in frequency of variants were consistent throughout isolates propagated in different systems. The increased variation in the capsid gene region may result from selective pressures brought about by differences in host cell type between propagation systems. This study is the first to demonstrate quasispecies dynamics resulting from changes in propagation system of a lineage 2 WNV based on the reconstruction of full-length haplotype sequences from ultra deep sequence data. The approach demonstrates a cost-effective alternative to the estimation of viral population structure in light of viral evolutionary dynamics, which may in turn be assessed by the single plasmid reverse genetic system designed in this study. Although early attempts at rescuing an infectious WNV clone were unsuccessful, the system shows promise in the application of future studies concerning vaccine and diagnostic development, virulence studies and disease control.
Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2013
Zoology and Entomology
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34

Bangura, Lamin. "Adjustment of commercial banks' interest rates and the effectiveness of monetary policy: evidence from Anglophone West Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002685.

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Most central banks use short-term interest rates as their main instrument of monetary policy. It is assumed that a change in policy rate will influence interest rates set by commercial banks, but this is not usually the case. Commercial banks adjust their interest rates in response to changes in policy rate with lags, which make their interest rates sticky. Stickiness in commercial banks interest rates have been seen as an obstacle to the smooth transmission of monetary policy decisions. Despite the importance of the transmission process, little attention has been given to a systematic measurement of the degree of response of commercial banks‟ interest rates to changes in monetary policy stance in the Anglophone West African countries, specifically within the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) economies. Against this backdrop, this study explores the interest rate adjustment dynamics using monthly interest rate series on discount rate, treasury bill rate, commercial banks‟ deposit and lending rates from 1989 to 2009 (for Gambia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) and from 2000 to 2009 (for Ghana). Specifically, the study set out to examine how lending and deposit rates respond to changes in the official rates and to see whether there is a convergence among the rates over time. Also, to examine the relative adjustment of commercial bank lending rates to changes in the official rate when there is disequilibrium. The analyses were twofold: a full sample period and a rolling window analysis. Following Cottarelli and Kourelis (1994), the study employed cointegration technique and an asymmetric error correction model to obtain the short-run and long-run parameters from which the error correction coefficients, mean adjustment lags and asymmetric mean adjustment lags were estimated. The results for the entire sample period revealed that the long-run pass-through in Nigeria was 81% and 67% for lending rates and deposit rates respectively. In Ghana, it was 66% and 69% for lending and deposit rates respectively. While in Sierra Leone, long-run pass-through was 62% and 72% for lending and deposit rates respectively. In Gambia, it was 50% and 40% for lending and deposit rates respectively. On the other hand, the short-run pass-through was found to be lower compared to the long-run pass-through: in Nigeria it was 66% and 47%; in Gambia, 26% and 29%; in Sierra Leone, 30% and 13%; and in Ghana, -6% and 35% for lending and deposit rates respectively in each country. The pass-through estimates for the rolling windows were mixed for short-run and long-run pass-through. The mean adjustment lags suggest that the speed of adjustment of Lending rates for full sample period were two, two, seven and twelve months in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Gambia respectively. While for deposit rates they were five, six, seven and eighteen for Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia and Sierra Leone respectively. The average speeds of adjustment for the rolling windows were four and five months for lending and deposit rates respectively. Weak evidence of convergence was found in lending and deposit rates in the short-run and long-run pass-through among the countries. However, the results suggest that the magnitude and speed of the pass-through amongst the countries on average were high compared to emerging Asian countries. Significant asymmetric adjustments were found in the lending rates for Gambia and Sierra Leone, while in Gambia and Nigeria there were asymmetries in deposit rates. Based on the evidence provided, interest rate pass-through is high in Nigeria and Ghana compared to Gambia and Sierra Leone and this calls for the harmonization of financial policies on the part of the financial authorities in the WAMZ. Viewed solely from an interest rate pass-through, the lack of convergence among the countries suggests that WAMZ is far from ready for a monetary union. The relatively low pass-through in some of the countries suggests rigidity in the banking system which may be due to underdevelopment of the system. Thus efforts geared toward strengthening the banking system and the financial system as whole would further enhance the prospect of a monetary union among them.
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35

Nayeyo, Anita Huba. "Economic welfare analysis of coarse grain trade under a trade liberalization policy within the Economic Community of West African States." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23416.

