Resumen: Esta tesis consta de dos capítulos. El primero es una reflexión teórica sobre la relación entre los estudios feministas y el campo de la investigación en salud mental de los refugiados. En él, sostengo que los enfoques feministas pueden contribuir a la investigación sobre la salud mental de los refugiados cuestionando algunos de sus límites y supuestos epistemológicos, haciendo visibles a las comunidades marginadas y amplificando sus voces, y reconociendo las implicaciones sociales y políticas de este tipo de investigación. Este esfuerzo pretende alinear las perspectivas de la academia y el activismo de una manera que resulte relevante para los sujetos implicados. El segundo artículo es un trabajo de investigación empírica que se basa en un estudio cualitativo realizado con nueve mujeres solicitantes de asilo de América Latina en el que se adoptó un enfoque feminista. Contribuye a la investigación actual sobre las mujeres refugiadas al ocuparse de la narración de la experiencia vivida por las mujeres colombianas y venezolanas llegadas a Quebec como de asilo en términos de su corporeidad. A partir de entrevistas en profundidad con estas mujeres, sostengo que la salud mental y el bienestar no son incorpóreos, sino que están anclados en roles de género, prácticas, rituales y normas sociales que tienen una dimensión corporal y son culturalmente específicos. Considerar el lugar del cuerpo en la experiencia de la migración implica examinar sus dimensiones sensoriales, táctiles, somáticas y quinestésicas. De esta manera, esta investigación ofrece nuevas posibilidades para un análisis crítico de las intersecciones entre género, bienestar emocional y asilo. Abstract: This thesis consists of two chapters. The first paper is a theoretical reflection about the relationship between feminist scholarship and the field of refugee mental health research. Here, I argue that feminist approaches can contribute to refugee mental health research by questioning some of its epistemological boundaries and assumptions, by rendering marginalized communities visible and amplifying their voices, and by recognizing the social and political implications of this type of research, in an attempt to align academia and activism in ways that are relevant for the implicated subjects. The second paper is an empirical research paper drawing from a qualitative study conducted with nine women asylum seekers from Latin America in which a feminist approach undertaken. It contributes to the current research on refugee women by examining the narration of the lived experience of Colombian and Venezuelan women arrived in Quebec as asylum claimants in terms of their corporeality. Drawing from indepth interviews with these women, I argue that mental health and wellbeing are not disembodied, but rather anchored in gender roles, practices, rituals, and norms that have a corporeal dimension and are culturally specific. Considering the place of the body in the experience of migration implies examining its sensorial, tactile, somatic and kinesthetic dimensions. This brings about new possibilities for a critical analysis of the intersections between gender, wellbeing and asylum.

Abstract: Because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds.” All wars are atrocious, and the task of incorporating such inglorious events into a nation’s collective identity becomes understandably hard. But it needs to be done, otherwise, the memory of the war might be trivialized and forgotten and, hence, are more prone to be repeated. War is bound to replicate itself without confrontation and awareness. Mosul city was established on the western bank of the Tigris River in the 6th Century, just across the water from the ruins of the Assyrian city of Nineveh. The city flourished during the ancient era establishing itself as an epicentre of the Islamic world, therefore it is rich with ancient ruins and cultural heritage. The war which erupted in Iraq didn’t aim to destroy only its defence, but also its identity. Entire urban blocks of Mosul’s city were damaged so severely, that when it comes to reconstruction it cannot simply restore the former fabrics, either of space or architecture. The war has changed everything, and most critically the structure of society itself. The spatial reconstruction will mostly require more than just physical rehabilitation and restoration of the cities devastated infrastructure and housing. In order to provide sensations for the need of diversity and unity, more urgent concern should be given to restoring public facilities and daily utilities. Architectural and landscape design can be judiciously used in healing the social structure. How can common spaces be rearranged to create conditions for a peaceful and creative coexistence among citizens which survived such horrors? How can the location and the design of such utilities be done in a way as to meet the needs for intimacy and peace? This thesis study intends to recommend an urban and architectural regeneration project, to be taken upon during the redevelopment of the old city of Mosul. Furthermore, a set of strategies that may ensure the preservation of the urban identity of the area, while redeveloping and coping with the environmental, socioeconomic and political changes have been identified for reclaiming the urban identity and promoting the sense of belonging.

