Abstract: Complaining is a complex and ubiquitous social action in daily conversations in which speakers use language to navigate through everyday trouble and build interpersonal relationships. Previous research has identified and explored how two main categories of complaints, i.e. direct and indirect, are co-constructed to achieve different interpersonal effects (Heinemann & Traverso, 2009). Although the growing interest in complaints has engendered studies in multiple languages other than English (e.g. German, French, Danish), research in Spanish, for example, remains limited to institutional settings mostly. This study fills this gap and aims to (1) systematically explore how different types of complaints are co-constructed in casual interactions in Spanish, and (2) examine how degrees of intimacy between participants emerge from their affiliative practices in complaining. The data comes from two corpora (CallFriend and CallHome) and comprises nearly 9.5 hours of audio-recorded phone conversations in Spanish between friends and family members. The analysis draws on interactional pragmatics to examine in detail the emergent sequential practices associated with interpersonal relationships (Haugh, 2012; Haugh, forthcoming). The findings indicate that recipient-oriented and self-oriented complaints occur considerably less frequently than situation-oriented and third-partyoriented complaints in the corpus. A detailed turn-by-turn analysis shows that complaints in Spanish, as in other languages (Selting, 2010; Rääbis et al., 2019), are prosodically emphasized, lexically detailed through extreme case formulations, and syntactically presented as complaint implicatives through questions. It also demonstrates that some language-specific markers such as oye, mira, and ay often appear at the beginning of bounded complaint sequences, epistemic negotiations, and emotional stances. Sequentially, complaints are co-constructed through denials, non-serious frames, assessment escalations, advice sequences, affiliative complaints, and epistemic negotiations. The resulting interactional patterns unveil different degrees of intimacy and affiliation expectations between the participants. Remarkably, while (non) (dis)affiliation are frequent patterns in the corpus, selective affiliation, a term used here to describe affiliative expectation mismatches, constitutes a salient practice when interactants share the role of the complainant through affiliative complaints or co-complaining. In relation to intimacy, selective affiliation often signals distance between the interactants and also attempts to achieve in-group membership. By exploring casual talk in Spanish, this systematic analysis of complaints contributes to the under-explored area of how complaining is coconstructed and accomplished in interaction.

Abstract: This thesis brings a perspective of emotions and education and explores how affect can be incorporated as a form of pedagogy. Specifically this research focuses on the emotional epistemologies of the students as they inform social dynamics and relations of power/knowledge, are sites of resistance and represent another form of knowledge coming from affects and emotions that are being and becoming critical. I build upon pedagogical situations I experienced working in public and private schools in Bogotá, Colombia to interrogate biopolitical and disciplinary practices in pedagogy and to propose and reimagine a Decolonial/Feminist and Commoning pedagogy that involves collective and collaborative learnings that de-center the production of knowledge from the teacher and center curiosity and emotions as crucial points of departure for transformative learnings. I draw on two interviews I conducted with two scholar- artists and educators that are engaged in alternative pedagogies aiming to bring a perspective of the Commons and affective pedagogies that serve as counter points to a neoliberal and knowledge economy logic in education. While examining the different approaches I addressed in this research project, I have aimed to contribute to the interdisciplinary field of education bringing a perspective about affect and emotion and opening new possibilities for theory and research. Also to raise discussions and to invite further engagement on thinking about alternative pedagogies in school contexts.

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.

