The transformation of traditional gender ideology has been actively promoted in Mexican society over recent decades. While adults’ renegotiations of traditional ideals and their efforts to forge modern relations have received significant ethnographic attention, little is known about how children in Mexico engage with the contradictions inherent in the coexistence of old and new expectations. This thesis, based on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork, explores children’s readiness to resist gender divisions and embrace gender equality in the Mexican village of Metztitlán in the state of Hidalgo. The research focused on the, often contradictory, information that was made available to children at home, in the neighbourhood and in the school setting and on how children, aged between six and eleven, negotiated expectations that concerned aggressive behaviour, toy use and the division of labour. The thesis asks whether children regarded gender divisions as problematic and, if they did, whether this translated into readiness to resist traditional expectations through everyday interactions. It pays particular attention to how different kinds of audiences both influenced and were influenced by children’s resistance to gender divisions. The finding is that in domains, such as toy use or the division of labour, in which egalitarian alternatives to traditional expectations were available (e.g. through schooling), most girls and boys, in conversations with the anthropologist, expressed their allegiance to gender equality. However, children did not put these attitudes to work through interactions with peers and adults unless they found personally meaningful advantages in egalitarian arrangements. When they recognised tangible benefits of equality, they not only showed readiness to resist traditional divisions themselves but also to encourage adults to do the same.

Mountains are hazardous places. Framed in political ecology and disaster theory in geography, this research set out to answer the overarching question of how the risk of climate-related disasters has changed in mountain areas of Guatemala at the start of the century. It involved four main related activities that examined key elements of disaster risk: 1) the trigger, assessing extreme rainfall trends based on daily records; 2) the hazards, through an evaluation of the relevance of land use and cover (LUC) to slope failure; 3) elements of social vulnerability, looking at its geography and trend at the turn of the century, and also exploring the role of globalisation in specific communities; and 4) an assessment and mapping of disaster risk in two sites, including an estimation of exposure levels to hazards. Methods range from statistical analysis of quantitative data (rainfall, landslide, and vulnerability chapters), GIS-based modelling (risk mapping), and qualitative analysis including interviews. The main findings state that: increasing annual and extreme rainfall has contributed to higher disaster risk only in a few areas; LUC change from forest to annual crops has increased risk in a few locations but it has not done so in most of the volcanic highlands either because there has been only minor LUC change or because LUC does not seem to have an effect on slope failure in certain types of geology. Disaster risk has decreased overall because vulnerability has become lower in the vast majority of mountain areas but risk may be higher as a result of increased exposure to hazards either in mountain communities or in marginal areas of the capital and surrounding municipios. The analysis of risk helped identify four mountain zones where risk is very likely to have increased. Further research questions are mostly related to studying the evolution of climate-related disaster risk in those areas.

