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Sample records for maya american children

  1. Plasticity, political economy, and physical growth status of Guatemala Maya children living in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogin, B; Loucky, J

    1997-01-01

    Migration of Maya refugees to the United States since the late 1970s affords the opportunity to study the consequences of life in a new environment on the growth of Maya children. The children of this study live in Indiantown, Florida, and Los Angeles, California. Maya children between 4 and 14 years old (n = 240) were measured for height, weight, fatness, and muscularity. Overall, compared with reference data for the United States, the Maya children are, on average, healthy and well nourished. They are taller and heavier and carry more fat and muscle mass than Maya children living in a village in Guatemala. However, they are shorter, on average, than children of black, Mexican-American, and white ethnicity living in Indiantown. Children of Maya immigrants born in the United States tend to be taller than immigrant children born in Guatemala or Mexico. Families that invest economic and social resources in their children have taller children. More economic successful families have taller children. Migration theory and political economy theory from the social sciences are combined with plasticity theory and life history theory (parental investment) from biology to interpret these data.

  2. Maya Angelou's Children's Books: Inspiration for Turning Poetry into Music

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beegle, Amy C.

    2014-01-01

    This column presents books for children penned by Maya Angelou. These poems and stories, based on her experiences as an African American woman living in the United States, Egypt, Ghana, and South Africa, include extraordinary photography and artwork. Suggestions for inclusion in the general music classroom are provided.

  3. Print Knowledge in Yucatec Maya-Spanish Bilingual Children: An Initial Inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bengochea, Alain; Justice, Laura M.; Hijlkema, Maria J.

    2017-01-01

    This study serves as an initial inquiry regarding the early print knowledge of emergent bilingual preschool-age children living in an Indigenous community in Mexico. In this research, we examine various dimensions of print knowledge with Yucatec Maya-Spanish bilingual children for whom one of their languages (Yucatec Maya) is seldom seen in print…

  4. Deep data science to prevent and treat growth faltering in Maya children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varela-Silva, M I; Bogin, B; Sobral, J A G; Dickinson, F; Monserrat-Revillo, S

    2016-06-01

    The Maya people are descended from the indigenous inhabitants of southern Mexico, Guatemala and adjacent regions of Central America. In Guatemala, 50% of infants and children are stunted (very low height-for-age), and some rural Maya regions have >70% children stunted. A large, longitudinal, intergenerational database was created to (1) provide deep data to prevent and treat somatic growth faltering and impaired neurocognitive development, (2) detect key dependencies and predictive relations between highly complex, time-varying, and interacting biological and cultural variables and (3) identify targeted multifactorial intervention strategies for field testing and validation. Contributions to this database included data from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Longitudinal Study of Child and Adolescent Development, child growth and intergenerational studies among the Maya in Mexico and studies about Maya migrants in the United States.

  5. Deep data science to prevent and treat growth faltering in Maya children

    OpenAIRE

    Varela-Silva, M I; Bogin, B; Sobral, J A G; Dickinson, F; Monserrat-Revillo, S

    2016-01-01

    The Maya people are descended from the indigenous inhabitants of southern Mexico, Guatemala and adjacent regions of Central America. In Guatemala, 50% of infants and children are stunted (very low height-for-age), and some rural Maya regions have >70% children stunted. A large, longitudinal, intergenerational database was created to (1) provide deep data to prevent and treat somatic growth faltering and impaired neurocognitive development, (2) detect key dependencies and predictive relations ...

  6. The ‘End’ of the Maya Long Count? 2012 and the Classic Maya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik Boot

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The second meeting of the AISI (Associazione Italiana Studi Iberoamericani was dedicated to “Apocalypse” in Latin American literature. In the year of 2012 this particular subject was chosen as various non- and pseudo-scientific and New Age publications hold that the Maya Long Count ends in 2012, more specifically on December 21. In this essay I present a short overview on how the idea of an ‘end’ of the Maya Long Count emerged, which ancient Maya hieroglyphic texts (from the Late Classic Maya period, ca. A.D. 550-900 refer to this particular date, and what the only text (from the site of Tortuguero, Tabasco, Mexico that may tell us something on 2012 reveals. I also present a short historic overview of the quality of the drawing of the Tortuguero text and how these influenced earlier decipherments, translations, and interpretations of this text. Ultimately, the hieroglyphic text itself is analyzed and one detail is discusses in more detail, the verb root tzutz- and which different, but not necessarily mutually exclusive, meanings it has in Mayan languages.

  7. Stars Influence on the Earth in Maya Culture: Stars and Planets in Maya Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emanuel George Oprea

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The Mesoamerican Culture of Maya’s was one of the ancient and advanced cultures of the American continent and they influenced other Amerindian peoples. The life of Maya people, of the Earth itself and of the Universe is set and constructed around Maya Calendar and has a cyclic character as a direct influence of the stars. Many centuries the Western civilization with the its linear Calendar had not accepted the ideas of the possible influence of the stars and planets to peoples lives. The end of the last century and the beginning of XXI’s had started to demonstrate the opposite. The present work tries to show the process of meeting and intersection of the ancient ideas of Maya civilization and some of new ideas from the modern sciences.

  8. Mathematical Contributions of the Mayas, Aztecs & Incas: A Native American Curriculum Unit for Middle and High School. NATAM XIX.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stodola, Janet

    Written to fulfill the requirements for a University of Minnesota College of Education off-campus Indian education course for public school teachers, this Native American curriculum unit for middle and high school reflects the mathematical achievements of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca Indians. The number systems, notation, and calendar techniques of…

  9. Dietetic determinants of zinc consumption in stunted children under five in maya communities from Guatemala

    OpenAIRE

    Monroy-Valle, Michele; Universidad Rafael Landívar, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Licenciatura en Nutrición Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia, Unidad de Estadística, Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Coyoy, Wendy; Universidad Rafael Landívar, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Licenciatura en Nutrición; De León, Jorge; Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia, Unidad de Estadística, Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Flórez, Iván D.; Departamento de Pediatría y Puericultura, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia; Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.

    2017-01-01

    The objective of the study was to identify the elements from feeding patterns that influence the intake and bioavailability of zinc in stunted children (SC) 1-5 years from Maya communities living in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed in 138 stunted children aged 1-5 years. It was applied: an inventory of zinc food sources availability, a Food Frequency Questionnaire, a questionnaire about living conditions. anthropometrics measurements and informat...

  10. Genomic insights on the ethno-history of the Maya and the 'Ladinos' from Guatemala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Söchtig, Jens; Álvarez-Iglesias, Vanesa; Mosquera-Miguel, Ana; Gelabert-Besada, Miguel; Gómez-Carballa, Alberto; Salas, Antonio

    2015-02-25

    Guatemala is a multiethnic and multilingual country located in Central America. The main population groups separate 'Ladinos' (mixed Native American-African-Spanish), and Native indigenous people of Maya descent. Among the present-day Guatemalan Maya, there are more than 20 different ethnic groups separated by different languages and cultures. Genetic variation of these communities still remains largely unexplored. The principal aim of this study is to explore the genetic variability of the Maya and 'Ladinos' from Guatemala by means of uniparental and ancestry informative markers (AIMs). Analyses of uniparental genetic markers indicate that Maya have a dominant Native American ancestry (mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA]: 100%; Y-chromosome: 94%). 'Ladino', however, show a clear gender-bias as indicated by the large European ancestry observed in the Y-chromosome (75%) compared to the mtDNA (0%). Autosomal polymorphisms (AIMS) also mirror this marked gender-bias: (i) Native American ancestry: 92% for the Maya vs. 55% for the 'Ladino', and (ii) European ancestry: 8% for the Maya vs. 41% for the 'Ladino'. In addition, the impact of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade on the present-day Guatemalan population is very low (and only occurs in the 'Ladino'; mtDNA: 9%; 4%), in part mirroring the fact that Guatemala has a predominant orientation to the Pacific Ocean instead of a Caribbean one. Sequencing of entire Guatemalan mitogenomes has led to improved Native American phylogeny via the addition of new haplogroups that are mainly observed in Mesoamerica and/or the North of South America. The data reveal the existence of a fluid gene flow in the Mesoamerican area and a predominant unidirectional flow towards South America, most likely occurring during the Pre-Classic (1800 BC-200 AD) and the Classic (200-1000 AD) Eras of the Mesoamerican chronology, coinciding with development of the most distinctive and advanced Mesoamerican civilization, the Maya. Phylogenetic features of mtDNA data

  11. Autodesk Maya 2014 essentials

    CERN Document Server

    Naas, Paul

    2013-01-01

    The premiere book on getting started with Maya 2014 Whether you're just beginning, or migrating from another 3D application, this step-by-step guide is what you need to get a good working knowledge of Autodesk Maya 2014. Beautifully illustrated with full-color examples and screenshots, Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials explains the basics of Maya as well as modeling, texturing, animating, setting a scene, and creating visual effects. You'll absorb important concepts and techniques, and learn how to confidently use Maya tools the way professionals do. Each chapter includes fun and cha

  12. Introducing Maya 2011

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    Derakhshani, Dariush

    2010-01-01

    A practical, step-by-step guide to Maya 2011. Four previous editions can't be wrong: this book is the perfect introduction to 3D and Maya. Learn to build and animate your own digital models and scenes with step-by-step instruction and fun and practical examples, while you draw inspiration from the striking examples included from talented Maya users. You'll create a simple animation of the planets in the solar system, learn to model a human hand and a decorative box?among other projects?and master all essential tools.: Provides a thorough, step-by-step introduction to Maya 2011; Explains the co

  13. Mastering Autodesk Maya 2013

    CERN Document Server

    Palamar, Todd

    2012-01-01

    Provides hands-on intermediate-to-advanced coverage of the leading 3D software Maya is the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, visual effects, games, and other genres. For intermediate and advanced users who already know Maya basics, this official Maya guide provides the detailed coverage you need to unlock the software's more complex features. Elevate your skills in modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects, and gain proficiency in high-level techniques for film, television, game development, and more. Artists who are already proficient in Maya basics

  14. Mastering Autodesk Maya 2011

    CERN Document Server

    Keller, Eric

    2010-01-01

    A beautifully-packaged, advanced reference on the very latest version of Maya. If you already know the basics of Maya, the latest version of this authoritative book takes you to the next level. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book provides professional-level Maya instruction. With pages of scenarios and examples from some of the leading professionals in the industry, this book will help you master the entire CG production pipeline.: Provides professional-level instruction on Maya, the industry-leading

  15. Imaginando a los mayas de hoy: autorrepresentación y política

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Rosa Duarte Duarte

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available En este artículo se analiza el proceso de representación y autorrepresentación de los mayas de Yucatán en Sáastal: Los hijos de la Santa Gracia, una video-ficción de cincuenta y cinco minutos. En Sáastal se pone en escena el drama de la vida cotidiana de una familia maya de acuerdo con la imaginación, tanto de los mayas que participamos en la producción como de los no mayas. Se analiza cómo la convivencia de la cultura maya con las diversas políticas civilizatorias, entre éstas, las de desarrollo, modernización y globalización, han influido en el imaginario de los mayas contemporáneos. Esta convivencia entre dos culturas ha llevado a los mayas a adoptar "identidades suaves", que les permiten actuar de acuerdo con las circunstancias. En Sáastal, los mayas "performamos", recreamos e instrumentalizamos la cultura y convertimos en ficticias nuestras propias identidades.In this article I analyze the processes of representation and self-representation of the Yucatec Maya in Sáastal: The Children of the Sacred Grace, a 55-minute video-fiction. Sáastal presents a dramatic account of the everyday life of a Yucatec Maya family as imagined both by the Maya and non-Maya participating in the production. I examine how this imaginary is influenced by the coexistence of the Mayan culture with the diverse civilizatory politics, such as the politics of development, modernization, and globalization. it is argued that this coexistence has led us, the Yucatec Maya, to adopt "soft identities" which allow us to act according to the circumstances. In Sáastal we therefore perform, recreate and instrumentalize our culture and, in this way, convert our own identities into fictions.

  16. Mastering Autodesk Maya 2012

    CERN Document Server

    Palamar, Todd

    2011-01-01

    The exclusive, official guide to the very latest version of Maya Get extensive, hands-on, intermediate to advanced coverage of Autodesk Maya 2012, the top-selling 3D software on the market. If you already know Maya basics, this authoritative book takes you to the next level. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book provides professional-level Maya instruction. With pages of scenarios and examples from some of the leading professionals in the industry, author Todd Palamar will help you master the entire CG

  17. Competing discourses of the “Maya Past”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise Fay Brown

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The use of the "Maya past" for tourism marketing purposes has been a successful tool for attracting international visitors to Mexico for decades. Images of the Maya zone emerge, in part, from an academic focus on the "Maya past" that includes curiosity about the so-called "collapse" of the Classic Maya civilization. The Ancient Maya are seen as “mysterious" and their society as "enigmatic". But the voices of the almost thirty million Maya people who live in Mexico and Guatemala are only vaguely heard in the discourses of tourism and of academia. This paper examines three competing discourses of the Maya and proposes that these discourses represent epistemologies that are nested in relationships of power, such that the Maya discourse is silenced. As such, the dominant discourses of the Maya past can undermine the Maya understanding of their own past, and become a self-fulfilling prophecy regarding the “collapse” of the contemporary Maya.

  18. Practical Maya programming with Python

    CERN Document Server

    Galanakis, Robert

    2014-01-01

    ""Practical Maya Programming with Python"" is a practical tutorial packed with plenty of examples and sample projects which guides you through building reusable, independent modules and handling unexpected errors. If you are a developer looking to build a powerful system using Python and Maya's capabilities, then this book is for you. Practical Maya Programming with Python is perfect for intermediate users with basic experience in Python and Maya who want to better their knowledge and skills.

  19. Entre velos: Maya para contrabajo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa María Rodríguez Hernández

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Maya para contrabajo se materializa a partir de una imagen de Pepe Romero, cuyo texto interpreta a La decadencia de la mentira de Oscar Wilde. La estructura de Maya es binaria, especular y asimétrica; su poética obedece al juego verdad/mentira que subyace en la obra artística y en la vivencia del artista. Maya trae a la memoria las voces de los Upanishad, Schopenhauer, Shakespeare y Beethoven, influencias éstas en la obra de Wagner y, todas ellas, en la de Eliot. Los aspectos gestuales y visuales de Maya entrelazan con la danza de Pina Bausch y con la retórica (hypotiposis.

  20. Mastering Autodesk Maya 2014

    CERN Document Server

    Palamar, Todd

    2013-01-01

    Hands-on intermediate-to-advanced coverage of the leading 3D software Autodesk Maya is the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, visual effects, games, and other genres. If you already know the basics of Maya and are ready to elevate your skills, then this book is for you. Nearly 1,000 pages are packed with organized, professional, and valuable insight on the leading 3D application on the market, enabling you to unlock the software's more complex features. Ideal as both a tutorial and study guide for the Autodesk Maya exam, this Autodesk Official Press

  1. Maya Studio Projects Dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Palamar, Todd

    2009-01-01

    The only hands-on book devoted to mastering Maya's dynamics tools for water, wind, and fire. In the world of animation, the ability to create realistic water, wind, and fire effects is key. Autodesk Maya software includes powerful dynamics tools that have been used to design breathtaking effects for movies, games, commercials, and short films. This professional guide teaches you the primary techniques you need to make the most of Maya's toolkit, so you'll soon be creating water that ripples, gusting winds and gentle breezes, and flickering fires the way Hollywood pros do. The one-of-a-kind boo

  2. Introducing Autodesk Maya 2012

    CERN Document Server

    Derakhshani, Dariush

    2011-01-01

    A practical, step-by-step guide to Maya 2012 This book is the ideal primer to getting started with Maya, the premier 3D animation and effects software used in movies, visual effects, games, cartoons, short films, and commercials. You'll learn the Maya interface and the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and visual effects. Professional visual effects artist and instructor Dariush Derakhshani explains the nuances of the complex software, while creative tutorials offer realistic, professional challenges for those new to 3D. You'll be up and running in no time with the world's most popular

  3. Cultural Teaching: The Development of Teaching Skills in Maya Sibling Interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maynard, Ashley E.

    2002-01-01

    Examined the development of teaching skills in older siblings responsible for teaching their younger siblings to become competent members of their culture among children from a Zinacantec Maya village in Chiapas, Mexico. Found that by age 4, children took responsibility for initiating teaching situations with their younger siblings, and by 8,…

  4. Population structure of the Classic period Maya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherer, Andrew K

    2007-03-01

    This study examines the population structure of Classic period (A.D. 250-900) Maya populations through analysis of odontometric variation of 827 skeletons from 12 archaeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. The hypothesis that isolation by distance characterized Classic period Maya population structure is tested using Relethford and Blangero's (Hum Biol 62 (1990) 5-25) approach to R matrix analysis for quantitative traits. These results provide important biological data for understanding ancient Maya population history, particularly the effects of the competing Tikal and Calakmul hegemonies on patterns of lowland Maya site interaction. An overall F(ST) of 0.018 is found for the Maya area, indicating little among-group variation for the Classic Maya sites tested. Principal coordinates plots derived from the R matrix analysis show little regional patterning in the data, though the geographic outliers of Kaminaljuyu and a pooled Pacific Coast sample did not cluster with the lowland Maya sites. Mantel tests comparing the biological distance matrix to a geographic distance matrix found no association between genetic and geographic distance. In the Relethford-Blangero analysis, most sites possess negative or near-zero residuals, indicating minimal extraregional gene flow. The exceptions were Barton Ramie, Kaminaljuyu, and Seibal. A scaled R matrix analysis clarifies that genetic drift is a consideration for understanding Classic Maya population structure. All results indicate that isolation by distance does not describe Classic period Maya population structure. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  5. Maya Studio Projects Photorealistic Characters

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    Palamar, Todd

    2011-01-01

    Create realistic characters with Maya tools and this project-based book Maya character generation tools are extremely sophisticated, and there's no better way to learn all their capabilities than by working through the projects in this hands-on book. This official guide focuses on understanding and implementing Maya's powerful tools for creating realistic characters for film, games, and TV. Use a variety of tools to create characters from skeleton to clothing, including hairstyles and facial hair, and learn how to use Performance Capture. A DVD includes supplementary videos, project support fi

  6. Entre velos: Maya para contrabajo

    OpenAIRE

    Rosa María Rodríguez Hernández

    2014-01-01

    Maya para contrabajo se materializa a partir de una imagen de Pepe Romero, cuyo texto interpreta a La decadencia de la mentira de Oscar Wilde. La estructura de Maya es binaria, especular y asimétrica; su poética obedece al juego verdad/mentira que subyace en la obra artística y en la vivencia del artista. Maya trae a la memoria las voces de los Upanishad, Schopenhauer, Shakespeare y Beethoven, influencias éstas en la obra de Wagner y, todas ellas, en la de Eliot. Los aspectos gestuales y visu...

  7. MAYAS, SPIRITUALITY, AND THE UNFINISHED HISTORY OF CONFLICT IN GUATEMALA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Servando Z. Hinojosa

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Maya spiritual practice in Guatemala has been actively challenged by mainstream religions and by pressures originating from other institutions. Many Maya ritualists have been directly reproached by religious leaders and have been targeted by a state apparatus that associates rural Maya life with insurgency. As a result, many Maya spiritual elements have been pushed to, and kept at, the margins of society. Focusing on the past two decades, this essay reviews how Mayas nevertheless maintain an active ritual life. They do this by engaging in a close relationship with the spirit-owners of the landscape, beings upon whom humans depend for their sustenance and life. They do this, also, in the face of many challenges from organized religions, the educational system, and the military. Having considered the effects of these institutions upon Maya spirituality, I then put forward some concerns Mayas face when addressing how to value and promote Maya spiritual practices in Guatemala. In addition to encouraging young Mayas to uphold their heritage, Mayas may need to prevail upon Catholic and evangelical Protestant congregations to suspend judgment about Maya spirituality and to acknowledge its far-reaching importance in culturally pluralistic society.

  8. Ownership of Language in Yucatec Maya Revitalization Pedagogy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerrettaz, Anne Marie

    2015-01-01

    This classroom-based study examined a Yucatec Maya language course for teachers and the pedagogical implementation of national language policy in Mexico. Analysis of this teacher education program focused on various dimensions of teachers' Maya-language expertise, the teaching of the emergent standard Maya, and hegemonic constructions of…

  9. Study of the Maya concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diaz C, H.

    2000-01-01

    The materials with which were constructed the buildings of the archaeological zone at the Maya culture were studied. Studies about the chemical composition of cement samples used in the construction of the Maya buildings were realized. The cement used was the same in all archaeological zones studied. The cement constituted the cementing matrix to obtain its derivatives: stuccos, mortars and, concretes. It was found that the Maya cement although has a variable chemical composition in its constitutive elements percentages, it is composed basically of calcite with fortuitous combinations of dolomite and clay materials, this last was founded in variable quantities from 0 % up to 10 % weight. The Maya cement was characterized as a variety of natural cement. The analysis and elemental chemical characterization was realized through the Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques. Therefore the microstructural characterization and the elemental chemical analysis were realized with a Scanning Electron microscope Phillips model XL30. The X-ray diffraction analysis was realized with a dust diffractometer Siemens D5000 operating at 30 KeV. The study of spectrograph was realized with an Emission spectrograph at 3 m focal distance model GX-1 Baird Atomic. (Author)

  10. The use of blunted Maya crude as alternating fuel to fuel oil; Uso de crudo Maya despuntado como combustiononble alterno al combustoleo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salinas Bravo, Victor M.; Diego Marin, Antonio; Porcayo C; Jesus [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Temixco, Morelos (Mexico)

    2001-07-01

    The Mexican fuel oil is characterized by its high viscosity and elevated contents of sulfur and vanadium. This particularity determines a problematic characteristic in the steam generators that use this fuel. Our country produces three types of crude petroleum: Olmeca, Istmo and Maya. The difference between these crudes remains in its density and the sulfur content. The Olmeca crude and the Istmo are classified as super-light and light, respectively; whereas the Maya crude is classified as a heavy crude, with a density of 1.0 to 0.92 g/cm and a minimum sulfur content of 3.3 %. For this reason the processing of the Maya crude is seen as an alternative. A table with the physicochemical analysis and properties of a fuel oil and the blunted Maya crude is given, and another one with the quantitative chemical analysis of some metals in fuel oil and in the blunted Maya crude. The stability tests of the fuel are studied giving a comparison of the effect of the aging time on the viscosity of a fuel oil and of the blunted Maya crude at 60 Celsius degrees. As well as a graph of thermograms obtained of a blunted Maya crude sample and of a typical fuel oil. Finally the corrosion tests are described that allow to know in real time the degradation process by corrosion of the materials. [Spanish] El combustoleo mexicano se caracteriza por su alta viscosidad y elevados contenidos de azufre y vanadio. Esta particularidad determina una problematica caracteristica en los generadores de vapor que utilizan este combustible. Nuestro pais produce tres tipos de petroleo crudo: Olmeca, Istmo y Maya. La diferencia entre estos crudos estriba en su densidad y el contenido de azufre. El crudo Olmeca y el Istmo estan clasificados como superligero y ligero, respectivamente; mientras que el crudo Maya esta clasificado como un crudo pesado, con una densidad de 1.0 a 0.92 g/cm y un contenido minimo de azufre de 3.3 %.Con el proposito se busca la alternativa de procesar el crudo Maya. Se da una tabla

  11. Mapping The Ancient Maya Landscape From Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever, Tom; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The Peten region of northern Guatemala is one of the last places on earth where major archeological sites remain to be discovered. It was in this region that the Maya civilization began, flourished, and abruptly disappeared. Remote sensing technology is helping to locate and map ancient Maya sites that are threatened today by accelerating deforestation and looting. Thematic Mapper and IKONOS satellite and airborne Star3-I radar data, combined with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, are successfully detecting ancient Maya features such as cities, roadways, canals, and water reservoirs. Satellite imagery is also being used to map the bajos, which are seasonally flooded swamps that cover over 40% of the land surface. The use of bajos for farming has been a source of debate within the professional community for many years. But the recent detection and verification of cultural features within the bajo system by our research team are providing conclusive evidence that the ancient Maya had adapted well to wetland environments from the earliest times and utilized them until the time of the Maya collapse. The use of the bajos for farming is also an important resource for the future of the current inhabitants who are experiencing rapid population growth. Remote sensing imagery is also demonstrating that in the Preclassic period (600 BC- AD 250), the Maya had already achieved a high organizational level as evidenced by the construction of massive temples and an elaborate inter-connecting roadway system. Although they experienced several setbacks such as droughts and hurricanes, the Maya nevertheless managed the delicate forest ecosystem successfully for several centuries. However, around AD 800, something happened to the Maya to cause their rapid decline and eventual disappearance from the region. The evidence indicates that at this time there was increased climatic dryness, extensive deforestation, overpopulation, and widespread warfare. This raises a question that

  12. Autodesk Maya 2013 Essentials

    CERN Document Server

    Naas, Paul

    2012-01-01

    Recommnded text for those preparing for the Maya Associate exam Maya, the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, games, cartoons, and commercials, is challenging to learn. This full-color guide features approachable, hands-on exercises and additional task-based tutorials that allow new users to quickly become productive with the program and familiar with its workflow in a professional environment. You'll learn the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and lighting; explore different parts of the production pipeline; and practice on some real-world projects. Ma

  13. Collapse, conquest and Maya survival at Lamanai, Belize

    OpenAIRE

    Graham, Elizabeth

    2000-01-01

    The Maya civilization of Central America prompts visions of mysterious stone temples now buried in tropical forest. It is commonly supposed to have collapsed suddenly in the ninth century AD, but some Maya settlements, such as Lamanai, survived into the colonial period. Here a new member of the Institute's academic staff gives a personal account of how working in Belize transformed her understanding of Maya civilization and its aftermath.

  14. A water storage adaptation in the maya lowlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scarborough, V L; Gallopin, G G

    1991-02-08

    Prehispanic water management in the Maya Lowlands emphasized collection and storage rather than the canalization and diversion accentuated in highland Mexico. Reexamination of site maps of the ancient Maya city of Tikal, Guatemala, has revealed an important, overlooked factor in Maya centralization and urban settlement organization. In a geographical zone affected by an extended dry season and away from permanent water sources, large, well-planned reservoirs provided resource control as well as political leverage.

  15. Collapse, conquest and Maya survival at Lamanai, Belize

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Graham

    2000-11-01

    Full Text Available The Maya civilization of Central America prompts visions of mysterious stone temples now buried in tropical forest. It is commonly supposed to have collapsed suddenly in the ninth century AD, but some Maya settlements, such as Lamanai, survived into the colonial period. Here a new member of the Institute's academic staff gives a personal account of how working in Belize transformed her understanding of Maya civilization and its aftermath.

  16. Directional layouts in central lowland Maya settlement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bevan, Andrew; Jobbová, Eva; Helmke, Christophe

    2013-01-01

    This paper suggests the existence of non-random, directional patterns in the location of housemounds across the Late Classic Maya settlement landscape at Baking Pot, Belize, and then explores the wider implications of this patterning in the central Maya lowlands. It introduces an anisotropic method...

  17. Maya medicine in the biological gaze: bioprospecting research as herbal fetishism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nigh, Ronald

    2002-06-01

    The relationship of human societies to territory and natural resources is being drastically altered by a series of global agreements concerning trade, intellectual property, and the conservation and use of genetic resources. Through a characteristic style of collective appropriation of their tropical ecosystems, Maya societies have created local institutions for governing access to their common resources. However, new mechanisms of global governance require access to Maya biodiversity for world commercial interests. The Chiapas Highland Maya already face this prospect in the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group drug discovery project, which proposes to use Maya medical knowledge to screen plants for potential pharmaceuticals. The ethnobiological focus of the project emphasizes the naturalistic aspects of Maya medicine, primarily the use of herbal remedies. This biological gaze decontextualizes the situated knowledge of Maya healers, ignoring the cultural context in which they create and apply that knowledge. The search for raw materials for the production of universal medical technology results in symbolic violence to the cultural logic of Maya peoples. Only the full recognition of Maya peoples' collective rights to territory and respect for their local common-resource institutions will provide ultimate protection for their cultural and natural patrimony.

  18. The Costa Maya:  Evolution of a Touristic Landscape La Costa Maya : évolution d'un paysage touristique La Costa Maya : evolución de un paisaje turístico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klaus J. Meyer-Arendt

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available La Costa Maya est une région côtière du sud du Quintana Roo (Mexique, proche de l'îlet Ambergris au Bélize. Contrairement à la côte caribéenne du Mexique qui a souffert du développement du tourisme de masse à Cancun et le long de la Riviera Maya, la Costa Maya s'est orientée vers un développement durable avec notamment une faible densité de construction et le développement de l'écotourisme.Le développement s'est concentré autour de Puerto Costa Maya où un terminal de croisière a été construit en 2001. La station balnéaire (balneario de Majahual est devenue dépendante des 10-12 bateaux de touristes qui débarquaient chaque semaine. En dépit d'importants plans de développement, les plages reculées de la Costa Maya accueillaient tout au plus des écotouristes aisés et du tourisme lié à la plongée sous-marine.Le cyclone Dean, de catégorie 5, a dévasté le paysage en août 2007 et le rétablissement économique n'a pu être entamé que fin 2008, après la réouverture du terminal de croisière et la reconstruction de Majahual. Fin 2009, le trafic de croisière n'a pas retrouvé son niveau d'avant Dean et la récession mondiale couplée avec la grippe porcine et les violences liées à la drogue ont fait diminuer le tourisme en provenance des Etats-Unis. On ignore à quel niveau les nouvelles infrastructures tels l'aéroport international de Tulum qui propose un itinéraire de Chetumal à la plage et le nouveau complexe hôtelier à Xahuayxel, stimuleront la Costa Maya mexicaine créant peut-être une autoroute côtière reliée à San Pedro au Bélize.The Costa Maya is a vernacular coastal region of southeastern Quintana Roo (Mexico and adjacent Ambergris Cay, Belize.  As Mexico’s Caribbean coast suffered many growth pains associated with mass tourism development in Cancun and along the Riviera Maya, the Costa Maya by contrast was projected for more sustainable development including low-density housing and

  19. Founding Amerindian mitochondrial DNA lineages in ancient Maya from Xcaret, Quintana Roo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Oliver, A; Márquez-Morfín, L; Jiménez, J C; Torre-Blanco, A

    2001-11-01

    Ancient DNA from the bone remains of 25 out of 28 pre-Columbian individuals from the Late Classic-Postclassic Maya site of Xcaret, Quintana Roo, was recovered, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was amplified by using the polymerase chain reaction. The presence of the four founding Amerindian mtDNA lineages was investigated by restriction analysis and by direct sequencing in selected individuals. The mtDNA lineages A, B, and C were found in this population. Eighty-four percent of the individuals were lineage A, whereas lineages B and C were present at low frequencies, 4% and 8%, respectively. Lineage D was absent from our sample. One individual did not possess any of the four lineages. Six skeletons out of 7 dated from the Late Classic period were haplotype A, whereas 11 skeletons out of 16 dated from the Postclassic period were also haplotype A. The distribution of mtDNA lineages in the Xcaret population contrasts sharply with that found in ancient Maya from Copán, which lack lineages A and B. On the other hand, our results resemble more closely the frequencies of mtDNA lineages found in contemporary Maya from the Yucatán Peninsula and in other Native American contemporary populations of Mesoamerican origin. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  20. Getting started in 3D with Maya

    CERN Document Server

    Watkins, Adam

    2012-01-01

    Deliver professional-level 3D content in no time with this comprehensive guide to 3D animation with Maya. With over 12 years of training experience, plus several award winning students under his belt, author Adam Watkins is the ideal mentor to get you up to speed with 3D in Maya. Using a structured and pragmatic approach Getting Started in 3D with Maya begins with basic theory of fundamental techniques, then builds on this knowledge using practical examples and projects to put your new skills to the test. Prepared so that you can learn in an organic fashion, each chapter builds on the know

  1. Stones of Light: The Use of Crystals in Maya Divination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McGraw, John J.

    2016-01-01

    In this chapter, I aim to bridge the rewarding archaeological contributions from the earlier part of this volume to ethnographic work performed among contemporary Mayas, particularly as informed by ritual specialists. In considering the ritual use of quartz crystals by living Mayas we may gain...... of functional analysis that situate archaeological and ethnographic data without projecting a particularism onto Maya contexts that may be inappropriate given the local epistemologies. Finally, I draw from cognitive science and religious studies to present a theory regarding the popularity and importance...... of quartz crystals in ritual activity, not only among the Maya, but worldwide. It is hoped that the analyses presented not only clarify ideas regarding quartz crystals in divination, but more broadly address the nature and importance of scrying in Maya religion....

  2. Les Mayas à Hollywood.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris Jeanne

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available Les Mayas de nos jours ce sont surtout des grandes pyramides au milieu de la forêt à un jet d’avion de Cancún : pour nombre de touristes américains et européens, c’est une occasion de s’acoquiner avec la culture, la grande culture des civilisations perdues, en continuant de boire des piña coladas le soir au bord de la plage. Et puis au mois de décembre les Mayas ont débarqué en force dans le paysage culturel local des Américains et des Européens, dans leurs cinémas, au moyen de deux films in...

  3. Impacts of Climate Change on the Collapse of Lowland Maya Civilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, Peter M. J.; Demarest, Arthur A.; Brenner, Mark; Canuto, Marcello A.

    2016-06-01

    Paleoclimatologists have discovered abundant evidence that droughts coincided with collapse of the Lowland Classic Maya civilization, and some argue that climate change contributed to societal disintegration. Many archaeologists, however, maintain that drought cannot explain the timing or complex nature of societal changes at the end of the Classic Period, between the eighth and eleventh centuries ce. This review presents a compilation of climate proxy data indicating that droughts in the ninth to eleventh century were the most severe and frequent in Maya prehistory. Comparison with recent archaeological evidence, however, indicates an earlier beginning for complex economic and political processes that led to the disintegration of states in the southern region of the Maya lowlands that precedes major droughts. Nonetheless, drought clearly contributed to the unusual severity of the Classic Maya collapse, and helped to inhibit the type of recovery seen in earlier periods of Maya prehistory. In the drier northern Maya Lowlands, a later political collapse at ca. 1000 ce appears to be related to ongoing extreme drought. Future interdisciplinary research should use more refined climatological and archaeological data to examine the relationship between climate and social processes throughout the entirety of Maya prehistory.

  4. How to Cheat in Maya 2012 Tools and Techniques for Character Animation

    CERN Document Server

    Luhta, Eric

    2011-01-01

    The Maya guide for animators, How to Cheat in Maya 2012 presents everything you need to know about character animation in Maya. Fully updated for the latest revision of Maya, this book provides you with complete, step-by-step walkthroughs of essential animation techniques to increase your efficiency and speed. This is an animator's workflow in book form, written by professional animators-not a software book with a few animation pointers thrown in. In addition to all the gold-mine coverage and interviews with expert animators from the previous edition, How to Cheat in Maya 2012 also features a

  5. Recent Advances in Maya Studies Using Remotely Sensed Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever, Tom; Irwin, Daniel; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The Peten region of northern Guatemala is one of the last places on earth where major archeological sites remain to be discovered. It was in this region that the Maya civilization began, flourished, and abruptly disappeared. Remote sensing technology is helping to locate and map ancient Maya sites that are threatened today by accelerating deforestation and looting. Thematic Mapper and IKONOS satellite and airborne Star3i radar data, combined with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, are successfully detecting ancient Maya features such as cities, roadways, canals, and water reservoirs. Satellite imagery is also being used to map the baJos, which are seasonally flooded swamps that cover over 40% of the land surface. The use of bajos for farming has been a source of debate within the professional community for many years. But the recent detection and verification of cultural features within the bajo system by our research team are providing conclusive evidence that the ancient Maya had adapted well to wetland environments from the earliest times and utilized them until the time of the Maya collapse. The combination of water management and bajo farming is an important resource for the future of the current inhabitants who are experiencing rapid population growth. Remote sensing imagery is also demonstrating that in the Preclassic period (600 BC- AD 250), the Maya had already achieved a high organizational level as evidenced by the construction of massive temples and an elaborate inter-connecting roadway system. Although they experienced several setbacks such as droughts and hurricanes, the Maya nevertheless managed the delicate forest ecosystem successfully for several centuries. However, around AD 800, something happened to the Maya to cause their rapid decline and eventual disappearance from the region. The evidence indicates that at this time there was increased climatic dryness, extensive deforestation, overpopulation, and widespread warfare. This raises a

  6. Stability and instability on Maya Lowlands tropical hillslope soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Timothy; Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl; Cook, Duncan; Krause, Samantha; Doyle, Colin; Eshleman, Sara; Wells, Greta; Dunning, Nicholas; Brennan, Michael L.; Brokaw, Nicholas; Cortes-Rincon, Marisol; Hammond, Gail; Terry, Richard; Trein, Debora; Ward, Sheila

    2018-03-01

    Substantial lake core and other evidence shows accelerated soil erosion occurred in the Maya Lowlands of Central America over ancient Maya history from 3000 to 1000 years ago. But we have little evidence of the wider network of the sources and sinks of that eroded sediment cascade. This study begins to solve the mystery of missing soil with new research and a synthesis of existing studies of tropical forest soils along slopes in NW Belize. The research aim is to understand soil formation, long-term human impacts on slopes, and slope stability over time, and explore ecological implications. We studied soils on seven slopes in tropical forest areas that have experienced intensive ancient human impacts and those with little ancient impacts. All of our soil catenas, except for one deforested from old growth two years before, contain evidence for about 1000 years of stable, tropical forest cover since Maya abandonment. We characterized the physical, chemical, and taxonomic characteristics of soils at crest-shoulder, backslopes, footslopes, and depression locations, analyzing typical soil parameters, chemical elements, and carbon isotopes (δ13C) in dated and undated sequences. Four footslopes or depressions in areas of high ancient occupation preserved evidence of buried, clay-textured soils covered by coarser sediment dating from the Maya Classic period. Three footslopes from areas with scant evidence of ancient occupation had little discernable deposition. These findings add to a growing corpus of soil toposequences with similar facies changes in footslopes and depressions that date to the Maya period. Using major elemental concentrations across a range of catenas, we derived a measure (Ca + Mg) / (Al + Fe + Mn) of the relative contributions of autochthonous and allochthonous materials and the relative age of soil catenas. We found very low ratios in clearly older, buried soils in footslopes and depressions and on slopes that had not undergone ancient Maya erosion. We

  7. The Moon In The Classic Maya World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romano, Giuliano

    During the Classic Period of the Maya civilization (250-900 A.D.) we have many documents in which it is possible to see the interest of this people on the principal lunar phenomena as the phases and the eclipses in particular. On a number of stelae, lintels and many other inscriptions (in Copan, Quirigua, Tikal, etc.), we can see that in correspondence of the dedication date of the monument, the Maya point out the phase of the Moon and its position in a period of six months corresponding to half year of eclipse. In some parts of the Dresda Codex (one of the four original codices of the Maya) we can see some pages in which were indicated the days of the Tzolkin calendar (the religious calendar of 260 days) in which it is possible to observe a lunar or solar eclipse. The periods of 177 or 148 days are allotted in a sequence that corresponds to the exact interval between the eclipses. The accuracy in the observations and in the calculations of the phases of the Moon, also in very old epochs, is an interesting evidence of the fundamental importance of the Moon in the Maya civilisation.

  8. Man and climate in the Maya lowlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leyden, Barbara W.

    1987-11-01

    A 15-m sedimentary core from Lake Salpeten provides the first complete Holocene sequence for the lowlying Peten District, Guatemala. Today, Lake Salpeten is a brackish, calcium sulfate lake near saturation surrounded by tropical semievergreen forest. The basal pollen record depicts sparse juniper scrub surrounding a lake basin that held ephermal pools and halophytic marshes. The lake rapidly deepened to > 27 m in the early Holocene and may have been meromictic, because nearly 2 m of gypsum "mush" was deposited. Mesic forests were quickly established and persisted until the Maya entered the district 3000 yr ago and caused extensive deforestation. Any climatic information contained in the pollen record of the Maya period is thus masked, but a regional pollen sequence linked to the archaeological record is substantiated because environmental disturbance was pervasive. Local intensification of occupation and population growth are seen as an increased deposition of pollen of agricultural weeds and colluviation into the lake, while the Classic Maya collapse is marked by a temporary decline in Compositae pollen. Effects of perturbations induced by the Maya persist in the pollen and limnetic record 400 yr after the Spanish conquest.

  9. Genetic Affiliation of Pre-Hispanic and Contemporary Mayas Through Maternal Linage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ochoa-Lugo, Mirna Isabel; Muñoz, María de Lourdes; Pérez-Ramírez, Gerardo; Beaty, Kristine G; López-Armenta, Mauro; Cervini-Silva, Javiera; Moreno-Galeana, Miguel; Meza, Adrián Martínez; Ramos, Eduardo; Crawford, Michael H; Romano-Pacheco, Arturo

    2016-04-01

    Maya civilization developed in Mesoamerica and encompassed the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, part of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the western parts of Honduras and El Salvador. This civilization persisted approximately 3,000 years and was one of the most advanced of its time, possessing the only known full writing system at the time, as well as art, sophisticated architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. This civilization reached the apex of its power and influence during the Preclassic period, from 2000 BCE to 250 CE. Genetic variation in the pre-Hispanic Mayas from archaeological sites in the Mexican states of Yucatan, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, and Tabasco and their relationship with the contemporary communities in these regions have not been previously studied. Consequently, the principal aim of this study was to determine mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation in the pre-Hispanic Maya population and to assess the relationship of these individuals with contemporary Mesoamerican Maya and populations from Asia, Beringia, and North, Central, and South America. Our results revealed interactions and gene flow between populations in the different archaeological sites assessed in this study. The mtDNA haplogroup frequency in the pre-Hispanic Maya population (60.53%, 34.21%, and 5.26% for haplogroups A, C, and D, respectively) was similar to that of most Mexican and Guatemalan Maya populations, with haplogroup A exhibiting the highest frequency. Haplogroup B most likely arrived independently and mixed with populations carrying haplogroups A and C based on its absence in the pre-Hispanic Mexican Maya populations and low frequencies in most Mexican and Guatemalan Maya populations, although this also may be due to drift. Maya and Ciboneys sharing haplotype H10 belonged to haplogroup C1 and haplotype H4 of haplogroup D, suggesting shared regional haplotypes. This may indicate a shared genetic ancestry, suggesting more regional interaction

  10. Analysis of 16 autosomal STRs and 17 Y-STRs in an indigenous Maya population from Guatemala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardoso, Sergio; Sevillano, Rubén; Illescas, María J; de Pancorbo, Marian Martínez

    2016-03-01

    The aim of this study was to contribute new data on autosomal STR and Y-STR markers of the Mayas from Guatemala in order to improve available databases of forensic interest. We analyzed 16 autosomal STR markers in a population sample of 155 indigenous Maya and 17 Y-chromosomal STR markers in the 100 males of the sample. Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and linkage disequilibrium between autosomal STR markers were not observed at any loci. The combined power of exclusion was estimated as 99.9991% and the combined power of discrimination was >99.999999999999%. Haplotype diversity of Y-STRs was calculated as 0.9984 ± 0.0018 and analysis of pairwise genetic distances (Rst) supported the Native American background of the population.

  11. IMPRISONMENT AS A RESULT OF WOMEN SUBORDINATION 194 REFLECTED IN MAYA ANGELOU‘S POEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatikha Amalina

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This research is aimed to describe the imprisonment of African American people, especially women, in the case of patriarchy and women subordination through Maya Angelou‘s selected poems entitled ―Caged Bird‖, ―Still I Rise‖ and ―Woman Work‖. This research discusses the meaning behind the poems that reflected Maya Angelou‘s life experience relating to women subordination and freedom. Feminism approach is applied to analyze the concept of freedom in women subordination and patriarchy in this research. The paper points to how the concept of gender intertwines with labor, ethnics, kinship and gender domination. Without aiming to paint a detailed picture of feminism, the paper explores how ideas developed in these inquiries question the taken-for-granted assumption about the universality of women‘s subordination and challenge the emancipation prerequisite of feminist agenda.

  12. Compositional attribution of non-provenienced Maya polychrome vessels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bishop, R.L.; Harbottle, G.; Reents, D.J.; Sayre, E.V.; van Zelst, L.

    1983-01-01

    Procedures and a few of the results of the Maya ceramic project are discussed from the perspective of non-provenienced vessel attribution ranging from site specific through a more inferential level to the rather hypothetical. The examples presented serve to illustrate the manner in which compositional and stylistic covariation are viewed in an investigation of Maya Ceramic art. The large data base from neutron activation analysis including archaeologically recovered pottery as well as the stylistically and iconographically elaborate vessels requires continued refinement in our methods of statistical analysis along with gaining a greater understanding of the sources of ceramic compositional variation in the Maya area. The mutually beneficial collaboration between science, art, and archaeology are emphasized

  13. Compositional attribution of non-provenienced Maya polychrome vessels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bishop, R.L.; Harbottle, G.; Reents, D.J.; Sayre, E.V.; van Zelst, L.

    1983-01-01

    Procedures and a few of the results of the Maya ceramic project are discussed from the perspective of non-provenienced vessel attribution ranging from site specific through a more inferential level to the rather hypothetical. The examples presented serve to illustrate the manner in which compositional and stylistic covariation are viewed in an investigation of Maya Ceramic art. The large data base from neutron activation analysis including archaeologically recovered pottery as well as the stylistically and iconographically elaborate vessels requires continued refinement in our methods of statistical analysis along with gaining a greater understanding of the sources of ceramic compositional variation in the Maya area. The mutually beneficial collaboration between science, art, and archaeology are emphasized.

  14. Poetizas mayas:subjetividades contra la corriente

    OpenAIRE

    Maya, Gloria Chacón

    2013-01-01

    Este ensayo examina la emergencia de poetisas mayas en México y Guatemala como parte de un movimiento indígena ás amplio que clama su derecho a la diferencia cultural. Arguyo que aunque la mujer maya está inmersa en los discursos del nacionalismo oficial, nacionalismos étnicos y feminismos occidentales, crea sus propias subjetividades multidimensionales, vía la poesía. El análisis se enfoca en la resignificación de símbolos culturales tradicionales y la negociación de cultura, poder y género....

  15. Agua y Enfermedad Entre Algunos Grupos Mayas Durante La Colonia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tañía Héléne Campos Thomas.

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Along history, The mexican People ―for all the different ethnic groups in the country― has had water in high regard in their religious corpus, either in the symbolic way or the religious level. As evidence of this we can mention the cults to Tlaloc in mesoamerica and chak in the maya region, and the numerous depictions produced by chronicle writers as well as the ones found in the maya codices containing rites and giving close records of the beliefs in which water had a fundamental role. Similarly, the maya culture nowadays preserves that same close relation between water and health-illness. This article is a first investigative look into this subject intendingto restrict time and objectives and also with the aim of recording the way in which some maya ethnic groups were related to water during the colonial period. despite the colonial period was the historical framework imposed as the limit to the present paper, it has been inevitable to make reference to customs and activities of contemporary maya groups.

  16. Fe K-edge XANES of Maya blue pigment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Río, M. Sánchez del; Sodo, A.; Eeckhout, S. G.; Neisius, T.; Martinetto, P.; Dooryhée, E.; Reyes-Valerio, C.

    2005-08-01

    The utilization of techniques used in Materials Science for the characterization of artefacts of interest for cultural heritage is getting more and more attention nowadays. One of the products of the ancient Maya chemistry is the "Maya blue" pigment, made with natural indigo and palygorskite. This pigment is different from any other pigment used in other parts of the world. It is durable and acid-resistant, and still keeps many secrets to scientists even though it has been studied for more than 50 years. Although the pigment is basically made of palygorskite Si8(Mg2Al2)O20(OH)2(OH2)4.4H2O and an organic colourant (indigo: C16H10N2O2), a number of other compounds have been found in previous studies on archaeological samples, like other clays and minerals, iron nanoparticles, iron oxides, impurities of transition metals (Cr, Mn, Ti, V), etc. We measured at the ESRF ID26 beamline the Fe K-edge XANES spectra of the blue pigment in ancient samples. They are compared to XANES spectra of Maya blue samples synthesized under controlled conditions, and iron oxides usually employed as pigments (hematite and goethite). Our results show that the iron found in ancient Maya blue pigment is related to the Fe exchanged in the palygorskite clay. We did not find iron in metallic form or goethite in archaeological Maya blue.

  17. Fe K-edge XANES of Maya blue pigment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rio, M. Sanchez del; Sodo, A.; Eeckhout, S.G.; Neisius, T.; Martinetto, P.; Dooryhee, E.; Reyes-Valerio, C.

    2005-01-01

    The utilization of techniques used in Materials Science for the characterization of artefacts of interest for cultural heritage is getting more and more attention nowadays. One of the products of the ancient Maya chemistry is the 'Maya blue' pigment, made with natural indigo and palygorskite. This pigment is different from any other pigment used in other parts of the world. It is durable and acid-resistant, and still keeps many secrets to scientists even though it has been studied for more than 50 years. Although the pigment is basically made of palygorskite Si 8 (Mg 2 Al 2 )O 20 (OH) 2 (OH 2 ) 4 .4H 2 O and an organic colourant (indigo: C 16 H 10 N 2 O 2 ), a number of other compounds have been found in previous studies on archaeological samples, like other clays and minerals, iron nanoparticles, iron oxides, impurities of transition metals (Cr, Mn, Ti, V), etc. We measured at the ESRF ID26 beamline the Fe K-edge XANES spectra of the blue pigment in ancient samples. They are compared to XANES spectra of Maya blue samples synthesized under controlled conditions, and iron oxides usually employed as pigments (hematite and goethite). Our results show that the iron found in ancient Maya blue pigment is related to the Fe exchanged in the palygorskite clay. We did not find iron in metallic form or goethite in archaeological Maya blue

  18. Ancient Maya impacts on the Earth's surface: An Early Anthropocene analog?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Tim; Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl; Cook, Duncan; Dunning, Nicholas; Kennett, Douglas J.; Krause, Samantha; Terry, Richard; Trein, Debora; Valdez, Fred

    2015-09-01

    The measure of the "Mayacene," a microcosm of the Early Anthropocene that occurred from c. 3000 to 1000 BP, comes from multiple Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental records. We synthesized the evidence for Maya impacts on climate, vegetation, hydrology and the lithosphere, from studies of soils, lakes, floodplains, wetlands and other ecosystems. Maya civilization had likely altered local to regional ecosystems and hydrology by the Preclassic Period (3000-1700 BP), but these impacts waned by 1000 BP. They altered ecosystems with vast urban and rural infrastructure that included thousands of reservoirs, wetland fields and canals, terraces, field ridges, and temples. Although there is abundant evidence that indicates the Maya altered their forests, even at the large urban complex of Tikal as much as 40% of the forest remained intact through the Classic period. Existing forests are still influenced by ancient Maya forest gardening, particularly by the large expanses of ancient stone structures, terraces, and wetland fields that form their substrates. A few studies suggest deforestation and other land uses probably also warmed and dried regional climate by the Classic Period (1700-1100 BP). A much larger body of research documents the Maya impacts on hydrology, in the form of dams, reservoirs, canals, eroded soils and urban design for runoff. Another metric of the "Mayacene" are paleosols, which contain chemical evidence for human occupation, revealed by high phosphorus concentrations and carbon isotope ratios of C4 species like maize in the C3-dominated tropical forest ecosystem. Paleosol sequences exhibit "Maya Clays," a facies that reflects a glut of rapidly eroded sediments that overlie pre-Maya paleosols. This stratigraphy is conspicuous in many dated soil profiles and marks the large-scale Maya transformation of the landscape in the Preclassic and Classic periods. Some of these also have increased phosphorous and carbon isotope evidence of C4 species. We synthesize

  19. The Ancient Maya Landscape from Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever, T.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

    1999-01-01

    The Peten, once inhabited by a population of several million before the collapse of the ancient Maya in the 10th and 11th centuries, is being repopulated toward its former demographic peak. Environmental dynamics, however, impose severe constraints to further development. Current practices in subsistence, commercial agriculture, and cattle raising are causing rapid deforestation resulting in the destruction of environmental and archeological resources. The use of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is a cost-effective methodology for addressing issues in Maya archeology as well as monitoring the environmental impacts being experienced by the current population.

  20. Maya Studio Projects Texturing and Lighting

    CERN Document Server

    Lanier, Lee

    2011-01-01

    Learn to create realistic digital assets for film and games with this project-based guide Focused entirely on practical projects, this hands-on guide shows you how to use Maya's texturing and lighting tools in real-world situations. Whether you need to sharpen your skills or you're looking to break into the field for the first time, you'll learn top industry techniques for this important skill as you follow the instructions for several specific projects. You can even create your own version, using final Maya scene files to validate results. The companion DVD includes supplemental videos, proje

  1. Fe K-edge XANES of Maya blue pigment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rio, M. Sanchez del [ESRF, Experiments Division, B.P. 220, F-38043, Grenoble Cedex (France)]. E-mail: srio@esrf.fr; Sodo, A. [ESRF, Experiments Division, B.P. 220, F-38043, Grenoble Cedex (France); Eeckhout, S.G. [ESRF, Experiments Division, B.P. 220, F-38043, Grenoble Cedex (France); Neisius, T. [ESRF, Experiments Division, B.P. 220, F-38043, Grenoble Cedex (France); Martinetto, P. [Laboratoire de Cristallographie, CNRS, Grenoble B.P. 166, F-38042, Grenoble Cedex 09 (France); Dooryhee, E. [Laboratoire de Cristallographie, CNRS, Grenoble B.P. 166, F-38042, Grenoble Cedex 09 (France); Reyes-Valerio, C. [INAH, Mexico DF (Mexico)

    2005-08-15

    The utilization of techniques used in Materials Science for the characterization of artefacts of interest for cultural heritage is getting more and more attention nowadays. One of the products of the ancient Maya chemistry is the 'Maya blue' pigment, made with natural indigo and palygorskite. This pigment is different from any other pigment used in other parts of the world. It is durable and acid-resistant, and still keeps many secrets to scientists even though it has been studied for more than 50 years. Although the pigment is basically made of palygorskite Si{sub 8}(Mg{sub 2}Al{sub 2})O{sub 20}(OH){sub 2}(OH{sub 2}){sub 4}.4H{sub 2}O and an organic colourant (indigo: C{sub 16}H{sub 10}N{sub 2}O{sub 2}), a number of other compounds have been found in previous studies on archaeological samples, like other clays and minerals, iron nanoparticles, iron oxides, impurities of transition metals (Cr, Mn, Ti, V), etc. We measured at the ESRF ID26 beamline the Fe K-edge XANES spectra of the blue pigment in ancient samples. They are compared to XANES spectra of Maya blue samples synthesized under controlled conditions, and iron oxides usually employed as pigments (hematite and goethite). Our results show that the iron found in ancient Maya blue pigment is related to the Fe exchanged in the palygorskite clay. We did not find iron in metallic form or goethite in archaeological Maya blue.

  2. Los mayas del altiplano: supervivencia indígena en Chiapas y Guatemala

    OpenAIRE

    Lovell, W. George

    2002-01-01

    En el contexto americano, pocos grupos indígenas han demostrado la capacidad de sobrevivir a lo largo de la historia como los mayas del altiplano. Hoy día en Chiapas existen más de un millón de indígenas mayas, un número que asciende a cinco o seis millones en el caso de Guatemala. Los pueblos mayas han respondido a la invasión y a la dominación para conservar elementos importantes de su cultura. Este artículo discute las formas en que los mayas del altiplano se han adaptado para sobrevivir a...

  3. Los hacendados y rancheros mayas de Yucatán en el siglo XIX Maya hacendados and rancheros from Yucatán in the 19th Century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Machuca Gallegos

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available No sólo los grupos "blancos" y pudientes de la sociedad tuvieron haciendas, sino también los mayas. Al ser la hacienda una de las pocas actividades económicas productivas que se podían llevar a cabo en la península, algunos mayas (si bien son minoría se volvieron propietarios, incluso tuvieron trabajadores adeudados; por tanto, no permanecieron al margen del desarrollo económico y participaron activamente de éste. Así, en este trabajo nos ocupamos de los amos mayas, seguimos algunas de sus estrategias y reconstruimos sus lazos y sus relaciones. La principal fuente utilizada han sido documentos de carácter notarial, en particular los testamentos, de los cuales se han estudiado algunas variables como la de cónyuge, albacea testamentario y testigo.Haciendas were not exclusive for "white" powerful groups, since they were available for the Maya. Hacienda was one of the only productive economic activities in the peninsula, so the Maya (in spite of being a minority became the owners. They even had debtor workers. They were not marginalized from economic development but rather participated actively in it. This paper studies Maya masters by following some of their strategies and reconstructing both their binds and relations. Our main source are notarial documents, particularly testaments, where some variables like spouse, testamentary executor and witness are studied.

  4. Objetual Regime of the Maya during Classic period, a proposal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Jaramillo Arango

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Within the academic archaeology of the 20th Century, objects were only considered as sources for understanding human action. Based on recent theoretic anthropological proposals, this paper proposes a recursive archaeology, that is, to include the Classic Maya concepts as part of our analysis in order to understand things as truly protagonists of social relationships. In the Maya area, objects have different ways of being in the world which have been identified by the archeology of the Classic period: person-objects, parts of a dividual body and machines. These three ways are explored here through archaeologic contexts and epigraphic texts with the aim of approaching the construction of reality of the Classic Maya. With a multidisciplinary analysis that includes archaeology, epigraphy, history, linguistics and anthropology, a high number of examples coming from different regions in the Maya area is examined. Thus, an overall view of this phenomenon is presented.

  5. Drought, agricultural adaptation, and sociopolitical collapse in the Maya Lowlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, Peter M. J.; Pagani, Mark; Canuto, Marcello A.; Brenner, Mark; Hodell, David A.; Eglinton, Timothy I.; Curtis, Jason H.