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This study analyzed the economic welfare implications of the 1990 intraregional trade liberalization scheme within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on member country producers and consumers. Four countries were chosen as a point of focus: Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Mali, and two commodities: millet and sorghum. The supply and demand functions were estimated using time series data from 1970 to 1990 obtained at the level of administrative regions within each of the four countries. Optimal production, consumption, trade quantities and trade flows were determined using the REACTT model, a spatial price equilibrium solution algorithm. Two trade scenarios were simulated. The first examined trade flows under the 1990 tariff structures and the second examined trade flows under the proposed zero tariff rates.
The REACTT model results showed that removal of the tariffs would increase the crossborder trade flows between the four countries by about 12% for millet and 38% for sorghum. The welfare calculations showed that in the case of millet, all four countries would have net positive gains to the tune of $4.6 million in total. For sorghum, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali would have net positive gains, C ote d'Ivoire would have a net welfare loss, and the net impact on all four countries would be a positive gain of about $9.3 million. The results of the REACTT model and the welfare calculations suggest that intra-ECOWAS trade liberalization would increase total trade flows and total economic well being of the member countries.
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36

Broyles, Teresa Ann. "A Journey from West Africa to Slavery: African-American Life During the Eighteenth-Century." W&M ScholarWorks, 1993. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1593092167.

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37

Collett, Moya Elyn Social Sciences &amp International Studies Faculty of Arts &amp Social Sciences UNSW. "Transversal politics and West African security." Publisher:University of New South Wales. Social Sciences & International Studies, 2008. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/41557.

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This thesis analyses conflict dynamics in West Africa and assesses the role of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a security organisation in its response to armed conflict. In so doing, it argues that conventional approaches misinterpret key feature of the civil wars in the “Greater Mano River Area” which includes Liberia, Sierra Leone and C??te d’Ivoire. It demonstrates that the progression and spread of conflict is engendered primarily by transversal political structures. The thesis utilises a critical international society approach to consider patterns of security and insecurity across the sub-region of West Africa. However, rather than accepting that West African politics operates within a single, comprehensive international society, it argues instead that it should be understood at two levels. One level is state-centric international society, where West African inter-state relations can largely be explained according to existing constructivist paradigms. At the second level is “transversal” society that cuts across state borders, generating a regional, normative structure that prescribes and constrains behaviour within and between communities outside of the international society framework. The thesis proceeds in two parts. In the first section it works towards an understanding of the transversal politics of regional conflict in the Greater Mano River Area. Conflict is nominally internal, and centralised state authority is the object of both attack and transformation. However, a close examination of civil violence in Liberia, Sierra Leone and C??te d’Ivoire reveals that it cannot be completely understood without recognising the non-state structures of authority and domination that disrupt the traditional domestic/international divide. The transversal communities generated by conflict create a regional cycle of violence that is resistant to efforts made to resolve it. The second section of the thesis is concerned with the ability of ECOWAS to foster durable peace. As West Africa’s key regional organisation, ECOWAS would seem well-placed to respond to regional conflict. It is well-integrated, has significant normative legitimacy and has developed sophisticated security mechanisms. Critically however, as it was created within inter-state international society, ECOWAS is limited by its assumption that states are and should remain unitary actors. Its failure ultimately lies in its inability to respond to the alternative political contours of transversal communities.
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38

Usieta, Hope Ovie. "Intensification of West African agriculture : socioeconomic drivers, gender-influenced patterns and implications for bird conservation." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.709456.

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39

Amponsem-Boateng, Richard. "Prospects of the Economic Community of West African States standby force." Fort Leavenworth, KS : US Army Command and General Staff College, 2006. http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?/p4013coll2,705.

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40

Diame, Maguette. "Traditional Culture and Educational Success in Senegal, West Africa." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11518.

