Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Central America'
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1
Stein, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez. "Collective action in peripheral nations: A comparative analysis of five Central American countries." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/184789.
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This study examines the nature and intensity of collective action in five Central American nations during the period 1950-1980. Using a historical comparative analysis, I found that Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua have had guerrilla movements and Honduras and Costa Rica have not. Instead, Honduras and Costa Rica have developed workers and peasant movements that are important political forces in their respective societies. These differences are explained by comparing and contrasting the five countries in terms of distribution of land and income, their political structure and their political influence of the United States. Unequal distribution of land and income is commonly thought to produce frustration and discontent, and in turn, higher frequencies of collective action. In Central America, land and income inequality have remained, for the most part, constant, while the nature and intensity of collective action varies over time and across country. Consequently, I concluded that inequality alone does not facilitate the origin and development of forms of collective protest. More compelling theoretical arguments can be made for the political structure of each country and the political influence of the United States as preconditions for the nature and intensity of collective action. The strength of worker and peasant organizations, and their ability to protest non-violently during these times, occurred when the United States encouraged democratic government in these nations. These forms of governance provided freedom and protection for organizing and collective protest. But as the United States supported and encouraged repressive governments, non-violent actions were repressed, and in turn, violent forms of protest originated. Then guerrilla movements appeared and developed when the United States reduced or withdrew military assistance to these repressive governments.
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Teichgräber, Martin H. (Martin Hubert). "Political Parties in Central America: A Reassessment." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1994. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500670/.
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Studies of political parties in Latin America have often been descriptive and not directed to link a theoretical foundation about political parties with qualitative or quantitative empiricism. This was in part because parties in the region were usually perceived as rather unimportant in the political arena. This study attempts to correct this often unjustified proposition by focusing on the development of political parties in five Central American countries: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The analysis focuses particularly on the relationship between party fragmentation, party polarization, the level of democracy, and socio-economic modernization. The quantitative analysis uses a cross-national longitudinal research design and tries to overcome shortcomings in prior descriptive approaches based on case studies. The overall findings show that party fragmentation and party polarization are positively related to the level of democracy in Central America.
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Rueda, Luis-Fernando. "Trade and economic integration in Central America." Thesis, Queen Mary, University of London, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.405149.
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Jones, Ursula. "Decorated metates in prehispanic Lower Central America." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1992. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1355098/.
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Metates are stone objects on which corn and other substancesa re ground with hand-held stones called manos. Metates and manos have formed part of the standard household equipment in the Americas ever since settled life began to develop there in the 2nd millennium B. C. In Lower Central America - and specifically within the area bounded by eastern Honduras in the north and the Panama Canal in the south - prehispanic peoples fashioned some of their metates in a highly individual manner, often with a display of sophisticated and complex imagery both in form and decoration. They were made in this distinctive way over a period of at least 1500 years prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. The aim of this study is to show that, in spite of their diversity, these metates represent an unmistakable cultural trait which is particular only to the isthmian region of Central America. It is proposed that, as such, the decorated metate can serve as a diagnostic marker for essentially Lower Central American cultural traditions in prehispanic times. In earlier studies, many of these elaborately carved objects from Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama have been referred to variously as 'altars', 'thrones', 'ceremonial tables', and - sometimes - as 'metates'. In the course of research for the present study it was found that the majority show traces of wear from grinding and that they can therefore be classified as metates. This thesis brings together material from the entire Lower Central American culture area and presents a comprehensive corpus of decorated metates from reported sites together with specimens available in museums and private collections. Based on some 650 examples, a classification is proposed which hasbeen organized according to formal attributes and supplemented by a stylistic analysis of recurring motifs and decorative patterns. A chronological and geographical framework has been added with the help of known data on decorated metates recovered from controlled excavations.
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Pettiford, Lloyd. "Changing conception of security in Central America." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.239845.
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Paulsson, Joseline. "Girls in Youth Gangs in Central America." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Romanska och klassiska institutionen, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-131103.
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Youth gangs, so-called Maras, in Central America have for a long time been one of the major factors contributing to the great amount of organized crime and violence in the Central American countries. The citizens in this region are exposed to violence and other crimes from the gangs on a daily basis. The vast amount of teens joining but also being forced to join the gangs is due to the high levels of poverty in the countries. Becoming a member in a gang is often seen as the only option to make a living. The study focuses on three countries in Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The reason why the author chose these three countries is because they are the ones with the highest youth gang activity in the region as well as the ones who have faced and still are facing high levels of violence and corruption. They have all faced political, economic, and social challenges after civil wars and increasing drug trafficking in the region. The method used in the study is qualitative through an analysis of secondary sources on young women in youth gangs. The material is analyzed from a gender perspective and also power and social control theory. The maras mainly recruit teen boys, but also young girls and women. Teen girls are in some cases forced to join the gangs but many times they join the gangs as self- protection from other local maras. The young girls are used for different tasks and duties while in the gang, but also face abuse by being taken advantage of in a male dominated environment. The essay focuses on the role of young women in gangs. The research questions are: why the young girls join the gangs? What are their roles in the gangs? Are their roles differentiate to the mens? It is important to observe how the youth gangs function, reflect the patriarchal structures of society in general which has created differences between the sexes where males are seen as superior to females, which also is evident in criminal youth gangs. The essay shows that the main reasons why young women join gangs are because they are looking for a safe environment due to lacking support and safety at home. The young women’s roles in the gang differentiate from the men in the way that they are assigned tasks according to traditional gender roles where the women are expected to do domestic tasks and excluded from some of the gang activities because of their gender.
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Brizuela, Reyes Beatriz <1976>. "Assessment of Tsunami Hazard in Central America." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2009. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/2007/1/thesis_PhD_Bea_print1.pdf.
