Potato farmers in Ecuador rely on chemical inputs to manage pests and optimize yields. IPM techniques are recommended to lower production costs, reduce exposure to pesticides, and improve the long-term sustainability of the agriculture system. We conducted a survey of 109 potato farmers in Carchi, Ecuador that included 30 Farmer Field School (FFS) participants, 28 farmers who had been exposed to FFS-participants, and 51 randomly selected farmers. Using an ordered probit model, the data were analyzed to identify determinants and constraints of adoption. Access to information through FFS was the main determinant of adoption of IPM, followed by field days, pamphlets, and exposure to FFS-participants. The study looked at the relative cost-effectiveness of information dissemination methods and found that field days and pamphlets have strong impacts on adoption considering their low cost of implementation. The only significant household variable was household size, where larger households adopted less IPM. Per capita land holdings were not significant in the model. There is evidence of farmer-to-farmer diffusion from FFS to non-FFS farmers. Further research is necessary to evaluate the nature and quality of information transfer between farmers. The study was limited by the small sample size and non-random selection of farmer respondents. / Master of Science

While extensive research has been carried out to examine the yield growth brought about by innovations in agricultural technology, not enough work has been done to document the economic impacts of these innovations on areas besides yields and income. This study presents two papers which contribute to our understanding of the health and environmental impacts of agricultural innovation, "Expected economic benefits of meeting nutritional needs through biofortified cassava in Nigeria and Kenya," and "Projected farm-level impacts on income of conservation agriculture in the Andean Region." The first paper is motivated by the public health consequences of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which affect more than two billion people worldwide and can lead to increased incidence of illness, disability, and mortality. Through the use of the disability adjusted life years concept (DALYs), economic surplus analysis, and benefit-cost analysis, the authors determine the economic impact of a staple crop biofortification project. The study finds that biofortified cassava in Nigeria and Kenya is a cost effective means of reducing health problems associated with vitamin A and iron deficiency. The second paper considers the significant livelihood challenges faced by rural communities in the Andes, including poverty, food insecurity, and natural resource constraints. Through the development and implementation of a linear programming model, the study analyzes the economic impact of a conservation agriculture project in central Ecuador, and finds that certain experimental cropping activities designed to decrease soil degradation may contribute to increased incomes for farm households. / Master of Science

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPI's) are considered to be a public health problem of global importance by the World Health Organization. The present epidemiologic survey study investigated the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of pathogenic IPI's on the growth, nutrition and psychomotor development of 244 Ecuadorian children aged 0.2-14 years. The study was conducted in five rural hamlets located in a tropical rainforest area in northwest Ecuador. The study data were obtained by means of a structured questionnaire, a developmental screening examination, anthropometry, and lab analysis of blood and fecal samples. Data analysis was conducted using appropriate bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. The study results revealed that 90% of the child subjects were infected with at least one pathogenic IPI species. Fifty-one percent were identified with helminthic infections, 37.6% with protozoal infections, and 21.4% were infected with both. The most common intestinal parasites detected were Ascaris lumbricoides (39.7%), Giardia intestinalis (25.2%), Trichuris trichiura (19.7%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (18.5%), Blastocystis hominis (13.3%), and Ancylostoma duodenale (1.7%). The prevalence of growth stunting (40%) and iron-deficiency anemia (26%) also was high. Children infected with Giardia exhibited a risk for stunted growth that was twice that of their non-infected counterparts (51.7% vs. 33.1%; OR=2.16, 95% C.I.= 1.13-4.15; p= 0.01). They also had significantly reduced mean blood hemoglobin levels compared to non-infected children 11.8 + 1.5.g/dL vs. 12.2 + 1.4g/dL; p= 0.023) but the proportion with iron-deficiency anemia was slightly but not significantly increased (29.4% vs. 24.3%). The characteristic most consistently associated with risk for pathogenic protozoal IPI's was a high density of domestic animals living in and around the home. Children who lived in such households had a risk for infection that was 2-5 times greater than others. This suggests that domestic animals were important reservoirs for IPI infection in the child group studied. Contrary to the a priori hypothesis, no gender, ethnic, nor age differences in infection risk were identified except for Trichuris infection, which was reduced in younger children contrary to expectations. Mass or targeted chemotherapy combined with health education and promotion are needed to reduce the cycle of infection and re-infection and the negative impact of these on child growth and iron status. Health education and promotion messages can be incorporated into other types of programs already in place in local schools and by the Ecuadorian Ministries of Public Health, Education, and Social Welfare and other agencies. / Master of Science