Abstract: Thanks to its durable, reliable, versatile, ductile and recyclable characteristics, copper is an essential metal for several industries, being the preferred electrical and thermal conductor. While it is naturally exposed to industrial cycles, from a long-term standpoint, copper demand has seen consistent growth, associated to the annuity of global population growth, which has allowed a constant need for copper-containing consumer products. More recently, copper has become a strategic metal for the future of clean technology, as the continuous global warming concerns due to greenhouse gasses emissions have forced governments and companies to combat climate change and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. As such, the adoption of renewable sources of energy and electric vehicles have seen significant global penetration in recent years, and it is expected to increase at a higher rate, raising concerns on the ability of current and future producers to supply the inevitable growing demand in the near future. The purpose of this study is to evaluate three copper focused mining companies, two operators and one developer, aiming to identify the stock that represents the most attractive opportunity for long-term focused investors with exposure to the copper sector. For this purpose, the author uses the last ten years of financial data from the companies (when available) to evaluate their financial performance and current financial health, as well as the management and operational information to analyse the companies’ portfolio of mines and projects.

Abstract: At the beginning of the 20th Century, during the boom of sugar production in Latin America, the Dominican Republic built the “bateyes”, small towns with some coarse barracks used for the temporary housing of foreign workforce, coming mainly from Haiti. These settings gradually became permanent dwelling places, and nowadays are found across the Dominican Republic. However, in spite of their complex history and contemporary particularities, mainly related with the transnational dynamics the population maintains with Haiti, the bateyes have been relatively little studied and remain underrepresented in academic research. This study seeks to contribute to fill the abovementioned void, focusing on the context of formal education. The goal of this study is analyzing the representations of Haiti and Haitians that circulate in some schools of the “bateyes”, with data gathered in public educational institutions that are mainly attended by students of Haitian origin. The focus of the study is particularly relevant since formal schooling is usually a tool of the State and its institutions to reproduce dominant and hegemonic ideologies (Gramsci, 1967; Gramsci, 1971), and such ideologies in the Dominican Republic are strongly based on anti-Haitians sentiments and a mainstream rejection of blackness (Eller, 2016; Gavigan, 1995; Hintzen, 2014; Simmons, 2010; Valdéz, 2015). The thesis presents a critical analysis of the standards and textbooks used in the Social Studies program, focusing on how topics related to Haiti are approached, and which representations and values they embrace. Then, based on ethnographical data, it examines the discourses of ten teachers regarding Haiti and their own students of Haitian descent. With the intention of presenting a general panorama at the representations of Haiti circulating in the school setting of the bateyes, this work first describes how the standards and textbooks of Social Studies largely cast Haiti as a historic enemy and as a burden to the Dominican Republic. Then, the second section explains how the teachers reproduce the dominant ideology of national identity of the Dominican Republic in their schooling practices, and how they express racist and anti-Haitian discourses, with active statements as well as with several silences and omissions in their discursive practices. The tensions, ruptures and incongruences of the teachers are central in this analysis, since according to them the students of Haitian origin do not conform categorically to the mainstream representations of Haitian identity. All the reflections are drawn from a multidisciplinary six-week fieldwork season conducted in 2017 in the municipality of Consuelo, in southern Dominican Republic, (1) to gather the educational standards and textbooks used in Social Studies in the schools, and (2) to conduct interviews with teachers of some educational institutions that have a high attendance of children of Haitian descent. The interviews initially inquired about the teachers’ handling of the schooling materials; their gendered notions on the immigration of people of Haitian origin in the country; and finally, about their views on their own students of Haitian descent. The data was analyzed having as theoretical and methodological framework the premises of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) that aims to bring together elements of discourse analysis and social theory to understand, uncover and ultimately transform situations of social injustice (c.f. Van Dijk, 1993).

