Francophone Research Articles

Heine’s Divan: West-Eastern Voyages after Goethe

ABSTRACT Heinrich Heine has long been recognized as an early admirer of Goethe’s Divan. In Die romantische Schule, he issues an enthusiastic endorsement that helped popularize Goethe’s late poetry in the French-speaking world, and in his own poetic production, above all in Buch der Lieder, he repeatedly orients himself eastwards in terms of settings and designs. This article considers the language of flowers in Traumbilder I, the allegorical resonances of the Orient in the famous ‘Fichtenbaum’ poem, and the mirroring of Goethe’s Hafiz in the concluding poems of Nordsee II, ‘Fragen’, ‘Der Phönix’, and ‘Im Hafen’. Throughout the cycles of his collection, Heine embarks on West-Eastern voyages after Goethe.

Flemish Radicals, Jacobins, and Nazis: The Francophones of Flanders and Arguments against the State Regulation of Language during the Twentieth Century

Both popular and scholarly treatments of the French-speaking world tend to reify all French speakers into a homogeneous bloc with a deeply state-centered approach to language legislation. Such an analysis, informed by the examples of France and Québec, neglects the specificity of different social and political contexts. In this article, I use the example of the French speakers of Flanders, who often argued against the state regulation of language and in doing so adopted a political discourse that was radically different than that often associated with so-called French speakers, to complicate our understanding of Francophonie as a coherent whole with regard to attitudes on language policy.

Development of an application for accessing and analyzing RDPLF data

The collection of information in the database of a medical registry finds its first interest in the possibility for a doctor and a care team to analyze their results and to compare themselves with other teams for the purpose of sharing experience and knowledge. Since 1986, the French Language Peritoneal Dialysis Registry (RDPLF) has collected data from 45,000 patients with renal failure treated at home in French-speaking countries. A partnership has been created between the RDPLF and Datastorm (https://www.datastorm.fr), the expertise and consultancy subsidiary of the ENSAE-ENSAI Group (National Schools of Economics and Statistics) in order to develop an application that allows to carry out simple statistical queries on the RDPLF database, by means of a user-friendly WEB interface. Thus, any doctor or member of the healthcare team can evaluate, without any special statistical skills, results by region and by French-speaking country. Special access also allows any center to compare its own results with those of a reference region. The generated graphics can be used for presentations during team meetings or for work. The application is based on the R software (https://www.r-project.org) and its SHINY visualization interface (https://shiny.rstudio.com). We report on development modalities and its functionalities (based on preselected criteria: incidence rate, prevalence, survival, infection rate, distribution of treatments, nursing aspects). This article describes how both nurses and doctors can easily realize studies with the application. Its bilingual interface also opens it up to English-speaking communities and thus facilitates international communication.

IFRS, FDI, economic growth and human development: The experience of Anglophone and Francophone African countries

This study examines the relationships of IFRS, FDI, human development and economic growth in Anglophone and Francophone African countries between 1997 and 2017. We find that FDI, openness, schooling, and control of corruption have a positive effect of countries' decisions to adopt IFRS. The results also indicate that FDI has a positive impact on economic growth, and that this positive impact is enhanced by IFRS. Furthermore, we find that Anglophone and common law African countries adopt IFRS more than Francophone countries. Our analysis shows that FDI is positively related to decisions to adopt IFRS in both groups.

La philologie romane est-elle capable de relever les défis du présent?

The article comprises two sections: in Section One I sketch out the history and the evolution of French philology, understood both as an academic discipline and as an academic/administrative unit within Polish universities, officially known as Departments of French (Philology). In Section Two I reflect on my personal experience of that evolution, as it has affected my professional choices and academic career. Both meanings of “French philology” (discipline and institution) are rooted in German academic tradition to which the entire system of Polish humanities is indebted. Until the 1990s, French philology was synonymous with French studies, understood as the teaching and the academic study of French language and literature. Like other humanities departments in Poland, French philology departments inevitably functioned under the pressure of current political forces. Yet, French philologists in Poland never lost touch with the world’s evolving humanities or the changing scholarly paradigms. Following the radical political transformation of 1989, traditional French philology in Po-land opened up to a whole new range of scholarly fields (literatures and cultures of francophone countries), theories (postmodern and postcolonial studies), and approaches (interdisciplinary scho-larship). Thus Polish romanists have joined the international scholarly community. In the article, I document these processes, reflecting on my own university career: I started off as a traditional scholar doing research in the literature of French Middle Ages, then moved on to studying Canadian and American Francophone cultures, to eventually become involved in interdisciplinary studies at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw.

