Abstract: On hearing about the massacre that took place in 1928 in Ciénaga, Colombia; Úrsula – a character from One Hundred Years of Solitude – wonders if history keeps repeating itself. Her concern, voiced in in the 1978 novel by Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel García Márquez, is entirely valid today, 500 years after the arrival of the first Europeans in America and nearly a hundred years after the massacre at the banana plantations. Nowadays, it’s not the Spanish crown or the United Fruit Company that are changing the sociopolitical panorama of Latin America, but technological giants form Silicon Valley colonizing the countries of the global south by creating dependency on their digital platforms. Three cases of colonialism in Latin America are examined to understand the evolution of the colonial system that has always been surrounded by a halo of inevitability. The first chapter, In the Name of God, studies colonialism as a system established after the arrival of the Spanish in America. The second chapter, In the Name of Progress, examines the colonial logic behind the United Fruit Company’s actions in South America and the Caribbean. The third chapter, In the Name of Information, reflects on current forms of colonialism through connectivity initiatives led by surveillance capitalist companies like Facebook. As a conclusion, an alternative to the colonial narrative is proposed, which consists of an emancipatory discourse, based on the texts of the Brazilian Oswald Andrade and Oswaldo Costa and Italian philosopher Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi. Resumen: Al enterarse de la masacre ocurrida en 1928 en Ciénaga, Colombia; Úrsula, un personaje de "Cien Años de Soledad", se pregunta si la historia sigue repitiéndose. Su preocupación, expresada en la novela de 1978 del premio Nobel Gabriel García Márquez, es plenamente válida hoy, 500 años después de la llegada de los primeros europeos a América y casi cien años después de la masacre de las bananeras. Hoy en día, no es la corona española, ni la United Fruit Company, las que están cambiando el panorama sociopolítico de América Latina, sino los gigantes tecnológicos de Silicon Valley que colonizan los países del sur global creando dependencias a sus plataformas digitales. Para comprender la evolución del sistema colonial que siempre ha estado rodeado de un halo de inevitabilidad, se examinan tres casos de colonialismo en América Latina. El primer capítulo, "En nombre de Dios", estudia el colonialismo como un sistema establecido tras la llegada de los españoles a América. El segundo capítulo, "En nombre del progreso", examina la lógica colonial detrás de las acciones de la United Fruit Company en América del Sur y el Caribe. El tercer capítulo, "En nombre de la información", reflexiona sobre las formas actuales de colonialismo a través de iniciativas de conectividad lideradas por empresas que abogan por el capitalismo de vigilancia como Facebook. Como conclusión, se propone una alternativa a la narrativa colonial, que consiste en un discurso emancipatorio, basado en los textos del brasileño Oswald Andrade y Oswaldo Costa y del filósofo italiano Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi.

Abstract: Every year, thousands are selectively killed and displaced in social cleansing campaigns in Colombia announced in publicly-posted pamphlets. Also known as the “black hand”, the selective killings have become a hallmark of the country’s poorest neighborhoods. Often perpetrated by neighbors, under the auspices of paramilitary groups and with the complicity or even participation of local police, these murders are touted as the necessary procedures of order in places where official justice cannot reach. Drug users, petty criminals, LGBTQ folk and especially trans women, are the preeminent targets of such campaigns. Already largely labeled as deviant or marginal, those whose lives are threatened and who dare make official complaints are dismissed by those institutions tasked with their safety. Purgare invites a consideration of social cleansing not from the perspective of the violence of its perpetrators, but through those who stand in resistance against it. This project accompanies a group of trans women who, faced with the extra-legal and legal dismissal of their lives, take recourse to magic to protect themselves and to reassert a modicum of agency. Bringing together photojournalism, anthropology, and artistic representation, the series and essay inhabits the magically real space created by these women, illuminating the powers they conjure in the worlds they create. Purgare stages the journeys of transformation crafted by these self-styled witches through their manipulations of plants and energies to forge lasting and powerful connections between new peoples and novel worlds. Purgare is imagined between disciplines and knowledges in an effort to expand the bounds of story-telling traditionally produced about violence. It builds a space in which those who struggle against structural violence can meet to create new representations of themselves and together weave novel images of power and possibility. Based on the stories of Stefania Grajales, Paola Caicedo and Catalina Lozano.

