7,319 research outputs found
Understanding the Persistent Low Performance of African Agriculture
We explain the persistence of low performances in African agriculture by analyzing the determinants of farmers' decisions to modernize their farming practices. Owing to sociocultural factors specific to Sub-Saharan Africa, farmers' decisions on farming practices are strategic complements. We demonstrate that the modernization game these farmers play admits two pure-strategy, Pareto-ranked, symmetric Nash-equilibria. The equilibrium where all farmers choose to modernize their farming methods is preferred to the one where all of them choose to stick to a traditional method. We argue that scarcity and economic opportunities put forward by neo-Boserupian theories of induced-innovation as determinants of the onset agricultural innovations are, in the context of African countries, only necessary, but not sufficient to generate modernization of farming methods. Deliberate action to enhance aadoption of agricultural innovations must therefore take the African's sociocultural context into consideration, or risk failure.Sub-Saharan Africa, Agricultural modernization, Fertilizer adoption, Supermodular games
Canadois et Caraïbes sous le regard des chroniqueurs du xviie siÚcle
Les dĂ©buts de la colonisation des Antilles et du Canada par la France sont exactement contemporains, et souvent les mĂȘmes personnages se retrouvent sur les deux territoires habitĂ©s par des AmĂ©rindiens, partageant plusieurs traits communs. Pourtant, les reprĂ©sentations quâen donnent les chroniqueurs sont trĂšs diffĂ©rentes. Cela tient moins Ă des discordances ethniques ou gĂ©ographiques quâau type de rapport Ă©tabli avec les populations autochtones. Les chroniqueurs des Antilles, Ă part quelques exceptions (Breton, notamment), ne partageant pas la vie des indigĂšnes, comme le missionnaire Lejeune ou le militaire Lahontan, se rabattent plus facilement sur les mythes de lâĂge dâor ou du Paradis terrestre.French colonization of the Antilles and Canada began at exactly the same period, and often the same figures, possessing a number of traits in common, are found on both territories inhabited by the Amerindians. Chroniclersâ representations of them, however, are very different. This is explained less by ethnic or geographic discrepancies than by the type of relationship formed with the Native populations. Because the chroniclers of the Antilles, with a few exceptions (Breton for the most part) did not share the life of the Natives, as did the missionary Lejeune or the soldier Lahontan, it was easier for them to fall back on myths of a Golden Age or an earthly Paradise
Le smart growth et le nouvel urbanisme : SynthÚse de la littérature récente et regard sur la situation canadienne
BasĂ©e sur une revue de la littĂ©rature rĂ©cente sur les sujets du smart growth et du nouvel urbanisme, lâĂ©tude vise dâabord Ă donner une nouvelle apprĂ©ciation de ces deux mouvements et Ă prĂ©ciser les conditions gĂ©nĂ©rales de leur mise en oeuvre. Lâarticle vise ensuite Ă dĂ©gager un portrait gĂ©nĂ©ral de la progression de ces deux mouvements et, plus largement, du paradigme du dĂ©veloppement urbain durable au Canada. Si lâadhĂ©sion massive aux principes urbanistiques de ce paradigme est positive, lâauteur rappelle quâil faut ĂȘtre prudent, car plusieurs conditions sont nĂ©cessaires pour que se concrĂ©tisent les diverses initiatives publiques dans ce domaine. Ă cet Ă©gard, seul le temps et des outils adĂ©quats de suivi permettront de juger rĂ©ellement du succĂšs de ces initiatives.Based on a review of the recent literature on the topics of Smart Growth and New Urbanism, this paper provides a synthesis and theoretical commentary on these complex movements and the conditions required for their implementation. The paper also aims at giving an overview of the progress of these two movements and, more generally, of the urban sustainability paradigm in Canada. While progress appears promising, the author points out that numerous conditions must still be met before the public initiatives in this field can be implemented. A long term perspective and adequate evaluation tools will eventually permit judgement as to the success or the failure of these initiatives
Ăcrire DostoĂŻevski : Miomandre et Bove au tournant de 1930
Cette Ă©tude traite de deux romans marquĂ©s par « lâinfluence » de DostoĂŻevski : Ămes russes de Francis de Miomandre et Un Raskolnikoff dâEmmanuel Bove. Alors que le roman de Miomandre met Ă profit certains des principaux traits dâĂ©criture qui tĂ©moignent de la maniĂšre relativement stĂ©rĂ©otypĂ©e dont les romanciers de lâentre-deux-guerres pouvaient recevoir lâoeuvre de DostoĂŻevski, celui de Bove accompagne sa « lecture » du romancier russe dâun renouvellement mĂȘme de la pensĂ©e esthĂ©tique et mĂ©taphysique de celui-ci. Bove ne fait pas que reconduire le personnage de Raskolnikoff, il en propose une figure nouvelle, propre Ă lâĂ©poque, et qui conduit Ă ce que jâappelle « lâhĂ©roĂŻsme de lâinaction ».This study focuses on two novels marked by Dostoevskyâs âinfluenceâ: Ămes russes (Russian Souls) by Francis de Miomandre and Un Raskolnikoff (A Raskolnikov) by Emmanuel Bove. Whereas Miomandreâs novel takes advantage of some of the main writing characteristics that testify to the relatively stereotyped manner in which novelists between the wars could receive Dostoevskyâs work, Boveâs novel accompanies his âreadingâ of Dostoevsky with a very renewal of the masterâs aesthetic and metaphysical thought. Not only does Bove breathe new life into the character of Raskalnikov, but he proposes a new figure as well, one that is specific to the time and leads to what I call âthe heroism of inaction.
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