Composing ‘the artistic projection of the future’: the religious life model slide sets of Maison de la Bonne Presse

ABSTRACT With its sequences of projected images, accompanied by narration and often by music, the optical lantern as a communication medium proved to be effective for Christian evangelism, especially through life model slides. The religious life model slide sets or ‘scenes d’après nature’, produced by the Catholic publisher Maison de la Bonne Presse from 1908, hold a particular place in the cultural and media history of France and other Francophone countries. Through these slides, the staff of the projection service at Maison de la Bonne Presse sought to unite religiosity and artistry, truth and beauty. Based on primary sources and materials such as paintings, photographs and collages, not used in any previous study, I examine the different phases of the distinctive production process of the majority of these artistic life model slides, so as to more fully interpret their aesthetic and expressive qualities. Building on a media archaeological approach, I demonstrate how pictorial, photographic, and theatrical techniques were combined to create realistic visual representations of Christian stories for religious propaganda. Not only were these life model slide sets exceptional in their manner of production, combining contemporary techniques of photomontage with traditional Christian iconography, but their material history provides a remarkable illustration of the versatility and the richness of the optical lantern medium.

Internationalizing Professional Development: Using Educational Data Mining to Analyze Learners’ Performance and Dropouts in a French MOOC

This paper uses data mining from a French project management MOOC to study learners’ performance (i.e., grades and persistence) based on a series of variables: age, educational background, socio-professional status, geographical area, gender, self- versus mandatory-enrollment, and learning intentions. Unlike most studies in this area, we focus on learners from the French-speaking world: France and French-speaking European countries, the Caribbean, North Africa, and Central and West Africa. Results show that the largest gaps in MOOC achievements occur between 1) learners from partner institutions versus self-enrolled learners 2) learners from European countries versus low- and middle-income countries, and 3) learners who are professionally active versus inactive learners (i.e., with available time). Finally, we used the CHAID data-mining method to analyze the main characteristics and discriminant factors of MOOC learner performance and dropout.

Francophone students challenges in English language: An example of an Anglophone University in Ghana

The phenomenon of students studying in countries whose lingua franca is different from theirs is normal and a century old practice. However, studying in an academic institution with different lingua franca has its difficulties. This study therefore sought to unravel the challenges that students from Francophone countries in a university in Ghana encounter specifically on four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). The study also inquires about the participants’ coping mechanisms and the institution’s strategies to help such students have smooth university education. The phenomenological approach adopted to study the issues afforded the participants the opportunity to vent the challenges that the Francophone students had. The accounts provided by both students and lecturers, who constituted the study population and the evidence from documentary sources evince that the Francophone students encounter challenges in all four language skills. It also emanated from the interviews that the students employ various strategies to cope with the challenges. The study proffers some mechanisms which could help improve the students’ capacity to thrive in such academic environments to inure to the benefits of both learners and the institution.

Intra-articular injections of platelet-rich plasma in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a consensus statement from French-speaking experts

PurposeThere has been much debate regarding the use of intra-articular injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as symptomatic treatment for knee osteoarthritis. The objective of this consensus was to develop guidelines for PRP injections in knee osteoarthritis according to the French National Authority for Health recommendations.MethodsFifteen physicians from different French-speaking countries (10 rheumatologists, 4 specialists in rehabilitation and sports medicine and 1 radiologist) were selected for their expertise in the areas of PRP and osteoarthritis. A comprehensive literature review was conducted on Medline including all published therapeutic trials, open studies, meta-analysis and systematic reviews focusing on the effects of PRP in knee OA, as well as fundamental studies concerning the characteristics of the various types of PRP and their mechanisms, indexed before April 2019. Using the method recommended by the French National Authority for Health inspired by the Delphi consensus process, 25 recommendations were finally retained and evaluated. The recommendations were classified as appropriate or not appropriate, with strong or relative agreement, or uncertain if a consensus was not achieved.ResultsAmong the 25 recommendations selected, the main ones are the following: (1) Intra-articular injections of PRP are an effective symptomatic treatment for early to moderate knee osteoarthritis. This recommendation was considered appropriate with a relative agreement (Median = 8; rank = 6–9). Level of evidence 1A. (2) A PRP treatment sequence in knee osteoarthritis may include 1–3 injections. This recommendation was considered appropriate with a strong agreement (Median = 9; rank = 7–9). Level of evidence 1A. (3) Leucocytes-poor PRP should be preferred in knee osteoarthritis. This recommendation was considered appropriate with a relative agreement (Median = 8; rank = 5–9). Level of evidence 5. (4) Intra-articular PRP knee injections should be performed under ultrasound or fluoroscopic guidance. This recommendation was considered uncertain with no consensus (Median = 8; rank = 3–9). Level of evidence 5. (5) PRP should not be mixed with an anesthetic or intra-articular corticosteroid. This recommendation was considered appropriate with a relative agreement (Median = 9; rank = 6–9). Level of evidence 5ConclusionThose 25 recommendations should standardize and facilitate the use of IA PRP injections, which are considered by experts as an effective treatment especially in early or moderate knee OA. Although a strong or relative agreement from the experts was obtained for most of the recommendations, many of them had a very low level of evidence (Level 5) and were principally based on the clinical experience of the experts.

