The Impact of Domestic Politics and International Changes on the Brazilian Perception of Regional Integration

This article aims to analyze the impact of domestic politics and international changes that influence Brazilian positions regarding regional integration processes in South America, particularly the Southern Common Market, Mercosur. The dynamics of the international system and their impact on the evolution of the elite's perception of the role the country should play in the world are important variables for understanding these positions. The state's postures in relation to integration were and are based on a real interest, but this interest is also linked with the objective of ensuring better conditions for participation in other international arenas. Starting with the hypothesis that transformations in the international setting have strongly influenced Brazil's positioning, the elements of continuity and change in the country's behavior toward Mercosur are identified, with domestic politics as the main explanation.

Covenanters of South Carolina Collection - Accession 208 - M92 (118)

The Covenanters of South Carolina Collections consists of a "Sketch of the Covenanters of Rocky Creek, South carolina About 1750 to 1840" by Miss Mary Elder, 1886 as dictated to her by her father Mr. Matthew Elder, Yorkville, SC. Also included is an undated genealogical sketch of William Stinson (Stevenson) (1752-1809) who was a covenanter from Rocky Creek, SC and a "History of Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church by Mrs. Frank Hicklin" that was written ca. 1958. The Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church was organized ca. 1752.

Equal Rights Amendment South Carolina Coalition Records - Accession 693

The Equal Rights Amendment South Carolina Coalition Records consist of pamphlets, membership listings, newsletters, bulletins, interstate correspondence, legislation positions, polls, newspaper clippings, article reprints, general correspondence and various memorabilia to the attempt to obtain South Carolina ratification of the passage of Equal Rights Amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women.

Equal Rights Amendment South Carolina Coalition Records - Accession 388

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) South Carolina Coalition Records date from 1972-1982 and include minutes of meetings, correspondence, magazine articles and newspaper clippings, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, memoranda, and other records relating to the drive for ERA ratification in South Carolina.The ERA was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women.

South Carolina Teacher Association History - Accession 240 - M101 (130)

The South Carolina Teacher Association History collection consists of a publication written by David Duncan Wallace titled History of the South Carolina Teachers' Association in 1924. The publication covers the history of the South Carolina Teacher Association from its founding in 1850 to 1924.

South Carolina Home Economics Association Records - Accession 22

This collection is a valuable source on home economics history in South Carolina during the twentieth century. While there is information on the SCHEA from its beginning in 1914 to 1980, the actual records do not start until 1920. An outline of what the South Carolina Home Economics Association was doing from 1914 to 1920, is provided in the “historical file” (see Box 1, folders 1 to 4). The inclusive dates for a particular series may vary and, for most series, the records are incomplete. The collection contains all the records normally created by an organization, including constitutions, correspondence, minutes, reports, handbooks, etc. A wide variety of research topics could be developed from the records, including the SCHEA’s impact on the legislative process in South Carolina (e.g. the passage of the bill for the enrichment of cornmeal and grits in 1943), its cooperation and relationship with relief agencies in the state and its role in improving child health during the 1930s.

South Carolina International Women's Year Conference Records - Accession 101 - M43 (57-58)

The South Carolina International Women's Year Conference Records consist of news releases, membership lists, directives, bibliographies, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, and other records, concerning the SC International Women’s Year Conference held June 10-11, 1977 in Columbia, SC which met to discuss women’s issues.

South Carolina Farmer's Alliance Papers - Accession 43 - M18 (28)

The South Carolina Farmer's Alliance Papers consist of a reminiscence of the Farmer’s Alliance by W.A. James of Bishopville, SC, who was a county business agent for Sumter County. Also included is a two page comment by Dr. John H. Moore of the Winthrop History Department. The Farmers Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among farmers that developed and flourished from the 1870s through 1900.

South Carolina Federal Feminist Credit Union Records - Accession 106 - M45 (60)

The South Carolina Federal Feminist Credit Union Records consists of a charter, newspaper clippings, photographs, statements, minutes, correspondence, memoranda and brochures relating to the creation and early history of the Credit Union, the first of its kind in the Southeast and the tenth one established in the nation. The Credit Union dissolved on September 1, 1977.

Pilot Club International South Carolina District Records - Accession 205

The Pilot Club International was a service oriented club for women, however men are now allowed to join. The South Carolina District was founded in the 1930s for “the promotion of social welfare through the performance of civil and beneficial service of the character generally accomplished by civic organizations, rendering aid and assistance to local Pilot Clubs and implementing at the district level the programs and policies of Pilot Club International.” The Pilot Club International South Carolina District Records consist of a certificate of incorporation, minutes, annual reports, correspondence, resolutions and lists of standing rules.

