Abstract: This paper seeks to determine whether stocks markets from Chile, Colombia and Peru present herding behavior, and what might be reasons behind it. The study is divided in two parts: a quantitative and a qualitative one. The quantitative uses an OLS model, whose objective is to determine the relationship between the average market return and the returns dispersion, as measured by the Cross-Sectional Absolute Deviation. The qualitative one seeks to dig into the available information to find the reasons behind the results of the OLS model. The results of the quantitative model are clear for Peru, market that shows significant herding signs for most of the different scenarios. Chile shows herding during days of low traded volume, while Colombia does not evidence any kind of herding. There are two main reasons that could explain those results: information availability and type of investors. The first refers to the scarcity of company specific information and the low credibility of investors on it. The second, refers to tremendous influence institutional investors exert when they are the predominant player in a stock market. In the three markets, AFP’s – pension funds – control most of the trading activity, reason why they behavior shapes the existence or non-existence of herd behavior. Some general reasons such as the size of the markets, the low diversification and the corruption level, help explain why AFP’s might herd. Each country has additional specific explanations: Chile shares characteristics of developed and developing markets; Colombia has important players that are part of both the supply and demand of stocks; Peru is the textbook representation of stock markets in developing economies.

Resumen: A través de la investigación en un barrio de Estambul y sus transformaciones físicas y sociales se plantea un proyecto que parte de la lectura del entorno construido. El entendimiento del mismo y de su valor arquitectónico (el valor de la no-arquitectura) genera un diálogo entre lo propuesto y lo existente. El edificio resultante sirve de marco para dar un nuevo significado a aquello que está ahí pero pasa desapercibido, transformando algo común en algo inusual. El objeto arquitectónico se convierte en una exploración en sí mismo, e intenta generar nuevas relaciones espaciales, retando convenciones establecidas por la arquitectura. El proyecto explora nuevas maneras en las que pueden habitarse y apropiarse tanto los espacios exteriores como interiores del edificio, un poco más cercanas a la forma en la que puede ocurrir en la arquitectura espontánea e informal de ciudades como Estambul. Abstract: Through the research of a neighborhood in Istanbul and its physical and social transformations, a project is proposed from the reading of the built environment. Its understanding and its architectural value (the value of the non-architecture) produces a dialog between what is proposed and the existent. The resulting building works as a frame to give a new meaning to what is already there but isn’t seen, making the common, uncommon. The architectural object becomes an exploration within itself and tries to generate new spatial relations, which challenge the conventions established by architecture. The project explores new ways in which both the exterior and interior spaces can be appropriated, closer to what can happen in the informal or spontaneous architecture of cities like Istanbul.

The present study is aimed at finding out the differences between Colombian and peninsular Spanish regarding pronominal address. 40 Colombians (20 males and 20 females) and 20 Spanish (10 males and 10 females) participated in an experiment in which they were presented with role play situations and they had to give and answer to the interlocutor mentioned in the description. It was found that Colombians used ustedeo more frequently than the Spanish since they use it to address all kinds of interlocutors and when expressing commands, reproaches or negative emotions such as anger or annoyance. On the other hand, the Spanish used tuteo more frequently than the Colombians, using ustedeo mainly to address older acquaintances, older strangers and people with a higher status.

Abstract: In recent years Colombia has attracted worldwide attention for its promising economy, for its flourishing cities, and more recently because of the peace talks with rebel groups. In spite of its thriving economy, Colombia is among the Latin American countries with the highest levels of inequality. Scholars from different fields have addressed this problem and it has also become part of the national agenda to find strategies to reduce the gap between rich and poor. Through the analysis of cityscapes and representations of the built environment produced during the 1930s and 1940s in Bogotá, this research presents an approach from the perspective of aesthetics to the problem of inequality. Through discourse analysis this dissertation shows how the images produced during the early capitalist period of Bogotá reflect the social tensions and configured a scenario of symbolic violence that would lead to the actual violence that erupted by the end of the 1940s. The results show the correlation between one type of violence and the other and how they would settle the basis to silently perpetuate a system of classes and inequality reflected in the cityscape.

Este trabajo estudia la función que tiene el arte en la novela La luz difícil, del escritor colombiano Tomás González, empleando para ello conceptos estéticos tradicionales del taoísmo y el budismo zen. Con ese fin, se constatan correspondencias entre el pensamiento taoísta y budista zen y la postura ideológica del autor. Asimismo, se rastrea la interacción de La luz difícil con otros textos que integran el universo narrativo de González y se presentan y examinan las bases conceptuales del taoísmo y el zen pertinentes para llevar a cabo el análisis. Finalmente, se caracteriza la visión de la belleza que determina el quehacer artístico de David (el narrador y personaje principal de La luz difícil) y se traza un paralelo entre la consecución del ideal artístico y la experiencia de la iluminación en el budismo zen.