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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
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41

Marong, Alhagi. "Economic integration and foreign direct investment in West Africa." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0005/MQ44066.pdf.

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42

Naughton, Colleen Claire. "Assessing Appropriate Technology Handwashing Stations in Mali, West Africa." Thesis, University of South Florida, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1548577.

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Proper hand hygiene is the most effective and efficient method to prevent over 1.3 million deaths annually from diarrheal disease and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs). Hand hygiene is also indispensable in achieving the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce the childhood mortality rate by 2/3rds between 1990 and 2015. Handwashing has been found in a systematic review of studies to reduce diarrhea by 47% and is, thus, capable of preventing a million deaths (Curtis et. al., 2003). Despite this evidence, hand washing rates remain seriously low in the developing world (Scott et al., 2008).

This study developed and implemented a comprehensive monitoring strategy of five usage variables (i.e., soap usage, functionality, presence of cleansing agent, ground wetness under station, amount of water in the jug) for 42-64 appropriate technology handwashing stations. These stations were monitored throughout 2011-2013 in two communities in Mali, West Africa. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) results include: 1) a 29% decrease in soap usage from dry (October–June) to rainy seasons (July–September), 2) 35% decrease in stations with presence of cleansing agent between 2011 and 2012, 3) higher station usage for stations in households with higher scores on the Progress out of Poverty Index®, 4) 27% less of the stations far from a water source (35 meters–172 meters away) had a cleansing agent present than stations close to a water source (less than 35 meters) during the rainy season. Station usage also differed based on gender of the handwashing station owner in the two communities where stations built by women were used more in Zeala than those in Nci'bugu. In contrast to Zeala, handwashing stations built by men in Nci'bugu had higher soap usage and usage variable proportions than those built by women. Handwashing training and promotions resulted in 98% of households reporting that they wash their hands with soap in 2012 from 0% in 2011. Altogether, this study designed and implemented a robust monitoring system that succeeded in quantifying handwashing station usage for over two years. In-depth analysis of the data established six sustainability factors for handwashing stations (gender, training, water, seasonality, wealth, and monitoring) that are critical for lasting handwashing behavior change and successful hygiene interventions to save lives.

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43

Marong, Alhagi. "Economic integration and foreign direct investment in West Africa." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=20540.

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Economic integration and foreign direct investment were adopted by developing countries particularly in Africa, as strategies for economic development. For these countries, economic integration became not only a tariff issue, but a strategy for development; hence the term "developmental regionalism". This thesis is a study of the concept of developmental regionalism in West Africa. It concentrates on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which was formed in 1975.
It is argued that as a strategy for development, the ECOWAS integration effort was inadequate because of undue reliance on tariff reductions--- so called "negative integration" measures. It is suggested that to facilitate a more cohesive integration program, countries in the region ought to adopt positive integration measures in the form of common policies on money and payments, industrialization and most significantly, a common policy on investments.
With respect to investment regulation, it is my argument that because liberalization of investment laws at the national level failed to attract the desired flow of foreign investment to the region, ECOWAS Member States ought to harmonize their regulatory framework with a view to ultimately adopting a single legal regime for international investment.
As a framework for analysis, I adopt the criteria of economic efficiency. This is a cost/benefit analysis of the transformations that occur as the result of contractual transactions. Where the costs to the parties exceed or are likely to exceed the benefits of the transaction, it is said to be inefficient. Using these criteria, I argue that in order to inject a level of fairness in investor/host state relations, and to avoid the costs of FDI to host societies exceeding the gains therefrom, international law ought to make binding prescriptions to govern corporate conduct. Based on this reasoning, I suggest a framework for improving the investment climate in West Africa.
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44

Naughton, Colleen Claire. "Assessing Appropriate Technology Handwashing Stations in Mali, West Africa." Scholar Commons, 2013. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4833.

