Abstract: The adequate provision of service delivery is essential for social welfare; however, providers performance varies, tending to underperform in developing countries. Therefore, whether providers responsiveness is sensitive to citizen oversight remains a relevant question for public governance. To this extent, Understanding the dynamics of accountability as a strategy to foster access, quality, and affordability of services delivery is vital to ensure development. This thesis establishes a quantitative assessment of the relationship between accountability and development. First, I systematically reviewed the empirical literature evaluating how accountability interventions affect service delivery in developing countries between 1990-2020, finding twenty-one papers from nine developing countries. Then, I conducted a meta-analysis based on an RVE model with over 90 outcomes to quantitatively synthesise the effectiveness of accountability in triggering citizen oversight of service delivery and providers responsiveness. The findings suggest that although accountability increases citizen knowledge of civic and political means to demand service delivery reforms, factors such as context, accountability structure and interventions length influence its effectiveness. While the results provide evidence to inform policy-making about aspects that effectively ignite citizen participation, they also suggest future research avenues to further conceptualise this relationship in an era of widely accessible information and new approaches to democracy.

ESTE volumen rinde homenaje y celebra voces poéticas fundamentales que inauguraron nuevas miradas creativas en el siglo XX. Convencidas de la necesidad de visibilizar muchos nombres esenciales en la construcción literaria del yo, Raquel Lanseros y Ana Merino han reunido aquí ochenta y dos autoras nacidas entre 1886 y 1960, pioneras de la poesía en español de diferentes países y culturas. Poetas que abrieron camino desafiando las adversidades de su tiempo y que, en muchos casos, quedaron oscurecidas por la rigidez de un canon sesgado y mayoritariamente masculino. Esta selección de versos busca...

UN libro como Pasaje techado de John Ashbery (New York, 1927), al igual que la obra artística de Andy Warhol o Jeff Koons, no puede tener una lectura ni una evaluación inocentes, pues la valoración del mismo supone la revisión de un pasaje central de la historia y el canon literarios de su lengua. Ante estas altas expectativas, el poeta responde con una obra difícil, de riesgo, que ciertamente tendría escasas posibilidades de ser publicada sin vinculársela al nombre de su autor. Así, en Pasaje techado encontramos no un predominio de imágenes surrealistas, sino el de una sintaxis saboteada o subvertida por el nonsense. Es decir, dentro de lo que parecería ser un discurso estructurado formalmente se busca la creación constante de cortocircuitos, por medio de giros velocísimos, inesperados, absurdos, como si fuéramos reconociendo las emisoras de un extenso y desquiciado dial radiofónico.

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, el gran poeta inglés, nació en 1792 en Field-Place en las cercanías de Horsham (Sussex) y murió en Italia, en julio de 1822, un día de tormenta que se embarcó en su barco a vela "Ariel", rumbo a Lerici, y, sorprendido por la borrasca, apareció su cadáver en la playa de Vigreggio. Allí, en el pinar, se quemó a su cadáver, rescatándose su corazón que fue enviado a su mujer, Mary Shelley. El Adonais, es una obra perfecta donde los caracteres fundamentales de la poesía de Shelley están presentes. Debemos repetir esto: si Shelley es uno de los mayores poetas de todos los tiempos,...

CON sus múltiples heterónimos, Fernando Pessoa (1988-1935) no sólo crea un universo propio e inconfundible, sino también una especie de Neo-Olimpo pagano donde cada una de sus criaturas asume un rol distinto y preciso. En este contexto, el metódico y equilibrado Ricardo Reis desempeña un papel fundamental en lo que Pessoa llaMaría la reconstrucción del paganismo, una de sus más sostenidas aventuras intelectuales. De sus tres principales heterónimos, acaso sea Ricardo Reis el más desconocido por el público y sin embargo su poesía constituye el núcleo central del paganismo pessoano. La obra de Reis es...

