Insects are essential for the functioning of ecosystems, delivering important ecological functions as nutrient recycling, pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal. Biodiversity increases the multi-functionality and resilience of ecosystems around the world, a valuable effect considering that global change is likely to have an impact on ecosystems globally. In the process of urbanisation, ecosystems are modified and plant and animal communities segregated, affecting biodiversity and thus jeopardising ecosystems in a global scale. Different insect taxa play distinct ecological roles, so assessing how environmental factors associated with urbanisation affect them is relevant for the conservation of biological diversity of cities. The main objective of this research project was to investigate how insect communities are affected by urbanisation, using an integrated multi-taxa and multiscale approach. The research project is divided in two fundamental questions: 1) Are insect communities affected by coarse or fine scale environmental filters? and 2) Are insect´s foraging abilities affected by environmental modification? To address the first question, I sampled four insect taxa (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera) in 19 sites with three levels of environmental modification, and multiple environmental variables associated with urbanisation. For the second question, I used focal plants to sample floral visitors in 19 sites with varying levels of environmental modification, recording the time taken for the focal plant to be discovered by an insect, and the number of insects after 48 hours. My results show that coarse environmental filters affect Hemiptera communities but do not seem to affect Coleoptera, Diptera, or Hymenoptera communities. Fine environmental filters such as proportion of native plants with flowers, site area, and proportion of green space are associated with species richness of coleopteran, dipteran and hymenopteran communities. Floral discoverability was not associated with environmental modification but the number of insects was higher in sites with higher environmental modification. Native floral resources are important for the maintenance of urban biodiversity, thus native plants should be used in urban green. Low species richness of hymenopterans and coleopterans in more urbanised sites indicates the susceptibility of these groups to urbanisation, reflecting what others studies have found in urban contexts worldwide. Environmental modification affects insects’ ability to discover and use floral resources. Where conservation initiatives use floral resource plantings to support biodiversity, environmental modification must be considered, to ensure that target taxa are able to reach the novel resources.

Globalization has spread the English language to all the regions in the world, including the global south. Particularly in Colombia, the hegemony of English is evident in bilingual programs at the state and private level. Elite bilingual schools have been accomplices of this “English as a lingua franca” ideology, and they have constructed educational schemes that have students not only learn English, but also be assimilated into a whole new culture, values, and identity: the cosmopolitan identity. The hegemony of English has been attributed as one of the causes for this cosmopolitan identity to be strengthened and the national identity to be weakened. Therefore, this cosmopolitan identity, which is supposed to value all languages, cultures, identities, communities, and countries in the same way, is stratified: it devalues the Colombian students’ native language, culture, and country, and enhances their attachment to the culture of the global powers. Consequently, students prioritize the foreign over the local, and this inhibits the economic development of their native lands, contributing to the social reproduction of nations, cultures, ethnicities, communities, and, at the end, individuals. Thus, as these students are part of the country’s most valuable assets, there must be a new framing of teaching and learning foreign languages, and cultures, to promote first their love of native language, culture, and country. This will be the ideal cosmopolitan identity in Colombian students, one when they will understand that before being universal, they must be local.La globalización ha esparcido el idioma inglés a todos los países en el mundo, incluyendo los del sur global. Particularmente en Colombia, la hegemonía del idioma inglés es evidente en programas bilingües a nivel de estado y a nivel privado. Los colegios bilingües de élite han sido cómplices de esta ideología de “inglés como lengua global,” y han construido esquemas en los que los estudiantes no sólo aprenden inglés; también son asimilados a nueva cultura, nuevos valores y una nueva identidad: la identidad cosmopolita. La hegemonía del inglés ha sido atribuida como una de las causes del fortalecimiento de la identidad cosmopolita y el debilitamiento de la identidad nacional. Por esto, esta identidad cosmopolita, que se supone valora todos los idiomas, culturas, identidades, comunidades y países de la misma manera, esta estratificada: desvalora el idioma natal de los estudiantes colombianos, su cultura, y en consecuencia su país, y aumenta el apego a la cultura de los poderes globales. En consecuencia, los estudiantes priorizan lo extranjero sobre lo local, y esto inhibe el desarrollo económico de su país, lo que contribuye a la reproducción social de naciones, culturas, etnicidades, comunidades, y, al fin y al cabo, de individuos. Por eso, como estos estudiantes hacen parte de los activos más valiosos de un país, debe haber un nuevo marco teórico de cómo enseñar y aprender inglés, para primero valorar los idiomas locales, su cultura y su país. Aquí si se podrá decir que hemos llegado a la identidad cosmopolita ideal en los estudiantes colombianos, una donde ellos entenderán que antes de ser universales, hay que ser locales.

