Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries / Leaf 137 (Bibliography) is missing.

Throughout Latin America the conservative terms established at the outset of democratization, which often limited the scope of democracy for the preservation of stability, have been exhausted. Coinciding with the emergence of the Latin American left, the initial terms of democracy are being redefined through the reconstitution of the state and the renegotiation of the role of the state in the economy. These phenomena are presently and precipitously unfolding in Bolivia. Bolivia’s failure to establish substantively democratic institutions resulted in a political-economy orientation incongruent to the preferences of the electorate. The electorate was forced to push their interests by means of increasingly assertive social movements, which coalesced, forming viable leftist party alternatives. Seeking to redefine the parameters of the state, the actualization of the left’s nationalization agenda reversed decades-old policies of privatization that had been maintained through pacted executive legislative relations. In redefining Bolivian democracy, the left has confronted a resistant opposition, which has thrust the country into a political impasse, the outcome of which has yet to be determined.

Tesis de grado para obtener el titulo de Licenciatura en Biologia, Universidad Mayor de San Simon, Facultad de Ciencias Y Tecnologia, Carrera de Biologia. / Abstract in Spanish and English.

No description available.

No description available.

Throughout Latin America the conservative terms established at the outset of democratization, which often limited the scope of democracy for the preservation of stability, have been exhausted. Coinciding with the emergence of the Latin American left, the initial terms of democracy are being redefined through the reconstitution of the state and the renegotiation of the role of the state in the economy. These phenomena are presently and precipitously unfolding in Bolivia. Bolivia’s failure to establish substantively democratic institutions resulted in a political-economy orientation incongruent to the preferences of the electorate. The electorate was forced to push their interests by means of increasingly assertive social movements, which coalesced, forming viable leftist party alternatives. Seeking to redefine the parameters of the state, the actualization of the left’s nationalization agenda reversed decades-old policies of privatization that had been maintained through pacted executive legislative relations. In redefining Bolivian democracy, the left has confronted a resistant opposition, which has thrust the country into a political impasse, the outcome of which has yet to be determined.

Neighbourhood trade-stores, or small scale retail outlets specialising in domestic provisions sold in small quantities, are common features of residential landscapes in developing countries. While these shops are fixtures in the everyday micro-geographies of urban places, little is known as to how they are economically and socially bound up with the neighbourhoods in which they are situated and, in turn, how these linkages influence the day-to-day life circumstances of local people. Through such a local-level investigation utilising multiple qualitative methods, I examine the intra-neighbourhood economic and social roles of small trade-stores in an urban neighbourhood in Cochabamba, Bolivia. My analysis reveals that trade-stores were a key influence on the welfare of neighbourhood residents. Economically, these shops functioned as safeguards for family economies by providing multidimensional material support. Socially, trade-stores acted as mechanisms for informal social control, nodes of local information exchange, and sources of local social opportunities and social support.

The tropical glaciers in the Bolivian Andes Mountains are small and respond quickly to changes in their climate. They are also a major source of freshwater year-round for nearby communities. Monitoring the glacial changes taking place in these glaciers has become increasingly important as they have been retreating over the past century. These glaciers are remote and the terrain treacherous making it potentially dangerous to gather data through field work. For this reason and because of advances in remote sensing technologies the use of satellite images has become the primary means to study these tropical glaciers in detail. This research study focuses on the Cordillera Apolobamba range located on the Peruvian-Bolivian border. It is an example of the methodology applied to assess the area covered by glaciers in this and other regions around the world. Using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images from 1985 to 2010, as well as the Glacier Inventory of Bolivia, the glacier extents of the Apolobamba are mapped. From 1975 to 2010 the portion of the range located within Bolivia's border lost 110.76 km^2 of surface ice lowering its total area from 240.36 km^2 to 129.60 km2, a 46.08% reduction. From the 1985 to 2010 the entire Apolobamba range lost 102.72 km^2 of ice lowering its total area from 261.07 km^2 to 158.35 km^2, a 39.35% reduction. An analysis of atmospheric conditions was conducted at the 500 hPa level for various climate variables using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Between time period one (1975-1986) and two (1987-1995) the climate variables exhibiting a statistically significant change are air temperature with an increase of .165 degrees C and geopotential height with an increase of 2.967 m. Between time period two and three (1996-2005) the climate variables exhibiting a statistically significant change are freezing level with a 50.017 m increase, precipitation with an 60.604 mm/month decrease and wind velocity with an increase of .373 m/sec. According to the analysis conducted using the Oceanic Nino Index, the monthly sea surface temperatures exhibit no statistically significant change from 1975-2005.

No description available.

The thesis investigates the content and composition of the despacho, the ritual offering used to propitiate principal earth deities in the Bolivian mining town of Oruro (Department of Oruro). The despacho is also designed to increase suerte which is viewed not only in terms of material fortune, but also personal well-being and harmony with the cosmos. The concepts and terminology of the despacho are discussed, as well as the different types of despacho used, and particular features of their content, composition and presentation. The first part of the thesis shows how the content and arrangement of the despacho constitute a symbolic language, communicating what is important about suerte, and creating a miniature picture of life on earth in all its abundance. The despacho’s symbolic language is particularly meaningful in terms of suerte and the Quechua and Aymara peoples’ worldview. The second part of the thesis investigates the use of six different curing mesas used in a ritual ceremony to restore suerte following a coca divination ceremony. Both ceremonies were performed by an Aymara ritual specialist from a village south of Oruro. The content and function of each mesa is discussed, and I show how the six mesas were used in a sequence to describe a transition from mala suerte to suerte, and as part of a broader sequence of ritual events. In this part of the thesis I demonstrate how symbolic language is also used in healing mesas to describe and bring about changes between different states, and to create access to suerte in ritual.