Abstract: Recent seismic activity can be expressed by different forms of tectonic deformation in non-consolidated fluvial-lacustrine and debris-flow deposits. We study such deposits along the Interandean Cauca River Canyon in the Antioquia State in western Colombia as a proxy for paleoearthquakes related to the recent activity of Sabanalarga Fault System (SFS), which is one of the most prominent active faults in western Medellin city. Our aim is to evaluate the recent tectonic activity through three complementary aspects: I) a geo-morphotectonic evaluation of the surface traces of the SFS, lineament analysis and calculation of geomorphological indices of active tectonics; II) a paleoseismological assessment of three trenches and outcrops with evidence of recent (Middle Pleistocene to Holocene) faulting and liquefaction in fluvial-lacustrine and alluvial sediments; and III) a preliminary regional compilation of historical seismicity from the colonial epoch archives and assessment of the social perception regarding earthquakes and landslide-dams along the Cauca River canyon. Based on a 10-m resolution hydrologically-corrected DEM, manually-drawn lineaments and field observations, we redefined the faults systems along the Cauca River canyon, between the municipalities of Sabanalarga and Sabanalarga in the Antioquia State, and extracted in a GIS environment evidence for tectonic activity and morphotectonic parameters. Morphotectonic outcomes reveal active tectonic deformation for the SFS and significant changes in relief, topography, and drainage-mountain front geomorphic indices values, suggesting a major active strike-slip faulting and high-uplift patterns regarding a vertical secondary component. An active tectonic framework has been established for the study area with the existence of around 30 sites with indications of Quaternary faulting. Using a combination of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL), Infrared Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL), and radiocarbon dating along with trenching, we estimated the timing of the identified paleoearthquakes related to the SFS and subsidiaries faults. We found evidence for at least three paleoearthquakes in the last ~30 kyr with moment magnitudes Mw ranging from 5.7 to 7.0. The last two seismic events identified in the Cauca River canyon, occurred around 4 and 1.1 kyr ago, respectively, indicating an average Holocene earthquake recurrence interval of ∼3 kyr. Twenty semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with local inhabitants to answer: I) what is the perception of the native population concerning damages and origin of geohazards, especially earthquakes? And II) is there any evidence in people's memory for ancient damming of the Cauca River? The locals determined several risk-scenarios for the Cauca River canyon as a result of their historical memory that has been inherited through generations, finding some myths and legends that preserve memories of the occurrence of historical earthquakes in the region. Additionally, based on the exploration Beneficiario COLFUTURO 2015 VI of historical archives of the Spanish colonial epoch and previous studies, we compiled the historical seismicity of the Antioquia State and reports of earthquake damage caused since the 18th century. Moreover, no evidence of seismic events in the colonial epoch between the 16th and 18th centuries was found for the surroundings of the study area. However, there is an earthquake reported in the Cali region that occurred in 1566 AD, in the southwest of the Antioquia State. The historical document is located in the folios of the Indias Archive of the "Audiencia de Quito" and it is considered as the oldest historically reported earthquake in Colombia. The evidence of recent tectonic activity (Upper Quaternary) in the Cauca River canyon, which is localized at less than 50-km distance to the city of Medellin with a population of 4 million, should be considered by the governmental agencies in future seismic hazard assessment in the region. Additionally, a plausible scenario with landslides along the river canyon triggered by the occurrence of a large earthquake must be taken into account, as it was demonstrated recently by the severe problems for the hydro-Ituango project, which is located 60 km downstream from the study area, caused by high-instability conditions (landslides occurrence). The results of this study clearly show the potentiality of the faults located along the Cauca River canyon to generate large earthquakes. Due to the slow slip-rates of these structures, the instrumental and historical seismic records are not providing a sufficiently long temporal coverage. Thus, it is necessary to characterize better the activity and the earthquake history of the faults employing paleoseismological studies. Resumen: La actividad sísmica reciente se evidencia mediante varias formas de deformación tectónica en depósitos fluvio-lacustres y aluviales no consolidados. Dentro de la investigación, se estudiaron estos depósitos a lo largo del cañón Interandino del Rio Cauca en el noroccidente de Colombia en el noroccidente del departamento de Antioquia, como una aproximación al entendimiento de los paleo-terremotos relacionados con la actividad reciente