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A sector-wide programming model of the Dominican agriculture is developed and used to analyze the impacts of trade and agricultural policies in the Dominican Republic. The model includes ten agricultural commodities which accounted for 75 percent of the total value of agricultural production in 1988. Linear demand functions for the commodities are included and the model is solved in its quadratic form using the GAMS/MINOS package. A competitive market is assumed where consumer and producer surplus is maximized. Quantities and prices are obtained endogenously. Nominal and Effective Rates of Protection were estimated for selected crops. Results indicated negative protection for most of the crops. Two sets of policy changes and market condition changes were evaluated using the sector programming model. Inward--oriented policies included a policy of self-sufficiency and a penalty on traditional export crops through an exchange rate differential. Outward-oriented policies consisted of a change in the fertilizer price to reflect the border price and the elimination of government subsidies in the agricultural sector. External market condition changes included the elimination of the US sugar quota and an increase in the US sugar quota up to the level assigned in 1990. Agricultural production, income and employment are increased by a policy of food self-sufficiency, a reduction in fertilizer price and an increase in the US sugar quota. A policy of food self-sufficiency requires more government spending given the input subsidies available from the government. / Ph. D.

Our knowledge of whether hurricanes cause lasting changes in forest composition and the patterns and role of fire in Caribbean dry forests are lacking. This project combines paleoecological and paleotempestological methods to document the disturbance and environmental history of the last 1000 yrs at Laguna Alejandro, situated in the lowland dry forests of arid SW Dominican Republic. I analyzed multiple proxy data sources of a 160 cm coastal lagoon sediment profile. High-resolution (1 cm) sampling for loss-on-ignition and magnetic susceptibility indicated multiple erosion and hurricane events, including a hurricane ~996 cal YBP, and several erosion events and hurricanes between ~321 cal YBP and present day. Pollen analysis documented 32 plant families with most levels dominated by pollen of Fabaceae (legumes), the Urticales order, and Cyperaceae (sedges), though families of upland and montane vegetation are also present ~510-996 cal YBP. All pollen slides contained microscopic charcoal indicating the occurrence of regional or extra-local fires over the last ~1000 yrs. Local fires, as indicated by macroscopic charcoal, occurred before ~434 cal YBP and may be tied to hurricanes, increased moisture in the region (thereby increased fuel and ignition chances), or prehistoric human activities. Pollen spectra representing periods before and after disturbance events were similar and may support the idea of forest resilience, but more samples are needed. Multiple erosion events between ~294 cal YBP and present may be tied to hurricanes or tropical storms and increasing late-Holocene aridity in the region as documented by several studies from the Caribbean. / Master of Science

[pt] É bastante comentada a querela entre mythos e lógos nos escritos de Platão, sendo o filósofo responsável tanto pelo afastamento quanto pela aproximação dessas duas instâncias na filosofia. A dissertação se propôs a analisar a contação de mitos (ou mitologação) na obra A República de Platão, na qual as personagens do diálogo narram mitos, tecem julgamentos sobre eles, oferecem uma definição de mythos, prescrevem aqueles que são úteis à cidade e descortinam o belíssimo espetáculo do Hades na coroação do diálogo com a contação do mito de Er. Tudo isso enquanto o processo de construção da própria cidade-ideal é chamado por Sócrates, explicitamente, de uma mitologação em lógos em 376d e 501e. Nesse sentido, objetivou-se examinar ocorrências relevantes da palavra mythos em diferentes momentos da obra, comentadas pelas variadas personagens e nos seus diversos contextos, a fim de mostrar seus diferentes sentidos, estruturas e objetivos em cada enquadramento, além de ressaltar a centralidade deste tema no diálogo. Diante desse rico debate construído no decurso da República, propôs-se explorar o possível aspecto mítico da Kallípolis, observando de que maneira ela é uma mitologação em lógos e de que forma é possível entender o emprego de mythos nesse contexto, considerando todo o cenário retratado na obra e os assuntos discutidos por suas personagens. / [en] The quarrel between mythos and logos in Plato s writings is widely commented, and the philosopher is responsible for both the estrangement and the approximation of these two instances in philosophy. The dissertation set out to analyze the telling of myths (or mythologization) in Plato s Republic, in which the characters of the dialogue narrate myths, make judgments about them, offer a definition of mythos, prescribe those that are useful to the city and unveil the beautiful spectacle of Hades in the crowning of the dialogue with the telling of the myth of Er. All this while the process of building the ideal-city itself is explicitly called by Socrates a mythologization in logos in 376d and 501e. In this sense, we aimed to examine relevant occurrences of the word mythos at different times in the work, commented by the diverse characters and in their various contexts, in order to show their different meanings, structures and objectives in each framework, in addition to highlighting the centrality of this theme in the dialogue. In view of this rich debate constructed in the course of The Republic, it was proposed to explore the possible mythical aspect of Kallípolis, observing how it is a mythologization in logos and how it is possible to understand the use of mythos in this context, considering the whole scenario portrayed in the work and the subjects discussed by its characters.