Abstract: The analysis of telecinematic discourse has been instrumental in our understanding of real-life events. From semiotic theories born in the last century to more recent developments in multimodal film analysis, scholars have attempted to make sense of the codes embedded in the image and in the language used by the characters to illustrate the complex dynamics of culture and society. However, little has been written about the role of pragmatics in the study of fiction. This research intends to fill in that gap by adopting two main pragmatic approaches ─namely fictional characterisation and participation structures in telecinematic discourse─ to the study of a relevant film in the Colombian context: Silence in Paradise. The film, portraying one of the most painful, violent events in recent Colombian history, was examined to determine how communication is organised in interaction as well as the way the roles of victims and perpetrators were depicted along the film in light of the real events occurred in the South American country. The principles to pragmatic film analysis outlined by Messerli (2017), Dynel (2011) and Culpeper and Fernandez-Quintanilla (2017) were considered to chart and interpret the data from three key scenes of the movie. Research findings suggest, on the one hand, that the film vividly portrays the events in spite of some problematic ideas that could help perpetuate violence against the victims and, on the other, that viewers are in fact ratified participants that contribute to the overall comprehension of the movie. Further studies are needed to analyse the extent to which viewers engage cognitively and affectively with the characters as well as to understand more in detail the role of the actors in character construction.

Abstract: This study examines a displaced agricultural family’s entrepreneurial journey in Colombia relying on a single case study and following an inductive and interpretivist approach. The main objective of the dissertation is explaining how family interactions, historical events, and context influence the family’s decision to start and potentially reactivate the agricultural family business. Following the displaced agricultural family through its life context, this study interprets the family members’ accounts of the formation of the family and its business, land displacement and restitution, and the potential reactivation of the business in the backdrop of violence, crime, and land evictions in Colombia. The agricultural family’s entrepreneurial journey is interpreted along four phases to make sense of the family’s interactions and the critical events as per family accounts. The study extends habitualization as a perspective for addressing the underlying processes that influenced the family’s entrepreneurial journey before creating its family business and after the business exit. It proposes that the habitualization perspective can help us better understand the entrepreneurial journeys of displaced agricultural families. Habitualization provides a bridge connecting a family’s past with its present and future. This dissertation also sheds light on the entrepreneurial journey of creating and recreating family dynamics around the possibility of starting and potentially reactivating a family business considering the family’s land and observing the effects of its contextual circumstances. http://hj.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?dswid=8182&pid=diva2%3A1473141&c=1&searchType=RESEARCH&language=en&query=&af=%5B%5D&aq=%5B%5B%7B%22personId%22%3A%22authority-person%3A78771%22%7D%5D%5D&aq2=%5B%5B%5D%5D&aqe=%5B%5D&noOfRows=50&sortOrder=author_sort_asc&sortOrder2=title_sort_asc&onlyFullText=false&sf=all Resumen: Este estudio examina la travesía emprendedora de una familia agrícola desplazada en Colombia basándose en un estudio de caso único y siguiendo un enfoque inductivo e interpretivista. El objetivo principal de la tesis es explicar cómo las interacciones familiares, los eventos históricos y el contexto influyen en la decisión de la familia de iniciar y potencialmente reactivar la empresa familiar agrícola. Siguiendo a la familia agrícola desplazada a través de su contexto de vida, este estudio interpreta los relatos de los familiares sobre la formación de la familia y su negocio, el desplazamiento y restitución de tierras, y la potencial reactivación del negocio en un contexto de violencia, crimen y desalojos en Colombia. La travesía emprendedora de la familia agrícola se interpreta a lo largo de cuatro fases para dar sentido a las interacciones de la familia y los eventos críticos según los relatos familiares. El estudio amplía la habitualización como perspectiva para abordar los procesos subyacentes que influyeron en la trayectoria empresarial de la familia antes de crear su empresa familiar y después del retiro familiar de la misma. Propone que la perspectiva de la habitualización puede ayudarnos a comprender mejor las travesías emprendedoras de las familias agrícolas desplazadas. La habitualización proporciona un puente que conecta el pasado de una familia con su presente y futuro. Esta disertación también arroja luz sobre la travesía emprendedora de crear y recrear dinámicas familiares en torno a la posibilidad de iniciar y potencialmente reactivar una empresa familiar considerando la tierra de la familia y observando los efectos de sus circunstancias contextuales. http://hj.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?dswid=8182&pid=diva2%3A1473141&c=1&searchType=RESEARCH&language=en&query=&af=%5B%5D&aq=%5B%5B%7B%22personId%22%3A%22authority-person%3A78771%22%7D%5D%5D&aq2=%5B%5B%5D%5D&aqe=%5B%5D&noOfRows=50&sortOrder=author_sort_asc&sortOrder2=title_sort_asc&onlyFullText=false&sf=all

