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Wild plant resources are harvested and managed by people in a variety of land-uses but few studies examine the interactions of landscape dynamics and the use and availability of wild plant resources. I address this question using a case study of common property lands with a history of community forestry and traditional shifting cultivation. Specifically I ask: What is the perceived importance of plant resources obtained in agricultural and forest environments? Have forest and agricultural land-use/land covers changed? How do landscape changes, and in particular shorter fallow times, influence the availability and use of plant resources? / The perceived importance of wild plant resources was studied using free-listing and ranking exercises with focus groups of men and women. Remote sensing and interviews served to analyse landscape dynamics (1976-2000) and to identify local forest conservation regulations. The impact of shorter fallow times on the availability of forage and firewood in agricultural fields was assessed by sampling 26 fields derived from short to long fallows, while a household survey served to characterize patterns of firewood collection. / Men attributed highest importance to commercial forest products, while resources most valued by women were domestic resources obtained in a variety of environments. High rates of forest retention were observed; conservation was focused on forests with high densities of commercial products. The agricultural zones shifted from a mosaic of diverse successional stages to a homogeneous landscape dominated by younger fallows and shorter fallow periods; these changes led to reductions in the availability of firewood and some forage species. Firewood collection was related to accessibility; areas with the least amount of firewood available (short-fallow cycles and low forest cover) experienced the highest collection pressure. / The findings demonstrate that indigenous territories can be very dynamic, even when rates of forest conservation are high, and that changes in land-use and landscape structure have important implications for the availability and use of wild plant resources. A conceptual model linking landscape dynamics to wild plant use is proposed and the significance of the results for community-based conservation initiatives is discussed.

Ongoing investigation of peccary remains from fossiliferous deposits in the Yucatán resulted in re-examination of previously identified tayassuid fossils from the region. This included the recently described new genus and species of peccary, Muknalia minima, which is based on a dentary from Muknal Cave near Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Diagnostic characters of this taxon include a concave notch along the caudal edge of the ascending ramus and a ventrally directed angular process. Our assessment of the holotype indicates that these characteristics are not a reflection of the original morphology, but are instead the result of breakage and polishing of the posterior aspect of the dentary. Measurements and intact morphological features indicate the Muknal Cave specimen belongs to the extant collared peccary, Pecari tajacu.

Equity and fairness in the distribution of tourism benefits and participation in tourism decision-making are key tenets of sustainable tourism. However, little attention has been paid to the study and conceptualization of justice in tourism and robust theoretical or methodological foundations to examine fairness and justice; in particular, in regards to the well-being of ethnic, minority and/or disadvantaged groups are especially lacking in tourism studies. This dissertation reports the results of a grounded theory study of justice and equity in relation to tourism and the Yucatecan Maya in Quintana Roo, Mexico. A robust framework is offered to guide the study of cultural justice in tourism, which was developed based on theoretical contributions from environmental justice, social justice, and political philosophy, among others, and empirical data from multiple sources. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 47 tourism stakeholders, participant observation, and examination of tourism-related government reports, statistics and other data related to legislation, planning and development. Issues of justice were found to be complex and multifaceted, rooted in post-colonial and contemporary power dynamics that affect the economic, social, and cultural status of the Yucatecan Maya in society. The study identified four major issues directly related to tourism that affected the economic and cultural well-being of this ethnic group: cultural exploitation, cultural marginalization, cultural racism, and cultural domination. The extensive research also identified the positive role of tourism in providing for cultural justice, in particular, recognition and respect for cultural, ethnic and minority groups and the cultural sustainability of their cultural manifestations. Based on the above findings and drawing upon theoretical contributions in the extensive literature on justice and fairness, it is argued that discourses of justice and equity in tourism should look beyond the distribution of tourism benefits and access to political power and address intangible matters of respect, recognition, and cultural valuation. A number of key principles to help address cultural injustices are suggested and implications for tourism policy and practice discussed.

Zugl.: Göttingen, Univ., Diss., 2008

Along the northern coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico, prehistoric ceramic usage included a variety of unslipped forms. During field excavations at the Maya coastal site of Vista Alegre, Drs. Jeffrey Glover and Dominique Rissolo recovered a high volume of sherds comprising a number of vessel type-varieties and forms. Vessel fragments collected from the Vista Alegre assemblage are comprised largely of ambiguous unslipped plain and unslipped striated sherds. This study explores distinct diagnostic attributes associated with these unlipped plain and unslipped striated sherds such as paste composition, texture, color, rim forms, and handle styles. This research facilitates future ceramic research along the northern coast of Quintana Roo promoting otherwise undefined sherds into a more systematic classification based on recorded modal characteristics.

