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Caribbean
Terms modified by Caribbean Selected AbstractsOVERCOMING BARRIERS TO PAIN RELIEF IN THE CARIBBEANDEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS, Issue 3 2009CHERYL MACPHERSON ABSTRACT This paper examines pain and pain relief in the Caribbean, where pain is widely perceived as an unavoidable part of life, and where unnecessary suffering results from untreated and under treated pain. Barriers to pain relief in the Caribbean include patient and family attitudes, inadequate knowledge among health professionals and unduly restrictive regulations on the medical use of opioids. Similar barriers exist all over the world. This paper urges medical, nursing and public health professionals, and educators to examine attitudes towards pain and pain relief and to work towards making effective pain relief and palliation more accessible. It recommends that i) health professionals and officials be better educated about pain, palliation and opioids, ii) regulatory restrictions be updated in light of clinical and scientific evidence, iii) opioid procurement policies be adjusted to facilitate increased medical use, iv) medical charts and records be modified to routinely elicit and document patients levels of pain, and v) educational campaigns be developed to inform the public that moderate and severe pain can be safely relieved at the end of life and other stages of life. The professional, respectful, and beneficent response to patients in pain is to provide rapid and aggressive pain relief or to urgently consult a pain or palliative specialist. When a health system hinders such efforts the ethical response is to identify, facilitate and advocate for overcoming barriers to improvement. [source] GLOBAL SYSTEMATIC AND PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF SARGASSUM IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC BASINJOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2000N. Phillips Sargassum is one of the most species-rich genera in the brown algae with over 400 described species worldwide. The bulk of these species occurs in Pacific-Indian ocean waters with only a small portion found on the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama. Sargassum also has one of the most subdivided and complex taxonomic systems used within the algae. Systematic distinctions within the genus are further complicated by high rates of phenotypic variability in several key morphological characters. Molecular analyses in such systems should allow testing of systematic concepts while providing insights into speciation and evolutionary patterns. Global molecular phylogenetic analyses using both conserved and variable regions of the Rubisco operon (rbcL and rbcL-IGS-rbcS) were performed with species from the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Pacific basin. Results confirm earlier analyses based on rbcL-IGS- rbcS from Pacific species at the subgeneric and sectional level while providing additional insights into the systematics and phylogenetics on a global scale. For example, species east of the Isthmus of Panama form a distinct well-resolved clade within the tropical subgenus. This result in sharp contrast to traditional systematic treatments but provides a window into the evolutionary history of this genus in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins and a possible means to time speciation events. [source] TROPICAL AND PICTURESQUE: MARKETING THE CARIBBEAN by Krista A. ThompsonART HISTORY, Issue 2 2009Melanie Vandenbrouck-Przybylski First page of article [source] A Review of Feral Cat Eradication on IslandsCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2004MANUEL NOGALES efecto de depredación; erradicación; Felis catus; gato asilvestrado; islas Abstract:,Feral cats are directly responsible for a large percentage of global extinctions, particularly on islands. We reviewed feral cat eradication programs with the intent of providing information for future island conservation actions. Most insular cat introductions date from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, whereas successful eradication programs have been carried out in the last 30 years, most in the last decade. Globally, feral cats have been removed from at least 48 islands: 16 in Baja California (Mexico), 10 in New Zealand, 5 in Australia, 4 in the Pacific Ocean, 4 in Seychelles, 3 in the sub-Antarctic, 3 in Macaronesia (Atlantic Ocean), 2 in Mauritius, and 1 in the Caribbean. The majority of these islands (75%; n= 36) are small (,5 km2). The largest successful eradication campaign took place on Marion Island (290 km2), but cats have been successfully removed from only 10 islands (21%) of ,10 km2. On Cousine Island (Seychelles) cat density reached 243 cats/km2, but on most islands densities did not exceed 79.2 cats/km2 (n= 22; 81%). The most common methods in successful eradication programs were trapping and hunting (often with dogs; 91% from a total of 43 islands). Frequently, these methods were used together. Other methods included poisoning (1080; monofluoracetate in fish baits; n= 13; 31%), secondary poisoning from poisoned rats (n= 4; 10%), and introduction of viral disease (feline panleucopaenia; n= 2; 5%). Impacts from cat predation and, more recently, the benefits of cat eradications have been increasingly documented. These impacts and benefits, combined with the continued success of eradication campaigns on larger islands, show the value and role of feral cat eradications in biodiversity conservation. However, new and more efficient techniques used in combination with current techniques will likely be needed for success on larger islands. Resumen:,Los gatos asilvestrados han sido responsables directos de un gran número de extinciones, particularmente en islas. En este estudio, se revisan los programas de erradicación de este felino con el fin de ofrecer información de utilidad en futuras acciones de conservación en islas. La mayor parte de las introducciones datan de los siglos diecinueve y veinte, mientras que las erradicaciones han sido realizadas básicamente durante los últimos 30 años, y sobre todo en la última década. Los gatos asilvestrados han sido erradicados de al menos 48 islas: 16 de ellas en Baja California (México), 10 en Nueva Zelanda, 5 en Australia, 4 en el Océano Pacífico, 4 en Seychelles, 3 en la Región Subantártica, 3 en Macaronesia (Océano Atlántico), 2 en Mauricio, y una en el Caribe. La mayoría de éstas (75%; n= 36) son de reducidas dimensiones (,5 km2), mientras que la más extensa es Marion Island (290 km2). En tan sólo 10 islas (21%) , 10 km2 se ha podido erradicar este depredador. En Cousine Island (Seychelles) la densidad de gatos alcanzó 243 individuos/km2; sin embargo, en la mayoría de las islas, las densidades no excedieron los 79,2 individuos/km2 (n= 