This paper studied the impact of a programme of Early Childhood Development that is giving nutritional supplements and home stimulation to children in four regions of Colombia during 2011. The aim of this study was to evaluate the improvement on anthropometric measures, haemoglobin and anaemia as a way to increase the human capital. It was found that the baseline data has similar characteristics of programmes such as Demography and Health Survey and Familias en Acción. It was found a high incidence of age and gender on growth and reducing stunting. Likewise, it was found significant increase in haemoglobin and reducing anaemia, which is mainly a result of age, concentration of haemoglobin itself and evaluated region. The study was not able to find significant effects of the intervention compared to the control group, possibly because the incidence of other explanatory variables.

La presente tesis lleva a cabo una “etnografía genealógica” en torno a los principales aspectos históricos que confieren al sector de San Victorino, en la ciudad de Bogotá, D.C. (Colombia, Suramérica) una serie de características espaciales y socioculturales propios de una “zona de frontera urbana” cuyo alto valor estratégico, tanto en términos patrimoniales como inmobiliarios y de localización en la ciudad, atrae significativamente el interés de los reformadores urbanos. Lo anterior ha generado en años recientes una serie de conflictos relacionados con la construcción de rasgos de identidad por parte de los actores sociales presentes en el sector que reivindican una serie de prácticas y modos de vida producidas en el entorno local, ante las tendencias señaladas por una ciudad que intensifica su inserción al actual proceso de globalización. Es precisamente este factor el que permite evidenciar situaciones similares en otras metrópolis del subcontinente latinoamericano (Quito, Lima y México, D.F.), marcados por elementos históricos, socioculturales y urbanísticos comunes que contribuyen a la realización de una reflexión etnológica y antropológica por medio de un análisis comparado. El objetivo de este análisis consiste en comprender los efectos que las reformas urbanas impulsadas por las tendencias de la ciudad global en el siglo XXI tienen sobre estas zonas de frontera y sobre los grupos de población que habitan en los escenarios locales donde se desarrolla este tipo de intervenciones, muchos de los cuales ya han creado un modus vivendi en esos lugares y ven transformada su existencia a raíz de los proyectos promovidos por las administraciones urbanas.

This report focuses on the representation of architectural and urban atmospheres in the advertising of architectural projects. The primary objective is to highlight the role of human figures in both; the representation of atmospheres and the lifestyles portrayed in the images, and as a method of helping potential customers identify and picture themselves in these images. This work is structured into four main parts: The first part sets out the theoretical framework. It highlights the fact that the research topic is new and belongs to the following three different and relatively known fields of study: The representation of atmospheres in architectural and urban projects, the image as a communication tool, and the staging of human figures in promotional advertising.In the second part, interviews with image production specialists are done in order to understand how images are made, what marketing strategies are used, how graphic atmospheres are conceived, and how the selection and staging of human figures is done. Based on the previous findings, the third part of the project consists of an in depth image analysis. A two phase approach is used: First, images used for the promotion of housing projects and architectural contests are analysed with the purpose of evaluating the difference of the role played by the human figures in these two types of project advertisement. Then, a detailed analysis of images of housing projects is made in order to highlight the most frequent elements used to depict an ideal urban atmosphere. A discussion is made on how this atmosphere is far away from reality and how individual interpretation influences the perception of these images that only represent an idyllic representation of reality; a depiction of how people would like to live in that perfect city. Lastly, the fourth part is dedicated to the collection of perceptions from potential customers of housing projects based on 3 images of an ideal urban atmosphere. The design, completion, and analysis of these surveys represent the experimental section of our research. This last part validates the different hypotheses concerning the role of human figures and shows that they are used as a tool for facilitating the perception of positive atmospheres even though they do not influence other general aspects such as the perception of light, the warmness, the harmony or the pleasantness of the atmospheres that are represented by these images.

The following study will explore the impact of the current oil price decline in the knowledge transfer process in International Strategic Alliances belonging to the Oil and Gas Sector. The research was oriented to the knowledge flow effects between International Partners and the Colombian National Oil Company. Also, experts from the Colombian Oil sector were consulted to identify those effects. Then, three analytical categories were designed to evaluate the case: the NOC's internal processes and Behaviour along with the Influence of knowledge gaps between the partners. Within these categories were considered variables such as Internal structures, Trust, Relational Capital, absorptive capacity and the NOC’s idiosyncrasies. The results suggest that the current oil price decline can influence the knowledge transfer in some cases but remain indifferent in others, whereas the effect of the Emerging partner’s Absorptive capacity might shape “learning traps” if the knowledge application capacity does not support the knowledge transfer process. 

