Social Sciences and Humanities > Home > Science, Technology, Development > Issue
As geographic concentrations of businesses and related institutions around a single sector, clusters have become promising drivers of economic transformation and innovation. Inspired by successes observed in developed countries, numerous initiatives have sought to understand their specificities in different contexts. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, more pronounced structural, economic, and institutional challenges raise questions about the impact of these particularities on cluster development and competitiveness. Based on a literature review, our study analyzes the specificities of sub-Saharan clusters by examining agglomeration effects, resource allocation challenges, and the crucial role of public intervention. While informal clusters are flexible, they face limits in competitiveness and international market integration, largely due to a lack of formal governance and connections with research and financial institutions. The study thus highlights the importance of stable and continuous public policies to maximize their potential, while also proposing directions for future research on intervention models suited to African contexts.
The latest IPCC report highlights the irreversible environmental damage caused by human activity, emphasizing regional disparities and the increased vulnerability of countries in the Global South. This alarming context of the sustainability crisis urgently calls on universities to provide relevant knowledge and solutions. By integrating responsibility into their teaching, research, and research valorization missions, responsible universities play a crucial role in training decision-makers committed to SDGs, conducting research relevant to societal challenges, and developing responsible innovations. This article seeks to examine how universities in the Global South contribute to the formulation and implementation of solutions to address sustainability challenges in their regions. It highlights that the concept of a responsible university is especially significant for the Global South due to the disproportionate impacts of climate change, which exacerbates socio-economic inequalities.
This text describes and analyzes the influence of an ethnographic survey experience on the reconfiguration of micro perceptions and practices in the register of health and illness in rural Burkina Faso. This study aims to see how the relationship with the people surveyed made possible by the use of the ethnographic method has, over the course of the data collection stay, contributed to influencing the adoption of modern healthcare recourse practices by users. health care services, offered in formal health centers in the locality. The methodology is based on an ethnographic field approach carried out over more than ten (10) months of in situ presence in the Hauts Bassins region. During this investigation period, more than one hundred (100) free interviews and as many semi-structured interviews were carried out with a theoretical sample of community actors (people in households and other social places on the site of the study), health workers, informal therapists. However, only around ten semi-structured interviews were used to support the argument of this text. From the results of the study, it appears that the relationship between the researcher and the people surveyed leads to an evolution in therapeutic choice practices. Several people interviewed make more systematic use of modern health services, which was not the case despite the existence of health centers. Ultimately, it therefore follows that ethnography as an activity included in the process of scientific data collection can, through the positioning of the researcher, contribute to improving the use of formal modern health services.
Madagascar is one of the countries richest in biodiversity. The mangrove swamp is part of this biologic diversity of which the West part of Madagascar possesses the majority of it. Threats as the climatic changes and the pressures anthropic weigh on the mangrove swamps. Our objective fundamental of this survey aims to promote the restoration of the mangrove swamp on the dynamism of growth of Avicennia marina in Bombetoka Belemboka Mahajanga. Two hypotheses have been proposed, on the one hand the restoration of the mangrove swamp on the dynamism of growth of Avicennia marina, and on the other hand the creation of a livable habitat to the species associated to the profit fairness of the riparian populations. Of this fact, some investigations ethnobotaniquec has been done by the local population and also a follow-up of culture on the 4 substrata. The data are treated statistically on Anova and Kruskal - Wallis. The gotten results showed that the rate of germination is better in the A1 substratum (94%), A2 (87%), and A3 (86%) on the other hand in the A4 substratum (71%) the death rate is observed strongly. For the growth of the Avicennia marina species, there is a meaningful difference between the different substrata via the length, the width, the number of the leaves and the height, the diameter of the young plantations. The restoration and the management will be necessary to consider the perpetuation and the survival of the rest of our inshore resources for the future.
Over the past two decades, the use of Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the classroom as part of the learning environment has grown considerably. The value of the ICT in education (ICTE) is now widely recognized and accepted. The promptness of development in the digital has put forth pressure on organizations, particularly higher education institutions, to integrate ICT in teaching activities as well as in the entire university environment. These pressures have involved all the actors in higher education, who are increasingly improving the quality of their services. Within the same vein, teachers and learners are currently taking courses in a hybrid mode, to be acquainted with the new learning strategies. Previous research has focused heavily on studying the educational performance of students with regard to the use of ICT independently of the contribution of cognition and appropriation of ICT in student performance. Accordingly, this research explores the impact of the dimensions of cognitive absorption (CA), inspired by the flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), on the appropriation of ICT. We conducted a quantitative study among students of Moroccan public universities in the Casablanca-Settat region, and used the structural equation method (SEM), through the SMART PLS 4.0 software. The study used data collected from a sample of 184 students. In our study, the structural equation modeling revealed that CA has a significant and positive impact on ICT appropriation among public higher education students. The findings indicate that an exploration of CA in the Moroccan higher education environment is important to understand students’ learning needs for better educational performance.