Places and spaces of contested identity in the memorials and monuments of Paris

ABSTRACT Paris claims to stand for the whole of France, and sometimes the whole Francophone world. A heavy responsibility therefore lies upon it to represent Francophone identity in the best possible way. Through looking at ways of remembering and memorialising events in French history, we can see the extent to which this is, and has been, successful over time. This article analyses a selection of Parisian monuments and sites of memory through a framework of memory studies and cultural memory, notably Pierre Nora and the postcolonial critique of his work, to investigate the ways in which Francophone identity is manifested and contested in the capital city. The article presents and assesses the Catacombs, the Panthéon, the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation, the Mémorial national de la guerre d’Algérie et des combats du Maroc et de la Tunisie, and the Place de la République, one of France’s longest-standing living memorials, to examine the expression of transnational or multifaceted Francophone identity, and the politics of memory through monuments and memorials.

Studying Higher Education in Multi-Faceted Africa: For a Scientific Analysis of Sector Reforms

Students across the continent, for example in South Africa since 2015, have mobilised to protest the increase in university tuition fees, condemn the marketisation of education, and question the content and purpose of higher education (Botiveau 2016). In the Francophone countries of Africa, academic staff have attended a great many workshops aiming to reconfigure their study programmes according to the Licence (Bachelor)-Master-Doctorate (LMD) model, a process which entails calculating the nu...

RELATIONS ENTRE DISCIPLINES SCOLAIRES ET « ÉDUCATIONS À » : PROPOSITION D’UN CADRE D’ANALYSE

Ce texte pose les bases conceptuelles d’un cadre d’analyse des relations entre les disciplines scolaires, notamment celles des sciences de la nature et des sciences humaines, et les « Éducations à », afin de mener des analyses comparatives de curriculums dans le monde francophone. Le texte évoque d’abord les principales caractéristiques des « Éducations à » pour ensuite circonscrire les zones de tensions qui découlent de leur prise en charge par les disciplines scolaires. L’assise conceptuelle présentée subséquemment conduit à dégager quatre configurations théoriques pouvant soutenir l’analyse des relations entre les disciplines scolaires et les « Éducations à » sur le plan des finalités éducatives, des apprentissages visés, du statut du savoir disciplinaire et des dispositifs de formation privilégiés.

SFBC working group "Biochemical markers of COVID-19"

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is responsible for an epidemic disease called COVID-19, which was initially evidenced in Wuhan, China, and spread very rapidly in China and around the world. In France, the first isolated case seems now to be reported in December 2019, stage 3 of the COVID-19 epidemic was triggered on March 14th, the start of the planned containment exit from May 11th. Healthcare services have faced a large influx of patients who may be beyond their capacity to receive and care, particularly in the Large-East and Ile-de-France regions. Some patients show an evolution of the disease never observed before with other coronaviruses and develop in a few days a very important inflammatory reaction, which can lead to death of patients. A working group of the French Society of Clinical Biology (SFBC) was set up with the objective of providing updated information on the current status of the biological prescriptions (focusing on biochemistry ones) and their evolution during the epidemic, and of analyzing the biological parameters associated with comorbidities and patient evolution in order to link biological results with medical events. The expanded working group covers all sectors of medical biology in France and extends to the French-speaking world: hospital sectors (CHU and CH, Army Training Hospitals) and the private sector opening a field of view on the biological situation in establishments for dependent elderly, social establishments and clinical medical institutions. The purpose of this article is the presentation of this working group and its immediate and future actions.

