Abstract: Many materials of scientific interest show a disordered phase, with their molecules presenting positional disorder, orientational disorder or both. Processes of interest to life also occur in these kind of phases as it is the case of liquid water present in many biochemical problems of interest such as protein folding. The study of these disordered phases is inherently difficult due to their lack of periodicity as in ordered crystals. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations (MD) are used to study two disordered phases: the liquid and the plastic crystal. The configurations obtained by MD are analyzed using different methodologies to obtain insights into the local ordering of the molecules and into their dynamics. The local ordering of the systems is studied using the Euler angles method considering the molecules as rigid bodies. Probability distributions describing the positional and orientational molecular ordering are obtained. These probability distributions are analysed using information theory concepts that provide a deeper understanding of the results. Two systems of interest are studied: hexachloroethane and water. The structure of the liquid and plastic crystal phases of hexacloroethane are investigated and the results from MD and the local ordering analyses are compared to previous works using simulations and neutron diffraction experiments. A Bayesian approach is used in order to obtain the intra-molecular structure of the molecule from the neutron diffraction experimental data, a set of parameters in better agreement with the plastic phase is obtained compared to previous electron diffraction experiments. Liquid water at room conditions is studied on the short range order, presenting a contribution to the ongoing topic of its local structure. The ordering of water at distances beyond the first hydration shell is also studied using the information theory approach. Findings of this work support recent experimental and simulation data showing the existance of long range correlations in water. Finally, plastic crystals phases of water found at high pressures by MD are studied and compared to a high pressure liquid and the ice vii form by comparing their local ordering and dynamics. The methodologies used in this work provide a powerful technique to analyse disordered phases and the results obtained will contribute to the understanding on the structure of such phases. Resumen: Muchos materiales de interés científico se presentan en fases desordenadas, donde las moléculas se encuentran desordenadas posicionalmente, orientacionalmente o ambas. Así mismo, procesos que son importantes para la vida se desarrollan en este tipo de fases. Un ejemplo de ello es el caso del agua líquida que está presente en muchos de los problemas importantes en bioquímica, como el plegamiento de proteínas. El estudio de estas fases desordenadas es inherentemente complejo debido a que no presentan periodicidad en la estructura como en el caso de sólidos cristalinos. En este trabajo se usa la simulación mediante dinámica molecular (MD) para estudiar dos fases desordenadas: el líquido y el cristal plástico. Las configuraciones obtenidas por MD son analizadas usando diferentes metodologías para entender el ordenamiento local y la dinámica de estas fases. El ordenamiento local de los sistemas se estudia usando el método de ángulos de Euler considerando las moléculas como cuerpos rígidos. Se obtienen distribuciones de probabilidad que describen el ordenamiento molecular posicional y orientacional. Estas distribuciones de probabilidad se analizan usando conceptos de teoría de la información que permiten entender mejor los resultados obtenidos. Se estudian dos sistemas de interés: hexacloroetano y agua. La estructura de las fases líquida y de cristal plástico en el hexacloroetano son investigadas y los resultados de MD y de los análisis de ordenamiento local son comparados con resultados previos de simulación y de difracción de neutrones. La estructura intra molecular del hexacloroetano se estudia usando análisis bayesiano haciendo un fit de los datos de difracción de neutrones, el conjunto de parámetros obtenidos mejoran resultados previos de experimentos de difracción por electrones respecto a la fase plástica. Se investiga el orden de corto alcance del agua a temperatura ambiente, contribuyendo al debate sobre su estructura local que es un tema aún abierto. El órden del agua para distancias más allá de los primeros vecinos también se estudia usando el enfoque de la teoría de la información. Los resultados encontrados dan soporte a experimentos y simulaciones recientes que muestran correlaciones de largo alcance en el agua. FInalmente, se estudian las fases plásticas del agua halladas recientemente por MD a altas presiones. Estas fases se comparan con una fase líquida a alta presión y con el hielo vii tanto en su ordenamiento local, como su dinámica. Las metodologías usadas en este trabajo constituyen una herramienta clave para el análisis de fases desordenadas y los resultados obtenidos contribuirán al entendimiento de la estructura de tales fases.

