The world has made important efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015. However, it is still insufficient and inequalities prevail in the poorest settings. We tracked selected MDG, barriers for their achievement, and community actions that help to accelerate the pace of their accomplishment in two Nicaraguan communities (León and Cuatro Santos). In the first two studies we track the progress of MDG4 (reduce child mortality) using the under-five mortality rate. Inequalities in mortality were mainly assessed by means of maternal education, but other social stratifications were performed on rural-urban residence and sub-regional comparisons between both communities. The last two studies describe community interventions in Cuatro Santos and their association with progress toward MDG1 (poverty reduction). Participation in interventions and poverty were visualized geographically in this remote rural community between 2004 and 2009. Other selected MDG targets were also tracked. These communities will possibly meet MDG4 even before 2015. In León, MDG progress has been accompanied by a decline in child mortality. Despite social inequalities with regard to mortality persisting in education and places of residence, these have decreased. However, it is crucial to reduce neonatal mortality if MDG4 is to be achieved. For example, in León the percentage of under-five deaths in the neonatal period has doubled from 1970 to 2005. In the remote rural area of Cuatro Santos, progress has been accelerated and no child mortality differences were observed despite the level of a mother’s education. Cuatro Santos has also progressed in the reduction of poverty and extreme poverty. The participation of the population in such community interventions as microcredit, home gardening, technical training, safe drinking water, and latrines has increased. Microcredit was an intervention that was unequally distributed in this rural area, where participation was lower in poor and extremely poor households than in non-poor households. In those households that transitioned from poor to non-poor status, microcredit, home gardening, and technical training were associated with this transition. Furthermore spatial analysis revealed that clusters of low participation in interventions overlapped with clusters of high poverty households.

The impact of global economic policies on health equity and social development has been well-documented and, in the current phase of economic globalization, profound health inequities have been attributed to these policies. In response to these inequitable trade conditions, which are especially pronounced in the trade of boom-and-bust commodities like coffee, alternative trade models such as Fair Trade have proliferated. Although there is great potential for these alternative economic policies to achieve health and gender equity, these considerations have largely been left out of existing analyses, which focus on gender-blind economic, organizational, and environmental indicators. <p>To address these omissions, this study explores the experiences, perceptions, and aspirations of an organized group of coffee-producing women with regards to Fair Trade. The study was conducted in Northern Nicaragua in 2009 and focuses on the experiences of women supported by a local feminist organization, la Fundación Entre Mujeres, in an embedded, single case study design. It is informed by participant-observation, interviews, and dialogic focus groups. The study situates participants perceptions and aspirations in a globalization and health framework as well as an empowerment framework. Considered in this light, womens experiences provide valuable insights about the perceived and potential health and gender impacts of alternative models of trade and provide a vision for the future directions of these models. <p>The womens experiences reveal that although valuable benefits are being experienced as a result of participation in Fair Trade especially in terms of a higher income and a commitment to organic agriculture there are lingering doubts as to whether Fair Trade is actually "fair" or simply "better". The women supported by la Fundación Entre Mujeres aspire to more equitable trade characterized by solidarity, justice, a focus on womens rights, and a fairer valuation and recognition of womens efforts inside and outside of coffee. In order to move towards this "fair" system of trade, the current Fair Trade model must become more oriented towards equitable control for all of its stakeholders and must broaden its definition of empowerment so as to more actively and vocally participate in the broader contexts of international trade that are influencing health and gender equity for women around the world.