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Brizuela, Reyes Beatriz <1976>. "Assessment of Tsunami Hazard in Central America." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2009. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/2007/.
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MARTINEZ, BARAHONA Elena. "Seeking the Political Role of the Third Government Branch: A comparative approach to high courts in Central America." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/7931.
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Defence date: 22 January 2007Examining board: Prof. Pilar Domingo (Universidad de Salamanca) ; Prof. Carlo Guarnieri (Università di Bologna) ; Prof. Donatella Della Porta (European University Institute) ; Prof. Philippe C. Schmitter (European University Institute)(Supervisor)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Until recently, Courts were not an important component of political science research on Latin America. The quantity of research on the judiciary does not compare even remotely to the vast literature on others institutions. However, despite the relative inattention to their role, courts are institutions whose performance has concrete and relevant effects on the socio-political system. Indeed, Courts have currently emerged as active participants in the political process offering new opportunities to citizens, social movements, interest groups, and politicians. Focusing on three countries of Central America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala), this dissertation illustrates how far the political system in these countries is shaped in significant ways by the role of Courts as political institutions. Throughout a comparative approach, this study offers what may be the first cross-national analysis explicitly designed to serve as a comprehensive measure of the political role of High Courts.
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Clark, Tiffanie R. "Central Americans in Movement: A Diasporic Revival of Poesia Comprometida." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1593273591518189.
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David, J. Sky. "Intelligent Discontent, Agitation, and Progress: A Time-Series Analysis of National Revolts in Central America 1960-1982." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1997. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278172/.
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Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua have all experienced significant social, economic, and political changes during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua experienced violent national revolts, while Costa Rica and Honduras did not. I tested a process theory that endeavored to account for the origins and intensity of national revolts in Central America. The analysis was formulated in a most-similar-systems (MSS) design. Pooled cross-sectional time-series regression techniques were employed in order to conform with the MSS variation-finding strategy. The findings supported the conclusion that armed attacks against the state were not random occurrences, but rather, that they may have arisen in response to certain economic and political conditions.
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Papageorgiou, Ioannis. "Eléments de supranationalité dans le processus d'intégration politique en Amérique centrale à partir des années 1980." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/211546.
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Cáceres, Calix Diego José. "Earthquake Sources and Hazard in northern Central America." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala University, Department of Earth Sciences, 2003. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-3389.
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Northern Central America is a tectonically complex zone defined by its borders with Cocos and North America plates. The Middle America subduction zone and the strike-slip motion along the North America-Caribbean plate boundary, in that order, control most of its deformation. The interaction between the different elements of the studied area is evident from the high seismicity in the region, especially along plate boundaries. Also in the interior of the region, seismicity shows that deformation takes place, though in lesser degree. In a time window of 30 years, three earthquakes with moment magnitude larger than 7 struck northern Central America evincing the need to estimate the seismic hazard for the zone. To tackle the problem, we compiled a catalogue of hypocenters commencing in 1964, defined seismogenic sources and described the evolution of earthquake activity through a Poisson model. Probabilistic seismic hazard (PSH) calculations for the next 50 years were performed. The highest estimate of seismic hazard was obtained for the zone adjacent to the subduction zone. Because of the fundamental importance of demarcating seismogenic sources in the PSH analysis, i.e. defining the seismotectonic model, we extended the catalogue to cover 102 years for the whole northern Central America. We have studied the North America-Caribbean plate boundary in order to refine the fault representation. Different techniques were used, like that of body-waveform modeling, allowing us to limit the extent of depth of faulting to 20 km. The seismic moment tensor was used to estimate the deformation velocities on known tectonic structures, including those of the Honduras depression and borderland faults. Finally, we made use of the Coulomb stress criterion to determine the relation between earthquake occurrence and static stress changes following major earthquakes.
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Cavalluzzi, Martin Ray. "Taxonomy of Larval Blennioidei of Belize, Central America." W&M ScholarWorks, 1992. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539617642.
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Pritchard, Matthew Earl Kanamori H. "Recent crustal deformation in west-central South America /." Diss., Pasadena, Calif. : California Institute of Technology, 2003. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-06022003-105512.
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Reed, Aaron Wesley. "Granivory in the prairie of central North America /." Search for this dissertation online, 2004. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ksu/main.
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Kibbey, Richard. "Central America: An Attempt at Modern Economic Growth." PDXScholar, 1993. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1233.
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Since World War II the five historic Central American nations, Costa Rica, EI Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, underwent a period of aggregate economic growth which was followed by a collapse of dramatic proportions. All five countries experienced an economic downturn in the latter 1970s which led to several years of declining GDP and GDP per capita, together with an economic and social disarray which is typically referred to as "la crisis" in Central American literature. The intent of this study is to present an argument for the position that the economic collapse of the five Central American nations was due in considerable part to their failure to pursue economic development in a manner which would generate sustainable increase. Based on a conception of modern economic growth and the statistical studies of Simon Kuznets and others since the 1940s, a set of indicators was selected for the purpose of clarifying the structural transformation referred to as economic development. This formulation of economic development was then used to distinguish the process from the simple aggregate expansion known as economic growth. The economic development indicators were also applied to the statistical records of two east Asian economies which were comparable in many respects to the Central American nations shortly after World War II. Both Taiwan and South Korea, like the nations of Central America, emerged from the 1940s as dominantly agricultural, dualistic, importers of manufactured consumer goods. The study begins with an examination of the growth versus development issue in economic theory, proceeds to discussion of the historical record of the two sets of nations, consideration of the indicators, evaluation of the data, and conclusions based on the data. The development indicators clearly distinguish the records of the Central American nations from those of the east Asians. Whereas both Taiwan and South Korea illustrate the expectations of structural transformation in economic development as defined by Simon Kuznets, the Central American nations obviously do not. Conclusions are drawn that the policies which were followed by the two east Asian nations generated the complex structural transformation which characterizes an industrialized economy. The strictly market driven policies of Central America, on the other hand, generated simple aggregate growth for a number of years without a change in the structure of the economy. The study presents evidence that the Central American nations avoided structural change during the post-World War II period in anticipation of receiving the benefits of growth without undergoing the costs of a change in structure. Such a change in structure would have required reorganization of long-standing historic patterns of national social, economic and political interaction.