In the last decade, growing recognition has been given to the reparation of the harmful experiences of victims of armed conflicts as a way to transform war torn societies into sustainable peace. In the Colombian case, reparation measures have been introduced within the peace agreements from the mid-2000s onwards. Such initiatives have been oriented towards the reparation of rights, socio-economic improvements and cultural practices of people that have suffered the immediate effects of conflict; namely peasants and inhabitants of rural areas. However, many victimized groups still await reparation and continue to experience the absence of the state in regions, which are formally identified as successful post-conflict scenarios due to the absence of war. Therefore, daily life experiences of those are still being influenced and negatively affected by long-term effects of conflict. Despite the fact that the internal displacement phenomenon has long been addressed by academia, the trajectories and outcomes of unsupported returning processes on victims remain underdeveloped. Thus, this research aims to contribute to these matters by exploring the ways in which the effects of conflict have shaped victims’ livelihoods. Utilizing a mixed methods design, this article combines a variety of interviews and surveys conducted among rural families and key stakeholders. This research reveals how by returning to their territories, people of Pitacapacho found a claim on their agricultural vocation, and a way to avoid being an “urban poor”. However, the transition from self-consumption to wage labor and the change of the agricultural land use to the development of extractive industries are issues that indicate how peasant's ideas and practices towards the territory have been challenged and transformed.

Current policy-making understands human and ecological systems as independent, leading to the misconception that, though they interact, they can be managed separately. This often leads to policy overlooking the effects that the environment has on human structures, and vice versa. Under environmental stress, this disconnection may cause the community to fail, which can manifest in migration and conflict.In a climate-change scenario, it becomes increasingly important to consider social and environmental structures as one single system, that must be managed as a unit. Also, increasing the resilience of socio-ecological systems becomes a priority to prevent climatic disruptions to cause the system to collapse.This dissertation aims to learn from using systems thinking to interpret the Syrian crisis, following the 2006-2011 drought, and extract insights from using the same methodology in different contexts. This is done through the construction of two diagrams that help visualize socio-ecological system in a more accessible way, offering policy-makers an instrument to understand and manage socio-ecological systems more effectively. Finally, it discusses how these lessons can be helpful for the post-conflict process in Colombia, which shares many structural flaws with pre-conflict Syria, and explores how the methodology can be useful to identify and address these flaws for sustainable peace-building.