Abstract: The property of an organic molecule able to emit light efficiently from both their singlet and triplet excited states is called biluminescence. This dual state emission, particularly at room temperature, is difficult to achieve by purely organic molecules. It is possible only if the competitive thermal decay is suppressed effectively, enhancing the yield from the triplet state (i.e. phosphorescence) in addition to the conventional fluorescence. Biluminescence was identified in a simple host:guest system in which the biluminophore (i.e. an organic molecule showing biluminescence) NPB [N,N’-di(naphtha-1-yl)-N,N’- diphenyl-benzidine] is embedded in a rigid matrix, for example, the polymer PMMA [poly(methyl methacrylate)]. This system is unique not only due to the dual state emission, having fluorescence and phosphorescence emissions at 425nm and 530nm, respectively, but also because the large range of exciton lifetimes is extended up to nine orders of magnitude between nanosecond fluorescence and second phosphorescence. Up to date, efforts have been placed exclusively in the research of room temperature phosphorescence (RTP), although fluorescence can be observed from these systems as well. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was the investigation of the fundamental photophysical processes and characteristics of biluminescent organic molecules, in addition to their usage in promising applications as it will be described next. For instance, the most used approach for oxygen sensing is based on quenching of luminescent excited states, following a scheme of optical monitoring, i.e. correlating luminescence over-time data with oxygen concentrations. However, regardless whether one pursues fluorescence or phosphorescence quenching, they share a common drawback: They cannot monitor the effect of sample degradation due to extensive light exposure. In fact, one cannot distinguish between oxygen having penetrated the film and quenched the luminescence, or the sample being degraded over time due to e.g. photobleaching of the emitting molecules. The former represents an issue, especially for build-in applications. Now herein, it was proposed to use biluminescence to exclude degradation processes from oxygen sensing data evaluation, through a simple fluorescence-to-phosphorescence intensity ratio. This can be achieved, because it was proven here that the fluorescence is not directly quenched by oxygen, whereas the long-lived RTP is sensitive to it. Therefore, the fluorescence acts as self-referencing in a biluminescent sensor, which serves as an alternative solution to monitor oxygen concentrations. Additionally, the integration of the sensor into optoelectronic devices is considered as a potential future direction. Furthermore, it was revealed in this thesis that the difference in exciton lifetime yields to a significant limitation of luminescence efficiency, because of exciton accumulation under continuous illumination, causing bimolecular processes like singlet-triplet and triplet-triplet annihilation (STA and TTA, respectively), as well as optical saturation. All those processes occur already at moderate excitation intensities. It was demonstrated through sample engineering and oxygen quenching experiments, that the triplet exciton density can be controlled over several orders of magnitude, allowing to study exciton interactions between singlet and triplet manifolds. Consequently, the presented biluminescent system represents an illustrative role model to study excitonic effects in organic molecules. For example, in organic light-emitting diode materials, where the aforementioned effects i.e. STA, TTA and saturation, are application relevant but much more difficult to investigate. Mainly because light emission can be observed only from one state, instead of both states like in biluminescence.

Resumo: Após décadas das primeiras publicações sobre a plasticidade transcricional do sistema digestivo dos insetos polífagos, ainda não se conhece em profundidade como os genes são regulados e as vias de sinalização envolvidas neste mecanismo adaptativo. Inicialmente, foi mostrado que a adaptação de lagartas de H. armigera à alimentação com inibidores de peptidase de soja (IPs) se deve à alteração do perfil transcricional de genes codificadores de serino peptidases do sistema digestivo. A presença dos IPs na dieta causou mudanças na regulação de genes de um amplo repertório de enzimas proteolíticas, principalmente com o aumento de genes de tripsinas. A regulação diferencial de enzimas digestivas foi associada à adaptação da H. armigera ao efeito anti-nutricional dos IPs. Além disso, a análise de dados de expressão gênica em larga escala (RNA-seq) mostrou que aproximadamente 40% dos transcritos (cerca de 500 epialelos potenciais) induzidos pelos IPs foram transmitidos à geração seguinte, apesar das lagartas desenvolverem-se em dietas desprovidas de IPs. A fim de caracterizar um possível mecanismo epigenético responsável por este mecanismo adaptativo, foi realizado o metiloma do sistema digestivo das lagartas da primeira geração (alimentadas com e sem IPs) e das progênies de lagartas expostas aos IPs. Epialelos de metilação do DNA foram associados aos controles transcricional e traducional, sugerindo um possível envolvimento da alteração do padrão de metilação na adaptação de H. armigera aos IPs. Este trabalho abre novas perspectivas no entendimento do polifagismo e a plasticidade dos insetos na alimentação de um amplo número de plantas hospedeiras, influenciando o seu curso evolutivo.