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Brom, Charlotte. "The human rights of the child : the case of street children in Central America." Thesis, McGill University, 2002. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=78205.
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Street children in Central America are largely denied protection of their human rights. They live in difficult situations of poverty, inappropriate work and neglect, and thus are not able to enjoy most of their rights and basic needs.The international framework for children's human rights law, composed primarily of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the principles inherent to it, can be described as based on a doctrine of integral protection, a notion developed primarily by Central American legal scholars. At the same time, however, most Central American states ignore their obligations to conform their domestic legislation to these standards.
This thesis is meant to provide Central American countries with guidelines captured by a model referred to as UPPP2. Its main objective is for States to acknowledge that the plight of street children needs to be understood; prevented by adequate domestic legislation; and requires protection by effective implementation and provision of justice.
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Lohse, Stephen Alan. "U.S. Foreign Assistance and Democracy in Central America: Quantitative Evaluation of U.S. Policy, 1946 Through 1994." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1996. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc277758/.
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U.S. policymakers consistently argue that U.S. security depends on hemispheric democracy. As an instrument of U.S. policy, did foreign assistance promote democracy in Central America, 1946 through 1994? Finding that U.S. foreign assistance directly promoted neither GDP nor democracy in Central America, 1946 through 1994, I conclude that U.S. policy failed consistently in this specific regard.
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Bailey, Brie. "The Guatemalan Peace Accords indigenous rights and the promise of peace /." [Gainesville, Fla.] : University of Florida, 2009. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0024676.
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Jakubowski, Jonathan Robert. "Do criminal deportations affect homicide rates in Central America?" Connect to Electronic Thesis (CONTENTdm), 2010. http://worldcat.org/oclc/645461022/viewonline.
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Petersen, Douglas Peter. "A Pentecostal theology of social concern in Central America." Thesis, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.483625.
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John, Jennifer Ruth. "Postclassic Maya Ceramic Iconography at Lamanai, Belize, Central America." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.498768.
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Smith, Hazel Anne. "European Community policy towards Central America in the 1980s." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 1993. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1317/.
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Aguilar, Pilar. "Teacher education in Central America : the effectiveness of provision." Thesis, University of Hull, 1991. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.335206.
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Offen, Karl Henry. "The Miskitu kingdom landscape and the emergence of a Miskitu ethnic identity, northeastern Nicaragua and Honduras, 1600-1800 /." Digital version accessible at:, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.
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Rueda-Junquera, Fernando. "La reactivación del Mercado Común Centroamericano /." Burgos : Servicio de Publ., Universidad de Burgos, 1999. http://www.gbv.de/dms/sub-hamburg/308708601.pdf.
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Geary, James P. "Social Realism in Central America: the Modern Short Story Translated." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1215444512.
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Alejo, Anna M. "Central American refugees in Costa Rica." FIU Digital Commons, 1990. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1191.
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The conflicts of the past decade in Central America have produced substantial refugee movements into neighboring nations. Costa Rica has had to cope with an influx of refugees and migrants as large as 10 percent of its population. This work presents a case study of the situation in Costa Rica, focusing on the issue of refugee integration into the host society. It draws on qualitative field research conducted in that country during 1986.
The study discusses the evolution of the Costa Rican state's response to the refugee crisis and analyzes the characteristics and impact of policies undertaken by various state bureaucracies. It also describes the assistance efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and private voluntary organizations, along with their interaction with the Costa Rican state. The study concludes that the government's need to maintain firm control of refugee programs has overshadowed its commitment to refugee integration. In so doing, the humanitarian purpose of refugee assistance has been compromised.
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Moe, Cailey Catherine. "Multilingualism and Multiculturalism: Opinions from Spanish-Speaking English Learners from Mexico, Central America, and South America." PDXScholar, 2017. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4059.
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Within the population of adult English-language learners in the United States, the largest portion is comprised of Spanish speakers from Mexico and Central and South America. At the same time, Spanish is the second-most commonly spoken language in the U.S., and an increasing presence in U.S. media and culture. This puts English learners from this demographic in a unique position with respect to language and culture acquisition and the experience of working towards their goals within U.S. society at large.
The purpose of this study is to explore motivations and beliefs about language and culture held by a small number English-language learners belonging to this huge, diverse community. Drawing on theory from the fields of second language acquisition and sociolinguistics, a survey eliciting opinions about cultural affiliation and language standards was created and versions in either English or Spanish were distributed to volunteers from this population living in Oregon. Fifty-two surveys were returned. The responses to the surveys were then compared with one another to examine any connections between participant beliefs about language value, cultural affiliation, and learning strategy preferences. Statistical comparisons were also carried out to determine whether certain orientations correlated with one another.
