The Colombian government introduced a capacity market to promote the diversification in the energy matrix, and protect users from high prices derived from dry seasonal events. Unfortunately, the flaws in the scarcity price definition- a mechanism that activates the capacity market obligation and sets a cap price for the spot market- have resulted in a market failure. Specifically, some generation plants have been forced to be unavailable because their variable costs are significantly higher than the scarcity price. This research presents an analysis and some possible alternatives fo the definition of the scarcity price in the Colombian Electricity market. An excel-based model was developed in order to analyse and compare different scarcity price definitions under three dimensions: i) Water management resources. ii) Penalty exposure of agents. iii) Change in prices for final demand. Results suggest that the proposed change in the scarcity price definition would induce to more efficient water management resources, and a reduction in the penalty exposure of agents. Complementary actions are recommended for policy makers in order to avoid some possible side effects of the implementation of a new scarcity price definition.

This thesis introduces a financial simulation model covering two related financial domains: Mobile Payments and Retail Stores systems. The problem we address in these domains is different types of fraud. We limit ourselves to isolated cases of relatively straightforward fraud. However, in this thesis the ultimate aim is to introduce our approach towards the use of computer simulation for fraud detection and its applications in financial domains. Fraud is an important problem that impact the whole economy. Currently, there is a lack of public research into the detection of fraud. One important reason is the lack of transaction data which is often sensitive. To address this problem we present a mobile money Payment Simulator (PaySim) and Retail Store Simulator (RetSim), which allow us to generate synthetic transactional data that contains both: normal customer behaviour and fraudulent behaviour. These simulations are Multi Agent-Based Simulations (MABS) and were calibrated using real data from financial transactions. We developed agents that represent the clients and merchants in PaySim and customers and salesmen in RetSim. The normal behaviour was based on behaviour observed in data from the field, and is codified in the agents as rules of transactions and interaction between clients and merchants, or customers and salesmen. Some of these agents were intentionally designed to act fraudulently, based on observed patterns of real fraud. We introduced known signatures of fraud in our model and simulations to test and evaluate our fraud detection methods. The resulting behaviour of the agents generate a synthetic log of all transactions as a result of the simulation. This synthetic data can be used to further advance fraud detection research, without leaking sensitive information about the underlying data or breaking any non-disclose agreements. Using statistics and social network analysis (SNA) on real data we calibrated the relations between our agents and generate realistic synthetic data sets that were verified against the domain and validated statistically against the original source. We then used the simulation tools to model common fraud scenarios to ascertain exactly how effective are fraud techniques such as the simplest form of statistical threshold detection, which is perhaps the most common in use. The preliminary results show that threshold detection is effective enough at keeping fraud losses at a set level. This means that there seems to be little economic room for improved fraud detection techniques. We also implemented other applications for the simulator tools such as the set up of a triage model and the measure of cost of fraud. This showed to be an important help for managers that aim to prioritise the fraud detection and want to know how much they should invest in fraud to keep the loses below a desired limit according to different experimented and expected scenarios of fraud.

Abstract: This contribution provides for a main comparison between the new Article X proposed by the OECD under Action 6 Final Draft and the new Article 22 of the 2016 US Model Income Tax Convention. For purposes of the above, this contribution is divided in two main parts. The first part contains a comparative analysis of the main differences resulting from a tax treaty policy perspective. The second part compares both proposals under an itemized approach. This second part addresses the specific wording differences between new Article X proposed by the OECD under Action 6 Final Draft and the new Article 22 of the US Model Income Tax Convention. At the time of drafting, some additional changes to the final version of the Article X proposed by the OECD under Action 6 could be made as consequence of the disclosure of the latest version of the US LOB on 17 February 2016. Resumen: Este artículo hace una comparaciòn entre el artìculo X propuesto por la OCDE bajo la acción 6 del reporte final contra la erosión de la base gravable y la transferencia de utilidades, y el nuevo artículo 22 del Modelo de Convenio del Impuesto sobre la Renta de los estados Unidos (modelo 2016). Para efectos delo anterior, el artículo está dividido en dos partes principales. La primera parte establece un análisis de las principales diferencias en materia de política tributaria en relación con la suscripción de tratados. La segunda parte analiza las diferencias específicas en la redacción de ambos artículos.