Abstract: Undocumented immigrants face different difficulties and barriers in order to access the health care system. Even when they get to access medical care, they face situations of xenophobia, discrimination and the fear towards their legal status can affect their experience and can have an impact in the continuity and success of their treatments. In a context of migration emergencies in both the United States and Colombia, immigration measures and policies have directly impacted the health outcomes of undocumented immigrants, creating a situation of a structural health injustice. This thesis argues that advocacy is a way in which physicians can successfully contribute to document, address and tackle this injustice and improve the lives and health of undocumented immigrants. This thesis defends physician advocacy by arguing that: i) Advocacy actions are connected and grounded in the legitimate goals of medicine and their contemporary reinterpretation. In this line, advocacy can be an effective way to promote health justice and contribute to restore the trust that undocumented immigrants have lost in doctors; ii) advocacy actions are an effective way in which physicians can take advantage of their unique position based on their historical social privilege and the access they have to undocumented immigrants ́ health. Furthermore, to show how physicians can advocate for the health of undocumented immigrants, using their knowledge and expertise, this work analyses the case of: i) Sanctuary Doctoring, ii) Physicians for Human Rights and iii) Profamilia-Colombia. Resumen: Los migrantes indocumentados enfrentan diferentes dificultades y barreras para acceder al sistema de salud. Incluso cuando llegan a acceder a la atención médica, se enfrentan a situaciones de xenofobia, discriminación y el miedo a su estatus legal puede afectar su experiencia y puede repercutir en la continuidad y el éxito de sus tratamientos. En un contexto de emergencias migratorias tanto en Estados Unidos como en Colombia, las medidas y políticas migratorias han impactado directamente los resultados de salud de los migrantes indocumentados, creando una situación de injusticia estructural en salud. Esta tesis sostiene que la incidencia o el activismo por parte de los médicos es una forma en la que estos pueden contribuir con éxito a documentar, abordar y retar esta injusticia y mejorar la vida y la salud de esta población. Esta tesis defiende la incidencia y el activismo por parte de los médicos argumentando que: i) Las acciones de incidencia están conectadas y basadas en los objetivos legítimos de la medicina y su reinterpretación contemporánea. En esta línea, la incidencia puede ser una forma eficaz de promover la justicia en salud y contribuir a restablecer la confianza que los migrantes indocumentados han perdido en los médicos; ii) las acciones de incidencia son una forma efectiva en la que los médicos pueden aprovechar su posición única en función de su privilegio social histórico y el acceso que tienen a la salud de los migrantes. Además, para mostrar cómo los médicos pueden abogar por la salud de los inmigrantes indocumentados, utilizando sus conocimientos y experiencia, este trabajo analiza el caso de: i) el modelo santuario de la medicina, ii) la organización Médicos por los Derechos Humanos y iii) Profamilia-Colombia.