Résumé Adopté le 12 décembre 2015 et ratifié moins d’un an après, le 4 novembre 2016, ayant accompli le seuil de ratification exigé de 55 États représentant 55 % des émissions de GES, il n’y a aucun doute par rapport au fait que l’Accord de Paris constitue un immense succès diplomatique dans le cadre des négociations internationales du climat et constitue le début d’une nouvelle ère de diplomatique climatique. C’est pour cette raison que ce mémoire vise à analyser le texte de l’Accord mais aussi les perspectives à venir et les défis de sa mise en œuvre. Dans ce contexte, ce mémoire analyse sa portée historique et sa place dans le régime international du climat ainsi que vise à effectuer un bilan général de l’Accord et d’identifier les défis à venir pour sa mise en œuvre. Les éléments novateurs prévus dans l’Accord sont essentiellement l’introduction des contributions prévues déterminées au niveau national comme une nouvelle technique pour la réduction des émissions de GES, et l’évolution des rapports entre États par le biais de l´adoption d´un accord global et d´une approche Bottom-Up. Ce mémoire analyse la nature juridique ainsi que le contenu des CPDN caractérisées par la formulation d’engagements flexibles et volontaires à niveau national en matière d’atténuation et d’adaptation, ainsi que par l´adoption des mécanismes de coopération et assistance qui prévoient des engagements des pays développés envers les pays en voie de développement. En ce qui concerne les mécanismes et les défis relatifs à la mise en œuvre de l’Accord, ce mémoire vise à analyser son effectivité qui doit être garantie par les mécanismes de surveillance, vérification et transparence et qui est strictement liée à sa force contraignante à travers des questions liées à sa nature juridique, ainsi qu’au rôle du juge interne et des acteurs non-étatiques dans l’application de l’Accord. Parallèlement pour conclure ce mémoire, ont été envisagés les défis à venir pour la mise en place de ce nouveau régime dans la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique. Ce mémoire analyse les avancées effectuées au sein de la COP22 mais présente aussi les points critiques qui devront être développés dans les conférences à venir. Une fois l´analyse de l´Accord a été effectué, on arrive à la conclusion que les bases de la nouvelle architecture du climat ont été posées, plusieurs nouveautés ont été introduites, en effet l’Accord a réalisé une mobilisation sans précédentes de la communauté internationale mais aussi de la société civile et envisage des objectifs ambitieux qui peuvent aussi toucher le paradigme économique actuel pour conduire les États à adopter une économie verte zéro carbone. Resumen Adoptado el 12 de Diciembre de 2015 y ratificado en menos de un año, el 4 de Noviembre de 2016, una vez alcanzado el umbral de ratificación exigido constituido por 55 Estados que representen el 55 % de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, no hay duda de que el Acuerdo de París constituye un suceso diplomático sin precedentes en el contexto de las negociaciones internacionales sobre el cambio climático y el comienzo de una nueva era de diplomacia climática. Por esta razón, esta tesis busca analizar el texto del Acuerdo, así como sus perspectivas y los desafíos en su implementación. En este contexto, esta tesis analiza el aporte histórico del Acuerdo y su rol en el régimen internacional de lucha contra el cambio climático y de igual manera busca efectuar un balance general de este y de identificar los eventuales desafíos en su implementación. Los elementos innovadores del Acuerdo son principalmente la introducción de las contribuciones previstas y determinadas a nivel nacional como una nueva técnica para la reducción de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y la evolución de las relaciones entre los Estados a través de la adopción de un acuerdo global y de un enfoque Bottom-Up. Esta tesis analiza la naturaleza jurídica y el contenido de las contribuciones previstas y determinadas a nivel nacional que constituyen compromisos flexibles y voluntarios a nivel nacional en materia de adaptación y mitigación, así como la adopción de mecanismos de cooperación y asistencia que establecen compromisos por parte de los países desarrollados a favor de los países en vía de desarrollo. En lo referido a los mecanismos y a los desafíos de la implementación del Acuerdo, esta tesis busca analizar su efectividad por medio del análisis de los mecanismos de monitoreo, verificación y transparencia que se relacionan directamente con su carácter vinculante cuyo estudio se centra en la naturaleza jurídica del Acuerdo, así como en el rol de los jueces nacionales y la participación de los actores no estatales en la aplicación del mismo. Para concluir, esta tesis visualiza los desafíos que deberán ser enfrentados para alcanzar la consolidación del nuevo régimen de lucha contra el cambio climático. Esta tesis analiza los avances efectuados por la COP22, pero a su vez presenta los puntos críticos que deberían ser tratados en las próximas conferencias de las Partes. Una vez analizado el Acuerdo de París, la tesis llega a la conclusión según la cual se han introducido las bases de la nueva arquitectura sobre el cambio climático, teniendo en cuenta que el Acuerdo de París ocasionó una movilización sin precedentes de la comunidad internacional, así como de la sociedad civil y contempla objetivos ambiciosos que son susceptibles de alterar el paradigma económico actual induciendo a los Estados a adoptar una economía verde baja en carbono.