Analysis of the survey responses showed that while affiliation to United States culture was variable, all participants maintained at least a moderate feeling of affiliation to their home countries, despite twenty-seven, or just over half, of them having lived in the U.S. for over ten years. However, all but one of the participants were also interested in learning about U.S. culture and thirty-nine believed in the possibility of being part of more than one culture at a time. Participants were more likely to prefer collaborative strategies for learning about culture, but for learning language they preferred individual strategies, and had a general low estimation of the utility of non-standard forms of language, including non-standard English and Spanglish. A moderate negative correlation (Spearman p=.521) that was statistically significant (p=.001) was found between the degree to which participants had a multicultural affiliation and their beliefs about the importance of knowing non-standard forms of English.
While the participating sample is too small and opportunistic for the findings to be generalizable, from the results of the surveys it can be concluded that: multicultural affiliation is something that can be (and is) experienced to varying degrees by some language learners in this population sample; individual learning strategies seem preferred for learning language; and non-standard English is not considered as valuable as standard English. Additionally, a negative correlation between multicultural affiliation and the perceived importance of knowing non-standard English is suggested. These findings may have implications for language instructors and others who wish to investigate the motivations, priorities, and language beliefs of adult English students from this particular demographic.
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Maldonado, Tito. "Regional Precipitation Study in Central America, Using the WRF Model." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Luft-, vatten och landskapslära, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-182208.
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Using the regional climate model WRF, and the NCEP-NCAR Reanalysis Project data asboundary and initial conditions, regional precipitation was estimated by means of thedynamical downscaling technique for two selected periods, January 2000 and September2007. These months show very particular climatic characteristics of the precipitationregimen in Central America, like dry (wet) conditions in the Pacific (Caribbean) coast of theCentral American isthmus, in January, and wet (dry) conditions, respectively in each coast,during September. Four-nested-domains, each grids of resolution of 90 km (d01), 30 km(d02), 10 km (d03), and 3.3 km (d04), were configured over this region. The runs werereinitialized each 5 days with 6 hours of spin-up time for adjustment of the model. A total of8 experiments (4 per month) were tested in order to study: a) two important CumulusParameterization Schemes (CPS), Kain-Fritsch (KF) and Grell-Devenyi (GD); and b) thephysical interaction between nested domains (one- and two-way nesting), during eachsimulated month.January 2000 results showed that the modeled precipitation is in agreement withobservations, and also captured the mean climate features of rainfall concerning magnitude,and spatial distribution, like the particular precipitation contrast between the Pacific and theCaribbean coast.Outputs from September 2007 revealed significant differences when a visual comparison ismade to the spatial distribution of each coarse domain (d01, d02, and d03) with theirrespective domain in each experiment. However, the inner grids (d04) in all theexperiments, showed a similar spatial distribution and magnitude estimation, mainly inthose runs using one-way nesting configuration. Furthermore, the results for this mothdiffer substantially with observations, and the latter could be related with associateddeficiencies in the boundary condition that do not reproduce well the transition periodsfrom warm to cold El Niño episodes.Moreover, in all the experiments, the KF scheme calculated more precipitation than the GDscheme and it is associated to the ability of the GD scheme to reproduce spotty but intenserainfall, and apparently, this scheme is reluctant to activate, frequently yielding little or norain. However, when rainfall does develop, it is very intense.Also, the time series do not replicate specific precipitation events, thus, the 5-daysintegration period used in this study, is not enough to reproduce short-period precipitationevents.Finally, physical interaction issues between the nested domains are reflected indiscontinuities in the precipitation field, which have been associated to mass fieldadjustment in the CPS.Nederbörden i Central Amerika har uppskattats med dynamisk nedskalning för två utvaldaperioder, januari 2000 och september 2007. Global återanalysdata från NCEP-NCARsåteranalysprojekt har använts som randdata och initialdata till den regionalaklimatmodellen WRF. De studerade månaderna uppvisar stora variationer inederbördsmönster, t ex lite (mycket) nederbörd under januari och mycket (lite) nederbördunder september för kustområdena längs Stilla havet (Karibiska havet). Fyra nästladedomäner över Central Amerika har använts med en upplösning på 90 km (d01), 30 km (d02),10 km (d03) och 3,3 km (d04). Simuleringarna initialiserades var 5:e dag och de första 6timmarna efter varje initialisering används för modellens anpassning till initialtillståndet.Totalt 8 experiment genomfördes (4 för varje månad) för att studera: (a) två olika sätt attparameterisera konvektion i Cumulusmoln (CPS), Kain-Fritsch (KF) och Grell-Devenyi (GD)och (b) den fysikaliska interaktionen mellan de nästlade domänerna (en- respektive tvåvägsnästlade scheman).För januari 2000 var det god överensstämmelse mellan modellerad och observeradnederbörd. Modellen beskriver väl såväl mängden nederbörd som den rumsligafördelningen, t ex den stora kontrasten mellan kustområdena längs Stilla havet och Karibiskahavet.För september 2007 uppvisar den modellerade nederbörden stora skillnader i de olikaexperimenten för de yttre domänerna (d01, d02, d03). För den inre domänen (d04) ärresultaten från de olika experimenten betydligt mer lika, särskilt för experimenten medenvägs nästlade scheman. Vidare skiljer sig den modellerade nederbörden väsentligt frånobserverad nederbörd under september 2007. Detta kan förklaras med felaktiga randdatapå grund av problemet i återanalys data att reproducera perioder med övergång från varmtill kall El Niño. I alla experiment gav KF mer nederbörd än GD, det kan förklaras med att GDbättre reproducerar kortvarig, intensiv nederbörd. Det finns en viss tröghet innannederbörden i GD aktiveras, vilket innebär större frekvens av lite eller ingen nederbörd. Närnederbörden väl utvecklas blir den dock intensiv. WRF-modellen klarar inte av att återgespecifika nederbördshändelser för de genomförda experimenten, vilket betyder att 5-dagarär för lång simuleringstid för att kunna reproducera specifika händelser. Slutligen,interaktion mellan de nästlade domänerna skapar diskontinuiteter i nederbördsmöns.