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Proper hand hygiene is the most effective and efficient method to prevent over 1.3 million deaths annually from diarrheal disease and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs). Hand hygiene is also indispensable in achieving the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce the childhood mortality rate by 2/3rds between 1990 and 2015. Handwashing has been found in a systematic review of studies to reduce diarrhea by 47%#37; and is, thus, capable of preventing a million deaths (Curtis et. al., 2003). Despite this evidence, hand washing rates remain seriously low in the developing world (Scott et al., 2008). This study developed and implemented a comprehensive monitoring strategy of five usage variables (i.e., soap usage, functionality, presence of cleansing agent, ground wetness under station, amount of water in the jug) for 42-64 appropriate technology handwashing stations. These stations were monitored throughout 2011-2013 in two communities in Mali, West Africa. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) results include: 1) a 29%#37; decrease in soap usage from dry (October-June) to rainy seasons (July-September), 2) 35%#37; decrease in stations with presence of cleansing agent between 2011 and 2012, 3) higher station usage for stations in households with higher scores on the Progress out of Poverty Index® , 4) 27%#37; less of the stations far from a water source (35 meters-172 meters away) had a cleansing agent present than stations close to a water source (less than 35 meters) during the rainy season. Station usage also differed based on gender of the handwashing station owner in the two communities where stations built by women were used more in Zeala than those in Nci'bugu. In contrast to Zeala, handwashing stations built by men in Nci'bugu had higher soap usage and usage variable proportions than those built by women. Handwashing training and promotions resulted in 98%#37; of households reporting that they wash their hands with soap in 2012 from 0%#37; in 2011. Altogether, this study designed and implemented a robust monitoring system that succeeded in quantifying handwashing station usage for over two years. In-depth analysis of the data established six sustainability factors for handwashing stations (gender, training, water, seasonality, wealth, and monitoring) that are critical for lasting handwashing behavior change and successful hygiene interventions to save lives.
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45

Abdussalam, Auwal Farouk. "Climate influences on infectious diseases in Nigeria, West Africa." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2014. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5368/.

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Meningitis and cholera have remained major health burden in Nigeria, especially in the heavily populated northwest region – which is identified as one of the “hotspots” of climate change. The strong sensitivity that both diseases exhibit to climate is raising concern that future anthropogenic climate change may exacerbate the occurrence of the diseases. This thesis aimed at modelling the influences of climate on the incidence of the selected diseases, and assessing their future risk in northwest Nigeria. The aim is achieved by first, investigating and understanding the spatial and time characteristics of both meteorological and diseases conditions in the region. This was followed by developing and validating suites of empirical statistical models capable of explaining and predicting both diseases. Models that are specifically designed for climate change studies were applied to estimate the future impact of climate change, by forcing them with simulations from an ensemble of statistically downscaled Atmosphere-ocean Global Climate Models (AOGCMs), for three different scenarios in the early and late 21st century. Results from developed models indicate the significant roles of both meteorological and socioeconomic factors on incidence of diseases. Evaluation of models developed with 1-month lagged explanatory variables suggest the potential to predict both diseases cases up to a month to aid decision making. Projection results suggest that future temperature increases due to climate change has the potential to significantly increase diseases cases in all scenarios and time slices. It is noteworthy that the projections result represents only the climatological potential for increased cases due to climate change, assuming that the present prevention strategies remain similar in the future.
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46

Qiu, Xin S. M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Simulation and visualization of malaria transmission In West Africa." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104560.

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Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computation for Design and Optimization Program, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 73-76).
This thesis consists of a simulation-based study and a data visualization framework development focusing on malaria transmission in West Africa. The simulation-based study introduces the concept of hysteresis in malaria transmission, which is defined as the dependence of malaria transmission on initial conditions of the system, characterizing the dry season. The simulation results confirm that the hysteresis effect does exist in malaria transmission demonstrated in the significant effects of initial prevalence and immunity level of the population. The persistence of the hysteresis effect is stronger in a relatively high transmission environment than in low transmission environments. In addition, the study highlights the importance of sustainable malaria control and resource allocation in the reduction of malaria transmission. It illustrates that exposure-reduction malaria control programs like the distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) will result in a loss of acquired immunity for the population. If the ITN coverage is discontinued after a period of time, relatively strong malaria resurgence will occur. This thesis also presents a web-based mapping and visualization tool for spatio-temporal data like malaria transmission predictions. The framework is developed using open source software and is not only interactive but also web-based; hence, it can deliver spatio-temporal data to the public more effectively than traditional applications. The tool contains the following two main components: the visualization interface and the interactive maps. When the user interacts with the tool, such as clicking on the map, relevant graphics and numerical data will be requested and displayed in the visualization interface. The interactive map, facilitated by animation controls, allows users to view map animations and explore how different climate and malaria transmission data changes over time and space. The visualization framework itself is customizable and has also been used to publish and visualize temperature projections in Southwest Asia.
by Xin Qiu.
S.M.
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47

