Academic literature on the topic 'Ethiopian Architecture'

FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHS BELONGING TO THE ARTICLE SEE SUPPLEMENTARY FILES > There are three parts to the interior space of ancient Ethiopian churches: a sanctuary (Mäqdäs) which is expanded into the “Holy Place” (Qǝddǝst) and the place of the assembly (Qǝne maḥlet). Four rooms stand at the corners of a cross-in-square interior: two service rooms on either side of a narthex-like entrance-room, westwards and, more important for the present discussion, two eastern service rooms which flank the sanctuary. These are called the pastophoria. After early input from Syria-Palestine, the Ethiopian basilicas took on an Aksumite character. Their development continued in a loose relationship with changes on the Egyptian scene, notably with a double phenomenon: the evolution of the rite and place of preparation of the bread and wine for Mass (the prothesis), and the demand for more altars at a time when churches could not be multiplied in Egypt. A study of architectural changes in the churches, alongside a comparison of liturgical practices and clues found in iconography and Coptic and Syriac literature, can bear witness to how the liturgy of the Ethiopian Church developed. Such investigation is all the more important because the absence of written documentation until the 13th century has left the church buildings as almost the only evidence available for study. The present study concentrates on the evolution and eventual disappearance of the pastophoria. The nature and location of the altars provides further evidence for dating. It should be noted that Ethiopia does not entirely abide by the Coptic models, essentially because what provoked change in Egypt did not exist in Ethiopia. Many questions still remain to be answered, including: When and where did the large monolithic altar of the permanent Coptic altar type first appear? Why are the West-Syriac and Ethiopian Churches today the only ones to celebrate Mass in a synchronized manner? We hope to address these and other questions at a later date.

This essay examines the creation of places of worship by Ethiopian Orthodox congregations in North America, focusing primarily on the District of Columbia and adjacent areas in the states of Maryland and Virginia. Following a discussion of the historical background and development of church architecture in Ethiopia, the essay demonstrates that the shaping of the interior space of Ethiopian Orthodox churches in North America follows a modern model developed in Addis Ababa during the early 1960s. The study concludes with a brief analysis of painted decoration, a necessary component of the sacred space of an Ethiopian Orthodox church. (3 February 2009)

Purpose Time overrun is one of the most significant issues being faced by Ethiopian construction industry today. For effective time performance, the successful execution of construction projects and keeping them within prescribed schedule is very important. The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors responsible for impacting performance of Ethiopian public construction projects. Design/methodology/approach Based on the literature and personal interviews of key construction professionals in Ethiopia, a list of 35 project performance attributes having strong effect on performance of the projects were identified and a questionnaire using these attributes were prepared and administered in Ethiopia. Statistical analysis of responses on the attributes segregated them into distinct sets of success attributes and failure attributes. The attributes were also subjected to factor analysis separately for better understanding and it resulted into six success factors and six failure factors. The relative importance of these factors was established with multiple regression analysis. Findings It is concluded that the success factor “owners’ competence” can significantly contribute to schedule performance of Ethiopian public construction projects. On the other hand, “conflict among project participants,” “poor human resource management,” and “project manager’s ignorance and lack of knowledge” are detrimental to schedule performance of Ethiopian public construction project. Research limitations/implications As with any other opinion-based study, the present study also has some limitations. The majority of respondents have evaluated the projects in their execution stage only and very few have evaluated the performance of projects in planning and operation stages and also the study has been carried out in the Ethiopian context. Hence the study has a limitation in these regard. Originality/value The results presented in this study provide sufficient evidence and useful understanding to researchers and industry practitioners to focus on a few factors than giving attention to all the factors and take proactive measures for the timely delivery of public construction projects.

AbstractThe current Ethiopian Constitution suffers from a severe lack of legitimacy. It lacks legitimacy as a result of a constitution-making process that was not inclusive, as well as the subsequent serious lack of integrity and vitality in the constitutional system. Therefore, if the ruling party, which is also the “author” of the constitution, were to lose its hegemonic position, which is predicated on its control of the security and military apparatus, there is a strong likelihood that there would be calls from significant political forces for a new constitution to be adopted. Such calls should not be heeded. Instead of adopting a new constitution, the current constitution's lack of legitimacy should be remedied by comprehensive constitutional reforms that would still maintain the basic architecture and cornerstones of the current constitution.