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Mann, Crystal P. "Intracaldera geology of the llopango Caldera, El Salvador, Central America." Thesis, McGill University, 2003. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=79044.
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Ilopango Caldera, which is part of the Central American volcanic arc in El Salvador, is a lake-filled caldera located approximately 10 km east of the capital city has an eventful history of eruption; the most recent pyroclastic eruption, known at the Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ), took place ~1600 years ago. In 1880 a lava dome was erupted into the center of the caldera lake. The aim of this study is to understand the nature of Ilopango eruptions, the magmatic evolution of Ilopango through time and attempt to place Ilopango into a regional context. I conclude that the intracaldera stratigraphy is mostly subaqueously emplaced and that the caldera was occupied by a lake >53,000 years ago during formation of the San Agustin Block unit. The eruption which formed the San Agustin Block unit began with a phreatomagmatic phase and progressed to a more degassed phase, spalling pumices from the quenched carapace of the lava dome. The magmatic evolution of Ilopango is not a progressive magmatic process related to a time factor, but rather reflected by a reservoir that experiences replenishment of a more mafic composition causing fluctuations in magma composition over time. Ilopango is less evolved than other Central American silicic centers such as Atitlan, Amatitlan and Zunil, but is similar in composition to Santa Maria, Santiaguito and Acantenango.
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Best, E. H. "Mexican foreign policy and Central America since the Mexican Revolution." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.383997.
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Vazquez, Eric A. "Realms of Inconsequence: U.S. Imaginaries of Central America, 1979-2005." Research Showcase @ CMU, 2015. http://repository.cmu.edu/dissertations/607.
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This dissertation examines how novelists, solidarity activists, and intellectuals draw out the significance of armed uprisings in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala between 1979 and 2005. The wars that resulted from these insurrections seem to many to have been the last paroxysm of an expired idea: revolutionary struggle. Theorists and scholars often view the 1980s and 90s as the apex of the culture of late capitalism with its attendant features of postmodernist depoliticization and the retreat of the hope for radical social transformation. By contrast, this dissertation demonstrates how Americans engrossed in Central America's conflicts shared a belief in the viability of revolutionary politics and the persistent social importance of culture. Moreover, U.S. narratives about Central American rebellion, I argue, allowed their authors to imagine themselves as participants in transnational history, even human history. Chapters on counterinsurgency theory, David Stoll's anthropology in Guatemala, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's and Jennifer Harbury's solidarity memoirs, and Central American diasporic novelist Héctor Tobar analyze the dispute between political imaginaries relevant to conflict in Central America. Two prevailing tendencies run through the culture of U.S. imperialism in Central America: a reactionary imaginary that seeks to nullify the premises of revolutionary struggle, and an imaginary committed to the project of radical social transformation. Although both tendencies interpret Central America's rebellions against landed oligarchies, military dictatorships, and U.S. hegemony in the region as aspects of a unified event, they diverge in how they narrate these uprisings. Disagreements about the nature of politics arise in these accounts about the capacities and limitations of populations, the function of the state, the dynamics introduced by capitalist expansionism, and the viability of sweeping social change. While the reactionary strand construes these insurgencies as the manifestation of a Hobbesian primordial chaos, the committed strand apprehends the same occurrences as expressions of an emancipatory groundswell. By mapping the range of political imaginaries that arose as part of and in response to U.S. involvement in Central America, this dissertation supplements scholarship exploring how American militarism in Central American anticipated our contemporary wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and how forms of violence helped generate conditions necessary for the rise of neoliberalism. It takes up questions of the legitimacy of Americans’ political and cultural solidarity with social transformation occurring outside the United States. This dissertation reveals that, whether they aligned their aspirations with the forces of change or allowed an imperialist agenda to distort the shape of events, Americans mobilized diverse political imaginaries to engage with revolution beyond U.S. borders.
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Sievert, Ulrica. "El Niño Southern Oscillation, Temperature and Precipitation over Central America." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Luft-, vatten och landskapslära, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-303324.