Julier, Adele. "Modern pollen-vegetation relationships in Ghana, tropical West Africa." Thesis, Open University, 2018. http://oro.open.ac.uk/54352/.

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Understanding the pollen assemblages produced by modern tropical vegetation, and improving the taxonomic resolution of pollen identification are vital in generating high quality interpretations of fossil pollen assemblages. Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana, is a 1 million year old meteorite impact crater-lake, in which pollen has been deposited tracking vegetation change, including the expansion and contraction of grass dominated landscapes evidenced by very high proportions of Poaceae pollen. This thesis explores the modern pollen-vegetation relationships of a forest-savannah transitional mosaic, a moist semi-deciduous forest and a wet evergreen rainforest in Ghana, using artificial pollen traps. It also tests the ability of Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR) to identify Poaceae pollen to below family level. Characteristic taxa from the forest-savannah mosaic landscape were Poaceae and Melastomataceae/Combretaceae, with these reaching 61% and 73% respectively. The moist semi-deciduous site was characterised by Celtis (up to 89%) and Triplochiton (up to 20%), and the wet evergreen rainforest was characterised by Cynometra, Drypetes, Vitex and Homalium (around 10% of pollen sum each). It was found that, using FTIR spectroscopy, it is possible to achieve an 80% classification success rate of pollen to sub-family level within the Poaceae. These results suggest that the threshold of 55% Poaceae pollen previously used to mark the transition between grass dominated and forested landscapes in the Lake Bosumtwi record may be too high, and should be closer to 40%. It is also concluded that the assemblages recovered from interglacial periods of Lake Bosumtwi may represent vegetation that was less similar to wet rainforest and closer to forest-savannah mosaic. This thesis should inform future studies of fossil pollen assemblages recovered from West Africa, and further work on the Lake Bosumtwi record, to enable higher resolution interpretations of fossil pollen assemblages and, therefore, a better understanding of Earth’s past.
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48

Bucknor, Elizabeth Lee. "Implementing Inclusive Education in West Africa| Achieving Sustainable Development." Thesis, The George Washington University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10931628.

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This study examined key factors germane to achieving long-term sustainability of inclusive education for children with disabilities in West Africa. International initiatives such as Education for All (EFA) have been driving forces in increasing access to primary education for children worldwide; however, reports show that children with disabilities in developing countries are still not being provided with equal educational opportunities. With the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is renewed momentum to ensure that children in marginalized groups, specifically those with disabilities, are receiving quality access to primary school. International development organizations in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) have committed to providing funding and program implementation assistance to developing countries who have become country partners with the GPE. Of the 36 country partners of the GPE, 15 are uniquely situated in one region of West Africa, making it a desirable geographic region to research the implementation of education development projects. In analyzing the project implementation process and its ability to provide long-term sustainability of inclusive education, an awareness of the global policy context and the grassroots implementation were factored in. Through a qualitative interviewing process, the informed perspectives of experienced education development workers were synthesized. This study asserted that key administrators of education development projects with a written component that focuses on the inclusion of children with disabilities were able to add insights from their field experience and bridge the global-local binary of policy implementation. The findings of this research have potential implications to further inform new policy creation and future project implementation.

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49

Serra, Renata. "An economic analysis of child fostering in West Africa." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1996. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/272495.

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50

Carr, Cynthia Hewson Carleton University Dissertation Geology. "Hydrogeology of Zio and Yoto prefectures, Togo, West Africa." Ottawa, 1988.

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