Abstract: As we move deeper into the 21st century, reggaeton has expanded to become a major genre in US mainstream media culture. Because it is so versatile, it blends easily with other Latin American genres, as well as US pop music styles. It is a transnational and intercultural genre, adopting aspects from an amalgamation of styles, sounds, and aesthetics. What is the appeal of reggaeton music in the midst of the 21st century? Is it the rhythm or beat? Or the controversial lyrics, and the machismo (hypermasculinity) that they express? Both producers and consumers agree that Reggaeton is more than a music genre, and that its appeal is due not only to the characteristics outlined above, but to the fact that it represents a complete lifestyle. While Latin American producers are attempting to market a generic Latin American lifestyle, US. Latino consumers understand reggaeton as a lifestyle that is emblematic of both their heritage and their contemporary identity within the larger US culture. This thesis aims to understand how different groups of people within the US consume, understand and identify with reggaeton in order to begin to explain the growing phenomenon of Latin American popular music as a means of mass expression at a global level. Resumen: A medida que nos adentramos en el siglo 21, el reggaetón se ha instaurado como uno de los géneros más importantes en la cultura de los medios de comunicación en los Estados Unidos. Debido a su versatilidad, se mezcla fácilmente con otros géneros latinoamericanos, así como con estilos de música pop estadounidense. Es un género transnacional e intercultural que adopta aspectos dentro de una amalgama de estilos, sonidos y estéticas. ¿Cuál es el atractivo del reggaetón en pleno siglo XXI? ¿Será su ritmo o el sonido? ¿O serán las letras controversiales y el machísmo (hipermasculinidad) que expresan? Tanto los productores como los consumidores coinciden en que el reggaetón es mucho más que un género musical y que su atractivo se debe no solo a las características descritas anteriormente, sino al hecho de que representa un estilo de vida completo. Mientras que los productores latinoamericanos intentan comercializar un estilo de vida latinoamericano genérico, los consumidores latinos que crecieron en Estados Unidos entienden el reggaetón como un estilo de vida emblemático tanto de su herencia como de su identidad contemporánea dentro de la cultura estadounidense en general. Esta tesis busca entender cómo diferentes grupos de personas en Estados Unidos, consumidoras del reggaetón, se identifican con el género para así buscar la manera de empezar a explicar el fenómeno de la música pop (y popular) latinoamericana como medio de expresión masivo a nivel global.

Abstract: While there is strong evidence of the association between oil wealth and internal armed conflicts, the literature is less conclusive about the processes linking the two. Despite myriad mechanisms hypothesised by the literature, much uncertainty still exists about the causal pathways between oil and armed conflicts. How does oil revenues affect the occurrence and course of internal armed conflicts in contexts of political decentralisation? The main argument of the thesis is that the control of abundant oil revenues by subnational governments contributes to shape the strategies undertaken by armed groups at the local level. Subnational governments become a prize for armed groups, which pursue oil revenues through the political capture of local democracy. The armed groups interfere with democracy through a mix of violent and non-violent strategies. The thesis identifies political connections between oil revenues and armed conflicts and traces mechanism which I term the subnational-government-astarget. The pathway contributes to explain how oil revenues can undermine the workings of the subnational government through the dynamics of the armed conflict. A comparative case study approach was implemented to examine how oil revenues affected conflict and public management at the subnational level in Colombia. Drawing on data collected over five months of fieldwork in oilroyalty-abundant municipalities, the thesis also constitutes one of the first studies to examine the effects of oil revenues accrued by non-oil-producing municipalities in Colombia. The qualitative and quantitative data was triangulated to carry out a process-tracing analysis covering the period from the early 1960s to 2017.

Abstract: Political exclusion from public decision-making processes is one of the main causes of conflicts worldwide. The scholarship on the political inclusion of marginalised populations in a broad range of contexts and fields is growing rapidly. A specific subject that is receiving increased attention is participatory budgeting, a process that allows citizens to decide how to spend part of the local government budget. Still, the studies that examine the influence of offline and online participatory budgeting on political inclusion in peacebuilding contexts remain scarce. This thesis aims at contributing to the literature by analysing the influence of participatory budgeting on political inclusion in Medellín, Colombia’s second-biggest city. A case study approach was used to explore the participatory budgeting process in Medellín, from its launch as a city-wide policy in 2004 until its last regulatory change in 2017. Instead of testing pre-specified hypotheses, the thesis uses grounded theory to identify the factors and pathways that contribute to explain the influence of Medellín’s offline and online participatory budgeting on political inclusion in the view of its participants. The qualitative data collected and analysed suggests that participatory budgeting could boost political inclusion, while sometimes, even simultaneously, also reducing it. Using a grounded theory approach, this thesis develops a framework that explains how power dynamics and the deployment of the public budget through the participatory budget might foster or hinder political inclusion, depending on the design and implementation of the participatory budgeting process. The thesis also advances the literature by providing a thick description of political inclusion in Medellín’s participatory budgeting process, that characterises who are the actors that participate in the process and the distinctive dynamics of their interactions, along with how this participation may influence political inclusion.