Abstract: Terzo Valico dei Giovi is a huge railway project covered by more than 90 km of tunnels between Milano and Genova, to join the net of high speed and high capacity trains, part of the Rhine Alpine corridor of the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) to connect the main economical capitals of Europe improving the performance of transport and merchandise trade. The present study is according to the methodology used for ADECO-RS applied in the tunnels from Terzo Valico dei Giovi, referred about the support and the tunneling conventional method foreseen in DT2 (Direzione Tronco Piemonte) with the jobsites studied cases about DCP2 (Direzione Cantiere Piemonte 2). The thesis proposes to describe the Terzo Valico dei Giovi project with the technical and organizational aspects of conventional tunneling related to Vallemme and Moriassi jobsites. In addition, a description of the case studied about excavation in the presence of gas methane flow (Grisou) and the problem/solving encountered during the cycle excavation, the production activities and the management of Quality, Safety and Environment.

Abstract: This Master thesis presents a decentralized DDC strategy for major household appliances in Berlin. It exploits their power flexibility by means of three key indicators and supported by artificial intelligence. It has been examined whether those appliances may be used in a decentralized frequency regulation successfully. The appliances have been divided into two groups according to their operating characteristics- Thermal and Sequential Loads. This work also inquiries about the suitability of the control strategy to overcome power imbalances caused by PV generation. To answer this question, different seasonal and consumption scenarios have been analyzed. The control strategy is implemented using a modular approach. For this purpose, three main stages have been defined and divided into smaller units. For the implementation of these units Pandapower, MATLAB, and its toolbox MATPOWER have been used. The first stage is the power consumption forecast using a Neural Network. A feed-forward Network has been designed to estimate a day-ahead consumption profile for each household. At the second stage the Sequential Loads optimal scheduling takes place. A Genetic Algorithm optimizes the Sequential Loads turn on time based on householder preferences and characteristics. At the last stage the Dynamic Demand Control strategy takes place. On one hand, LSI stands for the characteristics of the appliances and for the user´s comfort. On the other hand, GSI and GCI represent the grid state from a technical and economic point of view. To validate the method a suitable network has been implemented. This network has 1800 households and includes 198 residential rooftop PV systems. Besides, several scenarios have been designed to test and compare the control strategy under different conditions. Influencing factors such as Energy Consumption Patterns and the size of the higher-level distribution grid are been modified. The analysis of the simulations shows that the proposed DDC strategy succeeds in frequency stabilization with flexible loads. The Energy Consumption Patterns play a relevant role to achieve this regulation. ECP d- the most realistic pattern, allows a successful control during the entire year with a significant low X value equal 10. These positive results allow for the conclusion that a decentralized control strategy with no information exchange can be implemented in a city like Berlin. Resumen: Esta tesis de maestría presenta una estrategia de control dinámica de demanda descentralizada para los principales electrodomésticos en la ciudad de Berlín. Esta estrategia explota la flexibilidad energética de los electrodomésticos mediante tres indicadores clave y al apoyarse en inteligencia artificial. Se ha examinado si esos aparatos pueden utilizarse con éxito en la regulación de frecuencia descentralizada. Los aparatos se han dividido en dos grupos según sus características de funcionamiento: cargas térmicas y secuenciales. Este trabajo también indaga sobre la idoneidad de la estrategia de control para superar los desequilibrios energéticos provocados por la generación fotovoltaica. Para responder a esta pregunta se han analizado diferentes escenarios estacionales y de consumo. La estrategia de control se implementa mediante un enfoque modular. Para ello, se han definido tres etapas principales y se han dividido en unidades más pequeñas. Para la implementación de estas unidades se han utilizado Pandapower, MATLAB y su aplicativo MATPOWER. La primera etapa es la pronostico del consumo de energía mediante una red neuronal. Se ha diseñado una red feed-forward para estimar el perfil de consumo diario para cada hogar. En la segunda etapa tiene lugar la programación óptima de cargas secuenciales. Un algoritmo genético optimiza el tiempo de activación de las cargas secuenciales en función de las preferencias y características del hogar. En la última etapa se