The importance of early childhood education is indisputable. In the last decades developing countries have prioritized their budget towards education but despite those efforts, institutional investment in education still does not translate in higher enrollment rates in early education. Public investment can provide educational facilities, quality, and other institutional measures but only household’s investment will enable its utilization. This study pursued to identify poor household’s constraints to investment in basic education in Colombia, to understand how educational policy actions should be focalized. The OLS and fixed effects analysis for 2008 and 2003 estimates evidence the gap between urban and rural households, suggesting that the educational attainment of the parents is the most robust determinant of expenditure in early education and that data for single-mothers as the most vulnerable group is not conclusive enough. Policy targeting this population should be revised and resources prioritized towards specific programs to improve educational attainment of parents and decentralization measures. This kind of research provides empirical evidence for Colombia and would be useful for policy makers who seek a general understanding of educational regulatory policy and its implications to national development.

As a response to the negative impacts of tourism a new sustainable tourism has arisen, specifically eco-cultural tourism. This new tourism preserves and strengthens the cultural components of local communities together with the natural environment surrounding their settlements. Utilize both as touristic attractions generating job opportunities and environmental conscience among locals and tourists. Implementing Eco-cultural tourism through community participation allows creating win-win situations among the stakeholders involved, especially the less advantaged ones. This study focus on a case study of the communities La Boquilla, Marlinda and Villa Gloria settled in the northern area of Cartagena-Colombia. Their settlements are surrounded by a very biodiversity-rich area, considered one of the greenest spots of the metropolitan area of the city, the Juan Polo Marsh. The aim of this study is to examine the stakeholder’s perceptions in regard to utilize the community participation approach for developing eco-cultural tourism as a holistic strategy for taking advantage of the economic, social and environmental assets enclosed in the study area’s natural system. It was found that there are very positive conditions for developing an eco-cultural project in the study area and tremendous assets that would enhance very interesting project results. Theoretically the initiative is supported by the stakeholders interviewed and the legislation. However, several obstacles must be overtaken in order to even start the negotiations for the preliminary planning. To proceed with more complex project phases it is highly needed that the governmental sector guarantees the recognition of basic human rights to the local communities. 

Regarding the Amazon environment as a complex world defined by the interaction of natural and human elements, the aim of this thesis is to present the intellectual framework that characterized the ethnobotanical collecting of Richard Evans Schultest for the Harvard Botanical Museum. The thesis contextualizes the case study as part of the scientific drive of natural history museums from the nineteenth-century onwards, and focuses in the mid twentieth-century in regard to the specific collection and fieldwork. The issue of appropriation refers to the assumed role of museums, as Western institutions, of collecting, describing, and classifying the natural plant kingdom. Appropriation also refers to the assimilation, through scientific endeavors, of plants and knowledge that are significant to other cultures’ views of their natural and social environment. The issue of representation deals with showcasing natural and ethnographic collections in museums as non-contested, self-explanatory identities of other peoples’ culture through the mediation of a neutral observer’s standpoint and different museum practices. The thesis touches upon the role of study collections in a university museum setting to further knowledge for science. In particular, the Economic Botany Collection was intended to further the understanding of psychoactive plants used by traditional cultures for medicinal purposes. The outcome was quite complex, and the influence of this surveying effort still stands as one of the most compelling studies any museum has engaged with in the twentieth-century.

China is a successful destination for companies that are looking to receive a good return on their investment and make part of the most outstanding economy in the world. The adverse condition promoted by the state, impact directly the performance of multinational companies, one of these consequences is the Trapped Cash caused by the regulated environment in which the corporation is developing the business. The specific problem of the trapped cash will be analyzed in three different levels; the first one is China in order to familiarize corporations with the environment, generating greater understanding of the basic concepts and concerns that the organization would face. Second, the current theoretical solutions to the problem that will offer and a handful of solutions; third and finally, the case of Alcatel Lucent, a multinational company that has a long background in the Chinese environment, and is struggling because of the trapped cash in China, however, is implementing a solution to solve the liquidity problems of the organization. Concluding the study is possible to highlight the various approaches to increase the liquidity of the company by improving the management practices for the trapped cash situations. Nonetheless, while the roots of the trapped cash remain, a significant amount of cash will be freed.