In the 1960s, Addis Ababa experienced a construction boom, spurred by its new international stature as the seat of both the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Organization of African Unity. Working closely with Emperor Haile Selassie, expatriate architects played a major role in shaping the Ethiopian capital as a symbol of an African modernity in continuity with tradition. Haile Selassie's Imperial Modernity: Expatriate Architects and the Shaping of Addis Ababa examines how a distinct Ethiopian modernity was negotiated through various borrowings from the past, including Italian colonial planning, both at the scale of the individual building and at the scale of the city. Focusing on public buildings designed by Italian Eritrean Arturo Mezzedimi, French Henri Chomette, and the partnership of Israeli Zalman Enav and Ethiopian Michael Tedros, Ayala Levin critically explores how international architects confronted the challenges of mediating Haile Selassie's vision of an imperial modernity.

The paper deals with the facets of work by the Croatian architect and urban planner Branko Petrović in Addis Ababa, where he served as the chief architect in the Ethiopian Ministry of Public Works and Communications from 1962 to 1969. Translation of the expertise stemming from the domicile practice and adaptation to a specific construction momentum in the city are thereby being considered. The modalities of technical cooperation are simultaneously examined as a form of international knowledge exchange in the field of architecture.

The five churches of Yǝmrǝḥannä Krǝstos, Ǝmäkina Mädḫane ʿAläm, Ǝmäkina Lǝdätä Maryam, Walye Iyäsus and Žämmädu Maryam are all built in caves in the massif of Abunä Yosef, situated in the Lasta region of Wollo. Changes in their architectural forms suggest that they were constructed over a period of several hundred years in the order listed and as such represent a significant chronological model against which many of Ethiopia’s rock-hewn churches may be compared. Until the publication of this paper, it has been universally accepted that the church of Yǝmrǝḥannä Krǝstos was built in the second half of the 12th century under the sponsorship of an eponymous king. Aspects of the church’s architecture, namely the absence of a raised space reserved for the priesthood before the triumphal arch (the bema), of any sign of a chancel barrier around it, of western service rooms, of a vestibule and narthex, and of the presence of a reading platform (representative of the Coptic ambo), of a full-width open western bay (allowing for a ‘return aisle’), and of arches carrying the aisle ceilings, all point to a date of construction around the mid-13th century. In fact, the closest parallels to Yǝmrǝḥannä Krǝstos may be found in Lalibäla’s second group of monolithic churches, Amanuʾel and Libanos. Closely associated also is the church of Gännätä Maryam. A painting of the Maiestas Domini in the south-east side room (pastophorion) of the latter suggests that the room served as an extension of the sanctuary. By the end of the 13th century, as witnessed by Ǝmäkina Mädḫane ʿAläm and the other churches built in caves, the full-width sanctuary becomes a characteristic which endures throughout 14th- and 15th -century Ethiopian church architecture. Yǝmrǝḥannä Krǝstos and Gännätä Maryam stand on the cusp of a major liturgical change which coincides with the transfer of royal power from the Zagwe dynasty to their Solomonic successors, who sought legitimacy by following Coptic practices.