This thesis explores constraints to the development of markets for high quality cacao in Ecuador. It focuses on the role of market level constraints, particularly the transmission of quality incentives along the marketing chain and their effects on farmers' incentives to invest in quality production. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the problem, demonstrating that Ecuadorian farmers are not responding to international incentives to produce high quality cacao, and outlines the objectives, hypotheses, and structure of the thesis. Chapter 2 provides background to the market, detailing Ecuador's role in world commodity and high-value cacao markets and gives a detailed description of the cacao market in Ecuador. Chapter 3 uses a subsector analysis to develop and test hypotheses that specific market level constraints, such as transaction costs, market power, and institutional constraints, impede the transmission of incentives to produce quality to farmers. The subsector analysis failed to support the hypotheses that intermediaries are able to exert market power but found that transaction costs and weak institutions presented significant constraints to the transmission of quality incentives. Chapter 4 examines the determinants of farmers' market channel choice and the prices that they receive. In addition to determinants that are commonly found in the literature, such as the characteristics of the transaction and farmer's characteristics, hypotheses testing of quality incentives makes a unique contribution. Analysis of survey data of Ecuadorian farmers found minimal transmission of quality incentives to farmers—only the cultivar Nacional as a quality indicator was found to affect the farmers' market channel choice out of six indicators selected to represent quality. The quality indicators selected were pre- and post-harvest practices, variety, having received technical assistance, credit, belonging to a cacao association, and discounts at sale by the buyer. Also, pre- and post-harvest practices, having received credit, and belonging to a cacao association out of similar quality indicators were found to affect the price paid to the farmer. Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes the main points discovered through the research, discusses policy implications, and proposes further research needs. / Master of Science

Esta investigación presenta los resultados del estudio sobre la diversidad dialectal y el proceso de la escrituración del quichua ecuatoriano. Se tomó como referencia dos objetivos: uno de carácter lingüístico, relacionado con la identificación y zonificación de las hablas del quichua ecuatoriano; y otro sociolingüístico e histórico alusivo a la discusión científica de la estandarización de la escritura del quichua en el Ecuador en búsqueda de su consolidación. La metodología ha sido la de un estudio de caso. Se observó, analizó y describió la realidad lingüística incluyendo aspectos de lingüística histórica, y extralingüística del proceso de estandarización de la escritura del quichua desde 1980 hasta el presente. Para ello se realizó investigación bibliográfica y de campo. Esto permitió obtener información sobre los fenómenos lingüísticos y su contexto histórico, pedagógico, político, así como el de la participación de actores sociales. El capítulo primero aborda la presencia de las lenguas del sustrato. Se muestra la importancia de los términos compuestos híbridos en la búsqueda del significado de los topónimos prequichuas, a la luz de una investigación interdisciplinar, para la reconstrucción de la historia de los pueblos. Por otra parte, se constata que los elementos sustratísticos plantean un problema en la estandarización de la escritura del quichua, pues contienen sonidos que no son parte este idioma. La normativa para escribir las palabras del quichua no puede aplicarse, rígidamente, a las que provienen de las lenguas pre-quichuas porque se llega a distorsiones como las que se experimentó en la alfabetización en 1980. El capítulo segundo trata sobre las teorías acerca de la presencia del quichua en el Ecuador. A largo de la historia se han dado posiciones discrepantes sobre los orígenes del quichua ecuatoriano. Se constata que, inclusive han existido debates sobre si se debe considerar al quichua como un idioma invasor. En este contexto se presenta las diferentes hipótesis con la finalidad de tratar sobre este tema de manera histórica y no emocional. Este estudio contribuye a visualizar algunas de las posibles causas de la diversidad dialectal del quichua ecuatoriano. El capítulo tercero expone las características propias del quichua ecuatoriano en contraposición con otras ramas de la familia quechua, presentes en otros países. Se muestra que, a pesar de las diferencias existentes, las hablas ecuatorianas tienen más elementos en común que grandes diferencias. vii El capítulo cuarto hace una revisión crítica del estado de la cuestión en lo tocante a los estudios dialectológicos del quichua ecuatoriano. Se constata que en los estudios precedentes se había esbozado algunos intentos de clasificación dialectal por diversos autores; sin embargo, se requería aplicar criterios lingüísticos como la innovación y la etimología para establecer, con más precisión zonas dialectales. El capítulo quinto presenta los resultados de la investigación de campo en la Sierra y Amazonía sobre la variación dialectal. A partir de los datos fonéticos y los morfológicos, a partir de un cuestionario, que se aplicó a hablantes provenientes de al menos dos comunidades diferentes de cada una de las provincias de la Sierra y Amazonía, se propone una zonificación dialectal con sus respectivas características. Por otra parte, este capítulo permite constatar que el mayor reto para la estandarización del quichua ecuatoriano es la gran diversidad dialectal a nivel fonético y morfofonético. El capítulo sexto realiza una revisión crítica de las políticas lingüísticas tanto incaicas, coloniales como republicanas. También se visualiza y se valora la lucha de las comunidades indígenas en la defensa del derecho a dirigir su propio sistema educativo, y en su participación en el proceso de estandarización de la escritura de la lengua. Se constata la interdependencia entre estandarización de la escritura y la implementación de la educación intercultural bilingüe. El capítulo séptimo presenta las complejidades del paso de lo oral a lo escrito. Se analiza las dificultades presentadas en la estandarización y se esboza propuestas para superar las mismas. Se propone un conjunto de reglas ortográficas basadas en la etimología para viabilizar la unificación de la escritura. En el capítulo octavo se presenta las conclusiones en relación a los objetivos formulados en la tesis y plantea las líneas de acción para futuras investigaciones y procesos educativos.