22; 81%). Los métodos más comúnmente empleados fueron el trampeo y la caza, a menudo con perros (91% de un total de 43 islas). Con frecuencia dichas prácticas fueron empleadas conjuntamente. Otros métodos incluyeron venenos (1080, monofluoracetato de sodio en cebos de pescado: n= 13; 31%), envenenamiento secundario con ratas envenenadas (n= 4; 10%) y el virus de la leucemia felina (n= 2; 5%). La información sobre el efecto negativo de los gatos en islas y, más recientemente, el beneficio de su erradicación, se ha ido dando a conocer paulatinamente, poniendo de manifiesto su importancia en la conservación de la biodiversidad insular. No obstante, la combinación de técnicas nuevas y más eficientes junto con las habituales, será necesaria para el éxito de la erradicación de los gatos en islas de grandes dimensiones. [source] Habitat Loss and Extinction in the Hotspots of BiodiversityCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2002Thomas M. Brooks None of these hotspots have more than one-third of their pristine habitat remaining. Historically, they covered 12% of the land's surface, but today their intact habitat covers only 1.4% of the land. As a result of this habitat loss, we expect many of the hotspot endemics to have either become extinct or,because much of the habitat loss is recent,to be threatened with extinction. We used World Conservation Union [ IUCN ] Red Lists to test this expectation. Overall, between one-half and two-thirds of all threatened plants and 57% of all threatened terrestrial vertebrates are hotspot endemics. For birds and mammals, in general, predictions of extinction in the hotspots based on habitat loss match numbers of species independently judged extinct or threatened. In two classes of hotspots the match is not as close. On oceanic islands, habitat loss underestimates extinction because introduced species have driven extinctions beyond those caused by habitat loss on these islands. In large hotspots, conversely, habitat loss overestimates extinction, suggesting scale dependence (this effect is also apparent for plants). For reptiles, amphibians, and plants, many fewer hotspot endemics are considered threatened or extinct than we would expect based on habitat loss. This mismatch is small in temperate hotspots, however, suggesting that many threatened endemic species in the poorly known tropical hotspots have yet to be included on the IUCN Red Lists. We then asked in which hotspots the consequences of further habitat loss (either absolute or given current rates of deforestation) would be most serious. Our results suggest that the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests of Tanzania-Kenya, Philippines, and Polynesia-Micronesia can least afford to lose more habitat and that, if current deforestation rates continue, the Caribbean, Tropical Andes, Philippines, Mesoamerica, Sundaland, Indo-Burma, Madagascar, and Chocó,Darién,Western Ecuador will lose the most species in the near future. Without urgent conservation intervention, we face mass extinctions in the hotspots. Resumen: Casi la mitad del total de plantas vasculares del mundo y un tercio de los vertebrados terrestres son endémicos en 25 "áreas críticas" para la biodiversidad, cada una de las cuales tiene por lo menos 1500 especies de plantas endémicas. En ninguno de estos sitios permanece más de un tercio de su hábitat prístino. Históricamente, cubrían 12% de la superficie terrestre, pero en la actualidad su hábitat intacto cubre solo 1.4% del terreno. Como resultado de esta pérdida de hábitat esperamos que muchas de las especies endémicas a estos sitios estén extintas o , porque la pérdida de hábitat es reciente , se encuentren amenazadas de extinción. Utilizamos Listas Rojas de UICN para comprobar esta predicción. En general, entre la mitad y dos tercios de las plantas amenazadas y el 57% de los vertebrados terrestres amenazados son endémicos de áreas críticas para la biodiversidad. Para aves y mamíferos en general, las predicciones de extinción en las áreas críticas para la biodiversidad, basadas en la pérdida de hábitat, coinciden con el número de especies consideradas extintas o amenazadas independientemente. En dos clases de áreas críticas para la biodiversidad la coincidencia no es muy grande. En islas oceánicas, la pérdida de hábitat subestima la extinción porque las especies introducidas han causado más extinciones que las producidas por la reducción del hábitat. Por lo contrario, la pérdida de hábitat sobrestima la extinción en áreas críticas para la biodiversidad extensas, lo que sugiere una dependencia de escala (este efecto también es aparente para plantas). Para reptiles, anfibios y plantas mucho menos especies endémicas son consideradas amenazadas o extintas por pérdida de hábitat. Sin embargo, esta discordancia es pequeña en áreas críticas para la biodiversidad en zonas templadas templadas, lo que sugiere que muchas especies endémicas amenazadas en las poco conocidas áreas críticas para la biodiversidad en zonas tropicales aun están por incluirse en las Listas Rojas. Posteriormente nos preguntamos en que áreas críticas para la biodiversidad serían más serias las consecuencias de una mayor pérdida de hábitat (absoluta o con las tasas actuales de deforestación). Nuestros resultados sugieren que el Arco Oriental y los Bosques Costeros de Tanzania/Kenia, Filipinas, Polinesia/Micronesia no pueden soportar mayores pérdidas y que, si continúan las tasas de deforestación actuales, el Caribe, Andes Tropicales, Filipinas, Mesoamérica, Sundaland, Indo-Burma, Madagascar y Chocó/Darién/Ecuador Occidental perderán más especies en el futuro. Sin acciones urgentes de conservación, habrá extinciones masivas en las áreas críticas para la biodiversidad. [source] Ethnic origin and increased risk for schizophrenia in immigrants to countries of recent and longstanding immigrationACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2010M.