lleva a cabo la estrategia de control dinámico de la demanda. Por un lado, LSI representa las características de los electrodomésticos y la comodidad del usuario. Por otro lado, GSI y GCI representan el estado de la red desde un punto de vista técnico y económico. Para validar el método se ha implementado una red adecuada. Esta red tiene 1800 hogares e incluye 198 sistemas fotovoltaicos residenciales en tejados. Además, se han diseñado varios escenarios para probar la estrategia de control en diferentes condiciones. Se modifican factores de influencia como los Patrones de Consumo de Energía y el tamaño de la red de distribución de nivel superior. El análisis de las simulaciones muestra que la estrategia DDC propuesta tiene éxito en la estabilización de frecuencia con cargas flexibles. Los Patrones de Consumo de Energía juegan un papel relevante para lograr esta regulación. ECP d- el patrón más realista, permite un control exitoso durante todo el año con un valor X bajo significativo igual a 10. Estos resultados positivos permiten concluir que una estrategia de control descentralizado sin intercambio de información se puede implementar en una ciudad como Berlín.

Abstract: Academic literature on the economics of migration has found multiple evidence to support the thesis that documentation (legal) status of labor migrants affects their labor participation and employment outcomes acting as a barrier of entry, and generating, alongside another sociodemographic variables, different types of labor absorption dynamics in their host countries labor market. In general, documented migrants tend to do better in host economies regarding wages, earnings, and quality of jobs. Nevertheless, when labor migration supply shocks occur because of effects of an economic, monetary, political, and humanitarian crisis as that of is currently undergoing in Venezuela, the migratory policy can only do so much in channeling and propping up decent, qualified and formal jobs. Using the Administrative Registration of Venezuelan Migrants (ARVM), this paper sets out to investigate the effect of the emergency-response migratory policy of Colombia in the labor market participation of Venezuelan migrant workers who arrived in the country mostly from 2014-2015. Using logistical and multinomial regressions and Year of Entry’s immigrant cohorts for 2015 and 2017, the study found that after controlling for sociodemographic variables, permanence intention, and duration of the migration, holding any documentation status was found to be negatively associated with migrants being employed by 2,7 percentual points in 2018. Although when analyzed individually, only the Permanence Special Permit (PSP) and Border Mobility Card (BMC) were associated with migrants having a 12,2 percentage points (pp) and 13,1pp on average higher likelihood to be employed. Regardless of the documentation status, the probabilities of being unemployed for a Venezuelan migrant were just as high when they were documented and undocumented. Resumen: La literatura académica sobre la economía de la migración ha encontrado múltiples evidencias para apoyar la tesis de que el estatus legal de los trabajadores migrantes afecta su participación laboral y los resultados laborales actuando como una barrera de entrada y generando, junto con otra variables sociodemográficas, diferentes tipos de dinámicas de absorción en el mercado laboral de los países receptores. En general, los migrantes documentados tienden a tener mejores resultados en las países receptores en cuanto a salarios, ingresos y calidad de los trabajos. Sin embargo, cuando se producen choques en la oferta de migración laboral por efectos de una crisis económica, monetaria, política y humanitaria como la que se vive actualmente en Venezuela, la política migratoria del país receptor resulta insuficiente para canalizar y apuntalar empleos decentes, calificados y formales. Utilizando el Registro Administrativo de Migrantes Venezolanos (ARVM), este documento investigó el efecto de la política migratoria de Colombia en la participación laboral de los trabajadores migrantes venezolanos que arribaron al país, desde 2014-2015. Utilizando regresiones logísticas y multinomiales y cohortes de entrada migratoria en 2015 y 2017, el estudio encontró una asociación negativa entre cualquier estatus legal de documentación y la probabilidad de los migrantes venezolanos de estar empleados, en 2,7 puntos porcentuales en 2018. Cuando se analizan por tipo de documento migratorio, los trabajadores con Permiso Especial de Permanencia (PEP) y la Tarjeta de Movilidad Fronteriza (TMF) presentaron probabilidades positivas de estar empleados de 12,2 puntos porcentuales (pp) y 13,1pp en promedio respectivamente. Estos resultados indican que la política de respuesta ha sido parcialmente ineficaz en limitar las presiones del mercado laboral y que su alcance debe dirigirse a crear y alinear políticas laborales regionales activas que aborden las barreras que incentivan a los migrantes a permanecer indocumentados.