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This study aims for knowledge about the most important climate features that affect the temperature and precipitation in the continental area of Central America. Systems such as The Caribbean Low Level Jet (CLLJ), The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and The Western Hemisphere Warm Pool (WHWP) components are major contributors to regional climate that strongly interact with the topographical features dividing the Pacific and Caribbean slopes of Central America. Daily data within a 35 year long (1981-2015) time-series of precipitation and temperature for 9 different meteorological stations along both slopes have been investigated to identify their relationship with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases. Missing data were filled in using rellenaf, a routine function developed at the Center for Geophysical Research of the University of Costa Rica. The function estimates data values with principal components and autoregressive methods. Data show that the Pacific slope is mainly characterized by a remarkable contrast between the dry season and the rainy season. The seasonal variations in precipitation are less important for the Caribbean slope. The annual cycle of temperature (for all of the stations) has small differences in amplitude and is rather stable throughout the year, except at the northernmost stations, Belize and Puerto Barrios, where relatively low temperatures dominate the winter months due to cold air intrusions. The low frequency atmospheric mode ENSO, impacts the regional climate and interacts with the earlier mentioned CLLJ, ITCZ and WHWP. Strong ENSO episodes of El Niño and La Niña were compared with anomalies in temperature, precipitation and winds at 925 hPa (mainly focusing on CLLJ). A contribution of negative (positive) anomalies in precipitation was observed during El Niño (La Niña) events for the Pacific slope. This relationship was not present for the Caribbean slope. No connection between the temperature and ENSO could be revealed. It was also shown that CLLJ is stronger (weaker) in February for La Niña (El Niño) and stronger (weaker) in July for El Niño (La Niña) events.I syftet att utöka individuell kunskap om de viktigaste klimatsystemen som påverkar temperatur och nederbörd över den tropiska kontinenten Centralamerika, gjordes en studie. Komponenter såsom den karibiska lågaltituds-jeten (CLLJ The Caribbean Low Level Jet), den intertropiska konvergenszonen (ITCZ The Intertropical Convergence Zone) och västra halvklotets varmvattenspool (WHWP The Western Hemisphere Warm Pool) är huvudsakliga system som påverkar det regionala klimatet och dessa interagerar med topografin. I sin tur delar den upp Centralamerika i Stilla havssidan samt Karibiska sidan, två skiljda regioner ur ett meteorologiskt perspektiv. Dygnsdata, för temperatur och nederbörd inom en tidsperiod av 35 år (1981-2015) för 9 olika meteorologiska stationer, har undersökts för att identifiera mönster kopplat till den södra El Niño-oscillationen (ENSO The El Niño Southern Oscillation). Avsaknad data beräknades med rutinfunktionen rellenaf, som har utvecklats av universitetet i Costa Rica - Centret för geofysisk forskning. Funktionen estimerar datavärden utifrån principiella komponenter -och autoregressiv metod. Från den kompletta datan kunde det identifieras att Stilla havssidan är huvudsakligen kännetecknat av en torrperiod och en regnperiod, medan säsongsvariationerna i nederbörd för Karibiska sidan är mindre. Den årliga temperaturcykeln för hela regionen erhåller små skillnader i amplitud, med andra ord är temperaturen mer eller mindre konstant genom årets gång. Med undantag för de mer nordliga stationerna Belize och Puerto Barrios där lägre temperaturer förekommer under norra halvklotets vintermånader som är orsakat av kallfronter. ENSO är ett lågfrekvent atmosfäriskt system som har påverkan på det regionala klimatet genom att interagera med de tidigare nämna CLLJ, ITCZ and WHWP. De starka faserna El Niño och La Niña observerades och jämfördes med anomalier för temperatur, nederbörd och vindfält på 925 hPa nivå (huvudsakligen fokus på CLLJ). En majoritet av negativa (positiva) anomalier för nederbörd kunde observeras under El Niño (La Niña) fenomen för Stilla havssidan. Dock fanns inte denna relation för den Karibiska sidan. Det fanns heller ingen koppling mellan temperatur och ENSO. Det kunde även ses att CLLJ är starkare (svagare) i februari för la niña (el niño) och starkare (svagare) i juli för el niño (la niña).
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Murray, Malcolm R. "The environmental effects of mangrove clearance in Belize, Central America." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/21441.
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The thesis begins with an examination of the pattern of global mangrove clearance. In Belize unlike many other countries, mangrove clearance is being driven by the current market requirement for housing, rather than industrial or agricultural demands. There is little local demand for mangrove related products (notwithstanding that many of the fish and crustaceans that use the mangrove forest as a nursery ground or habitat are commercially exploited). Analysis of recent clearance permit applications shows that mangrove forest clearance is rapidly accelerating around Belize City. The physical process of forest clearance in Belize is then outlined emphasising its effect upon the forest environmental processes. These are conceptualised in a series of predictive hypotheses considering the expected changes in a range of soil, water and other environmental properties following forest clearance. These are grouped into four - changes stemming from alteration to the little input; changes due to a reduction in the vegetation cover; changes driven by surface water and drainage modification; and finally changes determined by the geology and physical alteration to the ground surface. The significance of such changes in these measured properties is given in a discussion of mangroves stress tolerance and avoidance strategies. Published mangrove tolerance ranges and responses to critical levels of flooding, salinity, temperature, insolation, tidal action, sedimentation, wind, soil acidity, anaerobic state and the presence or absence of soil nutrients are reviewed, summarised in a series of flow diagrams. A field site sampling strategy is devised and three sites of different ages and stages in the clearance process are selected, to provide an insight into both the spatial and temporal aspects of change. A range of soil, water and environmental properties such as ground level insolation and litter cover are measured at these sites using both areal and transect sampling schemes. The resulting data are analysed using 3D visualisation techniques, comparative statistical testing (Mann Whitney-U tests and one way ANOVA) ordination techniques and semi-variogram analysis. These show that significant differences do exist between sites located in the forest and those in the newly cleared areas, with this difference changing through time and manifested at different scales across space. For some properties a third conceptual unit can be sustained - referred to as the "transition zone" - this straddles both sides of the clearance cut-line. By showing that changes occur in the forest soil and water properties in areas next to cleared sites, this thesis concludes with a re-evaluation of Belize's existing mangrove forest clearance legislation. It asks whether the current 66' wide mangrove forest buffer is sufficient to provide a sustainable protective barrier along Belize's coasts and waterways.
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Fuentes, J. A. "Transnational enterprises, technology and Central American economic integration." Thesis, University of Sussex, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.381570.
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Mason, George W. "Improving regiomal security in Central America : military engagment options for Nicaragua /." Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 2002. http://library.nps.navy.mil/uhtbin/hyperion-image/02Dec%5FMason.pdf.
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Thesis (M.A. in International Security and Civil-Military Relations)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2002.Thesis advisor(s): Harold A. Trinkunas, Jeanne Giraldo. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-70). Also available online.
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Pascual, Alejandra Leonor. "O processo pacificador de contadora na America Central: uma tentativa de solução latino-americana para os conflitos latino-americanos." reponame:Repositório Institucional da UFSC, 1990. https://repositorio.ufsc.br/handle/123456789/106309.