    2015-01-01

    Paleoclimate records indicate a series of severe droughts was associated with societal collapse of the Classic Maya during the Terminal Classic period (∼800–950 C.E.). Evidence for drought largely derives from the drier, less populated northern Maya Lowlands but does not explain more pronounced and earlier societal disruption in the relatively humid southern Maya Lowlands. Here we apply hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions of plant wax lipids in two lake sediment cores to assess changes in water availability and land use in both the northern and southern Maya lowlands. We show that relatively more intense drying occurred in the southern lowlands than in the northern lowlands during the Terminal Classic period, consistent with earlier and more persistent societal decline in the south. Our results also indicate a period of substantial drying in the southern Maya Lowlands from ∼200 C.E. to 500 C.E., during the Terminal Preclassic and Early Classic periods. Plant wax carbon isotope records indicate a decline in C4 plants in both lake catchments during the Early Classic period, interpreted to reflect a shift from extensive agriculture to intensive, water-conservative maize cultivation that was motivated by a drying climate. Our results imply that agricultural adaptations developed in response to earlier droughts were initially successful, but failed under the more severe droughts of the Terminal Classic period. PMID:25902508

  6. Drought, agricultural adaptation, and sociopolitical collapse in the Maya Lowlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, Peter M J; Pagani, Mark; Canuto, Marcello A; Brenner, Mark; Hodell, David A; Eglinton, Timothy I; Curtis, Jason H

    2015-05-05

    Paleoclimate records indicate a series of severe droughts was associated with societal collapse of the Classic Maya during the Terminal Classic period (∼800-950 C.E.). Evidence for drought largely derives from the drier, less populated northern Maya Lowlands but does not explain more pronounced and earlier societal disruption in the relatively humid southern Maya Lowlands. Here we apply hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions of plant wax lipids in two lake sediment cores to assess changes in water availability and land use in both the northern and southern Maya lowlands. We show that relatively more intense drying occurred in the southern lowlands than in the northern lowlands during the Terminal Classic period, consistent with earlier and more persistent societal decline in the south. Our results also indicate a period of substantial drying in the southern Maya Lowlands from ∼200 C.E. to 500 C.E., during the Terminal Preclassic and Early Classic periods. Plant wax carbon isotope records indicate a decline in C4 plants in both lake catchments during the Early Classic period, interpreted to reflect a shift from extensive agriculture to intensive, water-conservative maize cultivation that was motivated by a drying climate. Our results imply that agricultural adaptations developed in response to earlier droughts were initially successful, but failed under the more severe droughts of the Terminal Classic period.

  7. PROBİYOTİK MAYA : SACCHAROMYCES BOULARDİİ

    OpenAIRE

    Alkan, Rezan

    2013-01-01

    Probiyotikler uygun miktarlarda kullanıldığında konakçı sağlığı üzerinde yararları olan, bağırsakta canlı kalabilen ,sindirime dirençli bakteri ve maya gibi canlı mikroorganizmalar olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Saccharomyces boulardii  patojen olmayan bir maya olup, tedavi edici olarak kullanılmaktadır. Kontrollü olarak yapılan klinik çalışmalarda S.boulardii’nin çeşitli bağırsak hastalıklarının önlenmesi ve ...

  8. Cacao usage by the earliest Maya civilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurst, W Jeffrey; Tarka, Stanley M; Powis, Terry G; Valdez, Fred; Hester, Thomas R

    2002-07-18

    The Maya archaeological site at Colha in northern Belize, Central America, has yielded several spouted ceramic vessels that contain residues from the preparation of food and beverages. Here we analyse dry residue samples by using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to atmospheric-pressure chemical-ionization mass spectrometry, and show that chocolate (Theobroma cacao) was consumed by the Preclassic Maya as early as 600 bc, pushing back the earliest chemical evidence of cacao use by some 1,000 years. Our application of this new and highly sensitive analytical technique could be extended to the identification of other ancient foods and beverages.

  9. Religión, fiestas y centros ceremoniales mayas de la Cruz Parlante

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Buenrostro Alba

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available En el trabajo se describe el principal santo de los mayas de Quintana Roo, la Cruz Parlante, así como los centros ceremoniales y las fiestas tradicionales relacionadas con esta advocación. Se incluyen datos etnográficos que describen el contexto en el que se centra el estudio. La Cruz Parlante permite a los mayas de Quintana Roo seguir existiendo y los protege, pero para ello debe estar custodiada por los propios mayas.

  10. Los mayas del altiplano: supervivencia indígena en Chiapas y Guatemala

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lovell, W. George

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available En el contexto americano, pocos grupos indígenas han demostrado la capacidad de sobrevivir a lo largo de la historia como los mayas del altiplano. Hoy día en Chiapas existen más de un millón de indígenas mayas, un número que asciende a cinco o seis millones en el caso de Guatemala. Los pueblos mayas han respondido a la invasión y a la dominación para conservar elementos importantes de su cultura. Este artículo discute las formas en que los mayas del altiplano se han adaptado para sobrevivir a casi cinco siglos de conquista, identificando tres fases claves en su trayectoria histórica: (1 la experiencia colonial, que abarca los años entre 1524 y 1821; (2 una época de reforma y revolución, que corre de 1821 a 1954; y (3 un período de marginalización y descuido desde 1954 en adelante. Pese al desfío, los mayas del altiplano están equipados culturalmente para perdurar.

  11. Classic Maya civilization collapse associated with reduction in tropical cyclone activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina, M. A.; Polanco-Martinez, J. M.; Lases-Hernández, F.; Bradley, R. S.; Burns, S. J.

    2013-12-01

    In light of the increased destructiveness of tropical cyclones observed over recent decades one might assume that an increase and not a decrease in tropical cyclone activity would lead to societal stress and perhaps collapse of ancient cultures. In this study we present evidence that a reduction in the frequency and intensity of tropical Atlantic cyclones could have contributed to the collapse of the Maya civilization during the Terminal Classic Period (TCP, AD. 800-950). Statistical comparisons of a quantitative precipitation record from the Yucatan Peninsula (YP) Maya lowlands, based on the stalagmite known as Chaac (after the Mayan God of rain and agriculture), relative to environmental proxy records of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs), and tropical Atlantic cyclone counts, suggest that these records share significant coherent variability during the TCP and that summer rainfall reductions between 30 and 50% in the Maya lowlands occurred in association with decreased Atlantic tropical cyclones. Analysis of modern instrumental hydrological data suggests cyclone rainfall contributions to the YP equivalent to the range of rainfall deficits associated with decreased tropical cyclone activity during the collapse of the Maya civilization. Cyclone driven precipitation variability during the TCP, implies that climate change may have triggered Maya civilization collapse via freshwater scarcity for domestic use without significant detriment to agriculture. Pyramid in Tikal, the most prominent Maya Kingdom that collapsed during the Terminal Classic Period (circa C.E. 800-950) Rainfall feeding stalagmites inside Rio Secreto cave system, Yucatan, Mexico.

  12. Peopling the past: New perspectives on the ancient Maya

    OpenAIRE

    Robin, Cynthia

    2001-01-01

    The new direction in Maya archaeology is toward achieving a greater understanding of people and their roles and their relations in the past. To answer emerging humanistic questions about ancient people's lives Mayanists are increasingly making use of new and existing scientific methods from archaeology and other disciplines. Maya archaeology is bridging the divide between the humanities and sciences to answer questions about ancient people previously considered bey...

  13. Una historia de la religión de los antiguos mayas

    OpenAIRE

    Baudez, Claude-François

    2013-01-01

    Estudio cuyo objetivo es abordar la religión de los antiguos mayas desde una perspectiva histórica en su proceso evolutivo, el cual abarca los periodos clásico y posclásico y abordar hasta qué punto la religión maya se vio simultáneamente afectada por el declive de la civilización clásica y por la infiltración de rasgos culturales del Altiplano mexicano. Los análisis tradicionales de la religión de los antiguos mayas permanecen exclusivamente al acecho de las continuidades; luego, concluye...

  14. Politics in the Western Maya Region (II: Emblem Glyphs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Péter Bíró

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In a series of articles I reflect on the use of various expressions which are connected to what we call the political in the inscriptions of the Classic Maya Western Region. These words express ideas and concepts which help to understand the intricate details of the interactions between the political entities and their internal organisations in the Classic Maya Lowlands. In this article I investigate the meaning of emblem glyphs. I suggest that originally they were toponyms but later on they became titles of origin which indicated descendance from a common origin place.En una serie de artículos investigo el uso de varias palabras en las inscripciones mayas de la época Clásica de la Región Occidental que se conectan con lo que nosotros llamamos "política". Estas palabras expresan ideas y conceptos que ayudan a entender los matices de las relaciones entre las entidades políticas de las Tierras Bajas Mayas y su organización interna. En este artículo investigo el significado de los glifos emblema. Propongo que originalmente fueron topónimos y después llegaron a ser títulos de origen que indicaron descendencia común de un lugar original.

  15. Peopling the past: new perspectives on the ancient Maya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robin, C

    2001-01-02

    The new direction in Maya archaeology is toward achieving a greater understanding of people and their roles and their relations in the past. To answer emerging humanistic questions about ancient people's lives Mayanists are increasingly making use of new and existing scientific methods from archaeology and other disciplines. Maya archaeology is bridging the divide between the humanities and sciences to answer questions about ancient people previously considered beyond the realm of archaeological knowledge.

  16. Delineating genetic relationships among the Maya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibarra-Rivera, Lisa; Mirabal, Sheyla; Regueiro, Manuela M; Herrera, Rene J

    2008-03-01

    By 250 AD, the Classic Maya had become the most advanced civilization within the New World, possessing the only well-developed hieroglyphic writing system of the time and an advanced knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and architecture. Though only ruins of the empire remain, 7.5 million Mayan descendants still occupy areas of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. Although they inhabit distant and distinct territories, speak more than 28 languages, and have been historically divided by warfare and a city-state-like political system, and they share characteristics such as rituals, artistic, architectural motifs that distinguish them as unequivocally Maya. This study was undertaken to determine whether these similarities among Mayan communities mirror genetic affinities or are merely a reflection of their common culture. Four Mayan populations were investigated (i.e., the K'iche and Kakchikel from Guatemala and the Campeche and Yucatan from Mexico) and compared with previously published populations across 15 autosomal STR loci. As a whole, the Maya emerge as a distinct group within Mesoamerica, indicating that they are more similar to each other than to other Mesoamerican groups. The data suggest that although geographic and political boundaries existed among Mayan communities, genetic exchanges between the different Mayan groups have occurred, supporting theories of extensive trading throughout the empire. 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  17. Survey, Settlement, and Population History at the Ancient Maya Site of Pacbitun, Belize

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Healy, Paul F.; Helmke, Christophe G.B.; Awe, Jaime J.

    2007-01-01

    Survey and excavations of mounds on the outskirts of the site of Pacbitun in western Belize provide insights to the ancient Maya settlement pattern at this medium-sized regional center. This research employed two methods: analysis of structural remains from four separate 1000 m transect surveys...... to have been about 5000-6000 persons. This population estimate is compared with several coeval lowland Maya centers, and found to be reasonable for a medium-sized, Late Classic Maya center....

  18. Language Revitalisation from the Ground Up: Promoting Yucatec Maya on Facebook

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cru, Josep

    2015-01-01

    This paper looks at current grassroots efforts to revitalise Yucatec Maya, an indigenous language of Mexico, in social media and more specifically on Facebook. In contrast to the limitations of institutional language promotion, the inclusion of Maya on Facebook shows the possibilities that social networks offer not only for actual use of…

  19. Construction of an Yucatec Maya soil classification and comparison with the WRB framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bautista, Francisco; Zinck, J Alfred

    2010-02-13

    Mayas living in southeast Mexico have used soils for millennia and provide thus a good example for understanding soil-culture relationships and for exploring the ways indigenous people name and classify the soils of their territory. This paper shows an attempt to organize the Maya soil knowledge into a soil classification scheme and compares the latter with the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB). Several participative soil surveys were carried out in the period 2000-2009 with the help of bilingual Maya-Spanish-speaking farmers. A multilingual soil database was built with 315 soil profile descriptions. On the basis of the diagnostic soil properties and the soil nomenclature used by Maya farmers, a soil classification scheme with a hierarchic, dichotomous and open structure was constructed, organized in groups and qualifiers in a fashion similar to that of the WRB system. Maya soil properties were used at the same categorical levels as similar diagnostic properties are used in the WRB system. The Maya soil classification (MSC) is a natural system based on key properties, such as relief position, rock types, size and quantity of stones, color of topsoil and subsoil, depth, water dynamics, and plant-supporting processes. The MSC addresses the soil properties of surficial and subsurficial horizons, and uses plant communities as qualifier in some cases. The MSC is more accurate than the WRB for classifying Leptosols.

  20. Representing Mayas : Indigenous Authorities and the Local Politics of Identity in Guatemala

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rasch, E.D.

    2008-01-01

    Against the backdrop of emerging indigenous movements in Latin America, the Maya Movement appeared as a political actor in the 1980s, bringing “the Indian Question” to the fore in Guatemalan politics. Rejecting racism and assimilationalist State policies, the Maya Movement seeks to recapture

  1. Economic Stratification Differentiates Home Gardens in the Maya Village of Pomuch, Mexico

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poot-Pool, W.S.; Wal, van der J.C.; Flores-Guido, S.; Pat-Fernández, J.M.; Esparza-Olguín, L.

    2012-01-01

    Economic Stratification Differentiates Home Gardens in the Maya Village of Pomuch, Mexico. In this paper, we analyze if economic stratification of peasant families in a Maya village in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico influences species composition and structure of home gardens. Our general

  2. Early Education for Asian American Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitano, Margie K.

    1980-01-01

    A review of early education for Asian American children (Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Koreans, Hawaiians, and Samoans) focuses on the 1975 Asian American Education Project, a study of the learning characteristics of preschool age children and its educational implications. (CM)

  3. An autonomous underwater vehicle "Maya", for monitoring coastal waters, estuaries, rivers and dams

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Mascarenhas, A.A; Navelkar, G.S.; Madhan, R.; Dabholkar, N.A; Prabhudesai, S.P.; Maurya, P.K.; Desa, E.; Afzulpurkar, S.; Suresh, T.; Matondkar, S.G.P.; Mahalunkar, A

    This article demonstrates the use of Maya, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for monitoring coastal waters, estuaries, rivers and dams. Maya is a mono hull structure with detachable nose and tail cones. The nose cone is mission specific...

  4. Construction of an Yucatec Maya soil classification and comparison with the WRB framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zinck J Alfred

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mayas living in southeast Mexico have used soils for millennia and provide thus a good example for understanding soil-culture relationships and for exploring the ways indigenous people name and classify the soils of their territory. This paper shows an attempt to organize the Maya soil knowledge into a soil classification scheme and compares the latter with the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB. Methods Several participative soil surveys were carried out in the period 2000-2009 with the help of bilingual Maya-Spanish-speaking farmers. A multilingual soil database was built with 315 soil profile descriptions. Results On the basis of the diagnostic soil properties and the soil nomenclature used by Maya farmers, a soil classification scheme with a hierarchic, dichotomous and open structure was constructed, organized in groups and qualifiers in a fashion similar to that of the WRB system. Maya soil properties were used at the same categorical levels as similar diagnostic properties are used in the WRB system. Conclusions The Maya soil classification (MSC is a natural system based on key properties, such as relief position, rock types, size and quantity of stones, color of topsoil and subsoil, depth, water dynamics, and plant-supporting processes. The MSC addresses the soil properties of surficial and subsurficial horizons, and uses plant communities as qualifier in some cases. The MSC is more accurate than the WRB for classifying Leptosols.

  5. Bioarchaeological investigation of ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland Northwest Yucatan, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serafin, Stanley; Lope, Carlos Peraza; Uc González, Eunice

    2014-05-01

    This study investigates evidence of changes and continuities in ancient Maya violence and warfare in inland northwest Yucatan, Mexico from the Middle Preclassic (600-300 BC) to the Postclassic (AD 1050-1542) through bioarchaeological analysis of cranial and projectile trauma. It is hypothesized that the frequency of violence increases before the Classic Maya collapse and remains high during the Postclassic period. It is also hypothesized that the flat, open terrain was conducive to warfare and resulted in higher trauma frequencies than in other parts of the Maya area. Results show that the frequency of cranial trauma decreases before the Classic collapse and increases in the Postclassic, partially matching the expected chronological trends. The frequency of cranial trauma does not differ significantly from other Maya regions but the pattern does: for all periods, males have more healed injuries than females and they are concentrated on the left side of the anterior of the skull. Some injuries appear to be from small points hafted in wooden clubs. In addition, projectile trauma is evident in a scapula with an embedded arrowhead tip, the first such case reported in a Maya skeleton. Overall, these results suggest greater reliance on open combat and less on raids in this region compared with other parts of the Maya area, possibly due to the flat, open terrain, though the identification of perimortem trauma in both women and men indicates surprise raids on settlements were also practiced. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Los tablados: Arquitectura vernácula efímera de los pueblos mayas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurelio Sánchez Suárez

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available La arquitectura vernácula de los mayas de la península de Yucatán, en su representación de la casa maya, es reconocida no solo por el impacto que la cultura maya ha tenido últimamente, sino también por su historia que deviene desde el periodo mesoamericano, durante el cual esta construcción, que continúa vigente como vivienda en la actualidad, fue reproducida en la ornamentación y bóvedas de la arquitectura monumental. Los saberes constructivos, conservados por siglos en la construcción de la casa maya, fueron también empleados para la creación de una nueva estructura llamada "tablado", la que se generó durante el proceso de apropiación de la tauromaquia por parte de los mayas peninsulares, asignándole significados propios de su cosmovisión. El presente trabajo detalla una parte de los resultados del proyecto de investigación que propone una mirada a esta expresión vernácula en los estados de Campeche y Yucatán, en México.

  7. Objetual Regime of the Maya during Classic period, a proposal

    OpenAIRE

    Antonio Jaramillo Arango

    2016-01-01

    Within the academic archaeology of the 20th Century, objects were only considered as sources for understanding human action. Based on recent theoretic anthropological proposals, this paper proposes a recursive archaeology, that is, to include the Classic Maya concepts as part of our analysis in order to understand things as truly protagonists of social relationships. In the Maya area, objects have different ways of being in the world which have been identified by the archeology of the Classic...

  8. Los tablados: Arquitectura vernácula efímera de los pueblos mayas

    OpenAIRE

    Aurelio Sánchez Suárez

    2015-01-01

    La arquitectura vernácula de los mayas de la península de Yucatán, en su representación de la casa maya, es reconocida no solo por el impacto que la cultura maya ha tenido últimamente, sino también por su historia que deviene desde el periodo mesoamericano, durante el cual esta construcción, que continúa vigente como vivienda en la actualidad, fue reproducida en la ornamentación y bóvedas de la arquitectura monumental. Los saberes constructivos, conservados por siglos en la construcción de la...

  9. Finds in Belize document Late Classic Maya salt making and canoe transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKillop, Heather

    2005-01-01

    How did people in preIndustrial ancient civilizations produce and distribute bulk items, such as salt, needed for everyday use by their large urban populations? This report focuses on the ancient Maya who obtained quantities of salt at cities in the interior of the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala in an area where salt is scarce. I report the discovery of 41 Late Classic Maya saltworks (anno Domini 600–900) in Punta Ycacos Lagoon on the south coast of Belize, including one with the first-known ancient Maya canoe paddle. The discoveries add important empirical information for evaluating the extent of surplus salt production and river transport during the height of Late Classic civilization in the southern Maya lowlands. The discovery of the saltworks indicates that there was extensive production and distribution of goods and resources outside the cities in the interior of the Yucatan. The discovery of a wooden canoe paddle from one of the Punta Ycacos saltworks, Ka'k' Naab', ties the production of salt to its inland transport by rivers and documents the importance of canoe trade between the coast and the interior during the Late Classic. Archaeological discovery of multiple saltworks on the Belizean coast represents surplus production of salt destined largely for the inland Peten Maya during their Late Classic peak, underscoring the importance of non-state-controlled workshop production in preIndustrial societies. PMID:15809426

  10. Finish your film! tips and tricks for making an animated short in Maya

    CERN Document Server

    Roy, Kenny

    2014-01-01

    Finish Your Film! Tips and Tricks for Making an Animated Short in Maya is a first-of-its-kind book that walks the reader step-by-step through the actual production processes of creating a 3D Short film with Maya. Other books focus solely on the creative decisions of 3D Animation and broadly cover the multiple phases of animation production with no real applicable methods for readers to employ. This book shows you how to successfully manage the entire Maya animation pipeline. This book blends together valuable technical tips on film production and real-world shortcuts in a step-by-step approach

  11. Raman spectroscopic analysis of the Maya wall paintings in Ek'Balam, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandenabeele, P.; Bodé, S.; Alonso, A.; Moens, L.

    2005-08-01

    Raman spectroscopy has been applied to the examination of wall painting fragments from the archaeological site of Ek'Balam (Yucatán, Mexico). Thirty-three samples have been studied, all originating from room 23 of the Acropolis, and being representative of the painting technique at Ek'Balam during the late Classic Maya period. Several pigments such as haematite, calcite, carbon, cinnabar and indigo were identified in these samples. The latter pigment was presumed to be present as 'Maya blue', which is an intercalation product of indigo and palygorskite clay. The observed Raman spectra are reported and some band assignments have been made. This survey is the first Raman spectroscopic examination of a whole set of pigments in archaeological Maya wall painting fragments.

  12. Maya Children. Helpers at the Farm (Karen L. Kramer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gema Campos Hernando

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Los habitantes de Xculoc, una aldea maya en la península de Yucatán, viven de sus cultivos de maíz y mantienen una agricultura de subsistencia sin haber entrado a formar parte del mercado laboral ni de la economía regional. La aldea, en la que viven 316 habitantes distribuidos en 55 casas familiares, está a cinco horas de camino de cualquier vía asfaltada, sin electricidad ni agua corriente. Los habitantes de Xculoc tienen de particular una tasa de natalidad muy alta y una mortalidad infantil muy baja, en parte por la ausencia de aguas contaminadas en los alrededores del poblado, llegando a conformarse el núcleo familiar por la madre, el padre y hasta ocho hijos. Esta estructura familiar no se podría mantener con el exclusivo trabajo de los padres , las necesidades de consumo son cubiertas por todos los miembros de la familia, dependiendo sus aportaciones no sólo del tamaño de la familia sino también de la estructura de la misma según edades.

  13. Prevalence of obesity among young Asian-American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Anjali; Mitchell, Stephanie; Chirumamilla, Radha; Zhang, Jin; Horn, Ivor B; Lewin, Amy; Huang, Z Jennifer

    2012-12-01

    Asian-American children are considered to be at low risk of obesity, but previous estimates have not distinguished between children from different Asian countries. We estimate the prevalence of obesity among Asian-American children by mother's country of origin, generational status, and family socioeconomic factors using a secondary analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) wave III (children ∼4 years old) dataset. The ECLS-B is a nationally representative study of children born in 2001 that oversampled births to Asian mothers. Asian ethnic categories included Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Other Asian/Pacific Islander. The primary outcome variable was weight status; overweight = BMI ≥85(th) and obese = BMI ≥95(th) percentile for age and gender. Twenty-six percent [95% confidence interval (CI) 23.6-29.1] of Asian-American 4 year olds were overweight or obese, and 13% (95% CI 10.2-15.2) were obese. Chinese-American children were at lower risk of overweight or obesity (23.5%, 95% CI 18.4-29.5 ) compared to whites (36%, 95% CI 34.3-37.7); Asian-Indian 4 year olds had the lowest rates of overweight or obesity (15.6%, 95% CI 8.0-28.2) and were most likely to be underweight (10%, 95% CI 4.9-19.4). Among Asians,Vietnamese-American children had the highest rate of overweight or obesity (34.7%, 95% CI 0.6-52.3). Vietnamese-American children are at elevated risk of obesity and overweight, whereas Chinese and Asian-Indian children are at low risk. After controlling for Asian ethnicity, maternal education, and household poverty status, Asian-American children whose mothers were born outside the United States were less likely to be obese [odds ratio = 0.55 (0.32-0.95), p = 0.03].

  14. La legitimación de la realeza entre mayas del Preclásico Tardío. Los mascarones de El Tigre, Campeche Legitimizing royalty among Late Preclassic Maya. The masks from El Tigre-Campeche

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ernesto Vargas Pacheco

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available En el arte monumental del periodo Clásico maya la imagen del señor ocupaba el sitio principal y todas las demás imágenes un lugar secundario. Con este trabajo se quiere demostrar que los soberanos mayas ya en el Preclásico Tardío, o desde antes, usaron la arquitectura para reproducir la topografía del universo y se sirvieron de los mascarones para transmitir la condición divina de sus antepasados, de sus dioses y la suya propia. En El Tigre, Campeche, se han explorado varios mascarones de estuco del Preclásico Tardío, que representan rostros humanos, los cuales bien podrían identificarse como ancestros: antepasados de gobernantes que pretenden divinizarlos para así legitimizar la realeza maya.The images of Maya dignitaries take the most important places in monumental art during Classic period, and all other representations occupy a secondary position in that context. This paper pretends to demonstrate that Maya kings tried to duplicate their conception of the Universe on civic architecture since Preclassic period, or even before; they used huge mask representations to transmit the sacred condition of their ancestors, their gods and their selves. At El Tigre site, in Campeche, have been explored several stucco masks of Late Preclassic date, showing human faces that may represent ancestors of the kings who tried to deify them in order to legitimate Maya royalty.

  15. Perspectives on Ancient Maya Rural Complexity

    OpenAIRE

    Iannone, Gyles; Connell, Samuel V

    2003-01-01

    Settlement archaeology in the Maya area has focused much of its attention on the polar extremes of the settlement continuum. As a result of this urban/rural bias, a whole range of complex rural settlements remain under-explored. The chapters in this volume highlight the variable quality of these "middle level settlements".

  16. Dietetic characteristics of a sample of Mayan dual burden households in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

    OpenAIRE

    Azcorra, Hugo; Wilson, Hannah; Bogin, Barry; Varela-Silva, Maria Inês; Vázquez-Vázquez, Adriana; Dickinson, Federico

    2013-01-01

    The Maya are the most populous and shortest in stature Native American ethnic group. The Maya provide us a good opportunity to study the dietetic characteristics of a group who experience nutritional dual burden (the combination of under and overnutrition) at the individual, mother-child dyad and population level. The aim of this study is to describe general dietetic patterns of a sample of Maya mothers and children who experienced nutritional dual burden and were living in the city of Merida...

  17. Human and natural impacts on fluvial and karst depressions of the Maya Lowlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Timothy; Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl; Dunning, Nicholas; Cook, Duncan

    2008-10-01

    This paper begins to differentiate the major drivers and chronology of erosion and aggradation in the fluvial and fluviokarst landscapes of the southern and central Maya Lowlands. We synthesize past research on erosion and aggradation and add new data from water, soils, radiocarbon dating, and archaeology to study the quantity, timing, and causes of aggradation in regional landscape depressions. Geomorphic findings come from many excavations across a landscape gradient from upland valleys, karst sinks, and fans into the coastal plain floodplains and depressions. Findings from water chemistry show that sources in the uplands have low quantities of dissolved ions but water in the coastal plains has high amounts of dissolved ions, often nearly saturated in calcium and sulfate. We found significant geomorphic complexity in the general trends in upland karst sinks. In a few instances, sediments preserve Late Pleistocene paleosols, buried 2-3 m, though many more have distinct middle to late Holocene paleosols, buried 1-2 m, after c. 2300 BP (Maya Early to Late Preclassic). From 2300-1100 BP (Late Preclassic to Classic Periods), the landscape aggraded from five main mechanisms: river flooding, climatic instability, accelerated erosion, ancient Maya landscape manipulation, and gypsum precipitation from a rise in a water table nearly saturated in calcium and sulfate ions. Evidence exists for two or three high magnitude floods, possibly driven by hurricanes. Moreover, lake-core and geophysical studies from the Petén Lakes region have shown high rates of deposition of silicate clays ('Maya Clays') starting and peaking during the Maya Preclassic and continuing to be high through the Late Classic. The main driver on upland karst depressions, the Petén lakes, upland valleys, and fans was accelerated soil erosion, but water table rise, probably driven by sea-level rise, was the main driver on the wetlands of the coastal plain because the aggraded sediments here are dominantly

  18. What We Think We Know About Maya Mathematics and Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Stone, M.

    2016-01-01

    In most cultures, mathematics and astronomy are obscure and arcane. Not so to the ancient Maya. Despite what we consider technological “deficiencies”—they lacked both metal tools and the wheel—their public inscriptions paid uniquely sophisticated attention to these sciences. At any given monument, fully half the text is devoted to situating events in time, particularly specifying the precise number of days between events, whether historical or mythological. Often these intervals have numerological significance, and many are precise multiples of the periodicities of heavenly bodies. The Maya apparently were fully aware of the exact length of the tropical year, the sidereal year, the cycles of Venus, and eclipses; and there is evidence that they even celebrated events reflecting the 26,000-year precession cycle. However, Maya illuminati had an agenda quite alien to our way of thinking. Clues to their knowledge are arcane, rare, and often difficult for us to recognize with eyes clouded by our modern worldview. The body of work left to us consists of just a few tantalizing sherds of a once-rich and diverse astromythological tradition. Moreover, there was no single pan-Mayan mythos. An astronomical alignment seen repeatedly in one city will be completely absent in others. Each city-state emphasized specific and often unique features, and they often contradict one another. But we soldier on. The diversity we find so frustrating is simply the fine structure of their worldview. Intellectual historians have for too long been, like Procrustes, trying to force all Maya science and religion into a single universal straitjacket.

  19. Is the onset of the 6th century 'dark age' in Maya history related to explosive volcanism?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nooren, Kees; Hoek, Wim Z.; Van der Plicht, Hans; Sigl, Michael; Galop, Didier; Torrescano-Valle, Nuria; Islebe, Gerald; Huizinga, Annika; Winkels, Tim; Middelkoop, Hans; Van Bergen, Manfred

    2016-04-01

    Maya societies in Southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize experienced a 'dark age' during the second half of the 6th century. This period, also known as the 'Maya Hiatus', is characterized by cultural downturn, political instability and abandonment of many sites in the Central Maya Lowlands. Many theories have been postulated to explain the occurrence of this 'dark age' in Maya history. A possible key role of a large volcanic eruption in the onset of this 'dark age' will be discussed. Volcanic deposits recovered from the sedimentary archive of lake Tuspán and the Usumacinta-Grijalva delta were studied in detail and the combination of multiple dating techniques allowed the reconstruction of the timing of a large 6th century eruption. Volcanic glass shards were fingerprinted to indicate the source volcano and high resolution pollen records were constructed to indicate the environmental impact of the eruption. Results are compared with available archaeological data and causality with the disruption of Maya civilization will be evaluated.

  20. Radar mapping, archaeology, and ancient land use in the Maya lowlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, R. E. W.; Brown, W. E., Jr.; Culbert, T. P.

    1981-01-01

    Data from the use of synthetic aperture radar in aerial survey of the southern Maya lowlands suggest the presence of very large areas drained by ancient canals for the purpose of intensive cultivation. Preliminary ground checks in several very limited areas confirm the existence of canals and raised fields. Excavations and ground surveys by several scholars provide valuable comparative information. Taken together, the new data suggest that Late Classic period Maya civilization was firmly grounded in large-scale and intensive cultivation of swampy zones.

  1. Levels of persistent organic pollutants in breast milk of Maya women in Yucatan, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polanco Rodríguez, Ángel G; Inmaculada Riba López, M; Angel DelValls Casillas, T; León, Jesús Alfredo Araujo; Anjan Kumar Prusty, B; Álvarez Cervera, Fernando J

    2017-02-01

    In this study, 24 breast milk samples, obtained from rural Maya women, from municipalities of Yucatan, Mexico, were analyzed for organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues by gas chromatography. Recent studies have shown that Maya communities have a poor perception about the proper usage and handling of OCP. The karstic soil in this area has a high vulnerability to groundwater pollution by the use of OCP in agriculture and livestock activities. The impact of the ecosystem on human health is much more critical due to the prevailing poverty and a very low educational level of these communities. About 30% of the Maya population consumes water directly from contaminated wells and sinkholes, resulting in a chronic exposure to OCP. The samples served to identify and quantify high levels of OCP residues (18.43 mg/kg of heptachlor epoxide and 1.92 mg/kg of endrin in the metropolitan zone; 2.10 mg/kg of dieldrin, 0.117 mg/kg of endosulfan II, 0.103 mg/kg of heptachlor, 0.178 mg/kg of endrin, and 0.127 mg/kg of endrin aldehyde in the main agricultural zone and on the west coast). The detected levels of OCP residues are a major concern and represent a potential risk to women and children in the region. This could be associated with the high rates of cervical uterine and breast cancer mortality in Yucatan. Thus, regulations on the usage of OCP and their enforcement are necessary, and it is important to establish a yearly monitoring program for OCP residues in breast milk and groundwater, as well as to implement health promotion programs for women in particular and the general population in general.

  2. Personhood in Maya Art : a theoretical perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Osorio, Laura Ann

    2015-01-01

    In contrast to a traditional ethno-archaeological approach, in which contemporary communities are mined for information that can be applied to the past, this study considers that the interpretation of Maya material culture belongs to the people whose identity has been formed within the natural and

  3. The importance of considering gestures in the study of current spoken Yucatec Maya.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olivier Le Guen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available For centuries, linguistic description has been somehow limited because it was not possible to record audio and video. For this reason, the intrinsic multimodal nature of human language has been left out, putting aside various types of information both prosodic and visual. This work analyzes the ways in which gestures complement speech, taking into account several levels of analysis: pragmatic, semantic and syntactic; but also how some gestures can be considered linguistic signs. In order to exemplify the argumentation, I will consider the Yucatec Maya language using examples of spontaneous productions. Although certain processes presented in this work are specific to Yucatec Maya, most can be found in various languages. This paper first presents a definition of language, speech and gestures, and how one can study the way in which speech and gestures are integrated in a composite utterance. Subsequently, I analyze examples of different types of gestures in various areas of communication in Yucatec Maya, such as deictic gestures, the use of expressive gestures, metaphors and the integration of gestures at the pragmatic level. Finally, I explain how gestures can become linguistic signs in Yucatec Maya.

  4. 77 FR 53959 - Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Dancing Into Dreams, Maya...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8009] Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Dancing Into Dreams, Maya Vases From the IK'Kingdom'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the... exhibition ``Dancing Into Dreams, Maya Vases from the IK'Kingdom,'' imported from abroad for temporary...

  5. Freeing Maya Angelou's Caged Bird

    OpenAIRE

    Graham, Joyce L.

    1991-01-01

    This study involves a comprehensive examination of one book, Maya Angelou's autobiographical I Know Why Why the Caged Bird Sings, since it was first published in 1970. Recognized as an important literary work, the novel is used in many middle and secondary school classrooms throughout the united States. Additionally, the work often is challenged in public schools on the grounds of its sexual and/or racial content. The purpose of this study included establishing th...

  6. The Maya Tropical Forest: Cascading Human impacts from Hillslopes to Floodplains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Timothy; Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl; Doyle, Colin; Krause, Samantha; Brokaw, Nicholas; Yaeger, Jason

    2016-04-01

    We review the long-term human impact on fluvial systems in the Maya tropical forest region. Although most of this karstic region is drained by groundwater, the southern and coastal margins have several river systems that drain volcanic and metamorphic as well as sedimentary terrains. Some positive environmental impacts of Maya Civilization were the long-term impacts of both landesque capital, like wetland field systems, and other land uses that have enriched many soils. Some negative impacts included stripped soils and eutrophic rivers, both playing out again today with recent deforestation and intensive agriculture. We review trends in the region's fluvial systems, present new evidence on beneficial and detrimental impacts of Maya civilization, and present a new study using LiDAR mapping of fluvial geomorphology of the Belize River. Our new field research comes from the transboundary Rio Bravo watershed of Belize and Guatemala near the border with Mexico. This watershed today is mainly a well preserved tropical forest but from 3,000 to 1000 years ago was partly deforested by Maya cities, farms, roads, fires, and fields. We present studies of soils and sediment movement along slopes, floodplains, and water quality impacts of high dissolved loads of sulfate and calcium. We use AMS dates and soil stratigraphy to date slope and floodplain flux, and we use multiple proxies like pollen and carbon isotopes to reconstruct ancient land use. Aggradation in the floodplain and colluvial deposits began by at least 3,000 years ago and continued until 1100 years ago in several study sites. Some Classic period sites with peak human population and land use intensity experienced less soil erosion, perhaps due to soil conservation, post urban construction, and source reduction. Additional evidence suggests that ancient terraced sites and colluvial slopes that gained upslope sediment and soil nutrients from ancient Maya erosion had greater biodiversity. Lastly, we map fluvial

  7. LABELLING DIFFERENT SKIN COLOR AS CULTURAL DETERMINISM REPRESENTED IN MAYA ANGELOU‘S POEM THE CALLING OF NAMES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamad Ikhwan Rosyidi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to describe representation of labelling different color skin as a construction of American towards color skin people in America reflected on one of Maya Angelou‘s poems The Calling of Names (1994. This study will use structural-semiotic approach, especially applying Riffaterre‘s semiotics of poetry (1984. This semiotic theory will operate on heuristic and hermeneutic readings for uncovering description of representation of how color skin people is perceived and, of course, labelled as different people by white people. This labelling performance for color skin people results, first, the acts of calling particular name of people which raises racism on different skin colour, second, racism, prejudice, discrimination which leads to bias and disparity creating inequity and inequality towards Black or Coloured people in American society and long continuum of labelling different skin colour as a result of cultural determninism in American Society.

  8. Does the Maya Forest Need More Roads?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Conde, Dalia Amor; Ramos, Victor Hugo; Burgués, Irene

    levels of poverty found in this area. But more and better roads usually bring more people and expand farms. Decision-makers are therefore confronted with a seeming conflict between conservation and development goals. Would new roads be bad or good for the Maya Forest region? To help answer that question...

  9. Miniature sonar for obstacle detection on samll AUV Maya

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Afzulpurkar, S.; Desa, E.; Navelkar, G.; Mascarenhas, A.A.M.Q.; Maurya, P.K.; Martins, H.; Madhan, R.; Prabhudesai, S.; Pinto, R.; Marchon, N.

    that are communicated to the mission computer of Maya which uses a distributed CAN network architecture for internal subsystem communications. The mission computer can use this new heading data for navigation accordingly....

  10. Analysis of obsidian from moho cay, belize: new evidence on classic maya trade routes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Healy, P F; McKillop, H I; Walsh, B

    1984-07-27

    Trace element analysis of obsidian artifacts from Moho Cay, Belize, reveals that the obsidian derives primarily from the El Chayal outcrop in highland Guatemala and not from the Ixtepeque source. This is contrary to the widely accepted obsidian trade route model for Classic Maya civilization and suggests that Classic Maya obsidian trade was a more complex economic phenomenon than has been recognized.

  11. Chemical Tools of Octopus maya during Crab Predation Are Also Active on Conspecifics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pech-Puch, Dawrin; Cruz-López, Honorio; Canche-Ek, Cindy; Campos-Espinosa, Gabriela; García, Elpidio; Mascaro, Maite; Rosas, Carlos; Chávez-Velasco, Daniel; Rodríguez-Morales, Sergio

    2016-01-01

    Octopus maya is a major socio-economic resource from the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. In this study we report for the first time the chemical composition of the saliva of O. maya and its effect on natural prey, i.e. the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), the crown conch snail (Melongena corona bispinosa), as well as conspecifics. Salivary posterior glands were collected from octopus caught by local fishers and extracted with water; this extract paralyzed and predigested crabs when it was injected into the third pereiopod. The water extract was fractionated by membrane ultrafiltration with a molecular weight cut-off of 3 kDa leading to a metabolic phase (>3 kDa) and a neurotoxic fraction (octopus saliva might be used among conspecifics for defense and for reduction of competition. Bioguided separation of the neurotoxic fraction by chromatography led to a paralysis fraction and a relaxing fraction. The paralyzing activity of the saliva was exerted by amino acids, while the relaxing activity was due to the presence of serotonin. Prey-handling studies revealed that O. maya punctures the eye or arthrodial membrane when predating blue crabs and uses the radula to bore through crown conch shells; these differing strategies may help O. maya to reduce the time needed to handle its prey.

  12. Egyptians, Maya, Minoans. Learning Works Enrichment Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthies, Susanna

    The activities in this instructional resource book are designed to be used by gifted 4-8th grade students as independent research guides or in guided or cooperative learning environments. The activities are organized in three sections which focus the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Maya, and Minoa. The activities presented encourage development of…

  13. Cumulative Trauma Among Mayas Living in Southeast Florida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millender, Eugenia I; Lowe, John

    2017-06-01

    Mayas, having experienced genocide, exile, and severe poverty, are at high risk for the consequences of cumulative trauma that continually resurfaces through current fear of an uncertain future. Little is known about the mental health and alcohol use status of this population. This correlational study explored t/he relationship of cumulative trauma as it relates to social determinants of health (years in the United States, education, health insurance status, marital status, and employment), psychological health (depression symptoms), and health behaviors (alcohol use) of 102 Guatemalan Mayas living in Southeast Florida. The results of this study indicated that, as specific social determinants of health and cumulative trauma increased, depression symptoms (particularly among women) and the risk for harmful alcohol use (particularly among men) increased. Identifying risk factors at an early stage before serious disease or problems are manifest provides room for early screening leading to early identification, early treatment, and better outcomes.

  14. Factors associated with obesity in Chinese-American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jyu-Lin; Kennedy, Christine

    2005-01-01

    A cross-sectional study design was utilized to examine factors associated with obesity in Chinese-American children. Chinese-American children (8 to 10 years old) and their mothers (N = 68) in California participated in the study. Mothers completed demographic information, the Family Assessment Device, Attitudes Toward Child Rearing Scale, and Suinn-Lew Asian Self-identity Acculturation Scale. Children's body mass index was measured, and children completed a self-administered physical activity checklist, Food Frequency Questionnaire, and the Schoolagers' Coping Strategies Inventory. Results indicated three variables that predicted children's body mass index: older age, a more democratic parenting style, and poor communication (R2=.263, F=8.727, p = .0001). Children whose mothers had a low level of acculturation were also more likely to be overweight than were children whose mothers were highly acculturated. This study revealed that children's ages, a democratic parenting style, and poor family communication contribute to increased body mass index in Chinese-American children. Other factors related to children's BMI and dietary intake include acculturation level of the mother and family affective responses. Future studies should examine the change in BMI over time and in different age groups and why parenting and family communication impact children's body weight.

  15. MaritimeMaya2011: The Costa Escondida Project: Exploring the Hidden World of the Maritime Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula between 20110509 and 20110531

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The northeast tip of the Yucatan Peninsula is a largely unexplored coastline where ancient Maya traders traveled in massive dugout canoes filled with goods from...

  16. THE MAYA INDEX ANALYSIS ON DENGUE PATIENT HOUSEHOLD IN BANJAR CITY, 2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pandji Wibawa Dhewantara

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Salah satu faktor risiko kejadian DBD di antaranya adalah ketersediaan kontainer tempat perkembangbiakan vektor. Tahun2012 dilakukan survei observasional analitik dengan pendekatan potong lintang pada 100 rumah penderita DBD di KotaBanjar. Tujuan penelitian untuk mengetahui tingkat risiko penularan DBD melalui pendekatan analisis Maya Index. Datayang dikumpulkan meliputi jenis, jumlah kontainer, dan jumlah kontainer mengandung larva Aedes sp. Kontainer yangditemukan dikategorikan menjadi Controllable Container dan Disposable Container untuk mengetahui Breeding Risk Index(BRI dan Hygene Risk Index (HRI. Analisis deskriptif digunakan untuk mengetahui proporsi jumlah dan jenis kontainer.Maya index diperoleh dari hasil pengkategorian rasio BRI dan HRI. Container Index dan Breteau Index dihitung untukmengetahui kepadatan larva. Hasil pengamatan ditemukan sebanyak 915 kontainer yang terdiri dari jenis controllablecontainers (93% dan disposable containers (7%. Jenis kontainer yang dominan adalah tempayan tanah liat (15,52%, bakair (14,35%, pot bunga (48,47%, dan penampung air pada dispenser (7%. Larva Aedes sp. banyak ditemukan pada bak air(48,57% dan penampung air pada dispenser (22,86%. Sementara, botol bekas (35,3% dan kaleng bekas (26,1%merupakan jenis disposable container yang paling banyak ditemukan. Analisis menunjukkan sebagian besar rumahberkategori BRI tinggi (93% dan HRI rendah (92%. Berdasarkan Maya Index, rumah penderita termasuk dalam kategoririsiko sedang (97% dengan CI dan BI masing-masing sebesar 3,85% dan 35. Studi ini menyimpulkan bahwa sebagian besarrumah penderita masih memiliki potensi penularan infeksi virus Dengue.Kata kunci: DBD, risiko perkembangbiakan larva, kontainer, indeks risiko kebersihan, Maya Index

  17. Construction of an Yucatec Maya soil classification and comparison with the WRB framework

    OpenAIRE

    Zinck J Alfred; Bautista Francisco

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Background Mayas living in southeast Mexico have used soils for millennia and provide thus a good example for understanding soil-culture relationships and for exploring the ways indigenous people name and classify the soils of their territory. This paper shows an attempt to organize the Maya soil knowledge into a soil classification scheme and compares the latter with the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB). Methods Several participative soil surveys were carried out in the...

  18. Guatemala paleoseismicity: from Late Classic Maya collapse to recent fault creep

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brocard, Gilles; Anselmetti, Flavio S.; Teyssier, Christian

    2016-11-01

    We combine ‘on-fault’ trench observations of slip on the Polochic fault (North America-Caribbean plate boundary) with a 1200 years-long ‘near-fault’ record of seismo-turbidite generation in a lake located within 2 km of the fault. The lake record indicates that, over the past 12 centuries, 10 earthquakes reaching ground-shaking intensities ≥ VI generated seismo-turbidites in the lake. Seismic activity was highly unevenly distributed over time and noticeably includes a cluster of earthquakes spread over a century at the end of the Classic Maya period. This cluster may have contributed to the piecemeal collapse of the Classic Maya civilization in this wet, mountainous southern part of the Maya realm. On-fault observations within 7 km of the lake show that soils formed between 1665 and 1813 CE were displaced by the Polochic fault during a long period of seismic quiescence, from 1450 to 1976 CE. Displacement on the Polochic fault during at least the last 480 years included a component of slip that was aseismic, or associated with very light seismicity (magnitude 1 ky) punctuated by destructive earthquake clusters.

  19. Microanalysis study of archaeological mural samples containing Maya blue pigment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez del Rio, M.; Martinetto, P.; Somogyi, A.; Reyes-Valerio, C.; Dooryhee, E.; Peltier, N.; Alianelli, L.; Moignard, B.; Pichon, L.; Calligaro, T.; Dran, J.-C.

    2004-01-01

    Elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence and particle induced X-ray emission is applied to the study of several Mesoamerican mural samples containing blue pigments. The most characteristic blue pigment is Maya blue, a very stable organo-clay complex original from Maya culture and widely used in murals, pottery and sculptures in a vast region of Mesoamerica during the pre-hispanic time (from VIII century) and during the colonization until 1580. The mural samples come from six different archaeological sites (four pre-hispanic and two from XVI century colonial convents). The correlation between the presence of some elements and the pigment colour is discussed. From the comparative study of the elemental concentration, some conclusions are drawn on the nature of the pigments and the technology used

  20. Microanalysis study of archaeological mural samples containing Maya blue pigment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez del Río, M.; Martinetto, P.; Somogyi, A.; Reyes-Valerio, C.; Dooryhée, E.; Peltier, N.; Alianelli, L.; Moignard, B.; Pichon, L.; Calligaro, T.; Dran, J.-C.

    2004-10-01

    Elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence and particle induced X-ray emission is applied to the study of several Mesoamerican mural samples containing blue pigments. The most characteristic blue pigment is Maya blue, a very stable organo-clay complex original from Maya culture and widely used in murals, pottery and sculptures in a vast region of Mesoamerica during the pre-hispanic time (from VIII century) and during the colonization until 1580. The mural samples come from six different archaeological sites (four pre-hispanic and two from XVI century colonial convents). The correlation between the presence of some elements and the pigment colour is discussed. From the comparative study of the elemental concentration, some conclusions are drawn on the nature of the pigments and the technology used.

  1. Microanalysis study of archaeological mural samples containing Maya blue pigment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez del Rio, M. [ESRF, BP220, F-38043 Grenoble (France)]. E-mail: srio@esrf.fr; Martinetto, P. [Laboratoire de Cristallographie, CNRS, BP166 F-30842 Grenoble (France); Somogyi, A. [ESRF, BP220, F-38043 Grenoble (France); Reyes-Valerio, C. [INAH, Mexico DF (Mexico); Dooryhee, E. [Laboratoire de Cristallographie, CNRS, BP166 F-30842 Grenoble (France); Peltier, N. [Laboratoire de Cristallographie, CNRS, BP166 F-30842 Grenoble (France); Alianelli, L. [INFM-OGG c/o ESRF, BP220, F-38043 Grenoble Cedex (France); Moignard, B. [C2RMF, 6 Rue des Pyramides, F-75041 Paris Cedex 01 (France); Pichon, L. [C2RMF, 6 Rue des Pyramides, F-75041 Paris Cedex 01 (France); Calligaro, T. [C2RMF, 6 Rue des Pyramides, F-75041 Paris Cedex 01 (France); Dran, J.-C. [C2RMF, 6 Rue des Pyramides, F-75041 Paris Cedex 01 (France)

    2004-10-08

    Elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence and particle induced X-ray emission is applied to the study of several Mesoamerican mural samples containing blue pigments. The most characteristic blue pigment is Maya blue, a very stable organo-clay complex original from Maya culture and widely used in murals, pottery and sculptures in a vast region of Mesoamerica during the pre-hispanic time (from VIII century) and during the colonization until 1580. The mural samples come from six different archaeological sites (four pre-hispanic and two from XVI century colonial convents). The correlation between the presence of some elements and the pigment colour is discussed. From the comparative study of the elemental concentration, some conclusions are drawn on the nature of the pigments and the technology used.

  2. Coca-colonization and hybridization of diets among the Tz'utujil Maya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagata, Jason M; Barg, Frances K; Valeggia, Claudia R; Bream, Kent D W

    2011-01-01

    Biomedical health professionals express increasing concern that rising consumption of soft drinks and processed foods in Mayan and Latin American eating patterns may lead to detrimental nutritional and health consequences. Scholars debate whether the pervading presence of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in developing countries represents "Coca-Colonization," synonymous with cultural imperialism, or cultural hybridization. Using mixed qualitative and quantitative research methods, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews, this study explores the development of Coca-Colonization and cultural hybridization among the Tz'utujil Maya of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. By specifically examining biomedical perspectives, cycles of conquest, the political economy, religion, celebrations, and the physical environment through the lens of soft drinks, this study finds that Coca-Colonization and cultural hybridization are complementary rather than mutually exclusive processes that contribute to dietary transitions, economic development, and differential health beliefs related to soft drink consumption.

  3. Ancient Maya Regional Settlement and Inter-Site Analysis: The 2013 West-Central Belize LiDAR Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arlen F. Chase

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available During April and May 2013, a total of 1057 km2 of LiDAR was flown by NCALM for a consortium of archaeologists working in West-central Belize, making this the largest surveyed area within the Mayan lowlands. Encompassing the Belize Valley and the Vaca Plateau, West-central Belize is one of the most actively researched parts of the Maya lowlands; however, until this effort, no comprehensive survey connecting all settlement had been conducted. Archaeological projects have investigated at least 18 different sites within this region. Thus, a large body of archaeological research provides both the temporal and spatial parameters for the varied ancient Maya centers that once occupied this area; importantly, these data can be used to help interpret the collected LiDAR data. The goal of the 2013 LiDAR campaign was to gain information on the distribution of ancient Maya settlement and sites on the landscape and, particularly, to determine how the landscape was used between known centers. The data that were acquired through the 2013 LiDAR campaign have significance for interpreting both the composition and limits of ancient Maya political units. This paper presents the initial results of these new data and suggests a developmental model for ancient Maya polities.

  4. Lead (Pb) Isotope Baselines for Studies of Ancient Human Migration and Trade in the Maya Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamenov, George D.; Gilli, Adrian; Hodell, David A.; Emery, Kitty F.; Brenner, Mark; Krigbaum, John

    2016-01-01

    We examined the potential use of lead (Pb) isotopes to source archaeological materials from the Maya region of Mesoamerica. The main objectives were to determine if: 1) geologic terrains throughout the Maya area exhibit distinct lead isotope ratios (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb), and 2) a combination of lead and strontium ratios can enhance sourcing procedures in the Mesoamerica region. We analyzed 60 rock samples for lead isotope ratios and a representative subset of samples for lead, uranium, and thorium concentrations across the Maya region, including the Northern Lowlands of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula, the Southern Lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, the Volcanic Highlands, the Belizean Maya Mountains, and the Metamorphic Province/Motagua Valley. Although there is some overlap within certain sub-regions, particularly the geologically diverse Metamorphic Province, lead isotopes can be used to distinguish between the Northern Lowlands, the Southern Lowlands, and the Volcanic Highlands. The distinct lead isotope ratios in the sub-regions are related to the geology of the Maya area, exhibiting a general trend in the lowlands of geologically younger rocks in the north to older rocks in the south, and Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the southern highlands. Combined with other sourcing techniques such as strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18O), a regional baseline for lead isotope ratios can contribute to the development of lead isoscapes in the Maya area, and may help to distinguish among geographic sub-regions at a finer scale than has been previously possible. These isotope baselines will provide archaeologists with an additional tool to track the origin and movement of ancient humans and artifacts across this important region. PMID:27806065

  5. Lead (Pb) Isotope Baselines for Studies of Ancient Human Migration and Trade in the Maya Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharpe, Ashley E; Kamenov, George D; Gilli, Adrian; Hodell, David A; Emery, Kitty F; Brenner, Mark; Krigbaum, John

    2016-01-01

    We examined the potential use of lead (Pb) isotopes to source archaeological materials from the Maya region of Mesoamerica. The main objectives were to determine if: 1) geologic terrains throughout the Maya area exhibit distinct lead isotope ratios (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb), and 2) a combination of lead and strontium ratios can enhance sourcing procedures in the Mesoamerica region. We analyzed 60 rock samples for lead isotope ratios and a representative subset of samples for lead, uranium, and thorium concentrations across the Maya region, including the Northern Lowlands of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula, the Southern Lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, the Volcanic Highlands, the Belizean Maya Mountains, and the Metamorphic Province/Motagua Valley. Although there is some overlap within certain sub-regions, particularly the geologically diverse Metamorphic Province, lead isotopes can be used to distinguish between the Northern Lowlands, the Southern Lowlands, and the Volcanic Highlands. The distinct lead isotope ratios in the sub-regions are related to the geology of the Maya area, exhibiting a general trend in the lowlands of geologically younger rocks in the north to older rocks in the south, and Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the southern highlands. Combined with other sourcing techniques such as strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18O), a regional baseline for lead isotope ratios can contribute to the development of lead isoscapes in the Maya area, and may help to distinguish among geographic sub-regions at a finer scale than has been previously possible. These isotope baselines will provide archaeologists with an additional tool to track the origin and movement of ancient humans and artifacts across this important region.

  6. Politics in the Western Maya Region (I: Ajawil/Ajawlel and Ch'e'n

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Péter Bíró

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In a series of articles I reflect on the use of various expressions which are connected to what we call the political in the inscriptions of the Classic Maya Western Region. These words express concepts which help to understand the intricate details of the interactions between the political entities and their internal organisations in the Classic Maya Lowlands. Words such as 7ajawil, 7ajawlel, the kennings built on the base of ch'e7n (cave, pond, the emblem glyphs and titles will be examined in light of what they tell us about the functioning of the political organisation of the Classic Period in a constrained region.En una serie de artículos como éste investigo el uso de varias palabras en las inscripciones mayas de la época Clásica de la Región Occidental vinculadas con lo que nosotros llamamos "política". Estas palabras expresan conceptos que ayudan a entender los matices de las relaciones entre las entidades políticas de las Tierras Bajas Mayas y su organización interna. Términos como ajaw'ü I ajawlel, los difrasismos con base ch'e'n (cueva, pozo, los glifos emblemas y los títulos serán examinados tomando en cuenta la información que nos proporcionan sobre el funcionamiento de la organización política de la época Clásica en una región restringida.

  7. Similarity of Deleterious Effects of Divorce on Chinese and American Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zheng; Bray, Melissa A.; Kehle, Thomas J.; Xin, Tao

    2001-01-01

    Reviews and contrasts the effects of divorce on Chinese children's adjustment to American children of divorce. Results indicate that the deleterious effects of divorce on children's academic and social functioning appear to be similar to that experienced by American children. (Contains 23 references.) (GCP)

  8. Sustaining Rainforest Plants, People and Global Health: A Model for Learning from Traditions in Holistic Health Promotion and Community Based Conservation as Implemented by Q’eqchi’ Maya Healers, Maya Mountains, Belize

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo Sanchez-Vindas

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available The present work showcases a model for holistic, sustainable healthcare in indigenous communities worldwide through the implementation of traditional healing practices. The implementation of this model promotes public health and community wellness while addressing crucially important themes such as in situ and ex situ conservation of medicinal plant resources and associated biodiversity, generational transmission of knowledge, and the preservation of biological and cultural diversity for future generations. Being envisaged and implemented by Q’eqchi’ Maya traditional healers of the southern Maya Mountains, Belize, this model can be replicated in other communities worldwide. A ethnobotany study in collaboration with these healers led to collection of 102 medicinal species from Itzama, their traditional healing cultural center and medicinal garden. Of these 102 species, 40 of prior reported 106 consensus study plants were present in the garden. There were 62 plants not previously reported growing in the garden as well. A general comparison of these plants was also made in relation to species reported in TRAMIL network, Caribbean Herbal Pharmacopoeia (CHP, the largest regional medicinal pharmacopoeia. A relative few species reported here were found in the CHP. However, the majority of the CHP plants are common in Belize and many are used by the nearby Mopan and Yucatec Maya. Since these 102 species are relied upon heavily in local primary healthcare, this Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal garden represents possibilities toward novel sustainable, culturally relative holistic health promotion and community based conservation practices.

  9. A configuração narrativa em idioma maya q'eqchi de Guatemala

    OpenAIRE

    Bol, Oscar René Saquil

    2006-01-01

    Guatemala é um país que tem um tecido social composto por diferentes culturas (Maya, Xinca, Garifuna y Ladina). Entre elas o Q'eqchi' como idioma e cultura maya, sobre o qual se desenvolve esta investigação, no campo das ciências da linguagem, adotando os aportes da linguística textual. Neste processo participaram mestres (professores) que trabalham em cinco escolas de Xch'ool Ixim, eles recolheram algumas narrações que se utilizam para a trasmissão de determinados ensinamentos e emoções, ...