Abstract: This master's thesis develops a critical reflection at the public space project as a mechanism for urban regeneration, placing the study case in downtown Medellin, between 1995 and 2019. Downtown Medellin is a territory characterized by its value as historical, geographical, economic, symbolic, and functional centrality. It has faced constant processes of destruction and reconstruction under different logics, leading to its gradual physical and functional deterioration and a loss of value as a centrality. Against this, urban regeneration objectives have been proposed since the 1960s. But it is in the 90s that a series of interventions aimed at this purpose were undertaken. This research advances in identifying the contributions and limitations of the public space projects executed, within the framework of urban regeneration plans and policies in the last 25 years. In the first instance, is presented a theoretical framework of reference of the main concepts to be addressed. These are the public space and the project, the issues about urban regeneration with an accent on the physical-spatial aspects and the notion of centrality. It follows a general outline through the history of growth, consolidation and decline of the city center, to continue with the analysis of the regeneration plans and public space projects, on which a comprehensive descriptive and critical study is presented. The projects are placed in their spatial and temporal contexts, and analyzed through texts, cartographies, and photographs, emphasizing in aspects like design, integration with the urban fabric and infrastructures, activities, and green spaces. Finally, crossing approaches, criteria and strategies grouped in three periods of time, it will be exposed the contributions and limitations that public space projects have had in the regeneration of downtown Medellín. Resumen: En este trabajo de fin de máster se desarrolla una reflexión con mirada crítica al proyecto de espacio público como mecanismo de regeneración urbana, situando el ámbito de estudio en el centro de Medellín, entre 1995 y 2019. El centro de Medellín es un territorio caracterizado por su valor de centralidad histórica, geográfica, económica, simbólica y funcional. Este ha afrontado procesos constantes de destrucción y reconstrucción bajo lógicas diversas, llevando a su paulatino deterioro físico, funcional y a la pérdida de valor como centralidad. Frente a esto se han planteado objetivos de regeneración urbana desde los años 60 del siglo XX. Pero es en los años 90 que se emprende una serie de intervenciones encaminadas a este propósito. Esta investigación avanza en identificar los aportes y limitaciones de los proyectos de espacio público ejecutados, en el marco de planes y políticas de regeneración urbana en los últimos 25 años. En primera instancia se presenta un marco teórico de referencia de los conceptos principales a abordar. Estos son el espacio público y el proyecto, las cuestiones sobre regeneración urbana con acento en los aspectos físico-espaciales y la noción de centralidad. Sigue un recorrido general por la historia del crecimiento, consolidación y declive del centro, para dar paso al análisis de los planes de regeneración y los proyectos de espacio público, sobre los que se presenta un amplio estudio descriptivo y crítico incluido. Los proyectos se sitúan en sus contextos espaciales y temporales, y se analizan por medio de textos, cartografías y fotografías, haciendo énfasis en cuestiones de diseño, integración con el tejido y las infraestructuras, los usos y el verde. Finalmente, cruzando enfoques, criterios y estrategias agrupadas en tres periodos, se expondrán los aportes y limitaciones que los proyectos de espacio público han tenido en la regeneración del centro de Medellín.