The Legal Transplant Theory proposed by A. Watson, K. Pistor and D. Berkowitz is defined as movement of a rule or a system of law from one country to another. Under this theory, the mentioned authors conclude that a legal change does not perform in an equal manner in the transplanting country as in the origin country. They argue that the adoption of it in the latter is the result of a comprehensive study of the socio-economic circumstances of the nation, while transplanting countries import the legal entity without having similar circumstances. Furthermore, under this theory, the successfulness of a legal transplant is determined by an adaptation process that the legislator, the governmental institutions and the society of the transplanting country shall undertake to prepare the scenario for the introduction. In consequence, transplanted legal changes are called to fail due to uninformed or erroneous decision made by the law-makers. Pistor and Berkowitz analyzed company regulation in various countries, among them Colombia, to support their theories. Regarding the Colombian case, they referred to the Codes of Commerce of 1853 and 1887, concluding that they were unsuccessful legal transplants from Spain and Chile, respectively.  This paper analyzes the abovementioned theory pretending to determine if the legal transplant theory was correctly applied to the Colombian case. Particular attention deserves the Sociedad por Acciones Simplificadas (S.A.S), which is a new hybrid business form adopted in Colombia as a transplant from the United States’ Limited Liability Company. In the light of this case, the document will determine whether this is called to be an unsuccessful legal transplant (as predicted by the Legal Transplant Theory). If the answer is negative, the document will determine if the S.A.S. is merely an exception of the theory or if it demonstrates the failure of such assumption.

In this paper the subject of documentary in digital times is studied in three chapters that aim to explore these main different angles: 1. The angle of documentary production, with the revision of some study cases; 2. The angle of the main supporting and funding agencies – European centred- that allow creators to fund their projects and; 3. The angle of the exhibition and distribution system, that´s been transformed today by the multiple online distribution platforms. The first chapter develops an overview of the film industry and the documentary box office in the UK and then takes a look on the access to audio-visual technology and the way this influences professional creators and amateurs today. The attempt is to link the ease of use of technology with contents that make the documentaries meaningful in current times, by using some examples that relate documentary to activism, art, politics and education. The second chapter focuses on the revision of three main funding sources –MEDIA at the European level and the British Film Institute and BRITDOC at the British level- which influence the dynamics of documentary filmmaking today enabling resources to be delivered under specific frameworks and supporting the development of connections with stakeholders that become partners and allies of the documentaries with common grounds of work, particular contexts and themes. The third chapter takes a closer look on the exhibition and distribution business structure and platforms to find a universe of possibilities where the future of audio-visual narratives still to be defined, but where certainly documentary has found a way to reach audiences and stand as a powerful medium of transformation.

Customer life time value (CLV) and delinquency behavior are two of the most important firm key performance indicators at the banking industry, and at any other business scenario in which customers are granted credits or loans. Coordination in decisions regarding these two important variables is essential to achieve overall firm performance. We develop a dynamic method that allows simultaneous coordination between CLV and credit risk management decisions while taking into account their time varying behavior, the observed and unobserved customer heterogeneity, and the panel data structure inherent to the CLV-credit risk context. The method, which is a combination of the extended Kalman filter for exponential family of distributions and a fixed effects model has not been illustrated and/or implemented before. Therefore, we show its validity form a theoretical and computational point of view, and how its results can be interpreted to make the desired decision coordination task using synthetic data.

This dissertation explores the analytical status of “hybrid” material transformations that flourish in the indigenous communities of Vichada, Colombia, in relation to the concept of culture. It suggests that these indigenous people live in a culturally intermittent reality as a result of the appropriation of the concept of cultura imposed from the outside world. However, their approach to materiality as becoming rather than being reveals a strategy of creation and recreation of value and identity through the production of meaningful connections in a changing environment, achieved through action, and more specifically by means of the act of making.

This dissertation aims to make an evaluation of the relationship between development and climate change mitigation policies within developmental states, specifically a comparison between China and Brazil. Developmental states are those countries focused on obtaining economic growth through developmentally driven policies. Traditionally, climate change mitigation and environmental protection have been seen as obstacles to development. However, as climate change is a global issue which requires domestic response, countries are required to act locally in order to mitigate carbon emissions into the atmosphere and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. Developing countries, such as China and Brazil, are heavily dependent on carbon consumption to promote development and economic growth. For this reason, international pressure has been focused on these countries to reduce CO2 emissions, threatening their future development. Furthermore, it examines Brazil and China’s climate policies in light of developmental state guidance. So far what has been found is that climate policies have been relevant to the same extent as they contribute to economic growth and social development. China has envisioned the clean energy industry as a business opportunity capable of generating new jobs and exporting technology. Interests mainly focused on other issues independent to those of climate variability mitigation. Brazil, on the other hand, has relied on the promotion of biofuels as an alternative industry to the use of oil. By adopting ethanol and biodiesel as substitutes for fossil fuels, the government has been able to promote the country’s economic development and position itself as the world’s main producer. Similar to China, mitigation actions are generally implemented as long as there are other interests involved. Furthermore, when there is conflict of interests with environmental policies in both countries, they have acted as developmental states, prioritising development over policies of climate mitigation.Adrian Leftwich’s developmental state model was published in the early 1990s, to further address Chalmers Johnson’s interpretation of the Japanese economic miracle. Nonetheless, Leftwich’s characterisation of developmental states was thought to define a model exclusive to the Asia-Pacific region. This dissertation will apply Leftwich’s model, by adapting it to contemporary China and Brazil, two countries deliberately excluded from the developmental state model, but who now days represent the political context that Leftwich had in mind. In addition, the developmental state model allows a broader interpretation to the current policies implemented by the above mentioned countries, specifically on climate change related issues.