  10. Perlindungan Merek Terdaftar Dari Kejahatan Dunia Maya Melalui Pembatasan Pendaftaran Nama Domain

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    Setia Dharma

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The Protection of Registered Trademark of Cyber Crime Through The Restriction of The Domain Name Registration. The progress of science and technology has implications for the progress of the current trading method. It is not only done conventionally but also carried out through cyberspace. Trading in the virtual world requires the use of a domain name (cyber squatting as a differentiator between one company with other companies. Law No. 11 Year 2008 on Information and Electronic Transactions regulate the use of domain names and emphasize the element of good faith in the implementation. In practice, there is a breach of the domain name registration is a crime which is the trademark or name that has a commercial value. This paper is going to examine aspects of protection-registered trademark of cyber crime through the restriction of the domain name registration and implementation of good faith. Abstrak: Perlindungan Merek Terdaftar Dari Kejahatan Dunia Maya Melalui Pembatasan Pendaftaran Nama Domain. Kemajuan ilmu dan teknologi membawa implikasi pada kemajuan metode perdagangan yang saat ini bukan hanya dilakukan secara konvensional, namun juga dilakukan melalui dunia maya. Perdagangan dalam dunia maya mensyaratkan penggunaan nama domain (cyber squatting sebagai pembeda antara satu perusahaan dengan perusahaan yang lainnya. Undang-Undang No. 11 Tahun 2008 Tentang Informasi dan Transaksi elektronik mengatur penggunaan nama domain tersebut dan menekankan unsur iktikad baik dalam pelaksanaannya. Prakteknya, terdapat pelanggaran nama domain tersebut yang merupakan merupakan kejahatan pendaftaran merek dagang atau nama yang memiliki nilai komersial. Tulisan ini hendak mengkaji aspek perlindungan merek terdaftar dari kejahatan dunia maya melalui pembatasan pendaftaran nama domain dan pelaksanaan iktikad baik. DOI: 10.15408/jch.v1i2.1463

  11. Effect of type of binder on growth, digestibility, and energetic balance of Octopus maya

    OpenAIRE

    Rosas, C; Tut, J; Baeza, J; Sanchez, A; Sosa, V; Pascual, C; Arena, L; Domingues, P; Cuzon, Gerard

    2008-01-01

    The present study was designed to test the effects of type of binder on growth, nutritional physiology, total apparent digestibility, and some elements of the energetic balance of early O. maya juveniles. Two experiments were performed. One was aimed at evaluating the effect of type of binder on growth, nutritional physiology, and energetic balance and the other at knowing the effect of the binder on total apparent digestibility of O. maya. Binder type affected growth and survival of early O....

  12. a Review of Late Holocene Fluvial Systems in the Karst Maya Lowlands with Focus on the Rio Bravo, Belize

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, T.; Luzzadder-Beach, S.; Krause, S.; Doyle, C.

    2015-12-01

    The Maya Lowlands is mostly an internally draining karst region with about 400 m of regional relief. Fluvial and fluviokarst systems drain the edges of this landscape either from low limestone uplands or igneous and metamorphic complexes. Thus far most fluvial research has focused around archaeology projects, and here we review the extant research conducted across the region and new research on the transboundary Rio Bravo watershed of Belize and Guatemala. The Rio Bravo drains a largely old growth tropical forest today, but was partly deforested around ancient Maya cities and farms from 3,000 to 1000 BP. Several studies estimate that 30 to 40 percent of forest survived through the Maya period. Work here has focused on soils and sediment movement along slope catenas, in floodplain sites, and on contributions from groundwater with high dissolved loads of sulfate and calcium. We review radiocarbon dates and present new dates and soil stratigraphy from these sequences to date slope and floodplain movement, and we estimate ancient land use from carbon isotopic and pollen evidence. Aggradation in this watershed occurred by flooding, gypsum precipitation, upland erosion, and ancient Maya canal building and filling for wetland farming. Soil erosion and aggradation started at least by 3,000 BP and continued through the ancient Maya period, though reduced locally by soil conservation, post urban construction, and source reduction, especially in Maya Classic period from 1700 to 1000 BP.

  13. "Cuando alguien habla la Maya se nota que son pobres": Narrativas de identidad de los mayas yucatecos en torno a la radiodifusora indigenista La voz de los mayas, XEPET

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    Inés Cornejo Portugal

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available En este trabajo se examinan las narrativas de identidad de los receptores culturales de la radiodifusora indigenista “La Voz de los Mayas, Xepet”, respecto de su relación con la oferta radiofónica de esta emisora ubicada en la cabecera municipal de Peto, al sur de Yucatán, México. El propósito es, por un lado, sistematizar, desde el análisis argumentativo, el uso, estructura y estrategias argumentativas de los maya hablantes radioescuchas de Xepet (bilingües o monolingües en torno a la oferta cultural de la misma, así como a la presencia cotidiana de esta emisora en su mundo de vida; y, por otro, reflexionar acerca de la radio indigenista en México como un recurso que podría contribuir a la “cultura de paz”.“U chíikul u t’aan maayao’ob” o “La voz de los mayas”, salió al aire el 29 de noviembre de 1982, en la frecuencia de los 740 khz de AM y fue reubicada al 730 en enero de 2001. Su área de cobertura abarca unos 100 km a la redonda, alcanzando cerca de mil comunidades de la península y parte de Quintana Roo, con una audiencia potencial de 500 mil personas. Su programación incluye géneros musicales y no musicales, compuestos estos últimos por programas informativos, de difusión cultural, servicio e infantiles. Xepet ha sido una de las radiodifusoras pioneras del sistema indigenista promovido por el Estado mexicano desde 1979, modelo que habría de extenderse en las más de veinte emisoras que aparecieron después. Hoy en día, la crítica respecto de la función, contenidos y operación de estas emisoras “oficiales” o “voceras del Gobierno” permanence, debido a que tanto la práctica indigenista como su experiencia radiofónica parecieran estar rebasadas por las demandas de los pueblos indios que reivindican su derecho a la libre determinación y a la autonomía, así como a la propiedad y gestión de sus propios medios de comunicación. Lo anterior reitera la necesidad de una propuesta radiof

  14. Daily life of the ancient Maya recorded on murals at Calakmul, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrasco Vargas, Ramón; López, Verónica A. Vázquez; Martin, Simon

    2009-01-01

    Research into ancient societies frequently faces a major challenge in accessing the lives of those who made up the majority of their populations, since the available evidence so often concerns only the ruling elite. Our excavations at the ancient Maya site of Calakmul, Mexico, have uncovered a “painted pyramid:” a structure decorated with murals depicting scenes of its inhabitants giving, receiving, and consuming diverse foods, as well as displaying and transporting other goods. Many are accompanied by hieroglyphic captions that describe the participants, and include spellings of key subsistence items. Collectively, they offer insights into the social mechanisms by which goods were circulated within major Maya centers. PMID:19901331

  15. Figurative Language on Maya Angelou selected Poetries

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    Risma Hayani

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to find out the kinds of figurative language in the five selected poetries of Maya Angelou, the titles are: Alone, Caged Bird, Old Folks Laugh, Phenomenal Woman, Still I Rise. The focus of this study is figurative language which involves: Metaphor, Personification, Hyperbole, Simile, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Irony, Antithesis, Symbolism, and Paradox. Qualitative approach with design of content analysis was used in this study. The researcher acted as the main instrument since she was the one who analyzed the figurative language. Moreover checklist was also used to support her data collection. The data was analyzed through three stages; 1. Data reduction, 2. Data representation, 3. Conclusion. The result of her study showed there were 40 sentences that containing figurative language in five selected poetries of Maya Angelou. They were; Metaphor (13 sentences, Personification (9 sentences, Hyperbole (1 sentence, Simile (8 sentences, Synecdoche (1 sentence, Antithesis (1 sentence, Symbolism (5 sentences, and Paradox (2 sentences. The researcher conclude, if the figurative language used by Angelou to compare, or even symbolize the sentences to bring the meaning come up with beautiful language. Mostly of her poetries told about her experience in the past that rooted to history of the discrimination of American-African.

  16. Fears of American Children Following Terrorism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnham, Joy J.; Hooper, Lisa M.

    2008-01-01

    Two months after 9/11, the fears of children and adolescents in Grades 2-12 were examined utilizing the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children and Adolescents (FSSC-AM). Fear intensity scores and age and gender differences are reported. Terrorist-related content on the FSSC-AM (e.g., terrorist attacks, our country being invading by enemies)…

  17. Kax and kol: Collapse and resilience in lowland Maya civilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunning, Nicholas P.; Beach, Timothy P.; Luzzadder-Beach, Sheryl

    2012-01-01

    Episodes of population loss and cultural change, including the famous Classic Collapse, punctuated the long course of Maya civilization. In many cases, these downturns in the fortunes of individual sites and entire regions included significant environmental components such as droughts or anthropogenic environmental degradation. Some afflicted areas remained depopulated for long periods, whereas others recovered more quickly. We examine the dynamics of growth and decline in several areas in the Maya Lowlands in terms of both environmental and cultural resilience and with a focus on downturns that occurred in the Terminal Preclassic (second century Common Era) and Terminal Classic (9th and 10th centuries CE) periods. This examination of available data indicates that the elevated interior areas of the Yucatán Peninsula were more susceptible to system collapse and less suitable for resilient recovery than adjacent lower-lying areas. PMID:22371571

  18. Cultural Differences in Chinese American and European American Children's Drawing Skills over Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huntsinger, Carol S.; Jose, Paul E.; Krieg, Dana Balsink; Luo, Zupei

    2011-01-01

    Parents and early childhood teachers in Chinese societies and the United States have had dissimilar views about appropriate art instruction for young children. The Chinese view is that creativity will emerge after children have been taught essential drawing skills. The American view has been that children's drawing skills emerge naturally and that…

  19. Landscape Archeology: Remote Sensing Investigation of the Ancient Maya in the Peten Rainforest of Northern Guatemala

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever, Thomas L.; Irwin, Daniel E.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Through the use of airborne and satellite imagery we are improving our ability to investigate ancient Maya settlement, subsistence, and landscape modification in this dense forest region. Today the area is threatened by encroaching settlement and deforestation. However, it was in this region that the Maya civilization began, flourished, and abruptly disappeared for unknown reasons in the 9th century AD. At the time of their collapse they had attained one of the highest population densities in human history. How the Maya were able to successfully manage water and feed this dense population is not well understood at this time. A NASA-funded project used remote sensing technology to investigate large seasonal swamps (bajos) that make up 40 percent of the landscape. Through the use of remote sensing, ancient Maya features such as sites, roadways, canals and water reservoirs have been detected and verified through ground reconnaissance. The results of this preliminary research cast new light on the adaptation of the ancient Maya to their environment. Microenvironmental variation within the wetlands was elucidated and the different vegetation associations identified in the satellite imagery. More than 70 new archeological sites within and at the edges of the bajo were mapped and tested. Modification of the landscape by the Maya in the form of dams and reservoirs in the Holmul River and its tributaries and possible drainage canals in bajos was demonstrated. The use of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM), one-meter IKONOS satellite imagery, as well as high resolution airborne STAR-3i radar imagery--2.5 meter backscatter/10 meter Digital Elevation Model (DEM)--are opening new possibilities for understanding how a civilization was able to survive for centuries upon a karat topographic landscape. This understanding is critical for the current population that is currently experiencing rapid population growth and destroying the landscape through

  20. Transcultural use of narcotic water lilies in ancient Egyptian and Maya drug ritual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emboden, W A

    1981-01-01

    Comparisons are made between ancient ritual uses of the flowers of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae) in Maya and Egyptian civilizations. Recurrent motifs encountered in the art of both of these ancient civilizations suggests that the role fo the water lily was that of a narcotic (psychodysleptic) used to mediate ecstasis among a priestly caste. Relevant literature is reviewed as are chemical data. Elements in the complex belief systems of these two civilizations need to be reinterpreted in view of the use of two water lilies as ritual narcotics. The species implicated are Nymphaea caerulea Sav., in Egypt, and N. ampla DC., among the Maya.

  1. Two Holocene paleofire records from Peten, Guatemala: Implications for natural fire regime and prehispanic Maya land use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Lysanna; Wahl, David B.

    2016-01-01

    Although fire was arguably the primary tool used by the Maya to alter the landscape and extract resources, little attention has been paid to biomass burning in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the Maya lowlands. Here we report two new well-dated, high-resolution records of biomass burning based on analysis of macroscopic fossil charcoal recovered from lacustrine sediment cores. The records extend from the early Holocene, through the full arc of Maya prehistory, the Colonial, and post-Colonial periods (~ 9000 cal yr BP to the present). (Hereafter BP) The study sites, Lago Paixban and Lago Puerto Arturo, are located in northern Peten, Guatemala. Results provide the first quantitative analysis from the region demonstrating that frequent fires have occurred in the closed canopy forests since at least the early Holocene (~ 9000 BP), prior to occupation by sedentary agriculturalists. Following the arrival of agriculture around 4600 BP, the system transitioned from climate controlled to anthropogenic control. During the Maya period, changes in fire regime are muted and do not appear to be driven by changes in climate conditions. Low charcoal influx and fire frequency in the Earliest Preclassic period suggest that land use strategies may have included intensive agriculture much earlier than previously thought. Preliminary results showing concentrations of soot/black-carbon during the middle and late Preclassic periods are lower than modern background values, providing intriguing implications regarding the efficiency of Maya fuel consumption.

  2. Two Holocene paleofire records from Peten, Guatemala: Implications for natural fire regime and prehispanic Maya land use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Lysanna; Wahl, David

    2016-03-01

    Although fire was arguably the primary tool used by the Maya to alter the landscape and extract resources, little attention has been paid to biomass burning in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the Maya lowlands. Here we report two new well-dated, high-resolution records of biomass burning based on analysis of macroscopic fossil charcoal recovered from lacustrine sediment cores. The records extend from the early Holocene, through the full arc of Maya prehistory, the Colonial, and post-Colonial periods ( 9000 cal yr BP to the present). (Hereafter BP) The study sites, Lago Paixban and Lago Puerto Arturo, are located in northern Peten, Guatemala. Results provide the first quantitative analysis from the region demonstrating that frequent fires have occurred in the closed canopy forests since at least the early Holocene ( 9000 BP), prior to occupation by sedentary agriculturalists. Following the arrival of agriculture around 4600 BP, the system transitioned from climate controlled to anthropogenic control. During the Maya period, changes in fire regime are muted and do not appear to be driven by changes in climate conditions. Low charcoal influx and fire frequency in the Earliest Preclassic period suggest that land use strategies may have included intensive agriculture much earlier than previously thought. Preliminary results showing concentrations of soot/black-carbon during the middle and late Preclassic periods are lower than modern background values, providing intriguing implications regarding the efficiency of Maya fuel consumption.

  3. Stylistic Analysis of Maya Angelou’s Equality

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    arina isti'anah

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This research presented the stylistic analysis of a poem by Maya Angelou, Equality. The poem was chosen as it became Angelou’s one of well-known poems. The Stylistic analysis aimed at comprehending the meanings of either literary or non-literary text by means of observing the language device used in the texts. In this article, the stylistic analysis was conducted to analyze Maya Angelou’s Equality. To achieve the goal of stylistic analysis, there were some language levels to observe; they were phonological, graphological, grammatical, and semantic levels. In the phonological level, the repetition of rhyme in some stanzas, assonance, consonance, and alliteration were used to voice Angelou’s dream about freedom for black people. In the graphological level, the use of prominent punctuation in stanzas 3, 6, and 9 stressed equality as the requirement for the freedom she expected. In the grammatical level, Angelou used pronoun I and you as the dominant words in the poem, revealed different class the poet experienced in the country. The use of metaphors in the poem brought the same meaning as freedom, voice, effort, and racism that black people experienced in America. This research concludes that stylistics applies to analyze literary work so that thorough appreciation to it can be achieved.

  4. Paleomagnetism of the Todos Santos Formation in the Maya Block, Chiapas, Mexico: Preliminary Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godinez-Urban, A.; Molina-Garza, R. S.; Iriondo, A.; Geissman, J. W.

    2008-12-01

    Preliminary results of a paleomagnetic study on jurassic volcanic rocks (U-Pb 188.8 +/- 3.2Ma) locally interbedded with red beds assigned to the Todos Santos Formation, sampled in the Homoclinal Tectonic Province of the Neogene Fold Belt, Chiapas-Mexico, reveal multi component magnetizations acquired during pre- and post- folding of these rocks. The samples responded well to thermal demagnetization, but not so to AF demagnetization, suggesting that a high coercivity mineral phase like hematite is the main remanence carrier. The post-folding B-component direction of Dec=174.3 Inc=-30.6 (k=46; alpha95=13.6; N=4) represents a recent Tertiary? overprint; while the pre-folding C-component direction of Dec=329.9 Inc=7.8 (k=12.5; alpha95=16.3; N=8) is in agreement with a previously reported small data set for the Todos Santos Formation. When compared to the North American reference direction (Jurassic Kayenta Formation) the observed direction indicates a counterclockwise rotation of 35.9 +/- 16.6 degrees, and moderate north to south latitudinal displacement. If a reference pole from NE North America is used, the amount of counterclockwise rotation and latitudinal displacement are both slightly reduced. If the assumption that Jurassic strata in Chiapas reflect displacement of the Maya Block, then these data are consistent with reconstructions of the Maya Block in the Gulf of Mexico region. Other sites sampled in Jurassic strata suggest that in addition to the interpreted regional rotation, local (vertical-axis) rotations may have affected the region in more recent times.

  5. José Martí, Viajes y Apreciación del Pueblo Maya

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    Carlos Eduardo Bojórquez Urzaiz

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Este trabajo expone y examina los cambios de percepción que experimentó José Martí sobre el papel de los pueblos originarios de América, entre 1875 y 1878, años en los que vivió en México y Guatemala, con intensa escala en Yucatán, lugares donde conoció directamente la cultura y el pueblo maya. Martí resume una visión inicial de nuestra América en la figura lítica de Chacmool cuando después de ser expropiada por el gobierno yucateco, el Apóstol cubano la admira en la ciudad de Mérida y expresa que es la síntesis de las culturas americanas. Aspecto poco estudiado en la obra de Martí es este acercamiento etnográfico a la realidad maya de Yucatán y Guatemala.   This paper aims at presenting and examining the change of perception José Martí underwent in relation to the role of the native peoples of America between 1875 and 1878, the years he lived in Mexico and Guatemala, during which he spent a large amount of time in Yucatan, where he was able to get to know the Mayan culture and its people first hand. Martí summarized his initial vision of our America in the lithic figure of Chacmool, which he was able to admire in the city of Merida, after it had been expropriated by the government of Yucatan. The Cuban apostle described this as a synthesis of American cultures. This ethnographic insight into the Mayan reality in Yucatan and Guatemala represents a scarcely explored aspect of Martí's work.

  6. THE ASSISMENT OF MAYA VERNACULAR HERITAGE FROM UNIVERSE CONCEPT TO POVERTY CONCEPT

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    Aurelio Sánchez

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The traditional technique maya housing construction is the representation of the Mayan worldview, it is expressed through the name of each construction element meanings of the creation of the universe and man, is also referred to the body and the concept of a living. For many centuries it was the oral tradition and construction practices that kept this knowledge and knowing, until the process of deterioration with colonialism, the arrival of the Spanish was a watershed in its decline to the undervaluation and contempt. The international designations like vernacular architecture of little have served before the governmental programs that continue it cataloguing like noncompatible an inhabitable space with their criteria of “quality of life”, nor with the schemes of tie financing to industrialized materials. Recent proposals for housing support maya not provide its being as its spatial bioclimatic architecture and a way of life, encouraging new construction beyond its dynamic and undervalued the maya solar microhabitat. Urges a reassessment based on its original conception, in its sustainable architectural feature in your living space according to the social dynamics of its inhabitants and its recognition as a cultural heritage.

  7. Modern tree species composition reflects ancient Maya "forest gardens" in northwest Belize.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Nanci J

    2011-01-01

    Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya tree-dominated home gardens (i.e., "forest gardens"), which contained a diversity of tree species used for daily household needs, on the modern tree species composition of a Mesoamerican forest. Researchers have argued that the ubiquity of these ancient gardens throughout Mesoamerica led to the dominance of species useful to Maya in the contemporary forest, but this pattern may be localized depending on ancient land use. The tested hypothesis was that species composition would be significantly different between areas of dense ancient residential structures (high density) and areas of little or no ancient settlement (low density). Sixty-three 400-m2 plots (31 high density and 32 low density) were censused around the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve in northwestern Belize. Species composition was significantly different, with higher abundances of commonly utilized "forest garden" species still persisting in high-density forest areas despite centuries of abandonment. Subsequent edaphic analyses only explained 5% of the species composition differences. This research provides data on the long-term impacts of Maya forests gardens for use in development of future conservation models. For Mesoamerican conservation programs to work, we must understand the complex ecological and social interactions within an ecosystem that developed in intimate association with humans.

  8. Patterned Ground in Wetlands of the Maya Lowlands: Anthropogenic and Natural Causes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, T.; Beach, S. L.

    2004-12-01

    We use geological and archaeological evidence to understand the formation of patterned ground in perennial and seasonal wetlands in the karst depressions of Belize and Guatemala. Some scholars have argued that these features are the remnants of ancient Maya wetland fields, chinampas, on which intensive cultivation produced food that could begin to nourish the extremely high population of the Late Classic (A.D. 550-850). Others have argued that these were natural features or that they represent landscape manipulation for rising sea level in the Preclassic (1000 B.C. -A.D. 250). We present the evidence for ancient intensive agriculture and natural landscape formation with multiple proxies: excavated field and canal features, artifacts, pollen, soil stratigraphy, and water chemistry. Evidence thus far suggests that many regional depressions have Preclassic (1200 BC to AD 200) or earlier paleosols, buried from 1-2 m by eroded soils induced by Maya land use practices. These paleosols were buried by eroded sediments from uplands and by precipitation of gypsum from rising groundwater. The sedimentation occurred largely between the Preclassic and Late Classic, when ancient Maya farmers built canals in pre-existing low spots to reclaim these wetlands. Thus, stable natural processes, environmental change, and human manipulation have acted together to form patterned wetland ground over the later Holocene.

  9. Justicia indígena maya en el sureste de México

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juana Luisa Ríos Zamudio

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available A más de diez años de haberse implementado en Quintana Roo, México, un sistema de justicia propio para las comunidades mayas de la entidad, y pese a lo acelerado de su crecimiento y arraigo, su estructura, funcionamiento y principios éticos que lo rigen han sido poco estudiados. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar su funcionamiento desde la sociología jurídica, tomando como base las constancias de actuación de los jueces tradicionales. Se podrá ver que gracias a su polivalente actuación, los jueces tradicionales son hoy una figura socialmente legitimada al interior de las comunidades mayas, aun habiendo sido creada e implementada "desde fuera" por las autoridades estatales hace apenas poco más de una década.

  10. Mathematics achievement of Chinese, Japanese, and American children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevenson, H.W.; Lee, S.Y.; Stigler, J.W.

    1986-01-01

    American kindergarten children lag behind Japanese children in their understanding of mathematics; by fifth grade they are surpassed by both Japanese and Chinese children. Efforts to isolate bases for these differences involved testing children on other achievement and cognitive tasks, interviewing mothers and teachers, and observing children in their classrooms. Cognitive abilities of children in the three countries are similar, but large differences exist in the children's life in school, the attitudes and beliefs of their mothers, and the involvement of both parents and children in schoolwork

  11. Paleoenvironmental and Paleoecological Reconstruction of the Ancient Maya Port Site of Vista Alegre, Quintana Roo, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rissolo, D.; Jaijel, R.; Glover, J. B.; Goodman, B.; Beddows, P. A.; Carter, A.; Smith, D.

    2013-12-01

    Ancient Maya ports along the largely unstudied northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula once supported a network of trade routes linking people, goods, and ideas from across Mesoamerica. The Costa Escondida Project has focused on the interrelationships between the ancient Maya and their dynamic coastal environment along the shores of the Laguna Holbox. Central to our interdisciplinary efforts is a paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstruction of the key port of Vista Alegre - a low-lying island surrounded by a complex mosaic of costal ecosystems, sedimentological facies, and hydrological conditions. Geoarchaeological field methods, such as sediment coring, have made possible multiproxy analyses that enable us to better understand sea level fluctuations and the morphology of the shoreline and harboring locations over time, as well as changes in ecosystem biodiversity, which would have presented the maritime Maya with unique challenges and opportunities.

  12. Low-Income, African American and American Indian Children's Viewpoints on Body Image Assessment Tools and Body Satisfaction: A Mixed Methods Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidelberger, Lindsay; Smith, Chery

    2018-03-03

    Objectives Pediatric obesity is complicated by many factors including psychological issues, such as body dissatisfaction. Body image assessment tools are used with children to measure their acceptance of their body shape or image. Limited research has been conducted with African American and American Indian children to understand their opinions on assessment tools created. This study investigated: (a) children's perception about body image and (b) differences between two body image instruments among low-income, multi-ethnic children. Methods This study uses mixed methodology including focus groups (qualitative) and body image assessment instruments (quantitative). Fifty-one children participated (25 girls, 26 boys); 53% of children identified as African American and 47% as American Indian. The average age was 10.4 years. Open coding methods were used by identify themes from focus group data. SPSS was used for quantitative analysis. Results Children preferred the Figure Rating Scale (FRS/silhouette) instrument over the Children's Body Image Scale (CBIS/photo) because their body parts and facial features were more detailed. Children formed their body image perception with influence from their parents and the media. Children verbalized that they have experienced negative consequences related to poor body image including disordered eating habits, depression, and bullying. Healthy weight children are also aware of weight-related bullying that obese and overweight children face. Conclusions for Practice Children prefer that the images on a body image assessment tool have detailed facial features and are clothed. Further research into body image assessment tools for use with African American and American Indian children is needed.

  13. Correlating the Ancient Maya and Modern European Calendars with High-Precision AMS 14C Dating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennett, Douglas J.; Hajdas, Irka; Culleton, Brendan J.; Belmecheri, Soumaya; Martin, Simon; Neff, Hector; Awe, Jaime; Graham, Heather V.; Freeman, Katherine H.; Newsom, Lee; Lentz, David L.; Anselmetti, Flavio S.; Robinson, Mark; Marwan, Norbert; Southon, John; Hodell, David A.; Haug, Gerald H.

    2013-04-01

    The reasons for the development and collapse of Maya civilization remain controversial and historical events carved on stone monuments throughout this region provide a remarkable source of data about the rise and fall of these complex polities. Use of these records depends on correlating the Maya and European calendars so that they can be compared with climate and environmental datasets. Correlation constants can vary up to 1000 years and remain controversial. We report a series of high-resolution AMS 14C dates on a wooden lintel collected from the Classic Period city of Tikal bearing Maya calendar dates. The radiocarbon dates were calibrated using a Bayesian statistical model and indicate that the dates were carved on the lintel between AD 658-696. This strongly supports the Goodman-Martínez-Thompson (GMT) correlation and the hypothesis that climate change played an important role in the development and demise of this complex civilization.

  14. El cemento y el concreto de los mayas

    OpenAIRE

    Horacio Ramírez de Alba; Ramiro Pérez Campos; Heriberto Díaz Coutiño

    1999-01-01

    Se realiza un estudio técnico sobre los materiales utilizados por los constructores mayas, quienes lograron obras cuyos vestigios maravillan hoy al mundo. Se presentan los resultados obtenidos al realizar pruebas físicas y químicas en muestras de estucos, morteros y concretos provenientes de zonas arqueológicas, principalmente Palenque y Yaxchilán, en el estado de Chiapas, México.

  15. Family and the Bildungsroman Tradition in Maya Angelou's I Know ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper examines family and the bildungsroman process in Maya Angelou's I know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus. The study is carried out mainly through Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytical critical theory. The paper notes that the nuclear family's responsibility at grooming the ...

  16. El Teatro Maya como travestismo cultural. Una lectura performativa y descolonizadora de su arquitectura

    OpenAIRE

    Hoechtl, Nina

    2015-01-01

    Este texto emula la forma y estructura de un guion dramático. En él se desarrolla una visita guiada al Teatro Maya, a través de la cual se pretende mostrar las maneras en que lo cultural diferente y lo cultural exótico habitan la arquitectura. El texto aborda este análisis desde una perspectiva específica, la del travestismo cultural, poniendo especial atención en el contexto arquitectónico, cultural e histórico particular del Teatro Maya, que se inauguró en 1927 en el Centro de Los Angeles e...

  17. Nacionalismo maya y descolonización política: Luis de Lión y El tiempo principia en Xibalbá

    OpenAIRE

    del Valle Escalante, Emilio; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

    2015-01-01

    Este artículo analiza la novela El tiempo principia en Xibalbá (1985) del escritor maya kaqchikel Luis de Lión (1939-1984), considerada la primera novela escrita por un escritor maya en Guatemala. Leída como una de las primeras manifestaciones epistemológicas y políticas del llamado Movimiento Maya en Guatemala, la obra de Lión, como se argumenta en este trabajo, desmitifica y desarticula construcciones tradicionales y estereotipadas del mundo indígena en el discurso indigenista (la literatur...

  18. Putting Us on the Map: Remote Sensing Investigation of the Ancient Maya Landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever, Thomas L.; Saturno, William

    2004-01-01

    A common problem for archaeologists studying ancient settlement in the Maya Lowlands is overcoming the dense vegetation in order to obtain an accurate regional perspective of the presence of archaeological sites, their exact locations and their overall extents. Most often this is done by extensive ground surveys in which many individuals chop parallel paths through the vegetation in search of sites. Once a site is found an effort is made to mark its location on a regional map and to explore its perimeter. Obtaining locational information has been made dramatically easier in recent years with the advent of improved Global Positioning Systems (GPS), however the process of initial identification of sites and the determination of their borders is exceedingly labor intensive and has remained relatively unchanged since the beginning of settlement surveys in the region in the 1950 s. Currently, we are revolutionizing settlement survey in the Maya Lowlands by using remotely sensed data from IKONOS, Quickbird, and Eo 1, satellites as well as airborne AIRSAR radar data. The Ancient Maya built their cities, towns and even their smallest hamlets using excavated limestone and lime plasters. We propose that the decay of these structures provides a unique microenvironment for the growth of vegetation as the levels of moisture and nutrition within the ruins vary substantially from those in the surrounding forest. These microenvironmental differences on the ground are likewise represented by compositional differences in the forest canopy both in the species present and in leaf color (representing moisture/nutritional stress) visible through the analysis of high-resolution satellite data. In this way the detailed analysis of forest composition can reveal a detailed picture of the ancient settlements that lie beneath it. Preliminary examinations using this technique have been very successful and we are refining these techniques in order to efficiently comprehend the details of

  19. Putting us on the Map: Remote Sensing Investigation of the Ancient Maya Landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever, Thomas L.; Saturno, William; Irwin, Daniel E.

    2004-01-01

    A common problem for archaeologists studying ancient settlement in the Maya Lowlands is overcoming the dense vegetation in order to obtain an accurate regional perspective of the presence of archaeological sites, their exact locations and their overall extents. Most often this is done by extensive ground surveys in which many individuals chop parallel paths through the vegetation in search of sites. Once a site is found an effort is made to mark its location on a regional map and to explore its perimeter. Obtaining locational information has been made dramatically easier in recent years with the advent of improved Global Positioning Systems (GPS), however the process of initial identification of sites and the determination of their borders is exceedingly labor intensive and has remained relatively unchanged since the beginning of settlement surveys in the region in the 1950's. Currently, we are revolutionizing settlement survey in the Maya Lowlands by using remotely sensed data from IKONOS, Quickbird, and Eol, satellites. The Ancient Maya built their cities, towns and even their smallest hamlets using excavated limestone and lime plasters. We propose that the decay of these structures provides a unique microenvironment for the growth of vegetation as the levels of moisture and nutrition within the ruins vary substantially from those in the surrounding forest. These microenvironmental differences on the ground are likewise represented by compositional differences in the forest canopy both in the species present and in leaf color (representing moisture/nutritional stress) visible through the analysis of high- resolution satellite data. In this way the detailed analysis of forest composition can reveal a detailed picture of the ancient settlements that lie beneath it. Preliminary examinations using this technique have been very successful and we are refining these techniques in order to efficiently comprehend the details of Ancient Maya settlement in the Lowlands.

  20. Mayariggauksen Mekanismit : mihin Maya-rigin perustoiminnot pohjautuvat

    OpenAIRE

    Reimi, Roope

    2015-01-01

    Tämä on tutkielma Mayan yleisimpien riggaustyökalujen ja mekanismien toiminnasta ja yleinen katsaus Mayan pohjarakenteeseen. Maya on Autodeskin yleiskäytännöllinen 3D-ohjelmisto, joka on saanut teollisuuden aloilla maineen luotettavana, mutta haastavana animaatioalustana. Tässä tutkielmassa aion selvittää muutamia konsepteja, jotka saattavat hämmentää Mayassa ja avata sen logiikkaa toimintojensa takana. Aion myös pureutua syvemmin muutamien Mayan perus riggaustyökalujen toimintaan ja millaine...

  1. El cemento y el concreto de los mayas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Horacio Ramírez de Alba

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Se realiza un estudio técnico sobre los materiales utilizados por los constructores mayas, quienes lograron obras cuyos vestigios maravillan hoy al mundo. Se presentan los resultados obtenidos al realizar pruebas físicas y químicas en muestras de estucos, morteros y concretos provenientes de zonas arqueológicas, principalmente Palenque y Yaxchilán, en el estado de Chiapas, México.

  2. Guatemala conservation concession for the Maya Biosphere Reserve

    OpenAIRE

    Conservation International

    2007-01-01

    Metadata only record The national government of Guatemala has issued timber concessions to local communities within its 2 million hectare Maya Biosphere Reserve. Working under this framework, CI is proposing a conservation concession contract with two communities. The concessions would be designed to pay salaries for conservation managers, to invest in projects such as guiding tourists to nearby archaeological sites and to provide community services such as education and health care, in ex...

  3. Understanding Informal and Formal Mathematical Abilities in Mainland Chinese and Chinese-American Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zheng; Cheng, Christine; Mottram, Lisa; Rosenblum, Stacey

    Informal and formal mathematical abilities were studied in the preschool, kindergarten, and first grade children in Beijing, China and Chinese-American children in New York City. Test of Early Mathematical Abilities-2nd Edition (TEMA-2) was administered to the three groups of children (children from Beijing, Chinese-American from lower-class, and…

  4. A late Holocene tephrochronology for the Maya Lowlands, Central America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nooren, K.; Huizinga, A.; Hoek, W.; Bergen, M. V.; Middelkoop, H.

    2012-12-01

    The Maya Lowlands in southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize were densely populated for thousands of years, and have been the subject of intensive studies on the interaction between humans and their environment. Accurate radiocarbon dating of proxy records and disrupting events has proved to be difficult due to the lack of organic material in many deposits and the 'old carbon effect' related to the calcareous geology of the Yucatan Peninsula. So far, tephrostratigraphy has hardly been used to define time markers for palynological, limnological and archaeological studies in this region, despite the frequent occurrence of tephra fall. With the objective to fill this gap, we developed a tephrochronology for the Maya Lowlands using sediment cores from a flood basin of the Usumacinta-Grijalva delta in southern Mexico. Tephrostratigraphy and radiocarbon dating were used to estimate the timing of past volcanic eruptions, and chemical compositions of glass shards were used to identify potential sources. At least six tephralayers were deposited since 2000 BC, the most notable representing eruptions of El Chichón volcano in the 5th and 15th century AD. The high sulphur emissions accompanying El Chichón's eruptions allowed testing of our age-depth model through a correlation with volcanic sulphate peaks in ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica. We demonstrate the applicability of the established tephrochronological framework in a detailed chronological reconstruction of the formation of the world's largest late Holocene beach ridge plain in southern Mexico. This plain with over 500 beach ridges is a highly sensitive recorder of combined sea level rise, subsidence, storm activity and changes in climate and upstream land use since the dawn of Olmec and Maya cultures circa 5000 years ago.

  5. Lead poisoning among Arab American and African American children in the Detroit metropolitan area, Michigan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nriagu, Jerome; Senthamarai-Kannan, Raghavendra; Jamil, Hikmet; Fakhori, Monty; Korponic, Summer

    2011-09-01

    This study explored the hypothesis that acculturation is a risk factor for childhood lead poisoning in the Detroit area of Michigan. Blood lead levels (BLLs) were determined in 429 Arab American and African American children, aged 6 months to 15 years, who were receiving well-child examination in three Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) clinics in the city. Mean BLL was 3.8 ± 2.3 μg/dL (range: 1-18 μg/dL) and 3.3% of the children tested had blood lead values above the 10 μg/dL level of concern. Neither the age of the dwelling units nor ethnicity of the child was significantly associated with the BLL. Multivariable analyses instead identified a number of acculturation-related factors that are associated with elevation in blood lead including paternal education, language spoken at home (English only, English and Arabic, or Arabic only), home ownership, smoking in the home, and exposure of child to home health remedies. The difference in blood lead between Arab American children from families where Arabic only versus Arabic and English is spoken at home was found to be statistically significant. This study provides information showing that immigrant children are at heightened risk of being poisoned by lead which can be useful in identifying groups at risk of atypical exposures.

  6. Game Art Complete All-in-One; Learn Maya, 3ds Max, ZBrush, and Photoshop Winning Techniques

    CERN Document Server

    Gahan, Andrew

    2008-01-01

    A compilation of key chapters from the top Focal game art books available today - in the areas of Max, Maya, Photoshop, and ZBrush. The chapters provide the CG Artist with an excellent sampling of essential techniques that every 3D artist needs to create stunning game art. Game artists will be able to master the modeling, rendering, rigging, and texturing techniques they need - with advice from Focal's best and brightest authors. Artists can learn hundreds of tips, tricks and shortcuts in Max, Maya, Photoshop, ZBrush - all within the covers of one complete, inspiring reference

  7. Increasing temperature exacerbated Classic Maya conflict over the long term

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carleton, W. Christopher; Campbell, David; Collard, Mark

    2017-05-01

    The impact of climate change on conflict is an important but controversial topic. One issue that needs to be resolved is whether or not climate change exacerbates conflict over the long term. With this in mind, we investigated the relationship between climate change and conflict among Classic Maya polities over a period of several hundred years (363-888 CE). We compiled a list of conflicts recorded on dated monuments, and then located published temperature and rainfall records for the region. Subsequently, we used a recently developed time-series method to investigate the impact of the climatic variables on the frequency of conflict while controlling for trends in monument number. We found that there was a substantial increase in conflict in the approximately 500 years covered by the dataset. This increase could not be explained by change in the amount of rainfall. In contrast, the increase was strongly associated with an increase in summer temperature. These finding have implications not only for Classic Maya history but also for the debate about the likely effects of contemporary climate change.

  8. Obesity-risk behaviours and their associations with body mass index (BMI) in Korean American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Myoungock; Grey, Margaret; Sadler, Lois; Jeon, Sangchoon; Nam, Soohyun; Song, Hee-Jung; Whittemore, Robin

    2017-08-03

    To describe obesity-risk behaviours (diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour) and examine the relationships of the obesity-risk behaviours with body mass index (BMI) in school-aged Korean American children. Korean American children have a risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing obesity-related complications; however, there is limited research about obesity-risk behaviours in Korean American children. A cross-sectional study. Obesity-risk behaviours of children were assessed with well-validated self-report questionnaires (i.e., Elementary-level School-based Nutrition Monitoring Questionnaire) from children and their mothers. Height and weight of children were measured. Data were analysed with bivariate and multivariate analyses using mixed effects models to incorporate the correlation within siblings. A total of 170 Korean American children (mean age 10.9 [2.0] years; 52.4% girls; mean BMI 19.3 [3.2]; 28.7% ≥85 percentiles) participated in the study. Only 38.3% of Korean American children met established recommendations of five fruits/vegetables per day; 56.5% met recommendations for more than 3 days per week of vigorous physical activity; and 40.8% met recommendations for obesity in Korean American children and initiate clinical interventions to improve obesity-risk behaviours, especially sedentary behaviour, in Korean American children. Clinical assessment and management of the risk of developing overweight and obesity as well as obesity-related behaviours are important to improve obesity-related complications in overall Korean Americans. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. 38 CFR 3.950 - Helpless children; Spanish-American and prior wars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Helpless children; Spanish-American and prior wars. 3.950 Section 3.950 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF... § 3.950 Helpless children; Spanish-American and prior wars. Marriage is not a bar to the payment of...

  10. Elements of success in cooperatives conformed by Maya women in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Cristina Osorio Vázquez

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes different elements leading to the success of cooperatives formed by indigenous Maya women of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. These elements have shown to facilitate the sustainability (permanence over time of the cooperatives and their presence in the market, while improving the work environment and enhancing the practice of honesty. All these elements have generated an increase in the number of clients and beneficiaries due to their trustable relationships. As can be appreciated in this study, indigenous Maya women living in the Yucatan Peninsula are demonstrating an innovative way to do business, which has resulted in greater social benefits and profitability through social capital, ethical leadership and monitoring of actions.

  11. WISC-R Information and Digit Span Scores of American and Canadian Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beauchamp, David P.; And Others

    1979-01-01

    Differences were investigated in performance between third-grade American and Canadian children on two subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised. Results were discussed in terms of Canadian and American curriculum contents and test-taking experiences. (Author/JKS)

  12. Obesity, appearance, and psychosocial adaptation in young African American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young-Hyman, Deborah; Schlundt, David G; Herman-Wenderoth, Leanna; Bozylinski, Khristine

    2003-01-01

    To evaluate the contributions of weight status, skin tone, peer teasing, and parental appraisals of child's size to self-esteem and psychosocial adjustment in overweight African American children. Overweight to very obese 5- to 10-year-old African American children (N = 117) completed measures of self-esteem, skin tone satisfaction, peer teasing, and body size perception. Caregivers completed the Child Behavior Checklist and rated their child's body size. Overweight was associated with low appearance self-esteem, and body size dissatisfaction with low global self-worth and low appearance self-esteem in children 8 and older. Appearance self-esteem but not global self-worth was lower in girls than boys. Parental perception of child's size as heavier than average was associated with low child appearance self-esteem. Heavier children also had more parental report of behavior and psychosocial problems, but their scores were in the nonclinical range. Child skin tone dissatisfaction was associated with low global self-worth. Weight-related peer teasing was associated with low self-esteem. The relationship between obesity and self-esteem in African American children depends upon age, gender, and children's experiences with teasing and parental evaluation of their size. Other factors, like skin tone satisfaction, contribute to a child's sense of self-worth.

  13. Critical Pedagogy in HIV-AIDS Education for a Maya Immigrant Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoorman, Dilys; Acosta, Maria Cristina; Sena, Rachel; Baxley, Traci

    2012-01-01

    In this article the authors discuss how the perspectives of Paulo Freire were instructive in addressing the challenges of HIV-AIDS education in Guatemalan Maya immigrant communities with minimal formal education and literacy. The forging of a community-based, collaborative, educational program offers several implications for effective teaching and…

  14. Three-dimensional visualization of nanostructured surfaces and bacterial attachment using Autodesk® Maya®

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boshkovikj, Veselin; Fluke, Christopher J.; Crawford, Russell J.; Ivanova, Elena P.

    2014-02-01

    There has been a growing interest in understanding the ways in which bacteria interact with nano-structured surfaces. As a result, there is a need for innovative approaches to enable researchers to visualize the biological processes taking place, despite the fact that it is not possible to directly observe these processes. We present a novel approach for the three-dimensional visualization of bacterial interactions with nano-structured surfaces using the software package Autodesk Maya. Our approach comprises a semi-automated stage, where actual surface topographic parameters, obtained using an atomic force microscope, are imported into Maya via a custom Python script, followed by a `creative stage', where the bacterial cells and their interactions with the surfaces are visualized using available experimental data. The `Dynamics' and `nDynamics' capabilities of the Maya software allowed the construction and visualization of plausible interaction scenarios. This capability provides a practical aid to knowledge discovery, assists in the dissemination of research results, and provides an opportunity for an improved public understanding. We validated our approach by graphically depicting the interactions between the two bacteria being used for modeling purposes, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with different titanium substrate surfaces that are routinely used in the production of biomedical devices.

  15. A distribution analysis of the central Maya lowlands ecoinformation network: its rises, falls, and changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joel D. Gunn

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available We report a study of central Maya lowland dynastic information networks, i.e., six cities' external elite ceramic influences, and how they reflect the decision-making practices of Maya elites over 3000 years. Forest cover, i.e., Moraceae family pollen, was added to the network analysis to provide ecological boundary conditions, thus ecologically moderated information networks. Principal components analysis revealed three dominant patterns. First, the networking of interior cities into powerful polities in the Late Preclassic and Classic periods (400 BCE-800 CE. In a second pattern, coastal cities emerged as key entrepôts based on marine navigation (Terminal and Postclassic periods, 800-1500 CE. Climate dynamics and sustainability considerations facilitated the transition. Forest cover, a measure of ecosystem health, shows interior forests diminished as interior cities networked but rebounded as their networks declined. By contrast, coastal forests flourished with networks implying that the marine-based economy was sustainable. Third, in the Classic, the network-dominant coast, west or east, changed with interior polities' political struggles, the critical transition occurring after 695 CE as Tikal gained dominance over the Calakmul-Caracol alliance. Beginning with the Late Preclassic about 2000 years ago, it is possible to assign names to the decision makers by referencing the growing literature on written Maya records. Although the detectable decision sequence evident in this analysis is very basic, we believe it does open possible avenues to much deeper understanding as the study proceeds into the future. The Integrated History and Future of People on Earth-Maya working group that sponsored the analysis anticipates that it will provide actionable social science intelligence for future decision making at the global scale.

  16. Culture, ethnicity, and children's facial expressions: a study of European American, Mainland Chinese, Chinese American, and adopted Chinese girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camras, Linda A; Bakeman, Roger; Chen, Yinghe; Norris, Katherine; Cain, Thomas R

    2006-02-01

    This investigation extends previous research documenting differences in Chinese and European American infants' facial expressivity. Chinese girls adopted by European American families, nonadopted Mainland Chinese girls, nonadopted Chinese American girls, and nonadopted European American girls responded to emotionally evocative slides and an odor stimulus. European American girls smiled more than Mainland Chinese and Chinese American girls and scored higher than Mainland Chinese girls for disgust-related expressions and overall expressivity. Adopted Chinese girls produced more disgust-related expressions than Mainland Chinese girls. Self-reported maternal strictness, aggravation, positive expressiveness, and cultural identification correlated with children's facial responses, as did number of siblings and adults in the home. Results suggest that culture and family environment influences facial expressivity, creating differences among children of the same ethnicity.

  17. Data from The Production and Exchange of Moulded-carved Ceramics and the ‘Maya Collapse’

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen Ting

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This dataset comprises the bulk chemical composition and petrographic description of 62 samples of Ahk’utu’ Moulded-carved vases selected from eight archaeological sites across Belize. The bulk chemical compositional data was produced by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA, whereas the mineralogical and textural features of the ceramics were highlighted by thin-section petrography. These two types of data are complementary to characterising the compositional variability within and between assemblages; and more importantly, contributing to a better understanding of the craft organisation of finewares in the Maya lowlands during the so-called ‘Classic Maya Collapse’ or the ‘Terminal Classic‘ (ca. AD 800–950.

  18. Neighborhood characteristics, parenting styles, and children's behavioral problems in Chinese American immigrant families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Erica H; Zhou, Qing; Ly, Jennifer; Main, Alexandra; Tao, Annie; Chen, Stephen H

    2014-04-01

    Using data from a socioeconomically diverse sample of Chinese American children (n = 258, aged 6-9 years) in immigrant families, we examined the concurrent relations among neighborhood economic disadvantage and concentration of Asian residents, parenting styles, and Chinese American children's externalizing and internalizing problems. Neighborhood characteristics were measured with 2000 U.S. Census tract-level data, parents (mostly mothers) rated their own parenting styles, and parents and teachers rated children's behavioral problems. Path analysis was conducted to test two hypotheses: (a) parenting styles mediate the relations between neighborhood characteristics and children's behavioral problems, and (b) children's behavioral problems mediate the relations between neighborhood and parenting styles. We found that neighborhood Asian concentration was positively associated with authoritarian parenting, which in turn was associated with Chinese American children's higher externalizing and internalizing problems (by parents' reports). In addition, neighborhood economic disadvantage was positively related to children's externalizing problems (by parents' reports), which in turn predicted lower authoritative parenting. The current results suggest the need to consider multiple pathways in the relations among neighborhood, family, and child adjustment, and they have implications for the prevention and intervention of behavioral problems in Chinese American children.

  19. La violencia sexual como genocidio. Memoria de las mujeres mayas sobrevivientes de violación sexual durante el conflicto armado en Guatemala

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amandine Fulchiron

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Este art culo es producto de la investigaci n/ acci n participativa llevada a cabo del 2005 al 2009 en el marco del proceso pol tico y social impulsado por Actoras de Cambio junto con 54 mujeres mayas de cuatro grupos tnicos distintos ?Q eqchi , Mam, Chuj, y Kaqchikel? sobrevivientes de violaci n sexual durante el con icto armado interno en Guatemala (1960-1996. En l analizamos el uso sistem tico y masivo de la violaci n sexual contra las mujeres mayas dentro del marco de la pol tica contrainsurgente en Guatemala, nombr ndolo y denunci ndolo como feminicidio y genocidio; evidenciamos c mo la violaci n sexual fue utilizada por el Estado para destruir la continuidad biol gica, social y cultural del pueblo maya a trav s del cuerpo de las mujeres. Adem s, demostramos la centralidad e intencionalidad pol tica de la violaci n sexual para someter y masacrar a las mujeres. El trabajo se estructur con base en una epistemolog a feminista articulada con la de la cosmovisi n maya. Ello implic poner en el centro de la investigaci n voces y experiencias silenciadas por la visi n androc ntrica y racista del mundo. Requiri , adem s, una voluntad colectiva de desvelar c mo se imbrican y sintetizan los diferentes sistemas de opresi n en el cuerpo de las mujeres mayas. Esta investigaci n da cuenta de una experiencia concreta y colectiva de memoria y sanaci n entre mujeres mayas, mestizas y europeas, que ha posibilitado rehabitar el cuerpo, la vida y la comunidad despu s de la violaci n sexual genocida desde un nuevo lugar justo, digno y libre para las mujeres.

  20. Adaptations of a Yucatec Maya Multiple-Use Ecological Management Strategy to Ecotourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo García-Frapolli

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Over the last 40 years, the Yucatan Peninsula has experienced the implementation and promotion of development programs that have economically and ecologically shaped this region of Mexico. Nowadays, tourist development has become the principal catalyst of social, economic, and ecological changes in the region. All these programs, which are based on a specialization rationale, have historically clashed with traditional Yucatec Maya management of natural resources. Using participant observation, informal and semi-structured interviews, and life-history interviews, we carried out an assessment of a Yucatec Maya natural resources management system implemented by three indigenous communities located within a natural protected area. The assessment, intended as an examination of the land-use practices and productive strategies currently implemented by households, was framed within an ecological-economic approach to ecosystems appropriation. To examine the influence of tourism on the multiple-use strategy, we contrasted productive activities among households engaged primarily in ecotourism with those more oriented toward traditional agriculture. Results show that households from these communities allocated an annual average of 586 work days to implement a total of 15 activities in five different land-use units, and that those figures vary significantly in accordance with households' productive strategy (agriculture oriented or service oriented. As the region is quickly becoming an important tourist destination and ecotourism is replacing many traditional activities, we discuss the need for a balance between traditional and alternative economic activities that will allow Yucatec Maya communities to diversify their economic options without compromising existing local management practices.

  1. The University of Texas Maya Muon Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwitters, Roy

    2007-01-01

    Plans to explore the ruin of a Maya Pyramid in Belize using cosmic ray muon tomography will be described. Muon tomography was pioneered by Luis Alvarez in the 1960's to explore the Second Pyramid of Chephren in Egypt. Improvements in detector technology since the Alvarez experiment suggest that muon tomography may be a practical method for exploring and monitoring relatively large underground volumes when exposure times of order months are acceptable. A prototype detector based on Fermilab/MINOS scintillator strip/WLS fiber technology has been built and is being tested at UT Austin. Initial results using the detector will be discussed.

  2. Las corridas de toros en los pueblos mayas orientales. Una aproximación etnográfica Bullfights at Eastern Maya Towns. An Etnographic Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Medina Hernández

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available En este ensayo realizamos una descripción de las corridas de toros en los pueblos mayas del oriente de Yucatán; la intención principal es situar esta expresión festiva en el contexto de los rituales que configuran las fiestas patronales, de tal manera que se destaque un hecho central: la profunda transformación de una fiesta de claros orígenes ibéricos en una manifestación profundamente entramada con una visión del mundo de raíz mesoamericana. Un eje de análisis es el que corresponde a las nociones de sacrificio que articulan los acontecimientos en el coso taurino con los más discretos que suceden en el interior de las casas de los dirigentes de los gremios, donde el sacrificio de puercos y pavos constituye la base de una gastronomía ritual. Otro más es el reconocimiento de referentes simbólicos espaciales y temporales de raíz mesoamericana que subyacen en todo el conjunto ritual que compone estas celebraciones de los mayas peninsulares.In this essay we describe bullfighting among the Maya peoples in eastern Yucatan. The fundamental aim is to situate this festive expression in the context of the rituals that shape the patron feasts, so as to stress a central fact: the transformation of a feast of clear Iberian origin into a manifestation that is deeply intertwined with a world vision of Mesoamerican ancestry. An analytical axis corresponds to the notions of sacrifice that articulate the events inside the bullring with those more discrete, that take place within the homes of the leaders of the guilds. Here, sacrifice of turkeys and pigs constitute the basis of a ritual gastronomy. Another axis is the acknowledgement of symbolic space and time referents of Mesoamerican origin underlying, as a whole, the ritual compound in these peninsular Mayan celebrations.

  3. African American and European American Children in Diverse Elementary Classrooms: Social Integration, Social Status, and Social Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Wilson, Travis; Rodkin, Philip C.

    2011-01-01

    With a sample of African American and European American 3rd and 4th grade children (N = 486, ages 8–11 years), this study examined classroom ethnic composition, peer social status (i.e., social preference and perceived popularity as nominated by same- and cross-ethnicity peers), and patterns of ethnic segregation (i.e., friendship, peer group, and cross-ethnicity dislike). African American—but not European American—children had more segregated relationships and were more disliked by cross-eth...

  4. African American and Puerto Rican American Parenting Styles, Paternal Involvement, and Head Start Children's Social Competence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagan, Jay

    2000-01-01

    Examined similarities and differences in parenting styles and paternal involvement within and between African American and Puerto Rican American parent groups and the relationship between parenting styles, child care involvement, and Head Start children's social competence. Found a significant relationship between high levels of parental…

  5. Earliest isotopic evidence in the Maya region for animal management and long-distance trade at the site of Ceibal, Guatemala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharpe, Ashley E; Emery, Kitty F; Inomata, Takeshi; Triadan, Daniela; Kamenov, George D; Krigbaum, John

    2018-04-03

    This study uses a multiisotope (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium) approach to examine early animal management in the Maya region. An analysis of faunal specimens across almost 2,000 years (1000 BC to AD 950) at the site of Ceibal, Guatemala, reveals the earliest evidence for live-traded dogs and possible captive-reared taxa in the Americas. These animals may have been procured for ceremonial functions based on their location in the monumental site core, suggesting that animal management and trade began in the Maya area to promote special events, activities that were critical in the development of state society. Isotopic evidence for animal captivity at Ceibal reveals that animal management played a greater role in Maya communities than previously believed. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  6. How maya women respond to changing technology : The effect of helping behavior on initiating reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, K L; McMillan, G P

    1998-06-01

    In the mid 1970s labor-saving technology was introduced into a Maya subsistence agricultural community that markedly increased the efficiency with which maize could be ground and water collected. This increased efficiency introduces a possible savings in the time that women allocate to work, which can be reapportioned to child care, food production, domestic work, or leisure. An earlier study suggested that this labor-saving technology had a positive effect in decreasing the age at which these Maya women begin their reproductive careers. Although there is a statistical association between the age at which women bear their first child and the introduction of modern technology, this association does not demonstrate that the decline in age at first birth is causally related to the presence of technology. This paper pursues two objectives to evaluate this potential causal relationship in greater detail. First, a theory relating technological change to the initiation of a reproductive career is briefly developed in order to make qualitative predictions about behavioral changes as a response to changing technology. Second, these predictions are then tested against time allocation data recently collected in this same Maya community.We suggest that both of the conditions necessary to initiate reproduction-fecundity and access to mates-fundamentally depend on the amount of help that a girl provides to her family. Further, the help that a girl provides can be affected by technological changes. Analyses show that when modern technology is available, unmarried young women do not change the time allocated to domestic tasks and child care, and allocate more time to low-energy leisure activities. This lack of perceived benefit to working more and a potential concomitant shift towards a positive energy balance may in part explain why Maya women leave home and initiate reproduction at a younger age after labor-saving technology is introduced.

  7. Stereotype Threat Effects on African American Children in an Urban Elementary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasserberg, Martin J.

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated whether a diagnostic testing condition leads to stereotype threat effects for African American children (n = 198) at an urban elementary school. Results indicated that presenting a reading test as diagnostic of abilities hindered the performance of African American children aware of racial stereotypes but not of those…

  8. TEATRO MAYA: RABINAL ACHÍ O DANZA DEL TUN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Henríquez Puentes

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available El Rabinal Achí o Danza del Tun es teatro de origen maya puesto en escena desde el siglo XIII hasta nuestros días en la actual Guatemala. Es una composición inserta en el esquema religioso de las culturas mesoamericanas que, conservada a través de tradición oral hasta el siglo XIX, ha sido reescrita en este espacio escénico durante aproximadamente ochocientos años. El Rabinal Achí revela una forma de escribir con el cuerpo que articula danza, música y poesía, y representa ese momento en la historia del teatro en que el arte de la representación y rito compartían la misma escenaThe Rabinal Achí or Dance of the Tun is theatre of Mayan origen. The first performances date from the 13th century and continue into the present day in contemporary Guatemala. It is a composition that forms part of the religious scheme of the Indo-American cultures and, preserved through oral tradition up until the 19th century, has been rewritten in this scenic space for approximately eight hundred years. The Rabinal Achí reveals a way of writing with the body that articulates dance, music and poetry and represents a moment in the history of theatre in which the art of representation and the ritual share the same scene

  9. Environmental and morphological changes around the Maritime Maya site Vista Alegre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaijel, Roy; Goodman, Beverly; Glover, Jeffrey; Beddows, Patricia; Carter, Alice; Smith, Derek; Rissolo, Dominique; Ben Avraham, Zvi

    2016-04-01

    The untold story of the Maritime Maya from the ancient port site Vista Alegre, is being written for the first time using a multidisciplinary effort that aims to reconstruct the environmental and morphological history of the site. Vista Alegre is located on the north-eastern tip of the Yucatan peninsula, on the ancient Maritime Maya trade routes. This strategic point between the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, offers an ideal setting for this kind of research, which will add to the general Maritime Maya history. The multidisciplinary effort is part of a larger project called "Costa Escodida". The project's main goals are to learn how the ancient inhabitants adapted to the environment, and to understand how this coastal site was integrated into broader maritime trade routes. The portion of the research presented here concentrates on the sites geomorphology and climate during the past 2-3000 years through the multiproxy analysis of marine sediment core and surface samples combined with archaeological data. This study aids our understanding of the site's possible functions, the environmental challenges the local inhabits contended with, and the identification of ancient harboring locations. The site was inhabited from the 9th century B.C until the mid 16th century A.D., with an apparent two century abandonment phase from the mid 7th to 9th century A.D. According to the results, five depositional phases can be recognized, and the related shoreline reconstruction shows a general trend of a flooded terrestrial landscape. This 'flooding' relates well to relative sea-level curves published in the region. Continued analysis of results from the research, and future research activities, may make it possible to recognize hurricane proxies in the sediment, locate underwater manmade seafaring artifacts and facilities, determine the range of economic opportunities for past inhabitants and quantify the availability of potable water sources.