Abstract:Cities have become the main centres of consumption and transformation of resources. As cities are still growing in terms of physical size, number of inhabitants and total energy consumption, unique challenges present themselves in order to safeguard a healthy urban living environment, while preventing resource shortages and pollution. The concept of urban metabolism may contribute to sustainable growth of cities as it can be used to understand emergent patterns in flows of energy and materials in the urban environment. The concept of urban metabolism draws upon an analogy with the biological meaning of metabolism, as it occurs in organisms and ecosystems. Here we present a review of the interpretation of urban metabolism in the context of urban energy dynamics and assess the validity of the proposed analogy with biology. Based on this analogy, we propose a conceptual framework for the role of urban metabolism in urban energy systems. Our review highlights that urban energy systems show a hierarchical organization comparable to ecological systems. However, the emergent patterns that result from the dynamics within urban systems differ from those occurring within ecological systems. We suggest that, in contrast to biological systems, urban energy systems lack energetic constraints at the lowest level of organisation that could enable the resource-efficient regulation of energy requirements at larger scales. The proposed framework highlights that low-level resource supply regulations may contribute to introduce scale-dependent relationships that increase energy use efficiency as cities grow.Resumen: Las ciudades han llegado a ser grandes centros de consumo y transformación de recursos. Debido a que las ciudades se mantienen en constante crecimiento en términos de tamaño físico, número de habitantes y consumo de energía, surge la necesidad de afrontar retos evidentes con el fin de salvaguardar el ambiente urbano, así como prevenir la escasez de recursos y el aumento de polución. El metabolismo urbano puede contribuir a explicar el crecimiento sostenible de las ciudades, ya que éste permite entender la emergencia de patrones en los flujos de energía y materiales en el ambiente urbano. Éste se basa en la analogía con el metabolismo en sistemas biológicos, el cual está presente tanto a nivel de organismos como de ecosistemas. En este artículo se plantea una revisión de la interpretación del metabolismo urbano en el contexto de sistemas energéticos urbanos. A partir de dicha revisión se plantea que los sitemas energéticos urbanos muestran una organización jerárquica comparable a la de los sistemas biológicos. No obstante, los patrones emergentes que resultan de la dinámica en los sistemas urbanos difieren de aquellos que ocurren en los sistemas biológicos. Nosotros sugerimos que, a diferencia de los sistemas biológicos, los sistemas urbanos no presentan limitaciones energéticas en los niveles inferiores de la organización, que trasciendan en una eficiente regulacion de los consumos energéticos en los niveles superiores del sistema. El marco conceptual propuesto en este artículo resalta que una regulación en el abastecimiento de recursos en los niveles inferiores, puede llegar a inducir relaciones de carácter alométrico que representen un aumento en la eficiencia energética en la medida que las ciudades continuan con su crecimiento.