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Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciencias JuridicasMade available in DSpace on 2013-12-05T20:04:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 1990Bitstream added on 2016-01-08T16:45:33Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 76825.pdf: 614911 bytes, checksum: 7f5ed150004e0f8e2627a532ab6936d8 (MD5)
A presente dissertação tem como objeto o processo pacificador do Grupo de Contadora na América Central. Trata-se de demonstrar que os conflitos na América Latina devem ser resolvidos pelos próprios países da região, sem hegemonias nem interferências forâneas. A pesquisa desenvolve-se a partir de uma problemática concreta latino-americana: a situação de conflito na América central, agravada no início da década de oitenta, chegando a uma situação de grande confronto bélico entre alguns países da região. Procura-se mostrar a participação de diversos atores internacionais acerca do conflito (principalmente a nível de governo) bem como a postura dos membros face à crise centro-americana. Dentre estes "atores", destaca-se a ação do chamado "Grupo de Contadora" - surgido no início de 1983 - e ação de Contadora enquanto experiência - sem precedentes no contexto latino-americano - de busca de solução para os conflitos por meio do entendimento multilateral entre as nações, dentro do respeito aos princípios do direito internacional. O processo de pesquisa desenvolve-se dentro de uma estrutura de três capítulos e uma conclusão. O primeiro capítulo procura mostrar o papel adotado pelos Estados Unidos, a Europa Ocidental e a União Soviética frente ao conflito centro-americano, num período compreendido, aproximadamente, entre o início da década de oitenta e o ano de 1983 - começo da atuação de Contadora. No segundo apresenta-se as caraterísticas dos governos da América Central, "protagonistas da crise", tanto em relação ao conflito regional, quanto à condução da política interna, O terceiro capítulo mostra o surgimento, ação e propostas do Grupo de Contadora para a pacificação da América Central, os avanços e retrocessos do Grupo na discussão do conflito, bem como a participação da comunidade internacional. As conclusões ressaltam que a paz, a segurança e a prosperidade da América Latina dependem da solução da crise centro-americana e que a experiência de Contadora teve uma importância intrínseca, independente da efetiva viabilização de suas propostas. Contadora traduz um rica experiência para o futuro da comunidade latino-americana, pois significa a possibilidade de criação de mecanis-mos latino-americanos para a solução dos próprios conflitos regionais.
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Garcia, Andres. "State Building and Regionalism in Latin America: Central America and the Rio De La Plata, 1810-1850." FIU Digital Commons, 2000. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3836.
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The purpose of this study is to account for regional disintegration in Central America and the Río de la Plata following Independence. It is a comparison of the two regions that once existed as the Kingdom of Guatemala and the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. After independence these regions became nine separate states: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica in Central America; Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina in the Río de la Plata. The methodology used is the study of the late colonial period, the aftermath of the breakup of centralization, and the rise of the political strongman. Through this research I establish that the roots of nationalism never existed in the two regions. The research demonstrates that the states of Central America and the Río de la Plata exhibited signs of regionalism from their beginnings as colonial administrative centers to the formation of their political boundaries in the middle of the nineteenth century.
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Gomez, Menjivar Jennifer Carolina. "Liminal Citizenry: Black Experience in the Central American Intellectual Imagination." The Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1305915276.
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Mason, George W. "Improving regional security in Central America : military engagement options for Nicaragua." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/3582.
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Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited.Nicaragua plays an essential role in the stability and security of the Central American sub region. The de-stabilizing influence of Sandinista policies in the 1980s gave way to the possibility of a cooperative security community in the 1990s. However, border disputes and increased arms and drug trafficking have recently threatened the trend toward increased stability and sub regional security. Sub regional confidence-building measures adopted immediately following the election of Violeta Chamorro have collapsed in the last two years. This collapse of confidence-building measures has led to increased tensions between Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. The U.S should promote Nicaraguan participation in regional confidence-building measures in order to reduce these tensions. In addition, the relationship between the U.S. and Nicaragua is still strained from the policies of the Sandinista and Reagan administrations. Although relations have been normalized between the two countries, steps should be taken to expand the current passive relationship into a more active one. Confidence-building measures between the U.S. and Nicaragua will help to alleviate some of the strain between the two countries. This thesis recommends U.S. involvement and participation in re-establishing confidence-building measures in the sub region. A perceived gap in U.S.-Nicaraguan civilian engagement could be filled through the implementation of a comprehensive military engagement plan. The use of confidence-building measures in military engagement will foster stability and security in the sub region and strengthen U.S.-Nicaraguan relations.
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Reeves, Richard Guy. "Molecular zoogeography and evolution of primary freshwater fishes in Central-America." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.340798.
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Reinholtz, Amanda, and Amanda Reinholtz. "Reforestation, Water Yield, and Management of Micro-Watersheds in Central America." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/12531.
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In Central America, two conflicting narratives are used to describe the relationship between forest cover and water availability, with implications for management of water resources throughout the region. Many resource managers believe forests increase dry season water availability, but scientific consensus refutes this perspective. This study analyzes the narratives explaining the relationship between forest cover and dry season water yields in Central America and how they influence resource management. In a case study of the Sasle catchment in Nicaragua, I use a combination of satellite imagery analysis and SWAT hydrologic modeling to investigate land use change over the past 25 years and the potential impact of these changes on the hydrology of the catchment. False perceptions of the role of land cover in hydrology are influencing management practices in sensitive headwater catchments and creating unintended results. A broader perspective on the socio-political and scientific context of these narratives is needed.
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Ley, Debora. "Sustainable development, climate change, and renewable energy in rural Central America." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:90ce7966-ad99-4bcc-9192-001712ca03f1.