South Carolina International Women's Year Conference Records - Accession 226

The South Carolina International Women's Year Conference Records focuses on the workings of the various committees which organized the (SCIWY) Conference and provided essential information on the planning and execution of the state meeting. The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, minutes, agenda notes, reports, speeches, financial records, newspaper clippings, press releases, election tally sheets, delegate applications, questionnaires, brochures, photographs, cassette tape recordings and publications pertaining mainly to the (SCIWY) Conference but also to the National Conference.

South Carolina Council on Family Relations Records - Accession 199

The South Carolina Council on Family Relations was organized in 1956 to promote communication among representatives of participating organizations and citizens in order to further their common objective of strengthening family life in South Carolina. The South Carolina Council on Family Relations Records consist of constitutions, brochures, pamphlets, minutes, correspondence, membership lists, and annual reports, documenting the council’s growth, development, and functions.

Molecular phylogeography of the Woodland Ringlet (Erebia medusa [Denis and Schiffermüller] 1775) in Europe

Phylogeography is a recent field of biological research that links phylogenetics to biogeography through deciphering the imprint that evolutionary history has left on the genetic structure of extant populations. During the cold phases of the successive ice ages, which drastically shaped species’ distributions since the Pliocene, populations of numerous species were isolated in refugia where many of them evolved into different genetic lineages. My dissertation deals with the phylogeography of the Woodland Ringlet (Erebia medusa [Denis and Schiffermüller] 1775) in Central and Eastern Europe. This Palaearctic butterfly species is currently distributed from central France and south eastern Belgium over large parts of Central Europe and southern Siberia to the Pacific. It is absent from those parts of Europe with mediterranean, oceanic and boreal climates. It was supposed to be a Siberian faunal element with a rather homogeneous population structure in Central Europe due to its postglacial expansion out of a single eastern refugium. An already existing evolutionary scenario for the Woodland Ringlet in Central and Eastern Europe is based on nuclear data (allozymes). To know if this is corroborated by organelle evolutionary history, I sequenced two mitochondrial markers (part of the cytochrome oxydase subunit one and the control region) for populations sampled over the same area. Phylogeography largely relies on the construction of networks of uniparentally inherited haplotypes that are compared to geographic haplotype distribution thanks to recent developed methods such as nested clade phylogeographic analysis (NCPA). Several ring-shaped ambiguities (loops) emerged from both haplotype networks in E. medusa. They can be attributed to recombination and homoplasy. Such loops usually avert the straightforward extraction of the phylogeographic signal contained in a gene tree. I developed several new approaches to extract phylogeographic information in the presence of loops, considering either homoplasy or recombination. This allowed me to deduce a consistent evolutionary history for the species from the mitochondrial data and also adds plausibility for the occurrence of recombination in E. medusa mitochondria. Despite the fact that the control region is assumed to have a lack of resolving power in other species, I found a considerable genetic variation of this marker in E. medusa which makes it a useful tool for phylogeographic studies. In combination with the allozyme data, the mitochondrial genome supports the following phylogeographic scenario for E. medusa in Europe: (i) a first vicariance, due to the onset of the Würm glaciation, led to the formation of several major lineages, and is mirrored in the NCPA by restricted gene flow, (ii) later on further vicariances led to the formation of two sub-lineages in the Western lineage and two sub-lineages in the Eastern lineage during the Last Glacial Maximum or Older Dryas; additionally the NCPA supports a restriction of gene flow with isolation by distance, (iii) finally, vicariance resulted in two secondary sub-lineages in the area of Germany and, maybe, to two other secondary sub-lineages in the Czech Republic. The last postglacial warming was accompanied by strong range expansions in most of the genetic lineages. The scenario expected for a presumably Siberian faunal element such as E. medusa is a continuous loss of genetic diversity during postglacial westward expansion. Hence, the pattern found in this thesis contradicts a typical Siberian origin of E. medusa. In contrast, it corroboratess the importance of multiple extra-Mediterranean refugia for European fauna as it was recently assumed for other continental species.

A Watershed Approach to Managing the Natural Resources in South Carolina

Environmental degradation from point and non-point source pollution in the past ten years has made it increasingly clear that threats to aquatic resources cannot adequately be addressed without a more integrated watershed approach to the management. Through comprehensive, qualitative interviews of experts in the watershed approach in South Carolina, recommendations will be made to improve this holistic process. Conducting interviews to compile institutional knowledge on the incentives and barriers from professionals working within the watershed approach will show how managing the natural resources in South Carolina could be more effective and efficient. By gathering experiences of lessons learned, best approach techniques, and suggestions for future watershed planning, several recommendations were made to further the use of the watershed approach in South Carolina.