Contemporary towns and cities in developing countries are faced with myriads of challenges. And, scholars have been suggesting various approaches, methods and tools to improve local resilience against these challenges. Some of the approaches and movements that proliferated recently in urban studies are Urban Metabolism, Sustainable Spatial Planning, the specified resilience approach, and the circular economy. Although these movements played an important role in improving local resilience and sustainability in the western world, their impacts on towns and cities of the developing world remains minimal. This is mainly because these movements were conceived and born in western countries and most of them are targeted at solving their own local problems. So, there is a very strong need to contextualize and modify them so that they fit into the existing local conditions in towns and cities of developing countries. In addition, lack of institutions and usable data makes it very difficult to undertake similar studies in countries like Ethiopia. That is why contextualizing these movements and searching resource efficient paths to local resilience and sustainability have become important tasks in recent years. In addition, developing a methodology that helps to operationlize and spatialize these concepts (resilience and sustainability - concepts usually criticized for being too general and normative) is also very crucial.This research, therefore, developed a robust diagnostic and analytical tool to study the nexus between major challenges (in small towns) and their impact on local resilience and sustainability in Ethiopia. The urban metabolism approach is mainly used (as a tool) to understand the nature of these challenges and to diagnose resilience in small towns. It specifically focuses on the flow food and housing construction materials (the two most stressed flows) in the case towns. These case towns are selected to represent the two ends of the sustainable town planning continuum in Ethiopia (Amdework is an organically growing old town and BuraNEST is a new planned town based on principles of sustainability). This research is mainly conducted at three stages: at regional level, at local level and at sub-system level. The first task done to achieve this objective is, therefore, characterization of the role of the case town in the regional urban system. This is done mainly using the urban metabolism approach. The deployment of this tool helped the researcher to pinpoint weak links, unsustainable flows, and vulnerable paths that simultaneously impact local resilience and sustainability in the case towns. This preliminary exploratory research clearly indicated the role of the town in the regional urban system and revealed the two most stressed (but important) sub-systems in the localities: the food and the housing sub-systems.Following this preliminary finding, the research has been narrowed down to the aforementioned two most stressed sub-systems. The food sub-system is first studied using the urban metabolism and the 'specified resilience' approaches. The research adopts a tri-tiered method (resilience at the source, resilience in the chain and resilience in consumption) to investigate local food resilience and metabolism and their relationship with the spatial configuration of the case town. The deployment of this method helps to operationalize and reduce the normative content of the concept (of resilience). This study reveals that urban agriculture is a highly marginalized agenda at all the three stages. Furthermore, the research investigates various bottom-up informal initiatives in the case town and other innovative planning endeavors (such as the planning of BuraNEST) that are aimed at improving sustainability and resilience in the food sub-system. The other focus area of the research is the housing sub-system. The urban metabolism approach, again, is primarily used to characterize, map and quantify the flow of materials used in the construction of residential houses in the town. The research developed a new bottom-up data generation technique to undertake this analysis. This method dominantly relied on estimations and conversions (of traditional measurements to the metric system) to get quantified data that was finally used as an input to develop metabolic models. Models (Sankeys) developed in this research reveal that the vast majority of inputs used in the construction are sourced locally. However, certain recent worrisome trends challenging sustainability have been observed in the housing sub-system due to the increased tendency of transporting important construction inputs from distant sources (mainly due to local construction regulations). The research, on the other hand, found that housing in BuraNEST, a town claimed to have been planned based on principles of sustainability, is more reliant on local sources and recognizes local needs and challenges. However, there are some critical pending questions (related with governance and affordability) that need to be addressed to improve sustainability in the housing sub-system in the long-run. Lastly, the research also investigates planning system challenges in small towns of Ethiopia. This is done mainly because many of the challenges found in the previous two analyses point to the presence of certain systemic problems in the policies, laws and manuals used in the planning of small town of Ethiopia. Such disorientations obviously negatively impact local resilience and sustainability in the long-run. Various definitions, wordings, phrases, and criteria identified in the federal planning law and manual were found to be on a direct collision course with principles of sustainability in many instances. By doing these, this research, therefore, systematically analyzed how the nexus between population pressure, resource flows and planning system challenges impact local resilience and sustainability (in the food and housing sub-systems) in small towns of Ethiopia. More importantly, it successfully spatialized and operationalized critical concepts such as urban resilience and sustainability using a new bottom-up approach. Clarity of the methodology vividly spells out the starting point when dealing with such important topics. This research can, therefore, serve as an important material to other researchers who are interested to study issues related to urban resilience and metabolism in small towns of developing countries. It clearly shows how the urban metabolism (as a tool) can be deployed to diagnose resilience in specific systems and sub-systems of towns and cities. It also provides a step-by-step procedure on how to generate data in data poor contexts and build metabolic models that can be used to study resilience in urban areas.
