The growing concern of continuous increases in health care expenditure, particularly due to high-cost medicines’ reimbursement, as well as international trends, promotes the feasibility and a positive scenario to establish a means for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in Colombia. Methodology: This policy analysis paper utilizes a literature review to support the context surrounding the Colombian Health System, focusing on HTA, and a regional perspective. Following, personal interviews were conducted to provide a description of the policy process of agenda setting and policy implementation, as well as stakeholders’ opinions about the establishment and functioning of such a HTA Agency.

This research explores the new meanings of fatherhood in The Netherlands, how men address their role as active fathers and in the household, considering their responsibilities at work and the influence of traditional gender roles. This work investigates how men are dealing with fatherhood and balancing their work and family lives, the possible consequences in their careers when they are more involved with their children and the household, and how the main discourses about the traditional gender roles still affect the development of an open, public, active and proud fatherhood. This research focuses on fathers and their daily interactions and stories while attempting to balance work and family life, where this new active fatherhood is challenged. Fathering narratives and stories are explored and analyzed in contrast to the main discourse about fatherhood, the traditional gender roles that still affect these processes, and policies and norms in The Netherlands, regarding flexible work and family-work balance. Esta investigación explora los nuevos significados de la paternidad en los Países Bajos, cómo los padres manejan su rol como padres activos y en el hogar, considerando sus responsabilidades en el trabajo y la influencia de los roles de género tradicionales. Este trabajo investiga cómo los hombres están lidiando con su paternidad y al mismo tiempo balanceando el trabajo con la vida familiar, las consecuencias en su carrera profesional cuando están más involucrados en el hogar y con sus hijos, y cómo los discursos tradicionales aún afectan el desarrollo de una paternidad abierta, pública, activa y orgullosa. Asimismo, la presente investigación se enfoca en las interacciones diarias e historias de los padres holandeses, mientras intentan balancear la vida familiar con el trabajo, en donde esta nueva paternidad activa es retada. Las narrativas e historias sobre paternidad son exploradas y analizadas a la luz del discurso tradicional y general sobre paternidad, los roles de género tradicionales que aún afectan estos procesos, y las políticas y normas en los Países Bajos, en cuanto al trabajo flexible y el balance entre vida laboral y la vida personal.