Physical erosion can mobilise particulate organic carbon (POC) from vegetation and soil, representing an export of primary productivity from ecosystems, and a lateral transfer of carbon recently-derived from the atmosphere. These carbon transfers are thought to be enhanced in mountain forests where erosion rates are high. However, the rates and controls on POC transfer remain poorly constrained, as does the impact of POC export on carbon cycling at regional and global scales. This thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach to address this issue, using remote sensing, river geochemistry, river hydrology, and geomorphic mapping in the Kosñipata Valley, in the Central Andes of Peru. Its main aims are to: 1) estimate stream discharge throughout the year and to evaluate the water balance and sources; 2) quantify the source of riverine POC, accounting for POC derived from sedimentary rocks (POC_fossil) to examine the POC eroded from soils and vegetation (POC_non-fossil); 3) quantify river POC yields; 4) assess the hillslope processes that erode POC; and 5) assess how POC export impacts the carbon balance of mountain forest, and how fluvial transfer impacts the wider carbon cycle. Stream flow was monitored from January 2010 to February 2011 at two newly installed river gauging stations in the Kosñipata Valley at 2250 m (Wayqecha, 48.5 km²) and 1360 m (San Pedro, 164.4 km²). Then annual water balance for the San Pedro catchment was quantified. Rainfall inputs of 3028 mm and cloud water inputs of 308 ± 97 mm were balanced by outputs via stream runoff (2721 mm) and actual evapotranspiration (907 mm), leaving a residual of -294 ± 97 mm (< ~10 % of water inputs). The source of POC in river suspended sediment samples was quantified using radiocarbon (Δ¹⁴C, ‰), stable carbon isotopes, and the nitrogen to carbon ratio. This revealed that river POC_non-fossil was sourced from very young organic carbon in the valley (Δ¹⁴C ~50 ‰) and that POC_fossil comprised 43 % of total POC. Combining the hydrometric measurements with river samples, annual particulate load fluxes were quantified. The vast majority (73 % to 77 %) of the annual suspended sediment transfer and POC (both POC_fossil and POC_non-fossil) occurred in the wet season over a period of 4 months. The suspended sediment yield for the valley (960 – 1200 t km^-2 yr^-1) was consistent with those for the Andean portion of the Madre de Dios River into which the Kosñipata River drains. The river POC_non-fossil yield was 5.2 – 6.9 tC km^-2 yr^-1. Landslides are likely to have played an important role in the mobilisation of POC_non-fossil. A detailed landslide mapping using 25 years of remote sensing data revealed that on average 0.09 % of the valley per year is impacted by this mass-wasting process. These landslides mobilise ~28 tC km^-2 yr^-1 of soil and vegetation valley-wide. The discrepancy between the landslide erosional flux and fluvial POCnon-fossil export suggests an important fraction of the POCnon-fossil harvested by landslides is either exported as coarse debris (not quantified in the fluvial POC_non-fossil flux), remains buried onsite, or is degraded and respired onsite. Landslides also played an important ecosystem function, turning over some sections of the mountain forest within ~625 years, with a 1200 year valley-wide mean. On the basin scale, the Madre de Dios River drains ~ 6 % of the Amazonian Andes. This study enables estimation of the delivery of POC to the lowland Amazon Basin. Using the observation that POC_non-fossil and POC_fossil fluxes were closely linked with suspended sediment transfer, total yields of ~0.22 MtC yr^-1 and ~0.17 MtC yr^-1, respectively, were estimated from this section of the Andes. The export of POC_non-fossil from mountain forests by rivers represents 0.4 – 1.0 % yr^-1 of the net primary productivity of Andean forest and so even if only a small portion of this is buried in sedimentary deposits, it may promote the Andes as a carbon sink. These results demonstrate the long-term influence of erosional processes in the cycling of carbon in the Amazon Basin.

Background: One’s motivations to study medicine as a career might play an important role in the performance of the future professional. Objective: To validate a motivation for choosing medicine scale in Latin American medical students. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional multi-centered study including a sample of medical students from eight Spanish-speaking countries. Using a previously adapted Spanish scale and previous qualitative research, an initial 24- ítem Likert-like scale was generated, and subjects’ comprehension of this scale was tested in a pilot study. We calculated item-test correlation. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal component analysis with oblimin rotation and Kaiser Normalization was performed. Statistical determination of the number of factors was based on the Kaiser criterion, the Cattell scree plot and an explained variance of 5%. Assignment of items was based on weak loadings greater than 0.35. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s alpha (α). Results: 435 subjects were suitable for analysis; 55% were male subjects and the mean age was 21.7±2.7 years. Two items were excluded due to a low itemtest correlation. EFA initially showed five factors; however, three of them did not have adequate internal consistency and their exclusion did not affect the global internal consistency of the questionnaire. Finally, two six-item factors were included; i) social/altruistic (α=0.80) and ii) economic/prestige (α=0.71), revealed which together explained 45.5% of the variance and revealed an adequate global internal consistency (α=0.74). Conclusions: The generated scale is valid and reliable, and comprises two factors representing social and economic motivations. We recommend its use in assessing motivations regarding the choice of a medical career in Latin America. / Introducción: Las motivaciones para estudiar la carrera de medicina podrían jugar un rol importante en el futuro desempeño de los profesionales. Objetivo: Validar una escala para evaluar las motivaciones para estudiar medicina en estudiantes de medicina latinoamericanos. Métodos: Estudio de corte transversal multicéntrico que incluyó a una muestra de estudiantes de 18 escuelas de medicina de ocho países hispanohablantes. A partir de un instrumento español y estudios cualitativos se generó una matriz inicial de 24 ítems con escala tipo-Likert, cuya compresión fue evaluada en un estudio piloto. Se efectuó un análisis factorial exploratorio (AFE), mediante el análisis de componentes principales con rotación oblicua oblimin y normalización de Kaiser, previa evaluación de la correlación ítem-test. La determinación estadística del número de dominios fue basada en el criterio de Kaiser, la pendiente de Catell y una varianza explicada mínima de 5%. La asignación de los ítems se basó en valores de carga superiores a 0,35. Se midió la consistencia interna con el alpha de Cronbach (α). Resultados: Se incluyó 435 participantes; 55% fueron varones y la media de la edad fue 21,7±2,7 años. Se excluyeron dos ítems debido a una baja correlación ítemtest. En el AFE, se identificaron cinco dominios iniciales; sin embargo, tres de ellos no contaban con una adecuada consistencia interna y su exclusión no afectaba a la consistencia interna global del cuestionario. Finalmente, fueron incluidos dos dominios de seis ítems cada uno: i) social/altruista (α=0,80) y ii) económico/ prestigio (α=0,71), presentaron los cuales explicaban en conjunto el 45,5% de la varianza y presentaron una adecuada consistencia interna global (α=0,74). Conclusiones: La escala generada (MEM-12) es válida y confiable, y está conformada por dos dominios, los cuales denotan aspectossociales y económicos. Se sugiere su uso en la valoración de las motivaciones en la elección de la carrera de medicina en Latinoamérica.