Resumen: El presente trabajo valora que la vida humana que se prolonga en la calle bogotana produce lógicas socioespaciales relacionadas al hábitat y al habitar. Lógicas que se traducen en formas de uso, ocupación, organización, y percepción de los entornos espaciales en los que nos desarrollamos en nuestro diario vivir. En este sentido, la investigación demuestra que estas lógicas componen una racionalidad y organización específicas del suelo urbano de la ciudad y de sus habitantes. Para identificar las lógicas socioespaciales detrás del hábitat callejero conduje un estudio de caso de la práctica entre algunos barrios de la localidad Santa Fe, en los cuales, desarrollé una observación participante durante 3 años, recopilé 3 historias de vida de callejeros y apliqué entrevistas semiestructuradas en 13 fechas. La articulación de estos datos cualitativos con un análisis de fuentes sobre la estructura habitacional de Bogotá y sobre la atención a los habitantes de calle, me permitió argumentar que existen dos visiones del hábitat en el espacio bogotano que se encuentran enfrentadas. El documento evidencia tal confrontación, la hace explícita para problematizar los lugares de habitación callejeros, su sentido de lugar y su representación como no-lugares a partir de la percepción del hábitat derivada de la institucionalidad. Abstract: The following document assesses that a prolonged human life on Bogota’s street produce socio-spatial logics related to an habitat and a dwelling experience. These logics expresses different ways in which homeless people use, organize, occupy, and perceive the spatial environments where we conduct and develop our lives everyday. In this way, the research demonstrate that the socio-spatial logics of Bogota’s street habitat compose a specific rationality and organization of urban land and its habitants. For the purpose of identify the socio-spatial logics behind street’s habitat I conducted a case study of the practice among some neighbourhoods at Santa Fe locality. There, during 3 years I developed a participant observation, collect 3 life-histories of homeless citizens and conducted semi-structured interviews in 13 dates. The articulation between qualitative data and source analysis related to Bogota’s habitat structure and homeless services, allowed me to state that there are two confronted habitat positions at local urban space. This document gives evidence of that confrontation, makes it explicit, aiming to provide a critical analysis about homeless dwelling places and their sense of place, as well as their representation like non-places from the habitat perception derived of establishment.

Abstract: Three-dimensional printing (3D) is an additive manufacturing technology based on material deposition layer by layer for 3D object construction. Every year, 3D Printing offers more alternatives and solutions in the healthcare field. Nowadays, applications such as 3D Printing labs in hospitals, low-cost patient-specific prosthetics, customized medical implants and manufacture of anatomical models with high dimensional accuracy are the most immediate emerging trends. Indeed, 3D Printing application is the convergence of multiple factors, including improvements in medical software, 3D printers evolution and new printing materials. In particular, anatomical models manufacturing is becoming increasingly popular and accessible due to its application in medical training and pre-operative planning. Anatomical models manufacturing is based on several data acquisition techniques such as computed tomography (CT), optical coherence tomography (OCT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or 3D solid modeling through computer-aided-design (CAD) and anatomical structures 3D scanning. The Shirley Ryan Abilitylab research hospital has a full-color multi-material 3D printer Stratasys J750™. It uses Photopolymer jetting (Polyjet™ technology) for manufacture of highly realistic and functional 3D models in a wide range of colors and materials with variable durometers. Materials and methods: Polygonal mesh files (*.hm) corresponding to a finite elements (FE) model of the right knee joint reported by Dhaher et al. 2014 were the basis of this study. The 3D model included femur, tibia, patella, fibula, ligaments, articular cartilage, menisci, retinacula, patella and quadriceps tendons (PT-QT). Three anatomical models were projected and printed achieving the following objectives. (1) 3D model improvement of the right knee joint emulating the hierarchical structure of the collagen fibers matrix of the tendons and ligaments. (2) Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) model manufacturing using a bone-patellar-tendon-bone (BPTB) auto-graft and pre-operative planning to improve surgery outcomes, incorporating key surgical elements, such as orientation-architecture of the femoral and tibial tunnels and auto-graft dimensions reported by Dhaher et al. 2014. The surgical planning considers single bundle (SB) reconstruction and includes a customized surgical guide (SG) based on PT anatomy (it used in the graft harvest). The SG requirements followed the indications reported by Wang et al. 2017 with the aim to avoid graft tunnel length mismatch. (3) Total knee replacement (TKR) model manufacturing considering a cruciate sacrificing (CS) implant with customized design of symmetric tibial bearing, adjustment and assembly of standard prosthetic components in the improved 3D model emulating a TKR procedure. The selection process and printing materials matching with anatomical structures was based on stiffness and elastic modulus analysis of different Agilus30 printing material combinations. Mechanical uni-axial tensile tests were conducted in Northwestern University Kaiser Lab using an Instron S3300, Canton, MA Uniaxial Testing Instrument following ASTM test designation D412-C. The combinations No 1-4 were the most similar to real materials with elastic modulus of 1.8-0.7 and Pearson coefficients of the linear region of 0.980-0.991 respectively.

