BACKGROUND: Micronutrient deficiency (vitamin A, iron, and iodine) is highly prevalent in the Dominican Republic as indicated by food consumption patterns, which are not reflective of consumption of micronutrient dense foods. Previous studies (Neves, Ramalho, Padilha, & Saunders, 2014) have shown that nutrition education offered by prenatal providers has a positive impact on nutrition outcomes in mothers and children. Little research exists which examines the difference in micronutrient consumption among mothers in the Dominican Republic. The aim of this study was to determine differences in micronutrient rich food consumption of mothers in the Dominican Republic based on type of prenatal provider (General practitioner, Obstetrics/gynecology (OBGYN) or no Provider). METHODS: The 2007 Dominican Republic DHS dataset was employed for this study. Odds ratios from multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine association between sources of prenatal service and micronutrient food intake. Statistical adjustments were made for residence, wealth index, education, marital status, smoking age and number children ever had. RESULTS: Compared with mothers who did not utilize any of the prenatal services, mothers who sought care from General practitioners and OBGYN had increased odds of consuming vitamin A, iodine and iron micronutrient rich foods, adjusting for residence, wealth index, education, marital status, smoking age and mother’s total number of children. However, the associations were not statistically significant. Compared to mothers who did not use prenatal care, mothers who used the services of General practitioners and OB/GYNs had greater odds, (OR=1.09; 95% CI:0.85-1.41) and (OR=1.29; 95% CI:1.01-1.65) respectively, of consuming at least one micronutrient food. Compared to mothers who did not use prenatal care, mothers who used the services of General practitioners (OR=1.31; 95% CI:1.00-1.70) and OB/GYNs and (OR=1.36; 95% CI:1.05-1.75), had greater odds of consuming at least two micronutrient foods. The corresponding odds ratios for consuming all three micronutrients for mothers using the services of General practitioners and OBGYN were 1.48 (95% CI=0.80-2.74) and 1.51 (95% CI=0.84-2.74), respectively. Prenatal Care and Micronutrient Dense Foods 3 DISCUSSION: Improvements and access to programs providing nutrition education for prenatal care providers, and medical and nutrition assistance to poor mothers may help to increase micronutrient rich food consumption in the Dominican Republic. KEY WORDS: micronutrient, diet, maternal, Dominican Republic

This thesis analyses the importance of race for the construction of nation and ethnicity in the Dominican Republic, a situation in which racial ancestry and spatial proximity to Haiti are paramount. Firstly, racial legacies are of primary importance among a Dominican population where cultural, linguistic and religious differences are limited. Racial differences are manipulated through the unequal standing and significance given to European, African and indigenous ancestries. European and indigenous heritages in the Dominican Republic have been celebrated at the expense of an African past. Secondly, Dominican identity is constructed vis-à-vis Haiti, most notably with respect to race and nation, and through the ancillary variables of religion and language. The importance of the Dominican Republic's shared insularity and shared history with Haiti is stressed throughout the study, though a racially-constructed fault-line has arisen from this territorial and historical association. In general terms, social geographers would describe the Dominican population as mulato/a. Dominicans, however, describe race with a plethora of colour-coded terms, ranging from coffee, chocolate, cinnamon and wheat, to the adoption of lo indio, a device which avoids using mulato/a or negro/a. The term indio/a is a key component of Dominican racial perception. It translates as 'indian', a much-used reference to the island's indigenous inhabitants before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Negritud is associated in popular Dominican opinion with the Haitian population. Dominicanidad, on the other hand, represents a celebration of whiteness, Hispanic heritage and Catholicism. The analysis of secondary material is contextualised throughout the thesis by the results of field work undertaken during twelve months of research in the Dominican Republic, consisting of two visits between 1994 and 1995. Semi-informal interviewing of three hundred residents in three study sites focused on the issues of anti-Haitian sentiment and the bias towards a light aesthetic in Dominican society. Two survey sites were urban neighbourhoods of lower and upper-middle class status in the capital city of Santo Domingo, and the other was an area of rural settlement named Zambrana. Interviews were structured around a mixed fixed and open response survey. The first chapter introduces the outline of research and the location of survey sites. Chapter two analyses the historical basis of race in the Dominican Republic, examined in the context of relations with Haiti. The development of Dominican society from the colonial period is outlined, and the influence of anti-Haitian sentiment and the use of indio/a as an ambiguous racial term discussed with reference to contemporary opinion. The third chapter opens up the analysis of social differentiation in the Dominican Republic by considering the role of class stratification and its implication for racial identification. The development of social classes is described and the impact of race and class studied in the three survey sites. The fourth chapter addresses the role of race in popular culture, with a specific focus on the household. Racial terminology is frequently used in combination with the presuppositions inherent in a patriarchal culture. Women's roles are reviewed with particular reference to household structure, occupation and the gendered nature of race under patriarchal norms. The domestic or private sphere is a key site for the expression of patriarchy, but it is also the location for the practice of Afro-syncretic religious beliefs, which themselves are racialised and gendered. Aspects of race in everyday lives, thus, are inherently gendered, domesticated and sanctified. Chapter five expands the analysis of race to include the influence of international migration on Dominican racial identification. The Dominican Republic is a transnational society which relies on migrant remittances and commerce, in particular from the migration of Dominicans to the United States. International migration has dramatically shaped Dominican society over the last three decades. The chapter considers the effect of this two-way flow of people, capital and culture on Dominican perceptions of race. Despite the influence of transnationalism on most aspects of Dominican society, the impact of United States' race relations on migrant and non-migrant racial identity has been limited. The last two substantive chapters focus upon the specific aspects of race and nation as revealed through contemporary Dominican literature and politics. The sixth chapter reviews the importance of negritud in contemporary literature, and argues that many modern writers maintain idealised and misleading perceptions of the racial reality. Chapter seven concentrates on the impact of race during the Dominican elections in 1994 and 1996. Overt racial prejudice marked the campaigns of leading political parties, and the alleged Haitian 'threat' to Dominican sovereignty became a dominant item on the election agenda. Finally, the concluding chapter outlines existing theories of race and ethnicity, analysing their applicability to the Dominican situation and suggesting alternative viewpoints in the light of the current research. It is suggested that the promotion of a popular democratic ideology of multiculturalism could provide the basis for effective anti-racist policy in the Dominican Republic.