Este trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo determinar el potencial sísmico del sistema de fallas Cofradía, y por consiguiente aportar nuevos datos sobre el grado de peligrosidad sísmica al que puede estar sometida la zona en la que se localiza esta falla. Determinar su peligrosidad sísmica es de suma importancia, dadas las dimensiones de esta falla y la elevada concentración poblacional de la zona de Managua, una ciudad cree de manera desordenada, donde la mayoría de las viviendas no cumplen con los estándares o normas de construcción requerido para zona del Pacifico de Nicaragua. La ciudad esta ubicada a lo interno de una estructura tectónica activa denominada graben de Managua en la que producen sismos con frecuencia. Este graben es la estructura tectónica más activa de Nicaragua, localizada en la denominada Depresión Nicaragüense, un extenso poco profundo de mas de 300 km de longitud y 70 km de ancho, con una orientación NO-SE, atraviesa el territorio nacional en su sector occidental, de manera paralela a la costa del Pacifico. La mala situación económica a la que se enfrenta un alto porcentaje de la población hace que se adquieran materiales de construcción de mala calidad y en muchos casos de segunda mano que de igual manera cumplen con los requisitos de calidad para productos de la rama de la construcción. Ello representa un peligro adicional en el momento de la ocurrencia de un sismo de una cierta magnitud. Todas estas condiciones hacen que la vulnerabilidad en esta zona sea alta; dicha vulnerabilidad junto con la alta peligrosidad sísmica que genera la ocurrencia de sismos fuertes en esta zona los parámetros que determinan su riesgo sismo. El proceso de ejecución a seguir en este estudio pasa por la selección de una zona, en la que se ubica una falla activa en este caso el sistema de fallas Cofradía, a partir de diferentes características: geológicas, geomorfológicas y sísmicas propias de esta falla. A continuación se realiza una recopilación y síntesis de toda la información existente sobre la falla y la zona en la que se ubica la traza de falla, la foto interpretación es una etapa importante, centra en la morfología del terreno en la zona seleccionada esto genera, como resultado la selección de un cierto numero de puntos de interés en los que se observan elementos geomorfológicos (escarpes de fallas, abanicos aluviales, alineamientos) los cuales deben ser estudiados con mayor detalle durante la etapa de campo, para detectar indicadores de actividad geotectónica. Todos los datos de campo obtenidos han de permitir la aplicación de diversos análisis (geomorfológicos, estructural, de la sismicidad y Paleosismicidad) sobre lo que hay que discutir para obtener el resultado esperado. El graben de Managua localizado en el sector Oeste de la depresión Nicaragüense, es la estructura tectónica más activa localizada en el interior de este depresión, con una orientación Norte-Sur, la que se ha considerado como una estructura secundaria, con respecto a la depresión Nicaragüense que la alberga, su relación estructural con la estructural principal no es conocida. El graben de Managua se ha interpretado como una estructura de tipo extensional activa, a la que se le ha adjudicado la separación que se observa en la cadena volcánica cuaternaria. El graben esta limitado tanto en el Oeste como por el este por falla normales de orientación Norte –Sur, una de estas fallas es la falla Cofradía, la que se extiende desde las cercanía del complejo volcánico Masaya en el sur, hacia el Norte a lo largo de 38 km. La falla Cofradía es un sistema de fallas normales que limita el graben de Managua, por su extremo Este, y la depresión del graben del aeropuerto. La falla Cofradía representa una estructura geológica importante, dada su longitud, su conexión con la Caldera del Volcán Masaya, su influencia sobre la anómalamente recta de la costa oriental del Lago de Managua y su cercanía con la ciudad de Managua. Se trata de una falla de 3 km de largo cuya expresión superficial esta bien definida, con la presencia de un escarpe que presenta diferentes alturas a lo largo de toda su longitud. Con el estudio paleosismológico se determinaron cinco eventos sísmicos asociados a esta falla, tres detectados en la trinchera el Cocal, y dos en la de La Vaquería, y detectaron estructuras que revelan al actividad sísmica de la falla, con rupturas de la superficie del terreno: cuñas coluviales y estructuras de licuefacción. Esta falla es capaz de romper en toda su longitud y producir sismos con una Mw próxima a 7. Durante los últimos 1700 años esta estructura ha producido tres sismos lo que han afectado la superficie, con una recurrencia media de 570 años y una tasa de deslizamiento de 1 mm/año.