Economic Activities of African Migrants in Major EU Countries: New Approaches

The growing interest in migration issues in the EU has not affected the analysis of African migrants. The focus is on social and political issues, while the economic issues studied are primarily related to the assessment of the reasons for the arrival of Africans in the EU, the trajectory of their movement, as well as the scale of remittances to their homeland and the conditions for their return back to Africa. The article focuses on the main features of African migrants’ economic activity in the EU. Instead of the traditional consideration of only one or several diasporas in a single country or a generalized analysis of the entire EU, we compare the specifics of immigrants from different African countries in the 4 largest EU member states (including the UK, which left the integration project in 2020). Our article begins with a review of studies that contain information on the economic activities of migrants from African countries. Then, based on data from Eurostat and national statistics from Germany, France, Italy and the UK, the role of people from Africa in these countries population is shown. The reasons for the differences between these four countries in the dynamics and structure of immigration from Africa are explained. Statistics of refugees, naturalized persons over the past 10 years, foreign citizens and residents with migration past are considered. France is the leader in the number of migrants, mainly due to people from French-speaking countries of North and West Africa. Italy stands out because it is targeted by many illegal migrant routes due to its geographical proximity to this region. The UK has become a target mainly for residents of former British colonies who are quite successful in naturalization in the United Kingdom (therefore, there are as many Africans without local passports in the UK as in Germany – 0.6 million). Further, it is shown that the key factor for taking a particular economic position in society is the status of migrants, their education also plays an important role (although Africans often work in places where a lower level of qualification is required than they have), as well as language barriers. There are big gender differences. At the end of the article we make conclusions about the problems of African migrants’ adaptation, although the EU countries cannot refuse to employ migrants in unattractive jobs in any case.

Role of national dermatology societies: A perspective from Tunis

Dermatology in French-speaking African countries is facing many challenges. Dermatology societies, if they exist, are relatively young and have limited financial resources to provide regular training opportunities for their members and those in training. In several sub-Saharan nations, the small number of dermatologists is truly alarming with the prevalence of such major skin diseases as cutaneous leishmaniasis, AIDS, mycetoma, leprosy, and the consequences of skin bleaching procedures, reaching catastrophic figures.

ENGLISH AND FRENCH LANGUAGES IN MULTIBUAGE AFRICA: LANGUAGE POLICY AND EDUCATION

The study focuses on the existence of French and English in sub-Saharan Africa. The article discusses two new linguocultural environments that have developed in postcolonial Africa: anglophone and francophone. Scientists raise the question of the state status of English and French in Sub-Saharan Africa, their sociocultural role and the problems of their functioning in these countries. Particular attention is paid to the ongoing language policy in sub-Saharan Africa, according to which English and French become an obligatory component of the sociocultural environment, which, on the one hand, is imposed against the will of Africans, and, on the other hand, unites multilingual African ethnic groups. The main role in the conduct of language policy is played by education, through which the European languages in question penetrate into an unnatural linguocultural environment for them. The paper describes the approaches to teaching languages, typical of English-speaking and French-speaking countries, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.

The Dynamics of Underdevelopment in the African Novel: A Comparative Appraisal of Anglophone and Francophone Fiction

The post-independence era in sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by progressive underdevelopment. From the 1960s till date no meaningful development has occurred, and all known development strategies that have so far been adopted have defied all logic. Accordingly, some social scientists and scholars of development theories have come to the sad conclusion that with respect to Africa, all development theories have hit the rocks (Chambua, 1994, p, 37). The implication is that in all spheres of human endeavour, Africa south of the Sahara has failed. The leadership problem is one of the plagues that have bedevilled the West African sub region. And from the failure of leadership stems a truckload of woes: infrastructural deficit, corruption, neo-colonialist propensity, unemployment, ethnicity, educational backwardness, declining living standards, etc. This situation has left Africans disillusioned and disappointed. And African writers from the Anglophone and Francophone worlds have not relented in their condemnation of the post-independence malaise. Their oeuvre is a clear reflection of the battered landscape. Thus, in the works of Chinua Achebe, Wale Okediran, AhmadouKourouma and J.R. Essomba, the reader is led into the very soul of a continent in turmoil. These authors are selected from both sides of the linguistic divide. Whereas, Achebe and Okediran are Anglophones from Nigeria, Kourouma and Essomba are Francophones from Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon respectively. This paper therefore attempted a diachronic investigation of the works of these authors in order to uncover the pervasive indices of underdevelopment. In other words, between Achebe and Okediran on the one hand, and between Kourouma and Essomba on the other hand, one discovers that the ills which the earlier novelists condemned in the first decade of independence have only gone from bad to worse some five decades later. The methodological approach adopted for this research work is textual analysis/ intertextuality, while privileging a socio-historical framework.
 Key Words: underdevelopment, West Africa, dynamics, Achebe, Okediran, Kourouma, Essomba