  10. Trends of overweight and obesity among white and American Indian school children in South Dakota, 1998-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hearst, Mary O; Biskeborn, Kristin; Christensen, Mathew; Cushing, Carrie

    2013-01-01

    To investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among white and American Indian children in a predominantly rural state. Using a repeated, cross-sectional design of school children's height and weight, the study sample included 361,352 measures of children who were 5.0-19.9 years, attending school across 13 academic calendar years. Trained staff measured height, weight, and recorded gender, age, and race. Data were voluntarily reported to the State Department of Health. American Indian children consistently had higher rates of overweight and obesity compared to white children. Across the years, 16.3% of white students were overweight, whereas 19.3% of American Indian students were overweight. In addition, 14.5% of white children were obese and 25.9% of American Indian children were obese. Examining by rural versus urban schools, prevalence of overweight had been increasing among white male and female students and American Indian female students living in rural areas. Obesity is also increasing among rural white females and male and female American Indian children. The findings here suggest that although American Indian children are at higher risk, in general, compared to white children, rural populations in general are experiencing increases in childhood overweight and obesity. Targeted rural interventions beginning at an early age are necessary to improve the health of rural children, especially in American Indian communities. Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.

  11. Role of water on formation and structural features of Maya blue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mondelli, C; Río, M Sánchez del; González, M A; Magazzú, A; Cavallari, C; Suárez, M; García-Romero, E; Romano, P

    2012-01-01

    The Maya blue (MB) is an artificial pigment created between 500-800 A.D. and used in murals, pottery and sculptures by Mayas and other people in Mesoamerica. MB is resistant to age, acid, weathering, biodegradation and even modern chemical solvents, but the chemical reasons behind the resistance to chemical aggressions are still under debate. Water plays a fundamental role in the interactions between indigo and clay. The dynamics of the clay's zeolitic and structural water molecules during the formation of MB, usually stabilized by moderate heating, has been monitored by means of neutron inelastic scattering. Neutron incoherent scattering in these samples is only due to the hydrogen atoms, so the signal is very sensitive to the amount of released water, providing detailed information on the dehydration process. A simultaneous analysis of the coherent elastic scattering and the incoherent scattering allows observing and quantifying how the structure of the clay is affected by dehydration. Here we show that a quite resistant pigment can be obtained at room temperature simply by dehydrating a palygorskite-indigo mixture employing only vacuum, without any thermal treatment.

  12. Role of water on formation and structural features of Maya blue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mondelli, C.; Sánchez del Río, M.; González, M. A.; Magazzú, A.; Cavallari, C.; Suárez, M.; García-Romero, E.; Romano, P.

    2012-02-01

    The Maya blue (MB) is an artificial pigment created between 500-800 A.D. and used in murals, pottery and sculptures by Mayas and other people in Mesoamerica. MB is resistant to age, acid, weathering, biodegradation and even modern chemical solvents, but the chemical reasons behind the resistance to chemical aggressions are still under debate. Water plays a fundamental role in the interactions between indigo and clay. The dynamics of the clay's zeolitic and structural water molecules during the formation of MB, usually stabilized by moderate heating, has been monitored by means of neutron inelastic scattering. Neutron incoherent scattering in these samples is only due to the hydrogen atoms, so the signal is very sensitive to the amount of released water, providing detailed information on the dehydration process. A simultaneous analysis of the coherent elastic scattering and the incoherent scattering allows observing and quantifying how the structure of the clay is affected by dehydration. Here we show that a quite resistant pigment can be obtained at room temperature simply by dehydrating a palygorskite-indigo mixture employing only vacuum, without any thermal treatment.

  13. Classic Maya Bloodletting and the Cultural Evolution of Religious Rituals: Quantifying Patterns of Variation in Hieroglyphic Texts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munson, Jessica; Amati, Viviana; Collard, Mark; Macri, Martha J.

    2014-01-01

    Religious rituals that are painful or highly stressful are hypothesized to be costly signs of commitment essential for the evolution of complex society. Yet few studies have investigated how such extreme ritual practices were culturally transmitted in past societies. Here, we report the first study to analyze temporal and spatial variation in bloodletting rituals recorded in Classic Maya (ca. 250–900 CE) hieroglyphic texts. We also identify the sociopolitical contexts most closely associated with these ancient recorded rituals. Sampling an extensive record of 2,480 hieroglyphic texts, this study identifies every recorded instance of the logographic sign for the word ch’ahb’ that is associated with ritual bloodletting. We show that documented rituals exhibit low frequency whose occurrence cannot be predicted by spatial location. Conversely, network ties better capture the distribution of bloodletting rituals across the southern Maya region. Our results indicate that bloodletting rituals by Maya nobles were not uniformly recorded, but were typically documented in association with antagonistic statements and may have signaled royal commitments among connected polities. PMID:25254359

  14. Epilithic and endolithic bacterial communities in limestone from a Maya archaeological site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNamara, Christopher J; Perry, Thomas D; Bearce, Kristen A; Hernandez-Duque, Guillermo; Mitchell, Ralph

    2006-01-01

    Biodeterioration of archaeological sites and historic buildings is a major concern for conservators, archaeologists, and scientists involved in preservation of the world's cultural heritage. The Maya archaeological sites in southern Mexico, some of the most important cultural artifacts in the Western Hemisphere, are constructed of limestone. High temperature and humidity have resulted in substantial microbial growth on stone surfaces at many of the sites. Despite the porous nature of limestone and the common occurrence of endolithic microorganisms in many habitats, little is known about the microbial flora living inside the stone. We found a large endolithic bacterial community in limestone from the interior of the Maya archaeological site Ek' Balam. Analysis of 16S rDNA clones demonstrated disparate communities (endolithic: >80% Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Low GC Firmicutes; epilithic: >50% Proteobacteria). The presence of differing epilithic and endolithic bacterial communities may be a significant factor for conservation of stone cultural heritage materials and quantitative prediction of carbonate weathering.

  15. Land, Water and Society in the Maya Lowlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murtha, T.; French, K.; Duffy, C.; Webster, D.

    2013-12-01

    This paper reports the results of our project investigating the long-term spatial and temporal dynamics of land use management, agricultural decision-making and patterns of resource availability in the tropical lowlands of Central America. Overall, our project combines diachronic environmental simulation with historic settlement pattern survey to address a series of long-standing questions about the coupled natural and human (CNH) landscape history in the Central Maya lowlands (at the UNESCO world heritage site of Tikal in the Maya Biosphere Reserve). The paper describes the preliminary results of our project, including changing patterns of land, water, settlement and political history using climate, soil and hydrologic modeling and time series spatial analysis of population and settlement patterns. The critical period of the study, 1000 BC until the present, begins with dispersed settlements accompanied by widespread deforestation and soil erosion. Population size and density grows rapidly for 800 years, while deforestation and erosion rates decline; however, there is striking evidence of political evolution during this period, including the construction of monumental architecture, hieroglyphic monuments detailing wars and alliances, and the construction of a defensive earthwork feature, signaling political territories and possibly delineating natural resource boundaries. Population decline and steady reforestation followed until more recent migration into the region, which has impacted the biosphere ecology. Building on our previous research regionally and comparative research completed in Belize and Mexico, we are modeling sample periods the 3,000-year landscape history of the region, comparing land and water availability to population distributions and what we know about political history. Simulations are generated using historic climate and land use data, primarily relying on the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) and the Penn State Integrated

  16. “Symptoms, Attitudes and Treatment Choices Surrounding Menopause among the Q’eqchi Maya of Livingston, Guatemala”

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michel, Joanna L.; Veliz, Mario; Soejarto, Doel D.; Caceres, Armando; Mahady, Gail B

    2006-01-01

    The present study explored symptoms, attitudes and treatments surrounding women’s health and menopause among the Q’eqchi Maya of the eastern tropical lowlands of Guatemala. Data were obtained through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and plant walks with 50 Q’eqchi community members from the state of Izabal, Municipality of Livingston, including 5 midwives, 5 traditional male healers and 8 postmenopausal women. Results indicate that the Q’eqchi Maya of Livingston possess their own cultural perceptions of women’s health which affect attitudes, symptoms and treatment choices during the menopausal transition. Since discussions of menstruation and menopause are considered cultural taboos among the Q’eqchi, many women mentioned experiencing excessive preoccupation when unanticipated and unfamiliar symptoms occurred. Furthermore, many women suffered from additional hardship when their spouse misinterpreted menopausal symptoms (vaginal dryness, sexual disinterest) as infidelity. Seven of the eight postmenopausal women interviewed indicated experiencing one or more symptoms during the menopausal transition, including headaches, anxiety, muscular pain, depression, and hot flashes. These results differ from the lack of symptomatology reported in previous studies in Mexico, but are in line with the result of menopausal research conducted among other Maya groups from the highlands of Guatemala. Although the Q’eqchi did not use a specific term for “hot flash”, three Q’eqchi women used the expression “baja presion” or a “lowering of blood pressure” to explain symptoms of profuse sweating followed by chills, heart palpitations, and emotional instability. The Q’eqchi Maya mentioned a number of herbal remedies to treat menopausal symptoms. Further research on these botanical treatments is needed in order to ascertain their safety and efficacy for continued use. PMID:16580764

  17. Brief report: parenting styles and obesity in Mexican American children: a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olvera, Norma; Power, Thomas G

    2010-04-01

    To assess longitudinally the relations between four parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, uninvolved, and indulgent) and child weight status in Mexican American families. Sixty-nine low-income Mexican American mothers and their 4- to 8-year-old children participated in a 4-year longitudinal study. Mothers completed demographic and parenting measures. Children's body weight and height were assessed annually. Body mass index was calculated to determine weight status. At baseline, 65% of children were found to be normal weight, 14% were overweight, and 21% were obese. Analyses examined how parenting styles at baseline predicted child's weight status 3 years later, controlling for initial weight status. Children of indulgent mothers were more likely to become overweight 3 years later than children of authoritative or authoritarian mothers. This study provides longitudinal evidence for the role of indulgent parenting in predicting overweight in Mexican American children. Possible mediating factors that may account for this relationship (e.g., dietary patterns, physical activity patterns, and children's self-regulation) are considered.

  18. Cultural and Climatic History of Cobá, a Lowland Maya City in Quintana Roo, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leyden, Barbara W.; Brenner, Mark; Dahlin, Bruce H.

    1998-01-01

    Lake Cobá, within the archaeological site of Cobá, provides evidence bearing on lowland Maya development. Palynological and geochemical data record multidecadal precipitation cycles from a 8.80-m, >8370-yr lake-sediment sequence terminating on bedrock. Late Classic sedimentation rates are rapid, but an anthropogenically derived colluvium layer is lacking. Initial vegetation was medium semi-deciduous and swamp forest. Forest clearance began 1650 B.C. (Early Preclassic) and maize first occurred at 850 B.C. (Middle Preclassic). Lakeside milpas existed until A.D. 720 (Late Classic) and then were moved from the city center as urbanization intensified and Lake Cobá was diked as a reservoir. Cobá was at most briefly vacated during the Classic Collapse and was abandoned after A.D. 1240, although some habitation persisted. The paleoecological record matches the archaeological history for Cobá, but pervasive disturbance muted the climatic signal, as the Late Classic drought is barely evident. The question whether economic trees were maintained within the city is unresolved. Maize cultivation allowed the Maya to develop a complex society and support a large population, but dependence on maize was ultimately doomed by variable rainfall. Precipitation in extreme years was insufficient to support crops, while native vegetation was not directly affected by drought that devastated Maya agriculture.

  19. Parenting African American Children in the Context of Racism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keyes, Angela W.; Smyke, Anna T.; Middleton, Melissa; Black, Corey L.

    2015-01-01

    The legacy of slavery in the United States has impacted generations of African Americans, especially parents who must prepare their children to face the challenges associated with being a person of color in this country. The authors explore aspects of racism, White privilege, racial socialization, and African American parents' fears as they equip…

  20. Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya Region: implications for pre-Hispanic animal trade and the timing of turkey domestication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornton, Erin Kennedy; Emery, Kitty F; Steadman, David W; Speller, Camilla; Matheny, Ray; Yang, Dongya

    2012-01-01

    Late Preclassic (300 BC-AD 100) turkey remains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) represent the earliest evidence of the Mexican turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in the ancient Maya world. Archaeological, zooarchaeological, and ancient DNA evidence combine to confirm the identification and context. The natural pre-Hispanic range of the Mexican turkey does not extend south of central Mexico, making the species non-local to the Maya area where another species, the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata), is indigenous. Prior to this discovery, the earliest evidence of M. gallopavo in the Maya area dated to approximately one thousand years later. The El Mirador specimens therefore represent previously unrecorded Preclassic exchange of animals from northern Mesoamerica to the Maya cultural region. As the earliest evidence of M. gallopavo found outside its natural geographic range, the El Mirador turkeys also represent the earliest indirect evidence for Mesoamerican turkey rearing or domestication. The presence of male, female and sub-adult turkeys, and reduced flight morphology further suggests that the El Mirador turkeys were raised in captivity. This supports an argument for the origins of turkey husbandry or at least captive rearing in the Preclassic.

  1. Kinship Ties: Attachment Relationships that Promote Resilience in African American Adult Children of Alcoholics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Camille Hall

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available For many African Americans, the extended family has been the source of strength, resilience, and survival. Although changes in African American families, like changes in all families in the United States that have diluted the importance of kinship ties, many African Americans continue to place a high value on extended family members. Children of Africans and communities of African descent traditionally interact with multiple caregivers, consisting of kin, and fictive kin.Utilizing both attachment theory and risk and resilience literature, this paper discusses ways to better understand the resilient nature of African American families and how multiple attachment relationships assist at-risk African American children, specifically adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs.

  2. Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Haplotypes Are Associated with Preeclampsia in Maya Mestizo Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lizbeth Díaz-Olguín

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Preeclampsia is a specific disease of pregnancy and believed to have a genetic component. The aim of this study was to investigate if three polymorphisms in eNOS or their haplotypes are associated with preeclampsia in Maya mestizo women.

  3. Use of marine robot`MAYA` for monitoring the Zuari and Mandovi esturine systems

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Mascarenhas, A.A; Afzulpurkar, S.; Navelkar, G.S.; Maurya, P.K.; Fernandes, L.; Desa, E.S.; Madhan, R.; Shenoy, D.; Kurian, S.; Naik, H.; Nagvekar, S.; Vimalakumari, D.; Dalvi, H.S.; Manoharan, V.; deAraujo, B.A; Lamani, V.; Naik, N.; Mohan, N.; Dias, Albertina; Dias, A

    to study the spatial distribution of biogeochemical properties in the Zuari and Mandovi Estuarine systems during the onset of tides. MAYA was repurposed as an ASV to tightly follow a path (Maurya, P et al., 2008) along the mid-section of the rivers...

  4. El léxico cromático y la ideología maya Chromatic lexic and Maya ideology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanja Savkic

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Para acercarse al campo semántico de los colores, de primera importancia son diversos diccionarios de las lenguas mayances. El objetivo es hacer una descripción preliminar del vocabulario cromático, compuesto de cinco términos referidos a colores básicos que en el maya yucateco se llaman sak, ek', chak, k'an y ya'ax y significan "blanco", "negro", "rojo", "amarillo" y "verde-azul", respectivamente. El mismo vocabulario remite a determinadas categorías extralingüísticas que la lengua es capaz de acumular, reflejar y comunicar. Éstas dependen de una cultura particular, por lo que el estudio se amplía con las informaciones de diferentes fuentes escritas redactadas durante la época colonial. La intención es detectar los múltiples usos que se hacían en todos los ámbitos de la vida de los colores, lo cual a su vez permite considerar estos últimos como conceptualizaciones articuladas en pares de oposición o agrupamientos tripartitos.To gain greater insight into the color semantic field, it is important to consult various Mayance language dictionaries, in order to assemble a preliminary chromatic vocabulary, composed of five basic color terms which in Yucatec Maya are sak, ek', chak, k'an and ya'ax, or "white", "black", "red", "yellow" and "green-blue", respectively. The very vocabulary addresses certain extra-linguistic categories that language is capable of accumulating, reflecting, and communicating. These categories depend on a particular culture; consequently this study is amplified with greater information from different sources written during the colonial period in order to shed light on the many uses that the colors had in the aspects of human life which, at the same time, can be seen in conceptualizations articulated in pairs of opposition or tripartite groupings.

  5. Population, Rural Development, and Land Use Among Settler Households in an Agricultural Frontier in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Carr

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Guatemala was among the world’s leaders in deforestation during the 1990s at a rate of 2% per annum. Much of Guatemala’s recent forest loss has occurred in the emerging agricultural frontiers of the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR, the heart of the largest contiguous tropical forest in Central America—La Selva Maya. This paper presents data from 241 heads of households and 219 partners of household heads from a geographically stratified sample of eight (of 28 communities in the Sierra de Lacandón National Park (SLNP, the most ecologically biodiverse region in La Selva Maya and a core conservation zone of the MBR. Settler households are examined relative to a host of factors relating land use and land cover change. Specifically, demographic trends, political and socio-economic development, and ecological factors are described in this first detailed statistically-representative sample probing human population and environment interactions in an emerging agricultural frontier in Central America.

  6. Population, Rural Development, and Land Use Among Settler Households in an Agricultural Frontier in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve

    OpenAIRE

    David Carr

    2009-01-01

    Guatemala was among the world’s leaders in deforestation during the 1990s at a rate of 2% per annum. Much of Guatemala’s recent forest loss has occurred in the emerging agricultural frontiers of the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), the heart of the largest contiguous tropical forest in Central America—La Selva Maya. This paper presents data from 241 heads of households and 219 partners of household heads from a geographically stratified sample of eight (of 28) communities in the Sierra de Lacan...

  7. Análisis ambiental y económico de proyectos carreteros en la Selva Maya, un estudio a escala regional

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Conde, Dalia Amor; Burgués, Irene; Fleck, Leonardo

    density of roads is one of the leading factors that have preserved the Maya Forest’s natural ecosystems. Decision-makers are confronted with an apparent conflict between conservation and development goals. In this study, we analyze the economic and environmental impacts of Maya Forest road projects...... the environmental impacts of the following road segments: Caobas-Tikal, San Andrés-Mirador, Mirador-Calakmul, Uaxactún-Mirador, Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo, Melchor de Mencos-Arrollo Negro, Lamanai –Border with Guatemala, El Ceibo-El Naranjo and Escárcega-Xpujil (Right-of-way within the Balam-kú y Calakmul reserves...... equity. In those cases where road projects are already under construction in the Maya Forest, measures are needed to minimize and offset deforestation and to maintain connectivity between natural habitats. This goal can be reached in part through investments in better protection of parks and reserves...

  8. An Integrated Conceptual Framework for the Development of Asian American Children and Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mistry, Jayanthi; Li, Jin; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Tseng, Vivian; Tirrell, Jonathan; Kiang, Lisa; Mistry, Rashmita; Wang, Yijie

    2016-07-01

    The diversity of circumstances and developmental outcomes among Asian American children and youth poses a challenge for scholars interested in Asian American child development. This article addresses the challenge by offering an integrated conceptual framework based on three broad questions: (a) What are theory-predicated specifications of contexts that are pertinent for the development of Asian American children? (b) What are the domains of development and socialization that are particularly relevant? (c) How can culture as meaning-making processes be integrated in conceptualizations of development? The heuristic value of the conceptual model is illustrated by research on Asian American children and youth that examines the interconnected nature of specific features of context, pertinent aspects of development, and interpretive processes. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  9. Knowledge of memory functions in European and Asian American adults and children: the relation to autobiographical memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qi; Koh, Jessie Bee Kim; Song, Qingfang; Hou, Yubo

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated explicit knowledge of autobiographical memory functions using a newly developed questionnaire. European and Asian American adults (N = 57) and school-aged children (N = 68) indicated their agreement with 13 statements about why people think about and share memories pertaining to four broad functions-self, social, directive and emotion regulation. Children were interviewed for personal memories concurrently with the memory function knowledge assessment and again 3 months later. It was found that adults agreed to the self, social and directive purposes of memory to a greater extent than did children, whereas European American children agreed to the emotion regulation purposes of memory to a greater extent than did European American adults. Furthermore, European American children endorsed more self and emotion regulation functions than did Asian American children, whereas Asian American adults endorsed more directive functions than did European American adults. Children's endorsement of memory functions, particularly social functions, was associated with more detailed and personally meaningful memories. These findings are informative for the understanding of developmental and cultural influences on memory function knowledge and of the relation of such knowledge to autobiographical memory development.

  10. LA RELIGIOSIDAD MAYA- ACHI’ GUATEMALTECA COMO FUNDAMENTO DE SU IDENTIDAD CULTURAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Caballero Mariscal

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available En el contexto general de Guatemala, caracterizado por la diversidad étnica y cultural, y mayoritariamente indígena, los achi’es constituyen menos de uno por ciento de la población. Sin embargo, y a pesar de que han sufrido la imposición cultural de pueblos vecinos, de los españoles, y posteriormente, un atroz genocidio, continúan conservando parte de su patrimonio cultural intangible, manifestado en la lengua, las danzas, el Rabinal achi’,y diversas sus expresiones religiosas, que, sin duda, se constituyen en el garante de su identidad cultural. El presente artículo pretende llenar el vacío existente actualmente sobre la etnia achi’, ante la ausencia de estudios sobre ésta. De igual modo, trata de profundizar sobre los mecanismos adaptativos de sincretismo que se han desarrollado a nivel cultural y religioso como medio de supervivencia a través de nuevos modos de transculturación, que garantizan la pervivencia de la cultura y religiosidad maya tradicional en el contexto de la fe católica, vigente y mayoritaria entre los miembros de este pueblo maya.

  11. Costa Oriental Maya: una acercamiento al comercio y navegación

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iván Renato Zúñiga Carrasco

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available La costa oriental de la Península de Yucatán ofreció un medio ideal para navegantes y mercaderes por la geografía costera peninsular cruzada por extensas redes fluviales que se extienden a lo largo de sus costas y se remontan lejanamente en el interior. E l intercambio de productos a través de largas distancias fue un factor básico en la homogeneidad cultural del mundo maya, jugando un papel crítico en el desarrollo de esta antigua civilización. El comercio marítimo maya se remonta al periodo Preclásico Ta rdío (300 a.C. - 300 d.C. Muchos puertos estaban ubicados en lugares estratégicos para el comercio, como islas, promontorios o a la entrada de ríos y en la mayoría de las veces se ubicaban en lugares protegidos del mar abierto. Las canoas utilizadas por los nativos no se trataba de simples troncos ahuecados; el uso de velas además y remos como puede verse en representaciones en murales y códices.

  12. Acculturation stress among Maya in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millender, Eugenia

    2012-01-01

    Abstract: As health care disparities become more evident in our multicultural nation, culture sensitive health research needs to be a priority in order for good health care to take place. This article will explore the literature related to acculturation stress and mental health disparities among the Mayan population. Literatures of similar but distinct groups are included due to the limited amount of research of the Mayan population. Using Leiniger's Transcultural nursing theory, these findings suggest that nurses have a large gap to fill to address the mental health disparities of specific cultural groups like the indigenous Maya, thereby satisfying their nursing obligations.

  13. Análisis ambiental y económico de proyectos carreteros en la Selva Maya, un estudio a escala regional

    OpenAIRE

    Conde, Dalia Amor; Burgués, Irene; Fleck, Leonardo; Manterola, Carlos; Reid, John

    2007-01-01

    Various road projects have been proposed in the border region of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, which is part of the Maya Forest, the largest continuous forest in the Americas north of the Amazon. It is also part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity “hotspot,” one of the planet’s biologically richest zones. The Maya Forest is also known for its cultural and archeological riches, having been the cradle of Mayan civilization. The proposals for new road infrastructure are ostensibly aimed at spurring...

  14. African American Fathers' Involvement in Their Children's School-Based Lives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abel, Yolanda

    2012-01-01

    This research investigated African American fathers' involvement in the school-based lives of their elementary-aged children using the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model of parent involvement and Epstein's framework of involvement. Questionnaires were administered to 101 African American males in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.…

  15. Asian and Pacific American Exceptional Children. A Conversation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decano, Pio

    1979-01-01

    Presented in the format of an imaginary dialogue between seven educators of Asian and Pacific American (APA) backgrounds, the article addresses some issues and concerns in the training of special education personnel to work with APA handicapped children. (DLS)

  16. Maternal correlates of 2-year-old American Indian children's social-emotional development in a Northern Plains tribe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarche, Michelle C; Croy, Calvin D; Crow, Cecelia Big; Mitchell, Christina M; Spicer, Paul

    2009-07-01

    The developmental experiences of very young American Indian children today are not well documented in the current literature. The present study sought to explore the social-emotional development of American Indian toddlers living on a Northern Plains reservation, as a function of maternal variables. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires about their experiences and their children's development. Observer ratings of children's development also were conducted. Maternal stress, substance use/abuse, perceptions of stress in the mother-child relationship, social support, and American Indian cultural identity were significantly related to children's social-emotional development. This study is the first to explore these relationships in a Northern Plains American Indian sample of young children and their mothers. Results suggest possible points of intervention for improving the developmental outcomes of very young American Indian children. Copyright © 2009 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  17. Gonad development during the early life of Octopus maya (Mollusca: Cephalopoda).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avila-Poveda, Omar Hernando; Colin-Flores, Rafael Francisco; Rosas, Carlos

    2009-02-01

    Gonad development during the early life of Octopus maya is described in terms of histological, morphometric, oocytes growth, and somatic-oocyte relationship data obtained from octopus cultured at the UMDI-UNAM, in Sisal, Yucatan, Mexico. This study is the first publication on gonad development during the early life of Octopus maya. A total of 83 O. maya specimens were used; their sizes ranged from 6.5 to 76 mm of total length (TL), 4 to 28 mm of dorsal mantle length (DML), 2.5 to 20 mm of ventral mantle length (VML), and 0.0180 to 7.2940 g of fixed body weight (fBW). Animals were weighed and measured only after preservation. A loss of 10% of living weight was estimated for juvenile octopuses after formalin preservation. The relation of length to weight (VML, DML, TL/fBW) pooled for both sexes had a strong positive correlation (r), as shown by a potential power function that was quite close to 1. Compound images were produced from numerous microscopic fields. The histological examination revealed that, 4 months after hatching, male octopus (24.5 mm DML and 7.2940 g fBW) were in gonad stages 2 (maturing) to 3 (mature), with spermatogonia and spermatocytes in the tubule wall and abundant spermatids and spermatozoa in the central lumen of the seminiferous tubules, suggesting the occurrence of different phases of gonad development at different maturity stages. In contrast, females (22.5 mm DML and 4.8210 g fBW) at the same time since hatching were immature (stage 1), with many oogonia, few oocytes, and germinal epithelium. This suggests that males reach maturity earlier than females, indicating a probable onset of maturity for males at around 4 months of culture or 8 g of wet body weight. Our results indicate the possibility that the size-at-weight can be recognized early with a degree of certainty that allows the sexes to be separated for culture purposes; but more detailed studies on reproduction in relation to endocrinology and nutrition are needed.

  18. Parenting styles and child behavior in African American families of preschool children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Querido, Jane G; Warner, Tamara D; Eyberg, Sheila M

    2002-06-01

    Examined the relations between parenting styles and child behavior problems in African American preschool children. Participants were 108 African American female caregivers of 3- to 6-year-old children. Correlational analysis showed that parent-reported child behavior problems were associated with maternal education, family income, and parents' endorsement of authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting, and permissive parenting. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the authoritative parenting style was most predictive of fewer child behavior problems. These results are consistent with previous findings with European American families and provide strong support for the cross-cultural validity of the authoritative parenting style.

  19. Story Starters on the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas. A Creative Writing Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henrich, Steve; Henrich, Jean

    Designed to supplement an established language arts and social studies program, this books deals with the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas of Latin America. All of the "Story Starter" books are intended to give a variety of vocabulary and story ideas to help with the writing process. Each of the books is divided into four main sections: (1) an…

  20. The American Hero in Children's Literature: A Standards-Based Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butzow, Carol; Butzow, John

    2005-01-01

    By means of 30 children's picture books--with stories set in times ranging from the early settlement of American until today--this book explores the characteristics of American heroes and the ways in which they have influenced our history, our way of life, and the principles upon which our culture has developed.

  1. Psicología, subjetividad y cultura en el mundo Maya actual: una perspectiva crítica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Mario Flores Osorio

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available En la presente comunicación, después de hacer la crítica al concepto neo-colonial de Mesoamérica, se intenta demostrar que la subjetividad como espacio que contiene el fundamento del comportamiento psíquico, se construye como síntesis históricocolectiva y que en consecuencia demanda una racionalidad especial para su comprensión. Esa racionalidad se estudia en relación con una matriz piramidal, la cual es analizada. Asimismo, se considera que la concepción argumentada con base en el Pop Wuj o Libro del Tiempo Maya, puede permitir la conformación de una interpretación psicosocial consecuente con el espacio social y cultural de los Mayas en la actualidad

  2. Symptoms of Anxiety and Associated Risk and Protective Factors in Young Asian American Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Sabrina; Calzada, Esther; Brotman, Laurie Miller

    2014-01-01

    Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health problems in young children but there has been a dearth of studies focusing on Asian American children. This study examines the patterns and the predictors of childhood anxiety and related symptoms in young children in a diverse Asian American (ASA) sample (n = 101). Findings indicate that ASA children are at higher risk for anxiety, somatization, and depressive problems than their peers. Parents’ level of acculturation (i.e., American identity, English competence), parental negative emotion socialization, conflicted parent–child relationship, child emotional knowledge and adaptive skills, as well as teachers’ ethnic background and school class types were all associated with ASA children’s anxiety. A combination of cultural, family, and school factors explained from 17 to 39 % of the variance in anxiety symptoms. Findings inform prevention services for young ASA children. PMID:22410755

  3. Incorporation, integration and irrigation at the ancient Maya site of Baking Pot, Belize

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James M. Conlon

    1995-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides an example of the use of corporate group analysis at the major ceremonial centre of Baking Pot, and uses comparative data from the site core of Baking Pot, other major centres in the upper Belize Valley, and various other sources throughout the Maya lowlands.

  4. Forests, fields, and the edge of sustainability at the ancient Maya city of Tikal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lentz, David L; Dunning, Nicholas P; Scarborough, Vernon L; Magee, Kevin S; Thompson, Kim M; Weaver, Eric; Carr, Christopher; Terry, Richard E; Islebe, Gerald; Tankersley, Kenneth B; Grazioso Sierra, Liwy; Jones, John G; Buttles, Palma; Valdez, Fred; Ramos Hernandez, Carmen E

    2014-12-30

    Tikal has long been viewed as one of the leading polities of the ancient Maya realm, yet how the city was able to maintain its substantial population in the midst of a tropical forest environment has been a topic of unresolved debate among researchers for decades. We present ecological, paleoethnobotanical, hydraulic, remote sensing, edaphic, and isotopic evidence that reveals how the Late Classic Maya at Tikal practiced intensive forms of agriculture (including irrigation, terrace construction, arboriculture, household gardens, and short fallow swidden) coupled with carefully controlled agroforestry and a complex system of water retention and redistribution. Empirical evidence is presented to demonstrate that this assiduously managed anthropogenic ecosystem of the Classic period Maya was a landscape optimized in a way that provided sustenance to a relatively large population in a preindustrial, low-density urban community. This landscape productivity optimization, however, came with a heavy cost of reduced environmental resiliency and a complete reliance on consistent annual rainfall. Recent speleothem data collected from regional caves showed that persistent episodes of unusually low rainfall were prevalent in the mid-9th century A.D., a time period that coincides strikingly with the abandonment of Tikal and the erection of its last dated monument in A.D. 869. The intensified resource management strategy used at Tikal-already operating at the landscape's carrying capacity-ceased to provide adequate food, fuel, and drinking water for the Late Classic populace in the face of extended periods of drought. As a result, social disorder and abandonment ensued.

  5. Las muchachas mayas de Yaxcabá, Yucatán

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maya Lorena Pérez Ruiz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available El tema de este artículo es el significado de ser mujer y ser joven en la cultura maya de Yucatán, México. Se presentan testimonios de muchachas de bachillerato del pueblo de Yaxcabá con el objetivo de conocer lo que para ellas significa ser mujer joven. Sus percepciones y sus proyectos de futuro se enmarcan en un campo de conflicto, en el que existe un enfrentamiento entre jóvenes y adultos para mantener o transformar los significados y las prácticas de ser joven.

  6. Condiciones alimentarias de los mayas macehuales de Quintana Roo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virginia Ivonne Sánchez Vázquez

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Las políticas alimentarias ofrecen una visión oficial sobre las condiciones de la alimentación en México, y específicamente en el México rural indígena, pero a partir de un estudio de caso con los grupos mayas macehuales de Quintana Roo, se muestra el contexto de confrontación donde las comunidades despliegan sus pautas de reproducción social, ciertamente en desventaja estructural, pero no de manera pasiva, sino creando y recreando opciones bajo su marco cultural situado.

  7. Las muchachas mayas de Yaxcabá, Yucatán

    OpenAIRE

    Maya Lorena Pérez Ruiz

    2017-01-01

    El tema de este artículo es el significado de ser mujer y ser joven en la cultura maya de Yucatán, México. Se presentan testimonios de muchachas de bachillerato del pueblo de Yaxcabá con el objetivo de conocer lo que para ellas significa ser mujer joven. Sus percepciones y sus proyectos de futuro se enmarcan en un campo de conflicto, en el que existe un enfrentamiento entre jóvenes y adultos para mantener o transformar los significados y las prácticas de ser joven.

  8. El proceso fonológico de elisión de la segunda vocal en el maya yucateco

    OpenAIRE

    Sobrino Gómez, Carlos Martín

    2007-01-01

    Como en otras lenguas del mundo, tales como el francés o el inglés, existen en maya yucateco fenómenos de reducción fonética. Este concepto se refiere a cualquier supresión de sonidos en una secuencia fónica que reduce el número de sílabas de la misma. Específicamente se estudia aquí en el maya yucateco la elisión de la segunda vocal en palabras trisilábicas. En este trabajo se presenta un breve pero importante análisis histórico de esta lengua en el cual observaremos un cambio fonético y gra...

  9. Imaging of American football injuries in children

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Podberesky, Daniel J.; Anton, Christopher G. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Unsell, Bryan J. [Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Department of Radiology, San Antonio, TX (United States)

    2009-12-15

    It is estimated that 3.2 million children ages 6 to 14 years participated in organized youth football in the United States in 2007. Approximately 240,000 children play football in the nation's largest youth football organization, with tackle divisions starting at age 5 years. The number of children playing unsupervised football is much higher, and the overall number of children participating in American football is increasing. Sports are the leading cause of injury-related emergency room visits for teenagers, and football is a leading precipitating athletic activity for these visits. Football is also the most hazardous organized sports in the United States. Though most pediatric football-related injuries are minor, such as abrasions, sprains, and strains of the extremities, football accounts for more major and catastrophic injuries than any other sport. Given football's popularity with children in the United States, combined with the high rate of injury associated with participation in this activity, radiologists should be familiar with the imaging features and injury patterns seen in this patient population. (orig.)

  10. Imaging of American football injuries in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podberesky, Daniel J; Unsell, Bryan J; Anton, Christopher G

    2009-12-01

    It is estimated that 3.2 million children ages 6 to 14 years participated in organized youth football in the United States in 2007. Approximately 240,000 children play football in the nation's largest youth football organization, with tackle divisions starting at age 5 years. The number of children playing unsupervised football is much higher, and the overall number of children participating in American football is increasing. Sports are the leading cause of injury-related emergency room visits for teenagers, and football is a leading precipitating athletic activity for these visits. Football is also the most hazardous organized sports in the United States. Though most pediatric football-related injuries are minor, such as abrasions, sprains, and strains of the extremities, football accounts for more major and catastrophic injuries than any other sport. Given football's popularity with children in the United States, combined with the high rate of injury associated with participation in this activity, radiologists should be familiar with the imaging features and injury patterns seen in this patient population.

  11. Imaging of American football injuries in children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podberesky, Daniel J.; Anton, Christopher G.; Unsell, Bryan J.

    2009-01-01

    It is estimated that 3.2 million children ages 6 to 14 years participated in organized youth football in the United States in 2007. Approximately 240,000 children play football in the nation's largest youth football organization, with tackle divisions starting at age 5 years. The number of children playing unsupervised football is much higher, and the overall number of children participating in American football is increasing. Sports are the leading cause of injury-related emergency room visits for teenagers, and football is a leading precipitating athletic activity for these visits. Football is also the most hazardous organized sports in the United States. Though most pediatric football-related injuries are minor, such as abrasions, sprains, and strains of the extremities, football accounts for more major and catastrophic injuries than any other sport. Given football's popularity with children in the United States, combined with the high rate of injury associated with participation in this activity, radiologists should be familiar with the imaging features and injury patterns seen in this patient population. (orig.)

  12. Leveraging Social Networks to Support Reproductive Health and Economic Wellbeing among Guatemalan Maya Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prescott, Alexandra S.; Luippold-Roge, Genevieve P.; Gurman, Tilly A.

    2016-01-01

    Objective: Maya women in Guatemala are disproportionately affected by poverty and negative reproductive health outcomes. Although social networks are valued in many Indigenous cultures, few studies have explored whether health education programmes can leverage these networks to improve reproductive health and economic wellbeing. Design: This…

  13. Elements of success in cooperatives conformed by Maya women in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Osorio Vazqez, Maria Cristina; Bressers, Johannes T.A.; Franco Garcia, Maria Laura; Boer, C.L.; Reyes Maya, Oscar Ivan

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes different elements leading to the success of cooperatives formed by indigenous Maya women of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. These elements have shown to facilitate the sustainability (permanence over time) of the cooperatives and their presence in the market, while improving

  14. Japanese and American Children's Moral Evaluations of Reporting on Transgressions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu Loke, Ivy; Heyman, Gail D.; Itakura, Shoji; Toriyama, Rie; Lee, Kang

    2014-01-01

    American and Japanese children's evaluations of the reporting of peers' transgressions to authority figures were investigated. Seven-, 9-, and 11-year-old children (N = 160) and adults (N = 62) were presented with vignettes and were asked to evaluate the decisions of child observers who reported their friend's either major or relatively minor…

  15. Ethnomedical research and review of Q'eqchi Maya women's reproductive health in the Lake Izabal region of Guatemala: Past, present and future prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michel, Joanna L; Caceres, Armando; Mahady, Gail B

    2016-02-03

    In Central America, most Maya women use ethnomedicines for all aspects of their reproductive cycle including menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. However, very few of these plants have been documented, collected and tested in appropriate pharmacological assays to determine possible safety and efficacy. The aim of this work was to provide an overview of information on the ethnomedical uses, ethnopharmacology, chemistry and pharmacological research for medicinal plants used for women's reproductive health in Guatemala, with a special emphasis on the Q'eqchi Maya of the Lake Izabal region, to demonstrate therapeutic potential and support future research in the field. Reviews of the ethnobotanical, ethnomedical and ethnopharmacological literature were performed for 30 plants collected in the Lake Izabal region of Guatemala and used by the Q'eqchi Maya for treatment of reproductive health issues were performed up to and including July 2015 using multiple databases, library searches for abstracts, books, dissertations, and websites. Review of the published research confirms that many of the plants used by Q'eqchi Maya women for the management of reproductive health issues have pharmacological activities, including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, estrogenic, progestagenic and/or serotonergic effects, that support the use of these plants and provide plausible mechanisms of action for their traditional uses. Furthermore, a new serotonin agonist, 9, 10-methylenedioxy-5, 6-Z-fadyenolide was isolated, thereby demonstrating an untapped potential for drug discovery. However, to date much of the pharmacological assays have been in vitro only, and few in vivo studies have been performed. Considering the large percentage of the Maya population in Guatemala that use traditional medicines, there remains a significant lack of pharmacological and toxicological data for these plants. Future research should focus on the safety and efficacy of medicinal plants using in vivo preclinical

  16. Using Electronic Health Records to Examine Disease Risk in Small Populations: Obesity Among American Indian Children, Wisconsin, 2007-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomayko, Emily J; Weinert, Bethany A; Godfrey, Liz; Adams, Alexandra K; Hanrahan, Lawrence P

    2016-02-25

    Tribe-based or reservation-based data consistently show disproportionately high obesity rates among American Indian children, but little is known about the approximately 75% of American Indian children living off-reservation. We examined obesity among American Indian children seeking care off-reservation by using a database of de-identified electronic health records linked to community-level census variables. Data from electronic health records from American Indian children and a reference sample of non-Hispanic white children collected from 2007 through 2012 were abstracted to determine obesity prevalence. Related community-level and individual-level risk factors (eg, economic hardship, demographics) were examined using logistic regression. The obesity rate for American Indian children (n = 1,482) was double the rate among non-Hispanic white children (n = 81,042) (20.0% vs 10.6%, P American Indian children were less likely to have had a well-child visit (55.9% vs 67.1%, P American Indian records (18.3% vs 14.6%, P obesity risk among American Indian children (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-2.1) independent of age, sex, economic hardship, insurance status, and geographic designation. An electronic health record data set demonstrated high obesity rates for nonreservation-based American Indian children, rates that had not been previously assessed. This low-cost method may be used for assessing health risk for other understudied populations and to plan and evaluate targeted interventions.

  17. Classic Maya civilization collapse related to modest reduction in precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina-Elizalde, M.; Rohling, E. J.

    2013-05-01

    The disintegration of the Classic Maya civilization during the Terminal Classic Period (TCP) in the Yucatán Peninsula (YP) and Central America was a complex process that occurred over a ~200-year interval and involved a catastrophic depopulation of the region. While it is well established that the civilization collapse coincided with widespread episodes of drought, their nature and severity remain enigmatic. We present a quantitative analysis that offers a coherent interpretation for four of the most detailed paleoclimate records of the event. The underlying processes driving the patterns and amplitudes of these environmental records during the TCP are evaluated with an isotope mass balance model set up for Lake Chichancanab, located in the YP. We use our hydrological-isotope model (i) to test whether the TCP droughts reflect a persistent summer season southern shift of the intertropical convergence zone and its associated belt of convective activity, away from the YP, and (2) to simulate the development of Lake Chichancanab as a function of weaker perturbations to summer precipitation as reflected by a stalagmite d18O-derived rainfall record from the YP. We conclude that the droughts occurring during the disintegration of the Maya civilization represented up to 40% reduction in annual precipitation, likely due to a reduction in summer season tropical cyclone frequency/intensity. Archaeological and Paleoclimatic records from the Yucatan Peninsula

  18. African American and European American Children in Diverse Elementary Classrooms: Social Integration, Social Status, and Social Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Travis; Rodkin, Philip C.

    2011-01-01

    With a sample of African American and European American 3rd- and 4th-grade children (N = 486, ages 8-11 years), this study examined classroom ethnic composition, peer social status (i.e., social preference and perceived popularity as nominated by same- and cross-ethnicity peers), and patterns of ethnic segregation (i.e., friendship, peer group,…

  19. Fun & Fit, Phase I: A Program for Overweight African American and Hispanic American Children from Low-Income Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meaney, Karen S.; Hart, Melanie A.; Griffin, L. Kent

    2009-01-01

    Fun & Fit is a program designed to create positive physical activity experiences and to promote healthy lifestyle choices among overweight children from low-income African American and Hispanic American families. The program is a collaborative project between Texas Tech University and the Lubbock Independent School District funded through a…

  20. Perceptions of communication choice and usage among African American hearing parents: Afrocentric cultural implications for African American deaf and hard of hearing children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borum, Valerie

    2012-01-01

    In a qualitative study employing an exploratory design, the researcher explored the perceptions of communication choice and usage among 14 African American hearing parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. Semistructured, in-depth thematic interviews were used with a modified grounded-theory approach in which themes were analyzed and coded. Four thematic challenges and opportunities related to communication choice and usage were found: (a) oral tradition-nommo, (b) sign and oral-diunital, (c) literacy, and (d) racial/ethnic cultural socialization. Afrocentric implications for deaf and hard of hearing children are explored based on research observations pertaining to the significance of the oral tradition in African American culture and the socialization of African American deaf and hard of hearing children in the context of African American hearing families.

  1. Peer Victimization and Social-Psychological Adjustment in Hispanic and African-American Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storch, Eric A.; Nock, Matthew K.; Masia-Warner, Carrie; Barlas, Mitchell E.

    2003-01-01

    We examined the relation of overt and relational victimization to depressive symptoms, fear of negative evaluation (FNE), social avoidance, and loneliness in a sample of Hispanic and African-American children. The Social Experience Questionnaire, Children's Depression Inventory, Social Anxiety Scale for Children--Revised, and Asher Loneliness…

  2. Body composition assessment in American Indian children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohman, T G; Caballero, B; Himes, J H; Hunsberger, S; Reid, R; Stewart, D; Skipper, B

    1999-04-01

    Although the high prevalence of obesity in American Indian children was documented in several surveys that used body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2) as the measure, there is limited information on more direct measurements of body adiposity in this population. The present study evaluated body composition in 81 boys (aged 11.2+/-0.6 y) and 75 girls (aged 11.0+/-0.4 y) attending public schools in 6 American Indian communities: White Mountain Apache, Pima, and Tohono O'Odham in Arizona; Oglala Lakota and Sicangu Lakota in South Dakota; and Navajo in New Mexico and Arizona. These communities were participating in the feasibility phase of Pathways, a multicenter intervention for the primary prevention of obesity. Body composition was estimated by using a combination of skinfold thickness and bioelectrical impedance measurements, with a prediction equation validated previously in this same population. The mean BMI was 20.4+/-4.2 for boys and 21.1+/-5.0 for girls. The sum of the triceps plus subscapular skinfold thicknesses averaged 28.6+/-7.0 mm in boys and 34.0+/-8.0 mm in girls. Mean percentage body fat was 35.6+/-6.9 in boys and 38.8+/-8.5 in girls. The results from this study confirmed the high prevalence of excess body fatness in school-age American Indian children and permitted the development of procedures, training, and quality control for measurement of the main outcome variable in the full-scale Pathways study.

  3. Narrative performance of gifted African American school-aged children from low-income backgrounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Monique T

    2015-02-01

    This study investigated classroom differences in the narrative performance of school-age African American English (AAE)-speaking children in gifted and general education classrooms. Forty-three children, Grades 2-5, each generated fictional narratives in response to the book Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1969). Differences in performance on traditional narrative measures (total number of communication units [C-units], number of different words, and mean length of utterance in words) and on AAE production (dialect density measure) between children in gifted and general education classrooms were examined. There were no classroom-based differences in total number of C-units, number of different words, and mean length of utterance in words. Children in gifted education classrooms produced narratives with lower dialect density than did children in general educated classrooms. Direct logistic regression assessed whether narrative dialect density measure scores offered additional information about giftedness beyond scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (Dunn & Dunn, 2007), a standard measure of language ability. Results indicated that a model with only Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition scores best discriminated children in the 2 classrooms. African American children across gifted and general education classrooms produce fictional narratives of similar length, lexical diversity, and syntax complexity. However, African American children in gifted education classrooms may produce lower rates of AAE and perform better on standard measures of vocabulary than those in general education classrooms.

  4. Jugadores de pelota maya en tiempos del oxlajuj b’ak’tún

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jairzinho Francisco Panqueba Cifuentes

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available La presente reflexión hace parte de un proceso investigativo cuyo objeto ha sido la práctica contemporánea del juego de pelota maya en Guatemala. Es un acercamiento analítico a los testimonios de vida recabados a través de la metodología de investigación-aprehendizaje compartida con los actores del proceso. Sus trayectorias vitales nos permiten comprender en descripciones y acciones, los detalles contemporáneos de una manifestación cultural, lúdica y recreativa ancestral. Pero también de qué maneras el juego de pelota mesoamericano es fuente de conocimientos de los patrimonios corporales hasta ahora difusos entre discursos relacionados con el folclor, las etnicidades, las artes, el deporte, la cultura, las espiritualidades y en general con ciencias como la historia, la antropología y la arqueología. Las vidas cotidianas de los actuales jugadores de pelota ayudan a comprender una parte de las sabidurías ancestrales mayas. Se integran, por tanto, a los testimonios de las herencias inmateriales arqueológicas representadas en los campos de juego de pelota diseminados por Mesoamérica.

  5. The relationship between environment, efficacy beliefs, and academic achievement of low-income African American children in special education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bean, Kristen F; Sidora-Arcoleo, Kimberly

    2012-01-01

    African American students are overrepresented in special education. Ecological systems theory, social cognitive theory, and a literature review demonstrate that children's environments, particularly school, and self-efficacy impact the educational outcomes of African American children. Interventions have aimed to improve children's environmental resources and efficacy. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of environment, efficacy beliefs, and the Nurse-Family Partnership intervention on the educational achievements of African American children in special education. A secondary data analysis of 126 African American children in special education found that self-efficacy and the number of hours spent in special education were associated with their academic achievement.

  6. Culture and diet among Chinese American children aged 9–13 years: A qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    This study examined Chinese American children's behaviors, food preferences, and cultural influences on their diet. Qualitative individual interviews were conducted with twenty-five Chinese American children aged 9-13 years in community centers and Chinese schools in Houston, TX using constructs fro...

  7. Beyond Nature Appropriation: Towards Post-development Conservation in the Maya Forest

    OpenAIRE

    Jose E Martinez-Reyes

    2014-01-01

    The establishment of biosphere reserves in Mexico was followed by alternative livelihood conservation/development projects to integrate indigenous groups into Western style conservation under the idea of sustainable development and participation. In this paper, I discuss the outcomes of two forest wildlife management projects in one Maya community along the Sian Ka′an Biosphere Reserve in the state of Quintana Roo. Both projects ultimately failed and the community mobilised and expelled the N...

  8. Population dynamics and stock assessment for Octopus maya (Cephalopoda:Octopodidae fishery in the Campeche Bank, Gulf of Mexico

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    Francisco Arreguín-Sánchez

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available The octopus (Octopus maya is one of the most important fish resources in the Mexican Gulf of Mexico with a mean annual yield of 9000 ton, and a reasonable number of jobs created; O. maya represents 80% of the total octopus catch, followed by Octopus vulgaris. There are two artisanal fleets based on Octopus maya and a middle-size fleet that covers both species. Catch-at-length structured data from the artisanal fleets, for the 1994 season (August 1st to December 15th were used to analyze the O. maya population dynamics and stock and to estimate the current level of exploitation. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters were: L = 252 mm, mantle length; K=1.4 year -1; oscillation parameters C=1.0, WP=0.6; and tz=0.842 years. A rough estimate of natural mortality was M=2.2, total mortality from catch curve Z=8.77, and exploitation rate F/Z=0.75. This last value suggests an intensive exploitation, even when yield per recruit analysis indicates both fleets may increase the minimum legal size on about 10% to increase yields. The length-based VPA also shows that the stock is being exploited under its maximum acceptable biological limit. These apparently contradictory results are explained by biological and behavioral characteristics of this species. Because most females die after reproduction, a new gross estimation of natural mortality was computed as M=3.3. The new estimate of exploitation rate was F/Z=0.57. This new value coincides with results from the length-VPA and the Thompson and Bell methods, the former suggesting that a reduction of 20% in fishing mortality may provide larger yields. This fishery resource is fully exploited and current management measures must be revised to sustain and probably optimize yields.Octopus maya es uno de los recursos pesqueros más importantes del Golfo de México, con rendimientos anuales promedio de 9 000 t, y constituye el 80% de la captura total, seguido por O. vulgaris. En la pesquería participan dos flotas

  9. Early Middle Formative Occupation in the Central Maya Lowlands: Recent Evidence from Cahal Pech, Belize

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    Jaime Awe

    1990-11-01

    Full Text Available After more than half a century of intensive archaeological research the early Middle Formative (or Middle Preclassic period (1000-600 B.C. continues to be one of the most enigmatic eras in the study of Lowland Maya prehistory. While several factors contribte to this situation, the primary cause for this obscurity lies in the fact that few sites have produced either contextual or stratigraphic evidence of occupation during this phase (Rice 1976; Andrews 1988. Concsequently, any new site with evidence of Middle Formative occupation can contribute substantially to our limited knowledge of this pioneering stage of the lowland Maya. This paper introduces one such site, Cahal Pech, where recent investigations have uncovered a stratigraphic sequence that tentatively spans the early Middle Formative to the Late Classic period. It provides a preliminary description, of the site's early Middle Formative configuration and briefly discusses its possible regional affiliation.

  10. Neighborhood characteristics, parenting styles, and children's behavioral problems in Chinese American immigrant families

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, EH; Zhou, Q; Ly, J; Main, A; Tao, A; Chen, SH

    2014-01-01

    Using data from a socioeconomically diverse sample of Chinese American children (n = 258, aged 6-9 years) in immigrant families, we examined the concurrent relations among neighborhood economic disadvantage and concentration of Asian residents, parenting styles, and Chinese American children's externalizing and internalizing problems. Neighborhood characteristics were measured with 2000 U.S. Census tract-level data, parents (mostly mothers) rated their own parenting styles, and parents and te...

  11. Tales from the "hood:" placing reproductive health communication between African American fathers and children in context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohalete, Nnenna; Georges, Jane; Doswell, Willa

    2010-01-01

    To evaluate reproductive health communication between African American fathers and their children. In this qualitative ethnographic study, data were collected through tape-recorded individual interviews about the content and timing of reproductive health communication, the reproductive health values fathers intended to impart to their children, and their comfort level in doing so. A total sample of 19 African-American fathers participated. Data were coded according to the qualitative analytic principles established by Miles and Huberman (1994), and analyzed using manifest and latent content analysis approaches. Although 10 fathers reported feeling uncomfortable having these conversations, 18 reported having reproductive health communication with their children, and most encouraged their sons and daughters to delay sex until adulthood. These conversations were primarily driven by the fear of HIV/AIDS and the negative consequences of sex; however, some conversations were inappropriate for developmental age. African-American fathers may benefit from education to help them have age appropriate reproductive health communication with their children. Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners are well positioned to educate African American adolescents and their fathers on reproductive health. Future dyadic African American father-child studies are needed to explore more fully African-American children's perceptions of reproductive health communication and the effect on delaying sex.

  12. Narrative Performance of Gifted African American School-Aged Children From Low-Income Backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Purpose This study investigated classroom differences in the narrative performance of school-age African American English (AAE)-speaking children in gifted and general education classrooms. Method Forty-three children, Grades 2–5, each generated fictional narratives in response to the book Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1969). Differences in performance on traditional narrative measures (total number of communication units [C-units], number of different words, and mean length of utterance in words) and on AAE production (dialect density measure) between children in gifted and general education classrooms were examined. Results There were no classroom-based differences in total number of C-units, number of different words, and mean length of utterance in words. Children in gifted education classrooms produced narratives with lower dialect density than did children in general educated classrooms. Direct logistic regression assessed whether narrative dialect density measure scores offered additional information about giftedness beyond scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Fourth Edition (Dunn & Dunn, 2007), a standard measure of language ability. Results indicated that a model with only Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Fourth Edition scores best discriminated children in the 2 classrooms. Conclusion African American children across gifted and general education classrooms produce fictional narratives of similar length, lexical diversity, and syntax complexity. However, African American children in gifted education classrooms may produce lower rates of AAE and perform better on standard measures of vocabulary than those in general education classrooms. PMID:25409770

  13. Mexican-American mothers’ initiation and understanding of home oral hygiene for young children

    Science.gov (United States)

    HOEFT, Kristin S.; BARKER, Judith C.; MASTERSON, Erin E.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose To investigate caregiver beliefs and behaviors as key issues in the initiation of home oral hygiene routines. Oral hygiene helps reduce the prevalence of early childhood caries, which is disproportionately high among Mexican-American children. Methods Interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 48 Mexican-American mothers of young children in a low income, urban neighborhood. Interviews were digitally recorded, translated, transcribed, coded and analyzed using standard qualitative procedures. Results The average age of tooth brushing initiation was 1.8±0.8 years; only a small proportion of parents (13%) initiated oral hygiene in accord with American Dental Association (ADA) recommendations. Mothers initiated 2 forms of oral hygiene: infant oral hygiene and regular tooth brushing. For the 48% of children who participated in infant oral hygiene, mothers were prompted by pediatrician and social service (WIC) professionals. For regular tooth brushing initiation, a set of maternal beliefs exist about when this oral hygiene practice becomes necessary for children. Beliefs are mainly based on a child’s dental maturity, interest, capacity and age/size. Conclusions Most (87%) of the urban Mexican-American mothers in the study do not initiate oral hygiene practices in compliance with ADA recommendations. These findings have implications for educational messages. PMID:19947134

  14. Protective Factors for Depression among African American Children of Predominantly Low-Income Mothers with Depression

    OpenAIRE

    Boyd, Rhonda C; Waanders, Christine

    2012-01-01

    Maternal depression has a deleterious impact on child psychological outcomes, including depression symptoms. However, there is limited research on the protective factors for these children and even less for African Americans. The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of positive parenting skills on child depression and the potential protective effects of social skills and kinship support among African American children whose mothers are depressed and low-income. African American moth...

  15. Los usos sociales de la matemática en las ciencias prácticas de la cultura maya: un estudio socioepistemológico

    OpenAIRE

    Cantoral, Ricardo; Covián, Olda

    2005-01-01

    El presente trabajo plantea el estudio del conocimiento matemático de la cultura maya desde la aproximación socioepistemológica, ya que se aporta una visión diferente de las que suelen abordarse en la literatura: antropológica o etnográfica entre otras. Se plantea el estudio de prácticas sociales que se encuentran en la cultura maya y que son a la vez generadoras de conocimiento matemático.

  16. 76 FR 3120 - Native American and Alaska Native Children in School Program; Office of English Language...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Native American and Alaska Native Children in School Program; Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students; Overview Information; Native American and Alaska Native Children in School Program...

  17. Apicultura y organizaciones de apicultores entre los mayas de Yucatán Beekeeping and Apicultural Organizations Among the Mayas of Yucatan

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    Margarita Rosales González

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available En las comunidades mayas la apicultura continúa siendo una actividad relevante pero complementaria, cuya lógica y condiciones de producción se contraponen a las nuevas normas del mercado internacional. La integración de organizaciones apícolas se considera una estrategia para la "modernización" de la apicultura y la comercialización de la miel en mejores condiciones. Este trabajo se refiere al sentido que tanto la apicultura como estas organizaciones tienen para sus integrantes, a sus expectativas, intereses, aprendizajes y a la forma en que se relacionan con instituciones y agentes externos. El escrito se basa en entrevistas y observaciones realizadas en 12 organizaciones apícolas durante 2005 y 2006 en el marco del proyecto de investigación del centro INAH Yucatán "Organizaciones indígenas y procesos de desarrollo en comunidades mayas del sur de Yucatán".In Mayan communities, beekeeping continues to be an important but complementary activity, whose logic and conditions of production are opposed to the new norms of the international market. The integration of apicultural organizations is considered as a strategy for the "modernization" of beekeeping and the commercialization of the honey in better quality. The present research deals with the meaning that beekeeping has for the members of such organizations, and it explores the expectations, interests and training processes of the members, analyzing finally how are the relationships between these organizations and external agents and institutions. The research is based on interviews and observations made in 12 apicultural organizations between 2005 and 2006, as part of the research project of the INAH Regional Center Yucatan, entitled "Indigenous Organizations and Processes of Development in Mayan Communities in Southern Yucatan".