L’étude qui suit a pour le but une juxtaposition des textes de chansons sociales produites au Québec et au Nicaragua de 1960 à 1980. Les auteurs choisis sont : Raymond Lévesque, Georges Dor, Carlos Mejía Godoy et Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy car leurs textes reflètent les inquiétudes et les attitudes populaires de l’époque de la Révolution tranquille et de la fin du régime somoziste, deux périodes cruciales dans l'histoire récente de ces deux collectivités. Il s’agit d’une prise de parole dont la forme reflète le caractère social de chaque nation comme l’explique Raymond Williams et il s’agit de l’utilisation de tactiques qui relèvent d’occasions comme l’explique Michel de Certeau. La chanson sociale, une des formes de la prise de parole, constitue une réaction contre -culturelle contre le bricolage proposé par les producteurs de la culture officielle. Dans les détails que cette étude examine, le texte de la chanson sociale fait découvrir toute une manière de vivre de chaque nation. En effet, la chanson sociale se sert des éléments de la culture officielle de façon à exposer l’essence de ce que la société réellement éprouve. Notre analyse textuelle touche plus particulièrement les thèmes de la pauvreté et de l’espoir pour l’avenir. La juxtaposition Québec-Nicaragua révèle que les auteurs-chanteurs-compositeurs de chaque nation trouvent des moyens de prendre la parole en accord avec les exigences du caractère social de la culture d’origine.

Canada's relations with Nicaragua changed greatly during the 1980s after the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) came to power in a revolution which overthrew the Somoza dynasty. For the first few years of the new regime in Nicaragua, Canada provided little support, declaring that Canadians had no significant interests in the country and there was no reason for them to get involved in Central America's ongoing conflicts. When Brian Mulroney first came to power with Joe Clark as his Secretary of State for External Affairs, the Progressive Conservatives generally held to the course set by the previous Liberal government. However, as the 1980s went on the Conservatives began providing Nicaragua with more bilateral aid, and became increasingly involved in the regional peace process known as Esquipulas; this culminated in Canadian peacekeepers entering the region in 1990 as part of a UN peacekeeping force. The major impetus for the government's change in attitude was the strong and consistent pressure placed on the government by the Canadian public. Aid raised privately by Canadians for Nicaragua overshadowed government aid for much of the decade, making the government response look weak. The support of the Canadian public for action in Central America was the major factor which pressured the federal government into becoming more involved in Nicaragua, even though the government was not as supportive of the new regime in Nicaragua as a large portion of the Canadian public often was.

L’étude qui suit a pour le but une juxtaposition des textes de chansons sociales produites au Québec et au Nicaragua de 1960 à 1980. Les auteurs choisis sont : Raymond Lévesque, Georges Dor, Carlos Mejía Godoy et Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy car leurs textes reflètent les inquiétudes et les attitudes populaires de l’époque de la Révolution tranquille et de la fin du régime somoziste, deux périodes cruciales dans l'histoire récente de ces deux collectivités. Il s’agit d’une prise de parole dont la forme reflète le caractère social de chaque nation comme l’explique Raymond Williams et il s’agit de l’utilisation de tactiques qui relèvent d’occasions comme l’explique Michel de Certeau. La chanson sociale, une des formes de la prise de parole, constitue une réaction contre -culturelle contre le bricolage proposé par les producteurs de la culture officielle. Dans les détails que cette étude examine, le texte de la chanson sociale fait découvrir toute une manière de vivre de chaque nation. En effet, la chanson sociale se sert des éléments de la culture officielle de façon à exposer l’essence de ce que la société réellement éprouve. Notre analyse textuelle touche plus particulièrement les thèmes de la pauvreté et de l’espoir pour l’avenir. La juxtaposition Québec-Nicaragua révèle que les auteurs-chanteurs-compositeurs de chaque nation trouvent des moyens de prendre la parole en accord avec les exigences du caractère social de la culture d’origine.

