Collection of poems.

Historically, ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) were hunted in large numbers for their fur, causing declines in population abundance across their range. In recent decades protection measures (e.g. CITES) and decreased public demand for ocelot fur resulted in declines in hunting pressure. Do to their elusive nature there is little known about ocelot population size, structure or general ecology. This lack of information hampers our ability to provide protection for this endangered species. Remote cameras were deployed in 7 grids across the landscape to estimate the density of ocelots in 2 habitat types; the broadleaf rainforest and pine forest of western Belize. Camera trapping combined with mark-recapture statistics resulted in densities of 18.91 - 20.75 ocelots per 100 km2 in the rainforest and 2.31 0 3.81 ocelots per 100 km2 in the pine forest habitat. This study examined the issues of camera spacing and animals with zero distance moved and their effect on density estimation. Increased camera spacing resulted in larger buffer sizes (increasing the effective trap area) and decreased density estimates. Inclusion of zero distance animals decreased buffer sizes and increased density estimates. Regardless of these effects, ocelot density was higher in the broadleaf rainforest than the pine forest. The ocelot density estimates in Belizean forests were lower than those in other portions of their range. The camera trapping technique demonstrated ocelots to be mostly active at night, with peaks of activity after sunset and before sunrise, and to travel low-use roads in the wet season and high-use roads in the dry season. Radio telemetry was used in this study to estimate the home range size and density of ocelots in the broadleaf rainforest of western Belize. Six collared ocelots (3 male, 3 female) were collared and tracked from September 2003 - August 2004. Male ocelots had an average home range size of 33.01 km2 (95% fixed kernel) and 29.00 km2 (100% MCP), and female ocelots had an average home range size of 21.05 km2 (95% fixed kernel) and 29.58 km2 (100% MCP). Most ocelots had larger home ranges in the dry season than the wet season. Ocelots showed a large amount of same sex home range overlap; with male-male overlap averaging 25% (100% MCP) and female-female overlap averaging 16% (100% MCP). Ocelot density determined using radio telemetry was 7.79 - 10.91 ocelots per 100 km2. The radio telemetry ocelot densities were lower and their home ranges larger in the Belizean broadleaf rainforests than those in other portions of their range. The camera trapping and radio telemetry techniques were compared against one another and combined in order to test which technique may be more successful in studying certain aspects of feline behavior. Activity budgets and density estimates determined from camera trapping were superior to radio telemetry, whereas camera trapping home ranges showed higher variation and lower resolution than radio telemetry. However, home range estimates determined from camera trapping captured long distance movements, a larger percent of territory overlap, and displayed potential for estimating an animal's core use area. When radio telemetry data were used to create a buffer around camera traps based on the average radius of an ocelots' home range size, the resulting density estimates were smaller than those determined using the current camera trapping methodology. This study provided much needed baseline information on ocelot abundance, home range size, activity patterns, and trail use. While sample sizes were small, this study had the largest number of ocelots captured in Central America to date. Although camera trapping is already a useful tool in felid research, this study highlights the importance of further standardization of the camera trapping methodology, increasing its potential for monitoring and conservation across habitats and study sites. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to determine the post secondary plans of Belizean high school students. A study of this nature had never been conducted in Belize. This study was conducted to help the Belizean Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports; The University of Belize, and secondary schools understand what Belizean high school students most want to do after graduation, what preferences they have for post secondary education, and for their careers. The sample for the study was selected through a modified two-stage cluster sampling process, with purposeful sampling of schools so that the final sample would be as nearly as possible representative of the nation. A locally developed instrument called the Belizean Post Graduation Planning Instrument was administered in 3rd - and 4th - Form classes. Of the 1,000 instruments mailed to Belize for this study, I received 978 completed instruments in return (98% response rate), and 900 of these were usable. I analyzed the data using frequency distributions and chi-square analysis. The results of the study indicated that the most common preferred destination for these students immediately after high school was 6th Form. Almost half (46.3%) of students indicated they wanted to go into the 6th Form and then attend a university. Many students' beliefs about what they will probably do after high school differed from what they want most to do. The students were more likely to say that they will probably go to work (either immediately after high school or after 6th Form) and less likely to go to university (either immediately after high school or after 6th Form, as compared to their preferred plans). About half of students whose preferred plans differed from their probable plans indicated that financial factors were responsible for the difference. Belizean high school students most frequently requested training or additional educational options in subjects related to business, such as accounting, economics, finance, and banking, and they want to pursue careers in business and tourism. Students reporting an intention to attend a university chose the University of Belize 66% of the time. The findings of this study have important implications for policy and practice. These implications extend to the personnel involved in secondary school administration, 6th Form administrators, administrators at the University of Belize, and officials in the Ministry of Education. The results of this study can be used to shape secondary and tertiary curriculum and to guide national resource allocations so that the nation's scarce dollars are used where national interest and student needs meet. / Master of Arts

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--McMaster University, 2003. / Advisor: L. Finsten. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-163). Also available via World Wide Web.

No description available.

