Technologies and African Societies in Pandemic Times

Saikou Diallo, Virginia Modeling Analysis Center, USA, is a scientist and educator in the domain of innovation and equal access to technology. He is passionate about using technology to connect people on all spectrums and artificial beings.Jean-Jacques Maomra Bogui is Associate Professor at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire. His research interests focus on the uses and appropriation of digital technologies, the internationalization of communications and the analysis of the reception of cultural goods.Julien Atchoua is a psychologist and teacher-researcher in Political Communication at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire. He is also Director at the Centre d'études et de recherches en communication (CERCOM), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

• Foreword xiMohamed SALIOU CAMARAIntroduction xvJean-Jacques Maomra BOGUI and Nanga Désiré COULIBALYPart 1 Covid-19, Information, and Communication 1Chapter 1 Reinventing Everyday Life in the Covid-19 Era: The Uses of Information and Communication Technologies as Tactics in an Abidjanese “Ordinary Courtyard” 3Youssouf SOUMAHORO1.1 Introduction 31.1.1 Context and positioning of the research problem 31.1.2 Field and methods 51.2 Results 61.2.1 Social relational uses 61.2.2 Hedonic and playful uses 81.2.3 Emerging from the inactivity brought about by the pandemic 91.2.4 Uses for information retrieval and educational purposes 101.3 Conclusion 121.4 References 13Chapter 2 Ambivalence of the Use of Digital Technologies in Public Communication About the Pandemic in Côte d’Ivoire 15Nanga Désiré COULIBALY2.1 Introduction: Ivorian context of digital technology use in the Covid-19 period 152.1.1 Literature and defining the Covid-19 problem in the Ivorian context 172.1.2 Objectives and research questions 182.2 Conceptualization of the social uses of technology in public communication 192.3 Collection and method for analyzing ambivalent uses of digital social media in the face of Covid-19 in Côte d’Ivoire 212.4 Digital social media, a popular source of information about the pandemic and a source of rumors and miscommunication 222.4.1 Digital social media, the preferred source of information 222.4.2 Rumors and fake news on digital social media, a remedy for miscommunication 262.5 Conclusion: understanding the ambivalence of digital social media use in times of Covid-19 272.6 References 30Chapter 3 Fake News and Anti-Covid-19 Vaccines: Analysis of Facebook Users in Burkina Faso 33Marcel BAGARE3.1 Introduction 333.2 Methodology 363.3 The profiles of Facebook users and their content 373.4 Fake news in the representation of vaccine risks 433.4.1 The Covid-19 vaccine makes women infertile 443.4.2 Covid vaccines cause neurodegenerative diseases 463.4.3 Bill Gates and his geo-tagged vaccine against Covid 473.5 Facebook users confront the vaccine communication strategy and fake news 493.6 Conclusion 523.7 References 53Part 2 Covid, Art and Culture 59Chapter 4 Covid-19 Crisis and Musical Creation for Public Awareness in Africa 61Julien ATCHOUA4.1 Introduction: musical creation for prevention 614.1.1 Music as a support mechanism and collective commitment 614.1.2 Covid-19, a reality in Africa 624.1.3 The fundamental questions 644.2 Musical information and the Covid-19 crisis in Africa: collecting and deciphering content 654.2.1 Objective of the approach 654.2.2 Review and analysis of the corpus 654.3 Musical works for health prevention 674.3.1 Health awareness and music creation in Africa 674.3.2 Music as a medium for raising health awareness 684.3.3 The issue of health governance in creating music 714.4 Conclusion 744.4.1 The Covid-19 crisis in Africa: a prevention emergency 744.4.2 Music as a communication medium for health 744.5 References 76Chapter 5 Rethinking Theatrical Performances in the Covid-19 Era: Strategies and