Colombia is not a Member State of the Maritime Carriage Conventions currently in force (Hague-Visby Rules and Hamburg Rules) and it is uncertain whether it will ratify the Rotterdam Rules in the upcoming future. Pursuant to the foregoing, the regulation of the contracts of carriage of goods by sea is governed by the Colombian Code of Commerce. Accordingly, the Colombian Code of Commerce provides certain provisions which particularly regulate the carriage of goods by sea under bill of lading. Amongst those provisions, Article 1644 is of paramount significance for the liability of the carrier, considering that it allows in situations where there is no declaration of the value of the goods in the bill of lading, the possibility to apply the limitation of liability agreed by the parties in the carriage contract. However, the case law in Colombia has never concerned the limitation of the carrier’s liability in the context of an international multimodal carriage contract that includes a sea leg. In that respect, Article 16 of Decision 331 of 1993 of the Andean Community sets forth that when a damage or loss to the goods carried occurs in a stage of an international multimodal carriage contract where an international convention applicable or a mandatory national law provides a higher limit of liability for the carrier that the one agreed by the parties in the carriage contract, the limit of liability sets forth either by the international conventions or mandatory national law shall prevail upon the one agreed in the contract. According to the foregoing legal framework, the aim of this master thesis is to determine whether in accordance with Article 16 of Decision 331 of 1993 of the Andean Community and Article 1644 of the Colombian Code of Commerce the limitation of liability provided either in the Hague-Visby Rules or the Hamburg Rules shall apply compulsory in the Colombian jurisdiction in a situation of localized loss or damage to the goods sustained during the sea leg of an international multimodal carriage contract, in order to adjust Colombian jurisdiction with international standards on this subject matter.

The focus of this study is to build, from the “bottom-up”, a market with artificially intelligent adaptative agents based on the institutional arrangement –monetary policy, regulations, trading conventions– of the Colombian Foreign Exchange Market prevailing between December 1994 and September 1999 in order to determine simple agents´ design, rules and interactions that are sufficient to create interesting behaviours at the macroscopic level – emerging patterns that replicate the properties of the time series from the case study. Tomado del resumen de este documento

La Colombie, est un pays qui a mauvaise réputation dans le monde entier pour la violence liée aux problèmes comme le trafique de narcotiques, la séquestration d’otages et la corruption. Néanmoins, aujourd’hui le pays a commencé une transformation sociale et économique qui a permis d’augmenter l’investissement étranger, le nombre de touristes et de diminuer le taux de pauvreté, de chômage et d’inégalité. Cette renaissance économique a permis que le pays soit considéré comme un pôle de développement dans l’Amérique Latine et qu’il soit classé comme étant la troisième économie de la région après le Brésil et le Mexique. C’est pour cette raison que ces dernières années le gouvernement colombien a travaillé pour la création d’une nouvelle marque nationale comme stratégie de communication afin de présenter la situation actuelle du pays. Une marque nationale cherche à communiquer, sur divers secteurs, aux citoyens et aux personnes des autres pays : comme le secteur de la culture, de l’économie, du tourisme, de l’environnement, de l’investissement, etc. En utilisant des stratégies de communication et de publicité qui montrent l’identité et le potentiel d’une région. Le projet de mémoire que je voudrais travailler dans ce master consiste à connaître comment est reçue et approprié, par les colombiens utilisateurs du réseau social Twitter, la nouvelle Marque de la Colombie, nommée: « La réponse c’est la Colombie », lancée le 7 septembre 2012. « La réponse c’est la Colombie ». Est-ce que ce slogan qui fait parti de la nouvelle marque pays de la Colombie et qui est utilisé comme instrument d’une campagne de communication gouvernementale international, désignée et promue par le gouvernement colombien : est effective, bien reçue et appropriée par les colombiens qui utilisent le réseau social Twitter. En sachant que pendant le début en septembre 2012 le lancement de la nouvelle marque du pays a crée des innombrables réactions sur Twitter sous le hashtag #LaRespuestaesColombia, ce qui en fait une tendance sur le réseau virtuel le 7 septembre 2012, en permettant l’échange critique et positif entre les personnes sur la toile. Étant donné que la communication numérique est devenue de plus en plus importante dans la vie des sociétés d’aujourd’hui, il est important de connaître les opinions favorables ou défavorables qu’ont les colombiens utilisateurs du réseau social Twitter pour savoir si la conception communicative et la stratégie de communication publique mise en place est effective et bien conçue.

