The Mauritian Election of 2005: An Unprecedented Increase of Women in Parliament

Before the 2005 election, women’s legislative representation in Mauritius had always been one of the lowest in the African continent, and the lowest in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Although the number of women in the Mauritian legislature has fluctuated over time, the latest election on July 3, 2005 brought an unprecedented increase in the number of women from 4 (5.7 per cent) to 12 (17.1 per cent) in its 70-member legislature. Before this increase, the number of female members of parliament (MPs) had never exceeded six. If so, what contributed to such a sharp increase? This study addresses this question by examining the factors that helped bring about this unprecedented increase. Specifically, we discuss the political experience and name recognition of certain female candidates, efforts of women’s NGOs, effective matching of female candidates to the profiles of constituencies, contagion of nominating women, and women’s effective election campaigns as the major factors. These factors were also present in the previous election years to some extent, but they were more visible and better orchestrated in 2005

Cités horticoles en sursis ? L'agriculture urbaine dans les grandes Niayes au Sénégal. Sous la direction de Safiétou Touré Fall et Abdou Salam Fall, CRDI, 2001, ISBN 0‑88936‑936‑4, 120 p.

The urbanisation process in Africa has in recent years attracted an increasing amount of attention amongst scholars both outside and in Africa ‑ with the only difference that the latter continue to remain largely "invisible" in the literature. Urbanisation is a subject which has been tackled by scholars from various disciplines ‑ geography, demography, anthropology, sociology, history and development economics to mention just a few. However, development economics has only recently recognised ..

Gender, Employment and Welfare Provisioning: The Mauritian Experience

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The Gendered Face of the Mauritian Legislature

This article aims to provide an overview of the state of gender representivity in Mauritian politics. The author argues that the Mauritian legislature is plagued with issues of sociocultural bias, at the expense of women's limited participation in the nation's political arena. Transformation of the legislature is required in order to meet the needs and interests of Mauritian women, but despite the increased involvement of women in Mauritian politics during the 2005 elections, the political arena continues to be dominated by ethnicity and caste. Moreover, the recent increase in the number of women in the Mauritian legislature does not guarantee the irreversibility of gains made. The article concludes by stating that gender-friendly electoral reforms are a necessary but not suffi cient condition for gender equitable power-sharing. African Insight Vol. 36 (3&4) 2006: pp. 160-17

Presence of phytoplasma infections in tomato plants in Mauritius.

Phytoplasmas were detected and identified in some tomato cultivation areas in Mauritius. Symptoms most frequently observed were abnormal shoot proliferation, stunting, reduced leaf and fruit size and shortened internodes. In field-grown tomatoes the incidence of abnormalities rarely exceeded 10%, but under hydroponics up to 100% incidence has been recorded. Two different phytoplasmas were identified by PCR/RFLP analyses. Field-grown tomatoes were infected with a phytoplasma belonging to ribosomal subgroup 16SrI-C and the hydroponically-grown tomatoes were infected with a phytoplasma belonging to ribosomal group 16SrV. Further studies need to be done in order to determine their occurrence, incidence, characterization, host range and mode of transmission, so that eventually the most effective method to control phytoplasma diseases will be determined

Fishing or fish farming: The conflict between a Crown grant of salmon fishings in the sea and other Crown rights in the sea in Scotland

There is a rising concern over the impact of aquaculture, particularly salmon farming, on the aquatic environment. Two Scottish parliamentary investigations have revealed concerns over the environmental impacts of the industry, particularly with regard to the potential hazard to wild salmonids. Many have pointed to regulatory complexity being a cause of the poor regulation. Representatives of the Crown Estate Scotland stated: ‘We have the right bits and pieces, but they have not been put together in the right order’. Yet it is the Crown which grants the leases of fish farms to their operators and therefore the Crown is where the ultimate responsibility for their impact sits. If changes to public controls are required, we must first fully understand the roles of the public agencies involved

How well do people understand work monitoring terminology?

While digital work monitoring has been on the rise for years, it is unclear whether the same could be said about workers' awareness. If the developments in work monitoring practices have outpaced public awareness and understanding, workers and their representatives may not be able to develop informed perspectives on what is happening in workplaces. Furthermore, laws and policies may fall short of securing the rights of workers if the way that law and policy talks about workplace monitoring is inaccessible. To gauge workers' awareness of the topic, we conducted an online survey to assess workers' understanding of eight work monitoring terms. Respondents (N=100) were not accurate in providing definitions of these terms, despite having indicated that they were familiar with seven out of the eight terms. This suggests that workers are likely not well-informed about the subject. The results highlight the importance of a more nuanced and informed approach by decision-makers in crafting laws and policies related to work monitoring. Researchers investigating workplace monitoring need to pay particular attention to how they communicate with participants --- a shared understanding of terminology cannot be taken for granted

Detection of phytoplasma infection in okra in Mauritius

Using PCR and RFLP techniques, 16SrXII and 16SrV phytoplasma groups were identified from okra leaf samples originating from Mauritius. The most frequent symptoms observed on okra plants were leaf yellowing, leaf distortions, curling and plant stunting. The phytoplasma infection was widely distributed across the island and a high incidence of 75 to 100% was recorded at inspected sites. This is a first report of the presence of phytoplasmas in okra in Mauritius

Detection of phytoplasmas in watercress and onion plants from Mauritius. Plant Health Progress http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/php/elements/sum.aspx?id=9281&photo=5060 September 30.

Different phytoplasmas were detected and identified in watercress and onion plants from Mauritius. Symptoms observed on watercress were purple coloration of leaves, plant stunting, and reduced leaf size. In onion, witches\u2019 broom and virescence were observed in the inflorescence. Disease incidence in watercress ponds ranged from 30 to 70%, while in onion seed production plots, it was around 10%. PCR/RFLP analyses as well as sequencing of 16S ribosomal gene enabled the identification of phytoplasmas belonging to two ribosomal groups, namely stolbur and aster yellows, from the two aforementioned crops