Abstract: Background: Seasonal Influenza is considered to be a cyclic and ordered sequence of values, influenced by external factors that can be predicted and used to detect disease outbreaks and monitoring. In machine learning, the key challenges that limit these analyses are in model explainability and limitations associated with ecological bias. Aim: Determine the best environmental variable selection method to predict Seasonal Influenza in Norway, using an environmental medicine approach combined with machine learning techniques. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study that compares three approaches (non-variable selection, isolate component, and multipollutant mixture), represented in five methods (univariable, bivariable, multivariable AME, multivariable PCA, multivariable LDA). Per method, the best co-variable combination will be performed, following the internal rules of each method. The best covariable combination is the result of three components: variable selection, validation data set and lag. The first one involves 13 environmental variables (temperature, relative humidity, specific humidity, air pressure, wind speed, precipitation, CO, NO, NO2, O3, PM10, PM2,5 and SO2); second one compares a test dataset compiled from the data from 2019, last year (2018) and a synthetic environmental (avg. 2013-2018) data set in the validation process; and the third one compares a combination of lag from 0 to 12. All the predictions are made using ARIMA algorithm. The evaluation is given in terms of MAE, MSE, RMSE, OR. The training set is from 2 Jun 2013 (week 22/2013) to 28 May 2018 (week 21/2018), and test set is from (week 22/2018) to (week 21/2019) with a window of predictions of 52 weeks. Results: The increment of dimensionality in the environmental variable selection introduce different noise levels and optimize the prediction. Considerations that impact the explainability, usability, ecological bias and performance will be described. Conclusion: The increment of dimensionality in the variable selection has a better impact on performance than using complex algorithms.

Resumen: Esta investigación analiza las principales razones que han dado lugar a la prohibición del uso velo islámico en el espacio público francés, cuestionando su finalidad y la proporción que guarda en relación a los derechos de libertad de expresión, libertad de culto, y libertad ideológica. La discusión constantemente se encuentra en la búsqueda por establecer cuando en ejercicio de una garantía propia se puede violentar una libertad ajena, por lo cual, la relación entre derechos y limites debe ser cuidadosamente observada.

Abstract: The remarkable high strength-to-weight ratio of bamboo and the recent innovations and development of laminated bamboo products has enabled the potential for new larger and taller structural bamboo applications. However, there is little understanding of the behaviour and performance of bamboo structures during and after a fire. To date, bamboo has been used widely in low-rise constructions where structural integrity during and after a fire does not pose a risk to the life safety of occupants, fire service intervention, and significant impact on property protection or business continuity. Nevertheless, a comprehensive understanding of the structural fire performance is crucial if bamboo is to be widely used in the construction of mid- and high-rise load-bearing structures. An extensive literature review on the fire performance of bamboo structures shown herein identifies that novel fire testing methods were needed to investigate the mechanical response of bamboo, primarily to study the reduction in the strength and stiffness at elevated temperatures. Past research outcomes have evidenced the need for constitutive stress-strain models to describe the mechanical behaviour of bamboo at elevated temperatures, as well as numerical models to predict the response of the bamboo loadbearing members during and after a fire. Several small and bench-scale experimental studies were conducted to understand the reduction in the mechanical properties of bamboo at elevated temperatures. Compressive tests were performed for round and laminated bamboo for test samples at temperatures between ambient and 250ºC. Round bamboo strips were tested in tension to understand the reduction in the tensile strength at elevated temperatures. A dynamic mechanical analysis of bamboo strips was carried out to investigate the decrease in the modulus of elasticity at elevated temperatures, and to compare this against the results of bench-scale tests to analyse the effect of a different test set-up and heat transfer scenario. With the experimental results of the reduction of the compressive and tensile strength of bamboo, as well as the modulus of elasticity, constitutive stress-strain models were proposed to correlate the stress-and strain relationship at elevated temperatures. Equations for the reduction factors of strength and modulus of elasticity were presented, as well as stress-strain curves. The linear elastic behaviour of bamboo under tension and compression, and the elastoplastic behaviour under compression were analysed to quantify the effects of elevated temperatures. Another series of experiments were conducted to investigate the performance of laminated bamboo beams exposed to fire. The bamboo beams were loaded at different stress-levels whilst exposed to a constant indecent heat flux. The beams were fully instrumented to measure the loss of cross-section, the strain profiles, and the deflections at the mid-span during the heating exposure. Finally, a numerical model combining the thermal performance, and the mechanical behaviour of bamboo at elevated temperatures was developed to predict the stress-strain profiles, the deflection, and the bending capacity of bamboo beams during a fire. The results of the numerical model were compared against the results obtained from the experimental tests, and the model showed a good agreement with the experimental results. The proposed framework shows that structural analysis can be carried out if heat transfer analysis and constitutive stress-strain models are available to predict the thermomechanical response of laminated bamboo beams. Findings from this work provide a good understanding of the reduction on the strength and elasticity of bamboo at elevated temperatures. These results will enable predictions to be made for the bending capacity of bamboo beams during a fire, and they will constitute the basis for designing fire-safe bamboo structures.