This study presents the results of an analysis of the archaeological ceramics recovered from Maya sites on the island of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The field work was conducted in 1972-1973 by the Harvard University-University of Arizona Cozumel Archaeological Project which had as it focus the investigation of several aspects of long distance trade in Postclassic Maya society. The objectives of the study were (1) to analyze, classify, and describe the Cozumel ceramic remains, (2) to further clarify the island's prehistory through interpretation of ceramic data and relationships, and (3) to evaluate the Cozumel Archaeological Project's port of trade model from the standpoint of the ceramic evidence. Chapter 1 provides background information on the setting, history, and archaeology of Cozumel and adjacent coastal areas and summarizes the Cozumel Archaeological Project's research design and field investigations. This is followed in Chapter 2 by a discussion of the techniques of ceramic analysis employed in the study, including a brief summary of the type-variety system of ceramic classification. Chapters 3 through 10 present detailed descriptions of the ceramic complexes, arranged chronologically. Each variety of each ceramic type is described, including paste characteristics, surface finish, decoration, form, and comparative data. The Cozumel ceramic record indicates settlement on the island from Late Preclassic (ca. 300 B.C.-A.D. 300) through Late Postclassic (ca. A.D. 1250-1500/1550) times. An overview of the prehistory of Cozumel is presented in Chapter eleven. Chapter twelve presents the results of an attribute analysis of slipped serving dishes and unslipped jars which was undertaken to test the port of trade model. The model hypothesizes that Cozumel underwent a shift from a decentralized port of trade in the Early Postclassic, characterized by heterogeneity in archaeological remains, to a centralized trading center in the Late Postclassic, characterized by homogeneity. While the attribute analysis demonstrated an increase in intersite similarity and ceramic homogeneity in the Late Postclassic, results for the Early Postclassic were inconclusive. Chapter fourteen briefly summarizes the study's results and conclusions. Although the port of trade model was not verified by the ceramic evidence, there is considerable evidence that Cozumel may have been the site of a Toltec trade outpost in Early Postclassic times.

The dissertation examines the political organization of the ancient Maya during the Terminal Classic Period in the Cochuah Region of Quintana Roo. It evaluates the architecture and site layout of the secondary sites of Sacalaca and San Felipe, and tertiary and quaternary sites surrounding them in order to test political models. Our understanding of the ancient Maya political organization largely comes from Classic Period hieroglyphic texts recorded by Maya kings on public monuments. This reliance on only these kinds of data creates a limitation on the interpretation of political organization, and does not address the local scale of political institution within Maya polities. It also creates the illusion of a centralization of political organization and biases towards primary sites where hieroglyphic monuments are located. The alternative data available for the evaluation of political organization are the regional settlement pattern, individual site layouts and site architecture. Certain types of architecture such as acropoli, mortuary temples, formal plazas and ballcourts, are representative of the institutions of rulership permitting to determine the type of political organization. The distribution of this architecture within the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sites will correlate to respective political models. Three models were chosen to be tested after reviewing the various models proposed for the political organization of the ancient Maya. These models are Dynastic Kingship, Mul Tepal, and the Segmentary State. The archaeological correlates of these models are identified and compared with the evidence provided by twenty sites in the Cochuah Region for both the early Terminal Classic Period -the Florescent Phase and the late Terminal Classic Period -the Post Florescent Phase. The conclusion is made that during the Florescent Phase the political organization in the Cochuah Region was a Segmentary State. In the Segmentary State the institution of rulership is found in sites occupying different levels in the settlement hierarchy. Sacalaca and San Felipe and their satellites exhibit a duplication of the institutions of rulership on a smaller scale. During the Post Florescent Phase data indicate the absence of authorities capable of providing order or enforcing laws and perhaps the absence of rulers during this time in the region. This case study demonstrates that some types of political organizations would be only visible through examination of secondary sites and their satellites. Also, this approach addresses the problem of relying on hieroglyphic texts and helps to overcome a bias of centralized political organization created by investigation limited to the primary centers. / Anthropology

The topic of this master's thesis is a comparison of web Rapid Application Development frameworks Ruby on Rails and Spring Roo. The paper focuses on creating extensive overview of pros and cons of the subjected tools from the web developer's point of view to enhance his awareness about the subject, also to come up with new questions for further analysis or even convince him to use one of the frameworks in the real projects. Firstly, the paper contains a theoretical overview of the common conceptions for better understanding of the following parts and then specific principles for each of the selected frameworks. Secondly, there is a practical part. On one hand it demonstrates the implementation of a reference application using both platforms to illustrate the practical distinctions. On the other hand, it also contains an overall comparison based on the defined methodology. Altogether, it should form a comprehensive comparison of the selected frameworks for web developers interested in Ruby and Java platforms.