Abstract: The constant evolution of power systems and their protection and control systems has brought the need to investigate different concepts that could help improve the implementation and testing of protection and control systems during the complete lifecycle of electrical substations. Centralized protection and control system is a concept that has been under study for many years already but has gained more force lately, thanks to the evolution of computing technology and the more substantial influence of the standard IEC61850 in electrical substations. This thesis has studied the centralized protection and control systems starting with the development of a market availably. The result shows that even though the general concept between the available systems is the same, the specific architecture depends on the technology used to implement the centralized concept. The result also shows that the two technologies leading the market availability are the SASensor from Locamation and the SSC600 from ABB. The technologies virtualization and Synaptec’s Refase system are also investigated in this thesis. Protection and control test methodologies do also depend on the technology to be tested. Therefore, this thesis shows an overall protection and control testing lifecycle analysis of a centralized protection and control system. The architecture of the reference system used for the testing lifecycle evaluation has similarities to a decentralized digital substation architecture. Using that kind of architecture allows fully IEC61850 based protection and control testing, as the results have shown it. Therefore, knowledge, tools, and procedures developed for decentralized digital substations also apply to the centralized concept. The last part of this work presents a practical application example that uses the SSC600 as a protection and control central unit. The device configuration is based on a power system example designed for the thesis. The IEC61850 system engineering of the system and test procedures are part of the results of the practical part.

Abstract: In recent years, breweries have had to adapt the way they use resources and manage the by-products of the production chain, such as organic and packaging waste. Likewise, they’ve needed to find a way to respond to the environmental pressures of the beer industry, such as energy and water usage as well as resource depletion. Several alternatives have been proposed to face these environmental burdens, one example is the application of Circular Economy principles in the production process. This research focuses on the supply chain-related challenges that small craft breweries face when they use circular or alternative raw materials in their production chain. This research seeks to understand the circular supply chain in the brewing industry by analysing three small European breweries. Data collection consisted of multiple sources, among which were interviews. The main goal is to identify the challenges faced by the companies that switched their production methods leaning toward circularity and to find a possible way to address them. The challenges will be analysed following the Circular Business Model and the Circular Supply Chain Theoretical Approaches. The contribution of this project is in terms of management decision-making for a circular supply chain in small businesses in the food industry.

Abstract: The CDM (Clean Development Mechanisms), VCM (Voluntary Carbon Markets) and PES (Payment for Ecosystem Services) that support the REDD+ pathway, have long been part of the sustainable development policy arena. The competition for resources to ‘develop for the developed’ has taken many turns (de Soussa Santos, 2006), and the consequent commodification of nature can be traced to different cultures, and back to an unknown history of who was the first. This research asks whether market-based solutions like REDD+ have failed. Some say they have, some that this is part of the process, and others, that –-‘better this than nothing’-, but is there a correct answer? The reason for placing REDD+ inside of CDM-VCM-PES is clarified through the green growth agenda, where forests are one of the main subject of carbon offsets in biodiversity programs. Of the 501 developing countries that have submitted assessments to the UNFCCC, just 15 submitted a summary on how safeguards are being addressed and respected (UNFCCC, 2022). For now, safeguards are the only mechanism for securing rights, but we need to ask which rights, and whose rights. This research uses a decolonizing perspective to address these question in the example of Colombia. The research offers guidance to those that seek to keep applying environmental safeguards as a direct way to address land rights and climate, environmental and social justice. It also attempts to advance the social constructions of different pathways to sustainable development and the strategies for tackling the underlying drivers of climate change from a decolonizing perspective.

Abstract: This dissertation is presented as three interrelated studies that were prepared as standalone articles. Each article focuses on one key subject that emerged from years of fieldwork and analysis: the different existing interpretations of sustainability in the wine industry; the imperative to have sensorially pleasing wines; and the lack of definition for sustainable and natural wines. By exploring these subjects, this dissertation studies the cultural practice of winemaking and wine tasting to examine how different interpretations, values, and practices of wine production and wine tasting are embodied and rationalized through distinct discourses of sustainability. Through participant observations, interviews, and informal conversations in British Columbia’s Okanagan wine region, the author begins by examining how the concepts of sustainability and nature are expressed and used by wine producers with different types of winemaking practices (Chapter 2). Through a comparative analysis of these expressions and uses of sustainability and nature, a sustainability continuum is proposed, as basis for a sustainability typology of wine producers. Chapter 3 then moves on to the topic of wine sensoriality and how its socio-cultural construction has a key role in furthering (or obstructing) the development of a sustainability-focused wine industry. For this chapter, the author draws on three distinct research projects, covering a wide spectrum of methodological and epistemological approaches, with both quantitative and qualitative tools, to provide a better understanding of the concept and role of wine expertise and how it manifests in the form of wine sensory assessments. This chapter provides evidence that wines with differing and unusual sensorial characteristics can be appreciated differently depending on the context and background of each taster and that certain sustainable wines (e.g., natural wines) with more sensorial differences than mainstream wines might be less accepted in regions where there is no space for variation from a set standard of taste and quality. Finally, Chapter 4 presents a new conceptualization of a specific type of sustainable wines - natural wines - as subversive art. With this, by providing an alternative conceptual way to describe an ill-defined winemaking approach, the chapter contributes to the study of social movements by presenting subversive and urban art as a framing element rather than a direct medium for dissent.