La culture en couloir avec Inga edulis est en promotion en Amérique tropicale dont au district de Toledo, au Belize. Elle consiste à des couloirs de quatre mètres de culture bordés de haies d’Inga edulis en densité de 2500 arbres/ha. La production des plantules d’Inga se fait habituellement à partir de graines plantées en sacs en pépinière. Les coûts associés à cette production de plantules et la nature des graines d’Inga qui sont récalcitrantes sont des facteurs pouvant influencer l’adoption de ce système agroforestier. Le premier objectif est d’évaluer l’efficacité de la propagation végétative en polypropagateur sans brumisation. Le deuxième est l’évaluation du temps de production et d’implantation du système par la propagation végétative ainsi que par les méthodes de propagation par semences en pépinière et en champs. Le troisième objectif consiste à l’évaluation des facteurs jouant sur l’acquisition et la production de plantules d’arbres par les petits producteurs de la région. Celle-ci a été effectuée à l’aide de vingt entrevues semi-dirigées avec des petits producteurs de sept villages et trois ONG du district. Selon les résultats, la production de boutures en polypropagateur est intéressante et montre des taux d’enracinement au-delà de 75 % pour plusieurs traitements. Les différentes méthodes de propagation présentent des temps d’implantation du système agroforestier de 78j.h/ha pour les semis en sac, de 72j.h/ha pour les boutures et de 61j.h/ha pour les semences en champs. Le transport du matériel végétal vers les sites de plantation semble être un facteur clé émanant des entrevues et de l’évaluation des techniques d’implantation. Une distance plus élevée privilégie l’utilisation du semis direct. La consultation de la population locale combinée aux expérimentations sur le terrain ont permis de définir les meilleures méthodes pour l’implantation, selon diverses situations pour la culture en couloir avec Inga edulis / Inga alley cropping is in promotion in tropical America, including Belize in the district of Toledo. This approach consists of a 4 m-wide alley intermitted with row of Inga edulis with a density of 2500 trees/ha. Inga seedling production is normally done with seeds planted in bags at a nursery. The associate cost of this production and the unorthodox seeds of Inga edulis are factors influencing the adoption of this agroforestry system. The first objective is to estimate the efficiency of vegetative propagation of Inga edulis in a non-mist polypropagator. The second is to evaluate the time of production of seedlings and setting-up of the system by vegetative propagation as well as by the methods of propagation by seeds in a tree nursery and but also in direct seeding in the fields. The third objective consists of evaluation of factors playing on the acquisition and the production of seedlings of trees by the small producers of the region. This objective was met by carrying out twenty semi-structured interviews with small producers from seven villages and three NGOs of the Toledo district. According to the results, cuttings production with a non-mist polypropagator is interesting and shows rooting rates above 75 % for several treatments. The various methods of propagation demonstrate times for establishment of the agroforestry system of 78 Man-days/ha for the sowing in bag, of 72 md/ha for cuttings and of 61md/ ha for field direct sowing. The transport of vegetal material towards the plantation sites seems to be a key limiting factor for establishment of the system identified from interviews and from the evaluation of establishment methods. A greater distance from fields favors the use of direct sowing. Local consultations combined with field trials permitted definition of the best methods in diverse situations for Inga alley cropping establishment.

The objective of this study was to determine vocational education's potential contribution to the future economic development of Belize. To achieve this objective, a panel of experts was involved in the formulation of statements and the determination of each statement's value as a contributor to future economic development. The design of the study included use of the Delphi technique. A panel of experts was chosen with four selected from each of four groups: (a) government (public service), (b) non-governmental organizations, (c) entrepreneurship and small business development, and (d) manufacturing and export-oriented production. Each of the experts was asked to identify statements that vocational education should emphasize in the future so that it would contribute to future economic development in Belize. Frequency distribution, mean, and variance were calculated for each statement. The criterion to determine whether consensus was achieved was defined as item variance being equal to or less than 0.75 on a 4-point scale. Panel members identified a list of 85 statements of which 71 met the criterion for consensus. The 71 statements on which the panel of experts reached consensus were rank ordered according to their means. The statements on which consensus were not achieved did not fall below the important category; however, the group ratings were widely dispersed. A content analysis of the ranked statements revealed that some statements clustered around common themes. These themes included planning, productivity, linkages, values and work ethics, and program and institutional development. / Ed. D.

The manos and metates of Santa Rita Corozal, Belize are analyzed to compare traditional maize-grinding types to the overall assemblage. A reciprocal, back-and-forth grinding motion is the most efficient way to process large amounts of maize. However, rotary movements are also associated with some ground stone implements. The number of flat and trough metates and two handed manos are compared to the rotary-motion basin and concave type metates and one-handed manos to determine predominance and distribution. Flat is the predominant type and, together with the trough type, these grinding stones make up the majority of metates at the site. Manos are highly fragmented, but the two-handed variety is more common among those fragments able to be identified. While this would at first glance support a fully maize dependent subsistence, the presence of two additional non-reciprocal motion metate types and the fact that the trough metates are clustered in one sector of the site suggest that, in addition to maize, significant processing of other foods also occurred in association with these grinding stones.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) measures assessing social-emotional learning and character development across a broad array of constructs have been developed but lack construct validity. Determining the efficacy of educational interventions requires structurally valid measures which are generalizable across settings, gender, and time. Utilizing recent factor analytic methods, the present study extends validity literature for SEL measures by investigating the structural validity and generalizability of the Social-Emotional and Character Development Scale (SECDS) with a large sample of children from schools in Belize (n = 1877, ages 8 to13). The SECDS exhibited structural and generalizability evidence of construct validity when examined under exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). While a higher order confirmatory factor structure with six secondary factors provided acceptable fit, the ESEM six-factor structure provided both substantive and methodological advantages. The ESEM structural model situates the SECDS into the larger body of SEL literature while also exhibiting generalizability evidence over both gender and time.