En la presente investigación se aplicó un programa de intervención psicológica para la adecuación de la imagen corporal a 26 patinadores artísticos pertenecientes a la Federación Colombiana de Patinaje, con edades comprendidas entre los 18 a 29 años, con un promedio de edad deportiva de 15 años. Las observaciones a entrenamientos y competencias, encuestas realizadas a 10 jueces y 26 entrenadores de la Federación Colombiana de Patinaje, demostraron que estos deportistas, presentaban una excesiva preocupación por su apariencia física, que afectaba su actuación en competencia. Se emplearon para la etapa diagnóstica, las siguientes pruebas psicométricas: el (CIMEC), Cuestionario de influencia de los modelos estéticos corporales, el (CIMPASVIC), Cuestionario de influencia de las modalidades del Patinaje Artístico sobre la valoración de la imagen corporal, el Cuestionario de percepción de causas del éxito deportivo, y la Técnica de autorretrato. Estas pruebas se volvieron a emplear tras la aplicación del programa de intervención, que a su vez estuvo conformado por técnicas de autorregulación, respiración, relajación, autosugestión, automandatos, visualización, literatura de superación y conferencias informativas. Mediante el procesamiento estadístico, de los datos obtenidos tras la aplicación de los diferentes métodos, se pudo comprobar que el programa tuvo una incidencia positiva sobre la valoración de la imagen corporal de los patinadores estudiados, reflejándose esta sobre su actuación competitiva.

El trabajo de fabricación de azul llevado a cabo permitió vislumbrar una serie de diferencias, principalmente de coloración (azules de aspecto verdoso y rojizo), las cuales podrían tener alguna relación con la estructura cristalina del pigmento. Teniendo en cuenta este aspecto se emprendió la realización de un estudio que permitiera aclarar algunos de los interrogantes planteados; para ello se recurrió a la técnica de microscopía electrónica de trasmisión (TEM). Con este equipo, a partir de la toma de imágenes tanto de la estructura interna de las partículas (difracción electrónica) como de la superficie de las mismas, se pretendía alcanzar un mejor conocimiento de las relaciones arriba anotadas. Uno de los procedimientos fundamentales para conseguir un buen azul consiste en partir de un caolín que previamente ha sido calcinado, es decir activado térmicamente; por medio de una adecuada activación mecánica del caolín podían conseguirse efectos similares a los que se obtienen por la vía de la calcinación, es decir, liberación del agua de composición interna y la destrucción, de manera parcial, de la estructura cristalina del producto. Partiendo de la premisa anterior se procedió a estudiar el proceso de activación mecánica del caolín como vía alternativa para la fabricación del azul ultramar sin recurrir a la calcinación del mismo. Los resultados preliminares llevados a cabo mostraron la factibilidad del proceso, lo cual se constituye en un aporte fundamental al conocimiento de la fabricación del pigmento conseguido durante la realización de la presente investigación.