-J. Dealberto Dealberto M-J. Ethnic origin and increased risk for schizophrenia in immigrants to countries of recent and longstanding immigration. Objectives:, Compare the risk for schizophrenia in immigrants to countries of recent and longstanding immigration. Compare prevalence and incidence rates in black subjects under different conditions. Method:, An electronic literature search was complemented by review articles and cross-references. Studies reporting standard diagnosis and incidence or prevalence rates were included. Results:, Immigrants had an increased risk for schizophrenia in countries of longstanding immigration, but with lower risk ratios than in those of recent immigration. The risk was higher in black immigrants and the black population living in the United States. But incidence and prevalence rates in Africa and the Caribbean were similar to those of international studies. Conclusion:, Comparing the most recent generation of immigrants with descendants of previous ones may account for the lower risk ratios observed in countries of longstanding vs. recent immigration. Two neurobiological hypotheses are proposed to explain the epidemiological findings in black populations and in immigrants. [source] OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO PAIN RELIEF IN THE CARIBBEANDEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS, Issue 3 2009CHERYL MACPHERSON ABSTRACT This paper examines pain and pain relief in the Caribbean, where pain is widely perceived as an unavoidable part of life, and where unnecessary suffering results from untreated and under treated pain. Barriers to pain relief in the Caribbean include patient and family attitudes, inadequate knowledge among health professionals and unduly restrictive regulations on the medical use of opioids. Similar barriers exist all over the world. This paper urges medical, nursing and public health professionals, and educators to examine attitudes towards pain and pain relief and to work towards making effective pain relief and palliation more accessible. It recommends that i) health professionals and officials be better educated about pain, palliation and opioids, ii) regulatory restrictions be updated in light of clinical and scientific evidence, iii) opioid procurement policies be adjusted to facilitate increased medical use, iv) medical charts and records be modified to routinely elicit and document patients levels of pain, and v) educational campaigns be developed to inform the public that moderate and severe pain can be safely relieved at the end of life and other stages of life. The professional, respectful, and beneficent response to patients in pain is to provide rapid and aggressive pain relief or to urgently consult a pain or palliative specialist. When a health system hinders such efforts the ethical response is to identify, facilitate and advocate for overcoming barriers to improvement. [source] The Economic Partnership Agreements: Rationale, Misperceptions and Non-trade AspectsDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2008Louise Curran The European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries entered a new era in 2008. The Cotonou trade regime and the WTO waiver legitimising it have expired, and the long anticipated, and much debated, move to Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) has begun. This article explains the background and analyses the ,alternatives' to EPAs, in order to tackle common misperceptions. Moving on from what has been the focus of debates, namely, the reciprocal liberalisation required under WTO rules, it sheds some light on the non-goods trade aspects of EPAs which, while integral to economic policy, are inherently hard to quantify and often skimmed over in existing studies or addressed in ideological terms. [source] Foreign Direct Investment in the CaribbeanDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2008Ivar Kolstad This article addresses the question of whether the Caribbean is particularly attractive or unattractive to foreign investors, and if it has specific characteristics that attract or deter FDI. An econometric analysis of data from 135 countries for 1980-2002 shows that the Caribbean does not suffer from low inflows of FDI; on the contrary, Caribbean countries receive more FDI than comparable countries in other regions. This reflects two contradictory effects. On the one hand, FDI inflows may be particularly sensitive to political instability in the region; on the other hand, the absence of regulation appears to have been a particularly beneficial factor in attracting FDI to the Caribbean. [source] The Experience of Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America and the CaribbeanDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2006Sudhanshu Handa This article discusses the experience of six conditional cash transfer programmes in Latin America, a model of social safety-nets which has grown to dominate the social protection sector in the region during the past decade. While they have been generally successful in terms of achieving their core objective, it is still not clear whether these programmes constitute the most cost-efficient or sustainable solution to the development bottleneck they seek to address. Furthermore, the almost exclusive focus on the human capital accumulation of children leads to missed opportunties in terms of impact on household welfare and the broader rural development context. [source] Reducing Child Poverty with Cash Transfers: A Sure Thing?DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2006Armando Barrientos Children are disproportionately represented among the income-poor, many suffer from severe deprivation, and their poverty and vulnerability have cumulative and long-term consequences. This article provides a comparative examination of the poverty-reduction effectiveness of cash transfer programmes targeting children, focusing on three types of such programmes: the Child Support Grant in South Africa, family allowances in transition countries, and targeted conditional cash transfer programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean. It finds that, despite differences in design, cash transfer programmes targeting children in poor households are an effective way of reducing poverty. [source] Foreign Direct Investment, Services Trade Negotiations and Development: The Case of Tourism in the CaribbeanDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 4 2006Dirk Willem te Velde This article examines whether and how developing countries can use services trade negotiations to increase the amount of inward FDI conducive to development. It reviews how services trade rules can affect inward FDI, and employs panel data analysis with innovative use of instrumental variables in the tourism sectors of 9 Caribbean countries during 1997,2003. It argues that Caribbean countries may want to signal openness to inward FDI in GATS, while maintaining a degree of flexibility in the use of policy measures; in the current negotiations with the EU on Economic Partnership Agreements, the focus could be on emphasising the development dimension. [source] Ethnicity, social disadvantage and psychotic-like experiences in a healthy population based sampleACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2009C. Morgan Objective: We sought to investigate the prevalence and social correlates of psychotic-like experiences in a general population sample of Black and White British subjects. Method: Data were collected from randomly selected community control subjects, recruited as part of the ÆSOP study, a three-centre population based study of first-episode psychosis. Results: The proportion of subjects reporting one or more psychotic-like experience was 19% (n = 72/372). These were more