Perspectives 79Losséni FANNY5.1 Introduction 795.2 Brief status of Ivorian theatrical performances before Covid-19 815.2.1 The glory years of theatrical performances 815.2.2 Theatrical performances facing difficulties 825.3 The situation of theatrical performances during Covid-19 845.3.1 The negative effects of Covid-19 on theatrical performances 845.3.2 Positive effects of Covid-19 on theatrical performances 865.4 Theatrical representations: resilience and resistance 885.4.1 Theatrical performances as a source of social resilience during Covid-19 885.4.2 Prospects for theater in situations of a health crisis 915.5 Conclusion 925.6 References 93Chapter 6 Tourism and the Pandemic: How to be Resilient and Creative Thanks to NICTs Case study: Aloha Surf Camp in Morocco 95Hanane MABROUK and John VAN DEN PLAS6.1 Introduction 956.2 Research methodology 976.2.1 Field surveys using ethnographic and sociological methods 976.2.2 Research scope 996.3 Some geographical, economical and cultural notions of Moroccan surf tourism 1006.3.1 Tourism in Morocco 1016.3.2 The Bay of Taghazout: a flagship destination for “surf” and “luxury” tourism 1016.3.3 Cultural diversity 1026.3.4 Surf camps 1036.4 Conceptual framework 1056.4.1 Tourism and social networks 1056.4.2 Digital nomadism 1066.5 Results and discussions 1086.5.1 Case study: Aloha surf camp 1086.5.2 The surf camp 1086.5.3 Crisis management: between resilience and innovation 1106.5.4 From surfing tourists to nomadic artists 1106.5.5 Perspectives for “Aloha” projects 1116.6 Conclusion 1126.7 References 113Part 3 Business, Education and Covid 115Chapter 7 Digital Technologies to Support Learning in the University Environment During the Pandemic at UFHB: From Hope to Disillusionment 117Jean-Jacques Maomra BOGUI7.1 Introduction 1177.2 Digital technologies to support training in the university environment 1197.3 Difficulties when appropriating ICTs within academic institutions in Africa 1207.4. Improved access to ICTs, the digital divide in secondary education 1217.5 The Covid-19 pandemic as a catalyst for the integration of ICTs into pedagogy and learning in the university setting 1227.6 Methodology: meeting the students 1247.7 Focus group characteristics 1257.8 Smartphones, the students’ tool of choice 1257.9 UFHB students’ perception of online learning 1267.10 Pedagogy and experience of online courses 1267.11 DSIC student critiques of the online training experience 1277.12 Student suggestions for improving the organization of online courses 1277.13 Discussion of the survey results 1287.14 Conclusion 1297.15 References 129Chapter 8 The Use of ICT by Students of the University Ibn Zohr During Covid-19: Uses and Representations 133Abderrahmane AMSIDDER, Samar CHAKHRATI and Semaya EL BOUTOULY8.1 Introduction 1338.2 Contextualization 1348.3 Objective 1348.4 Issue 1348.5 Theoretical framework 1358.6 Methodology and presentation of the tool 1368.6.1 Sample 1368.6.2 Questionnaire 1368.7 Results and discussion 1378.7.1 Some results related to the use and representations of ICT among students 1388.7.2 Interpreting the survey results 1428.8 Conclusion 1428.9 References 144Chapter 9 Digital Communication for the Continuity of Socioeconomic Activities in Times of Covid-19 in Côte d’Ivoire: An Inventory of the Uses of ICTs 147Bassémory KONÉ9.1 Introduction 1479.2 Key theories 1499.3 Method 1509.4 The deployment of digital communication for socioeconomic activities 1509.4.1 Political-administrative activities in times of Covid-19 1519.4.2 Digital technology at the service of companies 1529.4.3 Online courses in the education/training sector 1539.4.4 Religious services 1559.4.5 Identified obstacles 1569.5 Recommendations to better adapt digital communication to managerial approaches 1579.5.1 A greater commitment from the state 1579.5.2 Greater involvement of civil society 1579.6 Conclusion 1589.7 References 158List of Authors 161Index 163