In this thesis two different studies are presented separately because each study has a different purpose even though the two studies are complementary. For the first study an available dataset for BCI is used. This dataset is consistent with the aim of the first study because it allows the implementation and development of the proposed technique for BCI based on imaginary limb movement with a small amount of electrodes. The technique I implemented trough this study is a reliable option to be used for a BCI-based on imaginary movements. In the second study a different dataset is used because the requirements for the technique to be implemented are different. Training and testing dataset are necessary to describe a practical computational technique that is applied for a single trial classification based on a Common Spatial Pattern and complemented with a linear discriminator. The training data is used to build a classifier and the testing data allows measuring the performance of the classifier implemented. After testing the classifier the good performance obtained makes this technique of great interest for any imaginary movement based-BCI.

This research project focuses on the experiences and narratives of Syrian exiles living in Turkey. The emphasis of this research was placed on the perceptions of each person about their new environment, and the way they rebuilt their lives in exile while the conflict intensified in Syria. The research question is: how do Syrian exiles configure their social worlds in exile and how do they narrate their experiences? By social worlds I refer to the participants’ relation with their new life in displacement, to the space and the people around them, and to the way their memories and expectations influence this relation. I conducted my research with Syrians from different social backgrounds, different ages, and different dreams for the future. Their experiences, varied as they were, shared many similarities and exemplified the anguish and hardship that forced displacement causes to people. Some participants tried to center their everyday lives in remembering past times in Syria, during the beginning of the revolution and before it began. These memories were brought back to life by sharing them with others, by spending days following the news of the destruction of their cities, and talking to their loved ones that remained in Syria. Their life was interrupted when the conflict intensified and they were forced to relocate in Turkey, thus, most participants did not have the opportunity to regard this as the past, but as an interrupted present. While living in exile, most participants lived day by day without making further plans, hoping for something to change. The fact that the conflict in Syria is not showing any signs of arriving to a peaceful solution soon, people’s uncertain condition perpetuates.

Nash and Walras equilibria have been studied from the angle of differential topology, yielding comparable results about existence and topological structure of equilibrium sets. Following a presentation of such results we shall review results on the Nash implementation of Walrasian equilibria. The purpose of the exercise is twofold: to establish a refinement criterion among multiple Walrasian equilibria and to study mechanisms closer to real markets than the Walrasian tâtonnement. Following up on results relating the best-reply dynamics and the natural projection, our conclusion is that some adjustments on the economic model are likely needed for implementation to link the topological structure of Walrasian and that of Nash equilibria.

For drug delivery applications, it is desirable that the drug is released with a maintained therapeutic level, at a specific site and with a specific rate in the body. To achieve this, drug molecules have to be encapsulated in a carrier. Ordered mesoporous silicas (OMSs) have been suggested to be used as a reservoir for drug molecules, since they have mesoporous structure, biocompatibility, high loading capacity, efficient encapsulation of cargo molecules, high surface areas and tunable pore sizes and volumes. OMSs have shown to enhance the dissolution rate of poorly water soluble drugs. At least 40% of drugs developed exhibit poor water solubility, which limits drug dissolution rate, reducing drug bioavailability. A method for improving the dissolution rate is to increase its surface area in contact with the dissolution media, which can be achieved by loading the drug onto a high surface area carrier as that of OMSs. The aim of this work was to evaluate different amorphous silicas for incorporation of a water insoluble antifungal agent, Clotrimazole, by using scCO2 as impregnation process. Clotrimazole was incorporated on three different silicas (Formac, SBA-15 and SYLOID® AL-1 FP). It was possible to determine the relationship between pore volume, size and morphology and surface area with the incorporation degree. An important observations is that OMSs are much more efficient at incorporating drugs than the commercial formulation Syloid® AL-1 FP, which indicates that OMSs are a promising carrier to achieve enhanced oral bioavailability for drugs with low water solubility. Moreover, OMSs showed to be stabilizers for amorphous clotrimazole, which represents an interesting approach in the dissolution enhancement.