Les villes contemporaines des pays en développement sont confrontées à une multitude de défis. Les chercheurs ont suggéré diverses approches, méthodes et outils pour améliorer la résilience locale face à ces défis et parmi les approches qui ont proliféré récemment dans les études urbaines, nous pouvons citer le Métabolisme Urbain, l’urbanisme durable, l'approche de la Résilience Spécifiée et l'économie Circulaire. Bien que ces mouvements et ces outils aient joué un rôle important dans l'amélioration de la résilience et de la durabilité locales dans le monde occidental, leur application et leur impact sur les villes des pays en développement sont négligeables. Cela est principalement dû au fait que ces mouvements ont été conçus et sont nés dans les pays occidentaux et que, par conséquent, la plupart d'entre eux visent à résoudre des problèmes qui leur sont propres. Il existe donc un besoin important de contextualiser et d'adapter ces outils, mouvements et méthodologies pour étudier, comprendre et résoudre les problèmes des villes du monde en développement. En outre, le manque d'institutions et de données utilisables rend difficile la réalisation d'études similaires dans des pays comme l'Éthiopie. La recherche de chemins efficaces pour la résilience et la durabilité locale est donc une tâche difficile dans les pays en développement. De plus, il est très important de développer une méthodologie qui aide à opérationnaliser et à spatialiser ces concepts (résilience et durabilité, des concepts généralement critiqués pour être trop généraux et normatifs).Cette recherche a donc permis de mettre au point un solide outil de diagnostic et d'analyse pour étudier le lien entre les principaux défis et leur impact sur la résilience et la durabilité locale dans les petites villes d'Éthiopie. L'approche du métabolisme urbain est principalement utilisée pour comprendre la nature des défis urbains et diagnostiquer la résilience dans les villes concernées. Cette approche se concentre spécifiquement sur les flux des deux sous-systèmes les plus sollicités :les flux de nourriture et de matériaux de construction de logements. Les deux villes étudiées sont sélectionnées pour représenter les deux extrêmes du continuum de la planification urbaine durable en Éthiopie :une nouvelle ville planifiée (BuraNEST) et une vieille ville à croissance organique (Amdework). Cette recherche est organisée selon trois échelles :au niveau régional, au niveau local et au niveau des sous-systèmes. La première tâche effectuée pour atteindre cet objectif a donc été de caractériser le rôle de la ville prise comme cas d’étude dans le système urbain régional, en s’appuyant sur l'approche du métabolisme urbain. Le déploiement de cet outil a permis d'identifier les trajectoires non durables, les flux vulnérables et les activités qui ont simultanément un impact sur la résilience locale et sur la durabilité des villes étudiées. Cette recherche exploratoire préliminaire a clairement souligné le rôle de la ville dans le système urbain régional et a révélé deux sous-systèmes particulièrement sous tension: les sous-systèmes de l'alimentation et du logement.Suite à cette première constatation, la recherche se concentre sur ces deux sous-systèmes. Le sous-système alimentaire est d'abord étudié en utilisant le métabolisme urbain et les approches de « résilience spécifiée ». La recherche adopte une méthode suivant trois niveaux (résilience à la source, résilience dans la chaîne et résilience dans la consommation) pour étudier la résilience alimentaire locale et sa relation avec la configuration spatiale urbaine. Le déploiement de cette méthode permet d’opérationnaliser et de réduire le contenu normatif du concept de résilience. La recherche révéle que l'agriculture urbaine est un programme très marginalisé aux trois stades du métabolisme alimentaire. En outre, la recherche examine diverses initiatives informelles ascendantes dans la ville en question et d'autres initiatives de planification innovantes (telles que la planification de BuraNEST) qui visent à améliorer la durabilité et la résilience du sous-système alimentaire.Le second domaine d'étude de la recherche concerne le sous-système du logement. L'approche du métabolisme urbain est utilisée pour caractériser, cartographier et quantifier le flux de matériaux utilisés dans la construction des bâtiments résidentielles. La recherche développe une nouvelle technique de génération de données ascendantes pour entreprendre cette analyse. Cette méthode repose principalement sur de nombreuses estimations et conversions (des mesures traditionnelles vers le système métrique) pour obtenir des données quantifiées qui peuvent être utilisées comme intrants pour développer des modèles métaboliques. Les modèles (Sankeys) développés dans le cadre de cette recherche ont révélé que la grande majorité des matériaux intrants utilisés dans la construction proviennent de sources locales. Cependant, certaines tendances récentes inquiétantes remettant en cause la durabilité ont été observées dans le sous-système de logement en raison de la tendance croissante à importer d'importants éléments de construction provenant de sources éloignées (principalement en raison des réglementations locales en matière de construction). D'autre part, la recherche a révélé que les logements de BuraNEST, une ville qui déclare avoir été planifiée sur la base des principes de durabilité, dépendent davantage des ressources locales et considèrent les besoins et défis locaux. Cependant, le programme de logement de BuraNEST suscite d'importantes préoccupations en raison de la présence de quelques enjeux la gouvernance et l’économie de la construction des maisons, qui peuvent menacer la durabilité du programme à long terme. Enfin, la recherche s'est également penchée sur les problèmes liés au système de planification dans les petites villes d'Éthiopie. Cela est principalement dû au fait que de nombreuses questions relevées dans les deux analyses précédentes indiquent la présence de certains problèmes systémiques dans les politiques, les lois et les manuels utilisés dans la planification des petites villes d'Éthiopie. De telles désorientations ont évidemment un impact négatif sur la résilience et la durabilité locales à long terme. Dans de nombreux cas, diverses définitions, formulations, phrases et critères identifiés dans la loi et les règles de planification fédérale se sont révélés être en conflit direct avec les principes de durabilité.Par conséquent, cette recherche analyse de manière systématique le lien entre la pression démographique, les flux de ressources et les défis du système de planification qui ont un impact sur la résilience et la durabilité des petites villes d'Éthiopie. Plus important encore, cette recherche a réussi à spatialiser et à opérationnaliser des concepts critiques tels que la résilience et la durabilité urbaines en utilisant une nouvelle approche bottom-up. La rigueur de la méthodologie définit clairement le point de départ lorsqu'il s'agit de traiter des sujets aussi importants. Cette recherche peut donc constituer un matériel important pour les chercheurs qui souhaitent étudier les questions liées à la résilience et au métabolisme urbains dans les petites villes des pays en développement. Elle montre clairement comment le métabolisme urbain, en tant qu'outil, peut être déployé pour diagnostiquer la résilience dans les systèmes et sous-systèmes spécifiques des villes. Il fournit également une procédure étape par étape sur la façon de générer des données dans des contextes de manque d’information ,permettant ainsi deconstruire des modèles métaboliques qui peuvent être utilisés pour étudier la résilience dans les zones urbaines.
Doctorat en Art de bâtir et urbanisme (Polytechnique)
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This thesis project stems from the need of an architectural order, which will understand the historical genesis of the site and also help convey a clear meaning of its transformation process. At the same time, an attempt will be made to explore traditional Ethiopian design motifs and bring them into a modern reality.
Master of Architecture

