Les poisons de flèches utilisés par les Pygmées de la préfecture de la Lobaye (République Centrafricaine)

Les détenteurs des savoirs traditionnels sont généralement des personnes âgées. Souvent, celles-ci meurent sans transmettre leurs connaissances aux jeunes de plus en plus désintéressés. Ainsi, avant que cela ne soit trop tard, nous nous sommes fixés pour objectif de rassembler les  informations sur les poisons de flèches utilisés par les Pygmées de la préfecture de la Lobaye. Pour cela, nous avons conduit des enquêtesethnobotaniques. Quinze personnes ont été interrogées, quatorze  Pygmées Aka et un « villageois ». Au total, nous avons recensé 25 espèces de plantes pour lesquelles 21 sont indiquées comme entrant dans la préparation des poisons de flèches dans cette région ; les quatre autres espèces sont utilisées pour la fabrication d’arcs, d’arbalètes et de sagaies. Treize des 25 espèces sont signalées dans la littérature comme étant utilisées comme poisons de flèches. Periploca nigrescens Afzel.  (Apocynaceae) constitue l’élément principal de plusieurs poisons.Mots clés : Poisons de flèches, Pygmées, enquêtes ethnobotaniques, République Centrafricaine

Structure and play: rethinking regulation in the higher education sector

This paper explores possible tactics for academics working within a context of increasing regulation and constraint. One suggested tactic is to move outside of a creativity-conformity binary. Rather than understanding creativity and conformity as separable, where one is seen as excluding the other, the authors consider the potential of examining the relationships between them. The theme of 'structure and play' illustrates the argument. In the first part of the paper, using various examples from art and design - fields generally associated with creativity - the authors explore the interrelatedness of creativity and conformity. For example, how might design styles, which are generally understood as creative outcomes, constrain creativity and lead to conformity within the design field? Is fashion producing creativity or conformity? Conversely, the ways in which conformity provides the conditions for creativity are also examined. For example, the conformity imposed by the state on artists in the former communist bloc contributed to a thriving underground arts movement which challenged conformity and state regulation. Continuing the theme of 'structure and play', the authors recount a story from an Australian university which foregrounds the ongoing renegotiation of power relations in the academy. This account illustrates how programmatic government in a university, with its aim of regulating conduct, can contribute to unanticipated outcomes. The authors propose that a Foucauldian view of distributed power is useful for academics operating in a context of increasing regulation, as it brings into view sites where power might begin to be renegotiated

Regeneration naturelle des especes ligneuses dans la foret de Ngotto (Republique Centrafricaine)

L’étude envisagée a pour objectif d’analyser le potentiel de la régénération naturelle des espèces ligneuses de la forêt de Ngotto (République  Centrafricaine). En considérant la régénération naturelle comme la population de brins (juvéniles) en sous-bois, les proportions d’essences juvéniles ont été évaluées pour chaque syntaxon (groupement) identifié au sein des synusies arbustive, sous-arbustive et herbacée haute. Il en ressort que la régénération est en général pauvre le long des récentes pistes d’exploitation, dans les jeunes chablis et les zones dominées par les Marantaceae. En revanche, la régénération est abondante le long des vieilles pistes d’exploitation et dans le sous-bois de forêt «intacte».Mots-clés : Régénération naturelle, forêt tropicale, République CentrafricaineNATURAL REGENERATIONOFWOODYSPECIES INTHE FOREST NGOTTO (CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC)The proposed study aims to analyze the potential for natural regeneration of woody species in Ngotto forest (Central African Republic). Considering the natural regeneration as the population of strands (juveniles) in the undergrowth, the proportions of juvenile species were evaluated for each syntaxon (group) identified within synusiae shrub, sub-shrub and  herbaceous high. It shows that regeneration is generally poor along the tracks recent operating in young Chablis and areas dominated by Marantaceae. There is an abundant regeneration along the old logging roads and in the forest undergrowth «intact».Keywords : Natural regeneration, rainforest, Central African Republi

Caractéristiques structurales et écologiques des phytocénoses forestières de la forêt classée d’itchèdè (département du plateau, sud-est bénin)