common in Black Caribbean (OR 2.08) and Black African subjects (OR 4.59), compared with White British. In addition, a number of indicators of childhood and adult disadvantage were associated with psychotic-like experiences. When these variables were simultaneously entered into a regression model, Black African ethnicity, concentrated adult disadvantage, and separation from parents retained a significant effect. Conclusion: The higher prevalence of psychotic-like experiences in the Black Caribbean, but not Black African, group was explained by high levels of social disadvantage over the life course. [source] Taxonomic diversity gradients through geological timeDIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 4 2001J. Alistair Crame Abstract., There is evidence from the fossil record to suggest that latitudinal gradients in taxonomic diversity may be time-invariant features, although almost certainly not on the same scale as that seen at the present day. It is now apparent that both latitudinal and longitudinal gradients increased dramatically in strength through the Cenozoic era (i.e. the last 65 my) to become more pronounced today than at any time in the geological past. Present-day taxonomic diversity gradients, in both the marine and terrestrial realms, are underpinned by the tropical radiations of a comparatively small number of species-rich clades. Quite why these particular taxa proliferated through the Cenozoic is uncertain, but it could be that at least part of the explanation involves the phenomenon of evolutionary escalation. This is, in essence, a theory of biological diversification through evolutionary feedback mechanisms between predators and prey; first one develops an adaptive advantage, and then the other. However, there may also have been some form of extrinsic control on the process of tropical diversification, and this was most likely centred on the phenomenon of global climate change. This is especially so over the last 15 my Various Late Cenozoic (Neogene) vicariant events effectively partitioned the tropics into a series of high diversity centres, or foci. It has been suggested that, in the largest of these in the marine realm (the Indo-West Pacific or IWP centre), a critical patterns of islands acted as a template for rapid speciation during glacioeustatic sea level cycles. The same process occurred in the Atlantic, Caribbean and East Pacific (ACEP) centre, though on a lesser scale. Tropical terrestrial diversity may also have been promoted by rapid range expansions and contractions in concert with glacial cycles (a modified refugium hypothesis). We are beginning to appreciate that an integrated sequence of Neogene tectonic and climatic events greatly influenced the formation of contemporary taxonomic diversity patterns. [source] Late Quaternary vadose carbonate diagenesis in coastal and desert dune and beach sands: is there a palaeoclimatic signal?EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 12 2004Sue McLaren Abstract A study of the variation in cement amounts in aeolianite and sandy beach calcarenites that range in age from Holocene to Last Interglacial is used to assess whether a palaeoclimatic control on vadose diagenesis can be identi,ed. Examples are taken from modern-day arid to subhumid settings and represent a geographical distribution ranging from Libya and Oman, to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and Mexico. The results indicate that a palaeoclimatic signal can be identi,ed in some deposits. However, in other sediments there is substantial variability in mean cement abundance within deposits as well as between these sand bodies. Moreover, many of the better cemented sediments are located in areas where there is accelerated diagenesis, such as in the sea spray zone, close to the groundwater table or near to a palaeosurface, rather than in climatically wet regions. The inference is that palaeoclimatic interpretations are substantially complicated by other factors that affect diagenetic processes and change. Therefore caution is needed when studying the role of climate in vadose diagenesis in the light of the effects of other intrinsic and extrinsic controls. This paper does not aim to provide a de,nitive comparison of sites from different climatic zones. The approach taken here is: (a) to see if there is an overall palaeoclimatic signal in the samples studied; (b) to use examples to illustrate how explanations/controls other than those relating to climate can account for the variabilities observed; and (c) if there is a climatic effect, to see if it is the main over-riding control on vadose diagenesis. The conclusions drawn from this research highlight that it is possible to misinterpret evidence if the study is approached with preconceived notions of simplistic relationships between diagenesis and climate. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Social Capital, Collective Action, and Adaptation to Climate ChangeECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2003W. Neil Adger Abstract: Future changes in climate pose significant challenges for society, not the least of which is how best to adapt to observed and potential future impacts of these changes to which the world is already committed. Adaptation is a dynamic social process: the ability of societies to adapt is determined, in part, by the ability to act collectively. This article reviews emerging perspectives on collective action and social capital and argues that insights from these areas inform the nature of adaptive capacity and normative prescriptions of policies of adaptation. Specifically, social capital is increasingly understood within economics to have public and private elements, both of which are based on trust, reputation, and reciprocal action. The public-good aspects of particular forms of social capital are pertinent elements of adaptive capacity in interacting with natural capital and in relation to the performance of institutions that cope with the risks of changes in climate. Case studies are presented of present-day collective action for coping with extremes in weather in coastal areas in Southeast Asia and of community-based coastal management in the Caribbean. These cases demonstrate the importance of social capital framing both the public and private institutions of resource management that build resilience in the face of the risks of changes in climate. These cases illustrate, by analogy, the nature of adaptation processes and collective action in adapting to future changes in climate. [source] Slave prices, the African slave trade, and productivity in the Caribbean, 1674,18071ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 4 2005DAVID ELTIS We draw wide-ranging implications about slave productivity change by making use of newly collected data on the prices paid for nearly 230,000 slaves as they arrived in the Americas from Africa between 1674 and 1807. Prices for the product that most slaves were destined to produce-sugar-are also available. Together the comprehensive series allow us to derive annual measures of average slave productivity and to compare productivity trends across different sectors of the Caribbean. Average productivity rose throughout the Caribbean, and the pattern of average productivity change across regions was similar, indicating an open slave market. These averages mask sharp differences in the growth of demand for slaves among regions, as reflected by their slave populations. Between 1700 and 1790 the increase in demand ranged from 90 per cent in Barbados to 600 per cent in Jamaica and Cuba; while total factor productivity overall may have doubled. The slave trade accommodated the rising demand. It also served to offset population attrition among the slaves. [source] Sponge disease: a global threat?ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007Nicole S. Webster Summary Sponges are the most simple and primitive metazoans, yet they have various biological and ecological properties that make them an influential component of coral-reef ecosystems. Marine sponges provide refuge for many small invertebrates and are critical to benthic-pelagic coupling across a wide range of habitats. Reports of sponge disease have increased dramatically in recent years with sponge populations decimated throughout the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Reports also suggest an increased prevalence of sponge disease in Papua New Guinea, the Great Barrier Reef and in the reefs of Cozumel, Mexico. These epidemics can have severe impacts on the survival of sponge populations, the ecology of the reef and the fate of associated marine invertebrates. Despite the ecological and commercial importance of sponges, the understanding of sponge disease is limited. There has generally been a failure to isolate and identify the causative agents of sponge disease, with only one case confirming Koch's postulates and identifying a novel Alphaproteobacteria strain as the primary pathogen. Other potential disease agents include fungi, viruses, cyanobacteria and bacterial strains within the Bacillus and Pseudomonas genera. There is some evidence for correlations between sponge disease and environmental factors such as climate change and urban/agricultural runoff. This review summarizes the occurrence of sponge disease, describes the syndromes identified thus far, explores potential linkages with environmental change and proposes a strategy for future research towards better management of sponge disease outbreaks. [source] Implications of REACH for developing countriesENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2008Frank Ackerman Abstract The new European Union (EU) chemicals regulation, the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals, or REACH, went into effect in 2007. In the extensive advance discussion of the expected impacts of REACH, questions were raised about the effects of this new chemical policy on developing countries. In particular, will it harm the economies of the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries that historically have been connected to Europe? We found, in brief, that there are only limited, isolated cases where REACH could be problematical for ACP exporters. Almost all ACP exports subject to REACH face insignificant obstacles from the new regulation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Romantic Relationships Among Unmarried African Americans and Caribbean Blacks: Findings From the National Survey of American Life,FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 2 2008Karen D. Lincoln Abstract: This study investigated the correlates of relationship satisfaction, marriage expectations, and relationship longevity among unmarried African American and Black Caribbean (Caribbean Black) adults who are in a romantic relationship. The study used data from the National Survey of American Life, a national representative sample of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the United States. The findings indicated that the correlates of relationship satisfaction, expectations of marriage, and relationship longevity were different for African Americans and Black Caribbeans. For Black Caribbeans, indicators of socioeconomic status were particularly important correlates of relationship satisfaction. For African Americans, indicators of parental status were important for relationship longevity. Policy and practice implications for nonmarital unions are discussed. [source] Structural and functional comparison of 15S - and 15R -specific cyclooxygenases from the coral Plexaura homomallaFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 17 2004Karin Valmsen It has been known for 30 years that the gorgonian coral Plexaura homomalla contains either 15S- or 15R -configuration prostaglandins (PGs), depending on its location in the Caribbean. Recently we showed that the 15R -PGs in the R -variety of P. homomalla are formed by a unique cyclooxygenase (COX) with 15R oxygenation specificity [Valmsen, K., Järving, I., Boeglin, W.E., Varvas, K., Koljak, R., Pehk, T., Brash, A.R. & Samel, N. (2001) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA98, 7700]. Here we describe the cloning and characterization of a closely related COX protein (97% amino acid sequence identity) from the S -variety of P. homomalla. Functional expression of the S -variant COX cDNA in Sf9 insect cells followed by incubation with exogenous arachidonic acid resulted in formation of PG products with > 98% 15S -configuration. Mutational analysis was performed on a suggested active site determinant of C-15 oxygenation specificity, position 349 (Val in all S -specific COX, Ile in 15R -COX). The 15S -COX Val349 to Ile mutant formed 35% 15R- PGs, while the reverse mutation in the 15R -COX (Ile349Val) led to formation of 70% 15S- products. This establishes position 349 as an important determinant of the product stereochemistry at C-15. Our characterization of the enzyme variants demonstrates that very minor sequence divergence accounts for the content of epimeric PGs in the two variants of P. homomalla and that the differences do not arise by isomerization of the products. [source] Larval transport and retention of the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, in the coastal zone of the Florida Keys, USAFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2002Cynthia Yeung Abstract The spiny lobster Panulirus argus is of ecological and commercial importance in the South Florida coast of the continental USA and throughout the Intra-Americas Sea. Essential spiny lobster habitat in South Florida is primarily located in the Florida Keys coastal zone (including the Dry Tortugas), where the dynamic regional