This project explores the potential of bamboo as an alternative building material for low cost housing units suitable for urban Ethiopia. The rational for the application of bamboo comes from its abundance throughout the country, and its proven physical properties that equate it to other building material like timber, steel and concrete. The proposed bamboo based design solution concentrates on simplification of construction methods, prefabrication of structural components and vertical densification of housing units, addressing the lack of skilled labor, cost of construction time and urban land respectively. An understanding of the design solution was established by constructing a full-scale section prototype and performing laboratory tests on key structural components.

More democratic planning processes are acknowledged to facilitate several positive outcomes including acceptance, support, better solutions and ownership, which are even more critical in developing countries where resource limitation is debilitating. But the paradox lies in needing to institute more democratic planning processes inside less democratic systems. In seeking explanations as to why collaboration in planning is lacking in urban Ethiopia, the research adopts a different analytical perspective that conceptualizes the state not only as a direct participant through its different agencies but also as the main architect of social structure. As the state in less democratic systems is stronger in shaping society, the contextualization of sense-making in the wider environment of the South requires focusing on the influence of government systems to discover associations and patterns that determine the structure of planning processes. Adopting flexible and pragmatic methodological procedures, methods and techniques that balance what is possible with epistemological interest, the research introduces a different lens to planning that links trust, collective action and cooperation with confidence in government by taking into consideration the embeddedness of actors within the framework of existing realities. Through the case of Amdework, the thesis presents implications on planning by the different attributes of the state and state-society relations. It shows how and to what extent partial and undemocratic government systems create power asymmetry, impede the development and the integrity of organized civil society, affect social capital such as trust, cooperative norms and the motivation to participate in collective action. These in turn penetrate planning processes by destroying the basic level of trust, balanced power of participants and democratic culture, and the we-intention for joint action. And through five more cases that focus on conceptions and cooperation at the micro-level (in the autonomous community of Awra Amba, the foreign NGO spearheaded joint action of the BuraNest initiative, and different projects in or related with Addis Ababa), it provides empirical evidence that planning, whether government entities are direct participants or not, also heed to pressures exerted by the overall of intuitional/political environment where the state rules rather than governs.
Doctorat en Art de bâtir et urbanisme (Architecture)
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De retour de ses voyages en Ethiopie, l’explorateur scientifique basco-irlandais, Antoine d’Abbadie, fit appel, en 1864, à l’architecte Eugène-E. Viollet-le-Duc pour édifier sa demeure. Le restaurateur de Notre-Dame de Paris et son collaborateur, Edmond Duthoit, qui fut en charge du suivi du chantier et de la décoration, proposèrent une œuvre originale, voire délirante, rare par son homogénéité stylistique et à l’image des goûts éclectiques de son commanditaire et de son épouse. Pour la construction du château d’Abbadia, ils puisèrent dans des sources d’inspiration associant le Moyen Age, la science, la religion, l’Orient et l’Ethiopie, composant dès lors un véritable métissage artistique. Cette thèse s’intéresse non seulement aux modes d’expression de ces influences, mais elle tente également d’explorer les motivations, les significations et la raison d’être d’une telle mixité sur le plan historique et social. La masse des archives permit, enfin, de mettre en lumière l’important réseau des acteurs, notamment des artistes et artisans renommés, qui participèrent à la construction d’Abbadia. L’étude de cette singulière demeure s’articule donc autour des personnalités affirmées de ses commanditaires tout en resituant le château au sein de l’histoire de l’art et de l’architecture du XIXe siècle
When he came back from his travel in Ethiopia, the bask-irish scientist explorer, Antoine d’Abbadie, appealed in the architect Eugène-E. Viollet-le-Duc in 1864 in order to build his castle. Notre-Dame de Paris’ restaurator and his associate, Edmond Duthoit, in charge of the construction site and decoration, proponed an original and delirious work, rare from its stylistic homogeneity and in the image of its owner’s and his wife’s eclectic tastes. As for the château d’Abbadia’s building, they drew in several inspirations which associated Middle Ages, science, religion, Orient and Ethiopia, which therefore composed a true artistic interbreeding. This thesis consists in studying these influences’ modes of expression, and besides, it tries to explore the motivations and the meanings of such a mixity on historical and social viewpoint. At last, the massive archives permitted to highlight the important web of the actors, in particular well-known craftsmen and artists, who participated to Abbadia’s building. So the study of this singular home is built around its owner’s assertive personalities while setting the castle in 19th century’s history of art and architecture