Effective strategies followed by multinational enterprises expanding into Africa

Orientation: Retail sector multinational enterprises (MNEs) face challenges and follow diverse strategies when they expand into foreign markets.Research purpose: The major aim of this article is to determine how three well-established retail sector MNEs, namely, Walmart, Carrefour and Shoprite, addressed the challenges they faced and structured their market entry strategies in the African continent.Motivation for the study: While the opportunities in Africa are perpetual, breaking into the African market is not so straightforward. It is in this regard that the importance of determining the challenges faced by established retail MNEs in Africa and the valuable lessons that can be drawn by small and upcoming MNEs, from the experiences of these prominent MNEs studied, is exposed.Research approach/design and method: This article employs a mixed-method approach (i.e. case study and semi-structured interviews) to determine the challenges faced by Walmart, Carrefour and Shoprite when they expanded into Africa, and how they overcame those challenges.Main findings: The findings reveal that Walmart and Shoprite possess a substantial footprint in sub-Saharan Africa, while Carrefour enjoys a substantial footprint in North Africa and Francophone Countries of west Africa. Furthermore, Walmart follows a risk-averse approach when expanding into the African continent and only expands into new foreign markets based on the market potential and the ability to succeed. Carrefour’s main strategy is to achieve international expansion into Africa through the acquisition of international partnerships with local and regional firms. Shoprite, on the other hand, maintains that no written strategy was followed when the retail MNE expanded into Africa. It is also evident that external factors are significant for MNEs seeking to invest in Africa.Practical/managerial implications: Not all MNEs expanding into Africa have been successful. Accordingly, the practical value of this article rests upon the lessons that small and upcoming MNEs can learn from the experiences of MNEs that are now well established in African markets.Contribution/value-add: This article contributes to existing foreign direct investment (FDI) literature by identifying challenges that Walmart, Carrefour and Shoprite faced when they expanded into Africa. In addition, lessons that aspiring and small MNEs, specifically in the retail sector, can learn from these three retail MNEs that are now well established in African markets are drawn.

Establishing A Global EBP Tool to Measure Evidence-Based Practice Knowledge: Translating and Testing the French Version of EKAN.

Government and professional organizations around the world have issued a call for evidence-based practice (EBP), affecting nursing globally. This study aimed to establish a baseline measure of EBP knowledge in French-speaking, baccalaureate nursing students and test the psychometric performance of a newly translated instrument. For the cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study, 103 baccalaureate nursing students from Haiti were included in the analysis. Rasch analysis showed strong evidence of validity (Weighted MS M = 984; Unweighted MS M = 1.01). Individual items showed item reliability (.94). The mean EBP knowledge score was 5.9 (SD = 1.93; Range = 2-10 points). This study provides initial psychometric evidence for an EBP knowledge measure that can be used as a catalyst for research in 29 French-speaking countries.

ECO: The Single Currency Agenda in West Africa the Single Currency Agenda in West Africa

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed to embrace the ECO as its single currency for the 15 countries within the community and set the deadline for 2020. This, however, does not seem feasible as the Anglophone countries such as Nigeria and Ghana have pulled out on the ground that the Francophone countries have breached the spirit of the Economic Community’s Currency Scheme.One of the vital reasons for the decision to adopt a single currency was because the crucial monetary problems plaguing west African countries seemed to be supranational, especially the constraints caused by the International Monetary Systems. The community and various stakeholders believed that these monetary problems could be fixed by currency integration. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that there will be a distortion in the global economy. Consequently, this would affect the International Monetary Systems. A shift in the International Monetary Systems could cause either an appreciation or depreciation in the currencies of African countries, particularly in West Africa. Thus, this might be a great time for African leaders and key stakeholders to revisit the decision of a single currency in West Africa.This article analyses the reasons why a currency integration might be necessary for West Africa, the benefits and costs of a currency integration for these Nations. This article also points out the legal, structural and political constraints affecting the implementation of a single currency in this region such as differences in National Laws, Inadequate Infrastructure, political Instability e.t.c. and recommends solutions to these constraints.