Resumen: La Piscina Romano es una piscina al aire libre tradicional de la ciudad de Milán, construida en el año 1920, que funciona solo en los meses de verano y luego se vacía y se cierra durante el resto del año. Mi objetivo ha sido crear una instalación de parque temporal dentro del área de la piscina, para volverla útil en meses en que está vacía. El complejo balnear está ubicado en un área central de la ciudad de Milán, en una zona residencial y predominantemente universitaria, con una importante presencia del de Milán. La Piscina Romano tiene un área de 17.400m2 aprox. y sólo un 29% de su área es funcional durante todo el año. El estado actual de este complejo balnear es un espacio totalmente fragmentado y desarticulado, de áreas abandonadas y sub-utilizadas, que quise integrar y refuncionalizar dentro del proyecto de parque temporal. La idea de crear un parque surgió con la intención de ampliar el parque de juegos de la piscina Romano hacia la piscina grande. Partiendo del concepto “La piscina que se convierte en parque”, luego también hice lo contrario, es decir, “el parque que se convierte en piscina”, esto quiere decir que el área de juego actual se ha convertido en una especie de piscina metafórica. De esta manera, los integré, pero también creé una ambigüedad entre uno y otro, disolviendo los límites entre ellos y produciendo un único espacio recreativo, dentro de una paradoja: no un parque y una piscina, sino un parque acuático y recreativo. Diseñé una obra de street painting en el suelo de todo el complejo para crear una metáfora. Los gráficos del suelo inundaron todo el balneario e integraron todas las piezas. En el edificio de vestieres decidí en cambio, crear un parque cubierto para permitir que la dinámica social alrededor del área de juegos al aire libre continúe desarrollándose a pesar del frío, y para que los niños, padres y ancianos tengan un lugar de encuentro cómodo en los meses más fríos del año. Por otro lado, quería retomar el complejo escultórico “Los Baños Misteriosos” de Giorgio De Chirico, actualmente ubicado en la Trienal de Milán, trasladándolo a la Piscina Romano como parte del proyecto de parque temporal, agregando valor al parque. Finalmente, lo que había imaginado como un parque de estación se convirtió en un dispositivo permanente. Las esculturas adquirieron un papel protagónico y el proyecto se convirtió en un escenario para exhibirlas. El resultado es una especie de parque acuático y recreativo, pero con esculturas valiosas.

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: The A Dos Music Project is a Latin American music clarinet duet founded by professional clarinetists Ivan Valbuena and Luz Sarmiento, a Colombian couple who have been expanding the horizons of Latin music by performing traditional music with a nonconventional instrumentation and demanding arrangements. By combining the technical and artistic possibilities of the clarinet with the fresh and unique sound of Latin rhythms, A Dos Music Project displays a virtuosic, improvisatory, and innovative manner of performance that reaches all kinds of audiences. The ensemble’s mission is educational development and the promotion of music and art as a means of social transformation. This clarinet duet strives to engage new generations of audiences through interactive concerts and workshops designed to inspire young musicians in disadvantaged areas of the world, including refugee camps in Sweden and Germany and El Sistema1 -inspired programs in the US and Latin America. This initiative was inspired by the important role of the clarinet in Colombian folk music and the deep influence that this music had on the artistic development of the musicians of the ensemble. The virtuosic features and flexibility of the clarinet allow the players to perform Colombian and Latin American music with a reduced instrumentation of just two clarinets. The complexity of the rhythms and colors of the Latin Music are explored in advanced and demanding arrangements and compositions, featuring the technical and musical capabilities of the instrument. As teaching artists, the members of A Dos Music Project (ADMP) look to integrate their art and skills into a wide range of settings while engaging their audiences in learning experiences. This purpose led them to develop a workshop designed to provide young musicians with the opportunity to interact with a piece of music by using their body. By creating muscular sensations and allowing an interior perception of the sound, rhythm, and form, young musicians can improve their hearing and consequently their playing. The use of body percussion plays an important role in the development of the ADMP workshop since it makes a direct connection between the particular characteristics of Latin music and the learning experience. The A Dos Music Project National Tour was an innovative and ambitious community outreach music initiative undertaken by the clarinet duet A Dos Music Project during the month of July 2017. The tour sought to achieve the following objectives: - To introduce isolated communities to the benefits of the artistic education and music making as a transformative experience through the performances and life testimony of the members of A Dos Music Project. - To provide under-served music programs with musical knowledge and performances skills at a high level. - To improve self-esteem and self-perception to help the students to achieve their full potential. - To stimulate physical, mental, and socioaffective areas in the human being through the use of bodily exercises in the classroom. -To facilitate musical knowing and the development of rhythmic skills through the practice of body percussion. - To promote the performance of Colombian traditional music in nonconventional settings with advanced technical resources. The A Dos Music Project visited 12 cities in the Andean, Pacific, Amazonian, and Caribbean regions of Colombia, offering workshops, masterclasses, private lessons, lectures, and interactive concerts to communities of local music programs with social missions. The main activity offered by ADMP was a workshop designed to combine traditional music arranged for two clarinets and body percussion patterns specifically designed to emulate the percussion section of the traditional genres of the porro and the pasillo. The tour took place from July 6 to 29, 2017, and reached around 450 children and youth from 14 different music programs with great needs.