The article questions the development of the territory, property rights and management of the built heritage of some colonial religious buildings observed in Lubumbashi. The city of Lubumbashi, like most cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was initially born of colonialism. Its most telling infrastructures were made at that time. This is the case for certain reference religious buildings that we have observed with the aim of answering the question of work worded above. To do this, we relied on diversified documentary research, direct observation in the field but also, meeting on selected sites with resource persons, information and established religious leaders. Through these cultural buildings, we have noted the co-existing cultural diversity in Lubumbashi. The architectural types are in the image of each initiating people. The article believes it has highlighted the necessity for conservation of these buildings to be included in the cultural heritage of Lubumbashi and the exemplarity that they produce in the development of the post-colonial city.
Plastics pose a very worrying environmental problem in Faranah, because their production is increasing day after day and solutions to manage them remain insufficient. They continue to invade the streets and public spaces to congregate around sanitation routes, or to be transported by the wind and carried by the runoff of water from the gutters towards the Niger rRiver. This study presents an inventory of plastic pollution in the Niger River and the impacts on water quality, aquatic ecosystems and agricultural activities. To achieve this we have surveys, direct observation and experimental tests. The 8,374 households in Faranah produce a total quantity of 36,500 Tons/year of household waste of which plastics represent 20%, i.e. 7,300 Tons/year or approximately 20 Tons/day or 0.4Kg/day/inhabitant. Plastic bags from the drinking water production and sale industries represent 55% and packaging 23%. This plastic waste is very poorly managed: 75% is thrown into illegal dumps, 40% of which ends up on the banks and in the bed of the Niger River. This results in potential pollution of the Niger River’s water with the presence of heavy metals, bacteria, parasites, and fungi; a high content of suspended solids (MES) on average 4140.33 mg/l; a PH which varies between the extremes 7.5 to 8.2. This plastic pollution leads to the loss of biodiversity, the filling of the river bed, the considerable reduction in flow, and persistent flooding. In agriculture we have observed the reduction in agricultural areas, germination difficulties, inhibition of photosynthesis, prevention of infiltration and drop in yield.
This study investigates the integration of indigenous knowledge and practices within the curricula of educational institutions in Francophone West Africa, focusing on architecture and building materials. Acknowledging a duality between modernity and tradition, our research employs a qualitative approach, combining literature analysis, interviews with domain professionals, and case studies. We highlight the wealth of traditional knowledge and its potential to enrich the sciences of contemporary architecture and construction techniques while recognizing the obstacles to their integration linked to educational structures, perceptions of science, development, and a notion of modernity largely inherited from the West. These barriers also appear as inflexible educational policies, undervaluation of local knowledge, and a certain resistance to change within academic institutions. There is a growing awareness of the need to integrate indigenous knowledge in this sector to promote sustainable development and innovation. This suggests a re-evaluation of programs and curricula by fully associating indigenous knowledge with contemporary challenges. It is crucial that knowledge institutions recognize the complementarity between indigenous approaches and contemporary technologies. This would allow the shaping of a generation that is technically competent but also culturally sensitive, ready to draw on this indigenous knowledge to devise solutions tailored to local realities. Ultimately, the implementation of reformed programs will enrich architectural discourse and encourage the creation of spaces that reflect a commitment to sustainability and cultural relevance. Our discussion offers insights into these dynamics and suggests avenues for the effective integration of indigenous knowledge into education and professional practice, aiming to promote an architectural development that is culturally rich, ecologically sustainable, and economically viable.
The conception of the biologic culture of the spirulina of the species Arthrospira platensis is based truly on the survey and the use of inputs. The objective of this survey is to raise the topic utopian on the biologic spirulina, while using a contribution of inputs organic majority on the one hand an ethical agriculture responsible for the rigorous environmental norms and on the other hand a systemic and ethical approach in algo-ecological positive. For the methodology of the experimentation, two basins of 4m3 of every have been used of which one for the conventional culture while using the chemical inputs and the other for the biologic spirulina culture while using the manure of plant castor oil plant and the brewing of the banana skin. According to the results, 688 g and 348 g have been harvested respectively for the conventional culture and the biologic culture of the spirulina at the time of a first harvest. At the time of a microscopic observation, the conventional culture has a fast growth that presents a tight structure spirulina. While the one of biologic is slow with a baffled structure. The physico-chemical parameters different not meaningfully. While comparing the two surroundings, the conventional culture is richer in inputs that the biologic culture while observing the lack of carbon, a nourishing source for the development of the spirulina. In short, the biologic spirulina culture is a better complete food source of antioxidants, rich in plant origin protein. He/it provides a medical profit including the prevention and the treatment of the illnesses. She/it also participates in the sequestration of the atmospheric carbon and a source of motto.
Cartography dates back millennia, when the first civilizations began to draw rudimentary maps to navigate, establish borders, manage territories and represent natural phenomena. Over time, cartography has become more and more sophisticated thanks to technological and scientific advances. This article will present the main stages of the evolution of cartography and highlight the trends, key factors and significant changes that have taken place over the years. Given that African cartography has often been marginalized in the dominant historical narratives, we will highlight the importance of recognizing the geographical knowledge existing since prehistory within African civilizations in the representation of their territory. In doing so, our work will provide a critical analysis of the past in order to illuminate the present and guide future research and actions in the field, taking into account the practices of the African population.
