Communications Infrastructures of Peru and Micronesia

An Annotated Bibliography compiled by Fiona Hughes

Sources Concerning Peru

• de Diaz-Limaco, J.H. (1998). Peru: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture. New York: Interlink Books.
  
  This is basically a guide book to the country of Peru. But, it contains more than the usual information for tourists, including both Peru's colonial and recent history along with sections on Peru's economy.
  
  
• Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. (1993). Peru: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress.
  
  This book includes information about nearly every facet of the country of Peru. Particularly of interest are the chapters on Peru's government, economy, and national security/armed services.
  
  
• International Tsunami Information Center (2000). Tsunami Newsletter 1998-1999. Honolulu: ITIC.
  
  The Tsunami Newsletter is published every two years and includes reports on tsunami disasters and warning systems from all countries connected to the International Tsunami Information Center. This particular newsletter includes a report from Peru outlining improvements in its tsunami preparedness.
  
  
• Martinez, A., Villarroel, V., Seoane, J., del Pozo, F. (2005). Analysis of Information and Communication Needs in Rural Primary Health Care in Developing Countries. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 9(1), 66-73.
  
  This article summarizes several studies involving the communication needs of rural health care facilities in Peru and Nicaragua. Overall, the authors found that the available communications infrastructure is neither adequate nor efficient, and present several recommendations for alternative communcation technology for developing countries.
  
  
• Orlove, B.S. (1977). Alpacas, Sheep, and Men: The Wool Export Economy and Regional Society in Southern Peru. New York: Academic Press, Inc.
  
  Alpacas, Sheep and Men is an in depth, anthropological analysis of the indigenous Peruvian economy and society. It provides a very clear picture of what technologies and customs are present in rural areas of Peru.
  
  
• Ortega, C. & Romero, C. (1977). Communication Policies in Peru: A Study. Paris: Unesco.
  
  This is a scientific study on the Peruvian communications infrastructure. It includes information on mass communication, the reliability/durability of the systems in place at the time (1977), the quality of the broadcast services available and recommendations for improvements to the infrastructure.
  
  
• Peru: A Telecoms Market Access Study (2002). A profile of the Peruvian telecom market. Retrieved Sept. 23 from World Wide Web: http://mkaccdb.eu.int/study/studies/26.doc.
  
  This report was financed by the European Commission and explains every side of the telecommunication market in Peru, including phone service, radio, broadcasting, and internet service. The availability, price and quality of these services is rated and compared.
  
  
• Starn, O., Degregori, C.I., & Kirk, R. (Eds). (1995). The Peru Reader.Durham: Duke University Press.
  
  The Peru Reader is a series of short stories and first-person accounts of life in Peru. Although much of the book deals with colonial Peru, there are a number of pieces concerning modern Peruvian life.
  
  
• Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering, American Society of Engineers. (2002). Atico, Peru M_W 8.4 Earthquake of June 23, 2001. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress.
  
  This is a report detailing the damage caused by the earthquake mentioned in the title. It covers many aspects of the Peruvian infrastructure, including communications systems. The Technical Council also included their recommendations for improvements to these systems to prevent damage in another such disaster.
  
  

Sources Concerning Micronesia

• FSM Telecommunications Corporation (2005). The homepage of Micronesia's cell phone service provider. Retrieved Sept. 21, 2005 from World Wide Web: http://www.telecom.fm/index.htm.
  
  This site contains information about the prevalence and cost of cellular phones, cable television and internet access in Micronesia and the areas where these services are available. More information can probably be gathered by contacting the company.
  
  
• Government of the Federated States of Micronesia. (2005, Sept. 16). Information about the government and current events of Micronesia. Retrieved Sept. 21, 2005 from World Wide Web: http://www.fsmgov.org/index.html.
  
  This website is maintained by the government of Micronesia for the benefit of its citizens (especially citizens living in the U.S.). It provides information about the size and organization of the Micronesian government and insight into what quantity of resources Micronesia has at its disposal (not very much).
  
  
• Hughes, D.T. & Lingenfelter, S.G. (Eds.). (1974) Political Development in Micronesia. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
  
  This book discusses the political structure and climate of Micronesia. Specifically, large sections are dedicated to the regional and local governments on Micronesia's four main islands and the mixing of traditional government structures and modern, western government structures.
  
  
• Nufer, H.F. (1978). Micronesia under American Rule: an evaluation of the strategic trusteeship (1947-77). Hicksville, NY: Exposition Press.
  
  From 1947 to 1986, Micronesia was controlled by the U.S. under a so-called Strategic Trusteeship. Nufer examines the effectiveness of this relationship in promoting the economy, welfare, political development and modernization of Micronesia. The Strategic Trusteeship was ended in 1986 in favor of a Compact of Free Association, under which the U.S. still provides defence and economic assistance.
  
  
• Oliver, D.O. (1971). Planning Micronesia's Future. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
  
  This is a summary of an economic report on Micronesia prepared by the U.S. Commercial Company. It describes in great detail the workings of the Micronesian economy and makes recommendations for its improvement. Included with the recommendations are discussions of the difficulties involved in meeting those goals and what attempts have been made in the past.
  
  
• Pacific Islands Trading and Investment Commission. (2002).Information for companies interested in doing business in/with Pacific Islands. Retrieved Sept. 22, 2005 from World Wide Web: http://www.sptc.gov.au/home.htm
  
  This website contains geographic information as well as a look into the business environment of Micronesia.
  
  

Sources Concerning Communications

• Johnston, D., Paton, D., Crawford, G.L., Ronan, K., Houghton, B., & Burgelt, P. (2005). Measuring Tsunami Preparedness in Coastal Washington, U.S. Natural Hazards 35(1) , 173-184.
  
  The authors surveyed the residents of coastal Washington and found that the respondents were highly unprepared for a tsunami disaster although information on tsunami preparedness had been disseminated. The authors include recommendations to increase the preparedness of the population.
  
  
• Darienzo, M., Aya, A., Crawford, G.L., Gibbs, D., Whitmore, P.M., Wilde, T. & Yanagi, B.S. (2005) Local Tsunami Warning in the Pacific Coastal U.S. Natural Hazards 35(1) , 111-119.
  
  This article provides details of structure of the tsunami alert system in Washington state and its effectiveness. The man-made structure was designed to alert people to tsunamis caused by distant earthquakes, but relies on the populace to notice symptoms of a local tsunami such as earthquake shaking or unusual ocean behavior.
  
  
• Lemon, D.M. (2004). A Methodology for the Identification of Critical Locations in Infrastructures. Cambridge: DSpace at MIT.
  
  This is a Master's thesis outlining how critical and/or weak points in any infrastructure can be identified and protected in case of an emergency.
  
  
• Neto, I. (2004). Wireless Networks for the Developing World: The Regulation and Use of License-Exempt Radio Bands in Africa. Cambridge: DSpace at MIT.
  
  This thesis discusses the concept of license-exempt radio bands (ie frequencies reserved for low-cost telecommunications and not sold to broadcasting companies). Although it focuses on Africa, the idea could easily be transferred to Peru or Micronesia where the license-exempt radio band might be reserved for emergency communications.
  
  
• Wu, Y. & Kanamori, H. (2005). Experiment on an Onsite Early Warning Method for the Taiwan Early Warning System. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 95(1) , 347-353.
  
  This article details a new warning system in place in Taiwan that not only alerts the populace in case of a tsunami, but also analyses detected earthquakes to determine if they will produce tsunamis.