Notre étude phytosociologique a été menée dans la forêt classée d’Itchèdè (6°59’-7°00’N et 2°37’-2°38’ E). Elle a pour objectif de mieux connaître la forêt pour un meilleur suivi de sa dynamique en vue d’asseoir à terme, une base fiable de son aménagement et de sa gestion durable. Nous avons utilisé l’approche synusiale intégrée pour identifier et caractériser les communautés végétales. La topographie et les sols ont été étudiés à travers la mesure des pentes, l’appréciation de la texture tactile à travers des profils texturaux effectués sur 50 cm de profondeur, la descriptionde profils pédologiques complétée par des analyses d’échantillons de sol au laboratoire. L’étude des paramètres dendrométriques et sylvicoles s’est faite à l’intérieur de placettes circulaires couvrant chacune 0,0314 ha pour les plantations forestières et 0,0615 ha pour la forêt naturelle.Les résultats ont révélé la présence de six phytocénoses dont quatre phytocénoses non pionnières de sous-bois. Les caractéristiques dendrométriques des phytocénoses permettent de déduire que la forêt naturelle d’Itchèdè est une formation secondaire assez dégradée mais relativement riche en sujets de grands diamètres en comparaison avec les autres forêts du Bénin.Mots-clés : phytosociologie synusiale, phytocénoses, stations forestières, Itchèdè, BéninThe main purpose of the phytosociological study in Itchèdè forest reserve (6°59’ to 7°00’ N and 2°37’ to 2°38’ E) was to contribute to the sustainable management of the forest. Phytosociological survey was done using the synusial approach. Soils and topography were studied through textural profiles appreciation in the first 50 cm of the soil, pedological profiles description and laboratory analysis. Dendrometric and sivicultural parameters were studied inside circular plots of 0.0314 ha for plantations and 0.0615 ha for natural forest. The study revealed the existence of six plant-communities including four non pioneer plant-communities were identified and described. Based on dendrometric parameters of the natural forest, we assume that Itchèdè forest reserve is a secondary degraded forest but somewhat rich in trees with high diameters in comparison with other natural forest in Benin

Ecological and silvicultural indicatory value of plant-communities of Koto forest reserve (Centre-Benin)

A study was carried out in Koto forest reserve in central Benin (6°56’ to 7°02’ of north lat. and 02°03’ to 02°09’ of east long), in order to contribute to the sustainable management of the forest. Phytosociological inventory was done using the synusial approach. Soils were studied through texture surveys, pedological profiles description and laboratory analysis. Silvicultural parameters of plantations were studied using temporary sample plots of 300 m². The study helps to identify and describe twenty-two basic plantcommunities named synusia. Based on their relationships, the synusia have been combined to describe seven phytocoenoses (plant-communities). Each non pioneer phytocoenose is an expression of specific ecological conditions. The study of plantation productivity has shown remarkable homogeneity of productivity level within each non pioneer phytocoenose. Analysis of variance reveals a significant difference at 5% of probability level between the productivity levels of the phytocoenoses. Three productivity levels are identified according to phytocoenoses. The study leads to the conclusion that phytosociology is a reliable tool for forest management

Unravelling social constructionism

Social constructionist research is an area of rapidly expanding influence that has brought together theorists from a range of different disciplines. At the same time, however, it has fuelled the development of a new set of divisions. There would appear to be an increasing uneasiness about the implications of a thoroughgoing constructionism, with some regarding it as both theoretically parasitic and politically paralysing. In this paper I review these debates and clarify some of the issues involved. My main argument is that social constructionism is not best understood as a unitary paradigm and that one very important difference is between what Edwards (1997) calls its ontological and epistemic forms. I argue that an appreciation of this distinction not only exhausts many of the disputes that currently divide the constructionist community, but also takes away from the apparent radicalism of much of this work

The Metropolis and Evangelical Life: Coherence and Fragmentation in the ‘Lost City of London’

This article examines the interplay of different processes of cultural and subjective fragmentation experienced by conservative evangelical Anglicans, based on an ethnographic study of a congregation in central London. The author focuses on the evangelistic speaking practices of members of this church to explore how individuals negotiate contradictory norms of interaction as they move through different city spaces, and considers their response to tensions created by the demands of their workplace and their religious lives. Drawing on Georg Simmel’s ‘The Metropolis and Mental Life’, the author argues that their faith provides a sense of coherence and unity that responds to experiences of cultural fragmentation characteristic of everyday life in the city, while simultaneously leading to a specific consciousness of moral fragmentation that is inherent to conservative evangelicalism