Abstract: Subcontracting and outsourcing have rapidly expanded in recent years. This contracting model is no longer restricted to marginal activities; as a matter of fact, in certain sectors it accounts for 100 percent of companies’ production. Furthermore, regarding employment and labor, subcontracting is classified as one of the forms of atypical employment. Such forms of employment have negative effects on the exercise of employment-related rights by workers linked to subcontractor companies. This boom, along with its negative impact, entails rethinking labor laws. This new analysis aims to identify the fundamental rights affected by this contracting form, as well as to explore the role that labor laws can play in fostering equality between directly-hired workers and those hired by subcontractors. Thus, the hiring by subcontractors did not allow the workers to fully enjoy their fundamental rights as defined by the ILO. As regards the trade union rights, the imbalance between the rights of subcontracting workers and those directly hired has three aspects: First, in some cases, the limits imposed by law on the rights of association, negotiation and strike prevent in subcontracting relations, the formation of organizations likely to become interlocutors with their direct employers and, even less, with contracting firms. Secondly, the impossibility of exercising collective rights results from material circumstances that do not permit enough workers to form a union and establish a dialogue with the employer. Material situations are diverse. They concern both the physical location of work, the lack of interest of employers and the pressure to discourage the exercise of trade union rights. Thirdly, the trade unions do not have, among their duties or missions, the defence of working conditions of workers «external», who are not part of the company’s workforce; The same applies to the competence of other forms of staff representation, with exceptions. In any event, the field of trade union action and collective bargaining does not address the issue of working conditions for subcontractors. The factual and legal separation of subcontractors from subcontractors, and the breakdown of the world of subcontracting into multiple small enterprises, prevent the regrouping of workers and, concretely, the creation of trade union organizations. For the same reasons, other rights, such as collective bargaining and strike rights, are neither respected nor exercised.

Résumé: Cette analyse se situe dans le cadre de la formation du Master 2 Linguistique : Spécialité Didactique des Langues et du Français Langue Etrangère et Seconde, de l’Université de Poitiers, France. À la fin de la deuxième année, on a l’occasion de réaliser un stage pédagogique, avec une durée totale de 300 heures, dans un organisme qui intègre l’enseignement du français comme langue étrangère ou seconde. J’ai eu donc la possibilité de faire mon stage dans la ville de Tunja en Colombie, à l’Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, et plus particulièrement à l’Institut International des Langues. L’objectif du stage est de concevoir le mémoire de Master, en créant un outil pédagogique expérimenté pendant 50 heures de cours, avec guide apprenant, guide pédagogique et volume d’analyse. De cette façon, ce volume a pour objet de faire une présentation réfléchie de l’outil fabriqué et de son expérimentation en contexte. Afin de faire une mise en contexte de la situation d’enseignement, je présenterai tout d’abord les particularités de la Colombie, de Tunja, la ville où le stage a eu lieu, des institutions éducatives et du système didactique. Puis, je présenterai l’approche et les grandes lignes qui véhiculent mon outil, dont les choix didactiques et de design de l’outil. Les pages suivantes seront consacrées à l’analyse critique de l’expérimentation de la méthode afin de voir la pertinence de cet outil. Les résultats et conclusions qui s’en tirent sont assez intéressants et sont surtout chargés d’une valeur formative immense. Resumen: Este análisis se sitúa en el marco de la formación de Master 2 Lingüística: Especialidad Didáctica de las Lenguas y del Francés como Lengua Extranjera y Segunda, de la Universidad de Poitiers, en Francia. Al final del segundo año, se tiene la ocasión de desarrollar una práctica pedagógica, con una duración total de 300 horas, en un organismo que integre la enseñanza del francés como lengua extranjera o segunda. Así pues, tuve la posibilidad de hacer mi experiencia práctica en la ciudad de Tunja, Boyacá, en la Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, y más particularmente en el Instituto Internacional de Lenguas. El objetivo de la práctica era el de concebir una monografía de Maestría, creando un material pedagógico experimentado durante 50 horas de clase, conformado por libro de texto (libro del estudiante), guía pedagógica (libro del profesor) y volumen de análisis (monografía). De esta manera, este volumen tiene el objeto de hacer una presentación reflexiva de la herramienta fabricada y de su experimentación en contexto. Con el fin de hacer una puesta en contexto de la situación de enseñanza, se presentará en primer lugar las particularidades del país, de la ciudad donde tuvo lugar la práctica, de las instituciones educativas y del sistema didáctico. Enseguida, se presentará el enfoque y las grandes líneas que vehiculan el material, así como las decisiones didácticas y de diseño de la herramienta. En las páginas siguientes, se abordará el análisis crítico de la experimentación del manual con el fin de medir la pertinencia de este material. Los resultados y las conclusiones son de gran interés y están cargados de un valor formativo inmenso.