En dépit de sa complexité analytique, la situation sécuritaire de la Corne de l’Afrique peut être soumise aux outils de la Science politique afin de mieux comprendre les interactions entre les différents acteurs. Cette recherche s’efforce d’analyser les ressorts d’une équation sécuritaire qui peut paraître insoluble : le régionalisme est-il aujourd’hui un prérequis à l’émergence d’une paix régionale ? Pour répondre à cette question il est nécessaire de comprendre quels rôles jouent les processus sécuritaires régionaux (régionalisation et régionalisme) dans la construction des États de la Corne de l’Afrique. Cette étude s’efforce d’étudier les interactions entre le régionalisme, fondement de l’architecture de paix et de sécurité continentale, la régionalisation des conflits, qui semble à l’oeuvre dans cette région, et les processus de construction/formation de l’État. Les rapports entre les trois termes de l’équation dépendent du contexte et des interactions entre les différentes entités composant la région (États, acteurs non étatiques qui se dressent contre eux ou négocient avec eux et acteurs extérieurs). Deux types de dynamiques sont mises en évidence au terme de cette étude : l’une endogène, l’autre exogène. Dans la première, nous constatons que les conflits participent à la formation de l’État. Ils sont en grande partie des conflits internes et montrent qu’il existe une crise dans l’État. Ces États dominent le processus de régionalisme qui tente de réguler la conflictualité régionale avec un succès relatif puisque les organisations régionales cherchent à renforcer ou reconstruire l’État selon les critères idéalisés de l’État wébérien vu comme source d’instabilité. Le processus exogène se caractérise par le rôle des conflits régionaux dont l’existence sert de justificatif au développement et au renforcement du régionalisme, perçu comme la réponse la plus appropriée à ces problèmes de conflictualités. Cette conflictualité a pour source l’État car celui-ci est perçu comme faible. Le régionalisme permettrait de renforcer les États et diminuerait leurs velléités de faire la guerre
In spite of its analytical complexity, the security context in the Horn of Africa may be submitted to the Political Science’ tools in order to better understand the complex interactions between the various actors. The present research thus seeks to analyze the mechanism underlying what appears as an unsolvable security problem: is regionalism a prerequisite for the emergence of a regional peace? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to understand the role of regional security processes (regionalization and regionalism) in the state formation and state building of the Horn of Africa’s states. This study endeavours to explore the interactions between regionalism, which are inherent in the creation of an African peace and security architecture, the regionalization of conflict, which seems at work in this area, and construction/formation state process. The relationship between the three terms of this equation depends on the context and interactions between the various entities that make up the region (states, non-state actors that stand against them or negotiate with the states and external actors). This study thus reveals two kinds of dynamics at play: an endogenous process and an exogenous one. In the first one conflicts are involved in the formation of the state and are largely internal conflicts. It demonstrates that there is a crisis in the state States dominate the regionalism process which tries to regulate regional conflit with relative success because regional organizations seek to strengthen or rebuild the state according to the idealized criteria of the Weberian State seen as a source of instability. The exogenous process is characterized by the role of regional conflicts whose very existence serves to justify the development and the strenghtening of regionalism thus perceived as the most appropriate answer to those security problems. States are the source of conflicts because they are perceived as weak. Regionalism would strengthen states and reduce the inclination of states to make war