Fat, as a socially imposed adjective, contains a myriad of preconceptions and prejudices that have allowed engagements with fat bodies to be problematic at best, violent at worse. Fat bodies, through the construction of the obesity epidemic and the war against fat, have been transformed into dangerous bodies that generate and experience fear. My own experience as a fat woman whose body has been medicalized has prompted me to question what is it that makes our bodies dangerous. The process of the medicalization of fatness is intrinsically linked to biopower structures that seek to regulate the body through biomedical discourse. The perpetuation of a weight/health paradigm, along with discourses that frame fatness as a direct result of individual choices and therefore as cureable, has given way to regulatory mechanisms that stigmatize and discriminate against fat bodies. Gordofatphobia, the term I use to describe said processes of stigmatization, has framed fat bodies as dangerous bodies that defiantly challenge the normalizing regulations imposed by society. Fat bodies hence become a source of fear, our refusal to conform to the norm turning us into fat terrorist bodies. For this reason, fat people, and people in general, choose to engage with what I term fatnormativity (gordonormatividad in Spanish) – behaviors and actions geared towards eliminating fatness from the body. The experience of inhabiting fat bodies that generate fear is not culturally or geographically bound; the stigmatization of fatness speaks to a transnational phenomenon deeply rooted in imperial and colonial discourses of power and body regulation. Through autoethnography and my proposed revolting methodology, I engage in a queer decolonial practice that seeks to destabilize traditional narratives of fatness. In doing so, I offer fear and terror as potential fields for action. Resumen: Gorda, vista como un adjetivo impuesto socialmente, contiene un millar de preconcepciones y prejuicios que han permitido que el trato dado a lxs cuerpxs gordxs sea problemático y violento. Lxs cuerpxs gordxs, a través de la construcción de la epidemia de obesidad y la guerra contra la gordura, han sido encasilladxs como cuerpxs peligrosxs que causan y sienten miedo. Mi propia experiencia como mujer gorda es lo que me ha llevado a cuestionarme qué hace que nuestros cuerpxs se tornen peligrosos. El proceso de medicalización de la gordura está intrínsecamente ligado a estructuras de biopoder que buscan regular lxs cuerpxs a través de los discursos médicos. La perpetuación del paradigma peso/salud, junto con discursos que presentan la gordura como resultado directo de las acciones del individux la cual puede ser curada, han dado lugar a mecanismos reguladores que estigmatizan y discriminan a lxs cuerpxs gordxs. La gordofatphobia, término que utilizaré para referirme a estos procesos de estigmatización, ha clasificado a lxs cuerpxs gordxs como cuerpxs peligrosxs que desafían las regulaciones normalizadoras impuestas por la sociedad. De esta forma, lxs cuerpxs gordxs se convierten en cuerpxs que causan miedo; nuestro rechazo a seguir la norma, a su vez, nos convierte en cuerpxs gordxs terroristxs. Por esta razón, tanto las personas gordas como la sociedad en general eligen participar en lo que yo llamaré “fatnormativity” (o gordonormatividad en español): comportamientos y acciones direccionadas a eliminar la grasa del cuerpo. La experiencia de habitar un cuerpx gordx que causa miedo no es una experiencia ligada a un contexto cultural o geográfico. El proceso de estigmatización de la gordura responde a un fenómeno transnacional profundamente arraigado en discursos de poder imperiales y coloniales que buscan regular los cuerpos. A través del uso de la autoetnografía y mi metodología repugnante, participo en una practica queer y decolonial que busca desestabilizar los discursos tradicionales acerca de la gordura. Con esto, ofrezco el miedo y el terror como posibles campos de acción.

The nineteenth century was a period of great change for most Latin American nations, which gained independence from a decaying Spanish Empire and saw their birth as republics and engaged in a process of social, political and economic change in the construction of a national identity. In this process, the work of artists and writers was of particular importance, as it was meant to spread around the newborn republics the invented traditions and cultural imaginary upon which a strictly gendered idea of nationhood was to be founded. Negotiating between traditional/colonial and progressive/republican values, writers and artists created a gendered notion of the “ideal Colombian” through their works, and relegated the Colombian woman to the domestic field, the ideal of womanhood being one of pure and submissive virginity. Although such works highlighted certain characteristics of personality, they also emphasized the importance of appearances, of manners, and of fashion/dress. This thesis focuses on the portrayal of femininity through dress: it studies the construction of the ideal Colombian woman through the clothes she wears in two novels, Jorge Isaacs’ María (1867) and Eugenio Díaz Castro’s Manuela (1858), and the watercolors produced by Carmelo Fernández, Henry Price, and Manuel María Paz for the Comisión Corográfica, this work identifies the different ways in which the specific characteristics of the ideal Colombian woman of the nineteenth century are portrayed through dress, as well as the potential opportunities for the subversion of such ideals and the creation of alternative forms of femininity.