Abstract: The amygdala is a key hub for the acquisition, storage and extinction of fear memories, which are important in adaptive behaviors. The intercalated cell clusters (ITCs) are groups of inhibitory cells within the amygdaloid complex that have been recently shown to play an important role in fear-related states, especially in the context of fear extinction. Apart from the canonical view that points ITCs as feedforward and feedback inhibitors between the input and output stations towards motor centers, it has been starting to suggest that they could have diverse outputs to different regions beyond the amygdaloid complex. Although some preliminary studies have given some indications of this potential new role of the ITCs, indicating an increase in the complexity of their function in fear behavior and emotional processing, very little is still known. In this thesis, two ITC clusters –lateral and dorsomedial– are the object of the study and two main questions are addressed: (1) Do lateral and dorsomedial ITCs (latITCs and dmITCs) extend long-range projections towards the non-lemniscal (NL) thalamus and the dopaminergic (DA) midbrain? If yes, are their innervation patterns different from each other across these structures? I evaluated the outward latITCs and dmITCs projections to the NL-thalamic and DA-midbrain subnuclei, using anterograde tracing upon Cre-dependent expression of ChR2-EYFP in FoxP2-Cre transgenic mice and less extensively, using retrograde tracing to confirm the results from the anterograde tracing. With these methodological approaches I showed that latITCs and dmITCs do send long-range projections in a differential fashion towards the distinct examined subnuclei. I also showed that these projections are inhibitory (most likely GABAergic) and also, that to assess the innervation pattern, it is necessary to make either automated counting of the fibers, or measure the general innervation in terms of at least two variables–area coverage and fibers’ density– that indirectly provide a more comprehensive innervation index. Resumen: La amígdala es un centro fundamental en la adquisición, almacenamiento y extinción de memorias de miedo, que son importantes para los comportamientos adaptativos. Los grupos de células intercaladas (ITCs) se localizan del complejo de la amígdala, y la regulación inhibitoria sobre ésta, ha demostrado demostrado tener un papel importante en los estados relacionados con el miedo, especialmente en el contexto de la extinción. Aparte de la visión canónica que señala a las ITCs como inhibidores retroalimentadores y proalimentadores entre las estaciones de input y output hacia los centros motores, se ha empezado a sugerir que podrían tener diversas salidas hacia diferentes regiones más allá del complejo de la amígdala. A pesar de que algunos estudios preliminares han dado algunos indicios que soportan este nuevo rol de las ITCs, indicando un aumento de la complejidad de su función en el comportamiento del miedo y el procesamiento emocional, actualmente se conoce muy poco sobre este rol extendido. En esta tesis, dos grupos de células intercaladas diferentes -lateral y dorsomedial- son objeto de estudio y se abordan dos cuestiones principales (1) ¿Los ITCs laterales y dorsomediales (latITCs y dmITCs) extienden proyecciones extendidas hacia núcleos no lemniscales del tálamo (NL) y el cerebro medio dopaminérgico (DA)? En caso de hacerlo, ¿se presenta un patrón inervación diferencial hacia estas estructuras? Para responder esto, he evaluado las proyecciones de los grupos latITCs y dmITCs hacia múltiples subnúcleos del tálamo no lemniscal y del mesencéfalo dopaminérgico, utilizando el trazado viral anterógrado tras la expresión de ChR2-EYFP, que es dependiente del sistema Cre, en ratones transgénicos FoxP2-Cre y, de forma menos extensa, utilizando el trazado retrógrado para confirmar los resultados del trazado anterógrado. Con estos enfoques metodológicos me fue posible demostrar que los grupos de latITCs y dmITCs envían proyecciones extendidas hacia los distintos subnúcleos examinados, de forma diferencial. También demostré que estas proyecciones son inhibitorias (muy probablemente GABAérgicas) y también, que para evaluar el patrón de inervación, es necesario hacer un recuento automatizado de las fibras (por medio de un algoritmo), o medir la inervación general en términos de al menos dos variables -cobertura de área y densidad de fibras- que de forma indirecta, proporcionan un índice de inervación más completo.

Abstract: Using Scrum as the central process framework for capstone project courses has shown to be beneficial for the learning of the students. However, these capstone project courses rarely focus on teaching students how to become a Scrum Master and do not empower them to assume the role of the Scrum Master. As a consequence, not much is known on the responsibilities that are actually assumed by those few students assuming the role of the Scrum Master in capstone project courses. Moreover, there is not much known about how these students should be taught in order to become a proficient Scrum Master. In this thesis, a case study was carried out in the Software Project 3 course held at Aalto University. The Software Project 3 course is one of the few capstone project courses that allows the students to assume the role of the Scrum Master and supports student learning through complementary teaching methods. This thesis aimed to identify the responsibilities assumed by the Scrum Master in capstone projects, and how successfully the Scrum Master contributed to the teamwork and team effectiveness of the Development Team. In addition, this study attempted to assess the contribution of complementary teaching methods, employed in the Software Project 3 course, to the learning of the students on how to become a proficient Scrum Master. This study also aimed to identify the lessons learnt by the students who assumed the role of the Scrum Master in the Software Project 3 course. In this study, the data was collected through interviews with the Scrum Masters, surveys targeted at both Scrum Masters and Developers, as well as data collected from the course content and artifacts submitted by the teams for the project reviews. They were able to successfully promote teamwork and team effectiveness within the Development Team. In addition, The results of this study show that the students, who acted as a Scrum Master, assumed all the responsibilities of the Scrum Master defined in the Scrum Guide However, in this capstone project course, these students also undertook additional responsibilities that are not explicitly mentioned in the Scrum Guide or should have been assumed by the Development Team or Product Owner. Assessment of the complementary teaching methods shows that the two-day Certified Scrum Master course and the Scrum Game, were highly valued by most of the students who felt that these two teaching methods contributed to their learning on how to become a Scrum Master. Coaching was perceived to contribute positively to the quality of the project. However, the opinion about coaching was not shared by all the students. Experience Exchange Sessions were deemed to contribute little to the learning of students. Although students faced several difficulties throughout the project that hindered the implementation of Scrum, all of them undertook the role of the Scrum Master successfully and learnt how to promote and support Scrum in their teams.