Abstract:The manufacturing brick generates a direct effect in the air quality affecting the health of the surrounding communities of this type of industry. In the Colombian municipality of Nemocón, in the Patio Bonito rural locality, the majority of small and micro-sized brick fields uses craft techniques for manufacturing different types of bricks. The manufacturing plant is basically represented by a kiln and a plot of land as a farmyard; the area where these elements are concentrated is commonly named “Chircal”. Craft brickers usually use kilns of direct fire and upward firing for cooking. The main fuel used in the manufacture of bricks is coal, followed by natural gas and diesel.The present work aims to characterize air quality, taking into account the massive growth of the brick manufacturing activity in the rural locality of Patio Bonito, Nemocón, Colombia, specifically assessing the particulate matter PM10, which is one of the most critical air pollutant due to its impact on health of its inhabitants and on the local environment. The year 2013 was selected for the analysis, because the highest PM10 concentrations of the last five years that happened in that year, according to historical data from the environmental authority of Cundinamarca region.For assessing the air quality in Patio Bonito, a Gaussian air quality model named URBAIR, developed by the University of Aveiro, was applied. For an adequate operation of this model, it was necessary to collect input data as emission sources and meteorological data. The modeling periods were August 8th, November 20th and 24th 2013, when daily averaged with concentrations above 100 µg/m3, limit regulated by Colombian legislation were registered.Moreover, two improvement scenarios were proposed. The first considered the operation of “Colmena” kilns with an emission control system. The second implied Hoffman and Tunnel kilns, because those showed the lowest PM10 emissions. Results allowed to conclude that those improvement measures can reduce the PM10 contribution to air pollution levels.Resumen:La fabricación del ladrillo genera un efecto directo en la calidad del aire afectando la salud de las comunidades circundantes de este tipo de industria. En el municipio colombiano de Nemocón, en la localidad rural de Patio Bonito, la mayoría de las pequeñas ladrilleras utilizan técnicas artesanales para la fabricación de diferentes tipos de ladrillos. La planta de fabricación está básicamente representada por un horno y una parcela de tierra como un patio; el área donde se concentran estos elementos se denomina comúnmente ""Chircal"". Los trabajadores artesanales generalmente usan hornos de fuego directo y fuego ascendente para cocinar. El principal combustible utilizado en la fabricación de ladrillos es el carbón, seguido del gas natural y el diesel.El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo caracterizar la calidad del aire, teniendo en cuenta el crecimiento masivo de la actividad de fabricación de ladrillos en la localidad rural de Patio Bonito, Nemocón, Colombia, evaluando específicamente el material particulado PM10, que es uno de los contaminantes atmosféricos más críticos debido a su impacto en la salud de sus habitantes y en el entorno local. El año 2013 fue seleccionado para el análisis, debido a las mayores concentraciones de PM10 de los últimos cinco años que ocurrieron en ese año, según datos históricos de la autoridad ambiental de la región de Cundinamarca.Para evaluar la calidad del aire en Patio Bonito, se aplicó un modelo Gaussiano de calidad del aire denominado URBAIR, desarrollado por la Universidad de Aveiro. Para un funcionamiento adecuado de este modelo, fue necesario recopilar datos de entrada como fuentes de emisión y datos meteorológicos. Los periodos de modelación fueron el 8 de agosto, el 20 y el 24 de noviembre de 2013, cuando se registró un promedio diario con concentraciones superiores a 100 ?g / m3, límite regulado por la legislación colombiana. Además, se propusieron dos escenarios de mejora. El primero consideró la operación de hornos ""Colmena"" con un sistema de control de emisiones. El segundo implicaba los hornos Hoffman y Tunnel, porque aquellos mostraban las emisiones más bajas de PM10. Los resultados permitieron concluir que estas medidas de mejora pueden reducir la contribución de PM10 a los niveles de contaminación del aire.

The dramatic evolution of technology has encouraged the shape of hypercompetitive landscapes where only highly adaptable firms can survive. The Financial Services traditional sector adoption of technology allowed it to remain unchanged until recent times where FinTech disruptors have emerged, thus requiring global companies become more dynamic, adaptable and flexible by the adoption of Agile mindset through management of change and knowledge, culture awareness and best practices methodologies deployment across the businesses. This study uses grounded theory and case study research methods to explore the status, effects and challenges experienced in the Russian Financial Subsidiary of a Dutch European Multinational company by the Agile Global implementation strategy directed from Headquarters, in order to answer the research questions: “What are the challenges, particularities and status in the adoption of Global Agile policies in project management and IT teams in a Russian subsidiary of a financial European multinational enterprise?, “What is the influence of the adoption level of Global Agile policies on certain projects and possible improvement actions?”.Valuable results include the compatibility of the methodology with the business roles, the usefulness of Agile-Stage-Gate hybrids to facilitate product development and the usage of knowledge management strategies to propel adoption, as well as the hierarchical, cultural and bureaucratic challenges to integrate Business and IT teams that provoked questionable results in the initial phase of a non-standard Testing Automation outsource project. Further research can be done to explore the degree of adoption in other subsidiaries, monitor the pilot phase of automation project and the evolution of the integration between the business and IT teams.