  18. Acculturation and weight change in Asian-American children: Evidence from the ECLS-K:2011.

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    Diep, Cassandra S; Baranowski, Tom; Kimbro, Rachel T

    2017-06-01

    Despite relatively low rates of overweight and obesity among Asian-American children, disparities exist based on acculturation, socioeconomic status, and Asian ethnicity. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between acculturation and weight change in Asian-American children. Secondary aims were to compare changes by Asian ethnic group and acculturation x socioeconomic status. Participants included 1200 Asian-American children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11, a longitudinal study of U.S. children attending kindergarten in 2010-2011. Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to predict weight change based on body mass indices in kindergarten (spring 2011) and second grade (spring 2013): consistently healthy weight, consistently overweight/obese, healthy weight change, and unhealthy weight change. Models included demographic, household, socioeconomic status, and acculturation measures, specifically mother's English proficiency and percentage of life spent in the U.S. Overall, 72.3% of children were at healthy weights in kindergarten and second grade. Of all Asian ethnic groups, Filipino children had the highest rate of being consistently overweight/obese (24.8%) and the lowest rate of being consistently healthy weight (62.9%). In addition, mother's English proficiency predicted unhealthy weight change (OR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.75-0.92) and healthy weight change (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.65-0.86), relative to "consistently healthy weight." English proficiency also predicted being consistently overweight/obese for children with less educated mothers. Findings enhance our understanding of obesity disparities within Asian Americans and highlight the need to disaggregate the population. Obesity interventions are needed for Filipino children and families with low socioeconomic status but high English proficiency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Physical activity behaviors and influences among Chinese-American children aged 9-13 years: A qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Low physical activity is a major health issue among Chinese Americans. This study explored Chinese–American children's physical activity behaviors and influencing factors. Twenty-five children of Chinese or Taiwanese descent were interviewed to understand their favorite sports or physical activities...

  20. Volcanic ash in ancient Maya ceramics of the limestone lowlands: implications for prehistoric volcanic activity in the Guatemala highlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Anabel; Rose, William I.

    1995-07-01

    In the spirit of collaborative research, Glicken and Ford embarked on the problem of identifying the source of volcanic ash used as temper in prehistoric Maya ceramics. Verification of the presence of glass shards and associated volcanic mineralogy in thin sections of Maya ceramics was straightforward and pointed to the Guatemala Highland volcanic chain. Considering seasonal wind rose patterns, target volcanoes include those from the area west of and including Guatemala City. Joint field research conducted in 1983 by Glicken and Ford in the limestone lowlands of Belize and neighboring Guatemala, 300 km north of the volcanic zone and 150 km from the nearest identified ash deposits, was unsuccessful in discovering local volcanic ash deposits. The abundance of the ash in common Maya ceramic vessels coupled with the difficulties of long-distance procurement without draft animals lead Glicken to suggest that ashfall into the lowlands would most parsimoniously explain prehistoric procurement; it literally dropped into their hands. A major archaeological problem with this explanation is that the use of volcanic ash occurring over several centuries of the Late Classic Period (ca. 600-900 AD). To accept the ashfall hypothesis for ancient Maya volcanic ash procurement, one would have to demonstrate a long span of consistent volcanic activity in the Guatemala Highlands for the last half of the first millennium AD. Should this be documented through careful petrographic, microprobe and tephrachronological studies, a number of related archaeological phenomena would be explained. In addition, the proposed model of volcanic activity has implications for understanding volcanism and potential volcanic hazards in Central America over a significantly longer time span than the historic period. These avenues are explored and a call for further collaborative research of this interdisciplinary problem is extended in this paper.

  1. The Territory of Quintana Roo. Colo­nization and Military Control Attempts in the Selva Maya (1888-1902

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    Carlos Macías Richard

    1999-07-01

    Full Text Available The  federal territory of Quintana Roo was established in 1902, shortly after federal forces, under General Ignacio A. Bravo, concluded a long and intense campaign against one of the country's oldest rebel groups: the Maya from the Selva Oriental of the Yucatan Península. This article analyzes the successive military attempts to finally overtake the Maya sanctuary Chan Santa Cruz, where the Speaking Cross is located, which occurred within the wider central attempts to colonize the  peninsula. Furthermore, the arti­cle includes and makes a contextual interpretation of  the individual profiles  of  the  last campaign's leaders, in order to explain the "militarized" beginnings of  the  Quintana Roo government.

  2. Mexican American Children's Ethnic Identity, Understanding of Ethnic Prejudice, and Parental Ethnic Socialization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quintana, Stephen M.; Vera, Elizabeth M.

    1999-01-01

    Interviews with 47 Mexican-American children in grades 2 and 6 and their parents revealed that parental ethnic socialization about ethnic discrimination was associated with children's development of ethnic knowledge. Children's understanding of ethnic prejudice was related to their ethnic knowledge but not their ethnic behaviors. Contains 24…

  3. Does the Maya Forest Need More Roads?:Conservation Policy in Brief

    OpenAIRE

    Conde, Dalia Amor; Ramos, Victor Hugo; Burgués, Irene; Castellanos, Bayron; Fleck, Leonardo; Albacete, Carlos; Espinoza, Piedad; Manterola, Carlos; Paiz, Gerardo

    2007-01-01

    An assortment of road projects has been proposed in the border region of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, which is part of the Maya Forest, the largest contiguous tropical forest in the Americas north of the Amazon. The proposals are apparently aimed at spurring economic growth and reducing the high levels of poverty found in this area. But more and better roads usually bring more people and expand farms. Decision-makers are therefore confronted with a seeming conflict between conservation and d...

  4. Work Ethic, Motivation, and Parental Influences in Chinese and North American Children Learning to Play the Piano

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comeau, Gilles; Huta, Veronika; Liu, YiFei

    2015-01-01

    This study compared 50 Chinese and 100 North American Caucasian children aged 6 to 17 who were learning piano, in terms of their work ethic, motivation, and parental influences. Compared to North American Caucasians, Chinese children and parents believed more strongly that musical ability requires hard work, and Chinese children were more…

  5. La violencia sexual como genocidio. Memoria de las mujeres mayas sobrevivientes de violación sexual durante el conflicto armado en Guatemala

    OpenAIRE

    Amandine Fulchiron

    2016-01-01

    Este art culo es producto de la investigaci n/ acci n participativa llevada a cabo del 2005 al 2009 en el marco del proceso pol tico y social impulsado por Actoras de Cambio junto con 54 mujeres mayas de cuatro grupos tnicos distintos ?Q eqchi , Mam, Chuj, y Kaqchikel? sobrevivientes de violaci n sexual durante el con icto armado interno en Guatemala (1960-1996). En l analizamos el uso sistem tico y masivo de la violaci n sexual contra las mujeres mayas dentro del marco de la pol tica contr...

  6. Intelectuales Indígenas y Literaturas en México. El campo literario entre los zapotecas y los mayas

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    Luz Maria Lepe Lira

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo explora la conformación del campo intelectual en la literatura zapoteca del istmo de Tehuantepec y la literatura maya de la Península de Yucatán. A través del concepto de campo intelectual de Pierre Bordieu (2002 y bajo la premisa de que hay tantos campos literarios como literaturas indígenas, se evidencia que estos espacios de poder simbólico están condicionados por elementos socioculturales y políticos que van desde la alfabetización y uso de la escritura en las lenguas indígenas hasta la función de los intelectuales en las redes locales y nacionales. En la literatura zapoteca se indican las estrategias de la generación de Andrés Henestrosa, la relación entre la COCEI y la Casa de Cultura de Juchitán, y los vínculos que sostienen los intelectuales de la región con otros intelectuales de la esfera nacional. Para la literatura maya yucateca se reflexiona sobre la generación de talleres literarios como el principal motor de la nueva literatura maya, tanto desde las instancias gubernamentales como desde las asociaciones civiles y grupos gestionados por los intelectuales mayas. Palabras- clave: intelectuales indígenas, campo intelectual, literatura zapoteca, literatura maya Indigenous Intellectuals and Literatures in Mexico. The Literary Field Between the Zapotecs and the Maya Abstract The present paper explores the conformation of the intellectual field in the Zapotec literature of the Istmhus of Tehuantepec and in the Mayan literature of the Yucatán Peninsula. Through the concept of intellectual field by Pierre Bordieu (2002 and under the premise that there are as many literary fields as indigenous literatures, this paper emphasizes the fact that these spaces of symbolic power and conditioned by sociocultural and political elements ranging from literacy and the use of writing in indigenous languages to the role of intellectuals in local and national networks. In the case of the Zapotec literature the focus lies

  7. Chinese and European American Mothers' Beliefs about the Role of Parenting in Children's School Success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Ruth K.

    1996-01-01

    Compared 48 immigrant Chinese and 50 European American mothers of preschool-age children on their perspectives on the role of parenting in their children's school success. Findings reveal Chinese immigrants have a high regard for education and a belief in a strong parental role, while European Americans regard social skills and self-esteem of…

  8. Los conjuntos palaciegos reales de las Tierras Bajas Mayas del sur: una evaluación de los datos arqueológicos e iconográficos Royal palace complexes in Southern Maya Lowlands: evaluating archaeological and iconographical data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Delvendahl

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo va a trazar algunas conclusiones de una evaluación de los aspectos físicos, espaciales, funcionales y sociales de los conjuntos palaciegos reales tomando en cuenta evidencia arqueológica e iconográfica. Para el componente iconográfico se analizaron representaciones de escenas palaciegas pintadas sobre 87 vasijas cilíndricas de cerámica, mientras que para el componente arqueológico se evaluó información de conjuntos palaciegos bien documentados como el Grupo Palaciego M7 de Aguateca, el Palacio de Palenque, Los 27 Escalones de Kohunlich, el Grupo 10L-2 de Copán, la Acrópolis Central de Tikal y el Grupo Gran Acrópolis de Calakmul. Uno de los objetivos generales de este trabajo es proporcionar un ejemplo de cómo se puede capitalizar la información que las escenas palaciegas proveen (al comparar el corpus iconográfico con el dato arqueológico. Esto permitiría plantear ideas más ajustadas sobre los aspectos físicos, espaciales, funcionales y sociales de los conjuntos palaciegos del Clásico Tardío en el área maya.This paper will present some conclusions of an evaluation of the physical, spatial, functional, and social aspects of Classic Maya royal palaces taking into account archaeological and iconographic evidence. For the iconographic evaluation, the analysis examined representations of palace-like ambience on 87 cylindrical ceramic vases, while the archaeological information includes data from the better documented palace groups of the Southern Maya Lowlands, including the Palace Group M7 of Aguateca, the Palace of Palenque, Los 27 Escalones of Kohunlich, Group 10L-2 of Copan, the Central Acropolis of Tikal and the Grand Acropolis Group of Calakmul. In comparing the iconographic corpus with the archaeological evidence, one of the general objectives of this presentation is to provide an example of how the information inherent in the palace scenes can be capitalized to propose more adjusted ideas about the

  9. How European American and Taiwanese Mothers Talk to Their Children about Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jin; Fung, Heidi; Bakeman, Roger; Rae, Katharine; Wei, Wanchun

    2014-01-01

    Little cross-cultural research exists on parental socialization of children's learning beliefs. The current study compared 218 conversations between European American and Taiwanese mothers and children (6-10 years) about good and poor learning. The findings support well-documented cultural differences in learning beliefs. European Americans…

  10. Development of sedentary communities in the Maya lowlands: coexisting mobile groups and public ceremonies at Ceibal, Guatemala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inomata, Takeshi; MacLellan, Jessica; Triadan, Daniela; Munson, Jessica; Burham, Melissa; Aoyama, Kazuo; Nasu, Hiroo; Pinzón, Flory; Yonenobu, Hitoshi

    2015-04-07

    Our archaeological investigations at Ceibal, a lowland Maya site located in the Pasión region, documented that a formal ceremonial complex was built around 950 B.C. at the onset of the Middle Preclassic period, when ceramics began to be used in the Maya lowlands. Our refined chronology allowed us to trace the subsequent social changes in a resolution that had not been possible before. Many residents of Ceibal appear to have remained relatively mobile during the following centuries, living in ephemeral post-in-ground structures and frequently changing their residential localities. In other parts of the Pasión region, there may have existed more mobile populations who maintained the traditional lifestyle of the preceramic period. Although the emerging elite of Ceibal began to live in a substantial residential complex by 700 B.C., advanced sedentism with durable residences rebuilt in the same locations and burials placed under house floors was not adopted in most residential areas until 500 B.C., and did not become common until 300 B.C. or the Late Preclassic period. During the Middle Preclassic period, substantial formal ceremonial complexes appear to have been built only at a small number of important communities in the Maya lowlands, and groups with different levels of sedentism probably gathered for their constructions and for public rituals held in them. These collaborative activities likely played a central role in socially integrating diverse groups with different lifestyles and, eventually, in developing fully established sedentary communities.

  11. High-precision radiocarbon dating of political collapse and dynastic origins at the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inomata, Takeshi; Triadan, Daniela; MacLellan, Jessica; Burham, Melissa; Aoyama, Kazuo; Palomo, Juan Manuel; Yonenobu, Hitoshi; Pinzón, Flory; Nasu, Hiroo

    2017-02-07

    The lowland Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, had a long history of occupation, spanning from the Middle Preclassic Period through the Terminal Classic (1000 BC to AD 950). The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project has been conducting archaeological investigations at this site since 2005 and has obtained 154 radiocarbon dates, which represent the largest collection of radiocarbon assays from a single Maya site. The Bayesian analysis of these dates, combined with a detailed study of ceramics, allowed us to develop a high-precision chronology for Ceibal. Through this chronology, we traced the trajectories of the Preclassic collapse around AD 150-300 and the Classic collapse around AD 800-950, revealing similar patterns in the two cases. Social instability started with the intensification of warfare around 75 BC and AD 735, respectively, followed by the fall of multiple centers across the Maya lowlands around AD 150 and 810. The population of Ceibal persisted for some time in both cases, but the center eventually experienced major decline around AD 300 and 900. Despite these similarities in their diachronic trajectories, the outcomes of these collapses were different, with the former associated with the development of dynasties centered on divine rulership and the latter leading to their downfalls. The Ceibal dynasty emerged during the period of low population after the Preclassic collapse, suggesting that this dynasty was placed under the influence from, or by the direct intervention of, an external power.

  12. Children's Fears: A Pre-9/11 and Post-9/11 Comparison Using the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnham, Joy J.

    2007-01-01

    Children are influenced by the salient events surrounding them (e.g., 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, massacre at Virginia Tech). In this study, the author examined fears of children and adolescents in Grades 2-12 in a pre-and post-September 11, 2001, comparison using the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-AM; J. J.…

  13. EL COLAPSO DEL CLÁSICO TARDÍO ENTRE LOS MAYAS DE UAXACTÚN (GUATEMALA Y BARTON RAMIE (BELICE SEGÚN EL REGISTRO FUNERARIO (The Late Classic Collapse among the Maya of Uaxactun, Guatemala and Barton Ramie, Belize according to the Mortuary Record

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pascual Izquierdo-Egea

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available La aplicación del método de valoración contextual al análisis del registro funerario de Uaxactún (Guatemala y Barton Ramie (Belice aporta evidencias irrefutables sobre la huella material del colapso clásico en las ofrendas de los entierros mayas. Esto confirma lo que ya se había anticipado al estudiar la cuenca del río Balsas en México (2014. ENGLISH: Application of the contextual valuation method to the mortuary analysis of Uaxactun, Guatemala and Barton Ramie, Belize provides irrefutable evidence on the Classic Maya collapse recorded in the grave goods of these burials. This confirms what was already anticipated by studying the Balsas River basin in Mexico.

  14. The moderating effects of parenting styles on African-American and Caucasian children's suicidal behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greening, Leilani; Stoppelbein, Laura; Luebbe, Aaron

    2010-04-01

    Given that parenting practices have been linked to suicidal behavior in adolescence, examining the moderating effect of parenting styles on suicidal behavior early in development could offer potential insight into possible buffers as well as directions for suicide prevention and intervention later in adolescence. Hence, the moderating effects of parenting styles, including authoritarian, permissive, and features of authoritative parenting, on depressed and aggressive children's suicidal behavior, including ideation and attempts, were evaluated with young children (N = 172; 72% male, 28% female) ranging from 6 to 12 years of age. African American (69%) and Caucasian (31%) children admitted for acute psychiatric inpatient care completed standardized measures of suicidal behavior, depressive symptoms, and proactive and reaction aggression. Their parents also completed standardized measures of parental distress and parenting style. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, while statistically controlling for age and gender, children who endorsed more depressive symptoms or reactive aggression reported more current and past suicidal behavior than children who endorsed fewer depressive or aggressive symptoms. The significant positive relationship observed between depressive symptoms and childhood suicidal behavior, however, was attenuated by parental use of authoritarian parenting practices for African-American and older children but not for younger and Caucasian children. The ethnic/racial difference observed for the buffering effect of authoritarian parenting practices offers potential theoretical and clinical implications for conceptualizing the moderating effects of parenting styles on African-American and Caucasian children's suicidal behavior.

  15. Prevalence of astigmatism in Native American infants and children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey, Erin M; Dobson, Velma; Clifford-Donaldson, Candice E; Green, Tina K; Messer, Dawn H; Miller, Joseph M

    2010-06-01

    To describe the prevalence of high astigmatism in infants and young children who are members of a Native American tribe with a high prevalence of astigmatism. SureSight autorefraction measurements were obtained for 1461 Tohono O'odham children aged 6 months to 8 years. The prevalence of astigmatism >2.00 diopters was 30% in Tohono O'odham children during infancy (6 months to O'odham infants show a high prevalence of astigmatism, which decreases in the second year of life. However, the prevalence of high astigmatism in Tohono O'odham children increases by age 2 to <3 years to a level near that seen in infancy and remains at that level until at least age 8 years. Longitudinal data are needed to determine whether the increase in high astigmatism after infancy occurs in infants who had astigmatism as infants or is due to the development of high astigmatism in children who did not show astigmatism during infancy.

  16. Combined hydrogen and carbon isotopes of plant waxes as an indicator of drought impacts on ancient Maya agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, P. M.; Pagani, M.; Eglinton, T. I.; Brenner, M.; Hodell, D. A.; Curtis, J. H.

    2012-12-01

    There is increasing evidence suggesting that a series of droughts in the Yucatan Peninsula coincided with the Terminal Classic decline of the Classic Maya civilization (ca. 1250 to 1000 years BP). However, there is little evidence directly linking climatic change and changes in human activities in this region. In this study we combine plant-wax δD, δ13C, and Δ14C analyses in two lake sediment cores from southeastern Mexico and northern Guatemala to develop coupled records of hydroclimate variability and human-driven vegetation change. Plant-wax specific Δ14C ages indicate a large input of pre-aged plant waxes into lake sediment. Comparison of plant-wax δD records with other regional hydroclimate proxy records suggest that plant-wax ages are evenly distributed around plant-wax radiocarbon ages, and that applying an age model based on plant-wax radiocarbon ages is appropriate for these lake sediments. We evaluate how differences in plant-wax age distributions influence stable isotope records to assess the age uncertainty associated with records of climate and vegetation change derived from plant-wax stable isotopes. In this low-elevation tropical environment plant-wax δ13C is largely controlled by the relative abundance of C3 and C4 plants. The ancient Maya practiced widespread maize (C4) agriculture and strongly influenced regional C3-C4 vegetation dynamics. Under natural conditions C4 plant coverage and plant-wax δ13C would tend to co-vary positively since C4 plants are well adapted for dry conditions. Under ancient Maya land-use, however, this relationship is likely to be decoupled, since drought would have disrupted C4 agriculture. Combined analysis of plant-wax δD and δ13C from both lakes indicates increasingly divergent trends following ca. 3500 years BP, around the onset of widespread ancient Maya agriculture. After this time high plant-wax δD values tend to correspond with low plant-wax δ13C values and vice versa. This pattern is consistent with

  17. Estimation of body fat from anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance in Native American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohman, T G; Caballero, B; Himes, J H; Davis, C E; Stewart, D; Houtkooper, L; Going, S B; Hunsberger, S; Weber, J L; Reid, R; Stephenson, L

    2000-08-01

    Obesity, as measured by body mass index, is highly prevalent in Native American children, yet there are no valid equations to estimate total body fatness for this population. This study was designed to develop equations to estimate percentage body fat from anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance as a critical part of Pathways, a multi-site study of primary prevention of obesity in Native American children. Percentage fat was estimated from deuterium oxide dilution in 98 Native American children (Pima/Maricopa, Tohono O'odham and White Mountain Apache tribes) between 8 and 11 y of age. The mean fat content (38.4%+/-8. 1%) was calculated assuming the water content of the fat-free body was 76%. Initial independent variables were height, weight, waist circumference, six skinfolds and whole-body resistance and reactance from bioelectrical impedance (BIA). Using all-possible-subsets regressions with the Mallows C (p) criterion, and with age and sex included in each regression model, waist circumference, calf and biceps skinfolds contributed least to the multiple regression analysis. The combination of weight, two skinfolds (any two out of the four best: triceps, suprailiac, subscapular and abdomen) and bioelectrical impedance variables provided excellent predictability. Equations without BIA variables yielded r2 almost as high as those with BIA variables. The recommended equation predicts percentage fat with a root mean square error=3.2% fat and an adjusted r2=0.840. The combination of anthropometry and BIA variables can be used to estimate total body fat in field studies of Native American children. The derived equation yields considerably higher percentage fat values than other skinfold equations in children.

  18. A Within-Group Analysis of African American Mothers’ Authoritarian Attitudes, Limit-Setting and Children's Self-Regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    LeCuyer, Elizabeth A.; Swanson, Dena Phillips

    2016-01-01

    Research suggests that higher levels of authoritarian parenting exist in African American (AA) families than in European American (EA) families, and that authoritarian attitudes may be associated with more positive outcomes in AA families than EA families. However, less is known about authoritarian attitudes and children's development within AA families. This within-group study of 50 African American mothers and their 3-year-old children examined associations between maternal authoritarian attitudes, observed maternal limit-setting strategies, and children's self-regulation during a limit-setting interaction. The findings indicate that while AA families may hold more authoritarian attitudes than EA families, the direction of effect of authoritarian attitudes on children's outcomes appears to be the same in both ethnic groups. In this sample, when examining AA authoritarian attitudes relative to those of other AA mothers, less or lower authoritarian attitudes were associated with authoritative limit-setting behavior (firm limits within the context of overall warmth and responsiveness) and better children's self-regulation. PMID:28408794

  19. A Within-Group Analysis of African American Mothers' Authoritarian Attitudes, Limit-Setting and Children's Self-Regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LeCuyer, Elizabeth A; Swanson, Dena Phillips

    2017-03-01

    Research suggests that higher levels of authoritarian parenting exist in African American (AA) families than in European American (EA) families, and that authoritarian attitudes may be associated with more positive outcomes in AA families than EA families. However, less is known about authoritarian attitudes and children's development within AA families. This within-group study of 50 African American mothers and their 3-year-old children examined associations between maternal authoritarian attitudes, observed maternal limit-setting strategies, and children's self-regulation during a limit-setting interaction. The findings indicate that while AA families may hold more authoritarian attitudes than EA families, the direction of effect of authoritarian attitudes on children's outcomes appears to be the same in both ethnic groups. In this sample, when examining AA authoritarian attitudes relative to those of other AA mothers, less or lower authoritarian attitudes were associated with authoritative limit-setting behavior (firm limits within the context of overall warmth and responsiveness) and better children's self-regulation.

  20. Performance of modified blood pressure-to-height ratio for identifying hypertension in Chinese and American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yuanyuan; Ma, Chuanwei; Yang, Lili; Bovet, Pascal; Xi, Bo

    2018-04-06

    Blood pressure-to-height ratio (BPHR) has been reported to perform well for identifying hypertension (HTN) in adolescents but not in young children. Our study was aimed to evaluate the performance of BPHR and modified BPHR (MBPHR) for screening HTN in children. A total of 5268 Chinese children (boys: 53.1%) aged 6-12 years and 5024 American children (boys: 48.1%) aged 8-12 years were included in the present study. BPHR was calculated as BP/height (mmHg/cm). MBPHR7 was calculated as BP/(height + 7*(13-age)). MBPHR3 was calculated as BP/(height + 3*(13-age)). We used receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis to assess the performance of the three ratios for identifying HTN in children as compared to the 2017 U.S. clinical guideline as the "gold standard". The prevalence of HTN in Chinese and American children was 9.4% and 5.4%, respectively, based on the 2017 U.S. guideline. The AUC was larger for MBPHR3 than BPHR and MBPHR7. All three ratios had optimal negative predictive value (~100%). The positive predictive value (PPV) was higher for MBPHR3 than BPHR in both Chinese (43.9% vs. 37.9%) and American (39.1% vs. 26.3%) children. In contrast, the PPV was higher for MBPHR7 than BPHR in Chinese children (47.4% vs. 37.9%) but not in American children (24.8% vs. 26.3%). In summary, MBPHR3 overall performed better than MBPHR7 and BPHR for identifying HTN in children. However, the three ratios had low PPV (<50%) as compared to the 2017 U.S. guidelines, which makes these ratios of limited use for HTN screening in children.

  1. PIXE analysis on Maya blue in Prehispanic and colonial mural paintings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez del Rio, M. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, DF 09340 (Mexico); Martinetto, P. [Laboratoire de Cristallographie, CNRS, BP 166, F-30842 Grenoble (France); Solis, C. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, DF 04510 (Mexico)]. E-mail: corina@fisica.unam.mx; Reyes-Valerio, C. [Instituto Nacional de Antropologi' a e Historia, Mexico, DF (Mexico)

    2006-08-15

    Particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) experiments have been carried out at the AGLAE facility (Paris) on several mural samples containing Maya blue from different Prehispanic archaeological sites (Cacaxtla, El Tajin, Tamuin, Santa Cecilia Acatitlan) and from several colonial convents in the Mexican plateau (Jiutepec, Totimehuacan, Tezontepec and Cuauhtinchan). The analysis of the concentration of several elements permitted to extract some information on the technique used for painting the mural, usually fresco. Principal component analysis permitted to classify the samples into groups. This grouping is discussed in relation to geographic and historic data.

  2. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Infants and Children With Cardiac Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marino, Bradley S; Tabbutt, Sarah; MacLaren, Graeme; Hazinski, Mary Fran; Adatia, Ian; Atkins, Dianne L; Checchia, Paul A; DeCaen, Allan; Fink, Ericka L; Hoffman, George M; Jefferies, John L; Kleinman, Monica; Krawczeski, Catherine D; Licht, Daniel J; Macrae, Duncan; Ravishankar, Chitra; Samson, Ricardo A; Thiagarajan, Ravi R; Toms, Rune; Tweddell, James; Laussen, Peter C

    2018-04-23

    Cardiac arrest occurs at a higher rate in children with heart disease than in healthy children. Pediatric basic life support and advanced life support guidelines focus on delivering high-quality resuscitation in children with normal hearts. The complexity and variability in pediatric heart disease pose unique challenges during resuscitation. A writing group appointed by the American Heart Association reviewed the literature addressing resuscitation in children with heart disease. MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases were searched from 1966 to 2015, cross-referencing pediatric heart disease with pertinent resuscitation search terms. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association classification of recommendations and levels of evidence for practice guidelines were used. The recommendations in this statement concur with the critical components of the 2015 American Heart Association pediatric basic life support and pediatric advanced life support guidelines and are meant to serve as a resuscitation supplement. This statement is meant for caregivers of children with heart disease in the prehospital and in-hospital settings. Understanding the anatomy and physiology of the high-risk pediatric cardiac population will promote early recognition and treatment of decompensation to prevent cardiac arrest, increase survival from cardiac arrest by providing high-quality resuscitations, and improve outcomes with postresuscitation care. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

  3. Digital Preservation of Ancient Maya Cave Architecture: Recent Field Efforts in Quintana Roo, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rissolo, D.; Lo, E.; Hess, M. R.; Meyer, D. E.; Amador, F. E.

    2017-08-01

    The presence of ancient Maya shrines in caves serves as unequivocal evidence for the ritual appropriation of these subterranean spaces and their significance with respect to Maya religious practice. Detailed study of the miniature masonry temples and altar features in the caves of Quintana Roo, Mexico reveals a strong stylistic and likely functional correspondence between these structures and their terrestrial counterparts at Postclassic sites. The Proyecto Arquitectura Subterranea de Quintana Roo (coordinated by the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture, and Archaeology, or CISA3, at the University of California, San Diego and in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico) is conducting a survey and program of digital documentation of both the pristine and impacted cave shrines of the region. Once an area is developed and populated, and access is opened to caves containing ancient architectural features, they are soon vandalized - often resulting in the complete obliteration of these rare miniature buildings and their diagnostic architectural elements. This emergent situation necessitates the use of rapid reality-capture tools; however, the physical challenges of working in caves requires researchers of adapt increasingly common architectural documentation methodologies to more adverse field conditions.

  4. An Iterative Approach to Ground Penetrating Radar at the Maya Site of Pacbitun, Belize

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheldon Skaggs

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Ground penetrating radar (GPR surveys provide distinct advantages for archaeological prospection in ancient, complex, urban Maya sites, particularly where dense foliage or modern debris may preclude other remote sensing or geophysical techniques. Unidirectional GPR surveys using a 500 MHz shielded antenna were performed at the Middle Preclassic Maya site of Pacbitun, Belize. The survey in 2012 identified numerous linear and circular anomalies between 1 m and 2 m deep. Based on these anomalies, one 1 m × 4 m unit and three smaller units were excavated in 2013. These test units revealed a curved plaster surface not previously found at Pacbitun. Post-excavation, GPR data were reprocessed to best match the true nature of excavated features. Additional GPR surveys oriented perpendicular to the original survey confirmed previously detected anomalies and identified new anomalies. The excavations provided information on the sediment layers in the survey area, which allowed better identification of weak radar reflections of the surfaces of a burnt, Middle Preclassic temple in the northern end of the survey area. Additional excavations of the area in 2014 and 2015 revealed it to be a large square structure, which was named El Quemado.

  5. Tratamiento del cuerpo y control social entre los mayas itzaes, siglos XVII-XVIII

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caso Barrera, Laura

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In many societies the human body is considered as a cosmological model and therefore of society. In the case of the Maya Itza we know that the human body is a reference to their territorial, social and religious organization. In this paper we analyze the importance of the human body as a symbolic model, focusing on aspects of Itza religion and rituals, related to the transformation and modification of the human body. We will analyze how Itza society controlled a population with the ability of transfiguration.En diversas sociedades el cuerpo humano se ha concebido como un modelo cosmológico y por lo tanto de la sociedad. En el caso de los mayas itzaes sabemos que el cuerpo humano es un referente para la organización territorial, social y religiosa. En este trabajo se analiza la importancia del cuerpo humano como modelo simbólico, centrándonos en aspectos de la religión y rituales itzaes relacionados con la transformación y modificación del cuerpo humano en el período colonial. Se examina el control que ejerció la sociedad itzá con respecto a una población con la capacidad de transfiguración.

  6. Sports Biographies of African American Football Players: The Racism of Colorblindness in Children's Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winograd, Ken

    2011-01-01

    This is an exploratory study of racism in a genre of children's literature that has been largely overlooked by research and teaching in multicultural children's literature: sports biographies and, in particular, the biographies of African American professional football players. By examining the race bias of this genre of children's literature, the…

  7. Economía y política, factores de cambio en la sociedad clásica maya. Un acercamiento desde la perspectiva de Calakmul

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo Alberto Mumary Farto

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available A comienzos del siglo XX cuando los estudios mayas no habían hecho nada más que comenzar, se desconocían las cuestiones políticas, económicas y militares que imperaban en la realidad del periodo Clásico. Hoy en día gracias a la arqueología y epigrafía podemos vislumbrar los cambios que se produjeron en la sociedad maya clásica así como la influencia y el papel que jugaron estos factores en su desarrollo

  8. Economía y política, factores de cambio en la sociedad clásica maya. Un acercamiento desde la perspectiva de Calakmul

    OpenAIRE

    Pablo Alberto Mumary Farto

    2011-01-01

    A comienzos del siglo XX cuando los estudios mayas no habían hecho nada más que comenzar, se desconocían las cuestiones políticas, económicas y militares que imperaban en la realidad del periodo Clásico. Hoy en día gracias a la arqueología y epigrafía podemos vislumbrar los cambios que se produjeron en la sociedad maya clásica así como la influencia y el papel que jugaron estos factores en su desarrollo

  9. Cultural and School-Grade Differences in Korean and White American Children's Narrative Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Meesook

    2003-03-01

    A great deal of ethnographic research describes different communicative styles in Asian and Western countries. Asian cultures emphasise the listener's role in assuring successful communication, whereas Western cultures place the responsibility primarily on the speaker. This pattern suggests that Asian children may develop higher-level receptive skills and Western children may develop higher-level expressive skills. However, the language of children in formal education may develop in certain ways regardless of cultural influences. The present study quantifies the cultural and school-grade differences in language abilities reflected in middle-class Korean and white American children's story-telling and story-listening activities. Thirty-two Korean first- and fourth-grade children and their American counterparts were individually asked to perform two tasks: one producing a story from a series of pictures, and one involving listening to and then retelling a story. The individual interview was transcribed in their native languages and analysed in terms of ambiguity of reference, the number of causal connectors, the amount of information, and the number of central and peripheral idea units that were included in the story retelling. The data provided some empirical evidence for the effects of culture and school education in children's language acquisition.

  10. Dissemination of an effective weight management program for Mexican American children in schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    The rates of child obesity are epidemic in the United States, and Mexican American children are at particular risk. We have found an intensive, multi-component, school-based, weight management intervention to be efficacious at reducing standardized body mass index (zBMI) in overweight children. Our ...

  11. Effect of African- and European-American maternal attitudes and limit-setting strategies on children's self-regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LeCuyer, Elizabeth A; Swanson, Dena P; Cole, Robert; Kitzman, Harriet

    2011-12-01

    The effect of maternal attitudes and limit-setting strategies on children's self-regulation (measured as committed compliance) was compared in 151 African-American (AA) and 108 European-American (EA) mothers and their 3-year-old children. There were no ethnic differences in children's compliance, however ethnicity moderated the relationship between maternal authoritarian attitudes and children's compliance. Higher authoritarian attitudes predicted less children's compliance in the EA sample, but greater compliance in the AA sample. Observational limit-setting data revealed that in both ethnic groups, maternal authoritarian attitudes influenced children's self-regulation through maternal use of lower-power (gentle) verbal strategies, fewer physical strategies, and judicious use of higher-power verbal strategies. The findings indicate that the meaning and purpose of authoritarian attitudes varies across these mothers' socio-cultural contexts. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. SOBRE LA EDAD DE LOS HORNOS DE CAL EN EL ÁREA MAYA (About the age of the lime kilns in the Maya area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soledad Ortiz Ruiz

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available La investigación que presentamos es sobre el hallazgo y la datación arqueomagnética de hornos de cal en el área maya, México. La relevancia de la datación arqueomagnética consiste en localizar las construcciones arquitectónicas y dilucidar el periodo de utilización por las sociedades que habitaron la zona de ubicación de dichas construcciones. Asumimos que se trataba de hornos prehispánicos por su asociación con el contexto de la excavación. Sin embargo, los resultados de la combinación de dataciones y métodos arqueométricos permitieron ubicar estas estructuras en distintos periodos de utilización y, por tanto, asumir la continuidad de esta tecnología productiva más allá del periodo prehispánico. Asimismo los trabajos de datación nos permiten clarificar la utilización de esta tecnología y práctica productiva en dicha zona cultural. ENGLISH: The investigation presented here is related to the discovery and archaeomagnetic dating of lime kilns in the Maya area, Mexico. The relevance of such dating is to locate architectural constructions and elucidate the period of use by societies that are responsible for their construction. We assume a prehispanic period for the kilns because of their context within the excavation. The combination of dating methods and archaeometric experiments allowed the identification of different periods of use and, therefore, suggests the persistence of this production technology beyond the prehispanic period. Dating work also allows us to clarify the use of this technology and productive practices in this cultural area.

  13. Young African American children constructing identities in an urban integrated science-literacy classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Justine M.

    This is a qualitative study of identities constructed and enacted by four 3rd-grade African American children (two girls and two boys) in an urban classroom that engaged in a year-long, integrated science-literacy project. Juxtaposing narrative and discursive identity lenses, coupled with race and gender perspectives, I examined the ways in which the four children saw and performed themselves as students and as science students in their classroom. Interview data were used for the narrative analysis and classroom Discourse and artifacts were used for the discursive analysis. A constructivist grounded theory framework was adopted for both analyses. The findings highlight the diversity and richness of perspectives and forms of engagement these young children shared and enacted, and help us see African American children as knowers, doers, and talkers of science individually and collectively. In their stories about themselves, all the children identified themselves as smart but they associated with smartness different characteristics and practices depending on their strengths and preferences. Drawing on the children's social, cultural, and ethnolinguistic resources, the dialogic and multimodal learning spaces facilitated by their teacher allowed the children to explore, negotiate, question, and learn science ideas. The children in this study brought their understandings and ways of being into the "lived-in" spaces co-created with classmates and teacher and influenced how these spaces were created. At the same time, each child's ways of being and understandings were shaped by the words, actions, behaviors, and feelings of peers and teacher. Moreover, as these four children engaged with science-literacy activities, they came to see themselves as competent, creative, active participants in science learning. Although their stories of "studenting" seemed dominated by following rules and being well-behaved, their stories of "sciencing" were filled with exploration, ingenuity

  14. PTSD in Children and Adolescents: The Aftermath of Parental Incarceration among Children and Adolescents within the African-American Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Angie J.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulting from parental incarceration upon children and adolescents in an African-American community. Methodology: Much of the literature on posttraumatic stress disorder focuses on children and adolescents that have been exposed to a one-time event (e.g. school…

  15. Endotypes of difficult-to-control asthma in inner-city African American children.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K R Brown

    Full Text Available African Americans have higher rates of asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality in comparison with other racial groups. We sought to characterize endotypes of childhood asthma severity in African American patients in an inner-city pediatric asthma population. Baseline blood neutrophils, blood eosinophils, and 38 serum cytokine levels were measured in a sample of 235 asthmatic children (6-17 years enrolled in the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-sponsored Asthma Phenotypes in the Inner City (APIC study (ICAC (Inner City Asthma Consortium-19. Cytokines were quantified using a MILLIPLEX panel and analyzed on a Luminex analyzer. Patients were classified as Easy-to-Control or Difficult-to-Control based on the required dose of controller medications over one year of prospective management. A multivariate variable selection procedure was used to select cytokines associated with Difficult-to-Control versus Easy-to-Control asthma, adjusting for age, sex, blood eosinophils, and blood neutrophils. In inner-city African American children, 12 cytokines were significant predictors of Difficult-to-Control asthma (n = 235. CXCL-1, IL-5, IL-8, and IL-17A were positively associated with Difficult-to-Control asthma, while IL-4 and IL-13 were positively associated with Easy-to-Control asthma. Using likelihood ratio testing, it was observed that in addition to blood eosinophils and neutrophils, serum cytokines improved the fit of the model. In an inner-city pediatric population, serum cytokines significantly contributed to the definition of Difficult-to-Control asthma endotypes in African American children. Mixed responses characterized by TH2 (IL-5 and TH17-associated cytokines were associated with Difficult-to-Control asthma. Collectively, these data may contribute to risk stratification of Difficult-to-Control asthma in the African American population.

  16. Bilingual Rapping in Yucatán, Mexico: Strategic Choices for Maya Language Legitimation and Revitalisation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cru, Josep

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores the sociolinguistic practices of a group of young bilingual rappers in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. Against the background of ongoing language shift to Spanish in the region, the language choices of a group of Maya youths involved in Hip Hop culture and their agency as policy-makers at the grassroots level is analysed.…

  17. Tiempo histórico y tiempo mítico entre los mayas del Periodo Clásico (ss. II-X d.C.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lacadena García-Gallo, Alfonso

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available The use and development of a rather precise calendrical system enabled the Maya of the Classic Period of this Mesoamerican civilization (centuries 2nd through 10th A. D. to turn time into an habitable space. For them, time was like a path leading to either the past, in the form of an historical record registered in written documents, or the future, by way of forecasts and prophecies. Compared to other archaic cultures or early civilizations, the Classic Maya has been known for years for the peculiarity of having a linear, historical concept of time, including absolute dating. Yet the decipherment of the hieroglyphic inscriptions has revealed that this historical concept of time meshed with mythical time to make up a single temporal dimension —which was at once linear and cyclical— for the actions of men as well as gods. With obsessive accuracy and recurrence, the Classic Maya used calendrical Information as mortar for the construction of an historical (especially political and religious discourse on their monuments, full of cross references to contemporary, past and even future events in texts commemorating anniversaries in several calendarial cycles.

    La utilización y desarrollo de un sistema calendárico sumamente preciso permitió a los mayas del Periodo Clásico de esta civilización mesoamericana (siglos II-X d.C. hacer del tiempo un espacio habitable. Para ellos, el tiempo era un sendero por el que era posible transitar o bien hacia el pasado, en forma de memoria histórica consignada en textos escritos, o bien hacia el futuro, mediante predicciones y profecías. Lo que es una rareza en comparación con otras culturas arcaicas o primeras civilizaciones, la clásica de los mayas incluía un concepto de tiempo histórico de carácter lineal, con dataciones absolutas. Pero el desciframiento de las inscripciones jeroglíficas está revelando que este tiempo histórico estaba integrado con el mítico en una

  18. Maya phytomedicine in Guatemala - Can cooperative research change ethnopharmacological paradigms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitziger, Martin; Heinrich, Michael; Edwards, Peter; Pöll, Elfriede; Lopez, Marissa; Krütli, Pius

    2016-06-20

    This paper presents one of the first large-scale collaborative research projects in ethnopharmacology, to bring together indigenous stakeholders and scientists both in project design and execution. This approach has often been recommended but rarely put into practice. The study was carried out in two key indigenous areas of Guatemala, for which very little ethnopharmacological fieldwork has been published. To document and characterize the ethno-pharmacopoeias of the Kaqchikel (highlands) and Q'eqchi' (lowlands) Maya in a transdisciplinary collaboration with the two groups Councils of Elders. The project is embedded in a larger collaboration with five Councils of Elders representing important indigenous groups in Guatemala, two of which participated in this study. These suggested healing experts reputed for their phytotherapeutic knowledge and skills. Ethnobotanical fieldwork was carried out over 20 months, accompanied by a joint steering process and validation workshops. The field data were complemented by literature research and were aggregated using a modified version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and Trotter & Logan's consensus index. Similar numbers of species were collected in the two areas, with a combined total of 530 species. This total does not represent all of the species used for medicinal purposes. Remedies for the digestive system, the central nervous system & behavioral syndromes, and general tissue problems & infections were most frequent in both areas. Furthermore, remedies for the blood, immune & endocrine system are frequent in the Kaqchikel area, and remedies for the reproductive system are frequent in the Q'eqchi' area. Consensus factors are however low. The Kaqchikel, in contrast to the Q'eqchi', report more remedies for non-communicable illnesses. They also rely heavily on introduced species. The transdisciplinary research design facilitated scientifically rigorous and societally relevant large-scale fieldwork, which

  19. Children's Early Literacy Environment in Chinese and American Indian Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao-lei; Bernas, Ronan; Eberhard, Philippe

    This study examined how Chinese and American Indian mothers support their young children's early literacy development in everyday interactions. Twenty mother-child dyads in each cultural community participated in the study. Analysis of videotaped interactions indicated that the mothers in the two communities differed greatly in the ways they…

  20. Emotion Regulation Strategies in European American and Hong Kong Chinese Middle School Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Kayan Phoebe; Savina, Elena

    2016-01-01

    This study explored emotion regulation strategies in middle school European American (N = 54) and Hong Kong Chinese (N = 89) children. Children were presented with scenarios describing a fictitious girl/boy who encountered situations eliciting sadness, anger, and fear. Based on Gross' theory (1998), the survey of emotion regulation strategies was…

  1. Evaluating the contribution of differences in lean mass compartments for resting energy expenditure in African American and Caucasian American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broadney, M M; Shareef, F; Marwitz, S E; Brady, S M; Yanovski, S Z; DeLany, J P; Yanovski, J A

    2018-04-26

    Resting energy expenditure (REE), adjusted for total lean mass (LM), is lower in African American (AA) than Caucasian American (CA) children. Some adult studies suggest that AA-CA differences in lean mass compartments explain this REE difference. Similar data are limited in children. To evaluate differences in compartment-specific lean mass between AA and CA children and examine the individual contributions of high-metabolic rate-at-rest trunk lean mass (TrLM) and low-metabolic-rate-at-rest appendicular lean mass (AppLM) for AA-CA differences in REE. We studied a convenience sample of 594 AA (n = 281) and CA (n = 313) children. REE was measured by using indirect calorimetry; dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to assess body composition. ANCOVAs were performed to examine AA-CA differences in TrLM, AppLM and REE. After accounting for age, sex, height, pubertal development, bone mass and adiposity, REE was evaluated adjusting for total LM (model A) and separately adjusting for TrLM and AppLM (model B). African American children had greater adjusted AppLM (17.8 ± 0.2 [SE] vs. 16.0 ± 0.2 kg, p < 0.001) and lower TrLM (17.2 ± 0.2 vs. 17.7 ± 0.2 kg, p = 0.022) than CA children. REE adjusted for total LM was 77 ± 16 kcal/d lower in AA than CA (p < 0.001). However, after accounting separately for AppLM and TrLM, the discrepancy in REE between the groups declined to 28 ± 19 kcal/d (p = 0.14). In the adjusted model, both TrLM (p < 0.001) and AppLM (p < 0.027) were independently associated with REE. In children, AA-CA differences in REE appear mostly attributable to differences in body composition. Lower REE in AA children is likely due to lower TrLM and greater AppLM. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  2. Las organizaciones mayas de Guatemala y el diálogo intercultural

    OpenAIRE

    Julieta Carla Rostica

    2007-01-01

    Durante la transición a la democracia en Guatemala surgió un movimiento indígena con reivindicaciones que fueron más allá de la defensa de los derechos humanos individualmente considerados. De cara al genocidio, una de sus demandas más ambiciosas fue la del reconocimiento del derecho maya. El análisis de ésta permitirá caracterizar al movimiento indígena como multiculturalismo emancipatorio, ya que en sí misma es una apuesta al diálogo intercultural e implica no sólo un límite ...

  3. PIXE analysis on Maya blue in Prehispanic and colonial mural paintings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez del Río, M.; Martinetto, P.; Solís, C.; Reyes-Valerio, C.

    2006-08-01

    Particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) experiments have been carried out at the AGLAE facility (Paris) on several mural samples containing Maya blue from different Prehispanic archaeological sites (Cacaxtla, El Tajín, Tamuin, Santa Cecilia Acatitlán) and from several colonial convents in the Mexican plateau (Jiutepec, Totimehuacán, Tezontepec and Cuauhtinchán). The analysis of the concentration of several elements permitted to extract some information on the technique used for painting the mural, usually fresco. Principal component analysis permitted to classify the samples into groups. This grouping is discussed in relation to geographic and historic data.

  4. Archaeometric study of ceramic figurines from the Maya settlement of La Blanca (Petén, Guatemala)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horcajada, P.; Roldán, C.; Vidal, C.; Rodenas, I.; Carballo, J.; Murcia, S.; Juanes, D.

    2014-01-01

    In this article, analytical results will be presented and discussed regarding a selected set of figurines from the ancient Maya settlement of La Blanca in Petén, Guatemala. The objective is to characterize the ceramic material by two analytical complementary techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD) and total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF). The data obtained by means of both XRD and TXRF were compared and analyzed by multivariate statistical techniques in order to obtain sample groups according to their chemical composition. The results of this archaeometric study have been compared to those that have been obtained through macroscopic characterization by means of the traditional classification system know as Type-Variety. Discordances have been found between the clusters obtained by the Type-Variety classification system and the multivariate classification procedures performed on analytical data. - Highlights: • TXRF and XRD analysis are used in studies of Maya figurines from La Blanca settlement (Guatemala). • Multivariate classification procedures were performed on analytical data to identify figurine groups. • Clustering of analytical data is compared with the traditional Type-Variety classification system

  5. Evidence disputing deforestation as the cause for the collapse of the ancient Maya polity of Copan, Honduras

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeil, Cameron L.; Burney, David A.; Burney, Lida Pigott

    2009-01-01

    Archaeologists have proposed diverse hypotheses to explain the collapse of the southern Maya lowland cities between the 8th and 10th centuries A.D. Although it generally is believed that no single factor was responsible, a commonly accepted cause is environmental degradation as a product of large-scale deforestation. To date, the most compelling scientific evidence used to support this hypothesis comes from the archaeological site of Copan, Honduras, where the analysis of a sediment core suggested a dramatic increase in forest clearance in the Late Classic period (A.D. 600–900). By contrast, in the work presented here, the authors’ analysis of a longer sediment core demonstrates that forest cover increased from A.D. 400 to A.D. 900, with arboreal pollen accounting for 59.8–71.0% of the pollen assemblage by approximately A.D. 780–980. The highest levels of deforestation are found about 900 B.C. when, at its peak, herb pollen made up 89.8% of the assemblage. A second, although less pronounced, period of elevated deforestation peaked at approximately A.D. 400 when herb pollen reached 65.3% of the assemblage. The first deforestation event likely coincided with the widespread adoption of agriculture, a pattern found elsewhere in Mesoamerica. The second period of forest clearance probably was associated with the incursion of Maya speakers into the Copan Valley and their subsequent construction of the earliest levels of the Copan Acropolis. These results refute the former hypothesis that the ancient Maya responded to their increasingly large urban population by exhausting, rather than conserving, natural resources. PMID:20018691

  6. Memorar la cultura: Modos de mantener y formar las identidades mayas modernas Memorialize Culture: Ways to Mantain and Form Modern Mayan Identities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix A. Kupprat

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Memoria ha sido una palabra clave en el proceso de paz en Guatemala durante los últimos quince años. De acuerdo con teorías de la memoria colectiva, ésta forma la identidad de grupos y es sustancial para la construcción y el mantenimiento de la cultura. Al contrastar el movimiento maya con estrategias locales para la conmemoración de las violaciones de los derechos humanos durante el conflicto armado, este artículo conecta el concepto de etnicidad a nivel interregional con la identidad étnica local. Por lo tanto, se propone una división entre los marcadores étnicos sincrónicos y los asincrónicos de la etnicidad maya: el primero se asocia con elementos culturales locales y el segundo con procesos de revitalización. Finalmente, se plantea que los rasgos estructurales, como la memoria cultural, deben ser considerados marcadores étnicos en ambos niveles: el local y el interregional.Memory has been a keyword for the peace process in Guatemala in the last fifteen years. According to theories on collective memory it shapes group identities and is crucial for the construction and maintenance of culture. Contrasting maya cultural activism and local commemorative strategies dealing with human rights violations during the civil war, this paper aims to connect ethnicity on an inter-regional and ethnic identity on a local level. Therefore a division will be made between synchronous and asynchronous ethnic markers of pan-maya identity, associating the former with cultural elements on a local level and the latter with revitalization processes. Finally it is proposed that structural features such as cultural memory should be considered crucial ethnic markers on both levels: the local and the inter-regional.

  7. Synchrotron and Simulations Techniques Applied to Problems in Materials Science: Catalysts and Azul Maya Pigments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chianelli, R.

    2005-01-01

    Development of synchrotron techniques for the determination of the structure of disordered, amorphous and surface materials has exploded over the past twenty years due to the increasing availability of high flux synchrotron radiation and the continuing development of increasingly powerful synchrotron techniques. These techniques are available to materials scientists who are not necessarily synchrotron scientists through interaction with effective user communities that exist at synchrotrons such as the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL). In this article we review the application of multiple synchrotron characterization techniques to two classes of materials defined as ''surface compounds.'' One class of surface compounds are materials like MoS 2-x C x that are widely used petroleum catalysts used to improve the environmental properties of transportation fuels. These compounds may be viewed as ''sulfide supported carbides'' in their catalytically active states. The second class of ''surface compounds'' is the ''Maya Blue'' pigments that are based on technology created by the ancient Maya. These compounds are organic/inorganic ''surface complexes'' consisting of the dye indigo and palygorskite, a common clay. The identification of both surface compounds relies on the application of synchrotron techniques as described in this report

  8. Agrodiversidad y nutrición en Yucatán: una mirada al mundo maya rural

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javier Becerril

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available El uso y aprovechamiento de la agrodiversidad dan continuidad de facto a la conservación de la diversidad genética in situ y a su conocimiento, y generan externalidades positivas en términos de bienestar nutricional. En las áreas rurales de Yucatán, siete de cada diez hombres y mujeres adultos presentan sobrepeso, y veinte de cada cien infantes tienen talla baja, lo que se traduce en un problema dual de salud pública, que aminora el desarrollo rural. En el artículo se analiza la paradoja entre la disponibilidad de diversidad agrícola amplia y el sobrepeso en 390 hogares, en 20 localidades rurales, en las siete regiones de Yucatán. Los hallazgos revelan que las mujeres adultas son las más propensas a la obesidad, pero la condición maya (hablar lengua maya e identificarse como tal, además de mantener usos y costumbres de la cultura sugiere una reducción en el índice de sobrepeso y obesidad, lo que se puede argumentar se debe a los usos y costumbres en el consumo y gestión de la agrodiversidad.

  9. A comparative approach toward understanding the Mycenaean and Late Preclassic lowland Maya early civilisations through their art styles.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bajema, Marcus Jan

    2015-01-01

    My thesis provides a comparative analysis of early cilivilisations through archaeological sources. The two selected cases are Mycenaean Greece and the Late Preclassic lowland Maya. Specifically the study focuses on art and its role in social life of the two cases. Major methodological reflections

  10. Treatment for overweight Mexican American children: impact on quality of life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Childhood overweight is a serious health problem occurring in especially high rates among Mexican Americans. Although there is empirical support for behaviorally based treatments for pediatric overweight, there is limited evidence that treatment increases children's quality of life (QOL). Our obje...

  11. Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Haplotypes Are Associated with Preeclampsia in Maya Mestizo Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz-Olguín, Lizbeth; Coral-Vázquez, Ramón Mauricio; Canto-Cetina, Thelma; Canizales-Quinteros, Samuel; Ramírez Regalado, Belem; Fernández, Genny; Canto, Patricia

    2011-01-01

    Preeclampsia is a specific disease of pregnancy and believed to have a genetic component. The aim of this study was to investigate if three polymorphisms in eNOS or their haplotypes are associated with preeclampsia in Maya mestizo women. A case-control study was performed where 127 preeclamptic patients and 263 controls were included. Genotyped and haplotypes for the -768T→C, intron 4 variants, Glu298Asp of eNOS were determined by PCR and real-time PCR allelic discrimination. Logistic regression analysis with adjustment for age and body mass index (BMI) was used to test for associations between genotype and preeclampsia under recessive, codominant and dominant models. Pairwise linkage disequilibrium between single nucleotide polymorphisms was calculated by direct correlation r2, and haplotype analysis was conducted. Women homozygous for the Asp298 allele showed an association of preeclampsia. In addition, analysis of the haplotype frequencies revealed that the -786C-4b-Asp298 haplotype was significantly more frequent in preeclamptic patients than in controls (0.143 vs. 0.041, respectively; OR = 3.01; 95% CI = 1.74–5.23; P = 2.9 × 10−4). Despite the Asp298 genotype in a recessive model associated with the presence of preeclampsia in Maya mestizo women, we believe that in this population the -786C-4b-Asp298 haplotype is a better genetic marker. PMID:21897002

  12. 75 FR 6249 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Fiery Pool: The Maya and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-08

    ... exhibition ``Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within... objects at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, from on or about March 27, 2010, until on or about July 18, 2010; the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX, from on or about August 29, 2010, until on or about...

  13. About the Glyph [T544.501] and the Classic Maya Geopolitical Communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rogelio Valencia Rivera

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the Maya glyph [T544.501]. On one side the article offers a carefully review of the contexts where the hieroglyph appears for, from these, suggest that it may be a logogram with possible OCH ("entrance" reading. Moreover, considering the predominant appearance of this hieroglyph in contexts which relate to geopolitical groups, and beyond its phonetic value, the article also analyzes the historical dynamics that have experienced these Late Classic political groupings as narrate the texts where appears the glyph in question.

  14. Prevalence of Amblyopia and Strabismus in White and African-American Children Aged 6 through 71 Months: The Baltimore Pediatric Eye Disease Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, David S.; Repka, Michael X.; Katz, Joanne; Giordano, Lydia; Ibironke, Josephine; Hawse, Patricia; Tielsch, James M.

    2009-01-01

    Objective To determine the age-specific prevalence of strabismus in White and African-American children aged 6 through 71 months and of amblyopia in White and African-American children aged 30 through 71 months. Design Cross-sectional population-based study. Participants White and African-American children aged 6 through 71 months in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Among 4,132 children identified, 3,990 eligible children (97%) were enrolled and 2,546 children (62%) were examined. Methods Parents or guardians of eligible participants underwent an in-home interview and were scheduled for a detailed eye examination including optotype visual acuity and measurement of ocular deviations. Strabismus was defined as a heterotropia at near or distance fixation. Amblyopia was assessed in those children aged 30 through 71 months who were able to perform optotype testing at 3 meters. Main Outcome Measures The proportions of children aged 6 through 71 months with strabismus and of children aged 30 through 71 months with amblyopia. Results Manifest strabismus was found in 3.3% of White and 2.1% of African American children (relative prevalence (RP) 1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97, 2.66). Esotropia and exotropia each accounted for close to half of all strabismus in both groups. Only one case of strabismus was found among 84 White children 6 through 11 months of age. Rates were higher in children 60 through 71 months of age (5.8% for Whites and 2.9% for African Americans (RP: 2.05, 95% CI: 0.79, 5.27). Amblyopia was present in 12 (1.8%) White and 7 (0.8%) African American children (RP: 2.23, 95% CI: 0.88, 5.62). Only one child had bilateral amblyopia. Conclusions Manifest strabismus affected 1 in 30 White and 1 in 47 African-American preschool aged children. The prevalence of amblyopia was under 2% in both Whites and African-Americans. National population projections suggest that there are approximately 677,000 cases of manifest strabismus among children 6–71 months

  15. Stereotype or reality: another look at alcohol and drug use among African American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bass, L E; Kane-Williams, E

    1993-01-01

    The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention's Division of Communications Programs launched its Urban Youth Public Education Campaign in late 1990 to target African American youth in 14 cities with prevention messages about alcohol and other drugs. During the market research phase of the campaign, the Center sought to determine the extent inner city African American children are impacted by alcohol and other drugs and how widespread the use of these substances is among younger children. Is it rampant and universal, as some press accounts have it, or are the images portrayed by the news media, by popular movies, and by other communication outlets fueling harmful stereotypes? The campaign's market research consisted of in-depth reviews of the literature, of personal communications, conference proceedings, grant and contract reports, monographs, newspaper and magazine articles, and of national survey results, and the analysis of findings from focus groups conducted with 143 African American children living in several urban environments. Although information and conclusions gleaned from the market research revealed a longstanding trend of comparatively lower rates of alcohol and drug use by African American youth, also disclosed was a need for an expanded framework to address the problems of substance abuse within the African American community. An expanded framework acknowledges the dimension of substance use and abuse but also addresses three other dimensions--involvement, exposure, and victimization--that unfold as having major significance for this population of youth who live in urban, high-risk environments.