Canada's relations with Nicaragua changed greatly during the 1980s after the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) came to power in a revolution which overthrew the Somoza dynasty. For the first few years of the new regime in Nicaragua, Canada provided little support, declaring that Canadians had no significant interests in the country and there was no reason for them to get involved in Central America's ongoing conflicts. When Brian Mulroney first came to power with Joe Clark as his Secretary of State for External Affairs, the Progressive Conservatives generally held to the course set by the previous Liberal government. However, as the 1980s went on the Conservatives began providing Nicaragua with more bilateral aid, and became increasingly involved in the regional peace process known as Esquipulas; this culminated in Canadian peacekeepers entering the region in 1990 as part of a UN peacekeeping force. The major impetus for the government's change in attitude was the strong and consistent pressure placed on the government by the Canadian public. Aid raised privately by Canadians for Nicaragua overshadowed government aid for much of the decade, making the government response look weak. The support of the Canadian public for action in Central America was the major factor which pressured the federal government into becoming more involved in Nicaragua, even though the government was not as supportive of the new regime in Nicaragua as a large portion of the Canadian public often was.

The impact of global economic policies on health equity and social development has been well-documented and, in the current phase of economic globalization, profound health inequities have been attributed to these policies. In response to these inequitable trade conditions, which are especially pronounced in the trade of boom-and-bust commodities like coffee, alternative trade models such as Fair Trade have proliferated. Although there is great potential for these alternative economic policies to achieve health and gender equity, these considerations have largely been left out of existing analyses, which focus on gender-blind economic, organizational, and environmental indicators. <p>To address these omissions, this study explores the experiences, perceptions, and aspirations of an organized group of coffee-producing women with regards to Fair Trade. The study was conducted in Northern Nicaragua in 2009 and focuses on the experiences of women supported by a local feminist organization, la Fundación Entre Mujeres, in an embedded, single case study design. It is informed by participant-observation, interviews, and dialogic focus groups. The study situates participants perceptions and aspirations in a globalization and health framework as well as an empowerment framework. Considered in this light, womens experiences provide valuable insights about the perceived and potential health and gender impacts of alternative models of trade and provide a vision for the future directions of these models. <p>The womens experiences reveal that although valuable benefits are being experienced as a result of participation in Fair Trade especially in terms of a higher income and a commitment to organic agriculture there are lingering doubts as to whether Fair Trade is actually "fair" or simply "better". The women supported by la Fundación Entre Mujeres aspire to more equitable trade characterized by solidarity, justice, a focus on womens rights, and a fairer valuation and recognition of womens efforts inside and outside of coffee. In order to move towards this "fair" system of trade, the current Fair Trade model must become more oriented towards equitable control for all of its stakeholders and must broaden its definition of empowerment so as to more actively and vocally participate in the broader contexts of international trade that are influencing health and gender equity for women around the world.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Concepción is the most active composite volcano in Nicaragua, and is located on Ometepe Island, within Lake Nicaragua. Moderate to small volcanic explosions with a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 1-2 have been characteristic of this volcano during the last four decades. Although its current activity is not violent, its volcanic deposits reveal stages of violent activity involving Plinian and sub-Plinian eruptions that deposited vast amounts of volcanic tephra in the Atlantic Ocean. These observations, together with the 31,000 people living on the island, make Concepción volcano an important target for volcanological research. My research focuses on the investigation of the stability of the volcano edifice of Concepción, using geophysical data such as gravity, geodetic global positioning system (GPS), sulphur dioxide (SO2) flux, real-time seismic amplitude (RSAM), and satellite remotely-sensed data. The integration of these data sets provides information about the short-term behavior of Concepción, and some insights into the volcano's long-term behavior. This study has provided, for the first time, information about the shallow dynamics of Concepción on time scales of days to weeks. I furnish evidence that this volcano is not gravitationally spreading in a continuous fashion as previously thought, that its bulk average density is comparable to that of a pile of gravel, that the volcano edifice is composed of two major distinctive lithologies, that the deformation field around the volcano is recoverable in a matter of days, and that the deformation source is located in the shallow crust. This source is also degassing through the relatively open magmatic conduit. There are, however, several remaining questions. Although the volcano is not spreading continuously there is the possibility that gravitational spreading may be taking place in a stick-slip fashion. This has important implications for slope stability of the volcano, and the associated hazards. The factors influencing the long term slope stability of the volcano are still not fully resolved, but internal volcanic processes and anthropogenic disturbances appear to be the major factors.