This thesis begins with a description of the social, political and natural phenomena related with the human settlements at the slopes of the Galeras Volcano. Subsequently, a stateof-the-art is provided in order to understand the relevance of addressing the underlying confl ict at this point in time, from a regional planning perspective. Based on this preliminary analysis, a hypothesis regarding regional development as a risk management strategy for the community at the Galeras region is provided. With reference to this hypothesis, the general approach of this Master’s thesis is outlined by, integrating concepts of participation, risk management, regional planning and urban design. The regional strategy compresses several urban and regional projects at lower scales. These provide both safety in case of volcanic eruptions, and growth opportunities for the urban communities settled on this territory. Specifically, a set of four premises will be the core of the decisions: Land has a social value higher than its economic value; Life preservation is a shared goal for all parts involved; there is a local culture that has evolved in this specific territory and needs to be preserved; and there is a constitutional and democratic framework that can provide useful tools for this specific case. From these premises, two regional conclusions are key outcomes of this thesis: A preliminary risk analysis as a proposed further step from the current Volcanic Threat Map (INGEOMINAS 1997) and a regional development strategy for the Galeras Region (Pasto, Nariño and Florida).

This thesis explores the effect of disclosure on risk management policies. Following recent theory on risk management, with market imperfections, risk management creates value by reducing the volatility of the cash flows. Those risk policies are conditioned by actual disclosure rules that reduce information asymmetry between managers and shareholders, providing a comprehensive view of the firm. However, disclosure gives different accounting choices, hence affecting the decision-making process of managers. The purpose of this thesis is to establish if managers adapt their actual risk policy to disclosure rules. Specifically, we discuss how managers make decisions regarding exchange rate risk in forecasted transactions. In addition, we discuss how hedging affects valuation by using an investor perspective. This is done through the analysis of the automotive industry in Sweden, Germany and France and the considerations of analysts and auditors. We found that risk management policies are affected by accounting rules and that analysts are aware of those effects but have problems to measure them. However, not enough evidence was found to prove that managers try to avoid the volatility the fair value option brings when hedging a forecasted flow.

This paper explores if there is an independent South American employment relations’ model or it can be classified as an extension of the Mediterranean one, framed in last decades. It analyses the main features of the South American Model of employment relations and its resemblance with the Mediterranean one. It focuses on the analysis of the role of the state as a promoter of legislation, the unions’ identity and their bargaining structure, and the employers’ organisations’ role and corporate governance structure in South America. Additionally, it compares these patterns with the main features of the Mediterranean Model of employment, to conclude that both models have a close correlation regarding the employment relations systems, despite the cross national differences of size, economic performance and social-politic context. Through the classification of the South American model of employment as an extension of the Mediterranean one, this paper provides a theoretical and practical insight in the research of the employment relations.

Understanding and solving transportation issues is a pressing need for governments in Latin America and the Caribbean region. An increasing number of private vehicles, chronically deficient public transport systems, and a lack of infrastructure that guarantees the safety of non-motorized transport users characterize most of the major urban centers in this region, including Bogotá. – capital of Colombia –, the city in which the present study is focused. As a result, there is the emergence of economic, social and environmental problems including congestion, loss of time, informality, inequality, growing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, public health problems, etc. An approach that can greatly contribute to solving Bogot.’s dire transport situation is the combination of bicycle and public transport use. This approach can have a substantial impact in people’s mobility, motivate a shift in mindset that can potentially lead to a car-free lifestyle, and improve the overall system’s sustainability. These outcomes have been evidenced not only in developed cities like Munich but also in other cities within Colombia like Medellín.  The overarching goal of the present study is to reveal the attitude of Bogot. residents towards cycle-transit integration, gather insights from existing cycle-transit users, and formulate strategies to address the system’s structural deficiencies.The study includes an extensive review of existing literature on accessibility to public transport and the concept of cycle-transit integration, commonly known as bike-and-ride, as well as a description of the current mobility situation in Bogotá. This is combined with face-to-face and online surveys to determine cycle-transit users’ demographic profile and trip characteristics, understand their perception of the current system’s performance and issues, and identify how they prioritize measures aimed at improving the whole cycle-transit integration. The combination of a deep-dive in cycle-transit integration theory and first-hand verification and understanding of the reality faced by cycle-?transit users in Bogot. leads to the development of a set of specific recommendations organized in a three-step course of action: i) incentives ii) soft measures iii) physical infrastructure enhancements. The study finalizes with an outline of the actions that should follow this thesis.