  16. DIGITAL PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT MAYA CAVE ARCHITECTURE: RECENT FIELD EFFORTS IN QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Rissolo

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The presence of ancient Maya shrines in caves serves as unequivocal evidence for the ritual appropriation of these subterranean spaces and their significance with respect to Maya religious practice. Detailed study of the miniature masonry temples and altar features in the caves of Quintana Roo, Mexico reveals a strong stylistic and likely functional correspondence between these structures and their terrestrial counterparts at Postclassic sites. The Proyecto Arquitectura Subterranea de Quintana Roo (coordinated by the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture, and Archaeology, or CISA3, at the University of California, San Diego and in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico is conducting a survey and program of digital documentation of both the pristine and impacted cave shrines of the region. Once an area is developed and populated, and access is opened to caves containing ancient architectural features, they are soon vandalized – often resulting in the complete obliteration of these rare miniature buildings and their diagnostic architectural elements. This emergent situation necessitates the use of rapid reality-capture tools; however, the physical challenges of working in caves requires researchers of adapt increasingly common architectural documentation methodologies to more adverse field conditions.

  17. Lung function in North American Indian children: reference standards for spirometry, maximal expiratory flow volume curves, and peak expiratory flow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, M A; Olson, D; Bonn, B A; Creelman, T; Buist, A S

    1982-02-01

    Reference standards of lung function was determined in 176 healthy North American Indian children (94 girls, 82 boys) 7 to 18 yr of age. Spirometry, maximal expiratory flow volume curves, and peak expiratory flow rate were measured using techniques and equipment recommended by the American Thoracic Society. Standing height was found to be an accurate predictor of lung function, and prediction equations for each lung function variable are presented using standing height as the independent variable. Lung volumes and expiratory flow rates in North American Indian children were similar to those previously reported for white and Mexican-American children but were greater than those in black children. In both boys and girls, lung function increased in a curvilinear fashion. Volume-adjusted maximal expiratory flow rates after expiring 50 or 75% of FVC tended to decrease in both sexes as age and height increased. Our maximal expiratory flow volume curve data suggest that as North American Indian children grow, lung volume increases at a slightly faster rate than airway size does.

  18. La conservación del patrimonio arquitectónico maya. Primeras experiencias (1891-1969)

    OpenAIRE

    MATARREDONA DESANTES, NURIA

    2016-01-01

    [EN] The Mayan civilization is, undoubtedly, the most advanced of those that flourished in America during pre-Columbian times. During its heyday period, the ancient Maya built large cities and created large residential areas where they erected an impressive architecture in harmony with the ferocious nature that surrounded them. Today, the testimony of these settlements comes immersed in a wild environment, buried under abundant vegetation and even the collapse of the same architectural struct...

  19. The Movement, the Mine and the Lake: New Forms of Maya Activism in Neoliberal Guatemala

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. T. Way

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the social, economic, cultural and political issues bound up in two matters relating to the environment in the Sololá and Lake Atitlán region of the Guatemalan Mayan highlands in 2004–2005: the violent breakup of an anti-mine protest and the various reactions to a tropical storm that threatened the lake ecosystem. It views these events as part of a historical conjuncture and centers them in a larger discussion of Maya political activism, environmentalism and neoliberal development in Guatemala from the 1990s–mid-2010s. It begins with the transition from war to peace in the 1990s, charting how Maya participation in municipal politics soared even as the official Mayan movement waned as the state turned to neoliberalism. Zooming in on municipal development and politics in Sololá in the early 2000s, it then traces at the ground level how a decentralizing, “multicultural” state promoted political participation while at the same time undermining the possibility for that participation to bring about substantive change. The center of the article delves deeper into the conjuncture of the first decade of the new millennium. By mapping events in Sololá against development, agrarian transformation and rural urbanization, it argues that resilient Maya community structures, although unable to stop the exploitative tide, continued to provide local cohesion and advocacy. Activists and everyday citizens became more globally attuned in the 2000s. The article’s final section analyzes municipal plans made between 2007 and 2012, arguing that creating and controlling community structures became increasingly important to the state in a time when Guatemala’s “outward” global turn was accompanied by an “inward” turn as people confronted spiraling violence in their communities. Critics called young people apolitical, but in 2015, massive demonstrations led to the imprisonment of the nation’s president and vice

  20. Shhh… I Need Quiet! Children's Understanding of American, British, and Japanese-accented English Speakers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bent, Tessa; Holt, Rachael Frush

    2018-02-01

    Children's ability to understand speakers with a wide range of dialects and accents is essential for efficient language development and communication in a global society. Here, the impact of regional dialect and foreign-accent variability on children's speech understanding was evaluated in both quiet and noisy conditions. Five- to seven-year-old children ( n = 90) and adults ( n = 96) repeated sentences produced by three speakers with different accents-American English, British English, and Japanese-accented English-in quiet or noisy conditions. Adults had no difficulty understanding any speaker in quiet conditions. Their performance declined for the nonnative speaker with a moderate amount of noise; their performance only substantially declined for the British English speaker (i.e., below 93% correct) when their understanding of the American English speaker was also impeded. In contrast, although children showed accurate word recognition for the American and British English speakers in quiet conditions, they had difficulty understanding the nonnative speaker even under ideal listening conditions. With a moderate amount of noise, their perception of British English speech declined substantially and their ability to understand the nonnative speaker was particularly poor. These results suggest that although school-aged children can understand unfamiliar native dialects under ideal listening conditions, their ability to recognize words in these dialects may be highly susceptible to the influence of environmental degradation. Fully adult-like word identification for speakers with unfamiliar accents and dialects may exhibit a protracted developmental trajectory.

  1. Inferring Ancient Technology and Practices of the Elite Maya Kingship Through the Application of Materials Engineering Characterization Modalities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Kristina Alyssa

    This project focuses on the characterization of materials from burial offerings and painted decoration in a royal Maya tomb at El Zotz, Guatemala, and their association with mortuary rituals. Archaeological findings included vessels, jade masks, organic materials (wood, cord, and textiles), specular hematite cubes, shells with powdered cinnabar, green (malachite) painted stucco assumed to have decorated the wooden bier where the king was resting, and caches of lip-to-lip Aguila Orange bowls containing human phalanges. This paper describes findings from non-invasive and non-destructive analytical techniques including XRF, VPSEM-EDS, and XRD, emphasizing the potential of these combined technologies in the identification of organic and inorganic markers to infer burial customs. The nature and location of the findings, the evidence of pigment coloration on the bones employing hematite and cinnabar, and the indication of exposure of the bones to high temperatures suggest highly complex, even protracted mortuary practices of Maya elite.

  2. Higher food prices may threaten food security status among American low-income households with children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qi; Jones, Sonya; Ruhm, Christopher J; Andrews, Margaret

    2013-10-01

    Children in food-insecure households are more likely to experience poorer health function and worse academic achievement. To investigate the relation between economic environmental factors and food insecurity among children, we examined the relation between general and specific food prices (fast food, fruits and vegetables, beverages) and risk of low (LFS) and very low food security (VLFS) status among low-income American households with children. Using information for 27,900 child-year observations from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 linked with food prices obtained from the Cost of Living Data of the Council for Community and Economic Research, formerly known as the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers' Association, fixed effects models were estimated within stratified income groups. Higher overall food prices were associated with increased risk of LFS and VLFS (coefficient = 0.617; P security status, even when controlling for general food prices. Thus, although food price changes were strongly related to food security status among low-income American households with children, the effects were not uniform across types of food. These relations should be accounted for when implementing policies that change specific food prices.

  3. The Source of Volcanic Ash in Late Classic Maya Pottery at El Pilar, Belize

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catlin, B. L.; Ford, A.; Spera, F. J.

    2007-12-01

    The presence of volcanic ash used as temper in Late Classic Maya pottery (AD 600-900) at El Pilar has been long known although the volcano(s) contributing ash have not been identified. We use geochemical fingerprinting, comparing compositions of glass shards in potsherds with volcanic sources to identify the source(s). El Pilar is located in the Maya carbonate lowlands distant from volcanic sources. It is unlikely Maya transported ash from distant sites: ash volumes are too large, the terrain too rugged, and no draft animals were available. Ash layer mining is unlikely because mine sites have not been found despite intensive surveys. Nearest volcanic sources to El Pilar, Belize and Guatemala, are roughly 450 km to the south and east. The ash found in potsherds has a cuspate morphology. This suggests ash was collected during, or shortly after, an ash airfall event following eruption. Analyses of n=333 ash shards from 20 ceramic (pottery) sherds was conducted by electron microprobe for major elements, and LA-ICPMS for trace elements and Pb isotopes. These analyses can be compared to volcanic materials from candidate volcanoes in the region. The 1982 El Chichon eruption caused airfall deposition (archaeological samples and El Chichon has been made. The atomic ratios of La/Yb, Nb/Ta, Zr/Hf, Sr/Ba and Th/U of n=215 glass shards in the potsherds are 12.2±7.1, 10.9±3.4, 31.2±11.5, 0.09±0.05 and 2.5±0.9, respectively. These ratios for 1982 El Chichon are 15.4±2.1, 26.3, 36.1±5.3, 1.4±0.06 and 3.16, respectively. Data for the 1475 AD El Chichon eruption (Macias et al, 2003) can also be compared; the ratios from are 13.2±2.2, 7.3±1.8, 30.4±9.6, 1.51±0.4 and 2.88±0.23, respectively. The mean 208Pb/206Pb ratio of n=5 potsherds is 2.0523±0.002 compared to 2.0514±0.00074 for n=7 samples from El Chichon. The two most recent eruptions from El Chichon overlap with the potsherd glass data except for Sr/Ba, which might be modified by Sr-Ca exchange during firing. In

  4. Leadership in the Era of the Trump Presidency: Implications for the Education of American Indian Children and Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faircloth, Susan C.

    2018-01-01

    In this manuscript, I outline what I perceive to be the potential implications of the Trump presidency for the education of American Indian children and youth. In doing so, I argue that failure to provide adequate educational programs and services for American Indian children and youth represents an abrogation of the federal government's trust…

  5. Quality indicators and shelf life of red octopus (Octopus maya) in chilling storage

    OpenAIRE

    GULLIAN-KLANIAN,Mariel; SÁNCHEZ-SOLÍS,María José; TERRATS-PRECIAT,Montserrat; DELGADILLO-DÍAZ,Mariana; ARANDA,Javier

    2016-01-01

    Abstract There are no precedents concerning the quality of Octopus maya during chilled storage. This study evaluated the shelf life of the red octopus in chilling storage (4oC) and the correlation of the sensory quality index with microbiological counting and the biochemical indicators (hypoxanthine, histamine and volatile amines). A total of 112 whole raw octopi (average weight of 896 g) were randomly selected from seven batches and exposed to 4°C for 18, 24, 48, 72, 84, 96, and 100 h. The h...

  6. Near-surface Imaging of a Maya Plaza Complex using Ground-Penetrating Radar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aitken, J. A.; Stewart, R. R.

    2005-05-01

    The University of Calgary has conducted a number of ground-penetrating radar surveys at a Maya archaeological site. The purpose of the study is to discern the near-surface structure and stratigraphy of the plaza, and to assist the archaeologists in focusing their excavation efforts. The area of study is located in Belize, Central America at the ancient Maya site of Maax Na. Flanked by structures believed to be temples to the north and west, the archaeologists were interested in determining how many levels of plaza were built and if there was any discernable slope to the plaza. Over the last three years, both 2-D lines and 3-D grids were acquired at the plaza using a Sensors and Software Inc. Noggin Plus system at an antenna frequency of 250 MHz. The processing flow consisted of the application of gain, various filtering techniques and a diffraction stack migration using Reflexw. Interpolation of the gridded data was investigated using simple averaging, F-K migration, pre-stack migration and inversion techniques. As this study has evolved over different field seasons, measured velocities appear to change with the saturation level of the shallow section. Velocity measurements ranged from 0.058 - .106 m/ns during the wet conditions encountered in 2002 and 2004, while velocities of 1.22 - 1.40 m/ns were measured in the drought of 2003. The GPR images to date indicate continuous and interpretable images of the subsurface, showing evidence of structure, discontinuities and amplitude variations. A number of interesting anomalies have been identified, and prioritized for excavation.

  7. Parenting and feeding behaviors associated with school-aged African American and White children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polfuss, Michele Lynn; Frenn, Marilyn

    2012-08-01

    Pediatric obesity is multifactorial and difficult to treat. Parenting and feeding behaviors have been shown to influence a child's weight status. Most prior studies have focused on preschool-aged White children. Additional complicating factors include parents' inability to accurately identify their child's abnormal weight status. Parenting and feeding behaviors used by 176 African American and White parents of school-age children were examined. Assessment included (a) identifying what behaviors were reported when parent expressed concern with child's weight and (b) the relationship of these behaviors on child's body mass index percentile (BMI%), considering ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and parent's body mass index (BMI). Findings included African American parents and parents concerned about their child's weight exhibited increased controlling/authoritarian parenting and feeding behaviors. Parents were able to accurately identify their child's weight status. Parenting and feeding behaviors played a significant role in the children's BMI% even when controlling for ethnicity, SES, and parent's BMI.

  8. Parental Influence on Children's Talent Development: A Case Study with Three Chinese American Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Echo H.

    2008-01-01

    This paper explores the influence of parenting beliefs and practices on children's talent development through a specific perspective of several Chinese American families with gifted children. In-depth interviews were employed to collect data from the parents, and research questions focused on the daily practice of parenting and parents' beliefs…

  9. Early growth of Mexican-American children: lagging in preliteracy skills but not social development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerrero, Alma D; Fuller, Bruce; Chu, Lynna; Kim, Anthony; Franke, Todd; Bridges, Margaret; Kuo, Alice

    2013-11-01

    Latino toddlers fall behind White peers at 24 months of age in oral language and interactive skills with their mothers in English or Spanish. But Latino children enter kindergarten with social skills that rival White peers, despite social-class disparities. We ask whether cognitive trajectories widen during the 24-48 month period, how these patterns differ for Latinos, especially Mexican-Americans, and whether similar gaps in social-emotional growth appear. We analyzed growth patterns for a nationally representative birth sample (n = 4,690) drawn in 2001, estimating levels of change in development from 24 to 48 months of age, focusing on Latino subgroups. The mean gap in cognitive processing for Mexican-American children, already wide at 24-months of age relative to Whites (three-fourths of a standard deviation), remained constant at 48 months. But differences in social-emotional status were statistically insignificant at both 24 and 48 months. Mexican-American mothers were observed to be equally warm and supportive relative to White peers during interaction tasks. Yet the former group engaged less frequently in cognitive facilitation, oral language, and preliteracy activities in the home. Growth in both cognitive and social domains was considerably lower in larger families, placing children raised in poor or Spanish-speaking homes within a large household at greater risk of delays. Pediatricians and practitioners must carefully gauge the social-emotional well-being of Latino children, in developmental surveillance activities. Growth in cognitive and social domains unfolds independently for children of Mexican heritage, even when raised in economically poor families.

  10. Study of reactions induced by the halo nucleus 11Li with the active target MAYA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roger, Th.

    2009-09-01

    Active targets are perfect tools for the study of nuclear reactions induced by very low intensity radioactive ion beams. They also enable the simultaneous study of direct and compound nuclear reactions. The active target MAYA, built at GANIL, has been used to study the reactions induced by a 4.3*A MeV 11 Li beam at the ISAC2 accelerator TRIUMF (Canada). The angular distributions for the elastic scattering and the one and two neutron transfer reaction have been reconstructed. The elastic scattering angular distribution indicates a strong enhancement of the flux absorption with respect to the neighbouring nuclei. From a coupled channel analysis of the two neutron transfer reaction for different three body models, the information on the structure of the halo of the Borromean nucleus 11 Li have been extracted. Meanwhile, the energy dependence of the elastic scattering reaction has been studied, using the active target MAYA as a thick target. The resulting spectrum shows a resonance around 3 MeV centre of mass. This resonance could be an isobaric analog state of 12 Li, observed in 12 Be. R matrix calculations have been performed in order to extract the parameters (spin and parity) of this state. (author)

  11. Spirometric reference values for Hopi Native American children ages 4-13 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnall, David A; Nelson, Arnold G; Hearon, Christopher M; Interpreter, Christina; Kanuho, Verdell

    2016-04-01

    Spirometry is the most important tool in diagnosing pulmonary disease and is the most frequently performed pulmonary function test. Respiratory disease is also one of the greatest causes for morbidity and mortality on the Hopi Nation, but no specific reference equations exist for this unique population. The purpose of this study was to determine if population reference equations were necessary for these children and, if needed, to create new age and race-specific pulmonary nomograms for Hopi children. Two hundred and ninety-two healthy children, ages 4-13 years, attending Hopi Nation elementary schools in Arizona, were asked to perform spirometry for a full battery of pulmonary volumes and capacities of which the following were analyzed: forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1 ), FEV1 % (FEV1 /FVC), FEF25-75% and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). Spirometric data from Navajo children living in the same geographical region as the Hopi children were compared as well as spirometric data from common reference values used for other ethnic groups in the USA. Spirometry tests from 165 girls and 127 boys met American Thoracic Society quality control standards. We found that the natural log of height, body mass and age were significant predictors of FEV1 , FVC, and FEF25-75% in the gender-specific models and that lung function values all increased with height and age as expected. The predictions using the equations derived for Navajo, Caucasian, Mexican-American, African-American youth were significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) from the predictions derived from the Hopi equations for all of the variables across both genders, with the exceptions of Hopi versus Navajo FEV1 /FVC in the males and Hopi versus Caucasians FEF25-75% in the females. Thus it would appear for this population important to have specific formulae to provide more accurate reference values. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Perceptions of Food Intake, Physical Activity, and Obesity Among African-American Children in the Lower Mississippi Delta.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGee, Bernestine B; Richardson, Valerie; Johnson, Glenda; Johnson, Crystal

    2017-07-01

    To explore the nutrition and physical activity perceptions of children for planning a healthy weight curriculum to address childhood obesity in African-American children living in the Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD). Six children's focus group sessions. Two Louisiana parishes in the LMD. Seventy 8- to 13-year-old African-American children, 46 (66%) females and 24 (44%) males, participated in the focus group sessions. Interview questions were based on personal and environmental determinants and content and strategies for a healthy lifestyle program for children. Focus group discussions were audio recorded and transcribed, observer recorded, and analyzed to identify recurring trends and patterns among focus groups. Content analysis consisted of coding focus group transcripts for recurrent themes and review of data by an independent reviewer to confirm the themes. Emerging themes were categorized as healthy lifestyle opinions within the social cognitive theory constructs of personal and environmental determinants and curriculum content. LMD youth recognized a healthy eating pattern and that overweight and obesity result from poor eating habits and physical inactivity. Children's food intake pattern did not reflect this understanding, suggesting a need for culturally tailoring an intervention to impact the poor food intake and physical inactivity in two low-income African-American Delta communities.

  13. The impact of acculturation level on weight status and weight outcomes in Mexican American children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Currently 39% of Hispanic children and adolescents are overweight and obese. Higher levels of acculturation have been shown to be related to obesity in Mexican American adults. Conflicting findings exists regarding this relationship in children and little is known about the impact of acculturation o...

  14. EL CUERPO Y LA PERSONA EN EL ESPACIO-TIEMPO DE LOS MAYAS DE LOS CHENES, CAMPECHE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javier Hirose López

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Para los médicos tradicionales mayas de la región de los Chenes, en el estado de Campeche, winik, el término que designa a la persona, hombre o individuo (Barrera Vázquez 2001, está estrechamente ligado al simbolismo de los rituales de sanación y los principios de la cosmovisión maya. En contraste con la visión cartesiana del mundo, propia de la mente occidental, que separa el cuerpo de la mente y el espíritu, para los mayas la persona se manifiesta en su forma material, el cuerpo, kukut, como reflejo del cosmos, con cuatro rumbos y un centro, y se conforma por los elementos de la naturaleza: tierra, agua, fuego, viento y luz. Simultáneamente, los mismos componentes que conforman su materialidad se manifiestan como entidades sutiles a través de las cuales el individuo se interrelaciona con los diferentes niveles del cosmos. Dicha interacción se da en un espacio delimitado por cuatro lados, cuyo movimiento —en contrasentido al giro de las manecillas del reloj— lo liga con el tiempo.   ABSTRACT For the mayan traditional healers of the Chenes region in Campeche, winik, the term used to designate a “person”, “man” or “individual”(Barrera-Vázquez 2001, is closely linked to the healing rituals and the principles of mayan cosmology. The Cartesian world view, proper to the occidental mind, separates the body from the mind and the spirit. In contrast, for the mayan, the person has a material aspect, the body, kukut, which resembles the cosmos, with four orientations and a center, and is the manifestation of the elements present in nature: earth, water, fire, wind and light. Simultaneously, the same components that conform its materiality, are manifest as subtle entities that let the individual interact with the different levels of the cosmos. This interaction takes place in a dimension defined by a four sided space which moves in the universe in a counter-clockwise direction.

  15. Using Axline's Eight Principles of Play Therapy with Mexican-American Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez, Sylvia Z.; Flores-Torres, Leila L.; Kranz, Peter L.; Lund, Nick L.

    2005-01-01

    There is a paucity of literature on the application of client-centered play therapy to diverse cultures. In this regard, the purpose of the article is to discuss considerations related to using Axline's eight principles of play therapy with Mexican-American children. The principles involve multicultural acceptance and understanding, relationship…

  16. Fears and Related Anxieties across Three Age Groups of Mexican American and White Children with Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Huijun; Prevatt, Frances

    2007-01-01

    The authors compared levels and types of fears and anxieties in a sample of Mexican American children and adolescents with disabilities to a group of White children and adolescents with similar disabilities. Students (N = 238), parents, and teachers completed the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (T. H. Ollendick, 1983) and the Revised…

  17. Barriers and Motivators to Reducing Secondhand Smoke Exposure in African American Families of Head Start Children: A Qualitative Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoehn, Jessica L.; Riekert, Kristin A.; Borrelli, Belinda; Rand, Cynthia S.; Eakin, Michelle N.

    2016-01-01

    Objective: To identify barriers and motivators for reducing secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) for families of African-American, low-income, urban children. Method: Audiotaped intervention sessions of 52 African-American caregivers of Head Start children who reported being a smoker and/or had at least one smoker in the home were randomly sampled…

  18. Portion size effects on daily energy intake in low-income Hispanic and African American children and their mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Jennifer O; Arreola, Angeles; Birch, Leann L; Rolls, Barbara J

    2007-12-01

    Portion size influences children's energy intakes at meals, but effects on daily intake are unknown. Effects of large portions on daily energy intake were tested in 5-y-old Hispanic and African American children from low-income families. Maternal food intake data were collected to evaluate familial susceptibility to portion size. A within-subjects experimental design with reference and large portion sizes was used in a study of 59 low-income Hispanic and African American preschool-aged children and their mothers. The portion size of 3 entrées (lunch, dinner, and breakfast) and an afternoon snack served during a 24-h period were of a reference size in one condition and doubled in the other condition. Portion sizes of other foods and beverages did not vary across conditions. Weighed food intake, anthropometric measures, and self-reported data were obtained. Doubling the portion size of several entrées and a snack served during a 24-h period increased energy intake from those foods by 23% (180 kcal) among children (P kcal) among mothers (P daily intakes among Hispanic and African American children.

  19. Two new species of dicyemid mesozoans (Dicyemida: Dicyemidae) from Octopus maya Voss & Solis-Ramirez (Octopodidae) off Yucatan, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castellanos-Martinez, Sheila; Aguirre-Macedo, M Leopoldina; Furuya, Hidetaka

    2016-07-01

    Two new dicyemid species are described from the endemic cephalopod Octopus maya Voss & Solis-Ramirez collected off Yucatan, Mexico. The renal sacs of 40 juvenile and adult octopuses from four localities were examined. Dicyema hochbergi n. sp. is a medium-sized species that reaches 2,245 µm in length. The vermiform stages consist of 18-24 peripheral cells, a conical calotte and the extension of the axial cell between the base and middle of the metapolar cells. Infusoriform embryos consist of 39 cells with urn cell containing one germinal cell, two nuclei and solid refringent bodies. Dicyema mexcayae n. sp. is a relatively small species that reaches 1,114 µm in length. The vermiform stages are constituted by 14-16 peripheral cells, an elongate calotte and the axial cell extending forward to the middle of the metapolar cells. The infusoriform embryos consist of 37 cells, two solid refringent bodies and urn cells with two nuclei each. The present study represents the first description of a dicyemid species from O. maya and increases the number of described species from Mexican waters to 11.

  20. Intertooth patterns of hypoplasia expression: implications for childhood health in the classic Maya collapse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, L E

    1997-02-01

    Enamel hypoplasias, which record interacting stresses of nutrition and illness during the period of tooth formation, are a key tool in the study of childhood health in prehistory. But interpretation of the age of peak morbidity is complicated by differences in susceptibility to stress both between tooth positions and within a single tooth. Here, hypoplasias are used to evaluate the prevailing ecological model for the collapse of Classic Period Lowland Maya civilization, circa AD 900. Hypoplasias were recorded in the full dentition of 160 adult skeletons from six archaeological sites in the Pasion River region of Guatemala. Instead of constructing a composite scale of stress experience, teeth are considered separately by position in the analysis. No statistical differences are found in the proportion of teeth affected by hypoplasia between "Early," Late Classic, and Terminal Classic Periods for anterior teeth considered to be most susceptible to stress, indicating stability in the overall stress loads affecting children of the three chronological periods. However, hypoplasia trends in posterior teeth may imply a change in the ontogenetic-timing of more severe stress episodes during the final occupation and perhaps herald a shift in child-care practices. These results provide little support for the ecological model of collapse but do call to attention the potential of posterior teeth to reveal subtle changes in childhood morbidity when consideredindividually.

  1. Racial difference in lung function in African-American and White children: effect of anthropometric, socioeconomic, nutritional, and environmental factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harik-Khan, Raida I; Muller, Denis C; Wise, Robert A

    2004-11-01

    African-American children have lower lung volumes than White children. However, the contributions of anthropometric, socioeconomic, nutritional, and environmental factors to this difference are unknown. From participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994), the authors selected 1,462 healthy nonsmoking children (623 White and 839 African-American) aged 8-17 years. The African-American children were taller and heavier but had lower lung function. African Americans were poorer and had lower levels of the antioxidant vitamins A and C and alpha-carotene. The authors performed regression analyses using data on anthropometric, socioeconomic, and nutritional factors and smoke exposure. Adjustment for sitting height explained 42-53% of the racial difference. Socioeconomic factors and antioxidant vitamin levels accounted for an additional 7-10%. Overall, the authors could account for only 50-63% of the racial difference. Exposure to tobacco in the home was weakly associated with forced expiratory volume in 1 second in girls, accounting for 1% of the difference. In children aged 8-12 years (n = 752), birth weight explained 3-5% of the racial difference, whereas in-utero exposure to maternal smoking had no significant effect. The authors conclude that in healthy children, the major explanatory variable for the racial difference in lung function is body habitus; socioeconomic, nutritional, and environmental confounders play a smaller role.

  2. Recommendations for Working with African American Parents of Primary School Children in Low-Resourced Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, Sejal; West-Olatunji, Cirecie; Sanders, Tiffany; Goodman, Rachael

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to provide a strength-based discussion of the relationship between parenting values of low-income African Americans and the academic performance of their school-aged children. Using resilience theory as a framework (Seccombe, 2002), the authors suggest that African American parents in low-resourced communities have…

  3. Teaching Spiritual Themes to African American Children: A Picture Book Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Demetrius B.

    2017-01-01

    "Teaching Spiritual Themes to African American Children: A Picture Book Approach" is a research project that used picture books to teach the four spiritual themes, 1.) love, 2.) forgiveness, 3.) kindness, and 4.) perseverance. This project was conducted in an after school program at Fifth Baptist Church, on Cary St. in Richmond, VA. The…

  4. Considerations for School Psychologists Working with Arab American Children and Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goforth, Anisa N.

    2011-01-01

    There are an estimated three million Arab Americans in the United States, with 25% of the population under the age of 18. Given this significant population, it is likely that some school psychologists come across children from Arab backgrounds during their career. Many school psychologists, however, may not be aware of the unique cultural…

  5. Sexual Health Discussions between African-American Mothers and Mothers of Latino Descent and Their Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Ashley; Ellis, Monica U.; Castellanos, Ted; Gaul, Zaneta; Sutton, Madeline Y.; Sneed, Carl D.

    2014-01-01

    We examined approaches used by African-American mothers and mothers of Latino descent for informal sex-related discussions with their children to inform sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV intervention development efforts. We recruited mothers (of children aged 12-15) from youth service agencies and a university in southern California.…

  6. Characterization of archaeological ceramics from the north western lowland Maya Area, using the technique of neutron activation analysis; Caracterizacion de ceramicas arqueologicas de las tierras bajas noroccidentales del Area Maya, empleando la tecnica de activacion neutronica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopez R, M. C.; Tenorio, D.; Jimenez R, M. [ININ, Carretera Mexico-Toluca s/n, Ocoyoacac 52750, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Terreros, E. [Museo del Templo Mayor, INAH, Seminario No. 8, Col. Centro, Mexico 06060, D. F. (Mexico); Ochoa, L. [UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropologicas, Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico 04510, D. F. (Mexico)

    2008-07-01

    It is a study on 50 samples of ceramics from various archaeological sites of the north western lowland Maya Area. This study was performed by neutron activation analysis of 19 chemical elements and the treatments relevant statistical data. Significant differences were found among the pieces that led to group them into five major groups, the difference is the site of their manufacture and therefore in the raw materials used for this. (Author)

  7. Rationales for Support That African American Grandmothers Provide to Their Children Who Are Parenting Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumo, Jen'nea; Dancy, Barbara; Julion, Wrenetha; Wilbur, JoEllen

    2015-01-01

    African American grandmothers are known to be a major source of support for their children who are parenting adolescents, but little is known about why they provide support. The purpose of this study was to describe the kinds of support provided by African American maternal and paternal grandmothers to their parenting adolescents and the reasons…

  8. Obesity and Overweight in American Indian and Alaska Native Children, 2006-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullock, Ann; Sheff, Karen; Moore, Kelly; Manson, Spero

    2017-09-01

    To estimate obesity and overweight prevalence in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children across genders, ages, and geographic regions in the Indian Health Service active clinical population. We obtained data from the Indian Health Service National Data Warehouse. At least 184 000 AI/AN children aged 2 to 19 years had body mass index data for each year studied, 2006 to 2015. We calculated body mass index percentiles with the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts. In 2015, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in AI/AN children aged 2 to 19 years was 18.5% and 29.7%, respectively. Boys had higher obesity prevalence than girls (31.5% vs 27.9%). Children aged 12 to 19 years had a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than younger children. The AI/AN children in our study had a higher prevalence of obesity than US children overall in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results for 2006 through 2014 were similar. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among AI/AN children in this population may have stabilized, while remaining higher than prevalence for US children overall.

  9. Regional response to drought during the formation and decline of Preclassic Maya societies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebert, Claire E.; Peniche May, Nancy; Culleton, Brendan J.; Awe, Jaime J.; Kennett, Douglas J.

    2017-10-01

    The earliest complex societies and a distinctive set of pan-regional social, political, and economic institutions appeared in the southern Maya lowlands during the Preclassic period (ca. 1200/1100 cal BCE-cal 300 CE). The timing of these cultural changes was variably influenced by local developments, interaction with other regions of Mesoamerica, and climate change. We present a high-resolution radiocarbon chronology for the growth of the early polity of Cahal Pech, Belize, one of the first permanent settlements in the southern Maya lowlands. We compare our results to a database containing over 1190 radiocarbon dates from cultural contexts reported from five major regions of the southern lowlands to interpret the expansion and decline of emerging complex social groups during the Preclassic. Comparisons to paleoclimate proxy datasets suggest that fluctuating climate regimes may have promoted alternating integration and fragmentation of early hierarchically organized societies. Stable climatic conditions during the Middle Preclassic (1000/900-300 cal BCE) fostered the centralization of populations and the formation of large regional polities across the southern lowlands. An extended drought at the end of the Late Preclassic (cal 150-300 CE) likely contributed to the decline of some major polities in the central Petén, but smaller sites located in productive environments were more resilient and persisted in to the Classic period. This research provides a framework for understanding the complex social and environmental factors that influenced localized adaptations to climate change and the episodic growth and decline of early complex societies in prehistory.

  10. Desloratadine therapy improves allergic rhinitis symptoms in latin american children aged 6 to 12 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tassinari, Paolo; Suárez, Nelson R; Centeno, Jorge; Velásquez, Janina Vergara; Aguirre-Mariscal, Héctor; Gonzálezdíaz, Sandra N; Jerves, Alfredo Fernández de Córdova

    2009-04-01

    : To determine the effectiveness of desloratadine syrup in relieving symptoms of allergic rhinitis (AR) among children in Latin America. : In an open-label trial conducted in 5 Latin American countries, 455 children aged 6 to 12 years with seasonal or perennial AR were treated with desloratadine syrup 2.5 mg/d for 6 weeks. Thirty percent of subjects were concomitantly taking corticosteroids, and 21.3% had a history of asthma. Efficacy was measured by improvement in the Total Symptom Severity 4 questionnaire and decrease in severity of individual nasal symptoms of congestion, rhinorrhea, pruritus, and sneezing. Physicians and subjects' caregivers rated symptom improvement in a separate assessment at final visit. : Treatment with desloratadine led to a significant decrease in mean Total Symptom Severity 4 score, from 7.54 at baseline to 1.96 at study end (P Latin American children.

  11. El modelado artificial de la cabeza durante la Colonia: Una tradición maya en el espejo de las fuentes históricas Artificial Head Modification during the Colonial Era: A Mayan Tradition in the Mirror of Historical Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Tiesler

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Este trabajo aporta una mirada alterna sobre la modificación cefálica artificial entre los mayas, concretamente utilizando las observaciones de los cronistas que aún la vieron en la época Colonial. Sin querer, ellas nos comunican motivaciones íntimamente vinculadas con el rol que una vez tuvo la costumbre cefálica dentro de la cosmovisión y la ritualidad cotidiana de los mayas prehispánicos; así, estos testimonios constituyen puntos de partida invaluables para comprender los motivos culturales profundos que el modelado cefálico satisfacía originalmente. Por último, contrastamos y discutimos la información de las fuentes conjuntamente con el registro craneológico en siete series coloniales del territorio cultural maya. Los resultados confirman que el modelado cefálico pronto pierde vigencia en los centros urbanos con mayor presencia europea al mismo tiempo que se observa su pervivencia en los espacios rurales y selváticos más aislados, como los paraderos remotos de la selva lacandona.This paper contributes an alternative view on artificial head shaping practices among the Maya, which we examine through the lens of those European chroniclers who still witnessed it as a living practice during the colonial era. Unwillingly, these sources testify longstanding cultural motivations for the ancient tradition of modifying infants' vaults, which appear intimately tied to prehispanic Maya worldviews and daily ritual practices. The recognition of these motives provides a valuable point of departure for understanding the deeply embedded cultural roles this head practice once played. The last part of the paper compares and discusses the information provided by the colonial sources jointly with the results obtained from a study of seven colonial skeletal series from the Maya area. Our results confirm that Maya head modeling quickly dwindled within the urban spheres, where the European dominion was most immediate, while surviving over the

  12. Risk factors for obesity and high blood pressure in Chinese American children: maternal acculturation and children's food choices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jyu-Lin; Weiss, Sandra; Heyman, Melvin B; Lustig, Robert

    2011-04-01

    The objective of this study is to explore risk factors associated with overweight and high blood pressure in Chinese American children. Students and their parents were recruited from Chinese language schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Data were collected on 67 children and their mothers, and included children's weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, blood pressure, level of physical activity, dietary intake, usual food choice, knowledge about nutrition and physical activity, and self-efficacy regarding diet and physical activity. Mothers completed questionnaires on demographic data and acculturation. About 46% of children had a body mass index exceeding the 85th percentile. Lower level of maternal acculturation is a risk factor for overweight and higher waist to hip ratio. Children's unhealthy food choices were predictive of high body mass index and high systolic blood pressure, whereas older age and less physical activity in children were predictors of high diastolic blood pressure. Developing culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate interventions to reduce overweight and high blood pressure is critical to reduce health disparities among minority children.

  13. A Review of Child Psychiatric Epidemiology With Special Reference to American Indian and Alaska Native Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Ben Ezra; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Places the limited knowledge of the psychological problems of American Indian and Alaska Native children in context of general child psychiatric epidemiology, using the taxonomy of the American Psychiatric Association's third "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual." Available from: White Cloud Center, Gaines Hall UOHSC, 840 Southwest Gaines…

  14. Maya Lime Mortars—Relationship between Archaeomagnetic Dating, Manufacturing Technique, and Architectural Function—The Dzibanché Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luisa Straulino Mainou

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Researchers have related the manufacturing technique of plasters and stucco in the Maya area with their period of production but not with their architectural function. In this paper, we establish a relationship between those three features (manufacturing technique, age, and architectural function in the plasters of the Maya site of Dzibanché in southern Quintana Roo. Dzibanché has abundant remains of stuccos and plasters found mainly in three buildings (Plaza Pom, Pequeña Acrópolis, and Structure 2. We used thin sections, SEM and XRD, and archaeomagnetic dating processes. The pictorial layer of Structure 2 was the earliest (AD 274–316 and the stuccoes and plasters of the other two buildings were dated to the Middle Classic (AD 422–531, but we obtained different archaeomagnetic dates for the red pigment layers found in the buildings of the Pequeña Acrópolis and thus we were able to determine their chronological order of construction. The raw materials and proportions were carefully chosen to fulfil the mechanical necessities of the architectonic function: different proportions were found in plasters of floors, in the external walls, and inside the buildings; differences between earlier and later plasters were also detected.

  15. Materiales Maria Maya: community-based materials development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, B C

    1982-01-01

    Materials Maria Maya (MMM) is a Guatemalan organization which has dedicated itself to making health education more relevant to the rural Mayans who constitute the majority of Guatemala's population. The administration and direction of the project is in the hands of a team of qualified Mayan men and women. Funding is primarily through various charitable international organizations. The content of preexisting health education programs, strongly influenced by the dominant "ladino" Spanish speaking culture was found to be inappropriate to the goal of this program. MMM set about to formulate a new teaching format which would draw upon, rather than trample over, established cultural practices and life styles. By a process of trial and error, involving small scale field tests, a new program format was developed. By questioning local women about perceived priority areas, through the study of morbidity and mortality data, decisions were made as to topics to be covered. Investigators, authors, and artists worked together to form a "materials package" which was then subject to pretesting. Out of this effort, MMM has been able to come up with a method to encourage more effective participative teaching through the use of education materials.

  16. Digestive Physiology of Octopus maya and O. mimus: Temporality of Digestion and Assimilation Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallardo, Pedro; Olivares, Alberto; Martínez-Yáñez, Rosario; Caamal-Monsreal, Claudia; Domingues, Pedro M.; Mascaró, Maite; Sánchez, Ariadna; Pascual, Cristina; Rosas, Carlos

    2017-01-01

    Digestive physiology is one of the bottlenecks of octopus aquaculture. Although, there are successful experimentally formulated feeds, knowledge of the digestive physiology of cephalopods is fragmented, and focused mainly on Octopus vulgaris. Considering that the digestive physiology could vary in tropical and sub-tropical species through temperature modulations of the digestive dynamics and nutritional requirements of different organisms, the present review was focused on the digestive physiology timing of Octopus maya and Octopus mimus, two promising aquaculture species living in tropical (22–30°C) and sub-tropical (15–24°C) ecosystems, respectively. We provide a detailed description of how soluble and complex nutrients are digested, absorbed, and assimilated in these species, describing the digestive process and providing insight into how the environment can modulate the digestion and final use of nutrients for these and presumably other octopus species. To date, research on these octopus species has demonstrated that soluble protein and other nutrients flow through the digestive tract to the digestive gland in a similar manner in both species. However, differences in the use of nutrients were noted: in O. mimus, lipids were mobilized faster than protein, while in O. maya, the inverse process was observed, suggesting that lipid mobilization in species that live in relatively colder environments occurs differently to those in tropical ecosystems. Those differences are related to the particular adaptations of animals to their habitat, and indicate that this knowledge is important when formulating feed for octopus species. PMID:28620313

  17. Identifying metabolic syndrome in African American children using fasting HOMA-IR in place of glucose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Sushma; Lustig, Robert H; Fleming, Sharon E

    2011-05-01

    Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing among young people. We compared the use of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) with the use of fasting blood glucose to identify MetS in African American children. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from a sample of 105 children (45 boys, 60 girls) aged 9 to 13 years with body mass indexes at or above the 85th percentile for age and sex. Waist circumference, blood pressure, and fasting levels of blood glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured. We found that HOMA-IR is a stronger indicator of MetS in children than blood glucose. Using HOMA-IR as 1 of the 5 components, we found a 38% prevalence of MetS in this sample of African American children and the proportion of false negatives decreased from 94% with blood glucose alone to 13% with HOMA-IR. The prevalence of MetS was higher in obese than overweight children and higher among girls than boys. Using HOMA-IR was preferred to fasting blood glucose because insulin resistance was more significantly interrelated with the other 4 MetS components.

  18. "You Don't Need to Be Mean. We're Friends, Right?": Young Korean-American Children's Conflicts and References to Friendship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jinhee

    2014-01-01

    In the eyes of adults, conflicts between children are often treated as problematic social interactions that should be prevented. This study describes how young Korean-American children's conflict negotiation was a central part of their peer culture at a Korean heritage language school in the United States. Eleven young Korean-American children…

  19. Using maya chair during the expulsive phase of delivery and its relation to the lower incidence of episiotomy or perineal tears

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura López Quirós

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this article is to present the results obtained from the development of a clinical question about using maya obstetric chair during the expulsive phase of delivery and its relation to the lower incidence of episiotomy and perineal tears. In traditional cultures, the women give birth naturally in vertical positions as kneeling, standing, among others. In Western societies, physicians have influenced women will deliver in the supine position, sometimes with legs raised using stirrups. For women of our country is difficult to adopt "alternative" positions that have traditionally been seen as 'normal'. The maya chair is used in the countries of South America, and it appears to be an effective way to prevent perineal tears and the lower incidence of episiotomy duringchildbirth. To carry out this secondary research methodology for clinical practice based on evidence that consists of five steps was used. A question was developed in PICO format (patient, intervention, comparison and observation, then an information search was performed in different databases like Ebsco Host, Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline plus, Embase. 30 articles were found, were analyzed according to the criteria set FCL version 2.0, of which only one was close to answering the clinical question. Information was socialized in a formalpresentation by CIEBE-CR. It is conclude that there is insufficient evidence that the use of maya chair during theexpulsive phase of delivery significantly reduces the risk of perianal tear and lower incidence of episiotomy.

  20. La langosta, los mayas y el colonialismo en Yucatán, México, 1883

    OpenAIRE

    García Quintanilla, Alejandra

    2012-01-01

    En 1883 se produjo una gran plaga de langosta que afectó a diversos estados de la República Mexicana. Tuvo su origen en Yucatán. Aquí se analizan las respuestas sociales de la sociedad civil integrada mayoritariamente por personas mayas, la de los hacendados henequeneros y también la del gobierno de Yucatán en lo que fue el inicio del llamado Auge Henequenero. In the year 1883, an enormous plague of locusts emerged in Yucatán and then spread out to raze several states in the Mexican Republ...

  1. Vaccine-preventable, hospitalizations among American Indian/Alaska Native children using the 2012 Kid's Inpatient Database.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nickel, Amanda J; Puumala, Susan E; Kharbanda, Anupam B

    2018-02-08

    Our aim was to assess the odds of hospitalization for a vaccine-preventable, infectious disease (VP-ID) in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children compared to other racial and ethnic groups using the 2012 Kid's Inpatient Database (KID) The KID is a nationally representative sample, which allows for evaluation of VP-ID in a non-federal, non-Indian Health Service setting. In a cross-sectional analysis, we evaluated the association of race/ethnicity and a composite outcome of hospitalization due to vaccine-preventable infection using multivariate logistic regression. AI/AN children were more likely (OR=1.81, 95% CI=1.34, 2.45) to be admitted to the hospital in 2012 for a VP-ID compared to Non-Hispanic white children after adjusting for age, sex, chronic disease status, metropolitan location, and median household income. This disparity highlights the necessity for a more comprehensive understanding of immunization and infectious disease exposure among American Indian children, especially those not covered or evaluated by Indian Health Service. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Chinese American immigrant parents' emotional expression in the family: Relations with parents' cultural orientations and children's emotion-related regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Stephen H; Zhou, Qing; Main, Alexandra; Lee, Erica H

    2015-10-01

    The present study examined 2 measures of Chinese American immigrant parents' emotional expression in the family context: self-reported emotional expressivity and observed emotional expression during a parent-child interaction task. Path analyses were conducted to examine the concurrent associations between measures of emotional expression and (a) parents' American and Chinese cultural orientations in language proficiency, media use, and social affiliation domains, and (b) parents' and teachers' ratings of children's emotion-related regulation. Results suggested that cultural orientations were primarily associated with parents' self-reported expressivity (rather than observed emotional expression), such that higher American orientations were generally associated with higher expressivity. Although parents' self-reported expressivity was only related to their own reports of children's regulation, parents' observed emotional expression was related to both parents' and teachers' reports of children's regulation. These results suggest that self-reported expressivity and observed emotional expression reflect different constructs and have differential relations to parents' cultural orientations and children's regulation. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Maternal discussions of mental states and behaviors: relations to emotion situation knowledge in European American and immigrant Chinese children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doan, Stacey N; Wang, Qi

    2010-01-01

    This study examined in a cross-cultural context mothers' discussions of mental states and external behaviors in a story-telling task with their 3-year-old children and the relations of such discussions to children's emotion situation knowledge (ESK). The participants were 71 European American and 60 Chinese immigrant mother-child pairs in the United States. Mothers and children read a storybook together at home, and children's ESK was assessed. Results showed that European American mothers made more references to thoughts and emotions during storytelling than did Chinese mothers, who commented more frequently on behaviors. Regardless of culture, mothers' use of mental states language predicted children's ESK, whereas their references to behaviors were negatively related to children's ESK. Finally, mothers' emphasis on mental states over behaviors partially mediated cultural effects on children's ESK. © 2010 The Authors. Child Development © 2010 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  4. Validity Study of the "Preschool Language Scale-4" with English-Speaking Hispanic and European American Children in Head Start Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Cathy H.; Marley, Scott C.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the "Preschool Language Scale-4" (PLS-4) with a sample of English-speaking Hispanic and European American children who attended Head Start programs. Participants were 440 children between the ages of 3 and 5 years (52% male; 86% Hispanic and 14% European American).…

  5. Renal and cardiovascular morbidities associated with APOL1 among African American and Non-African American children with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert P Woroniecki

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives: African American (AA children with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS have later onset disease that progresses more rapidly than in non-AA children. It is unclear how APOL1 genotypes contribute to kidney disease risk, progression and cardiovascular morbidity in children. Design, setting, participants, & measurements: We examined the prevalence of APOL1 genotypes and associated cardiovascular phenotypes among children with FSGS in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD study; an ongoing multicenter prospective cohort study of children aged 1-16 years with mild to moderate kidney disease.Results: A total of 140 AA children in the CKiD study were genotyped. HR APOL1 genotypes were present in 24% of AA children (33/140 and were associated with FSGS, p 3 mg/L (33% vs. 15%, p=0.12 and obesity (48% vs. 19%, p=0.01. There were no differences in glomerular filtration rate, hemoglobin, iPTH, or calcium-phosphate product. Conclusions: AA children with HR APOL1 genotype and FSGS have increase prevalence of obesity and LVH despite a later age of FSGS onset, while adjusting for socioeconomic status. Treatment of obesity may be an important component of CKD and LVH management in this population.

  6. Attention-getting skills of deaf children using American Sign Language in a preschool classroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieberman, Amy M

    2015-07-01

    Visual attention is a necessary prerequisite to successful communication in sign language. The current study investigated the development of attention-getting skills in deaf native-signing children during interactions with peers and teachers. Seven deaf children (aged 21-39 months) and five adults were videotaped during classroom activities for approximately 30 hr. Interactions were analyzed in depth to determine how children obtained and maintained attention. Contrary to previous reports, children were found to possess a high level of communicative competence from an early age. Analysis of peer interactions revealed that children used a range of behaviors to obtain attention with peers, including taps, waves, objects, and signs. Initiations were successful approximately 65% of the time. Children followed up failed initiation attempts by repeating the initiation, using a new initiation, or terminating the interaction. Older children engaged in longer and more complex interactions than younger children. Children's early exposure to and proficiency in American Sign Language is proposed as a likely mechanism that facilitated their communicative competence.

  7. Limites politiques et barrières sociales dans le monde maya classique Political Limits and Social Barriers in the Classic Maya World: Reflections Based on a Few Archaeological Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dominique Michelet

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available L’archéologie des Basses Terres mayas à l’époque classique est riche de données susceptibles de nous renseigner sur plusieurs types de « frontières » sociopolitiques. Si la question des limites territoriales des entités politiques du monde classique constitue, depuis les années 1970, un objectif tout à fait conscient de la recherche, bien d’autres éléments des partitionnements sociopolitiques existent, mais ils n’ont pas reçu, le plus souvent, l’attention qu’ils méritent. L’examen de quelques informations, empruntées aux résultats de projets de recherche collective récents, indique que les démarcations formelles plus ou moins minces durent être rares, qu’il y aurait même eu peu de bornages explicites et que les seuils étaient dotés d’une épaisseur certaine, leur franchissement obéissant à des codes précis et/ou impliquant des comportements ritualisés.The archaeology of the Maya Lowlands of the classical era is rich in data that are likely to have something to teach us about several types of sociopolitical “boundary”. Although research since the 1970s has consciously aimed to address the question of the territorial limits of classical-world political entities, many other elements of sociopolitical partitioning exist, but they have tended not to receive the attention they deserve. The examination of a few pieces of information, borrowed from the results of recent collective research projects, indicates that more-or-less thin formal demarcations must have been rare, that there would even have been few explicit boundary markings, and that the thresholds were endowed with a certain thickness, their crossing obeying precise codes and/or involving ritualised behaviours.

  8. Mexican-American children's perspectives: neighborhood characteristics and physical activity in Texas-Mexico border colonias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mier, Nelda; Lee, Chanam; Smith, Matthew Lee; Wang, Xiaohui; Irizarry, David; Avila-Rodriguez, Elias H; Trevino, Laura; Ory, Marcia G

    2013-10-01

    The qualitative study described in this article investigated perceptions about environmental factors influencing physical activity (PA) among children from underserved neighborhoods known as colonias in the U.S.-Mexico border. Ten focus groups were conducted with 67 Mexican-American colonia children ages 8 to 13 living in one of the poorest border counties in the U.S. Analyses indicated that PA among children was influenced by neighborhood characteristics, including litter, speeding cars, unleashed dogs, and dark streets. The children also underlined intrapersonal and social environmental factors. Findings may inform policy makers and public health professionals about ways to promote PA among underserved children through urban planning and programs focusing on PA-supportive infrastructure, neighborhood safety, and family- and home-based physical activities.

  9. Adjusting Limit Setting in Play Therapy with First-Generation Mexican-American Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, Roxanna; Ramirez, Sylvia Z.; Kranz, Peter L.

    2007-01-01

    This paper focuses on limit setting in play therapy with first-generation Mexican-American children in two important therapeutic environments that include the traditional indoor playroom and a proposed outdoor play area. The paper is based on a review of the literature and the authors' clinical experiences with this population. They concluded…

  10. Two new nematodes from the Iriomote cat, Prionailurus iriomotensis, from Okinawa: Uncinaria (Uncinaria) maya n. sp. (Ancylostomatoidea) and Molineus springsmithi yayeyamanus n. subsp. (Trichostrongyloidea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasegawa, H

    1989-12-01

    Uncinaria (Uncinaria) maya n. sp. (Nematoda: Ancylostomatidae) and Molineus springsmithi yayeyamanus n. subsp. (Nematoda: Molineidae) are described from the Iriomote cat, Prionailurus iriomotensis, on Iriomote Island, Okinawa, Japan. Uncinaria (U.) maya resembles Uncinaria (Uncinaria) felidis Maplestone, 1939, from Prionailurus bengalensis of India but is distinguished in that the body is much smaller, the ventral rays are set closely with the lateral rays, and the externolateral ray is much shorter than other laterals. Molineus springsmithi yayeyamanus differs from Molineus springsmithi springsmithi Inglis and Ogden, 1965, from Prionailurus bengalensis horsfieldi of East Nepal in that the body is much longer, whereas the esophagus is somewhat shorter and the spicules are divided more distally. Presence of the closely related nematodes in both the Iriomote cat and P. bengalensis suggests a close evolutionary relationship of the 2 hosts.

  11. Measurement of the GMR in the Unstable 56Ni Nucleus using the Active Target Maya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monrozeau, C.; Khan, E.; Blumenfeld, Y.; Mittig, W.; Beaumel, D.; Caamano, M.; Cortina-Gil, D.; Demonchy, C.E.; Frascaria, N.; Garg, U.; Gelin, M.; Gillibert, A.; Gupta, D.; Marechal, F.; Obertelli, A.; Roussel-Chomaz, P.; Scarpaci, J.-A.

    2007-01-01

    The measurement of the Isoscalar Giant Monopole Resonance(GMR) in unstable nuclei remains a major experimental challenge due to low radioactive beam intensities and unfavourable conditions in reverse kinematics. At GANIL, we have tested a new experimental method based on the unique capabilities of the active target Maya to probe the GMR by the inelastic scattering reaction 56 Ni(d,d') at 50 AMeV. The preliminary excitation energy spectrum of 56 Ni presents a bump between 12 and 25 MeV where isoscalar resonances are expected

  12. Summer effects on body mass index (BMI) gain and growth patterns of American Indian children from kindergarten to first grade: a prospective study

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Jianduan; Himes, John H; Hannan, Peter J; Arcan, Chrisa; Smyth, Mary; Rock, Bonnie Holy; Story, Mary

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Background Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent among American Indian children, especially those living on reservations. There is little scientific evidence about the effects of summer vacation on obesity development in children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of summer vacation between kindergarten and first grade on growth in height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) for a sample of American Indian children. Methods Children had their height and wei...

  13. A mask for high-intensity heavy-ion beams in the MAYA active target

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodríguez-Tajes, C., E-mail: rodriguez@ganil.fr [Grand Accélérateur National d' Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DSM-CNRS/IN2P3, Bvd Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen (France); Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, E-15706 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Pancin, J.; Damoy, S.; Roger, T.; Babo, M. [Grand Accélérateur National d' Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DSM-CNRS/IN2P3, Bvd Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen (France); Caamaño, M. [Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, E-15706 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Farget, F.; Grinyer, G.F.; Jacquot, B.; Pérez-Loureiro, D. [Grand Accélérateur National d' Ions Lourds (GANIL), CEA/DSM-CNRS/IN2P3, Bvd Henri Becquerel, 14076 Caen (France); Ramos, D. [Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, E-15706 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Suzuki, D. [Institut de Physique Nucléaire, Université Paris-Sud 11, CNRS/IN2P3, F-91406 Orsay (France)

    2014-12-21

    The use of high-intensity and/or heavy-ion beams in active targets and time-projection chambers is often limited by the strong ionization produced by the beam. Besides the difficulties associated with the saturation of the detector and electronics, beam-related signals may hide the physical events of interest or reduce the detector performance. In addition, space-charge effects may deteriorate the homogeneity of the electric drift field and distort the subsequent reconstruction of particle trajectories. In anticipation of future projects involving such conditions, a dedicated beam mask has been developed and tested in the MAYA active target. Experimental results with a {sup 136}Xe beam are presented.

  14. Added Sugars and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Children: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vos, Miriam B; Kaar, Jill L; Welsh, Jean A; Van Horn, Linda V; Feig, Daniel I; Anderson, Cheryl A M; Patel, Mahesh J; Cruz Munos, Jessica; Krebs, Nancy F; Xanthakos, Stavra A; Johnson, Rachel K

    2017-05-09

    Poor lifestyle behaviors are leading causes of preventable diseases globally. Added sugars contribute to a diet that is energy dense but nutrient poor and increase risk of developing obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity-related cancers, and dental caries. For this American Heart Association scientific statement, the writing group reviewed and graded the current scientific evidence for studies examining the cardiovascular health effects of added sugars on children. The available literature was subdivided into 5 broad subareas: effects on blood pressure, lipids, insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and obesity. Associations between added sugars and increased cardiovascular disease risk factors among US children are present at levels far below current consumption levels. Strong evidence supports the association of added sugars with increased cardiovascular disease risk in children through increased energy intake, increased adiposity, and dyslipidemia. The committee found that it is reasonable to recommend that children consume ≤25 g (100 cal or ≈6 teaspoons) of added sugars per day and to avoid added sugars for children added sugars most likely can be safely consumed in low amounts as part of a healthy diet, few children achieve such levels, making this an important public health target. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  15. Criticisms of chlorination: social determinants of drinking water beliefs and practices among the Tz'utujil Maya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagata, Jason M; Valeggia, Claudia R; Smith, Nathaniel W; Barg, Frances K; Guidera, Mamie; Bream, Kent D W

    2011-01-01

    To explore social determinants of drinking water beliefs and practices among the Tz'utujil Maya of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, through analysis of demographics, socioeconomic status, memory of historical events, sensory experience, and water attitudes. Parallel mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methods, including participant observation, in-depth interviews based on a purposive sample, and 201 semi-structured interviews based on a regional quota sample, were used to collect data from March 2007 to August 2008. Data analysis included the use of grounded theory methodology and Pearson's chi-square test for independence. Qualitative results based on grounded theory highlighted how memory of the Guatemalan Civil War and Hurricane Stan, attitudes about Lake Atitlán water, and the taste and smell of chlorine influenced Tz'utujil Maya drinking water beliefs. Quantitative survey results revealed that differences in ethnicity, literacy, years of schooling, distrust of the water supply during the Civil War and Hurricane Stan, and current beliefs about Lake Atitlán and tap water quality were associated with significantly different water self-treatment practices. In accordance with social determinants of health paradigms, demographic, socioeconomic, social, cultural, political, and historical factors continue to be significant determinants of water-related health. Public health water interventions must address inequalities related to these underlying factors in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.