It has been over twelve years since the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution took place. Having inherited a housing system which did not serve the majority of Ethiopians, the new government adopted five approaches to alleviate the housing crises: namely, Government Sponsored Low-Cost Housing, Cooperative Housing, Self-Help Housing, Resettlement, and Upgrading of Housing. For the purpose of comprehensive planning and implementation, the central government created new institutions, restructured existing ones and established a structure of urban units on the neighborhood level, hierarchically organized on the basis of size and type. The government took these steps more than ten years ago. However, housing needs of urban poor are still not being met or, even, adequately addressed. Today, there is a severe housing shortage in urban areas with a large and growing population living in sub-standard housing. To what extent these steps, taken to alleviate the housing shortage, represent a radical change in governmental attitude or just a token response, are examined. The impact that they had on the housing circumstances of the poor, are evaluated. Finally, an analysis is made of the specific objectives and means of implementation that had been adopted in the housing programs. While there was a clear understanding of the dynamics involved in the housing programs, what emerged was that the principal 'actors' (the central government, the various enabling institutions, and people at the level of the neighborhoods) had not succeeded in establishing a working system of management and inter-communication. This has resulted in the mis-match of intentions and results. Furthermore, while the objectives of the programs and the responsibilities of the institutions are clearly stated, the resources and management needed for reaching those objectives and for the efficient function of the institutions, are inadequate. The findings question the decision-making style of the central government and, particularly, of the institutions which see the housing programs with narrow and specifically defined objectives and with rational application of ideal means required to reach those objectives. This decision-making style is inappropriate for situations constrained by limited resources in material and technology. This is because the availability of the resources were not considered as a factor of the implementation process when the objectives were established.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a well-known agronomic crop of global importance. The demand for sorghum as a food crop makes it the fifth most important cereal in the world. The grain of sorghum is utilized for food and feed, whereas the sorghum biomass may have many other uses such as for fodder, bioenergy or even for construction. Globally, sorghum is consumed as a food crop and used for home construction primarily in the developing world. The grain and biomass yield of sorghum is drastically reduced by the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica which is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. To date, only one sorghum gene, LGS1, has been characterized as a genetic mechanism that reduces S. hermonthica parasitism by altering the strigolactone composition of the host root exudates which results in a reduction of the parasites ability to germinate. To establish more durable resistance additional genetic variation needs to be identified that reduces the S. hermonthica parasitism in sorghum, but also reduces the parasitic weed seed bank by promoting suicidal germination. To that end, the PP37 multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population was developed, originally as a recurrent selection population that was developed to recombine sorghum accessions with different putative resistance mechanisms to S. hermonthica. Whole genome sequences were developed for approximately 1,006 individuals of the PP37 MAGIC population. The population was phenotyped for S. hermonthica resistance during the 2016 and 2017 growing season in Northwestern Ethiopia. There was significant spatial variation in the S. hermonthica natural infestations that were partially attenuated for with artificial inoculation. The data was used to conduct a genome-wide association study that detected several subthreshold peaks, including the previously mapped LGS1. The highly quantitative nature of S. hermonthica resistance confounded with the complex spatial variation in the parasite infestations across a given location make it difficult to detect highly heritable variation across years and environments.