Impacts of land use and climate change in tropical forests on the global carbon budget are of principal interest in the recent research, as these forests amount to about 48 % of the world’s forested area. Interest has been focused on lowland tropical forests mainly, but tropical montane forests occupy about 20 % of all tropical forests. Soils of tropical montane forests are frequently waterlogged and characterised by high soil organic carbon stocks. Furthermore, along altitudinal gradients, changes in stand structure and net primary production can be observed that have not been fully explained yet. As causes reduced microbial activity and nitrogen turnover in soils of tropical montane forests have been suggested. Against the background of climate change, carbon turnover mechanisms in soils of these forests are of special interest. The present study therefore aimed at determining and quantifying relevant carbon and nitrogen pools as well as nitrogen mineralisation potentials. Furthermore, size, activity, and structure of microbial biomass were characterised. The collected data was supposed to provide basic knowledge on carbon and nitrogen cycling in tropical montane forest soils. Thus, evaluation of the susceptibility of their carbon stocks for climate change as well as nitrogen and carbon limitation of microbial organic matter decomposition was possible. Field work of this study was conducted during 2003–2005 at an altitudinal transect that in- cluded five study sites between 1 050 and 3 060 m amsl. Total soil respiration was recorded biweekly over two years, the contribution of roots to total soil CO2 efflux over one year. Soils of the study sites were sampled twice and biochemical and microbial parameters were determined.

Isaac J. Barrera, a noted scholar of Ecuadorian literature, succinctly described the nineteenth-century Liberal essayist, Juan Montalvo, in this way. "Two completely different aspects exist in the intellectual personality of Montalvo, that of the elegant, traditional writer ... and that of the terrible polemicist, possessing a scathing pen [and] ignited rage." Indeed, it was Montalvo's "scathing pen" and "ignited rage" combined with his exceptional mastery of the Castillian language which distinguished his writing from that of other Ecuadorian reformers. Yet, the Ecuadorian's insulting polemics and violent rhetoric encouraged and perpetuated an already existing "culture of revolution" in Ecuador. Indeed, the eyes of the country seemed fixed on Montalvo. He was at the center of Ecuadorian political thought and he personified the hope of those of radical opinion. For example, in 1875, after reading The Perpetual Dictator, his polemical pamphlet directed against the tyrannical practices of then Ecuadorian President, Gabriel Garcia Moreno, three of Montalvo's disciples assassinated the Dictator. Montalvo, believing he now had proof of the power of his words, exclaimed, "No doubt my ideas took root; ... it is my pen that killed him."This thesis will examine three aspects of Juan Montalvo and the culture of revolution in Ecuador. The second chapter entitled, "'It is My Pen that Killed Him!': The Assassination of Garcia Moreno," will examine Montalvo's rhetoric of violence and its results. Chapter three, "Montalvo as Icon: Nationalism, Personalism and Rebellion," will explore how a nation's heroes influence the cultural and revolutionary flavor of the particular region or country. The fourth chapter, "Indoctrination of the Innocent: Montalvo in Education," will analyze how the culture of revolution has not only penetrated Ecuadorian education but is perpetuated through the education of the Ecuadorian youth.This investigation will also provide supplemental awareness of Montalvo's general motives as well as a representative sketch of a nineteenth-century, Latin American liberal. An understanding of this Ecuadorian is also necessary for related research regarding other twentieth-century, Spanish speaking authors, such as Miguel Unamuno, for whom Montalvo was an influential figure. Furthermore, a clear assessment of Montalvo, and the forces against which he fought, portrays Latin American authoritarianism and personalism and reflects the social and religious mentality of the Ecuadorian elite and middle class in the nineteenth century. Despite Montalvo's influential position in Ecuador and his worldwide reputation as an opponent of tyranny and defender of liberty, only a few select passages of his writings have been translated into English. Likewise, English language scholarship on Montalvo is sorely lacking; most of the few existing articles are sparse, replete with errors, and tailored to a popular audience. / Department of History

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-120). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Univ., Diss--Frankfurt (Main), 2007.

xi, 129 p. : col. ill. / Between the 1980s and early 2000s, Ecuador's commercial tuna fishing industry evolved from an insignificant player in the global marketplace to the third largest tuna fishery in the world. The reasons behind this dramatic expansion are integrally linked to economic globalization and more specifically, the proliferation of neoliberal economic policies throughout Latin America and Ecuador. In this thesis, I link neoliberal reforms, such as increased capital mobility, free trade agreements, and export-led development, to the rapid growth of Ecuador's tuna fishery, centrally located in Manta. I then explore the place-based effects of these reforms by elucidating the social and environmental impacts of the tuna industry. I argue that while there have been some benefits, such as economic growth and job creation, expansion of Manta's tuna fishery has exacerbated local inequalities, created serious environmental problems, and led to new workplace challenges for employees in the industry. / Committee in charge: Dr. Derrick Hindery, Chairperson; Dr. Lise Nelson, Member