Access to markets is increasingly regarded in development circles as a critical factor in determining livelihood choices in peasant economies. In the northeastern Peruvian Amazon, a multitude of river transporters and market intermediaries based in the central city of Iquitos provide essential services and market opportunities for remote peasant producers across the region. Using a multi-scalar, multi-method approach involving extensive fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon, this research (re)assesses the meanings and implications of "remoteness" and "connectedness" for rural peasants. At the regional scale, I examine the functional heterogeneity of river trading networks and marketing agents. Given the high-risk/high-transaction-cost environment, river trading is found to be expensive for producers and traders alike. High costs are exacerbated by the low gross returns of rural production (mainly food and natural building materials). Thin or missing markets for credit, labour, land and insurance increase the hardships associated with limited access to product markets. Regional findings are complemented with a comparative livelihoods analysis in two remote communities of the Alto Tigre River that benefit from differential access to oil-labour. My study reveals that differential access to labour has significant impacts on the livelihood strategies of working households. However, given limited access to external markets, cash-income from oil-labour is found to offer limited opportunities for growth. In sum, the research proposes insights for advancing the debate on livelihoods and poverty in the Peruvian Amazon.

Questa tesi offre un’analisi complessiva della posizione e del ruolo giocato dall’Argentina nell’economia globale durante l’ultimo decennio, attraverso l’uso di diverse metodologie tipiche dell’analisi economica. La ricerca parte dall’analisi della dimensione economica interna del Paese, fornendo uno studio della struttura produttiva dell’Argentina e del suo sviluppo economico. In seguito l’analisi si focalizza sullo studio delle variabili determinanti dei flussi commerciali dell’Argentina con i suoi partners regionali tramite un’applicazione econometrica del modello gravitazionale. Infine, si concentra sull’analisi del ruolo dell’Argentina nella gestione dell’economia globale studiandone il ruolo nel Fondo Monetario Internazionale, nel G20 e nel MERCOSUR attraverso un approccio di International Political Economy. Il risultato principale è la scoperta dell’esistenza di un collegamento tra la dimensione interna e quella esterna. Infatti la persistente instabilità macroeconomica e inappropriate politiche economiche adottate a livello nazionale provocano una perdita di competitività globale che potrebbe danneggiare nel lungo periodo la performance economica dell’Argentina, ostacolandone il raggiungimento dello status di Paese completamente sviluppato. Inoltre, populismo e nazionalismo economico stanno isolando l’Argentina dal resto della regione sudamericana e dal mondo, portando il Paese verso la condizione di ‘pariah’ nelle relazioni internazionali. / This thesis offers a comprehensive analysis of Argentina’s position and role within the global economy during the last decade, adopting different methodologies of the economic analysis. The focus of the research starts from the analysis of the domestic economic dimension of the country, providing a study of Argentina’s economic structure and development pattern. It then examines the study of the determinants of Argentina’s trading flows with its regional partners with an econometric application of the gravity model of international trade. It finally focuses on the analysis of Argentina’s global inclusion in the management of the global economy through the description of Argentina’s behavior in the IMF, the G20 and MERCOSUR with an approach taken from International Political Economy. The main finding is that there is a link from the internal to the external dimension, since persistent macroeconomic instability and inappropriate economic policies result into a lack of global competitiveness which might affect in the long run the economic performance of Argentina, preventing it from achieving the status of a completely developed country. Moreover, populism and economic nationalism are isolating Argentina from the rest of South America and the world, driving the country to the status of a ‘pariah’ in international relations.