In addition to S. hermonthica resistance, the plant architecture of the PP37 MAGIC was also assessed at a location in Northwestern Ethiopia that is free of the parasite, as it significantly reduces plant height. To asses plant architecture the total plant height, the height of the panicle base, flag leaf height, and pre-flag leaf height were collected using a relatively high-throughput barcoded measurement system. Sorghum head exertion and panicle length were derived from this data. The actual measures of plant architecture and the derived traits were used to conduct a genome-wide association study. The high heritability of this trait demonstrated the statistical power of the PP37 mapping population. Highly significant peaks were detected that resolved the dwarf3 locus and an uncharacterized qHT7.1 that had only been previously resolved using a recombinant inbred line population. Furthermore, a novel significant locus was associated with exertion on chromosome 1. The random mating that was utilized to develop the PP37 MAGIC has broken the population structure that when present can hinder our ability associate regions of the genome to a given phenotype. As a result, novel candidate gene lists have been developed as an outcome of this research that refined the potential genes that need to be explored to validate qHT7.1 and the novel association on chromosome 1.

This research demonstrated the power of MAGIC populations in determining the genomic regions that influence complex phenotypes, that facilitates future work in sorghum genetic improvement through plant breeding. This research however also demonstrates a large international research effort. The nuisances and lessons learned while conducting this international research project are also discussed to help facilitate and guide similar research projects in the future. The broader impacts of this research on the society at large are also discussed, to highlight the unique potential broader impacts of international research in the plant sciences. The broader impacts of this research include germplasm development and extensive human capacity building in plant breeding genetics for developing country students and aspiring scientists. Overall this research attempts to serve as a model for highlighting the interdisciplinary nature and complexity of conducting international plant science research, while also making significant strides in improving our understanding the genetic architecture of quantitative traits of agronomic importance in sorghum.

Poor infrastructures in developing countries such as Ethiopia and much of Sub-Saharan Africa have caused these nations to suffer from lack of efficient and effective delivery of basic and extended medical and healthcare services. Often, such limitation is further accompanied by low patient-doctor ratios, resulting in unwarranted rationing of services. Apparently, e-medicine awareness among both governmental policy makers and private health professionals is motivating the gradual adoption of technological innovations in these countries. It is argued, however, that there still is a gap between current e-medicine efforts in developing countries and the existing connectivity infrastructure leading to faulty, inefficient and expensive designs. The particular case of Ethiopia, one such developing country where e-medicine continues to carry significant promises, is investigated and reported in this article.

Abstract: In 1936, immediately after the Italian conquest of the Ethiopian territories, the Fascist government initiated a competition to prepare the plan of Addis Ababa. Shortly, the new capital of the Italian empire in East Africa became the center of the Fascist debate on colonial planning and the core of the architectural discussion on the design for the control of African people. Taking into consideration the proposal for Addis Ababa designed by Le Corbusier, this paper reveals his perception of Europe’s role of supremacy in the colonial history of the 1930s. Le Corbusier admired the achievements of European colonialism in North Africa, especially the work of Prost and Lyautey, and appreciated the results of French domination in the continent. As architect and planner, he shared the Eurocentric assumption that considered overseas colonies as natural extension of European countries, and believed that the separation of indigenous and European quarters led to a more efficient control of the colonial city. In Addis Ababa he worked within the limit of the Italian colonial framework and, in the urgencies of the construction of the Fascist colonial empire, he participated in the coercive construction of imperial identities. Keywords: Le Corbusier; Addis Ababa; colonial city; Fascist architecture; racial separation; Eurocentrism. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/LC2015.2015.838