circulation coupled with the long planktonic larval duration (6,12 months) of P. argus raises questions of larval retention and recruitment. Locally spawned phyllosomata entrained in the Florida Current are likely to be expatriated out of the Straits of Florida, which implies that the local spiny lobster population is sustained by the transport of larval recruits from upstream locations. We examined the physical processes that may influence recruitment. Transport processes in the Keys coastal zone are spatially variable. Observed and modelled data suggest that the upper Keys is a point of onshore larval transport via the inshore meandering of the Florida Current, and the lower Keys to Dry Tortugas region apoint of retention through wind-driven onshore/countercurrents and eddy recirculation. Eddies that propagate between the Dry Tortugas and the lower Keys facilitate the exchange of larvae between the Florida Current and the coastal zone. Northerly wind events associated with cold fronts can enhance recirculation of larvae in the upper Keys. The association of older larvae with the Florida Current front supports the hypothesis that spiny lobster larval recruits come from upstream sources in the Caribbean. [source] Assembly rules and functional groups at global biogeographical scalesFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2002D. R. Bellwood Summary 1The taxonomic and functional composition of reef fish assemblages are quantified in three biogeographical regions: Great Barrier Reef, French Polynesia and Caribbean. Assemblages are described in three habitats of differing wave exposure. Functional abilities are estimated based on published analyses linking fin morphology and swimming performance. 2Two questions were addressed: (1) To what extent are labrid assemblages similar among habitats and regions? (2) To what extent are functional characteristics of fish assemblages shaped by differences in biodiversity, evolutionary history and species composition? 3All three regions display highly congruent patterns of habitat use, in terms of assemblage structure and functional characteristics, despite a five-fold difference in species richness, limited or no species overlap, and a 3·2-Myear history of isolation. Exposed reef crest assemblages were dominated by fishes with fins reflecting lift-based high-speed locomotion. In contrast to abundance-based patterns, species presence/absence data were uninformative. 4The relationship between swimming ability and habitat use reveals underlying assembly rules at a functional level, emphasizing the utility of functional attributes as a metric for comparing system-level properties in taxonomically distinct faunas. [source] Stratigraphic investigations at Los Buchillones, a coastal Taino site in north-central CubaGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2006Matthew C. Peros The authors present stratigraphic data from Los Buchillones, a now submerged Taino village on the north coast of central Cuba that was occupied from some time prior to A.D. 1220 until 1640 or later. Los Buchillones is one of the best-preserved sites in the Caribbean, with material culture remains that include palm thatch and wooden structural elements from some of the more than 40 collapsed structures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the environment and site-formation processes of the Taino settlement. Sediment cores were sampled from the site and its vicinity to permit integration of the geological and archaeological stratigraphies. The cores were analyzed for color, texture, mollusk content, elemental geochemistry, and mineralogy. The results of the stratigraphic work are consistent with regional sealevel data that shows relative sea level has risen gradually during the late Holocene, but has remained relatively stable since the time the Taino first occupied Los Buchillones. Of the two structures partially cleared, at least one appears to have been built over the water, supported on pilings. Site selection is likely to have resulted from a consideration of environmental factors, such as access to marine, terrestrial, and lagoonal resources, and proximity to freshwater springs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] THE ODYSSEY OF JAPANESE COLONISTS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 3 2000OSCAR H. HORST ABSTRACT. In an agreement formalized with the Japanese government in 1956, Generalissimo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina of the Dominican Republic extended an offer of refuge for Japanese immigrants seeking to improve their fortunes in the late 1950s by taking up residence in Trujillo's vaunted "Paradise of the Caribbean." The provision of sites ultimately unfavorable for colonization, lack of infrastructure, failure of the Japanese government to address the complaints of the colonists, and political instability within the Dominican Republic led to the abandonment of five of the eight colonies. By 1962 only 276 of the 1,319 original colonists remained; the rest had either returned to Japan or sought refuge in South America. Although the fortunes of these Japanese families fell far short of their expectations, Trujillo could hardly have envisioned the contributions to Dominican society to be made by their descendants. The experiences of this relatively small number of migrants reflect the difficulties encountered when racial and geopolitical concerns take precedence over judicious plans for colonization. [source] Development Section, April 2008GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2008Cheryl McEwan EDITORIAL It is a great privilege to serve as Editor for the Development section of Geography Compass. The journal is an exciting new venture in electronic publishing that aims to publish state-of-the-art peer-reviewed surveys of key contemporary issues in geographical scholarship. As the first Editor of this section, it is my responsibility to establish the key aims and innovations for this section of the journal. These include: publishing reviews of scholarship on topics of contemporary relevance that are accessible and useful to researchers, teachers, students and practitioners; developing the range of topics covered across the spectrum of development geography; helping to set agendas in development geography by identifying gaps in existing empirical and conceptual research; commissioning articles from both established and graduate/early career researchers who are working at the frontiers of development geography; and communicating the distinctiveness of Geography Compass. Part of this distinctiveness is in publishing articles that are both of scholarly excellence and accessible to a wide audience. The first volume of Geography Compass was published in 2007, covering a wide range of topics (e.g. migration, children, technology, grassroots women's