Resumo: Neste estudo analisam-se o câncer de colo uterino como problema social e as contribuições da enfermagem na realização de testes para detectá-lo precocemente. Metodologicamente se fundamenta na epidemiologia descritiva e na revisão sistemática. Os resultados são apresentados na forma de artigos. No primeiro, Câncer de colo do útero: um problema social mundial, é analisado o câncer de colo de útero como problema social. Estudo transversal, com dados populacionais coletados na base de dados Globocan-2008. Foram utilizados dados das Taxas de Incidência e das Taxas de Mortalidade por 100.000 mulheres e percentuais de risco acumulado de incidência e mortalidade antes dos 75 anos pela doença nas regiões desenvolvidas e em desenvolvimento do mundo. Na análise são aplicadas as classificações da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) de desenvolvimento dos países ou regiões com base em projeções sociais e demográficas e os níveis de classificação das Taxas de Incidência e de Mortalidade do International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). O segundo artigo, Câncer de colo do útero: mortalidade em Santa Catarina – Brasil, 2000 a 2009, foi desenvolvido com base nos dados dos óbitos de mulheres por câncer de colo do útero, inclusive os de porção não especificada, ocorridos em Santa Catarina no período de 2000 a 2009, obtidos no Sistema de Informação de Mortalidade (SIM) do Ministério da Saúde e do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Observou-se que as taxas de mortalidade mais elevadas incidiram em mulheres a partir dos trinta anos e que o câncer de colo uterino ainda não foi controlado. No terceiro artigo, A enfermagem na detecção precoce do câncer de colo uterino: revisão sistemática, são analisadas as contribuições da Enfermagem para a título e resumo foram pré-selecionados 174, os quais foram lidos integralmente, resultando na seleção de 10 artigos. O pessoal de enfermagem atuou como participante em nove pesquisas e como pesquisador em três pesquisas. A maioria dos artigos foi classificada com o nível de evidência 3B segundo a classificação Oxford; somente um obteve nível 4. Há contribuição de Enfermagem na realização de exames para detecção precoce do câncer de colo uterino, apesar do nível de evidência com que foram classificados os artigos. Conclui-se que o impacto da doença nas mulheres, nas suas famílias e nas sociedades demanda modificações no quadro das iniquidades sociais com adoção de estratégias intersetoriais que também facilitem o acesso aos serviços de saúde. O cuidado de enfermagem é uma estratégia para atender a responsabilidade social com as mulheres, as famílias e as sociedades e contribuir na detecção precoce da doença, favorecendo a qualidade de vida de milhares de mulheres. Resumen: En este estudio se analizan el cáncer de cuello uterino como problema social y las contribuciones de la enfermería en la realización de pruebas para detectarlo precozmente. Metodológicamente se fundamenta en la epidemiologia descriptiva y en la revisión sistemática. Los resultados son presentados en la forma de artículos. En el primer, El cáncer de cuello de útero: un problema social mundial, es analizado el cáncer de cuello de útero como problema social. Estudio transversal, con datos poblacionales recolectados en la base de datos Globocan-2008. Fueron utilizados datos de las Tasas de Incidencia y de las Tasas de Mortalidad por 100.000 mujeres y porcentajes de riesgo acumulado de incidencia y mortalidad antes de los 75 años por cáncer de cuello uterino en las regiones desarrolladas y en desarrollo. En el análisis son aplicadas las clasificaciones de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) de desarrollo de los países o regiones con base en proyecciones sociales y demográficas y los niveles de clasificación de las Tasas de Incidencia y de Mortalidad de la International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). El segundo artículo, Cáncer de cuello de útero: mortalidad en Santa Catarina – Brasil, 2000 a 2009, fue desarrollado con base en los datos de las muertes de mujeres por cáncer de cuello de útero, inclusive los de porción no específica, ocurridos en Santa Catarina en el período de 2000 a 2009, obtenidos en el Sistema de Información de Mortalidad (SIM) del Ministerio de Salud y del Instituto Brasileiro de Geografía y Estadística (IBGE). Se observó que las tasas de mortalidad elevadas incidieron en mujeres a partir de los treinta años y que el cáncer de cuello uterino todavía no fue controlado. En el tercer artículo, Contribuciones de la enfermería en la detección precoz del cáncer de cuello de útero: revisión sistemática, son analizadas las contribuciones de la enfermería para la detección precoz de esa neoplasia. Revisión sistemática con artículos recuperados en el año de 2010 en las bases de datos MEDLINE, Cochrane, CINHAHL y LILACS. De los 3091 artículos identificados, después de la lectura del título y resumen fueron preseleccionados 174, los cuales fueron leídos integralmente, resultando en la selección de 10 artículos. El personal de enfermería actuó como participante en nueve investigaciones y como investigador en tres investigaciones. El nivel de evidencia 3B, en la clasificación Oxford, ocurrió en la mayoría de los artículos; solamente uno obtuvo nivel 4. Hay contribuciones de enfermería en la realización de exámenes para detección precoz del cáncer de cuello uterino, a pesar del nivel de evidencia en el que fueron clasificados los artículos. Se concluye que el impacto de la enfermedad en las mujeres, en las familias y en las sociedades demanda modificaciones en el cuadro de las inequidades sociales con adopción de estrategias intersectoriales que también faciliten el acceso a los servicios de salud. El cuidado de enfermería es una estrategia para atender la responsabilidad social con las mujeres, las familias y las sociedades y contribuir en la detección precoz de la enfermad, favoreciendo la calidad de vida de millares de mujeres. Abstract: In this study cervix cancer is analyzed as a social problem and the contribution of nursing in applying screening tests for the early detection of cervical cancer. Methodology is based on descriptive epidemiology and a systematic review. The results were presented like articles. In the first article, Cervical cancer: a social problem, and analyzing cervical cancer as a social problem. Cross sectional Study, with population data collected using the Globocan-2008 databases. Data from incidence and mortality rates per 100.000 women, and accumulated risk rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality before the age of 75 in developed and developing regions of the world were used. In the analysis, the United Nations Organization classifications of countries or regions development based on social and demographic projections and the levels of classification of the incidence and mortality rates of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) are applied. The second article, Cervical Cancer: Mortality in Santa Catarina – Brazil, 2000 to 2009, obtained from the Information Mortality System (SIM) of the Ministry of Health and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). It was observed that the Mortality rate was higher in women in their early thirties and in whom the cervical cancer was not yet controlled. In the third article, Contributions of Nursing in the early detection of cervical cancer: systematic review. The contributions of nursing for the early detection of the disease were analyzed. Systematic review with articles recovered in the year of 2010 from MEDLINE, Cochrane, CINAHL and LILACS databases. After reading the titles and abstracts of the articles, from 3091 identified, 174 were pre-selected and read exhaustively resulting in the selection of 10 articles. The nursing staff participated in nine of the researches and in three of them they participated as researchers. Most of the articles had a level of evidence 3B, in the Oxford classification; only one of them had a level 4. There are also nursing contributions in the application of tests for the early detection of cervical cancer despite the level of evidence in which the articles were classified. It is concluded that the impact of the disease in women, their families and the society demand modifications in the role of social inequities with the adoption of inter-sector strategies that also facilitate the access to health services. Nursing care is a strategy to attend the social responsibility with women, their families and the society and contribute in the early detection of diseases, favoring the quality of life of millions of women.