In early Philadelphia, 1783-1788, the classics formed a pervasive presence on the city's cultural, political, and physical landscape. As the American nation commenced its republican experiment, references to the classics in Philadelphia especially emerged as a vehicle and vocabulary employed by statesmen for fashioning a people, political culture, and national identity. According to political theories of republicanism, statesmen in Philadelphia had a vested interest in cultivating the virtue of their citizens. As symbols and lessons in patriotism and virtue, classical antiquity was incorporated into civic iconography and national foundation narratives and projected to the broader public. This thesis examines the classical presence in Philadelphia, 1783-1788. It specifically analyses the public presentation and dissemination of the classics in three cultural avenues beyond the walls of the academy, newspapers, spectacles, and orations, in order to evaluate the barriers and opportunities for engagement with the classics by the broader Philadelphia public. I argue that although the gates to a traditional higher education were shut to many of the Philadelphia public, cultural avenues existed that allowed the classics to disseminate to the wider populace. The broader public was invited to engage with the classics when it served a political purpose and lessons in patriotism and virtue were being transmitted. However, this inclusion was often controlled, mediated, and implemented on the terms of the elite. Further, the classics still served as markers of status, and the two contradictory functions held by the classics placed the wider Philadelphia public on the threshold of inclusion and exclusion. / Master of Arts

German resistance to Nazi oppression existed within the ranks of academe, the military, the working classes, and the established churches. The Catholic Church, under the leadership of Pope Pius XI, entered into a non-interference agreement with Hitler, but the Evangelical Church experienced a severe split. From this division grew the Confessing Church. A number of leaders within the Confessing Church were arrested or killed during Nazi Germany, and it was the women of the church who continued the work overtly and covertly. The work of these women has mostly been marginalized by history, in part because historic writings belonged to the male hegemony, and in part because the women did not seek recognition. As most of the women about whom I am writing came of age during Weimar Republic (1919-1933), I argue that the women of the resistance received their empowerment to rise up against Nazi oppression from the women's movement of the interwar years. To understand the normative influences, one must consider the societal and political forces that helped shape that time. What led Germany on this path of destruction and caused it to vote for a leviathan in 1933? How did the work of the resistance women serve to fight against the forces of evil that threatened to drown out all reason? What motivated these women to disregard their own safety in their struggle against evil? / Ph. D.

This thesis discusses the reactions of American newspapers and elite individuals to French women in violence as perpetrators and victims during the French Revolution. Canvassing the years between 1789 and 1799, it includes papers, especially politically aligned ones, from across the states of America and attempts to assess the prescriptive nature of various reports. In includes case studies of common/working-class women, aristocratic revolutionaries (Charlotte Corday and Madame Roland), and Queen Marie Antoinette. Using newspapers with and without political affiliations, to either the Federalist or Democratic-Republican Party, it argues that the dividing ideological lines between these factions were not as steadfast and rigid as previously believed during this period. Though papers and individuals did adhere to party lines, their opinions toward women in violence were affected by other factors, such as their ideologies about violence. Building on historiographies of colonial and revolutionary American attitudes toward women in violence, gender ideology in the early Republic, and political parties in the 1790s, it seeks to illuminate American views toward women in violence during the years of the early Republic. / Master of Arts

Despite an increase in domestic milk production, the dairy industry in the Dominican Republic (D. R.) has not been able to adequately meet the demand of the ever-growing Dominican population, prompting the government and milk processing plants to sponsor programs which will increase the national production of milk and eventually lead to milk self-sufficiency. One obstacle to this goal is a very low reproductive rate in cows and heifers due in part to the tropical setting. Year-round heat stress may result in abnormal follicular dynamics and decreased oocyte and sperm quality causing reproductive efficiency to decline drastically. The specific purpose of this project was to examine and characterize the reproductive practices and outcomes of the Dominican dairy industry by region and to attempt to identify factors that influence dairy reproductive efficiency. During the course of the study, 43 farms were visited over a 10-week period and evaluated. Farms were chosen throughout 4 of the 5 regions of the country and were selected based on their size (preferably 40 adult cows or more), availability of data, and demonstrated motivation by the owner in improving the herd. Individual herd evaluation was broken into four major components: owner interview, farm evaluation, collection of individual cow reproductive data, and adult cow evaluation. Once observations had been made and catalogued, all data were summarized on the herd level and analyzed descriptively. In addition to descriptive analysis, multiple regression techniques were used to select independent variables which explain most of the variance for each of four reproductive outcomes: days to first service, services per pregnancy, projected calving interval, and service rate. In general, reproductive management practices varied depending on region and farm size. Average lameness within the herd was the most important factor in explaining the variability within services per pregnancy and projected calving interval. As average herd lameness increases by 1 point (based on a 1 to 4 scale), services per pregnancy and projected calving interval increase by 0.65 services per pregnancy and 61.1 days respectively according to the model formulated. Increase in the number of employees involved in estrus detection resulted in higher days to first service. The Santo Domingo region had lower days to first service possibly due to widespread reproductive hormone use within the region. The percentage of Holsteins within the herd was associated with increased services per pregnancy and projected calving interval. Increases in service rate were most closely associated with the type of record category used, indicating that a larger sample population with thorough insemination records may be needed to adequately assess this outcome. In part, reproductive efficiency in the Dominican Republic can be potentially improved by enhancing methods for estrus detection. Mechanical aids to estrus detection (tailhead chalk, K-mar® patches, etc.) may help increase estrus detection efficiency in herds currently only relying on visual observation. Assigning 1-2 people primarily to estrus detection and increasing the frequency of hormone usage may also improve estrus detection efficiency. The main emphasis for Dominican dairy producers, however, should be on preventing new lameness and culling chronically lame cows once it is economically feasible to do so. Reducing the incidence of lameness could, in itself, dramatically improve reproductive efficiency in the Dominican Republic. / Master of Science