Repúblicas dentro de la República de Bolivia: los pueblos chiquitos en los primeros escenarios de un nuevo orden político.

Las diferentes parcialidades de las tierras bajas de Bolivia, denominados chiquitos, que se habían concentrado en las reducciones jesuíticas –posteriormente convertidas en parroquias bajo el clero secular– se enfrentaron con una nueva transformación política al producirse la ruptura final del régimen colonial y la instalación de juntas cantonales de gobierno a partir de 1825. Este artículo resumirá la evidencia documental en torno a la presencia de los cabildantes chiquitanos en las juntas cantonales y discutirá los enfoques de análisis acerca de la cultura política en la región durante este período histórico de transición.The different ethnic groups of the Bolivian lowlands, known as chiquitos, brought into the Jesuit missions of the region –which later were converted into parishes administered by the secular clergy– confronted yet another political transformation following the dissolution of the colonial regime and the installation of juntas or councils to govern the local cantons, beginning in 1825. This article will summarize the evidence available on the presence of chiquitano council members in the juntas and it will discuss the analytical frameworks for the political culture of the region during this period of transition

Global divergence of microbial genome sequences mediated by propagating fronts

We model the competition between recombination and point mutation in microbial genomes, and present evidence for two distinct phases, one uniform, the other genetically diverse. Depending on the specifics of homologous recombination, we find that global sequence divergence can be mediated by fronts propagating along the genome, whose characteristic signature on genome structure is elucidated, and apparently observed in closely-related {\it Bacillus} strains. Front propagation provides an emergent, generic mechanism for microbial "speciation", and suggests a classification of microorganisms on the basis of their propensity to support propagating fronts

DNA hybridization catalysts and catalyst circuits

Practically all of life's molecular processes, from chemical synthesis to replication, involve enzymes that carry out their functions through the catalysis of metastable fuels into waste products. Catalytic control of reaction rates will prove to be as useful and ubiquitous in DNA nanotechnology as it is in biology. Here we present experimental results on the control of the decay rates of a metastable DNA "fuel". We show that the fuel complex can be induced to decay with a rate about 1600 times faster than it would decay spontaneously. The original DNA hybridization catalyst [15] achieved a maximal speed-up of roughly 30. The fuel complex discussed here can therefore serve as the basic ingredient for an improved DNA hybridization catalyst. As an example application for DNA hybridization catalysts, we propose a method for implementing arbitrary digital logic circuits

LAKH Conference in Albuquerque, International Cooperation for Digital Harvesting and Scientific Research

This three-day meeting brought together the four LAKH Latin American partner institutions and the UNM team for the first full meeting. The main objectives were to know the mission of each partner and the specific goals for their participation in the LAKH project; state the achievements and problems that each team has encountered; organize informational panels on specific themes that are central to the LAKH project; discuss in workshops the technical, administrative and budgetary issues of the project; establish goals for the fourth year of the TICFIA grants; establish guidelines for project evaluation and exchange ideas for new proposals and additional collaborators. Many of these goals were met, although specific strategies for 1) meeting our goals in Year Four, 2) implementing the evaluation plan and 3) establishing a framework for the new proposal await further discussion and additional information. Two important achievements of the LAKH conference are the signing of Memoranda of Cooperation between UNM and IBICT and Abya Yala, respectively

Four American women artists paint women

Graduate research paper for art history.AR 311, American art II.1978 Spring.Includes bibliographic references (pages 34-35)

“It’s Not Important for You to Speak:” The Perception of Purity and Its Power Over Women’s Reproductive and Sexual Health

There is a general silence in both society and academia surrounding women’s health and the social conception of purity. Purity myths and misconceptions have created stigmas that women of all backgrounds must navigate to manage and care for their reproductive and sexual health. This study investigates the importance of purity and how it is used to define, measure, and categorize women’s bodies and behaviors. Women’s perception of purity, specifically in regards to menstruation and pre-marital sex, were investigated using semi-structured interviews in Dehradun, Uttarkhand. This study analyzes how stigmatized conceptions of impurities manifest as silence in society. Data collected from interviews indicates that this silence inhibits women from discussing sexuality and menstruation openly, accessing contraceptives without fear of judgement, and obtaining proper health information. Education and religiousness influence women’s perceptions of pre-marital sex and menstruation, and therefore impact their ability to break this silence. The study finds that the conception of purity is pertinent in Indian society, and suggests that the value placed on virginity has greater health implications regarding the practice of early marriage as a way for family’s to safeguard girls’ sexuality and the family’s honor

Abstract expressionism, more than inspired madness

Graduate research paper for painting.1978 Spring.Includes bibliographic references (page 11)

Historical Roots of Migration in the Age of Globalization

Migratory streams to and from Latin America have created human ebbs and flows over a century-and-a-half, since the borderlands were divided by the bi-national boundary between Mexico and the U.S. In truth, what we know as the borderlands, an extended region of changing ecological, cultural and political dimensions, running from the Californias to the Caribbean basin, has articulated the movements of diverse peoples through deserts, mountains and wetlands since long before the nation-state defined North American geography. The present paper outlines the historical context for migratory flows to and from the U.S. and Latin America, through the portal of Mexico, in the light of major political events and economic circumstances. Noting the diverse composition of migrant and immigrant populations, it discusses the pressures arising from the global economy over the last three decades that have increased the northward migratory paths from Latin America and the Caribbean to the U.S. Finally, it points to the complex processes of cultural identity that evolve from the demographic and spatial movement of peoples, including issues of citizenship and national affiliation

Landscapes of Power and Identity. Comparative Histories in the Sonoran Desert and the Forests of Amazonia. Endnotes to the book.

Landscapes of Power and Identity presents three interrelated stories, starting with the authors personal journey over two decades of research and reflection about the relationships between human societies and the environments they create in North and South America. It links her experiences to the histories of conquest, native communities, and the colonial societies they helped to shape in two frontier regions of Spanish America: northwestern Mexico and eastern Bolivia. Beginning with the title, this book explores nuanced meanings of landscapes coming from art history, landscape architecture, history and anthropology. It makes special contributions as a comparative history grounded in extensive primary sources and fieldwork in both regions, and illustrates creative interdisciplinary methods of research, moving between landscapes and texts. Its theoretical matrix contributes to the conceptual frameworks of social and political ecology, addresses current debates in environmental history around the axis of nature and culture, and intersects the fields of environmental, cultural, and social history. The book\u27s interest stems from the contrasting geographies and histories it weaves together, from the deserts of northern Mexico to the tropical rain forests of the greater Amazonian and Paraguayan river basins. Landscapes of Power and Identity opens new approaches to ethnohistory and to discussions of postcoloniality and of borderlands in the early Latin American republics from the vantage point of space, environment, and the changing landscapes created by ethnically and culturally mixed societies. The dimensions of power and identity are woven through each chapter, addressing fundamental issues of territory, economy, governance and warfare, gender, and conflicting claims to spiritual power.\u2