Abstract: BIM and Virtual Reality (VR) are technologies that aim to revolutionise the AEC industry, minimizing variations, replicating complex tasks, enhancing visualisation of objects, better coordination with stakeholders, and as an alternative training tool. However, they have multiple limitations that deter a successful implementation in the AEC sector, requiring high technical skills to be developed, complex processes, and expensive resources that do not satisfy their current needs. Therefore, this research aims to create a game-like simulation between BIM and VR to train people in pile construction activities, addressing the limitations about industry adoption to implement it as a feasible product. The objectives of this thesis are: I. Develop a methodological framework to replicate similar prototypes like the one developed, II. Create a BIM and VR application using decision tree scenarios to train people around piling procedures, III. Validate the prototype through online surveys to verify its usability, feasibility, and improvements. A complex simulation using multiple software was created to teach about the required elements for piling construction, being supported through cinematics to show different construction stages of the survey, logistics, site camp, drilling excavation, and concrete & rebar activities. Participants agreed that the Pile Training Module (PTM) delivers an enhanced training experience about complex concepts, highlighting its potential of replicating variable conditions of a real site. With this module, it was demonstrated that high levels of expertise and costs are no longer limitations for a meaningful VR and BIM application, representing a starting point for future prototypes that aim to become a real application for the AEC industry and academy.

Abstract: This paper employs a dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) model to study the time-varying correlation between three cryptocurrency strategies (market, size, and momentum) and three equity indexes (MSCI World, MSCI Emerging markets, and MSCI All cap) from November 2017 until May 2022. Paying close attention to events of market turmoil, like the Covid-19 crash in March 2020 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The results obtained, show that the correlation between the equity market and cryptocurrencies has increased over time eroding diversification benefits. However, the momentum and size strategies presented a stable near-zero correlation with the equity index during the time frame selected, including both of the crisis events. We conclude that whereas both (momentum and size) strategies can be used as diversification tools, size is preferred due to its lower volatility, and lower persistence when faced with a correlation spike. Resumen: Este trabajo emplea un modelo de correlación condicional dinámica (DCC) para estudiar los cambios en la correlación de tres estrategias con criptomonedas (mercado, tamaño y momentum) y tres índices bursátiles (MSCI World, MSCI Emerging markets y MSCI All cap), en el periodo comprendido entre noviembre de 2017 y mayo de 2022. Se presta especial atención a los eventos de crisis como el crash de la bolsa en marzo 2020 debido a la pandemia del Covid-19 y a la invasión rusa de Ucrania en febrero de 2022. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que la correlación entre el mercado accionario y las criptomonedas ha incrementado a lo largo del tiempo, deteriorando los beneficios de la diversificación. Sin embargo, las cripto estrategias de momentum y tamaño presentaron una correlación estable y cercana a cero con los índices accionarios durante el periodo comprendido en el estudio, incluyendo los eventos de crisis previamente mencionados. En conclusión, si bien las estrategias de momentum y tamaño pueden ser usadas como herramientas de diversificación en un portafolio de acciones, la estrategia de tamaño es preferible debido a su menor volatilidad y mayor persistencia frente a picos en la correlación de los activos.

Abstract: This study presents a language textbook analysis informed by generative second language acquisition (GenSLA), an area of investigation that has been rarely explored. In consequence, it proposes an original methodology. It also intends to contribute to bridging the gap between GenSLA and second language teaching. For those purposes, it tackles the research question: To what extent are secondlanguage textbook contents informed by GenSLA theory and research findings? The two research objectives are (1) to analyse how polarity item any is explicitly instructed in the language textbook series proposed by the Ministry of Education in Colombia for public secondary schools and (2) to analyse how polarity item any is incidentally instructed in the textbook series in terms of primary linguistic data (PLD). In terms of methodology, the study proposes two analyses for each research objective. First, to analyse explicit instruction (explanations, grammar activities, and teacher’s guidance). Second to analyse every instance of polarity item any provided by the textbooks through written and aural input. The main results show that the whole linguistic distribution of any is partially covered by explicit and incidental instruction. A cautious explanation is the emphasis of textbooks on meaning and interaction over form or metalinguistic knowledge. These results also demonstrate the need for instruction of any in veridical linguistic contexts licensed by negative implicature.