In the last 60 years different efforts have been made for the construction of a metro system in Bogotá yet the closer the city has got to building a large transport project was with the implementation of a Bus Rapid Transport System in 1999 called Transmilenio. Transmilenio was a success at the beginning and it helped organize the chaotic transport system of the city, but at the moment it is suffering from capacity and operational problems and the need for a rail base system is evident. The current governments of Bogotá and Colombia have promised to begin the construction of the first line of the metro in the following years. Bogotá and London are two cities with similar characteristics such as population, area, density and type of soil; furthermore both cities are in the process of building a new mass transport system; in Bogotá the first line of the metro and in London Crossrail. London is a pioneer city in railways and metro systems in the world and has experience on the economic appraisal of this type of projects. In this dissertation we will use this experience to elaborate a Cost and Benefit Analysis model for the Bogotá metro. Cost and Benefit Analysis models are a common tool for the appraisal of transport and infrastructure project around the world and particularly in the UK. We have elaborated an appraisal tool for the decision makers of Colombia that involves the more important technical, social and economical aspects of the Bogotá metro project. After the evaluation of all the cost and benefits of the system and the preparation of a model with 3 different scenarios and 7 sensitivity tests the results shows that the project is completely feasible, it should be constructed and will bring benefits for the Colombian society.

Desde la fantasía y la magia de la creación indígena hasta la derrota del conquistador como resultado de la ambición y la destrucción, son algunos de los elementos que se combinan para ofrecer un nuevo comienzo a lo que hoy se llama Cultura Latinoamericana. Con el juego de formas, colores y sonido se produce un pieza en la que se busca el regreso a una identidad propia. Principales objetivos: Presentar tres escenarios de la civilización latinoamericana a través del uso de símbolos precolombinos, elementos históricos, el formato de cuento y la animación como medio de crítica política y social en contra de la discriminación cultural en Norte América. Entender el concepto de cultura como un evento cíclico de tesis, antitesis y síntesis. Crear una interpretación personal sobre lo que es la cultura en Latino América. Comentario Técnico: Tres historias para la creación es una producción bi y tridimensional que utiliza los programas de animación Maya y After effects como fuente principal para generar imágenes en continua transformación explorando el uso de máscaras de vectores y cámaras múltiples en el mismo cuadro. También explora el juego con el área de encuadre como un elemento variable que forma parte de la historia. Programas utilizados: Alias Wavefront Maya 3.0 Sensable Technologies Freeform 4.0 Adobe Photoshop 6.0 Adobe After effects 5.0 Final Cut Pro 2.0 Sound Edit 16 2.0 Adobe Ilustrator 10.0 Fractal Painter 6.0

The architectural design process is a negotiation between a problem and a solution through activities of analysis, synthesis and evaluation, it is characterised by being complex, with neither established nor mandatory patterns and methodologies. Design is an activity that involves constant and intensive decision-making processes in which designers, clients and users exchange knowledge and information in order to develop a solution for a given problem. However, these solutions do not always bring benefits to the client, causing dissatisfaction and creating problems for both clients and designers. These problems are mostly caused by the gaps between expectation and realisation on behalf of the client, often streaming from a lack of mutual knowledge between client and designer. Design and value management is a series of activities that can help designers to monitor, control and channel creativity in order to generate accurate, precise and valuable solutions for their client’s need. However, other design disciplines such as graphic and product design have different and valuable skills and methodologies that can contribute to this aim, helping architects to create proposals that will deliver longlasting benefits for both clients and end-users.

Combustion instabilities, induced by the resonant coupling of acoustics and combustion occur in many practical systems such as domestic boilers, gas turbine and rocket engines. They produce pressure and heat release fluctuations that in some extreme cases can provoke mechanical failure or catastrophic damage. These phenomena have been extensively studied in the past, and the basic driving and coupling mechanisms have already been identified. However, it is well known that most systems behave differently at cold start and in the permanent regime and the coupling between the temperature of the solid material and combustion instabilities still remains unclear. The aim of this thesis is to study this mechanism. This work presents an experimental investigation of combustion instabilities for a laminar premixed flame stabilized on a slot burner with controlled wall temperature. For certain operating conditions, the system exhibits a combustion instability locked on the Helmholtz mode of the burner. It is shown that this instability can be controlled and even suppressed by changing solely the temperature of the burner rim. A linear stability analysis is used to identify the parameters playing a role in the resonant coupling and retrieves the features observed experimentally. Detailed experimental studies of the different elementary processes involved in the thermo-acoustic coupling are used to evaluate the sensitivity of these parameters to the wall temperature. Finally a theoretical model of unsteady heat transfer from the flame root to the burner-rim and detailed experimental measurements permit to establish the physical mechanism for the temperature dependance on the flame response.