Since the 1960s, Farmers Organisations (FOs) have featured heavily within policy and research for rural development. This paper examines how distance, in terms of accessibility, affects FOs and their contribution to achieving this goal. Two sub-questions drove this research: How does distance affect enrolment and participation in FOs? And, to what extent does distance affect the role of FOs in providing members with improved income and living conditions? The Rethinking Social Enquiry (RSI) framework (Brady & Collier 2010) was used, which includes causal process observations (CPOs), and data set observations (DSOs) to explore and analyse causal relations, using data from Somos Rurales, a programme that has been implemented since 2014 by the Colombian government in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), during which time it has benefited 2,832 farmers from multiple regions of the country. The findings suggest that distance reduces the frequency with which farmers of the programme participate in the FOs. However, once they are part of an organisation, a greater distance is associated with a higher income and better living conditions. What is more, the CPOs highlight the complexity of the relationship between FOs and distance, with positive and negative mechanisms interacting to affect rural development. Resumen: Desde la década de los sesenta, las Organizaciones Campesinas (OC) han ocupado un lugar importante en la política y la investigación para el desarrollo rural. En este documento se examina la forma en que la distancia, en términos de accesibilidad, afecta a las OC y su contribución al logro de este objetivo. Dos sub preguntas han impulsado esta investigación: ¿Cómo afecta la distancia a la matriculación y la participación en las OC? Y, ¿hasta qué punto la distancia afecta al papel de las OC para proporcionar a sus miembros mejores ingresos y condiciones de vida? Se utilizó el marco Rethinking Social Enquiry (RSI) (Brady & Collier 2010), que incluye observaciones de procesos causales (OPC) y observaciones de conjuntos de datos (OCD) para explorar y analizar las relaciones causales, utilizando los datos de Somos Rurales, un programa que ha sido implementado desde 2014 por el gobierno colombiano en asociación con el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) y que ha beneficiado a 2.832 agricultores de múltiples regiones del país. Los resultados sugieren que la distancia reduce la frecuencia con que los agricultores del programa participan en las OC. Sin embargo, una vez que forman parte de una organización, una mayor distancia se asocia con mayores ingresos y mejores condiciones de vida. Además, los OPC destacan la complejidad de la relación entre las OC y la distancia, con mecanismos positivos y negativos que interactúan para afectar al desarrollo rural.

El presente trabajo pretende llamar la atención sobre las transformaciones que pueden ser generadas en el espacio familiar a partir de la participación política en espacios políticos de las mujeres que son esposas y/o madres. El objetivo del mismo es dejar planteadas algunas bases para que se evalúe si la participación política activa de las mujeres en organizaciones políticas genera cambios directos o indirectos en la epistemia y en los roles de los integrantes de su familia, en la familia misma y en particular en ellas mismas, iniciando con el proceso de reconocerse como sujetas políticas e históricas.

This research makes an analysis of public policy of higher education in Colombia in the period 2006-2014 to better understand the role of leadership of the Ministry of National Education. After discussing the conceptual framework chosen, which is centered on the contributions made by studies on leadership, public policy and governance, a qualitative analysis methodology is used with an exploratory and interpretative approach to analyze the policy process on higher education in the studied period, as well as the application of interviews to representatives of the sectors involved, and the analysis of the corresponding normative framework. The institutional and leadership crises are evidenced in the process of conciliation of interests between the Ministry of National Education and the different actors of civil society resulting from the lack of adequate participation spaces where criteria are agreed to solve the problem presented.

Documento en el que Facundo Calderón, sirviente de Juan Nepomuceno Salamanca, contesta a las publicaciones que se han hecho en contra de su amo por parte de David Granados y Antonio María Calderón. En el documento, que conserva la ortografía de la época, se dice que las acusaciones en contra de Salamanca están llenas de calumnias e injurias. Al final del impreso se adjuntan testimonios que demuestran lo que defiende Calderón.