The Latin American population in Sweden has been increasing, and Colombians accounted for 17-24 % of the total migrant population in the last 5 years. In migration, acculturation is a process where individual changes take place as a result of contact with other culturally dissimilar people, which is known by influencing positively or negatively the health status of immigrants. Different studies have examined migration and health status, health access and barriers of consultation. However, there is a lack of information regarding immigrants’ attitudes towards health services and the influence on health-seeking behaviors. The aim was to explore the attitudes and experiences that Colombian immigrants had in their first interaction with the primary healthcare center (Vårdcentral). More specifically, it sought to explore differences or similarities in the attitudes and experiences of the Swedish healthcare system compared those from Colombia. Consequently, eight semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with Colombian immigrants living in the south of Sweden using a snowball-sampling technique. A qualitative manifest and a latent content analysis were used for the analysis and interpretation of results. Three themes emerged from the analysis: ‘The language: playing the same game’, referred to the relevance of language providing autonomy and connecting with the new context. ‘The Swedish healthcare system: The disillusion when starting over’, referred to the contrasting perceptions of immigrants in their first interaction with the Vårdcentral, indicating a shock that made them change their health-seeking behaviors. ‘Acculturation is like going on a long pathway’: described the transition of personal thoughts and actions with the healthcare system, which constituted steps in the process of adapting to the Swedish Culture. Acculturation is a complex process that includes encounters with the healthcare system. Interventions, in healthcare, that facilitate immigrants to better adjust to a new society are required in order to ensure the acceptation of attitudes and practices leading to gains in health and well-being.