  16. Effects of Image Gently and the North American guidelines: administered activities in children at 13 North American pediatric hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fahey, Frederic H; Ziniel, Sonja I; Manion, Dacie; Treves, S Ted

    2015-06-01

    The goal of this investigation was to assess the impact of the publication of the 2010 North American guidelines on the practice of nuclear medicine in children at 13 dedicated pediatric institutions within the United States and Canada by comparing results of similar surveys from 2007 and 2013. In 2013, a follow-up survey was performed of the original 13 dedicated pediatric institutions initially surveyed in 2007. Both surveys inquired about the administered activities for 16 nuclear medicine procedures commonly performed on children. The administered activity per body mass, the maximum activity, and the minimum activity for patients for each procedure were requested from each site. For each parameter the minimum and maximum reported values, as well as the median and the mean, were tabulated. The mean difference in the mean between 2007 and 2013 was calculated, as well as the 95% confidence intervals for the mean administered activity per body mass for both years. The factor of variation used with the previous survey for each parameter was calculated by taking the ratio of the maximum and minimum reported values. For the 8 procedures addressed in the 2010 North American guidelines, the percentage of institutions that were compliant (defined as within 20%) for each parameter were noted for both surveys. Institutions were asked whether they were familiar with "Image Gently," the North American guidelines, and the "Go with the Guidelines" campaign and whether they adjusted their administered activities on the basis of these guidelines. In general, the 13 pediatric institutions have reduced their administered activities in children, particularly for those procedures addressed by the 2010 North American guidelines. The average variability in the activity per body mass and the minimum activity as measured by the factor of variation were substantially reduced by 9.7% (from 3.1 to 2.8) and 24% (from 10.0 to 7.6). The average variability of the maximum activity was

  17. Constructing "Deservingness": DREAMers and Central American Unaccompanied Children in the National Immigration Debate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez Huber, Lindsay

    2015-01-01

    Utilizing a Latina/o Critical Theory framework (LatCrit), I examine the narratives that emerged within national newsprint media coverage of DREAMers and Central American unaccompanied children. Data included 268 newspaper articles published during periods of heightened national media attention about DREAMers (96 articles) and Central American…

  18. Figure Structure, Figure Action, and Framing in Drawings by American and Egyptian Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Brent; Wilson, Marjorie

    1979-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the interaction of biological unfolding and culturally related factors on sequences of narrative figure drawings by American and Egyptian elementary students. Findings support hypotheses relating to the interaction of natural and nurtural influences on children's drawings. (Author/SJL)

  19. Chinese and American Children's Perceptions of Popularity Determinants: Cultural Differences and Behavioral Correlates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yan; Xie, Hongling; Shi, Junqi

    2012-01-01

    The present study aimed to investigate cultural construction of children's perceptions of popularity determinants using a cross-cultural approach. This study examined 327 Chinese and 312 American fifth-graders' perceptions of what individual characteristics and peer relationships would make a peer popular. Consistent with cultural emphases,…

  20. Family-Level Factors and African American Children's Behavioral Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washington, Tyreasa; Rose, Theda; Colombo, Gia; Hong, Jun Sung; Coard, Stephanie Irby

    2015-01-01

    Background: Considerable prior research targeting African American children has focused on the pervasiveness of problematic behavior and negative risk factors associated with their development, however the influence of family on better behavioral health outcomes has largely been ignored. Objective: The purpose of this review is to examine…

  1. Regional variation in asthma symptom prevalence in Latin American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallol, Javier; Solé, Dirceu; Baeza-Bacab, Manuel; Aguirre-Camposano, Viviana; Soto-Quiros, Manuel; Baena-Cagnani, Carlos

    2010-08-01

    This study investigates the distribution pattern of asthma symptom prevalence in Latin American children aged 13-14 years. A randomized, cross-sectional and multicentric study on the prevalence and severity of asthma symptoms (lifetime asthma, current wheezing, and frequent sleep disturbance by wheezing) was conducted in 165,917 schoolchildren from 56 centers in 17 Latin American countries, as part of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), Phase Three. The prevalence of lifetime asthma prevalence ranged from 1.2% to 33.1%, whereas current wheezing went from 3.9% to 30.8% and frequent sleep disturbance from 0.6% to 6.1%. An important proportion of centers (55%) reported a prevalence of asthma symptoms over 15%. There was no significant correlation between asthma symptom prevalence and latitude, altitude, or tropical setting. At country level, the prevalence of asthma was not associated with gross national income (GNI), proportion of population under the poverty line, or ancestry. This study suggests that ecological interactions, probably typical for each locality, may be the main determinants for the large variability of asthma prevalence in Latin America. The high prevalence of asthma symptoms found in children living in areas with low socioeconomic development would challenge the protective role against asthma of factors related to low hygiene and poverty; contrarily, in this region they would act as risk factors.

  2. Structural and Dialectal Characteristics of the Fictional and Personal Narratives of School-age African American Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Monique T.; Watkins, Ruth V.; Washington, Julie A.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose To report preliminary comparisons of developing structural characteristics associated with fictional and personal narratives in school-age African American children. Method Forty-three children, grades two through five, generated a fictional and a personal narrative in response to a wordless-book elicitation task and a story-prompt task, respectively. Narratives produced in these two contexts were characterized for macrostructure, microstructure, and dialect density. Differences across narrative type and grade level were examined. Results Statistically significant differences between the two types of narratives were found for both macrostructure and microstructure but not for dialect density. There were no grade-related differences in macrostructure, microstructure, or dialect density. Conclusion The results demonstrate the complementary role of fictional and personal narratives for describing young children's narrative skills. Use of both types of narrative tasks and descriptions of both macrostructure and macrostructure may be particularly useful for characterizing the narrative abilities of young school-age African American children, for whom culture-fair methods are scarce. Further study of additional dialect groups is warranted. PMID:23633645

  3. The Chicago Parent Program: Comparing 1-Year Outcomes for African American and Latino Parents of Young Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breitenstein, Susan M.; Gross, Deborah; Fogg, Louis; Ridge, Alison; Garvey, Christine; Julion, Wrenetha; Tucker, Sharon

    2012-01-01

    Data were merged from two prevention randomized trials testing 1-year outcomes of a parenting skills program, the Chicago Parent Program (CPP), and comparing its effects for African-American (n=291) versus Latino (n=213) parents and their preschool children. Compared to controls, intervention parents had improved self-efficacy, used less corporal punishment and more consistent discipline, and demonstrated more positive parenting. Intervention children had greater reductions in behavior problems based on parent-report, teacher-report, and observation. Although improvements from CPP were evident for parents in both racial/ethnic groups, Latino parents reported greater improvements in their children’s behavior and in parenting self-efficacy but exhibited greater decreases in praise. Findings support the efficacy of the CPP for African American and Latino parents and young children from low-income urban communities. PMID:22622598

  4. Knowledge of the Yucatec Maya in seasonal tropical forest management: the forage plants El conocimiento de los mayas yucatecos en el manejo del bosque tropical estacional: las plantas forrajeras

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Salvador Flores

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Indigenous knowledge and the millenary experience in management of natural vegetation on karstic landscapes are important aspects that should be considered in animal production in seasonal tropical environments. The aim of the present work was to make an inventory of native plants associated to soilscapes from seasonal tropical forests from the Yucatán Peninsula that are used as forage by Mayan people. The work was carried out in 27 Mayan communities on karst landscapes in the Yucatán Peninsula as a part of the "Ethnoflora Yucatanense" project of the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Samples were taken of forage plants together with corresponding floristic and ethnobotanical information. Data were processed in EXCEL dynamic tables, grouped by plant family, geoforms and soils, life form and animal consumers. Results indicate that Mayan communities use 196 plant species as forage: 139 herbaceous, 17 shrubs, 35 trees and 2 palms. These plants are fed to cows, pigs, horses, lambs, turkeys, chickens, ducks and pigeons. The use of native forage plants may be an agricultural option both for rural communities and for intensive animal production on silvopastoral systems on karstic tropical landscapes from the Yucatán Peninsula.El conocimiento indígena y la experiencia de milenios de años en el manejo de la vegetación natural en ambientes kársticos tropicales son aspectos importantes que deben ser considerados en la producción animal. El objetivo de este trabajo fue hacer un inventario de las plantas forrajeras nativas de los bosques tropicales estacionales de la península de Yucatán que son utilizadas por los mayas, incluyendo los paisajes edáficos en los que se encuentran las plantas, información que servirá de base para la planeación de las actividades agropecuarias. El trabajo se llevó al cabo en 27 comunidades indígenas mayas, como parte del proyecto "Etnoflora Yucatanense" de la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Las muestras de

  5. Cultural Differences in Parents' Facilitation of Mathematics Learning: A Comparison of Euro-American and Chinese-American Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huntsinger, Carol S.; Jose, Paul E.

    A longitudinal study examined differences in Chinese-American and Euro-American parents' facilitation of their young children's mathematics learning. Participating in the Time 2 data collection were 36 second-generation Chinese-American and 40 Euro-American first and second graders from well-educated suburban Chicago families. Children were given…

  6. Patch testing in children from 2005 to 2012: results from the North American contact dermatitis group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zug, Kathryn A; Pham, Anh Khoa; Belsito, Donald V; DeKoven, Joel G; DeLeo, Vincent A; Fowler, Joseph F; Fransway, Anthony F; Maibach, Howard I; Marks, James G; Mathias, C G Toby; Pratt, Melanie D; Sasseville, Denis; Storrs, Frances J; Taylor, James S; Warshaw, Erin M; Zirwas, Matthew J

    2014-01-01

    Allergic contact dermatitis is common in children. Epicutaneous patch testing is an important tool for identifying responsible allergens. The objective of this study was to provide the patch test results from children (aged ≤18 years) examined by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group from 2005 to 2012. This is a retrospective analysis of children patch-tested with the North American Contact Dermatitis Group 65- or 70-allergen series. Frequencies and counts were compared with previously published data (2001-2004) using χ statistics. A total of 883 children were tested during the study period. A percentage of 62.3% had ≥1 positive patch test and 56.7% had ≥1 relevant positive patch test. Frequencies of positive patch test and relevant positive patch test reaction were highest with nickel sulfate (28.1/25.6), cobalt chloride (12.3/9.1), neomycin sulfate (7.1/6.6), balsam of Peru (5.7/5.5), and lanolin alcohol 50% petrolatum vehicle (5.5/5.1). The ≥1 positive patch test and ≥1 relevant positive patch test in the children did not differ significantly from adults (≥19 years) or from previously tested children (2001-2004). The percentage of clinically relevant positive patch tests for 27 allergens differed significantly between the children and adults. A total of 23.6% of children had a relevant positive reaction to at least 1 supplemental allergen. Differences in positive patch test and relevant positive patch test frequencies between children and adults as well as test periods confirm the importance of reporting periodic updates of patch testing in children to enhance clinicians' vigilance to clinically important allergens.

  7. Social-environmental influences on children's diets: results from focus groups with African-, Euro- and Mexican-American children and their parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, K W; Baranowski, T; Rittenberry, L; Olvera, N

    2000-10-01

    Children's fruit, juice and vegetable (FJV) and fat intakes do not meet recommended guidelines. Since personal factors account for only a small percentage of the variability in children's FJV consumption, social and environmental influences were explored via focus group discussions with Grade 4-6 African-, Euro- and Mexican-American students and parents. Questions included the effects of social influences, availability and accessibility on children's FJV and low-fat food choices. Few ethnic differences were noted. A variety of low-fat items and fresh FJV (not cut-up) were available at home; older children were expected to prepare their own. Eating out occurred at least twice a week; FJV were not usual restaurant choices. Students reported some modeling by parents (more mothers) and friends (usually at lunch). Negative peer responses for eating vegetables were reported. Parents were concerned with children eating too much junk food and not enough FJV, recognized the outside influences their children received about food, and reported several methods to encourage children to eat FJV. Recommendations for future interventions are proposed.

  8. Ethnic Differences in Early Math Learning: A Comparison of Chinese-American and Caucasian-American Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huntsinger, Carol S.; And Others

    This study compared Chinese-American and Caucasian-American children and families in order to better understand which cultural and family characteristics, parent beliefs, and parent practices operate at the early childhood level to produce the more uniform high level of math achievement among Asian-American children. Forty second-generation…

  9. Obese Mexican American children have elevated MCP-1, TNF-alpha, monocyte concentration, and dyslipidemia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obesity is an independent risk factor for chronic disease. The prevalence of obesity is especially high among Mexican American children. Peripheral blood monocytes are altered with obesity contributing to elevated systemic inflammation and increased risk of chronic disease. In addition, obesity alte...

  10. Cytomegalovirus Infections among African-Americans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Best Al M

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Since African-Americans have twice the prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV infections as age-matched Caucasians we sought to determine the ages and possible sources of infection of African-American children. Methods Subjects were 157 African-American healthy children and adolescents and their 113 household adults in Richmond VA. Families completed a questionnaire, provided saliva for antibody testing, and adolescents were interviewed regarding sexual activity. Results Regardless of age CMV seropositivity was not associated with gender, breast feeding, health insurance, sexual activity, or household income, education, or size. In the final regression model, prior CMV infection in adults was over two-fold higher than in children (chi-square = 18.8, p Conclusion We observed that African-American children had CMV seroprevalence rates by age 20 years at less than one-half of that of their adult mothers and caregivers. Sibling-to-sibling transmission was a likely source of CMV infections for the children. The next generation of African-American women may be highly susceptible to a primary CMV infection during pregnancy and may benefit from a CMV vaccine.

  11. Sources of implicit and explicit intergroup race bias among African-American children and young adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bentley L Gibson

    Full Text Available Implicit intergroup bias emerges early in development, are typically pro-ingroup, and remain stable across the lifespan. Such findings have been interpreted in terms of an automatic ingroup bias similar to what is observed with minimal groups paradigms. These studies are typically conducted with groups of high cultural standing (e.g., Caucasians in North America and Europe. Research conducted among culturally lower status groups (e.g., African-Americans, Latino-Americans reveals a notable absence of an implicit ingroup bias. Understanding the environmental factors that contribute to the absence of an implicit ingroup bias among people from culturally lower status groups is critical for advancing theories of implicit intergroup cognition. The present study aimed to elucidate the factors that shape racial group bias among African-American children and young adults by examining their relationship with age, school composition (predominantly Black schools or racially mixed schools, parental racial attitudes and socialization messages among African-American children (N = 86 and young adults (N = 130. Age, school-type and parents' racial socialization messages were all found to be related to the strength of pro-Black (ingroup bias. We also found that relationships between implicit and explicit bias and frequency of parents' racial socialization messages depended on the type of school participants attended. Our results highlight the importance of considering environmental factors in shaping the magnitude and direction of implicit and explicit race bias among African-Americans rather than treating them as a monolithic group.

  12. Disparities in emergency department visits in American children with asthma: 2006-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qi; Lamichhane, Rajan; Diggs, Leigh Ann

    2017-09-01

    This article was to examine the trends in emergency department (ED) visits for asthma among American children in 2006-2010 across sociodemographic factors, parental smoking status, and children's body weight status. We analyzed 5,535 children aged 2-17 years with current asthma in the Asthma Call-Back Survey in 2006-2010. Multivariate log binomial regression was used to examine the disparities of ED visits by demographics, socioeconomic status, parental smoking status, children's body weight status, and the level of asthma control. We controlled for average state-level air pollutants. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported. Minority children with current asthma had higher risks of ED visits compared with white children in 2009 and 2010, e.g., the PR (95% CI) for black children in 2009 was 3.64 (1.79, 7.41). Children who had current asthma and more highly educated parents experienced a higher risk of ED visits in 2007 (PRs [95% CI] = 2.15 [1.02, 4.53] and 2.97 [1.29, 6.83] for children with some college or college-graduated parents), but not significant in other years. Children with uncontrolled asthma were significantly more likely to visit the ED in 2008 (PRs [95% CI] = 2.79 [1.44, 5.41] and 6.96 [3.55, 13.64] for not-well-controlled and very poorly controlled children with asthma). Minority children with current asthma or children with uncontrolled asthma were more likely to visit EDs for asthma treatment. However, the disparities in ED visits across sociodemographics, health status, or asthma control vary in scale and significance across time. More research is needed to explain these differences.

  13. Chemometric study of Maya Blue from the voltammetry of microparticles approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doménech, Antonio; Doménech-Carbó, María Teresa; de Agredos Pascual, María Luisa Vazquez

    2007-04-01

    The use of the voltammetry of microparticles at paraffin-impregnated graphite electrodes allows for the characterization of different types of Maya Blue (MB) used in wall paintings from different archaeological sites of Campeche and YucatAn (Mexico). Using voltammetric signals for electron-transfer processes involving palygorskite-associated indigo and quinone functionalities generated by scratching the graphite surface, voltammograms provide information on the composition and texture of MB samples. Application of hierarchical cluster analysis and other chemometric methods allows us to characterize samples from different archaeological sites and to distinguish between samples proceeding from different chronological periods. Comparison between microscopic, spectroscopic, and electrochemical examination of genuine MB samples and synthetic specimens indicated that the preparation procedure of the pigment evolved in time via successive steps anticipating modern synthetic procedures, namely, hybrid organic-inorganic synthesis, temperature control of chemical reactivity, and template-like synthesis.

  14. The Poetics of the Ancestor Songs of the Tz’utujil Maya of Guatemala

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda O’Brien-Rothe

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available This essay attempts to define the relationship between a song tradition that survives in the Mayan highlands of Guatemala, and 16th century poetic Mayan literature. This song tradition of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala is slowly disappearing as the socio-cultural context in which it flourished changes. By comparing the poetics of the song texts (including their rhythmic structure, versification, and use of poetic devices such as assonance, alliteration and onomatopoeia to the poetics of the Popol Vuh, a K’iché Maya text probably copied from a manuscript that predates the Spanish invasion, a continuity is discovered that places the song texts squarely within the tradition of Mayan literature and suggests common origins.

  15. Human Migration and Agricultural Expansion: An Impending Threat to the Maya Biosphere Reserve

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sader, Steven; Reining, Conard; Sever, Thomas L.; Soza, Carlos

    1997-01-01

    Evidence is presented of the current threats to the Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala as derived through time-series Landsat Thematic Mapper observations and analysis. Estimates of deforestation rates and trends are examined for different management units within the reserve and buffer zones. The satellite imagery was used to quantify and monitor rates, patterns, and trends of forest clearing during a time period corresponding to new road construction and significant human migration into the newly accessible forest region. Satellite imagery is appropriate technology in a vast and remote tropical region where aerial photography and extensive field-based methods are not cost-effective and current, timely data is essential for establishing conservation priorities.

  16. Potent anti-inflammatory activity of sesquiterpene lactones from Neurolaena lobata (L.) R. Br. ex Cass., a Q'eqchi' Maya traditional medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walshe-Roussel, Brendan; Choueiri, Christine; Saleem, Ammar; Asim, Muhammd; Caal, Federico; Cal, Victor; Rojas, Marco Otarola; Pesek, Todd; Durst, Tony; Arnason, John Thor

    2013-08-01

    The widespread use of Neurolaena lobata (L.) R. Br. ex Cass. by Q'eqchi' Maya and indigenous healers throughout the Caribbean for inflammatory conditions prompted the study of the anti-inflammatory activity of this traditional medicine. The objectives of this study were to conduct a detailed ethnobotanical investigation of the uses of N. lobata by the Q'eqchi' Maya of Belize for a variety of inflammatory symptoms and to evaluate the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of leaf extract and isolated sesquiterpene lactones. The crude 80% EtOH extract of N. lobata leaves administered at 100 μg/mL reduced LPS-stimulated TNF-α production in THP-1 monocytes by 72% relative to the stimulated vehicle control. Isolated sesquiterpene lactones, neurolenins B, C+D, lobatin B and 9α-hydroxy-8β-isovalerianyloxy-calyculatolide were more active (IC50=0.17-2.32 μM) than the positive control parthenolide (IC50=4.79 μM). The results provide a pharmacological and phytochemical basis for the traditional use of this leaf for inflammatory conditions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Exploring story grammar structure in the book reading interactions of African American mothers and their preschool children: a pilot investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Yvette R.; Rothstein, Susan E.

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this investigation was to identify the book reading behaviors and book reading styles of middle class African American mothers engaged in a shared book reading activity with their preschool children. To this end, the mothers and their children were videotaped reading one of three books, Julius, Grandfather and I, or Somewhere in Africa. Both maternal and child behaviors were coded for the frequency of occurrence of story grammar elements contained in their stories and maternal behaviors were also coded for their use of narrative eliciting strategies. In addition, mothers were queried about the quality and quantity of book reading/story telling interactions in the home environment. The results suggest that there is a great deal of individual variation in how mothers use the story grammar elements and narrative eliciting strategies to engage their children in a shared book reading activity. Findings are discussed in terms of suggestions for additional research and practical applications are offered on ways to optimally engage African American preschool children and African American families from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in shared book reading interactions. PMID:24926276

  18. Exploring story grammar structure in the book reading interactions of African American mothers and their preschool children: a pilot investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Yvette R; Rothstein, Susan E

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this investigation was to identify the book reading behaviors and book reading styles of middle class African American mothers engaged in a shared book reading activity with their preschool children. To this end, the mothers and their children were videotaped reading one of three books, Julius, Grandfather and I, or Somewhere in Africa. Both maternal and child behaviors were coded for the frequency of occurrence of story grammar elements contained in their stories and maternal behaviors were also coded for their use of narrative eliciting strategies. In addition, mothers were queried about the quality and quantity of book reading/story telling interactions in the home environment. The results suggest that there is a great deal of individual variation in how mothers use the story grammar elements and narrative eliciting strategies to engage their children in a shared book reading activity. Findings are discussed in terms of suggestions for additional research and practical applications are offered on ways to optimally engage African American preschool children and African American families from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in shared book reading interactions.

  19. Characterization of archaeological ceramics from the north western lowland Maya Area, using the technique of neutron activation analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez R, M. C.; Tenorio, D.; Jimenez R, M.; Terreros, E.; Ochoa, L.

    2008-01-01

    It is a study on 50 samples of ceramics from various archaeological sites of the north western lowland Maya Area. This study was performed by neutron activation analysis of 19 chemical elements and the treatments relevant statistical data. Significant differences were found among the pieces that led to group them into five major groups, the difference is the site of their manufacture and therefore in the raw materials used for this. (Author)

  20. Investigating acculturation, diet, and physical activity among Chinese-American children aged 9-13 years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acculturation among those of Chinese descent may be related to changes in diet and physical activity. Research to understand the acculturative process early in life is important; however, there is no qualitative research directly with Chinese-American children. This study, currently in progress, a...

  1. The Nature of Teacher-Community Contact in Schools Serving Southwest Indian Children. American Indian Education Papers, No. 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Margaret E.

    Previous school-community research in American Indian communities has demonstrated that "isolation" or lack of communication between school staff and community parents has contributed to the failure of educating American Indian children. To validate this research in the Southwest, a diary indicating the out-of-school activities was…

  2. A method for generating stochastic 3D tree models with Python in Autodesk Maya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nemanja Stojanović

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces a method for generating 3D tree models using stochastic L-systems with stochastic parameters and Perlin noise. L-system is the most popular method for plant modeling and Perlin noise is extensively used for generating high detailed textures. Our approach is probabilistic. L-systems with a random choice of parameters can represent observed objects quite well and they are used for modeling and generating realistic plants. Textures and normal maps are generated with combinations of Perlin noises what make these trees completely unique. Script for generating these trees, textures and normal maps is written with Python/PyMEL/NumPy in Autodesk Maya.

  3. Adults' Orientation of Children--And Children's Initiative to Pitch In--To Everyday Adult Activities in a Tsotsil Maya Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Pérez, Margarita

    2015-01-01

    This chapter examines how 2-year-old children attempt to actively participate in adult work in a Mayan community in Chiapas, Mexico, and how adults contribute and accommodate to the contributions. As children enter into activities and adults orient and reorient the activity to direct the children, teaching from expert to novice is generated by children's agency in co-participatory interactions. The chapter enriches the LOPI model by focusing on the structure of participation and communication, social and community organization, and the evaluation that occurs in the activity itself. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Buenos Aires y salta en rito cívico: la revolución y las fiestas mayas

    OpenAIRE

    Juan Carlos Garavaglia

    2002-01-01

    El articulo es una relectura de los acontecimientos de los primeros años postrevolucionarios en el Plata. Centrado en las fiestas mayas, las analiza como uno de los elementos claves en la constitución de nuevas formas de imaginar la experiencia política iniciada en 1810. La comparación entre Buenos Aires y Salta, permite mostrar algunas de diferencias en las maneras de vivir estas fiestas "revolucionarias"; esas diferencias reflejan por supuesto realidades sociales y culturales...

  5. African American Mothers of Children with Disabilities: Parental Advocacy within Rural Special Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, Summer Lynn Gainey

    2013-01-01

    Studies on parent involvement in education have most often been gender-neutral, although it is primarily mothers who undertake such work (Reay, 1998; West & Noden, 1998). While African American mothers advocating for their children's educational needs is not a new occurrence, it is one that has yet to receive the attention it necessitates.…

  6. Crecimiento del pulpo Octopus maya (Mollusca: Cephalopoda de la costa de Yucatán, México: un análisis de largo plazo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Rocío Nepita Villanueva

    2001-03-01

    Full Text Available Los parámetros de crecimiento del pulpo (Octopus maya de las costas de Yucatán (México fueron estimados en siete años comprendidos entre 1983-1987, 1989 y 1992. A tales efectos se realizó un análisis de frecuencia de tallas de 19 251 pulpos muestreados de la captura comercial, con un intervalo de longitud de manto comprendido entre 50 y 240 mm. Se usaron los métodos indirectos ELEFAN, PROJMAT y SLCA. La incertidumbre de las estimaciones inherente a cada método y derivada del diseño de muestreo fue analizada con la técnica jackknife. Los parámetros de crecimiento L y K se unificaron a efectos comparativos mediante el índice phi prima (. El método ELEFAN resultó ser el más adecuado para estimar los parámetros de crecimiento de O. maya, brindando valores en el rango de aquellos previamente reportados en la literatura, mientras que PROJMAT y SLCA mostraron problemas en la convergencia de los parámetros, y tendieron a subestimarlos. Las estimaciones mediante jackknife detectaron poca variabilidad intermensual en pero gran variabilidad interanual. Los estimadores de precisión de la técnica jackknife, error porcentual y coeficiente de variación porcentual, no difirieron significativamente entre métodos. Las estimaciones de derivadas del ELEFAN variaron entre 4.19 y 5.23, coincidiendo con aquellas reportadas en la literatura (entre 4.25 y 4.91, mientras que PROJMAT y SLCA aportaron valores significativamente menores. Los resultados de dicho métodos condicen además con aspectos de la biología de la especie (e.g., corta longevidad. Sugerimos utilizar el ELEFAN conjuntamente con jackknife para estimar los parámetros de crecimiento de Octopus maya.Growth of the octopus (Octopus maya off Yucatan (Mexico was estimated from a long-term study (seven years by the length-based methods ELEFAN, PROJMAT and SLCA. Some 19 251 octopuses with a range of mantle length between 50 and 240 mm were sampled from commercial landings in 1983 - 1987

  7. Physical Settings, Materials, and Related Spanish Terminology Recommended for Play Therapy with First-Generation Mexican-American Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kranz, Peter L.; Ramirez, Sylvia Z.; Flores-Torres, Leila; Steele, Richard; Lund, Nick L.

    2005-01-01

    There is a dearth of literature on multicultural aspects of play therapy, particularly for Mexican-American children. According to Landreth (2002), it is of utmost importance that children be able to communicate in a way that is most natural to them. The literature currently reflects a playroom based mostly on middle class European-American…

  8. Restricciones culturales en la alimentación de Mayas Chortis y Ladinos del Oriente de Guatemala

    OpenAIRE

    López García, Julián

    2011-01-01

    Partiendo de las bases metodológicas del análisis simbólico en antropología, la presente tesis pretende desentrañar alguno de los aspectos social y cognitivamente significativos de la alimentación y todo lo asociado a ella en una zona del oriente de Guatemala, jocotan (chiquimula) donde conviven indígenas mayas chortis y ladinos (mestizos). En la tesis que presento he destacado la importancia de la comida en la zona como medio para conocer y atribuir identidades. Así, posibilita la formación ...

  9. Doing Poorly: The Real Income of American Children in a Comparative Perspective. Luxembourg Income Study. Working Paper No. 127.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rainwater, Lee; Smeeding, Timothy M.

    This paper investigates the real living standards and poverty status of U.S. children in the 1990s compared to the children in 17 other nations, including Europe, Scandinavia, Canada, and Australia. The analysis is based on the Luxembourg Income Study database. It was found that American children have lower real spendable income than do comparable…

  10. [Professional opinion about hospitalising Latin-American immigrant children in Andalucía, Spain].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Castillo, Antonio; Vílchez-Lara, María J

    2009-01-01

    There has been an increase in paediatric hospital attention being provided for Latin-American immigrant patients in Spain during the recent years. This work was aimed at ascertaining professionals' opinion regarding this population's specific and differential needs concerning Latin-American immigrant children being hospitalised. The study consisted of a qualitative, phenomenological type of investigation, based on semi-structured interviews of key informers in Andalusia (Spain). The subjects of the study were professionals from paediatric services in hospital centres in Andalusia. One of the most prominent (positive) results revealed that the Latin-American immigrant population presented less difficulties regarding hospital functioning when compared to other immigrant groups. The psychological aspects which had most impact on paediatric hospitalisation would be emotional alterations, such as the presence of anxiety and stress, or other aspects, like a lack of trust when being hospitalised.

  11. Milpa y capitalismo: opciones para los campesinos mayas yucatecos contemporáneos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Martín Castillo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available La mayoría de los mayas yucatecos contemporáneos vive en la pobreza. El eje de su economía y cultura es la agricultura de milpa, que los jóvenes no encuentran atractiva como opción económica. La teoría económica convencional explica la pobreza por la escasez de capital, el uso de tecnologías obsoletas y la baja productividad. Aunque se concibe como un sistema productivo arcaico, la milpa tiene características para explorar opciones de vinculación entre las economías campesina y capitalista, para mejorar las condiciones de vida de los campesinos y contribuir al desarrollo de su cultura en el actual contexto de globalización económica.

  12. PATTERNS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDREN: AN ASSESSMENT OF BARRIERS AND SUPPORT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Janice L.; Davis, Sally M.; Gittelsohn, Joel; Going, Scott; Becenti, Alberta; Metcalfe, Lauve; Stone, Elaine; Harnack, Lisa; Ring, Kim

    2016-01-01

    Estimates indicate that 10% to 50% of American Indian and non-Indian children in the U.S. are obese, defined as a body mass index ≥ 95th percentile of the NHANES II reference data. Pathways is a two-phase, multi-site study to develop and test a school-based obesity prevention program in American Indian schoolchildren in grades three through five. During Phase I feasibility prior to initiation of the Pathways trial, data were collected related to physical activity patterns, and the supports of, and barriers to, physical activity. Nine schools from communities representing six different tribal groups participated in this study. Multiple measures were used for data collection including direct observation, paired child interviews, and in-depth interviews and focus groups with adults. Students completed the self-administered Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors (KAB) survey, and a Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ). Barriers to physical activity at schools included a lack of facilities, equipment, and trained staff persons for PE. Adults were not consistently active with their children, but they were highly supportive of their children’s activity level. Children reported a strong enjoyment of physical activity and strong peer support to be physically active. Weather conditions, safety concerns, and homework/chores were common barriers to physical activity reported by children and adult caregivers. The information was used to design culturally and age-appropriate, practical interventions including the five physical activity programs for schoolchildren in the Pathways study. PMID:11759094

  13. Organización territorial de los antiguos mayas de Belice Central

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helmke, Christophe; Awe, Jaime

    2008-01-01

    Los modelos propuestos para la organización territorial de los mayas del período clásico en Belice Central difieren significativamente de un investigador a otro. Debido a la escasez de datos jeroglíficos, la mayoría de los modelos se han formulado teniendo en cuenta tan solo datos arqueológicos y...... se centran predominantemente sobre cada sitio investigado. Las exploraciones en Belice Central de las cuatro últimas décadas, sin embargo, han sacado a la luz numerosas piezas clave que aportan datos epigráficos, incluyendo “Glifos Emblema”. Vistos en conjunto, los datos arqueológicos y epigráficos...... proporcionan una posición más ventajosa en la determinación de la estructura del paisaje socio-político del Período Clásico del Valle de Belice. Udgivelsesdato: 2008...

  14. Farklı Ortamlarda Üretilmiş Scenedesmus acuminatus Alginin ve Ekmek Mayasının (Saccharomyces cerevisae Daphnia magna'nın Populasyon Artışına Etkisi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murtaza Ölmez

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Bu çalışmada, Daphnia magna’nın populasyon artışı üzerine dört farklı besinin (Scenedesmus ortamında üretilen alg, Scenedesmus ortamında üretilen alg+maya, inorganik gübreli ortamda üretilen alg+maya ve maya etkisi belirlenmiştir. Deneme her bir besin için 500 ml besin ortamı içeren 1 L kapasiteli 12 erlenmayerden (=4 food x 3 tekerrür oluşacak şekilde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Denemeye 24 saatten genç bireyler kullanılarak başlangıç yoğunluğu 5 birey/500 ml olarak başlanmış, bütün deneme gruplarındaki tekerrürlerin çoğunda, populasyon artışında azalmanın görüldüğü 28 günün sonunda deneme sonlandırıldı. Deneme sonunda maksimum birey sayısı 3600,00±41,00 birey/500 ml olarak 25. günde ve maksimum büyüme oranı ise 0,36±0,002/gün olarak 14. günde Scenedesmus ortamında üretilmiş algle (Scenedesmus acuminatus beslenen I. grupta saptanmıştır. Maya ilavesi birey sayısı ve büyüme oranında azalmaya yol açarken, sadece mayayla beslenen grubun populasyon artışı en düşük düzeyde olmuş ve diğer gruplardan istatistikî olarak önemli derecede farklılık göstermiştir (P

  15. Disciplinary Practices, Metaparenting, and the Quality of Parent-Child Relationships in African-American, Mexican-American, and European-American Mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holden, George W; Hawk, Carol Kozak; Smith, Margaret M; Singh, Jimmy; Ashraf, Rose

    2017-01-01

    Coercive responses to children's behavior are well recognized to be problematic for children's adjustment. Less well understood is how parental social cognition is linked to discipline. In this study we sought to link metaparenting - parents' thoughts about their parenting - to the use of coercive discipline. We predicted that mothers who engaged in more metaparenting, thus reflecting more deliberate parenting, would use corporal punishment less frequently and instead engage in non-coercive discipline. We also expected that mothers who engaged in more metaparenting would report closer relationships with their children. In order to assess a diverse sample, data were collected from approximately equal numbers of African-American, European-American, and Mexican-American mothers. Participants included 113 mothers with target children in three age groups, ranging from 2 to 12 years. The results indicated reports of corporal punishment as well as non-coercive discipline did not significantly differ across child sex and child age groups, but did differ significantly across race/ethnicity. Reports of frequency of metaparenting also differed across racial/ethnic groups; African-American mothers reported more metaparenting than European-American mothers on three of four subscales. Metaparenting was significantly related to reports of the mother-child relationship but in the opposite direction than predicted. Based on these results, future research directions linking parental social cognition to discipline are proposed.

  16. Associations of American Indian children's screen-time behavior with parental television behavior, parental perceptions of children's screen time, and media-related resources in the home.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr-Anderson, Daheia J; Fulkerson, Jayne A; Smyth, Mary; Himes, John H; Hannan, Peter J; Holy Rock, Bonnie; Story, Mary

    2011-09-01

    American Indian children have high rates of overweight and obesity, which may be partially attributable to screen-time behavior. Young children's screen-time behavior is strongly influenced by their environment and their parents' behavior. We explored whether parental television watching time, parental perceptions of children's screen time, and media-related resources in the home are related to screen time (ie, television, DVD/video, video game, and computer use) among Oglala Lakota youth residing on or near the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. We collected baseline data from 431 child and parent/caregiver pairs who participated in Bright Start, a group-randomized, controlled, school-based obesity prevention trial to reduce excess weight gain. Controlling for demographic characteristics, we used linear regression analysis to assess associations between children's screen time and parental television watching time, parental perceptions of children's screen time, and availability of media-related household resources. The most parsimonious model for explaining child screen time included the children's sex, parental body mass index, parental television watching time, how often the child watched television after school or in the evening, parental perception that the child spent too much time playing video games, how often the parent limited the child's television time, and the presence of a VCR/DVD player or video game player in the home (F(7,367) = 14.67; P strategy for reducing overweight and obesity in American Indian children.

  17. African-American Fathers' Perspectives on Their Children's Health Education: A Qualitative, Exploratory Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odum, Mary; Smith, Matthew Lee; McKyer, E Lisako J

    2014-01-01

    To investigate African-American fathers' (AAF) perceptions regarding the applicability and need for their involvement as a health connection for their children and describe how participating fathers' behavior was affected by their attitudes, knowledge, and perceptions of their influence on their children's health. This exploratory study gathered data via semi-structured focus groups (n = 3) and thematically analyzed it utilizing a grounded theory approach. Participants included AAF (n = 20) with a mean age of 37 years (SD 11.79), with at least one child between 6 and 18 years old. Four major themes were revealed: (1) appropriate health education for participants' children (should first and foremost be delivered by parents); (2) participants' paternal health-related guidance approach (reactive, rather than proactive); (3) participants' perceived influences on health-related communication with their children (gender roles, efficacy constraints); and (4) paternal definitions of health (most often associated with diet). Understanding AAFs' perceived and desired role in their children's health edification can inform initiatives that actively engage these men, and nurture their level of involvement, to promote positive health behaviors among their children; this is necessary to realize their potential to actively improve the health of their children, families, and communities.

  18. American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Mental Health: Development, Context, Prevention, and Treatment. Child Psychology and Mental Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarche, Michelle C., Ed.; Spicer, Paul, Ed.; Farrell, Patricia, Ed.; Fitzgerald, Hiram E., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    This unique book examines the physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors that support or undermine healthy development in American Indian children, including economics, biology, and public policies. American Indian and Alaska Native youth suffer disproportionately higher rates of trauma, substance abuse, and youth suicide. At the…

  19. Buenos Aires y salta en rito cívico: la revolución y las fiestas mayas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Carlos Garavaglia

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available El articulo es una relectura de los acontecimientos de los primeros años postrevolucionarios en el Plata. Centrado en las fiestas mayas, las analiza como uno de los elementos claves en la constitución de nuevas formas de imaginar la experiencia política iniciada en 1810. La comparación entre Buenos Aires y Salta, permite mostrar algunas de diferencias en las maneras de vivir estas fiestas "revolucionarias"; esas diferencias reflejan por supuesto realidades sociales y culturales bastante contrastadas.

  20. La noción del tiempo en la cultura maya prehispánica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Wolfgang Voss

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available La concepción del tiempo de los mayas prehispánicos se estudia mediante el análisis epigráfico y filológico de textos jeroglíficos bajo los planteamientos teóricos de la escuela italiana de historia de las religiones. Los datos indican que el tiempo es animado y formado por unidades discretas tangibles que se representan con un calendario de 365 días. Las características de cada día son fijadas por un oráculo de suertes de 260 unidades que es proyectado sobre el tiempo. El tiempo y el oráculo son pensados como dioses que se alternan en un orden y no como una magnitud física abstracta.

  1. Asian American mothers' perception of their children's weight: a comparison with other racial/ethnic groups in Los Angeles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobari, Tabashir Z; Wang, May-Choo; Whaley, Shannon E

    2015-01-01

    While mother's perception of child's weight is important for the success of early childhood obesity prevention programs, few studies have examined that of Asian Americans. Our study examined their perception and compared it to that of mothers of other racial/ethnic groups. Cross-sectional study of 2,051 randomly selected mothers of children aged 2-5 years living in Los Angeles County who were enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC). The primary outcome was mother's perception of child's weight. We found that Asian American mothers were 2.12 (95% CI: 1.27-3.54) times as likely as Hispanic mothers to accurately perceive their children's weight, adjusting for child's age, sex and birthweight, and mother's age and education. However, this relationship disappeared after adjusting for mother's BMI. We did not find differences in perception of child's weight among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic mothers. It appears that Asian American mothers' increased accurate perception of child's weight status can be partially explained by their lower prevalence of obesity. Our findings suggest that early childhood obesity prevention programs should consider the weight status of mothers.

  2. Real-time lexical comprehension in young children learning American Sign Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Kyle; LaMarr, Todd; Corina, David; Marchman, Virginia A; Fernald, Anne

    2018-04-16

    When children interpret spoken language in real time, linguistic information drives rapid shifts in visual attention to objects in the visual world. This language-vision interaction can provide insights into children's developing efficiency in language comprehension. But how does language influence visual attention when the linguistic signal and the visual world are both processed via the visual channel? Here, we measured eye movements during real-time comprehension of a visual-manual language, American Sign Language (ASL), by 29 native ASL-learning children (16-53 mos, 16 deaf, 13 hearing) and 16 fluent deaf adult signers. All signers showed evidence of rapid, incremental language comprehension, tending to initiate an eye movement before sign offset. Deaf and hearing ASL-learners showed similar gaze patterns, suggesting that the in-the-moment dynamics of eye movements during ASL processing are shaped by the constraints of processing a visual language in real time and not by differential access to auditory information in day-to-day life. Finally, variation in children's ASL processing was positively correlated with age and vocabulary size. Thus, despite competition for attention within a single modality, the timing and accuracy of visual fixations during ASL comprehension reflect information processing skills that are important for language acquisition regardless of language modality. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Household food insecurity and dietary patterns in rural and urban American Indian families with young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomayko, Emily J; Mosso, Kathryn L; Cronin, Kate A; Carmichael, Lakeesha; Kim, KyungMann; Parker, Tassy; Yaroch, Amy L; Adams, Alexandra K

    2017-06-30

    High food insecurity has been demonstrated in rural American Indian households, but little is known about American Indian families in urban settings or the association of food insecurity with diet for these families. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of food insecurity in American Indian households by urban-rural status, correlates of food insecurity in these households, and the relationship between food insecurity and diet in these households. Dyads consisting of an adult caregiver and a child (2-5 years old) from the same household in five urban and rural American Indian communities were included. Demographic information was collected, and food insecurity was assessed using two validated items from the USDA Household Food Security Survey. Factors associated with food insecurity were examined using logistic regression. Child and adult diets were assessed using food screeners. Coping strategies were assessed through focus group discussions. These cross-sectional baseline data were collected from 2/2013 through 4/2015 for the Healthy Children, Strong Families 2 randomized controlled trial of a healthy lifestyles intervention for American Indian families. A high prevalence of food insecurity was determined (61%) and was associated with American Indian ethnicity, lower educational level, single adult households, WIC participation, and urban settings (p = 0.05). Food insecure adults had significantly lower intake of vegetables (p insecure children had significantly higher intakes of fried potatoes (p insecurity. The prevalence of food insecurity in American Indian households in our sample is extremely high, and geographic designation may be an important contributing factor. Moreover, food insecurity had a significant negative influence on dietary intake for families. Understanding strategies employed by households may help inform future interventions to address food insecurity. ( NCT01776255 ). Registered: January 16, 2013. Date of enrollment

  4. Involvement in Traditional Cultural Practices and American Indian Children's Incidental Recall of a Folktale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsethlikai, Monica; Rogoff, Barbara

    2013-01-01

    This study examined incidental recall of a folktale told to 91 Tohono O'odham American Indian children (average age 9 years) who either were directly addressed or had the opportunity to overhear the telling of the folktale. Learning from surrounding incidental events contrasts with learning through direct instruction common in Western schooling,…

  5. Tv food advertising geared to children in Latin-American countries and Hispanics in the USA: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bacardí-Gascón, Montserrat; Jiménez-Cruz, Arturo

    2015-05-01

    Obesity is a pandemic disease in Latin America. The purpose of this review was to analyze the studies exploring food advertising in TV conducted in Latin-American countries and in the USA geared to Hispanics. An electronic literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, SCIELO, and CINAHL, databases and open access internet, of food advertising directed to children in TV in Latin American countries and Hispanics living in the USA, published from 1985 to January, 2015 RESULTS: Twenty three studies were found, six were conducted in Chile, five in Mexico, four in Brazil, three among Hispanics in the USA, and one in each of the following countries: Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Honduras and Venezuela. A high exposure of TV food advertised is geared toward children and their family. This exposure has been shown to be associated with the preference and purchase of those foods by adults and children with a high BMI, overweight and obesity. An alarming high exposure of the TV food advertised directed toward children was reported, which warrants effective regulations, supervision and accountability. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  6. Women’s Voices in a Male World: Actions, Bodies, and Spaces Among the Ancient Maya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa Perego

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Feminist archaeology has prompted scholars to reconsider gender roles in ancient Mesoamerica.Current research, however, tends to focus on elite women, classes and sites. Although I do not ignore the potential of these sources, in this paper I am mainly concerned with issues such as the phenomenology of bodies and spaces, subroyal ritual actions, and daily activities such as cooking and weaving. My aim is to offer an overview of the most recent studies on gender in Maya archaeology and to provide ideas for further research by emphasising the need to engender ritual and individuate female discourses in the archaeological record.

  7. La mistificazione delle Americhe. La cosiddetta “Profezia Maya” del 2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Martínez

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The fluidity of post-modern vision and interaction with the tourist market and mass media are leading to increasing mythification and commodification of Native American cultures. In this article, we provide some case histories revolving around the so-called 2012 Maya Prophecy, for example Eugenia Casarin Limón, who in Mexico presents herself as a psychotherapist and member of an originally French neo-Hermetic organization, whereas in Italy she appears as a "Maya priestess"; or the better known José Argüelles, whose cultural background is entirely North American and European. Argüelles has made use of an ethnic Maya, Hunbatz Men, who however drew inspiration, not from traditional sources, but from a self-styled Gnostic movement, founded by the German adventurer Arnold Krumm-Heller; and the Mexican author Martínez Paredez, who inspired the symbolic work of Argüelles, was in turn inspired by a French Freemason, Augustus Le Plongeon. Application by Argüelles and others of the I Ching to the so-called Maya Prophecy is especially interesting because of the changing meaning of this Chinese work to the West, from the times of the Jesuit missions to today's cyberculture. The Maya Prophecy has much more to tell us about “Western” culture than about the Mesoamerican world.

  8. American and Greek Children's Visual Images of Scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christidou, Vasilia; Bonoti, Fotini; Kontopoulou, Argiro

    2016-08-01

    This study explores American and Greek primary pupils' visual images of scientists by means of two nonverbal data collection tasks to identify possible convergences and divergences. Specifically, it aims to investigate whether their images of scientists vary according to the data collection instrument used and to gender. To this end, 91 third-grade American ( N = 46) and Greek ( N = 45) pupils were examined. Data collection was conducted through a drawing task based on Chambers (1983) `Draw-A-Scientist-Test' (DAST) and a picture selection task during which the children selected between 14 pairs of illustrations those that were most probable to represent scientists. Analysis focused on stereotype indicators related with scientists' appearance and work setting. Results showed that the two groups' performance varied significantly across the tasks used to explore their stereotypic perceptions, although the overall stereotypy was not differentiated according to participants' ethnic group. Moreover, boys were found to use more stereotypic indicators than girls, while the picture selection task elicited more stereotypic responses than the drawing task. In general, data collected by the two instruments revealed convergences and divergences concerning the stereotypic indicators preferred. Similarities and differences between national groups point to the influence of a globalized popular culture on the one hand and of the different sociocultural contexts underlying science curricula and their implementation on the other. Implications for science education are discussed.

  9. Nutrition and Physical Activity Knowledge Assessment: Development of Questionnaires and Evaluation of Reliability in African American and Latino Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Lindsay S.; Sharma, Sushma; Hudes, Mark L.; Fleming, Sharon E.

    2012-01-01

    Background: African-American and Latino children living in neighborhoods with a low-socioeconomic index are more at risk of obesity-associated metabolic disease than their higher socioeconomic index and/or white peers. Currently, consistent and reliable questionnaires to evaluate nutrition and physical activity knowledge in these children are…

  10. Architecture as animate landscape: circular shrines in the ancient Maya lowlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison-Buck, Eleanor

    2012-01-01

    In this study, I develop a theory of landscape archaeology that incorporates the concept of “animism” as a cognitive approach. Current trends in anthropology are placing greater emphasis on indigenous perspectives, and in recent decades animism has seen a resurgence in anthropological theory. As a means of relating in (not to) one's world, animism is a mode of thought that has direct bearing on landscape archaeology. Yet, Americanist archaeologists have been slow to incorporate this concept as a component of landscape theory. I consider animism and Nurit Bird-David's (1999) theory of “relatedness” and how such perspectives might be expressed archaeologically in Mesoamerica. I examine the distribution of marine shells and cave formations that appear incorporated as architectural elements on ancient Maya circular shrine architecture. More than just “symbols” of sacred geography, I suggest these materials represent living entities that animate shrines through their ongoing relationships with human and other-than-human agents in the world.

  11. Obsessive-compulsive disorder in African American children and adolescents: Risks, resiliency, and barriers to treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Monnica T; Jahn, Matthew E

    2017-01-01

    Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a serious condition that remains understudied in ethnoracial minority populations. The presence of OCD and the individual, familial, and cultural factors that influence this condition can interfere with healthy development and cause lifelong disability. To date, there has not been a single published research article focused on OCD in African American youth. Ethnic and racial minorities with OCD are underrepresented or altogether absent from treatment centers and research studies, although evidence suggests that OCD may be particularly persistent in these populations. This article reviews risk factors, protective factors, and barriers to treatment in African American children and adolescents with OCD. This review conceptualizes cultural differences in symptomology, low income, reduced access to care, racism, and mental health stigma, as risk factors. Also discussed are the roles of family factors in the development and maintenance of the disorder, including family accommodations, conflictual family communication, and parenting styles. Potential protective factors are also examined, including a positive ethnic identity, social support, present-centered time orientation, and religious communities. Implications of findings are discussed. There is an urgent need for research to understand the needs of African American children and adolescents with OCD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. Fathers' feeding practices and children's weight status in Mexican American families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penilla, Carlos; Tschann, Jeanne M; Deardorff, Julianna; Flores, Elena; Pasch, Lauri A; Butte, Nancy F; Gregorich, Steven E; Greenspan, Louise C; Martinez, Suzanna M; Ozer, Emily

    2017-10-01

    Mothers' feeding practices are associated with their children's weight status, but little is known about the associations between fathers' feeding practices and children's weight status. Moreover, there is a dearth of research on Latino fathers' feeding practices and children's weight status, even though Latino children suffer some of the highest obesity rates in the U.S. We examined the associations between fathers' feeding practices and child weight status, conditional on mothers' feeding practices, within 174 Mexican American families with children aged 8-10 years. Parents completed the Parental Feeding Practices Questionnaire, which consists of four subscales: positive involvement in child eating, pressure to eat, use of food to control behavior, and restriction of amount of food. To assess child weight status, body mass index (BMI) was calculated and converted to age- and gender-specific percentile scores (BMI z-score). We fit four sets of regression models, one set for each of the four parental feeding practices subscales, with child BMI z-score as the outcome variable. Fathers' pressure to eat (b = -0.20, p = 0.04; 95% CI: -0.39, -0.01) and use of food to control behavior (b = -0.36, p = 0.02; 95% CI: -0.65, -0.07) were associated with lower child BMI z-score, and restriction of amount of food (b = 0.56, p Fathers' positive involvement in child eating was not associated with child BMI z-score. These findings provide empirical evidence that fathers' feeding practices are independently associated with children's weight status, even when mothers' feeding practices are taken into account, and suggest that fathers' feeding practices also matter in regard to children's weight status. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Frecuencia del consumo de alimentos industrializados modernos en la dieta habitual de comunidades mayas de Yucatán, México

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Odette Pérez Izquierdo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available El objetivo del trabajo fue identificar la introducción de alimentos industrializados modernos en la dieta habitual de dos comunidades mayas de Yucatán, México, así como algunos factores que, en la escala comunitaria y la de los hogares, podrían explicar la inclusión. Se trata de un estudio de tipo transversal en el que participaron 51 familias seleccionadas a través de un muestreo sistemático sin reemplazo. La información se obtuvo de una entrevista estructurada que incluyó información de variables socioeconómicas, dieta habitual, frecuencia del consumo de alimentos, actividades productivas, disponibilidad de alimentos y apoyos gubernamentales. Se usaron pruebas estadísticas paramétricas para identificar diferencias entre comunidades y familias respecto al consumo de alimentos industrialzados modernos. Los resultados evidencian el consumo de alimentos industrializados de corte moderno en la dieta habitual de ambas comunidades, sin diferencias significativas en esta escala, pero se registraron diferencias en la escala de los hogares. Se discute el papel de la emigración y los programas sociales en la incorporación de alimentos industrializados modernos en la dieta habitual de los hogares mayas de estas comunidades.

  14. Sustaining plants and people: traditional Q'eqchi' Maya botanical knowledge and interactive spatial modeling in prioritizing conservation of medicinal plants for culturally relative holistic health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesek, Todd; Abramiuk, Marc; Garagic, Denis; Fini, Nick; Meerman, Jan; Cal, Victor

    2009-03-01

    Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted to locate culturally important, regionally scarce, and disappearing medicinal plants via a novel participatory methodology which involves healer-expert knowledge in interactive spatial modeling to prioritize conservation efforts and thus facilitate health promotion via medicinal plant resource sustained availability. These surveys, conducted in the Maya Mountains, Belize, generate ethnobotanical, ecological, and geospatial data on species which are used by Q'eqchi' Maya healers in practice. Several of these mountainous species are regionally scarce and the healers are expressing difficulties in finding them for use in promotion of community health and wellness. Based on healers' input, zones of highest probability for locating regionally scarce, disappearing, and culturally important plants in their ecosystem niches can be facilitated by interactive modeling. In the present study, this is begun by choosing three representative species to train an interactive predictive model. Model accuracy was then assessed statistically by testing for independence between predicted occurrence and actual occurrence of medicinal plants. A high level of accuracy was achieved using a small set of exemplar data. This work demonstrates the potential of combining ethnobotany and botanical spatial information with indigenous ecosystems concepts and Q'eqchi' Maya healing knowledge via predictive modeling. Through this approach, we may identify regions where species are located and accordingly promote for prioritization and application of in situ and ex situ conservation strategies to protect them. This represents a significant step toward facilitating sustained culturally relative health promotion as well as overall enhanced ecological integrity to the region and the earth.

  15. Dietary Intakes of Urban, High Body Mass Index, African American Children: Family and Child Dietary Attributes Predict Child Intakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritchie, Lorrene D.; Raman, Aarthi; Sharma, Sushma; Fitch, Mark D.; Fleming, Sharon E.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To identify family and child nutrition and dietary attributes related to children's dietary intakes. Design: African American children (ages 8-11 years, n = 156), body mass index greater than 85th percentile, from urban, low-income neighborhoods. Baseline, cross-sectional data collected as part of an ongoing diabetes prevention…

  16. Performance of African American Preschool Children from Low-Income Families on Expressive Language Measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Cathy H.; Kaiser, Ann P.; Marley, Scott C.; Milan, Stephanie

    2012-01-01

    The purposes of the study were to determine (a) the ability of two spontaneous language measures, mean length of utterance in morphemes (MLU-m) and number of different words (NDW), to identify African American preschool children at low and high levels of language ability; (b) whether child chronological age was related to the performance of either…

  17. DIALECTIC READING OF FREEDOM AND IMPRISONMENT IN MAYA ANGELOU‟S POEM I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

    OpenAIRE

    Mohamad Ikhwan Rosyidi

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to describe the dialectic reading of freedom and, in opposite, an imprisonment as hypogram in Maya Angelou‘s Poem I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The method applied for reading this poem will be semiotic approach which is developed by Riffaterre (1984). The result of this study will be the semiotic reading which describes the heuristic reading of this poem by defining dictionary meaning of words, phrases, clauses in the poem and hermeneutic reading by defining the ma...

  18. Racial/ethnic socialization and parental involvement in education as predictors of cognitive ability and achievement in African American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Meeta; Harrell, Zaje A T; Johnson, Deborah J

    2011-05-01

    Racial/ethnic socialization has not been studied in the context of other parenting behaviors such as parental involvement in education and its relationship to children's cognitive outcomes. The present study tested the impact of racial/ethnic socialization and parental involvement in education on cognitive ability and achievement in a sample of African American youth. Two dimensions of racial/ethnic socialization, cultural exposure (i.e., exposure to diverse cultures) and cultural socialization (i.e., in-group pride), were examined in a sample of 92 African American mother-child dyads, of which 50% were female. Maternal reports of involvement during their child's 5th grade year were examined as a moderator in the relationship between racial/ethnic socialization and cognitive ability and achievement. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that mothers' reports of cultural exposure messages measured in 4th grade predicted children's scores on 5th grade assessments of passage comprehension. There was also a significant interaction indicating that greater cultural exposure and more parental involvement in education predicted better reading passage comprehension scores over time. The implications for assessing dimensions relevant to cognitive ability and achievement in African American children are discussed.

  19. Relations between Perceived Competence, Importance Ratings, and Self-Worth among African American School-Age Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grier, Leslie K.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to investigate how domain-specific importance ratings affect relations between perceived competence and self-worth among African American school-age children. Importance ratings have been found to affect the strength of the relationship between perceived competence and self-worth and have implications for…

  20. Healthy Living Behaviors Among Chinese-American Preschool-Aged Children: Results of a Parent Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chomitz, Virginia Rall; Brown, Alison; Lee, Victoria; Must, Aviva; Chui, Kenneth Kwan Ho

    2017-07-17

    Associations between diet, physical activity, parenting, and acculturation among Chinese-American children are understudied. Parents/caregivers of children attending child-care programs in Boston Chinatown completed a self-administered survey on demographics, child's diet, physical activities, anthropometrics, and parenting practices. Associations were evaluated in multivariable regression analysis, stratified by survey language preference, a proxy for acculturation. Responding Asian families = 132; 86.4% were immigrants; 75.8% completed the Chinese-version survey. Children (mean ± SD: 4.9 ± 1.1 years) did not eat vegetables (31.8%), or play actively outside (45.4%) daily, 64.8% watched television/screens daily; 32.6% were overweight/obese (based on parent report). Parenting practices associated with obesity were apparent. Although healthy-living behavioral outcomes were less prevalent among less acculturated parents; multivariable adjustment attenuated the observed significant differences. Findings suggest opportunities for improvement in study children's diet and healthy-living behaviors, and underscore the need for further research on acculturation, and parenting styles in this population.