This dissertation critically examines the differentiation of Conflict IDPs (Desplazados) and Disaster IDPs (Damnificados) in Colombia, and the impact of label differentiation in the protection of their rights. The results presented in this study come entirely from a desk-based research, and will therefore focus on protection at a policy level. Based on Kälin’s Protection Cycle, this paper demonstrates how protection for both types of IDPs in Colombia is dealt with regardless of their label (prevention, assistance, and long term development), but discusses some of the remaining protection gaps.

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the Dutch-Colombian development cooperation projects in capacity building for higher education during the last five years. The implications, benefits and challenges of Colombia’s transition from recipient to a partner country for the Netherlands will be explored. The Netherlands has been a traditional donor country for Colombia since the 1960s, with a focus on water management, environment, food security, gender, good governance, and human priority sectors of bilateral collaboration programs. However, due to changing patterns of the Dutch foreign public policy for development cooperation since 2010 and also from the Colombian government since 2011, different sectors affirm that there is a shift in the way of doing partnerships with Latin American countries, especially with Colombia. There is a big debate between those who assume that capacity building programs for development in tertiary education are going to be replaced by business alliances and others who affirm that it will be a win-win partnership model between Colombia and the Netherlands. For this reason, in times of transformation development patterns questions arise such as how does the transition ‘from aid to trade’ between North-South countries, affects development effectiveness in Capacity Building programmes for tertiary education? What are the implications of the transition phase of the Dutch-Colombian partnership in the capacity building framework for Higher Education? Through semi-structured interviews with the main actors of 6 case studies from the Dutch-Colombian cooperation for capacity development in higher education (2010-2015) and a literature review of policy papers, institutional studies, reports, lectures and meetings, the present analysis will give a qualitative perspective to complement the existing literature and enrich the debate about upcoming challenges facing all the actors involved. Resumen: El propósito de la presente tesis es analizar los proyectos de cooperación al desarrollo Colombo-Holandesa en el fortalecimiento de capacidades en Educación Superior durante los últimos cinco años. Se examinarán las implicaciones, beneficios y desafíos de la transición de Colombia de ser un país receptor de ayuda a un país aliado para los Países Bajos. Tradicionalmente los Países Bajos han sido donantes de cooperación bilateral al desarrollo para Colombia desde la década de 1960, centrándose en la gestión del agua, el medio ambiente, la seguridad alimentaria, el género, la buena gobernanza y los derechos humanos. Sin embargo, debido a cambios en materia de política exterior holandesa para la cooperación al desarrollo desde 2010 y a su vez los cambios de política exterior del gobierno colombiano desde 2011, diferentes sectores afirman que hay un cambio en la forma de hacer alianzas con países latinoamericanos, especialmente con Colombia. Hay un gran debate entre los que asumen que los programas de desarrollo de capacidades en educación terciaria van a ser reemplazados por alianzas comerciales y otros que afirman que será un modelo de asociación gana-gana entre Colombia y los Países Bajos. Por esta razón, en tiempos de transformación se plantean cuestionamientos tales ¿ Cómo la transición "de la ayuda al comercio" entre los países Norte-Sur, afecta la eficacia de los programas de fortalecimiento de capacidades para la educación terciaria?¿Cuáles son las implicaciones de la transición de la cooperación Colombo-Holandesa en el marco de fortalecimiento de capacidades en Educación Superior? A través de entrevistas semi-estructuradas con los principales actores de 6 casos de estudio de la cooperación Colombo-holandesa para el desarrollo de capacidades en educación superior (2010-2015) y una revisión de literatura comprendida por documentos de políticas públicas, estudios institucionales, informes, conferencias y reuniones, el presente análisis brinda una perspectiva cualitativa para complementar la literatura existente y enriquecer el debate sobre los próximos desafíos que enfrentan todos los actores involucrados.