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Can rural renewable energy projects simultaneously meet the multiple goals of sustainable development, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation? If so, under what conditions? Rural communities throughout Latin America have increasingly suffered the impacts of climate change and few policies exist to help them adapt to these impacts. The basic infrastructure and services that they frequently lack can be provided by low carbon technologies, potentially funded by international carbon finance flows that could enable the Millennium Development Goals of economic growth and poverty alleviation to be met while minimizing carbon emissions. This research will focus on this interrelationship among development, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation policies and practices using political ecology to analyse community renewable energy projects in rural Central America. I assess fifteen community-owned renewable energy projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua to analyse whether current renewable energy projects are achieving these goals in an integrated way. The projects were established primarily as development, emissions reductions, climate change adaptation and disaster relief. The projects are evaluated on economic, development and climate change indicators that include sustainable development, poverty alleviation, emissions reductions, and climate vulnerability. I examine how the type of common property governance, local historical and environmental background and project implementation process influence the project success in meeting multiple objectives of climate adaptation, mitigation and development. Research methods include participatory poverty assessment techniques, semi-structured interviews, stakeholder analysis, and a combination of rapid and participatory methods. The analysis of sustainable development and vulnerability used the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach methodologies and emissions reductions were calculated using standard carbon reduction methodologies. The results show that, under certain conditions, renewable energy projects can simultaneously meet these three objectives, and thus that responses to climate change can be integrated with poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Small scale hydroelectric and solar systems can reduce emissions, enable adaptation and help local livelihoods although there are numerous problems that limit the success of projects including poor design, inequitable distribution of benefits, and poorly designed governance and maintenance structures.
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Lopez, Rojas Jose. "An Analysis of Investments by Multilateral Development Banks in Central America." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2844.
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Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are under increased pressure to justify their allocation of donor resources. These funds help produce growth in developing regions such as Central America (CA), where wealth inequality limits individuals' access to basic services and increases the prevalence of crime and corruption. MDB leaders are not always confident the allocation of limited resources creates optimal value. The capital asset price model (CAPM) was the theoretical framework of this correlational study. Archival data consisting of annual reports and audited financial statements were used to draw a sample (N = 66) of USD $4.857-asset valued loans made by MDBs between 1995-2013 in 7 CA countries. Regression analysis was used to determine the significance of relationships between the independent variables including the risk-free rate of return (Rf), volatility of a project (βp), and expected return on the market (Rm) and the dependent variable, the expected return (rp) used by MDBs. No evidence of a statistically significant relationship between the expected return of individual loans (adjusted for risk-free rate, volatility, and market return) and the expected return used by MDBs was found using correlational analysis. Findings from multiple regression analysis indicated that the expected return used by MDBs underperforms risk-adjusted market expectations. Study findings may help MDB leaders to promote business development and social welfare in CA through private investments, which may result in positive social change.
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ORDONEZ, JOHNATHAN. "WHEN POLICY MEETS POLITICS: BORDER DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL AMERICA." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2434/547536.
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This research explores new dynamics of integration in Central America through studying the implementation of cross-border development policies. By implementing development policies at the border level, local communities from different countries engage in new forms of social, political and economic cooperation with each other. Therefore, this research explores the causal conditions that .are either necessary or sufficient to create cross-border development policies in Central America. The study included macro and micro context analysis of 20 cities (paired in 10 dyads or cases) across six countries. Furthermore, the research used fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA) in the two-step approach to explain the existence of cross-border development policies. By analyzing cross-border cooperation at two levels, the research found that cross-border policies are created when background contexts (remote conditions) and proximate factors (proximate conditions) interact with each other. Two background or “outcome-enabling” conditions were found in the first-step analysis. Six causal paths were found in the second-step analysis as the result of combining both remote and proximate conditions, complying with the rules of equifinality and conjunctural causation in the two-step approach. The results of the research show that specific political configurations at the macro level are necessary to implement certain types of policies at the border level. This is the area where policy meets politics.
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Lara, Perla Claudia Elizabeth. "Epidemiology of blood-borne viral infections with special reference to Central America /." Stockholm, 2000. http://diss.kib.ki.se/2000/91-628-4194-7/.
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Hudler, Dale Brent. "Modeling paleolandscapes in central Texas /." Digital version accessible at:, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.
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Lyon, Scott William. "Breaking down barriers: Market opportunities for Appalachian forest products in Central America." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34328.
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The research purpose was to determine strengths and weaknesses of Appalachian wood products sales in Central America. In the future, there may be a greater need for international forest products in Central America due to increasing population size, tourism, and deforestation. Potential market opportunities for Appalachian forest product companies in Central America were evaluated and strategies were developed to increase exports from Appalachian wood product companies. Interviews of Central American wood products wholesalers and government and non-government officials were conducted to determine the current situation of the forest, the demand for local wood production, and potential for future production of wood products. A survey of wood products retailers and manufacturers was conducted to determine drivers and barriers of the sale of Appalachian wood products in Central America. Models were developed to describe relationships between company performance and suppliers and a series of independent variables (e.g, supplier promotion, product attributes).
Results suggested that U.S. wood products companies have not put enough effort into marketing forest products in Central America. Central American wood products consumers lack knowledge of Appalachian wood products and their advantages over wood products currently used. Inconsistencies between Appalachian and Central American wood products industries (e.g., dimensions, species terminology) act as a barrier to efficient exchange of wood products. Models suggest that companies may need to focus on barriers to increase company performance. The best market strategies for Appalachian forest products companies to increase sales into Central America are: partner with local wholesalers, offer higher value-added products, maintain similar pricing with competition, and offer sales and product discounts.Master of Science