  1. Arqueoacústica maya. La necesidad del estudio sistemático de efectos acústicos en sitios arqueológicos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clara Garza

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available En este trabajo se discute la necesidad de sistematizar el estudio de los efectos acústicos en sitios arqueológicos, en especial los concernientes a la cultura maya. Presentamos un panorama del estado actual de estudios tanto antropológicos como los relacionados con modelos matemáticos. Después de presentar una introducción general y una discusión sobre lo que consideramos debería constituir un marco básico para un enfoque arqueoacústico, abordamos los antecedentes de trabajos sobre acústica prehispánica en la zona maya, en particular se analiza el caso del efecto La Cola del Quetzal, en Chichén Itzá. Se revisan los estudios existentes y posteriormente se plantea un modelo matemático espaciotemporal que se resuelve numéricamente.We discuss the necesity of study systematically the acoustic effects in archaeological sites, Mayans in particular. We present an overview of the state of the regarding both anthropological and mathematical modeling aspects. After presenting a general introduction and discussion about what we consider a suitable theoretical archaeoacoustical framework, we review existing works on the acoustics of Mayan sites. We focus on the chirped echo of El Castillo pyramid at Chichén Itzá, and use a mathematical model which includes both space and time to solve it numerically.

  2. Beyond the Law of Transitivity:A Functional Stylistic Study of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muthanna Makki Muhammed

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The dominant critical focus on Maya Angelou’s writings has been on the thematic features of her texts. Linguistic and stylistic appraisals on her works are generally sparse. This paper is a stylistic study of Maya Angelou’s autobiographical novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It aims at examining the stylistic features of the text vis-à-vis the semantic Law of Transitivity so as to investigate the features that contribute in the discourse’s trespassing the sphere of informing to the sphere of interaction and influence. The paper starts with brief notes on stylistics in relation to semantics. This is followed by a discussion of the Law of Transitivity, frequent references are made to John R. Searle’s patterns of metaphor. The varied forms of the relations between the signified or the source (the vehicle and the signifier or the target (the tenor in relation to the sign (the common ground are discussed in the light of the figurative devices employed by the author and the functions achieved in revealing the ideological issues of race and gender in the book. The study attempts also at positioning the formal and psychological elements within a sociocultural context in order to promote the reader’s understanding of the purposes and functions to which certain linguistic choices are made.

  3. Maternal Control and Sensitivity, Child Gender, and Maternal Education in Relation to Children's Behavioral Outcomes in African American Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S.; Briggs, Rahil D.; McClowry, Sandra G.; Snow, David L.

    2009-01-01

    This study examined relationships between mother-child interactions and children's behaviors in 119 urban African American mothers and their 6-7 year old children. Interactions during a cooking task and a follow-up child clean-up task were videotaped. Principal components analyses of behaviors during the cooking task yielded two factors in mothers…

  4. Auxiliary BE Production by African American English-Speaking Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrity, April W.; Oetting, Janna B.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To examine 3 forms ("am," "is," "are") of auxiliary BE production by African American English (AAE)-speaking children with and without specific language impairment (SLI). Method: Thirty AAE speakers participated: 10 six-year-olds with SLI, 10 age-matched controls, and 10 language-matched controls. BE production was examined through…

  5. Acceptability and Applicability of an American Health Videogame with Story for Childhood Obesity Prevention Among Hong Kong Chinese Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jingjing; Baranowski, Tom; Lau, Patrick W C; Pitkethly, Amanda Jane; Buday, Richard

    2015-12-01

    Positive changes in diet have been observed in research carried out in the United States from the use of "Escape from Diab" (Diab), a health videogame designed to lower the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Whether the American story and characters in Diab might be perceived by Hong Kong Chinese children as interesting has not been explored. This study assessed the acceptability and applicability of Diab among Hong Kong Chinese children, whether the Diab story was understood by them, and whether it had potential to influence them both during the game and afterward. Thirty-four students (21 males, 13 females) 9-12 years of age were included. Upon completion of all the Diab episodes, children completed an immersion scale with 18 items, as well as an individual interview with 10 open-ended questions. Children achieved average immersion after playing Diab with the mean score at 39.1 (standard deviation = 9.0), higher than the median (36) of possible scores (range, 18-54). Four themes using framework analysis emerged from the interviews, including intuitive feelings about the interface, playing experience, perception of the effect of Diab on behavior change, and the applicability of Diab to Hong Kong children. The story and game developed for American children were found acceptable and applicable to Hong Kong Chinese children. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methods confirmed the acceptability and applicability of Diab to Hong Kong Chinese children.

  6. Tipping the balance: use of advergames to promote consumption of nutritious foods and beverages by low-income African American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pempek, Tiffany A; Calvert, Sandra L

    2009-07-01

    To examine how advergames, which are online computer games developed to market a product, affect consumption of healthier and less healthy snacks by low-income African American children. Cross-sectional, between-subjects examination of an advergame in which children were rewarded for having their computer character consume healthier or less healthy foods and beverages. Children were randomly assigned to 1 of the following 3 conditions: (1) the healthier advergame condition, (2) the less healthy advergame condition, or (3) the control condition. Urban public elementary schools. Thirty low-income, African American children aged 9 to 10 years. Main Exposure Children in the treatment conditions played a less healthy or a healthier version of an advergame 2 times before choosing and eating a snack and completing the experimental measures. Children in the control group chose and ate a snack before playing the game and completing the measures. The number of healthier snack items children selected and ate and how much children liked the game. Children who played the healthier version of the advergame selected and ate significantly more healthy snacks than did those who played the less healthy version. Children reported liking the advergame. Findings suggest that concerns about online advergames that market unhealthy foods are justified. However, advergames may also be used to promote healthier foods and beverages. This kind of social marketing approach could tip the scales toward the selection of higher-quality snacks, thereby helping to curb the obesity epidemic.

  7. Will America Fall Apart Like the Maya? Grade 7 Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, David

    If a civilization as powerful and technologically advanced during its time as the Maya could disappear, can the same tragic outcome befall the United States? In this lesson, students work in teams to research the ancient Mayan civilization, specifically the circumstances of its demise. Student teams prepare a report of their findings and recommend…

  8. Maternal Discussions of Mental States and Behaviors: Relations to Emotion Situation Knowledge in European American and Immigrant Chinese Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doan, Stacey N.; Wang, Qi

    2010-01-01

    This study examined in a cross-cultural context mothers' discussions of mental states and external behaviors in a story-telling task with their 3-year-old children and the relations of such discussions to children's emotion situation knowledge (ESK). The participants were 71 European American and 60 Chinese immigrant mother-child pairs in the…

  9. Dialect Variation of Copula and Auxiliary Verb BE: African American English-Speaking Children with and without Gullah/Geechee Heritage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Jessica R.; Oetting, Janna B.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: We compared copula and auxiliary verb BE use by African American English-speaking children with and without a creole heritage, using Gullah/Geechee as the creole criterion, to determine if differences exist, the nature of the differences, and the impact of the differences on interpretations of ability. Method: Data came from 38 children,…

  10. Asthma and American Indians/Alaska Natives

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Minority Population Profiles > American Indian/Alaska Native > Asthma Asthma and American Indians/Alaska Natives In 2015, 240, ... Native American adults reported that they currently have asthma. American Indian/Alaska Native children are 60% more ...

  11. Resistencia indígena y discursos racistas: una lectura biopolítica de los mayas yucatecos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izaskun Álvarez Cuartero

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In this article I propose to analyse the history of Yucatec Maya people from a biopolitical perspective. I study two periods of great importance in Mayan history: first, during the colonial period, the politics of population control and the peculiar geography of Yucatan guide us to explain how the colony was settled there; while the second part discusses the lack of instability of Mayan Indians during Independence, the indigenous resistance that will eventually lead to the 1847 Caste War and its consequence: the sale of Mayan Indians as slaves to Cuba as an alternative to eliminate Indian rebels and to create an imagined nation of Yucatan.

  12. APROXIMACIONES A LA ETNOMICOLOGÍA MAYA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felipe Ruan-Soto

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Los pueblos mayas habitan una región biológicamente megadiversa y tradicionalmente hacen uso diversificado de sus recursos. Desde la etnomicología —disciplina que estudia la relación entre grupos humanos y hongos— se cuenta con amplia evidencia del conocimiento y uso de estos organismos entre tales grupos étnicos. Tal evidencia se extiende hasta tiempos prehispánicos con hongos piedra, códices y crónicas. Actualmente se tiene conocimiento de 134 especies comestibles —ya sean para autoconsumo o venta— y alrededor de 40 hongos medicinales en la región. Asociados con estos usos, existen conocimientos morfológicos, fenológicos, ecológicos y culinarios de los hongos, así como desarrollados esquemas de nomenclatura y clasificación, el reconocimiento de 36 especies consideradas tóxicas y la presencia de hongos en diferentes narrativas. APPROACHES TO MAYAN ETHNOMYCOLOGY The Mayan peoples inhabit a biologically megadiverse region and have traditionally made a diversified use of their resources. Ethnomycology —the discipline that studies the relationship between human groups and mushrooms— provides extensive evidence of the knowledge these ethnic groups have of mushrooms and their use. Evidence can be traced back to pre-Hispanic times with mushrooms carved in stone and their presence in codices and chronicles. In the region, 134 edible species —either for consumption or for trade— are currently known, as well as about 40 medicinal mushrooms. Morphological, phenological, ecological and culinary data as well as nomenclature and classification schemes are associated with these uses. The identification of 36 species considered toxic and the presence of mushrooms in different narratives is also part of this body of knowledge.

  13. Genotypic characterization of initial acquisition of Streptococcus mutans in American Indian children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David J. Lynch

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Severe-early childhood caries (S-ECC is one of the most common infectious diseases in children and is prevalent in lower socio-economic populations. American Indian children suffer from the highest levels of S-ECC in the United States. Members of the mutans streptococci, Streptococcus mutans, in particular, are key etiologic agents in the development of caries. Children typically acquire S. mutans from their mothers and early acquisition is often associated with higher levels of tooth decay. Methods: We have conducted a 5-year birth cohort study with a Northern Plains Tribe to determine the temporality and fidelity of S. mutans transmission from mother to child in addition to the genotypic diversity of S. mutans in this community. Plaque samples were collected from 239 mother/child dyads at regular intervals from birth to 36 months and S. mutans were isolated and genotyped by arbitrarily primed-polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR. Results: Here we present preliminary findings from a subset of the cohort. The focus for this paper is on initial acquisition events in the children. We identified 17 unique genotypes in 711 S. mutans isolates in our subset of 40 children, 40 mothers and 14 primary caregivers. Twelve of these genotypes were identified in more than one individual. S. mutans colonization occurred by 16 months in 57.5% of the children and early colonization was associated with higher decayed, missing and filled surface (DMFS scores (p=0.0007. Children colonized by S. mutans shared a common genotype with their mothers 47.8% of the time. While multiple genotypes were common in adults, only 10% of children harbored multiple genotypes. Conclusion: These children acquire S. mutans at an earlier age than the originally described ‘window of infectivity’ and often, but not exclusively, from their mothers. Early acquisition is associated with both the caries status of the children and the mothers.

  14. ¡Si acatamos la onstitución, resistiremos!: Mayas Yucatecos durante la Independencia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izaskun ALVAREZ CUARTERO

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available El presente artículo analiza la etapa independentista desde la óptica de los actores silenciados, el grupo indígena mayoritario en la península, los mayas yucatecos, que observan el paso de ser súbditos a ciudadanos acatando la Constitución, solicitando que se cumplan las prerrogativas que se les concedieron y participando cívicamente en la creación de los ayuntamientos. Este cambio de actitud, posibilitado por la legitimidad que les otorgaban las Cortes de Cádiz, dio a los grupos subalternos la misma capacidad de representación que a los sectores dominantes. Estudiaremos hasta qué punto acatar el nuevo orden constitucional fue un acto de resistencia, una etapa más de sometimiento que terminaría estallando en 1847 en la Guerra de Castas.

  15. Deforestation Along the Maya Mountain Massif Belize-Guatemala Border

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chicas, S. D.; Omine, K.; Arevalo, B.; Ford, J. B.; Sugimura, K.

    2016-06-01

    In recent years trans-boundary incursions from Petén, Guatemala into Belize's Maya Mountain Massif (MMM) have increased. The incursions are rapidly degrading cultural and natural resources in Belize's protected areas. Given the local, regional and global importance of the MMM and the scarcity of deforestation data, our research team conducted a time series analysis 81 km by 12 km along the Belize-Guatemalan border adjacent to the protected areas of the MMM. Analysis drew on Landsat imagery from 1991 to 2014 to determine historic deforestation rates. The results indicate that the highest deforestation rates in the study area were -1.04% and -6.78% loss of forested area per year in 2012-2014 and 1995-1999 respectively. From 1991 to 2014, forested area decreased from 96.9 % to 85.72 % in Belize and 83.15 % to 31.52 % in Guatemala. During the study period, it was clear that deforestation rates fluctuated in Belize's MMM from one time-period to the next. This seems linked to either a decline in deforestation rates in Guatemala, the vertical expansion of deforestation in Guatemalan forested areas and monitoring. The results of this study urge action to reduce incursions and secure protected areas and remaining forest along the Belize-Guatemalan border.

  16. Mothers' Self-Reported Emotional Expression in Mainland Chinese, Chinese American and European American Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camras, Linda; Kolmodin, Karen; Chen, Yinghe

    2008-01-01

    This study compared Mainland Chinese, Chinese American and European American mothers' self-reported emotional expression within the family. Mothers of 3-year-old European American (n = 40), Chinese American (n = 39) and Mainland Chinese (n = 36) children (n = 20 girls per group) completed the Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire (SEFQ),…

  17. Belief Reasoning and Emotion Understanding in Balanced Bilingual and Language-Dominant Mexican American Young Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weimer, Amy A; Gasquoine, Philip G

    2016-01-01

    Belief reasoning and emotion understanding were measured among 102 Mexican American bilingual children ranging from 4 to 7 years old. All children were tested in English and Spanish after ensuring minimum comprehension in each language. Belief reasoning was assessed using 2 false and 1 true belief tasks. Emotion understanding was measured using subtests from the Test for Emotion Comprehension. The influence of family background variables of yearly income, parental education level, and number of siblings on combined Spanish and English vocabulary, belief reasoning, and emotion understanding was assessed by regression analyses. Age and emotion understanding predicted belief reasoning. Vocabulary and belief reasoning predicted emotion understanding. When the sample was divided into language-dominant and balanced bilingual groups on the basis of language proficiency difference scores, there were no significant differences on belief reasoning or emotion understanding. Language groups were demographically similar with regard to child age, parental educational level, and family income. Results suggest Mexican American language-dominant and balanced bilinguals develop belief reasoning and emotion understanding similarly.

  18. Using Text Documents from American Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singleton, Laurel R., Ed.

    2002-01-01

    This publication contains classroom-tested teaching ideas. For grades K-4, "'Blessed Ted-fred': Famous Fathers Write to Their Children" uses American Memory for primary source letters written by Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Graham Bell to their children. For grades 5-8, "Found Poetry and the American Life Histories…

  19. PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS - A CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR NURSES OF THE AMERICAN NURSES FOUNDATION/ASSOCIATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    The American Nurses Association/Foundation will develop online, in print and pre conference continuing education (CE) children's environmental health protection programs to meet the objective of the program. The first CE program is on school environments, the second on home and ...

  20. Acceptability and Applicability of an American Health Videogame with Story for Childhood Obesity Prevention Among Hong Kong Chinese Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jingjing; Baranowski, Tom; Pitkethly, Amanda Jane; Buday, Richard

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Objective: Positive changes in diet have been observed in research carried out in the United States from the use of “Escape from Diab” (Diab), a health videogame designed to lower the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Whether the American story and characters in Diab might be perceived by Hong Kong Chinese children as interesting has not been explored. This study assessed the acceptability and applicability of Diab among Hong Kong Chinese children, whether the Diab story was understood by them, and whether it had potential to influence them both during the game and afterward. Subjects and Methods: Thirty-four students (21 males, 13 females) 9–12 years of age were included. Upon completion of all the Diab episodes, children completed an immersion scale with 18 items, as well as an individual interview with 10 open-ended questions. Results: Children achieved average immersion after playing Diab with the mean score at 39.1 (standard deviation = 9.0), higher than the median (36) of possible scores (range, 18–54). Four themes using framework analysis emerged from the interviews, including intuitive feelings about the interface, playing experience, perception of the effect of Diab on behavior change, and the applicability of Diab to Hong Kong children. The story and game developed for American children were found acceptable and applicable to Hong Kong Chinese children. Conclusions: The combination of quantitative and qualitative methods confirmed the acceptability and applicability of Diab to Hong Kong Chinese children. PMID:26382015

  1. Factor Structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children-Fourth Edition among Referred Native American Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakano, Selena; Watkins, Marley W.

    2013-01-01

    The Native American population is severely underrepresented in empirical test validity research despite being overrepresented in special education programs and at increased risk for psychoeducational evaluation. The structural validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) was investigated with a sample of 176,…

  2. Chicle harvesting and extractive reserves in the Maya Biosphere b: Reserve

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dugelby, B.L.

    1995-12-31

    Chicle latex has been extracted from the forests of northern Guatemala for over 100 years and is a key element in the extractive reserve component of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. The carrying capacity of the reserve for chicle extraction can be estimated from a model incorporating ecological data (such as latex yields per tree and population structure of chicle trees, Manilkara zapota, Sapot.) with socio-ecological and political information concerning camp and chicle resource availability, harvester tapping behavior, and historical and present-day institutional organization. I estimate that chicle harvestors currently utilize and area larger than the multiple use zone of the reserve in a unsustainable manner. Simple reduction of harvestors numbers will not ensure sustainability; institutional reforms are also in order. Extractive reserves can play an important role in preserving tropical forests. However, their effectiveness is highly dependent on prevailing ecological, socio-economic, and political conditions. Wise planning and management of extractive reserves demands an understanding of the system`s carrying capacity. In addition, a strong institutional foundation is necessary to assure effective monitoring and enforcement of harvesting regulations.

  3. Prevalence of corneal astigmatism in Tohono O'odham Native American children 6 months to 8 years of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey, Erin M; Dobson, Velma; Miller, Joseph M; Schwiegerling, Jim; Clifford-Donaldson, Candice E; Green, Tina K; Messer, Dawn H

    2011-06-21

    To describe the prevalence of corneal astigmatism in infants and young children who are members of a Native American tribe with a high prevalence of refractive astigmatism. The prevalence of corneal astigmatism was assessed by obtaining infant keratometer (IK4) measurements from 1235 Tohono O'odham children, aged 6 months to 8 years. The prevalence of corneal astigmatism >2.00 D was lower in the 1- to <2-year-old age group when compared with all other age groups, except the 6- to <7-year-old group. The magnitude of mean corneal astigmatism was significantly lower in the 1- to <2-year age group than in the 5- to <6-, 6- to <7-, and 7- to <8-year age groups. Corneal astigmatism was with-the-rule (WTR) in 91.4% of astigmatic children (≥1.00 D). The prevalence and mean amount of corneal astigmatism were higher than reported in non-Native American populations. Mean astigmatism increased from 1.43 D in 1-year-olds to nearly 2.00 D by school age.

  4. TV Viewing, Perceived Similarity, Coviewing, and Mental Well-Being among African American, Latino, and White Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDade-Montez, Elizabeth; Wallander, Jan; Elliott, Marc; Grunbaum, Jo Anne; Tortolero, Susan; Cuccaro, Paula; Schuster, Mark A.

    2015-01-01

    Research among adults has demonstrated concurrent and prospective negative associations between TV viewing and mental health, yet little research has examined these associations among African American and Latino youth or examined the role of children's involvement with TV and parental mediation of TV viewing via coviewing. The purpose of the…

  5. A Preliminary Study of Low-Income African American Fathers' Play Interactions with Their Preschool-Age Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagan, Jay

    1996-01-01

    Examined play interactions of 33 low-income African American fathers with their preschool-age children in relation to the fathers' psychological characteristics, love for the child's mother, employment status, education, and coresidence with the child. The fathers' self-esteem was the best predictor of play interactions. Coresidence with the child…

  6. Racial disparities in the survival of American children, adolescents, and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, and Hodgkin lymphoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn, Justine M; Keegan, Theresa H M; Tao, Li; Abrahão, Renata; Bleyer, Archie; Viny, Aaron D

    2016-09-01

    Race-based survival in children and adolescents with hematologic malignancies has been a national challenge for decades. Large-scale investigations of age- and race-based survival trends over time in these patients have not previously been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate whether race- and age-related differences in pediatric and adolescent and young adult (AYA) leukemia and lymphoma survival persist and to what extent these differences have changed over time. Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, this study investigated the outcomes of black and white (1975-2012; n = 27,369) and white and Hispanic (1992-2012; n = 20,574) children (0-14 years old) and AYAs (15-39 years old) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Estimates of 5- and 10-year relative survival were compared over time. Trends showed a convergence of survival for white and black children with ALL but a divergence in survival for AYA patients. Hispanic children and AYAs both suffered inferior outcomes. Trends for AML revealed persistent survival differences between black and white children and suggested worsening disparities for AYAs. Survival trends in HL revealed sustained survival differences between black and white AYA patients, whereas no differences were found in Hispanic and white patient outcomes for AML or HL. Although survival for children and AYAs with ALL, AML, and HL has improved over the past 4 decades, differences persist between black, white, and Hispanic children and AYAs; survival disparities between black and white children with ALL have been nearly eliminated. Strategies aimed at identifying causality and reducing disparities are warranted. Cancer 2016. © 2016 American Cancer Society. Cancer 2016;122:2723-2730. © 2016 American Cancer Society. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

  7. The Development of Empathy in Chinese and American Children Between Three and Six Years of Age: A Cross-Cultural Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borke, Helene

    A series of social interaction situations representing the four emotions of happy, afraid, sad, and angry were administered to 288 American children and 288 Chinese children. Twenty-four girls and 24 boys, half from middle class families and half from disadvantaged families, were tested at six-month intervals between 3 and 6 years of age. Children…

  8. Dal mondo dell’arte al regno delle ombre (e ritorno. Arthur Danto, Maya Lin e la bellezza interna

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Filippo Fimiani

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Arthur Danto asserts that Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington embodies the rhetoric paradigm of internal beauty’s meaning. However, the relationship to the Kant’s pulchritudo adhaerens is not an easy one: Danto’s recalls against the self-referent formalism of Greenberg’s Modernism and his tacit issues about the environmental non-monumentality of Richard Serra’s Minimalism, are, most importantly, haunted by the unquestioned spectral logic of the image embodiment. The beholders’ reflecting shape on the funeral Wall is, finally, both a pathetic index and a medial incarnation (Verkörperung of the underworld.

  9. Impacto de las estrategias de ingresos sobre la seguridad alimentaria en comunidades rurales Mayas del norte de Campeche

    OpenAIRE

    Pat Fernández, Lucio A; Nahed Toral, José; Parra Vázquez, Manuel R; García Barrios, Luis; Nazar Beutelspacher, Austreberta; Bello Baltazar, Eduardo

    2010-01-01

    En este artículo se examina el efecto de las estrategias de ingresos sobre la suficiencia de consumo calórico en grupos domésticos (GD) mayas de Campeche, México. El análisis se basó en el enfoque de modos de vida y la información se obtuvo de una encuesta censal de hogares (N=237) en cuatro comunidades. Los resultados revelan que todos los GD tienen una estrategia de ingreso diversificada con una orientación claramente definida. El índice de seguridad calórica (ISC) es diferente (p

  10. Household food insecurity and dietary patterns in rural and urban American Indian families with young children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily J. Tomayko

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background High food insecurity has been demonstrated in rural American Indian households, but little is known about American Indian families in urban settings or the association of food insecurity with diet for these families. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of food insecurity in American Indian households by urban-rural status, correlates of food insecurity in these households, and the relationship between food insecurity and diet in these households. Methods Dyads consisting of an adult caregiver and a child (2–5 years old from the same household in five urban and rural American Indian communities were included. Demographic information was collected, and food insecurity was assessed using two validated items from the USDA Household Food Security Survey. Factors associated with food insecurity were examined using logistic regression. Child and adult diets were assessed using food screeners. Coping strategies were assessed through focus group discussions. These cross-sectional baseline data were collected from 2/2013 through 4/2015 for the Healthy Children, Strong Families 2 randomized controlled trial of a healthy lifestyles intervention for American Indian families. Results A high prevalence of food insecurity was determined (61% and was associated with American Indian ethnicity, lower educational level, single adult households, WIC participation, and urban settings (p = 0.05. Food insecure adults had significantly lower intake of vegetables (p < 0.05 and higher intakes of fruit juice (<0.001, other sugar-sweetened beverages (p < 0.05, and fried potatoes (p < 0.001 than food secure adults. Food insecure children had significantly higher intakes of fried potatoes (p < 0.05, soda (p = 0.01, and sports drinks (p < 0.05. Focus group participants indicated different strategies were used by urban and rural households to address food insecurity. Conclusions The prevalence of food insecurity in

  11. Astigmatism and Amblyopia among Native American Children (AANAC): design and methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, J M; Dobson, V M; Harvey, E M; Sherrill, D L

    2000-09-01

    The overall goal of the AANAC study is to improve detection of astigmatism and prevention of amblyopia in populations with a high prevalence of astigmatism. To meet this goal, the study will evaluate four methods of screening for astigmatism in preschool children and will assess both the short-term and long-term benefits of early correction of astigmatism in improving acuity and preventing amblyopia. This paper presents an overview of the design and methodology of the AANAC study. Subjects are members of the Tohono O'Odham Nation, a Native American tribe with a high prevalence of astigmatism. Preschool-age children who attend Head Start are screened with four tools: the Marco Nidek KM-500 autokeratometer, the MTI photoscreener, the Nikon Retinomax K-Plus autorefractor, and the Lea Symbols acuity chart. Sensitivity and specificity for detection of significant astigmatism, as measured by a technique that uses both cycloplegic retinoscopy and cycloplegic autorefraction, is determined for each of the four screening tools. Presence of amblyopia is evaluated by measurement of best-corrected recognition acuity and acuity for orthogonal gratings. Spectacles are provided to all 3-year-old children with > or =2.00 diopters (D) of astigmatism and all 4- and 5-year-old children with > or =1.50 D of astigmatism. Persistence of amblyopia after glasses wearing is evaluated by follow-up measurement of best-corrected recognition acuity and acuity for orthogonal gratings, conducted 2-5 months after glasses are prescribed. Long-term effectiveness of early screening and glasses prescription is evaluated through measurement of recognition acuity in two groups of first-grade children: one group who participated in the Head Start program before the intensive vision screening program was initiated, and a second group who participated in the study's Head Start vision screening program.

  12. The Contributions of Immigrants to American Culture

    OpenAIRE

    Hirschman, Charles

    2013-01-01

    The standard account of American immigration focuses on the acculturation and assimilation of immigrants and their children to American society. This analysis typically ignores the significant contributions of immigrants to the creation of American culture through the performing arts, sciences, and other cultural pursuits. Immigrants and their children are not born with more creative talents than native-born citizens, but their selectivity and marginality may have pushed and pulled those with...

  13. Dignifying Black Children's Lives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hale, Janice E.

    1992-01-01

    Maintains that educators need to dignify the language and cognitive experiences of African-American children. Asserts that African-American culture emphasizes charismatic and stylistic uses of language. Teachers must understand African-American cultural styles if they are to create cultural continuity for African-American children who attend…

  14. Biodegradation of Maya crude oil fractions by bacterial strains and a defined mixed culture isolated from Cyperus laxus rhizosphere soil in a contaminated site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diaz-Ramirez, I. J.; Gutierrez-Rojas, M.; Favela-Torres, E. [Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM)- Iztapalapa, Dept. of Biotechnology, Federal District (Mexico); Ramirez-Sada, H. [Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM)-Xochimilco, Dept. of Biological Systems, Federal District (Mexico)

    2003-12-01

    Biodegradation of aliphatic, aromatic, and polar constituents of Maya crude oil by a set of isolated bacterial strains and a defined mixed culture made up with all isolated strains, was evaluated. The bacterial strains were obtained from the rhizosphere of Cyperus laxus, a native plant on a highly hydrocarbon-polluted site. Oxygen uptake rate was used to determine the culture transfer timing during the enrichment culture. Results showed that five of the isolated strains were able to degrade 50 per cent of the aliphatic fractions of Maya crude oil. With the defined mixed culture the level of biodegradation was 47 per cent for aliphatics and 6 per cent of the aromatic-polar mixture. When grown in the presence of total hydrocarbons, the defined mixed culture was able to degrade 40 per cent of the aliphatic fraction and 26 per cent of the aromatic fraction. By combining enrichment cultures with oxygen uptake rate to determine the culture transfer timing during the enrichment cultures allowed the isolation of bacterial strains that are able to degrade specific hydrocarbon fractions at high consumption rates. 28 refs., 4 tabs., 1 fig.

  15. Population-based comparison of biomarker concentrations for chemicals of concern among Latino-American and non-Hispanic white children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perla, M E; Rue, Tessa; Cheadle, Allen; Krieger, James; Karr, Catherine J; Karr, C K

    2015-06-01

    Differences in cultural and economic status may place ethnic subgroups of children at higher risk for exposure, leading to heightened health risks, and health inequities. Although Latino-Americans represent 22% of all children in the United States, few studies have explored within-group differences in their exposure to toxicants. Using socio-demographic and biomarker data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2008, we characterized determinants of health and estimated geometric means of environmental contaminant biomarkers (blood concentrations of lead and mercury, serum concentrations of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [p,p'-DDE] and cotinine, and urinary metabolites of organophosphate [OP] pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) among 4,257 Mexican American (MA), 677 Other Latino-American (OL), and 3,370 Non-Hispanic White (NHW) children. MAs had the lowest levels of health insurance coverage and regular access to health care, and largest household size compared to NHWs and OLs. MAs had higher levels of p,p'-DDE, lead, and cadmium while OLs had higher estimates of mercury relative to other groups. MAs had higher urinary metabolite concentrations of 2-hydroxynaphthalene; otherwise MAs and OLs had lower concentrations of PAHs. NHWs had higher levels of cotinine and dimethylthiophosphate. For other OP metabolites, differences among groups were less clear. Lead and p,p'-DDE exposure differences likely reflect later and less regulatory control of these chemicals in Latin America. Additionally, poor quality housing with lead paint is more common in economically disadvantaged subpopulations. Dietary habits are possible sources of differential cadmium, mercury, and organophosphate exposure. Cotinine exposure differences by income and U.S.- vs. foreign-born may represent increased acculturation. These results, coupled with additional research on exposure sources may contribute to refinement of environmental health

  16. Ancient shoreline reconstruction at a Maritime Maya Port in Yucatan, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaijel, Roy; Goodman, Beverly; Glover, Jeffrey; Rissolo, Dominique; Beddows, Patricia; Carter, Alice; Smith, Derek; Ben Avraham, Zvi

    2017-04-01

    Throughout history, worldwide, a major part of the human experience has been to adapt to changing landscapes, and environments. These adaptations can take many forms, sometimes as innovation, manipulation of the conditions, behavioral or technological changes; and in some cases the decision to abandon the area. The northeastern Yucatan peninsula, home of the Maritime maya port site Vista-Alegre, shows signs of such human changes, though little is known about the corresponding landscape and environment. Vista Alegre is located on the meeting point of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, at the north-eastern tip of the Yucatan peninsula, in the back of the Holbox lagoon. The site was inhabited from the 9th century B.C until the mid 16th century A.D., with an apparent two century abandonment phase from the mid 7th to 9th century A.D. A multidisciplinary effort ("Costa Escondida project") has been investigating the life of past Mayan inhabitants and the broader connections of the site to the Maritime Maya trade network. One of the questions that has arisen is what were the mutual influences between the inhabitants to their surrounding environment. In order to answer that question the site's shoreline geomorphology and climate history is being reconstructed for the past 2-3000 years. The reconstruction is based on multiproxy analysis of marine sediment cores and surface samples, combined with archaeological data. The study presented focuses on the shoreline shifts at the site, revealing the complexity, and significant affect of sea level rise on the marine environment of Vista Alegre. This study contributes to our understanding of the site's possible functions, the environmental challenges the local inhabits contended with, and the identification of ancient harboring locations. The results show five depositional phases over the past 2-3000 years. The ancient shoreline maps show a general trend of sea level rise, though with varying rates over time that relates well

  17. Impact of parental weight status on a school-based weight management programme designed for Mexican-American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, J P; Johnston, C A; Hernandez, D C; LeNoble, J; Papaioannou, M A; Foreyt, J P

    2016-10-01

    While overweight and obese children are more likely to have overweight or obese parents, less is known about the effect of parental weight status on children's success in weight management programmes. This study was a secondary data analysis of a randomized controlled trial and investigated the impact of having zero, one or two obese parents on children's success in a school-based weight management programme. Sixty-one Mexican-American children participated in a 24-week school-based weight management intervention which took place in 2005-2006. Children's heights and weights were measured at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. Parental weight status was assessed at baseline. Repeated measures anova and ancova were conducted to compare changes in children's weight within and between groups, respectively. Within-group comparisons revealed that the intervention led to significant decreases in standardized body mass index (zBMI) for children with zero (F = 23.16, P weight management programme appears to be most efficacious for children with one or no obese parents compared to children with two obese parents. These results demonstrate the need to consider parental weight status when engaging in childhood weight management efforts. © 2015 World Obesity.

  18. Higher risk for obesity among Mexican-American and Mexican immigrant children and adolescents than among peers in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Valero, María A; Bustamante-Montes, L Patricia; Hernández, Mike; Halley-Castillo, Elizabeth; Wilkinson, Anna V; Bondy, Melissa L; Olvera, Norma

    2012-08-01

    We conducted a cross-sectional study among 1,717 children and adolescents of Mexican origin ages 5-19 years living in Mexico and Texas to explore the influence of country of birth and country of longest residence on their overweight and obesity status. Descriptive statistics were used to compare demographic and anthropometric characteristics of participants born and raised in Mexico (Mexicans), born in Mexico and raised in the United States (Mexican immigrants), and born and raised in the United States (Mexican-Americans). Univariate and multivariate nominal logistic regression was used to determine the demographic predictors of obesity adjusted by country of birth, country of residence, age, and gender. Almost half (48.8%) of the Mexican-Americans and 43.2% of the Mexican immigrants had body mass index at the 85th percentile or above, compared to only 29.3% of the Mexicans (P obese than their Mexican peers [Mexican-Americans: odds ratio (OR) = 2.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-3.4); Mexican immigrants: OR = 2.2 (95% CI 1.6-3.0)]. In addition, males were more likely than females to be obese [OR = 1.6 (95% CI 1.2-2.1)], and adolescents 15-19 years of age were less likely than their younger counterparts [OR = 0.5 (95% CI 0.4-0.7)] to be obese. The high prevalence of obesity among children of Mexican origin in the United States is of great concern and underscores the urgent need to develop and implement obesity preventive interventions targeting younger children of Mexican origin, especially newly arrived immigrant children. In addition, future obesity research should take into consideration the country of origin of the study population to develop more culturally specific obesity interventions.

  19. DEFORESTATION ALONG THE MAYA MOUNTAIN MASSIF BELIZE-GUATEMALA BORDER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. D. Chicas

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In recent years trans-boundary incursions from Petén, Guatemala into Belize’s Maya Mountain Massif (MMM have increased. The incursions are rapidly degrading cultural and natural resources in Belize’s protected areas. Given the local, regional and global importance of the MMM and the scarcity of deforestation data, our research team conducted a time series analysis 81 km by 12 km along the Belize-Guatemalan border adjacent to the protected areas of the MMM. Analysis drew on Landsat imagery from 1991 to 2014 to determine historic deforestation rates. The results indicate that the highest deforestation rates in the study area were −1.04% and −6.78% loss of forested area per year in 2012-2014 and 1995-1999 respectively. From 1991 to 2014, forested area decreased from 96.9 % to 85.72 % in Belize and 83.15 % to 31.52 % in Guatemala. During the study period, it was clear that deforestation rates fluctuated in Belize's MMM from one time-period to the next. This seems linked to either a decline in deforestation rates in Guatemala, the vertical expansion of deforestation in Guatemalan forested areas and monitoring. The results of this study urge action to reduce incursions and secure protected areas and remaining forest along the Belize-Guatemalan border.

  20. A developmental perspective of the relationship of racial-ethnic identity to self-construct, achievement, and behavior in African American children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Chaundrissa Oyeshiku; Levine, Douglas W; Smith, Emilie Phillips; Dumas, Jean; Prinz, Ron J

    2009-04-01

    This longitudinal study examines the development of racial-ethnic identity among African American children. Racial preferences were assessed in early elementary school with the Racial Attitudes, Beliefs, and Stereotypes Measure-II, a projective technique using paired comparisons of pictures of African American, Asian, Latino, and Caucasian children. Racial-ethnic identity in 3rd grade was assessed using the Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure Ethnic Belonging subscale. Multilevel models indicated that own-group racial preferences increased with age. Second-grade own-group preferences were positively related to 3rd-grade racial-ethnic identity scores. Third-grade racial-ethnic identity was associated positively with self-esteem variables (scholastic, social, physical appearance, and behavioral) and with academic performance. Identity correlated negatively with parent-rated aggression and externalizing and internalizing behaviors. The findings suggest that children's racial-ethnic identity develops differentially by gender, with girls showing faster growth but lower initial ethnic identity. Racial-ethnic identity was shown to be modestly but statistically significantly associated with various important child outcomes.

  1. Proyecto Costa Escondida: Interdisciplinary Research at the Ancient Maya Port Site of Vista Alegre, Quintana Roo, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glover, J.; Rissolo, D.; Beddows, P. A.; Goodman, B.; Smith, D.

    2013-05-01

    At the northeast tip of the Yucatan Peninsula - where the Caribbean meets the Gulf - lies the ancient Maya port site of Vista Alegre. The inhabitants of this site, much like the people living nearby today, were forced to contend with the challenging coastal environment of Laguna Holbox. The sediment-rich, low gradient of the north coast presents a contrasting landscape compared to the Caribbean coast, where water resources are of much larger magnitude and evident in the extensive systems of cenotes (sinkholes) and underground rivers that supported pre-Columbian sites along this eastern rocky sediment-poor coastline. For past inhabitants the north coast was a mosaic of low-lying, non-arable zones where access to potable water was a challenge for inhabitants well into the 20th century. By bringing together scholars from the fields of archaeology, coastal ecology, geoarchaeology, and hydrogeology, the Proyecto Costa Escondida is focusing on the dynamic relationship between the Maya and their coastal landscape over the past 3000 years. To date we have collected 12 manual push-cores from the shallow waters surrounding Vista Alegre, which have been analyzed at 1 cm resolution using standard methods for Loss on Ignition (LOI), δ18Ocarb and δ13Ccarb of bulk carbonate, granulometry, micropalentology, and AMS radiocarbon dating. In addition to have baseline comparative data, we have conducted near-shore and terrestrial coastal ecological surveys along with the mapping of coastal water salinity and temperatures in the dry and wet seasons. Overall, the chemical proxies, lithology, and paleosalinity model reconstructed to date reveal four onlapping parasequences representing an overall transgression of the coastline with strong seasonality of water chemistry that has been changing under the control of rising sea levels over the past 3000 years. The sedimentation rate and timing of the transition to marine is in reasonable agreement with local sea level curves meaning that the

  2. Estimating Neonatal Mortality Rates from the Heights of Children: The Case of American Slaves

    OpenAIRE

    Richard H. Steckel

    1985-01-01

    Underenumeration of vital events is a problem familiar topeople who work with historical demographic records. This paper proposes a method for recovering information about neonatal mortality.The approach utilizes average heights of young children to predict the birth weight of American slaves. The results suggest that slave newborns weighed on average about 5.1 pounds, which places them among the poorest populations of developing countries in the mid-twentieth century. The birth weight distri...

  3. Summer effects on body mass index (BMI gain and growth patterns of American Indian children from kindergarten to first grade: a prospective study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Jianduan

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent among American Indian children, especially those living on reservations. There is little scientific evidence about the effects of summer vacation on obesity development in children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of summer vacation between kindergarten and first grade on growth in height, weight, and body mass index (BMI for a sample of American Indian children. Methods Children had their height and weight measured in four rounds of data collection (yielded three intervals: kindergarten, summer vacation, and first grade as part of a school-based obesity prevention trial (Bright Start in a Northern Plains Indian Reservation. Demographic variables were collected at baseline from parent surveys. Growth velocities (Z-score units/year for BMI, weight, and height were estimated and compared for each interval using generalized linear mixed models. Results The children were taller and heavier than median of same age counterparts. Height Z-scores were positively associated with increasing weight status category. The mean weight velocity during summer was significantly less than during the school year. More rapid growth velocity in height during summer than during school year was observed. Obese children gained less adjusted-BMI in the first grade after gaining more than their counterparts during the previous two intervals. No statistically significant interval effects were found for height and BMI velocities. Conclusions There was no indication of a significant summer effect on children's BMI. Rather than seasonal or school-related patterns, the predominant pattern indicated by weight-Z and BMI-Z velocities might be related to age or maturation. Trial registration Bright Start: Obesity Prevention in American Indian Children Clinical Trial Govt ID# NCT00123032

  4. Métodos de analise dos danos da lagarta da espiga¹, em médias de gerações envolvendo IAC Maya e Zapalote Chico Method for analysis of damage of the corn earworm heliothis zea in generation means from IAC Maya and Zapalote Chico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Alberto Marques Rezende

    1982-01-01

    Full Text Available O milho Zapalote Chico 2451 (ZC 2451, referido na literatura como a melhor fonte de resistência à lagarta da espiga, Heliothis zea (Boddie, 1850, e o IAC Maya XII foram observados em condições de campo, juntamente com as gerações F1, e F2 resultantes do cruzamento de ambos, bem como os respectivos retrocruzamentos da população F1, para cada um dos pais, a fim de estudar métodos de análises de dados obtidos através da escala de dano revista por WIDSTROM e, conseqüentemente, fornecer subsídios para trabalhos de estudo da herança da resistência envolvendo esse cruzamento. Para analisar os dados, dividiram-se as notas de dano em quatro classes distintas agrupadas duas a duas, zero mais 1 e > 2, e zero e > 1, e aplicou-se o método do quiquadrado (c2 para verificar qual divisão melhor se ajustava. Os resultados revelaram que o grupo das classes zero mais 1 e > 2 apresentou melhor uniformidade dos dados entre as repetições dentro de cada tratamento. A análise da variância para cada classe de dano, separadamente, apresentou valores de F altamente significativos para as classes zero e zero mais 1, enquanto para as classes > 1 e > 2, os mesmos não permitiram diferenciar os tratamentos. Entre as classes zero e zero mais 1, esta última revelou maior significância e melhor precisão dos dados. O milho ZC 2451, quando comparado com a variedade IAC Maya XII, exibiu boa resistência à lagarta da espiga nas condições de Campinas (SP, resistência essa relacionada com fatores de não preferência e/ou antibiose, devido ã maior porcentagem de espigas não danificadas do ZC 2451.The line Zapalote Chico 2451 (ZC 2451 resistant to the corn earworm, Heliothis zea, the commercial synthetic Brazilian variety IAC Maya XII, the F1 and F2 obtained with their cross, and the two back crosses between the F1 and both parents, were planted in the field in a randomized block with 10 replications. The earworm damage done to the ears was graded

  5. The experience of Chinese American parents of children with life-limiting illness: a comprehensive review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jinjiao; Kearney, Joan A

    2013-07-01

    Life-limiting childhood illness is a traumatic experience presenting parents with psychological, physical, and social challenges. While cultural influences affect all parents coping with the life-limiting illness and end-of-life period of their child, little is known about the experiences of Chinese American parents. The purpose of this comprehensive literature review was to describe Chinese American parents' experiences during their children's end-of-life period from a culturally informed perspective. Important themes in the literature are revealed including culture-based phenomena regarding philosophy of life and illness that can affect treatment choices, cultural mores that influence parental behaviour in Western health-care systems, specific communication patterns within families and between families and providers, certain coping risks, and gender-based roles and caregiving activities that have implications for provider communication patterns. The findings are consonant with the larger literature regarding the impact of traditional culture and values on Chinese family and health behaviours. Health professionals must be sensitive to Chinese American parents' communication styles, unspoken concerns, and unresolved cultural conflicts in American health-care settings. Educational interventions may be very helpful in this regard.

  6. Disneyzación, parques temáticos y cultura corporativa en el capitalismo terciario: experiencias Xcaret, Riviera Maya (México)

    OpenAIRE

    Khafash Echevarría, Leila

    2016-01-01

    Esta tesis se propuso desde la perspectiva de la geografía y la antropología demostrar la disneyzación patrimonial recreada, tomando un modelo de negocio corporativo de parques temáticos en pleno auge turístico de la Riviera Maya en México y su hinterland (Experiencias Xcaret), corporativo de parques temáticos. Se propuso igualmente demostrar la expansión de los parques, y algunos efectos territoriales en el contexto de la economía de las experiencias emocionales. Con este objetivo general se...

  7. The Ancient Maya Landscape: Facing the Challenges and Embracing the Promise of Integrating Archaeology, Remote Sensing, Soil Science and Hydrologic Modeling for Coupled Natural and Human Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murtha, T., Jr.; Duffy, C.; Cook, B. D.; Schroder, W.; Webster, D.; French, K. D.; Alcover, O.; Golden, C.; Balzotti, C.; Shaffer, D.

    2016-12-01

    Relying on a niche inheritance perspective, this paper discusses the long-term spatial and temporal dynamics of land-use management, agricultural decision making and patterns of resource availability in the tropical lowlands of Central America. We introduce and describe ongoing research that addresses a series of long standing questions about coupled natural and human history dynamics in the Central Maya lowlands, emphasizing the role of landscape and region to address these questions. First, we summarize the results of a CNH pilot study focused on the evolution of the regional landscape of Tikal, Guatemala. Particular attention is centered on how we integrated landscape survey, traditional archaeology and soil studies to understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of agricultural land use and intensification over a two thousand period. Additionally, we discuss how these results were integrated into remote sensing, hydrological and erosion models to better understand how past changes in available water and productive land compare to what we know about settlement patterns in the Tikal Region over that same time period. We not only describe how the Maya transformed this landscape, but also how the region influenced changing patterns of settlement and land use. We finish this section with a discussion of some of the unique challenges integrating archaeological information to study CNH dynamics during this pilot study. Second, we introduce a new project designed to `scale up' the pilot study for a macro-regional analysis of the lowland Maya landscape. The new project leverages a uniquely sampled LIDAR data set designed to refine measurements of above ground carbon storage. Our new project quantitatively examines these data for evidence for past human activity. Preliminary results offer a promising path for tightly integrating archaeology, natural science, remote sensing and modeling for studying CNH dynamics in the deep and recent past.

  8. An 8700 year paleoclimate reconstruction from the southern Maya lowlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wahl, David B.; Byrne, Roger; Anderson, Lysanna

    2014-01-01

    Analysis of a sediment core from Lago Puerto Arturo, a closed basin lake in northern Peten, Guatemala, has provided an ∼8700 cal year record of climate change and human activity in the southern Maya lowlands. Stable isotope, magnetic susceptibility, and pollen analyses were used to reconstruct environmental change in the region. Results indicate a relatively wet early to middle Holocene followed by a drier late Holocene, which we interpret as reflecting long-term changes in insolation (precession). Higher frequency variability is more likely attributable to changes in ocean/atmosphere circulation in both the North Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Pollen and isotope data show that most of the period of prehispanic agricultural settlement, i.e. ∼5000–1000 cal yr BP, was characterized by drier conditions than previous or subsequent periods. The presence ofZea (corn) pollen through peak aridity during the Terminal Classic period (∼1250–1130 cal yr BP) suggests that drought may not have had as negative an impact as previously proposed. A dramatic negative shift in isotope values indicates an increase in precipitation after ∼950 cal yr BP (hereafter BP).

  9. Message Framing, Perceived Susceptibility, and Intentions to Vaccinate Children against HPV among African American Parents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nan, Xiaoli; Madden, Kelly; Richards, Adam; Holt, Cheryl; Wang, Min Qi; Tracy, Kate

    2017-01-01

    This research examines the interaction effect of message framing (gain vs. loss) and perceived susceptibility (i.e., perceived likelihood that one’s child is at risk of contracting HPV) on African American parents’ intentions to vaccinate their children against HPV. Results of an experiment (N = 193), in which parents were exposed to either a gain-framed or loss-framed message about HPV vaccination, revealed a significant interaction between message framing and perceived susceptibility when parents were required to pay for the vaccine. The specific pattern of interaction suggested that parents who perceived their children to be at high risk of contracting HPV were more persuaded by the gain-framed message, whereas those who believed their children to be at low risk of contracting HPV were more persuaded by the loss-framed message. Implications of the findings for HPV vaccination messaging are discussed. PMID:26646190

  10. Fears of Children in the United States: An Examination of the American Fear Survey Schedule with 20 New Contemporary Fear Items

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnham, Joy J.

    2005-01-01

    Twenty contemporary fears (e.g., terrorist attacks, drive-by shootings, having to fight in a war) were added to E. Gullone and N. J. King's (1992) Australian Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II for use in the United States. The revised survey, the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children (J. J. Burnham, 1995), was investigated. The component…

  11. Effects of harvest on the sustainability and leaf productivity of populations of two palm species in Maya homegardens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Ballesté, Andrea; Martorell, Carlos

    2015-01-01

    Traditional management practices are usually thought to be sustainable. The Maya manage Sabal (Arecaceae) palms in homegardens, using their leaves for thatching. The sustainability of such production systems depends on the long-term persistence of palm populations, whereas resource availability also depends on the number of leaves on individual palms. We examined how leaf harvest affects Sabal yapa and S. mexicana population growth rates (λ) and leaf production, comparing traditional and alternative harvest regimes in terms of sustainability and productivity. Demographic, harvest and leaf production data were recorded for three years in two homegardens. We used general integral projection models linked to leaf-production models to describe population dynamics and productivity. Harvest had no effect on S. yapa's vital rates or on λ, but it changed the growth rate of individuals of S. mexicana, with a negligible impact on λ. Homegardens affected λ values, reflecting the species' ecological affinities. S. mexicana, introduced from mesic forests, required watering and shade; therefore, its population declined rapidly in the homegarden that lacked both water and shade. The λ of the xerophilic S. yapa was slightly larger without watering than with watering. Palms usually compensated for leaf extraction, causing the number of leaves harvested per individual to increase with harvest intensity. Nevertheless, traditional management is relatively mild, allowing standing leaves to accumulate but reducing the homegarden's yield. Apparently, the Maya do not seek to maximize annual production but to ensure the availability of large numbers of leaves in homegardens. These leaves may then be used when the entire roof of a hut needs to be replaced every few years.

  12. Active Intervention Program Using Dietary Education and Exercise Training for Reducing Obesity in Mexican American Male Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sukho; Misra, Ranjita; Kaster, Elizabeth

    2012-01-01

    This study evaluated the effectiveness of a 10-week active intervention program (AIP), which incorporates dietary education with exercise training, among 30 healthy Mexican American male children, aged 8-12 years, in Laredo, Texas. Participants were randomly divided into 3 groups: education (EDU), dietary education to participants and parents and…

  13. Social anxiety and perception of early parenting among American, Chinese American, and social phobic samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, A W; Heimberg, R G; Holt, C S; Bruch, M A

    1994-01-01

    Emotionally distant and controlling child-rearing attitudes have been reported to characterize the parents of American or western European social phobics in previous research. However, the notion that these parental attitudes may be associated with social anxiety only in some cultures has not been investigated. The present study examined social anxiety among American social phobics and American and Chinese/Chinese American volunteer samples and how it may relate to their parents' child-rearing attitudes. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed overall group differences. Both volunteer samples reported lower levels of anxiety than social phobics. Parents of Chinese/Chinese Americans and social phobics were reported to be similar in their (1) isolation of children from social activities; (2) over-emphasis of others' opinions; and (3) use of shame tactics for discipline (more so than American volunteers' parents). However, parents of nonsocial phobics were more likely to attend family social activities than social phobics' parents. Overall, the association between a reported parenting style emphasizing others' opinions and shame tactics and social anxiety in their adult children was more evident in both American samples than among Chinese/Chinese Americans.

  14. Provision of educationally-related services for children and adolescents with chronic diseases and disabling conditions. American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Children with Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-02-01

    Children and adolescents with chronic diseases and disabling conditions often need related services. As medical home professionals, pediatricians can assist children, adolescents, and their families with the complex federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and systems associated with these services. Expanded roles for pediatricians in Individual Family Service Plan, Individualized Education Plan, and 504 Plan development and implementation are recommended. The complex range of federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and systems for special education and related services for children and adolescents in public schools is beyond the scope of this statement. Readers are referred to the policy statement "The Pediatrician's Role in Development and Implementation of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and/or an Individual Family Services Plan"(1) by the American Academy of Pediatrics for additional background materials.

  15. Beyond Nature Appropriation: Towards Post-development Conservation in the Maya Forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jose E Martinez-Reyes

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The establishment of biosphere reserves in Mexico was followed by alternative livelihood conservation/development projects to integrate indigenous groups into Western style conservation under the idea of sustainable development and participation. In this paper, I discuss the outcomes of two forest wildlife management projects in one Maya community along the Sian Ka′an Biosphere Reserve in the state of Quintana Roo. Both projects ultimately failed and the community mobilised and expelled the NGO from the community. I argue that the failure of these projects involved two dynamics: 1 lack of coherence between the objectives of state agencies, conservation NGOs, and the local community; and 2 unequal ethnic relations, reproducing relations of colonial inequality and dictating how indigenous groups can participate in managing a territory for conservation. If collaboration and local participation are key in conservation management programs, these case studies suggest that greater institutional accountability and community autonomy are needed to make the practice of conservation more democratic and participatory. The expulsion of the NGO as a conservation and development broker also opened the space for, and possibilities of, post-development conservation practice that challenges the normalising expectations of Western biodiversity conservation.

  16. Comparison of African American Children's Performances on a Minimal Competence Core for Morphosyntax and the Index of Productive Syntax.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stockman, Ida J; Newkirk-Turner, Brandi L; Swartzlander, Elaina; Morris, Lekeitha R

    2016-02-01

    This study is a response to the need for evidence-based measures of spontaneous oral language to assess African American children under the age of 4 years. We determined if pass/fail status on a minimal competence core for morphosyntax (MCC-MS) was more highly related to scores on the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn)-the measure of convergent criterion validity-than to scores on 3 measures of divergent validity: number of different words (Watkins, Kelly, Harbers, & Hollis, 1995), Percentage of Consonants Correct-Revised (Shriberg, Austin, Lewis, McSweeney, & Wilson, 1997), and the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Roid & Miller, 1997). Archival language samples for 68 African American 3-year-olds were analyzed to determine MCC-MS pass/fail status and the scores on measures of convergent and divergent validity. Higher IPSyn scores were observed for 60 children who passed the MCC-MS than for 8 children who did not. A significant positive correlation, rpb = .73, between MCC-MS pass/fail status and IPSyn scores was observed. This coefficient was higher than MCC-MS correlations with measures of divergent validity: rpb = .13 (Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised), rpb = .42 (number of different words in 100 utterances), and rpb = .46 (Percentage of Consonants Correct-Revised). The MCC-MS has convergent criterion validity with the IPSyn. Although more research is warranted, both measures can be potentially used in oral language assessments of African American 3-year-olds.

  17. La movilización maya en Guatemala: exigiendo derechos y construyendo multiculturalidad en un contexto de postconflicto

    OpenAIRE

    Bastos, Santiago

    2013-01-01

    Au Guatemala, la mobilisation indienne pour l’égalité des droits a débuté dans les années 1970. Elle a été interrompue par la réponse génocidaire de l’État face à la menace révolutionnaire. Cependant, dans les années 1990, lorsque commence le processus de paix, les acteurs qui s’autodésignent aujourd’hui comme Mayas ont été capables de se réorganiser et ont réussi à se faire reconnaître dans l’Accord sur l’Identité et les Droits des Peuples Indiens. C’est alors que commence la phase du “multi...

  18. DIALECTIC READING OF FREEDOM AND IMPRISONMENT IN MAYA ANGELOU‟S POEM I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamad Ikhwan Rosyidi

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to describe the dialectic reading of freedom and, in opposite, an imprisonment as hypogram in Maya Angelou‘s Poem I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The method applied for reading this poem will be semiotic approach which is developed by Riffaterre (1984. The result of this study will be the semiotic reading which describes the heuristic reading of this poem by defining dictionary meaning of words, phrases, clauses in the poem and hermeneutic reading by defining the matrix, model, and potential hypogram that reflected on the dialectic of freedom and imprisonment by Black people in America.

  19. Effects of air pollution on infant and children respiratory mortality in four large Latin-American cities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gouveia, Nelson; Junger, Washington Leite; Romieu, Isabelle; Cifuentes, Luis A.; Ponce de Leon, Antonio; Vera, Jeanette; Strappa, Valentina; Hurtado-Díaz, Magali; Miranda-Soberanis, Victor; Rojas-Bracho, Leonora; Carbajal-Arroyo, Luz; Tzintzun-Cervantes, Guadalupe

    2018-01-01

    . - Graphical abstract: Percentage increase in daily mortality for respiratory diseases in infants for a 10 μg/m 3 raise in PM 10 and O 3 levels in single lag models, for Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Mexico City, 1997–2005. - Highlights: • Air pollution has important impact on children and infant mortality in Latin-American cities. • PM 10 and to a lesser degree O 3 were associated with respiratory deaths in infants and children. • These results should inform policies to prevent adverse health effects in children. - Air pollution has important impact on children and infant mortality in Latin-American cities with PM 10 and to a lesser degree O 3 were associated with respiratory deaths.

  20. Barriers and motivators to reducing secondhand smoke exposure in African American families of head start children: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoehn, Jessica L; Riekert, Kristin A; Borrelli, Belinda; Rand, Cynthia S; Eakin, Michelle N

    2016-08-01

    To identify barriers and motivators for reducing secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) for families of African-American, low-income, urban children. Audiotaped intervention sessions of 52 African-American caregivers of Head Start children who reported being a smoker and/or had at least one smoker in the home were randomly sampled from a larger trial examining the effectiveness of a motivational-interviewing intervention in reducing child's SHSe. Counseling sessions were qualitatively coded to identify barriers and motivators to implementing a home smoking ban or quitting smoking. African-American families identified several themes that were either or both barriers and motivators for SHSe reduction, including: asking others not to smoke, other family living in the home, neighborhood safety, absence of childcare, cost/availability of cessation tools, physician support and prevention of health problems. Urban, low-income African-American families face numerous barriers to reducing SHSe. Families were able to identify many motivators for reducing SHSe, suggesting an awareness of the importance for SHSe reduction but uncertainty in their confidence to change behaviors. Counseling should include tailoring to be most effective in supporting health behavior change. Greater emphasis on motivators is needed, such as low-cost/free cessation tools, engagement from physicians and greater involvement of extended family members. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.