Czech immigration to Latin America in the 20th century is relatively well-documented phenomena. Nevertheless it still opens up some areas that invites to detailed research. One of them is the Czech emigration to Chile in the first half of the 20th century. Due to the remoteness of the Chilean Republic immigration developed much later compared to the situation in traditional immigration countries that were mainly Argentina and Brazil. We can say it is the marginal area of the Czech migration although it is possible to find even in this small group of immigrants interesting life stories of Czechs that decided to try their luck in distant South America. This thesis aims to introduce main periods of the Czech immigration to Chile in the first half of the 20th century and to describe the life stories of Czechs who have left a significant legacy in Chilean society. Author also intends to focus on motives of choosing Chile as a final destination, Chilean migration policy in the particular periods and also to development of compatriots' activity in the areas of concentration of Czech citizens. Unfortunately there is not much literature related to this issue and that is why author will primarily derive from the archival sources of Chilean or Czechoslovak origin (Archive of the Czech Ministry of Foreign...

The Diploma Thesis deals with the character and formation of the regime of the controversial president Alberto Fujimori in 1990s in Peru and his followers' expectances in this Latin American country in the future. The main aim is to evaluate the influence of the president Fujimori's policy on progress in Peru. The main aim will be achieved through several partial aims (theoretical definition of democratic and undemocratic regimes, analysis of the most important turning-points, analysis of several aspects of president's policy and its influence in Peru, analysis of contemporary situation of fujimorism followers in Peru). There is used a historical logical method in the Thesis. This method is applied in chronological sequence on several events. These events are evaluated through the use of the analysis and fujimorism is characterized through an inductive method on the basis of particular findings. The comprehension of the period of the 1990s helps perceive not only a contemporary situation in the country in a better way, but also social changes which have happened and are happening right now.

[pt] O papel deste estudo foi investigar se as alterações de ratings de países da América Latina produzem impactos significativos no mercado acionário brasileiro. Por ser tratar de teste de hipótese semiforte de eficiência de mercado, o estudo foi conduzido através de teste estatístico paramétrico. Os resultados encontrados corroboram com hipótese de efeito contágio no mercado acionário brasileiro, através do índice IBX. O estudo também conclui que a intensidade do impacto também depende do tipo de informação incorporada nos anúncios de mudanças de classificações soberanas. / [en] The objective of this study was to investigate if sovereign rating changes for Latin America affect the Brazilian stock market. To measure this potential impact, the parametrical statistical test of event study was adopted, commonly used in semi-strong market efficiency tests. The results support the idea of contagion effects in the Brazilian Market through the IBX index. This study also concludes that the impact depends on the type of announcement of ratings changes.

Ao lado de Ulises Lima, Arturo Belano protagoniza o romance Los detectives salvajes (1998), do escritor chileno Roberto Bolaño. A trajetória de Belano, que ultrapassa essa obra, e desembarca com semelhante força e espaço no romance Amuleto (1999), confunde-se propositalmente com a biografia do autor. Configura-se na construção desse personagem a clássica figura do alter ego, aqui servindo ao escritor como instrumento de revisão da própria história e de sua relação com a vida política e literária de uma América Latina em ebulição na década de 1970. A referida relação é, como este trabalho pretende demonstrar, utópica. Essa utopia, ao frustrar-se no exercício da política propriamente dita, migra para o campo literário, convertendo a poesia em horizonte, o único possível. / Beside Ulises Lima, Artur Belano stars Los detectives salvajes (1998), a novel written by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño. Belanos journey, which surpasses the book and reaches, with similar strength and space, the novel Amuleto (1999), is intentionally merged with the authors biography. The construction of this character makes use of the classical concept of the alter ego, which is, in this case, the writers instrument for revising his own history and his relationship with the political and literary life of a booming Latin America in the 1970s. As this present work intends to show, the mentioned relationship is utopian. This utopia, when frustated in the political activity itself, moves to the literary field, turning poetry into the horizon, the only one possible.