organizations, civil society, biodiversity, tourism, inequality, agrarian change, participatory development, disability, spirituality) in a number of specific geographical areas (e.g. Africa/southern Africa, Caribbean, China, Peru). Forthcoming in 2008/2009 are articles on the Gambia, Latin America, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh and South Africa, focusing on topics such as food security, comparative post-socialism, foreign aid and fair trade. Building on these diverse and excellent articles, I plan to communicate the distinctiveness of Development in a number of ways. First, I encourage an ecumenical approach to the notion of ,development geography' and welcome contributions from scholars across a range of social science disciplines whose work would be useful to a geography audience. This is important, not least because both development and geography, in disciplinary terms, are largely European inventions. Many scholars in Latin America, Africa and Asia, for example, do not refer to themselves as either development specialists or geographers but are producing important research in areas of direct relevance to students and researchers of ,development geography'. As the first editions illustrate, I also seek to publish articles that reflect ,development' in its broadest sense, encompassing economic, (geo)political, social, cultural and environmental issues. 2008 will be an interesting year for development, with a number of important issues and events shaping discourse and policy. These include: the Beijing Olympics and increasing focus on China's role in international development; political change in a number of African countries (Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa); the US presidential elections and potential shifts in policy on climate change, trade and security; the impacts of the Bali roadmap on climate change in the current economic context; the increasing number of impoverished people in Asia (notably China and India), sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America (notably Brazil) that even the World Bank has acknowledged; the implications of the increasing role of philanthropic foundations (e.g. the Gates Foundation and those emerging in India and Russia) in international development. I hope to see some of these issues covered in this journal. Second, I am keen to break down the association between ,development' and parts of the world variously categorized as ,Third World', ,Global South' or ,Developing World' by publishing articles that cut across North and South, East and West. The intellectual and disciplinary practices within (Western) geography that separate those researching issues in the South and post-socialist contexts from those researching similar issues in advanced capitalist economies are, it seems, no longer sustainable or sensible. Moreover, while studies of transnational and ethical trade, neoliberalism, household economies and ,commodity chains', for example, incorporate a multitude of case studies from across the world, these tend to be understood through conceptual lenses that almost always have their theoretical antecedents in Western theorization. The notion of ,learning from' debates, policy and practice in other parts of the world is still relatively alien within the discipline. There are thus issues in how we research and teach ethically and responsibly in and about different parts of the world, and in which this journal might make a contribution. Third, and related, part of my responsibility is to ensure that Compass reflects the breadth of debate about ,development' by publishing articles written by a truly international range of scholars. This has proved to be a challenge to date, in part reflecting the newness of the journal and the difficulties posed by English language publication. However, an immediate aim is to publish the work and ideas of scholars based outside of Anglophone contexts, in the Global South and in post-socialist contexts, and to use international referees who are able to provide valuable commentaries on the articles. A longer-term aim is to also further internationalize the Editorial Board. Currently, one-third of the Editorial Board is non-UK and I plan to increase this to at least 50% in future. Fourth, I plan to ensure that the Development section takes full advantage of electronic publication and the opportunities this offers. Thus, while I am keen to retain a word limit in the interest of publishing accessible articles, the lack of constraint regarding page space enables authors to include a wide range of illustrative and other material that is impossible in print journals. I plan to encourage authors to make greater use of visual materials (maps, photographs/photo-essays, video, sound recordings, model simulations and datasets) alongside text as well as more innovative forms of presentation where this might be appropriate. Finally, in the coming year, I intend to work more closely with other Compass section Editors to realize the potential for fostering debate that cuts across subdisciplinary and even disciplinary boundaries. The journal publishes across the full spectrum of the discipline and there is thus scope for publishing articles and/or special issues on development-related topics that might best be approached through dialogue between the natural and social sciences. Such topics might include resources (e.g. water, oil, bio-fuels), hazard and risk (from environmental issues to human and state security), and sustainability and quality of life (planned for 2008). Part of the distinctiveness of Compass is that electronic-only publication ensures that articles are published in relatively quick time , in some cases less than 3 months from initial submission to publication. It thus provides an important outlet for researchers working in fast-changing contexts and for those, such as graduate and early-career researchers, who might require swift publication for career purposes. Of course, as Editor I am reliant on referees both engaging with Manuscript Central and providing reports on articles in a relatively short space of time to fully expedite the process. My experience so far has been generally very positive and I would like to thank the referees for working within the spirit of the journal. Editing a journal is, of course, a collaborative and shared endeavour. The Development Editorial Board has been central to the successful launch of Development by working so generously to highlight topics and potential authors and to review articles; I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tony Bebbington, Reg Cline-Cole, Sara Kindon, Claire Mercer, Giles Mohan, Warwick Murray, Richa Nagar, Rob Potter, Saraswati Raju, Jonathan Rigg, Jenny Robinson and Alison Stenning. The Editors-in-Chief , Mike Bradshaw and Basil Gomez , have provided invaluable advice