Madagascar is an extraordinary island due to its specific wealth whose specific endemic rate rises to 96%. However, some forest zones are again little known despite being threatened. Such is the case of the ecosystems of Ankilahila (coastal dry forest and mangrove swamp) in the farming township of Betsako. Our objective is to assess the anthropogenic pressures that weigh on it and to provide resolutions so that there is ecological resilience. As a result, An inventory followed by ecological summaries using the linear transect method of Duvigneaud and plots of Braun-blanquet over a surface of 500 m², as well as some investigations have been carried out. Thus, 62 species distributed in 42 families and 7 species distributed in 5 families have been inventoried respectively in the dry forest and the mangrove swamp of Ankilahila. On the subject of dry coastal forests, fires (30%), clearing (6%),cutting (19%), hunting and poaching of birds and lemurs (5%), the harvesting of secondary forest products (9%) (Raphia, tuber plants and honey) have been found. With regard to the mangrove swamp, the cutting of mangrove trees (11%), illicit fishing (5%); hunting of birds and the illicit fishing of crab Scylla serrata (7%) are the major pressures on mangrove swamps. The environmental actions already in place are the tatak’afo or firebreaks, surveillance by villagers and the application of Dina. Furthermore, it is important to maintain the relationship between the conservation of biodiversity and the economic, social, material and cultural well-being of the people.
The coastal zones of Madagascar are constituted of some of the richest natural habitats in the Indian Ocean region. A study on the biological inventory of the Ambanjabe marine natural resources’ management transfer zone in the coastal and marine ecosystems has been carried out. Our work aims to recognize the distribution, abundance or even the threats weighing on this biodiversity in order to sound an alarm, with a view to making an immediate decision about the management of this zone. But, these ecosystems are subject to a continuous deterioration of anthropogenic origin with a close link to population growth. As a hypothesis, the Ambanjabe zone is a site rich in biodiversity following a transfer of management between the local grassroots community, the township and the Waters and Forests service. There are various suitable methods: surveys, introduction of transects, plots and surveys as well as factorial correspondence analysis (FCA). For the results, 43 species were recorded in the marine environment of which 23 were flora and 20 fauna. The dominant families were respectively Fucaceae and Carangidae. Concerning the survey on the coastal ecosystem, 14 species were inventoried of which 7 were flora and 7 fauna dominated by the two families Rhizophoraceae and Ocypodidae.
The Innovation Systems (IS) approach has been widely used since the end of the 1980s and has seen a plethora of terminologies appropriate to the areas visited. This approach has both made it possible to understand the nature of inter-institutional interactions between stakeholders in a system and has influenced public innovation policies in terms of relevant instruments. The approach in terms of IS has been duplicated on numerous territorial scales (regional, local, national) or even sectoral. However, no inter-sectoral proposal has been made within this approach. We thus challenge the concept of One Health in order to be able to propose an Intersectoral Innovation System within the framework of Cameroon. One Health represents an integrated analysis framework connecting animals, plants and their environment. One Health can thus represent a potential axis for building a new Intersectoral Innovation System through better interministerial and intersectoral coordination. In this, we will see how it can be integrated as an intersectoral public policy tool, as well as inserted into this new innovation system in Cameroon.
Madagascar benefits, in some coastal regions, from conditions particularly favorable to penaeid shrimps. The global objective of research is to evaluate the production of catches of industrial shrimps during the first four months in the B zone and the C1 zone of the 2021 campaign. Additionally, the specific objectives of this survey are to: highlight the evolution of the catches; of the Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) and industrial fishing effort; and also to highlight the specific composition of the catches and the abundance of every species caught. For the methodology, observations on land and on board boats, were made in the B fishing zone and the C1 zone. Because of this, five species of penaeids were targeted: Metapenaeuses monoceros, Fenneropenaeus indicus, Penaeus semisulcatus, Penaeus monodon and Marsupenaeus japonicus and the other mixed shrimps. The monthly production between April and July 2021 in the two studied zones varied from 17529 to 32788 kg in the B zone and from 12402 to 24819 kg in the C1 zone. While the variation ofin average Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) was respectively from 397.74 to 2127.21 kg/h in the B zone and 520.84 to 2459.73 kg/h in the C1 zone. The abundance of species catches varied from 43% in the B zone to 45% in the C1 zone, concerning Metapenaeus monoceros and 3% in the B zone and 2% in the C1 zone, concerning Penaeus monodon. Nevertheless, the present document is going to give more indication on the state of the catch yield in relation to the pressure exercised in fishing zones over several decades.
Social action theory is part of a general theory by Tallcot Parson, which brings into debate a unilateral construction of an all-embracing social system, or in practice, a way of life in increasingly shared environments. The Singularity of Artificial Intelligence is a prospective of a human environment substituted by a modeled environment, making Artificial Action a driving force behind human consciousness. The institutionalization of an imaginary homogeneous Africa is the test of cultural diversification consolidated in everyday reality. The setback appears to be the existence of a paradox between the appropriation of the environment of conscious action by the environment of algorithmic action, in which Africa is absent. We can also question this absence at the level of its alignment in an integrated world, with admittedly a unilateral but effective model.