Conflicts within communities exist all over the world, but more often and violent in zones of poverty, hunger, unemployment and inequality, such as Brazil, specifically its favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Here drug gangs fight each other over territory, power, and drug and arms traffic; and against the official state police. The communities are the victims of these conflicts and they themselves are victims and perpetrators, because they lack opportunities for a better life. When a community is under constant conflict, it loses its people to death, but it loses as well its sense of self-worth and identity, its ability to play, laugh and talk.I will draw upon, for this dissertation, on the concepts of Applied Theatre in conflict zones; impact, change and transformation, and the ethics of working in this setting, by main thinkers such as James Thompson, Jenny Hughes, Michael Balfour, Philip Taylor, Helen Nicholson, François Matarasso, Oliver Bennett, Eleonora Belfiore, Mary Ann Hunter and Paul Heritage. I propose that performing arts can have a positive impact on these types of communities by giving the young men other options of belonging and involvement in society different from the drug gangs, and by giving everyone a better sense of community, entertainment and life.

After the success of reality competition shows such as Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model in the United States, RuPaul’s Drag Race reached the small screen to be the first TV programme of its kind to feature drag queens. Through textual analysis and theories of queer and feminist studies, this thesis joins the fundamental debates about drag and its role in society. With these debates as a starting point, this thesis is dedicated to determining the position of Drag Race within the tension between gay politics and queer politics that lies in the programme’s construction of what drag is supposed to be. By focusing on the relation of masculinity and femininity in drag, and on the role of sleaziness in drag, this thesis argues that RuPaul’s Drag Race refuses to be located unequivocally as a project of either gay or queer politics. This reading does not only propose an innovative take on the programme but it also manages to further problematise the distinction between the two “kinds” of politics.

Construction projects are characterized as complex and risky due to the involvement of many contracting parties and the higher costs of project development. The Construction industry is struggling with many problems and its productivity is clearly decreasing. Many efforts to tackle these problems have been made, but have seen to fall short. Recently a new approach, outside from the traditional model, seems to have the answers to those problems. Thus, this study aims to analyse said approach. This new methodology, based on the principles of the Toyota Production System develop by Ohno, is called Lean Construction. By performing a literature review, the conceptual basis of the lean principles in manufacturing will be analyzed. A review of the actual Construction Industry practices is presented, to later explain the failures of the model and the criticism of made by the scholar behind Lean Construction. With that, the conceptual bases of Lean Construction develop by Lauri Koskela are presented, which shows the applicability of manufacturing principles to construction and the new Transformation, Flow, Values views of construction. Lean Construction in detailed, as well as its application methodologies, taking a special focus on the Last Planner System, which provides a new form of planning and production control to the industry. Finally, through the study of two cases, the success of the model shown.

Nowadays, the development of global competition has been one of the main factors that have driven the efforts toward the optimisation development. Therefore, oil refineries have been encouraged to be restructured for competing successfully in this new scenario with low profit margin, tighter environmental regulations and more efficient plant operation. However, many years and a lot of human and computational efforts have been dedicated to improve the techniques applied for the overall refinery optimisation. Good developments have come successfully operating at the planning level; but developing and solving rigorous overall plant optimisation models at the production scheduling level still are at research stage and much more work must be done to continue improving in this field through the involvement of difficult tasks due to the mathematical complexity of the models which have the compulsory use of a large quantity of equations and variables that hugely increase the size of the problem. This Thesis presents a new generic mixed integer linear programming model for optimising the scheduling of crude oil unloading, inventories, blending and feed to oil refineries that usually unload several kinds of crude oils with different compositions. The objective function of the model consists on minimising the operational cost generated during the mentioned operation. Case studies are presented and compared each other illustrating the capabilities of the model to solve operation scheduling problems in this area and to support future expansion projects for the system as they happen in real situations. The solution involves optimal operation of crude oil unloading, optimal transfer rates among equipments in accordance with the pumping capacities and tank volume limitations, optimal oscillation of crude oil blended compositions and fulfilment of the oil charging demand per process unit. border’s fringe.