If we know how to apply a good communication and understand the roll of technology in our society, we can help elders become more useful and feel active helping them prevent depressions and applying their time to the new media technologies being also part of what’s going on and how fast technology changes and society has to evolve with it and take it part of their lives. The elderly have lots to offer, experience, education, wisdom and even money; we can´t leave all these on a side we need to act and change our perception of older people in our society. Kids should benefit from all of this that in one way or another is going to be useful for their learning. Some kids believe in what their grandpa´s says, in what their parents teach them and off course in what they learn in school. Kids are more capable to adapt to new environments and new languages but still its very fast and too much things that are happening at the same time and each time kids meets technology faster and younger that you get impressed of how fast they learn with this new media, or this new opportunity, if we could see it like that. What we need to understand is even if kids learn faster doesn't mean that adults and especially senior’s can’t learn. You just have to always have in mind that you’re never too old to learn. We need virtual connections to bring people, families together that for one reason life has separate them. Technology can add an enormous value to human relationships and permit or let you express your emotions beyond others even not having them present or standing towards or beside you. It can also help to have a better communication and improve your relationship getting closer. Communication progress, new technologies and a better living, leads to more and more new solutions in the field of design. The increasing diversity between developed end developing countries give designers a very important role today. Design and technology is a powerful medium to reach and to give new possibilities not only to people with easy access to Internet and digital devices. It is necessary to provide new opportunities for next generation in poorer countries, because only in this way they have a chance for a better future. Service design is made for people. The social reality is created as a result of the sum of all individual actions and communication between each other.

Auricular reconstruction remains one of the biggest challenges faced by plastic surgeons. Reconstruction with autologous cartilage has proven to offer a lasting reconstruction with acceptable cosmetic results when performed by very experienced surgeons; however, the learning curve is long and few surgeons around the world have mastered this technique. For less experienced surgeons clinical outcome is frequently wanting; moreover, reconstructions with autologous cartilage carry its own burden of donor site morbidity and surgical complications. In order to reduce operating time, avoid the risks and complications inherent of cartilage harvest and homogenize clinical outcome of ear reconstruction, auricular off the shelf scaffolds have been manufactured using biomaterial. The only auricular scaffold present in the market today is made of high density porous polyethylene and commercialized under the trade name Medpor®. Despite its limited success porous polyethylene has not fully convinced surgeons due to its stiffness and extrusion rates. A novel nanocomposite polymer has been developed by Prof. Seifalian and its team at UCL by the incorporation of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanocage as pendant side chains into poly (carbonate-urea) urethane. POSS PCU can be shaped as an auricle, it mimics the elastic properties of auricular native cartilage and supports cell growth and proliferation. In this project we have used human dermal fibroblasts primary cells (HFF) to study and compare cellular response on POSS PCU and Medpor®. In vitro experiments detected significantly higher cell adhesion on POSS PCU when compared to Medpor® (p < 0,05). Dynamic condition at 50 RMP was found reduce cell attachment on both polymers; under this condition POSS PCU supports higher cell adhesion than Medpor®. Even though no difference on cell proliferation or metabolic activity per cell was found between the two polymers, POSS PCU, with higher cell adhesion, have higher overall cell proliferation and metabolic activity. Collagen production per cell was found to be significantly increased on Medpor®; however, the higher cell number found on POSS PCU managed to produce as much total collagen as its counterpart. Even though POSS PCU is non-degradable, HFF were found to lower POSS PCU young’s modulus and make the scaffolds more flexible. Even though further refinement of POSS PCU scaffold production and the need for additional in vitro and in vivo studies, this biomaterial is a promising alternative for auricular reconstruction.