Abstract: Campylobacter infections are the main bacterial cause of gastroenteritis in the UK, causing an estimated 500 thousand cases per year. Health authorities investigate outbreaks to identify the source, control the spread and understand the cause. Outbreak detection mechanisms are potentially improved by the increasing availability of whole-genome sequence alongside other epidemiological data. However, techniques mixing genomics and other epidemiological factors are still underdeveloped. This project aims to develop and apply outbreak detection methods using surveillance data collected from two regions in the UK. The approaches proposed in this thesis are based on an existing spatialtemporal Bayesian hierarchical model, where cases are labelled as potential outbreaks if they comprise an elevated number of cases compared to the expected sporadic count. The model is adjusted to include genetic data using Gaussian random fields, exploiting the capacity of whole-genome sequencing to discriminate closely related isolates. Moreover, a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm is implemented to obtain the posterior distribution of the model parameters. In particular, a sampling strategy is proposed to improve the convergence of the chain for the parameters describing the Gaussian random field. The project dataset is analysed using a spatial-temporal, a spatial-genetic and a temporalgenetic version of the model, where each version explores different types of outbreaks. The proposed approach demonstrates how to organise genetic sequences into a highdimensional structure and incorporate them into a Bayesian framework. Also, the MCMC sampling algorithm improves the mixing of the chain to estimate the posterior distribution of the model parameters. Finally, all model versions provide the probability that each reported infection is part of a potential outbreak. Comparing the potential outbreaks found by each model provides insights to estimate the real outbreaks. It also identifies cases that are potentially part of a diffuse real outbreak hard to detect by existing approaches. Despite the capability of the model, it requires predefined outbreak sizes and therefore is not flexible at capturing many shapes. Autocorrelated models are a potential improvement to be explored. Resumen: Las infecciones por Campylobacter son la principal causa bacteriana de gastroenteritis en el Reino Unido, provocando un estimado de 500 mil casos por año. Las autoridades sanitarias investigan los brotes para identificar la fuente, controlar la propagación y comprender la causa. Los mecanismos de detección de brotes se mejoran potencialmente con la creciente disponibilidad de datos del genoma completo de las bacterias junto con otros datos epidemiológicos. Sin embargo, las técnicas que combinan genética y otros factores epidemiológicos aún están poco desarrolladas. Este proyecto tiene como objetivo desarrollar y aplicar métodos de detección de brotes utilizando datos de vigilancia recopilados en dos regiones del Reino Unido. Los enfoques propuestos en esta tesis se basan en un modelo jerárquico bayesiano espacio-temporal existente, donde los casos se etiquetan como brotes potenciales si presentan un número elevado de casos mayor al recuento esporádico esperado. El modelo se ajusta para incluir datos genéticos utilizando campos aleatorios Gaussianos, aprovechando la capacidad del genoma completo para discriminar casos estrechamente relacionados. Además, se implementa usando algoritmos de Markov Chain Monte Carlo para obtener la distribución posterior de los parámetros del modelo. En particular, se propone una estrategia de muestreo para mejorar la convergencia de la cadena de Markov para los parámetros del campo Gaussiano. El conjunto de datos del proyecto se analiza utilizando una versión espacial temporal, una espacial-genética y una temporal-genética del modelo, donde cada versión explora diferentes tipos de brotes. El enfoque propuesto demuestra cómo organizar secuencias genéticas en una estructura de múltiples dimensiones e incorporarlas en un marco bayesiano. Además, el algoritmo de muestreo MCMC mejora la mezcla de la cadena para estimar la distribución posterior de los parámetros del modelo. Por último, todas las versiones del modelo estiman la probabilidad de que cada infección sea parte de un posible brote. La comparación entre los posibles brotes encontrados por cada modelo proporciona información para estimar cuáles son los brotes reales. También identifica casos que son potencialmente parte de un brote real difícil de detectar por los enfoques existentes. A pesar de las múltiples ventajas del modelo, este requiere tamaños de brotes predefinidos y, por lo tanto, no es flexible para capturar brotes de formas irregulares. Los modelos autocorrelacionados proveen una mejora potencial para el modelo que debe explorarse.