Fatigue distress may be defined as cumulative damage on asphalt due to repetitive loading and it is observed when a huge number of micro-crack is propagated up to create a macro-crack. The fatigue behaviour can be analysed by different approaches and using distinct laboratory devices. This research was intended to investigate the fatigue behaviour of a polymer modified bitumen (PmB 25-55/55A) and an unmodified bitumen (PEN 50/70), as well as mortars and mastics derived from these binders by adding sand and filler in the same proportion. Since various points were needed to plot the final fatigue curves of each material, a total of 42 fatigue tests were performed by using the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR).The fatigue tests were performed by testing 20mm height and 6mm effective diameter cylindrical specimens. The test temperature was 20°C and a 10Hz frequency was chosen along this research. The tests were done under controlled-stress mode, which means that the input shear stress was constant. The initial shear stress used for each material was estimated by executing a previous stress sweep test. Three different initial shear stresses were employed at every bituminous material. By using the DSR, the rheological properties such as complex shear modulus and phase angle were found. The results were processed to estimate the fatigue life of different materials and establish further comparisons. Fatigue life of all materials was calculated by applying the classical method based on the 50% of initial stiffness and the dissipated energy approach. The number of load cycles needed to cause fatigue damage on specimen was defined as the fatigue life under both approaches. Additionaly, the concept of ratio of dissipated energy change (RDEC) was employed to calculate the number of load cycle to fatigue cracking. The results were higher than the dissipated energy ratio, which demonstrated a time lag between the fatigue resistance and the exact moment of cracking. RDEC number of cycles was found as a threshold in the fatigue life of specimen.

The objective of the present work was to develop a business model for nautical cartography offered by the Colombian General Maritime Directorate (DIMAR), in order to contribute to its consolidation as a modern, efficient and competitive entity, which promotes the safety of navigation for the seas of the world. A contextualization was made about DIMAR and its close relationship with the Colombian National Navy (ARC). It was explored about the types of nautical charts that DIMAR can trade, a diagnosis of nautical cartography was developed as a value proposition, aspects that served as inputs to generate a business model CANVAS which allows observing how it captures value for Colombia and delivers value to customers within the field of nautical cartography. This work was framed in a theoretical research at the descriptive level, with a documentary field design based on interview or structured questionnaire, non-experimental and cross-sectional questionnaire for the analysis of data from the empirical evidence. The results showed that only four countries in Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia) have the capacity to produce nautical charts, but as Commander Ramírez (2017) stated on his interview, only Mexico has attempted to manage it as a lucrative business, without achieving any resounding success to date, as a result, these countries are dedicated only to cartographic production, with a focus on domestic maritime safety. The rest of the countries of the region, due to economic, technological and human resources deficiencies to carry out their cartographic surveys, appeal to Hydrographic powerful Offices such as the United Kingdom, the United States or Japan, with whom they face barriers such as the language and stagnation of alliances and agreements due to delayed diplomatic procedures. The business model Canvas placed in this work aims to serve two segments. The first segment is the countries which are geographically close to Colombia and have a high maritime activity and the second segment aims to countries geographically close to Colombia, without a significant commercial flow through their maritime ports and which have problems or limitations to carry out all their hydrographic surveys in order to ensure a safe navigation on their waters in spite of their acquired international obligations. In other words, this business model will allow Colombia to cooperate with countries and contribute to the maritime safety in the region among other benefits. The appendices include the survey, all the notes of the unstructured interviews carried out, as well as all the interviews that were done in a structured way, including personnel who worked or still work in DIMAR, interviews with international organizations such as the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), as well as interviews with people from some Central American countries who are responsible to the IHO on issues related to the hydrography of their countries. The interviews that were carried out in Spanish, are in the appendices in the original language with translation to English. The appendices have also taken into account a contextualization of the reader with a political map of Central America and additionally annexed a gallery of photos of the ships with which DIMAR currently carries out its naval operations.