while adding humour (and colour) to the editorial process. Colleagues at Wiley-Blackwell have provided superb support, in particular, Helen Ashton who is constantly on hand to provide advice and assistance. I look forward to working closely with these people again in the coming year, as well as with the authors and readers who are vital to ensuring that Geography Compass fulfils its remit. [source] Caribbean Transnational Return Migrants as Agents of ChangeGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2007Dennis Conway This article challenges several of the firmly held convictions drawn from extant research on return migration to the Caribbean. For many contemporary small island societies undergoing rapid change and transformation, modernization and integration into the wider global economy, today's younger and more youthful return migrants are no longer an ineffective demographic cohort. Despite their numerically small size, many are demonstrating they can be influential "agents of change." No longer merely returning retirees, they are more diverse, in terms of age, life-course transitions, class and gendered social positions, family networks, and migration histories. Multiple identities are the rule, rather than the exception, as returnees of different ages choose to live, work (and play) in island society, to give something back to the island home of their parents or of their youth. Many embrace transnational strategies to live in and between two worlds, or more if their family network's reach is multilocal. [source] Caribbean Children's Geographies: A Case Study of JamaicaGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2007Therese Ferguson Understanding children's lives within the various spaces, places, and environments they inhabit is critical to making their worlds safer, facilitating their participatory roles in society, and implementing policies relevant to their realities. While the children's geographies scholarship is rapidly growing, much of the research is still centred on children in the ,West', with less focus on those in developing countries. Within the Third World, the Caribbean itself is slightly marginalised. This article uses the island-nation of Jamaica as a case study within the Caribbean region, examining some of the areas of interest in research on children's environments, and reflecting upon progress made in the range of methodological and theoretical approaches brought to the research agenda. It suggests prospective directions for future research to further a critical approach to this expanding field, both within Jamaica and the wider region. It ends by briefly raising some ethical issues for consideration, arising from advancing a research agenda with children at its fore. [source] Interseismic Plate coupling and strain partitioning in the Northeastern CaribbeanGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2008D. M. Manaker SUMMARY The northeastern Caribbean provides a natural laboratory to investigate strain partitioning, its causes and its consequences on the stress regime and tectonic evolution of a subduction plate boundary. Here, we use GPS and earthquake slip vector data to produce a present-day kinematic model that accounts for secular block rotation and elastic strain accumulation, with variable interplate coupling, on active faults. We confirm that the oblique convergence between Caribbean and North America in Hispaniola is partitioned between plate boundary parallel motion on the Septentrional and Enriquillo faults in the overriding plate and plate-boundary normal motion at the plate interface on the Northern Hispaniola Fault. To the east, the Caribbean/North America plate motion is accommodated by oblique slip on the faults bounding the Puerto Rico block to the north (Puerto Rico subduction) and to the south (Muertos thrust), with no evidence for partitioning. The spatial correlation between interplate coupling, strain partitioning and the subduction of buoyant oceanic asperities suggests that the latter enhance the transfer of interplate shear stresses to the overriding plate, facilitating strike-slip faulting in the overriding plate. The model slip rate deficit, together with the dates of large historical earthquakes, indicates the potential for a large (Mw7.5 or greater) earthquake on the Septentrional fault in the Dominican Republic. Similarly, the Enriquillo fault in Haiti is currently capable of a Mw7.2 earthquake if the entire elastic strain accumulated since the last major earthquake was released in a single event today. The model results show that the Puerto Rico/Lesser Antilles subduction thrust is only partially coupled, meaning that the plate interface is accumulating elastic strain at rates slower than the total plate motion. This does not preclude the existence of isolated locked patches accumulating elastic strain to be released in future earthquakes, but whose location and geometry are not resolvable with the present data distribution. Slip deficit on faults from this study are used in a companion paper to calculate interseismic stress loading and, together with stress changes due to historical earthquakes, derive the recent stress evolution in the NE Caribbean. [source] Seismic evidence for a sharp lithospheric base persisting to the lowermost mantle beneath the CaribbeanGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2008Tadashi Kito SUMMARY Broad-band data from South American earthquakes recorded by Californian seismic networks are analysed using a newly developed seismic wave migration method,the slowness backazimuth weighted migration (SBWM). Using the SBWM, out-of-plane seismic P -wave reflections have been observed. The reflection locations extend throughout the Earth's lower mantle, down to the core,mantle boundary (CMB) and coincide with the edges of tomographically mapped high seismic velocities. Modelling using synthetic seismograms suggests that a narrow (10,15 km) low- or high-velocity lamella with about 2 per cent velocity contrast can reproduce the observed reflected waveforms, but other explanations may exist. Considering the reflection locations and synthetic modelling, the observed out-of-plane energy is well explained by underside reflections off a sharp reflector at the base of the subducted lithosphere. We also detect weaker reflections corresponding to the tomographically mapped top of the slab, which may arise from the boundary between the Nazca plate and the overlying former basaltic oceanic crust. The joint interpretation of the waveform modelling and geodynamic considerations indicate mass flux of the former oceanic lithosphere and basaltic crust across the 660 km discontinuity, linking processes and structure at the top and bottom of the Earth's mantle, supporting the idea of whole mantle convection. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||