South America and the Andes harbour a rich biodiversity. High levels of in-situ speciation, survival of relict lineages into modern times, and mixing of biotas (Gondwanian and North American), have been demonstrated to contribute to the extant biodiversity. Here I examined the four species in the shorebird family Thinocoridae (seedsnipes) as a test case of complementary hypotheses about the origins of this diversity: 1) that some lineages arose from cold-adapted Antarctic ancestors (post-Gondwana), and 2) that the Andes have promoted diversification through vicariance and via the creation of novel alpine niches. First, I reviewed the tectonic and environmental history of the Andes, and the major biogeographic patterns in South America. Second, I reviewed Antarctic and Southern Hemisphere paleoenvironments, putative refugia, colonisation routes, molecular and biogeographic studies, and found strong evidence supporting the role of Antarctica as a source of global cold-hardy biodiversity. Third, I developed universal protocols to purify mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Using these methods, I uncovered nuclear pseudogenes, true mtDNA heteroplasmy, and possible hybridisation between seedsnipe lineages. Fourth, I investigated geographic patterns in seedsnipe morphology in four species. I also investigated the relationships of ecogeographic variables related to cold on morphology. I found strong and significant regional differences particularly in the smaller Thinocorus species, including an effect of the high Central Andes. Altitude, latitude, and wind (the effect of cold) have shaped seedsnipe morphology; Thinocoridae as a group generally support Bergmann’s and Allen’s rules. Fifth, based on phylogeographic and phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA and hemoglobin sequences, a putative southern origin for seedsnipes was supported, and an early origin in alpine habitats is suggested. Sixth, I compared data on Andean uplift and glaciation in South America, and found concordance between seedsnipe diversity, known areas of endemism in other taxa, and paleoenvironmental history. Finally, I briefly examined molecular evolution in hemoglobins and mtDNA and found preliminary evidence of adaptations to high altitude (hemoglobins) and to cold (mtDNA and hemoglobins). In summary, an Antarctic ancestor for seedsnipes, pre-adapted for life in the Andes, is supported. Antarctica may have contributed a great proportion of cold-hardy biodiversity to the South and globally. / Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-17 23:30:31.324

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 430-465). Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [387]-418).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 345-355).

Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala University, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 292-304).

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91).

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo entender como se manifestam as relações de gênero e tecnologia entre índios da aldeia Araçá – í, localizada no Município de Piraquara – PR composta por 16 famílias. O marco teórico está embasado nas análises de autores da área dos estudos de gênero e teorias do campo de CTS (Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade). A abordagem metodológica para a pesquisa de campo foi a pesquisa qualitativa, por ser a que melhor se aproximou do universo pesquisado. A pesquisa contou com 12 entrevistas, observação participativa do dia-a-dia da aldeia e dos rituais na casa de reza, além do registro no diário de campo. Os resultados da pesquisa revelaram que as relações de gênero entre os Araça-í são construídas por meio da divisão sexual do trabalho. A tecnologia para os indígenas da aldeia Araça-í tem relação com as suas necessidades sociais, apesar das dificuldades de sua concretização em virtude da desestruturação cultural deste grupo frente ao contato secular com a sociedade nacional. A pesquisa de campo revelou ainda que o principal meio de subsistência advém de doações, artesanato vendido para visitantes da aldeia e inscrição em planos de assistência social do Governo. Os Guarani de hoje se vêem limitados a um pequeno espaço de terra, com recursos naturais escassos, o que determina de forma marcante sua cultura. Os rituais na casa de reza podem ser considerados como o centro da vida cultural dos Guarani pesquisados e representam uma tentativa deste grupo em preservar sua cultura. / The aim of this work was to understand how establishes the genus and technology among Indians from Aldeia Araça-í, composed by 16 families and localized in the municipality of Piraquara– PR, Brazil. The theoretical basis of this analysis was supported by authors focused in gender and technology studies. Furthermore, theories of the STS (Science, Technology and Society) were used in this work. Field research, in turn, was grounded in qualitative data analysis. It included 12 interviews, participant observation of day-to-day rituals within house of prayer and diaries registers from the field. The data showed that gender relations among Indians from Aldeia Araça-í are based in sexual division labor. In this study, Indian’s technology was related to social needs despite of difficulties presented by group due to social disruption because Araça-í society have been strictly in contact with national society. The field survey also revealed that the main to livelihood comes from donations, crafts sold to visitors and Government social assistance programs. Nowadays, the Guaranis find themselves limited to a small area to survive, with scarce natural resources and their culture have been clearly affected by these factors. In this work, the rituals at the house of prayer can be considered as the center of cultural life of the Guarani. Furthermore, It represents an attempt to this group to maintain their culture.