Background: With the MDG 7 target deadline approaching to halve the global population lacking access to improved water and sanitation by 2015, many nations find the need to explore alternative water sources. Rainwater may be a viable alternative water source. However, there have been concerns raised in recent decades as to the quality of rainwater harvested for potable use. Methods: Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys database which included 50,579 household surveys between 2002 and 2007 from the Dominican Republic were examined. STATA 8 was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed, and logistic regression analysis was used to compare toilet type, water source, and type of place of residence with prevalence of diarrheal disease in children under five. Results: This study found that rainwater presents less risk for diarrheal disease when compared to all other water sources (excluding bottled water). In 2002, people who consumed all other sources of water (excluding bottled) were 1.28 times more likely to have diarrhea in children under 5 (95% CI 1.05-1.57) compared to those who consumed rainwater. They were 1.33 times more likely to have diarrhea in children under 5 (95% CI 1.08-1.65) in 2007 and 1.31 times more likely in both years combined (95% CI 1.13-1.51). Discussion: This study concluded that consuming rainwater presents a decreased risk for diarrheal disease compared to all other sources (excluding bottled water). More studies are needed to add more evidence to the existing literature regarding health risks associated with rainwater consumption.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, May 2010. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 14, 2010). "Department of Anthropology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-103).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The Rio San Juan Complex is an important occurrence of high pressure/low temperature rocks in the circum-Caribbean region which contains both coherent blueschist units and two varieties of melange in the same area. The melanges contain a diverse assemblage of blocks of various sizes, different degrees of metamorphism, and mineral assemblages. Some high pressure blocks show two stages of metamorphism. The earliest stage is characterized by high pressure-low temperature conditions and the second stage is characterized by high pressure-lower temperature conditions. The geochemistry of thirteen samples from the Rio San Juan Complex has been studied and data have been compared with rocks of adjacent regions. Geochemical evidence indicates that rocks from the Rio San Juan Complex have predominant calc-alkaline affinities with subordinate tholeiitic affinities. This suggests that they have a multiple tectonic provenance.

No description available.

The case of Esperanza in the Dominican Republic illustrates graphically that land reform is used by governmental leaders as a political tool; although land reform is continuously promised in the Dominican Republic, it is rarely delivered. The state has realized autonomy from class factions by alternately appeasing different class factions (Grindle 1986). The promise and occasional delivery of land reform in the Dominican Republic is one of the most powerful tools the governmental leaders have to appease the Dominican peasantry. Through the promise of reform, governmental leaders are able to control the rural campesinos while the economic position of the peasantry is continually compromised; campesinos are increasingly forced to live dualistic lives as wage laborers and farmers (de Janvry 1981; Grindle 1986). This thesis centers attention on Esperanza, a small village in the northwestern part of the country. The sugar mill there has been closed, and the Dominican President Joaquin Balaguer has promised much of Esperanza's land to land reform. As I have shown, the promised land reform has been unsuccessful. Further, I suggest that the promise of reform in Esperanza was made more for pragmatic political reasons than for humanitarian ones. Balaguer was lacking support in his 1990 bid for reelection, and he used land reform in Esperanza both to bolster his weak standings at the polls and to stifle rumbling complaints about the other closed sugar mills whose land had gone exclusive to large land holders, Dole Pineapple for one, at the expense of the rural dwellers. Moreover, recipients of land in Esperanza were from Ba1aguer>s political party. / Master of Science

A beginning of questions about architecture and humanity and searching for those answers that begin to initiate the process of design and improving the quality of life. This is an investigation and an understanding of those values which make a place unique. Once those attributes have been found then we can begin to embrace them within architecture. Inside the small town of Veron, on the eastern shore of the Dominican Republic, unique economic and social conditions are apparent there that are mirrored throughout this small island nation and throughout many parts of Latin America. There are powerful forces at work, along with nature, that are affecting local communities and degrading the social status. This is only a small microcosm of the social, economic and environmental effects of the tourism industry in this paradise nation. How do we sustain those qualities that are embedded within the fabric of a nation's culture, heritage, and begin to give the nation a voice within design. How do you provide a sustainable solution between private tourism industries and local governments and communities within the setting and conditions of the eastern shore of the Dominican Republic? / Master of Architecture

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Mordecai Rubin. Dissertation Committee: Lambros Comitas. Includes bibliographical references (p. 144-151).