A partir des pratiques éducatives des paysans zapatistes du Chiapas, l’autonomie se conceptualise comme la construction collective d’un projet des peuples indiens dans un champ de domination et de résistance sociale. Au cœur de la dispute avec l’Etat nation, le contrôle des communautés sur les éducateurs qu’elles désignent et évaluent est mis en perspective avec d’autres contextes, discours et actions d’organisations politiques autochtones en Amérique latine. Avant 1994, des programmes indiens d’éducation, d’abord clandestins, comme dans le Quiché guatémaltèque et le Cauca colombien, constituent des antécédents à l’expérience zapatiste d’autonomie radicale. En tant que politiques endogènes, sui generis, et historiquement situés dans des territoires ou des refuges multiculturels, ils remettent en question la capacité et la légitimité de l’Etat nation dans la gestion administrative et pédagogique des écoles. Avec l’autorité de l’assemblée des familles et de nouvelles charges communautaires [notamment les « promoteurs d’éducation »], les relations de pouvoir et les positions d’intermédiation sociale se reconfigurent entre les acteurs de l’Etat et des territoires rebelles. La participation active des militants Tzeltal contribue à l’appropriation sociale de l’école, en étant un frein à la différenciation sociale et à l’assimilation culturelle. Elle est un moteur de la dignité et de la légitimité de gérer l’espace et le temps scolaire, mais aussi les méthodes et les contenus. Les changements liés à l’autonomie bousculent ainsi les continuités de l’organisation de l’école, du rôle politique et du travail des enseignants, et des choix pédagogiques pertinents du point de vue des Indiens zapatistes. / Based on the educational practices of the Zapatista peasants of Chiapas, autonomy is conceptualized as the collective construction of a project of Indian peoples in a field of domination and social resistance. At the center of the dispute with the nation state, control over educators by the communities who designate and evaluate them is put into perspective with other contexts, discourses and actions of indigenous political organizations in Latin America. Before 1994, Indian education programs, primarily clandestine, as in the Quiché [Guatemala] and Cauca [Colombia], were antecedents to the Zapatista experience of radical autonomy. As endogenous policies, sui generis, and historically located in multicultural territories or refuges, they call into question the capacity and legitimacy of the nation state in the administrative and pedagogical management of schools. With the authority of the assembly of families and of new communitarian roles! [including the “promoters of education”], the power relations and the social positions of intermediation are being reconfigured between State actors and rebel territories. The active participation of Tzeltal activists contributes to the social appropriation of the school, thus becoming a barrier against social differentiation and cultural assimilation. This participation is an engine for dignity and legitimacy in managing space and time at school, as well as methods and contents. Changes related to autonomy destabilize the status quo in terms of the organization of the school, the political role and work of teachers, and the educational choices relevant for Zapatistas indigenous people.

Discute o autoritarismo na América Latina entre as décadas de 1950 e 1970, por meio das histórias em quadrinhos do roteirista argentino Héctor Germán Oesterheld. O objetivo é refletir sobre as possibilidades de comunicação para uma conscientização social e política e um maior desenvolvimento moral dos leitores com o uso dos quadrinhos, em função de seus vários recursos de linguagem. A técnica de investigação é a interpretação de bibliografias que enfocam as diferentes perspectivas sobre as histórias em quadrinhos e acerca do autoritarismo do Poder Público, o que inclui o fato histórico e político das ditaduras militares, que favoreceram relações sociais autoritárias, e também a resistência das sociedades civis latino-americanas em relação a esses governos. / Discusses authoritarianism in Latin America between the 1950s and 1970s, through the comic books of argentine writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld. The objective is to reflect on the possibilities of communication for a social and political awareness and a greater moral development of the readers with the use of comics, due to its various language resources. The research technique is the interpretation of bibliographies that focus on the different perspectives on comics and on the authoritarianism of the Public Power, which includes the historical and political fact of the military dictatorships, which favored authoritarian social relations, as well as the resistance of Latin American civil societies in relation to these governments.