Conventional agricultural practices are often contrary to human health and environmental conservation. Use of and exposure to pesticides in agricultural communities in tropical countries is a pressing public health problem and an important facet of environmental degradation. This research project was undertaken by documenting use and exposure behaviors among agricultural communities in San Cristobal, Antioquia (Colombia). The research questions were: (1) What are the primary factors associated with the use of pesticides and do those factors differ between pesticide users and agroecological adherents? (2) How do campesino pesticide users and agroecological adherents(non-pesticide users) differ in their attitudes and beliefs with regards to pesticide use and exposure? and (3) How do these factors influence campesinos‟ behaviors associated with pesticide use and exposure? I implemented qualitative and quantitative methods in this investigation. The qualitative approach was based on community participatory ethnographic research. The latter involved participant observation, interviews, and focus groups aimed at existing pesticides users and agroecological adherents. The quantitative approach used questionnaires to derive demographic information, scale-based evaluations of attitudes and beliefs, pesticides decision making, perceived confidence, and perceived control. Findings showed that the most relevant factors related to pesticide use and their categories included: a) individual: beliefs, attitudes and knowledge; b) interpersonal: family support and cultural acceptance of pesticide use; c) economic: fear of living within financially unviable constraints, market conditions and lack of economic support from the government; d) cultural: collective acceptance or tolerance of pesticide use and exposure and onset of negative reactions when stopping pesticide use; e) political: deficient regulations for controlling pesticide use control and adequate utilization of protective equipment. Pesticide users experienced the most apprehension regarding stopping pesticide use as they often believed pesticides allow them to obtain better crop yields and, therefore, higher monetary gains. Pesticide users lacked a positive attitude toward personal protectionequipment, regardless of the risks to which they may be exposed. Pesticide training was deficient in this population showing a clear need to improve safety conditions and training to reduce occupational hazards. Future studies should explore with greater detail these attitudes and beliefs so as to promote mid- to long-term public health interventions that directly address the sense of food and income insecurity found among the population of pesticides users, which blocks their transition into a non-pesticide scenario for agricultural production. Over the short-term, public health programs should continue to educate the population of pesticide users on the immediate risks of exposure. The decision making process surrounding pesticide use in the studied population was influenced by a variety of factors. Campesinos who were prone to use pesticides for their crops often exhibited diminished degrees of knowledge about adverse effects of pesticides on human health, believed pesticides are necessary for their crops, had negative attitudes about stopping pesticide use, had a strong family influence toward the use of pesticides, experienced economic fear of stopping pesticide use, cultivated flowers as their main source of income, expressed strong social acceptance of pesticide use, experienced negative community reactions when attempting to stop pesticide use, received government subsidies for pesticide use, and had never received any training on the use of required protective equipment. Campesinos who showed more proclivities towards the use of pesticides were convinced that pesticides are necessary for their crops as they guarantee substantial yields and larger specimens of the different crop varieties. They also exhibited low perceived control, low perceived confidence, and a low perception of adverse pesticide effects on human health and the natural environment. Future studies are required to fully comprehend the unique occupational health and safety needs of these campesinos. Additionally, future studies should be aimed at designing and introducing long-term, well-structured public health interventions to increase awareness about the harmfulness of pesticides on human and environmental health so as to promote a well-established behavioral change in relation to pesticides use reduction among these communities.

El trabajo de grado está orientado a identificar los factores de las condiciones de trabajo que inciden en que un alto porcentaje de los servidores del Ministerio de Educación Nacional permanezcan en la entidad una vez culminan sus estudios universitarios y de postgrado, a pesar de no tener posibilidades de avanzar profesionalmente. El estudio busca establecer si algunos factores de las condiciones de trabajo llevan a que los funcionarios perciban que la organización es congruente con sus valores, se sientan bien con su trabajo y carrera, encuentren coherencia con sus expectativas e intereses profesionales, o por el contrario, les lleva a que sobrepongan la estabilidad al alcance de sus aspiraciones y deseos de crecimiento y desarrollo tanto personal como profesional. El trabajo está estructurado de la siguiente manera: Inicialmente se presenta el contexto institucional, el problema, la justificación y los objetivos de la investigación. Posteriormente se incluyen algunos antecedentes de la investigación, los referentes teóricos y el marco metodológico, en el que se establece el tipo de estudio, la población, la muestra, las categorías de análisis y los instrumentos que se utilizarán para la recolección de información. Finalmente se presentan los resultados del estudio, las conclusiones y el plan de intervención.