del Sistema de Fallas de Sabanalarga (SFS), el cual es uno de los sistemas de fallas más prominentes al oeste de la ciudad de Medellín. El estudio se basó en la evaluación de la actividad tectónica reciente a través de tres aspectos complementarios: I) la geo-morfotectónica de las trazas superficiales del SFS, análisis de lineamientos y cálculo de índices geomorfológicos de tectónica activa; II) la paleosismología de tres trincheras y afloramientos con evidencias de fallamiento y licuefacción reciente (del Pleistoceno Medio al Holoceno) en sedimentos fluvio-lacustres y aluviales; y III) la compilación regional preliminar de la sismicidad histórica de los archivos de la época colonial y la evaluación de la percepción social respecto a los terremotos y represamiento por deslizamientos a lo largo del cañón del río Cauca. Se redefinieron los sistemas de fallas a lo largo del cañón del Rio Cauca, entre los municipios de Sopetrán y Sabanalarga en el departamento de Antioquia, con base en un Modelo de Elevación Digital de 10 m de resolución, la identificación de lineamientos y observaciones de campo, además, se calcularon en un ambiente SIG varios parámetros morfotectónicos como evidencia de tectónica activa. Los resultados morfotectónicos revelan una deformación tectónica activa espacialmente variable para el SFS y cambios significativos en los valores de los índices geomórficos del relieve, la topografía y el drenaje, lo que sugiere un fallamiento activo de rumbo y patrones de levantamiento con respecto a un componente secundario de fallamiento vertical. Adicionalmente, se estableció un marco de tectónica activa para el área de estudio con la existencia de alrededor de 30 sitios con indicios de fallamiento Cuaternario. Se estimaron las edades de ocurrencia de varios paleo-terremotos relacionados con el SFS y sus fallas secundarias, mediante la combinación de varios métodos de datación: luminiscencia ópticamente estimulada (OSL), luminiscencia estimulada por infrarrojo (IRSL) y radiocarbono, junto con herramientas paleosismológicas y apertura de trincheras. Se encontraron evidencias de por lo menos tres paleo-terremotos en los últimos 30 mil años con magnitudes Mw que van desde 5.7 y 7.0. Los dos eventos sísmicos más recientes identificados en el cañón del Rio Cauca, ocurrieron dentro del Holoceno, alrededor de 4000 y 1100 años, respectivamente, lo que indica un intervalo de recurrencia promedio de 3000 años. Se realizaron 20 entrevistas semiestructuradas a los habitantes del cañón del Rio Cauca con el objetivo de responder principalmente las siguientes preguntas: I) ¿Cuál es la Beneficiario COLFUTURO 2015 VIII percepción de la población nativa sobre los desastres y el origen de la amenaza geológica, especialmente terremotos?; y II) ¿existe alguna evidencia en la memoria de la población de un antiguo represamiento del Rio Cauca? Como resultado, los lugareños determinaron varios escenarios de riesgo dentro del cañón del Rio Cauca, a partir de su memoria histórica que ha sido heredada por generaciones, encontrando algunos mitos y leyendas que conservan los recuerdos sobre la ocurrencia de terremotos históricos en la región. Además, con base en la exploración de archivos históricos de la época colonial española y estudios históricos previos, se compilaron datos acerca de la sismicidad histórica del departamento de Antioquia y los informes de daños causados por terremotos desde el siglo XVIII. Sin embargo, no fueron encontrados registros de eventos sísmicos de la época colonial entre los siglos XVI y XVIII en los alrededores de la zona de estudio. No obstante, si se halló un documento físico que registra el terremoto más antiguo reportado históricamente en Colombia, dentro de los folios del Archivo de Indias de la "Audiencia de Quito". Este sismo ocurrió entre los departamentos del Cauca y Valle del Cauca en el año de 1566 DC. Las evidencias de la actividad tectónica reciente (Cuaternario Superior) en el cañón del Rio Cauca, que se localiza a menos de 50 km de distancia de la ciudad de Medellín y su área metropolitana (con una población de 4 millones de habitantes), tienen implicaciones relevantes sobre cómo las entidades gubernamentales deben contemplar la amenaza sísmica en la región. Se hace necesario caracterizar mejor la actividad y el historial de terremotos de las fallas en los estudios de amenaza a partir de estudios paleosismológicos Adicionalmente, teniendo en cuenta estos resultados, se debe evaluar el posible escenario en donde se generen grandes movimientos en masa a lo largo del cañón del Rio Cauca, desencadenados por un evento sísmico de alta magnitud, así también como las implicaciones directas sobre la presa del proyecto hidroituango, ubicada 60 km aguas abajo de la zona de estudio, debido a la inestabilidad y debilitamiento de la obra por los deslizamientos ocurridos entre mayo y julio de 2018. Los resultados de este estudio demuestran el potencial de las fallas ubicadas a lo largo del cañón del Rio Cauca para generar grandes terremotos. Debido a las bajas tasas de desplazamiento de estas estructuras geológicas y a los registros sísmicos instrumentales e históricos que no proporcionan una cobertura temporal lo suficientemente larga.

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).