Cette thèse porte sur les possibilités que les méthodes d’imagerie géoélectrique offrent à la fois pour la caractérisation des processus géochimiques mais aussi pour l’étude d’interaction sol-racines. La ligne conductrice de ce travail, repose sur la position centrale de la qualité des sols et des interactions racines-sols dans de nombreux problèmes environnementaux. En effet, un nombre croissant d’études rapportent l’importance des interactions mutuelles entre les racines et le sol. Dans cette optique, cette thèse explore l’utilisation le développements approfondis de méthodes géoélectriques. Les processus physico-chimiques ainsi que les interaction sol-racines sont à l’origine de mouvement d’eau et de soluté, d’altération de la structure des sols ainsi que de perturbations biologiques. Les méthodes géoélectriques sont potentiellement sensibles à ces modifications hydrologique et biochimique. La méthode de Polarisation Provoquée Spectrale (PPS) a été combinée avec des analyses et des modélisations géochimiques permettant de connaitre sa sensibilité à la composition du fluide interstitiel (contenu dans l’espace poral), du pH et de la force ionique. Plus particulièrement, la signature PPS de la substitution Na+/Cu2+ a été analysée car il s’agit d’un critère pertinent traduisant la qualité d’un sol et reconnu mondialement. L’analyse PPS a été réalisée sur un sable (silicate) saturé et pour des concentrations typiques de Na+/Cu2+ que l’on trouve classiquement dans des sols exposés à des utilisations de pesticides au Cuivre (Cu). Les résultats ont montré que le pH et la force ionique ont été les variables prépondérantes contrôlant le signal PPS, alors que des effets négligeables sont liés à la substitution Cu/Na. L’utilisation simultanée d’analyses chimiques et géophysiques en laboratoire a permis de mieux caractériser les processus de complexation étudiés et d’appuyer considérablement l’interprétation des signaux PPS. Enfin, la tomographie de résistivité électrique et la méthode de Mise-A-La-Masse ont été combinées pour développer une nouvelle approche d'imagerie du chemin préférentiel emprunté par le courant électrique dans le système racines-sols. Etant donné que la conduction électrique dans le sol et les racines est principalement électrolytique, l'approche proposée repose sur le mouvement de l'eau et des solutés dans le système racines-sol. Le potentiel de la méthode pour son application in-situ a été testée à l’aide d’une série d’expériences sur une vigne. À la suite des résultats prometteurs, la méthode a été développée et appliquée lors d’une expérience en laboratoire portant sur la croissance racinaire dans un rhizotron de plantes de coton et de maïs. La méthode s'est révélée sensible aux différences physiologiques entre les espèces et éventuellement à la réponse de la plante aux facteurs de stress environnementaux. De nouvelles expériences contrôlant les variables physiologiques des tissus racinaires sont nécessaires pour une meilleure compréhension de leurs influences. Les développements technologiques récents soutiennent fortement la diffusion de l’imagerie et du suivi géoélectriques à l'échelle du terrain. Dans ce contexte prometteur, les résultats de cette thèse contribuent au développement d'approches géoélectriques pour l'étude du sol et de ses interactions mutuelles avec les racines des plantes à des échelles spatio-temporelles pertinentes. / In this thesis I investigate some of the possibilities offered by the use of geoelectrical methods for characterizing soil geochemical processes and root-soil interactions. The motivation for this thesis arises from the pivotal role of soil quality and root-soil interactions in manifold environmental issues. In addition, there is growing evidence of the importance of mutual interactions between roots and soil, for this reason this thesis explores the use of geoelectrical methods for more comprehensive approaches. Both soil physicochemical processes and root-soil interactions involve, among others, the movement of water and solutes, altercations of the soil structure, and biological feedbacks. Geoelectrical methods are potentially sensitivity to these hydrogeological and biogeochemical modifications. The Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) method was combined with geochemical analyses and modeling in order to investigate its sensitivity to pore fluid composition, pH, and ionic strength. In particular, the SIP signature of Na+/Cu2+ substitution was investigated because of their worldwide relevance for soil quality. The SIP investigation focused on saturated silica, and explored concentrations of Na+ and Cu2+ that are typical to agricultural soils exposed to the use of Cu pesticides. The results showed how pH and ionic strength were the main variables controlling the SIP signals, while negligible effects were related to the Cu/Na substitution. The concurrent use of chemical and geophysical laboratory experiments allowed a better characterization of the investigated complexation processes and significantly supported the interpretation of the SIP signals. The Electrical Resistivity Tomography and the Mise-A-La-Masse methods were combined to develop a novel approach for imaging the electric current pathways in the root-soil system. Since the current conduction in soil and roots is mostly electrolytic, the proposed approach relates to the movement of water and solutes within the root-soil system. The potential of the method for field investigations was explored with a set of experiments on a grapevine. In light of the promising results, the method was further developed and applied to rhizotron laboratory experiments on cotton and maize plants. The method proved to be sensitive to inter-species physiological differences and possibly to the plant response to environmental stressors. New experiments with physiological analyses of root tissues are needed to elucidate these aspects. Emerging technologies are strongly supporting to the diffusion of imaging and monitoring geoelectrical applications at the field-scale. In this promising context, the results of this thesis contribute to the development of geoelectrical approaches for studying soil and its mutual interactions with plant roots over relevant spatiotemporal scales.