Este estudio fue desarrollado para expandir el conocimiento actual sobre la productividad de profesores universitarios y los factores que pueden contribuir a incrementar los niveles de productividad académica de los docentes de educación superior. Se utilizó una muestra de aproximadamente 4000 profesores vinculados de tiempo completo a instituciones de educación superior en Estados Unidos de América. La muestra provino de una de las bases de datos restringida del National Center for Educational Statistics: National Study of Postsecondary Faculty 1999 –NSOPF:99 (Estudio Nacional de Profesores Universitarios). La primera pregunta de investigación, abordaba el problema de “cómo modelar estadísticamente la producción académica de profesores universitarios como variable latente”, fue desarrollada usando técnicas de modelación de ecuaciones estructurales (Structural Equation Modeling – SEM) tales como Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio (CFA), Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio de Múltiples Grupos, Análisis de Perfiles Latentes (LPA), y CFA con covariables (MIMIC). La segunda pregunta de investigación analizaba los factores asociados a niveles altos de productividad académica y fue abordada a través un grupo de análisis exploratorios, usando Modelos Jerárquicos de Regresión Logística (HGLM). Para modelar el comportamiento productivo de la muestra se identificaron tres factores: inflación, producción individual y producción colectiva, los cuales se constituyeron en la variable dependiente para la segunda pregunta de investigación. Múltiples variables, tales como, rango académico y tipo de institución, entre otras, fueron relacionadas de manera positiva o negativa a las tres variables dependientes. El efecto de las variables explicativas fue diferencial en cada uno de los factores. Estos resultados sugieren cierto nivel de independencia en las variables asociadas con cada uno de los factores en el modelo de producción académica. Adicionalmente, un segundo resultado de este estudio es el desarrollo de una nueva ruta analítica para entender la roductividad académica como una variable latente.  Los resultados del estudio tienen implicaciones importantes para la generación de políticas y estrategias para el desarrollo profesional de profesores universitarios. Adicionalmente, provee de información valiosa a investigadores en el área de superdotación y desarrollo del talento que están abordando el problema de cómo favorecer los procesos de producción creativa y de desarrollo del talento en adultos. Futuras investigaciones sobre productividad académica deberían incluir indicadores más amplios que permitan abordar otras dimensiones de las responsabilidades académicas de profesores universitarios como por ejemplo la docencia. Estos estudios permitirán tener una comprensión mas precisa de una concepción más amplia de lo que es la académica en instituciones de educación superior.

This dissertation project assesses the possibility of Colombia becoming an annex I country before 2020. This assessment assumes that the country will eventually have to define the year during which it will be required to start reducing its GHG emissions and by what amount. This project aims to answer the following questions; in which year Colombia should assume a GHG reductions cap? And how much GHG emissions should Colombia reduce? These two questions were answered by first projecting the growth of future emissions of the country based on economic parameters, population growth and energy consumption and secondly by calculating the cost of undertaking the GHG reductions to meet the target. Three separate analyses were performed in order to answer those questions; first a comparative analysis of the country’s conditions when the protocol was signed, second the concept of the Environmental Kunznets Curve was used and confronted with the available Colombian data and third it was necessary to project when Colombia will be responsible for percent of the world’s emission. The results showed that at least until the year 2020 Colombia will not be responsible for a share bigger than one percent of the world emissions; neither will it reach the peak of the EKC and lastly Colombia will not become a higher middle income country anytime before the year 2020. The main conclusion obtained in this dissertation is that Colombia should not undertake any GHG reduction targets under the continuation of the Kyoto protocol before the year 2020.

This dissertation ‘Citadels in Conflict’ wants to show how the conceptual process of photography goes from reality to representation by models, but also how representations of these models acquire a new significance, the reality of virtualism and illusion. To use installations or interact with models is to invent imaginaries –or to call memories–that could be placed on a tangible base… and later photographed. I want to reflect on imaginary cities and the utopia of war and displacement, picturing each photo as a citadel. The constructed models accompanying this text are understood as citadels, for they include –sometimes randomly– all social, cultural and physical variables that cities have, or as ‘imitations of life’. A metaphor of the varied and ironic glances a desplazado could get when arriving in cities or any other urban places. Therefore, the unexpected citizen dwells inside a citadel in conflict. The phenomena of war and forced displacement are mapping new cities in Colombia in sad and iconic ways as satirised in these sixteen images.

The protracted nature of the Colombian conflict has allowed the emergence of numerous attempts for its resolution (intense military offensives and different models of negotiation). Regarding the attempts of negotiation, some of them have resulted in durable peace agreements while others have failed during the process. For example, in 1991, the government negotiated the reincorporation into the political life of the guerrillas M-19 and EPL, and recently in 2002-2007, the government held a peace process with the AUC paramilitary group, which produced the demobilization of approximately 40.000 rebels. However, the scenery of resolution with two remaining guerrillas (FARC and ELN) is different, after more than 26 years of failed negotiations and tough military offensives; it has not been possible to settle the conflict with them. What explains the different results in the peace processes with the armed groups? I suggest that in order to identify opportunities for negotiations and more effective peace processes, states and third parties, should regard more seriously the character of the different armed groups (motivation, leadership, strategies, social composition, organizational structure, etc). Therefore, by doing a comparative analysis of the AUC and FARC peace processes. I found out that: 1. the type of violence and financial sources are not determinant factors to reach a negotiated settlement with rebel groups. It is false that is more difficult to negotiate with armed groups pursuing high benefits from war, at least not in Colombia. 2. That the degree of task cohesion, the group cohesiveness, and social support are extremely relevant to the state engage and manage possible crisis and setbacks during the negotiations. Armed groups are different and those differences have positive and negative impacts when negotiating with them.

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.

Expresada en algunos códigos civiles como el colombiano o el chileno, la óptica tradicional de la regla de la ignorancia de la ley en virtud de la cual la ignorancia jurídica del individuo no le permite justificar su comportamiento ni aun en sus relaciones estrictamente individuales se basa un modelo teórico equivocado que, por inmiscuirse en el ámbito privado de las personas, conlleva grandes injusticias. La tesis propone darle a esta regla una nueva aproximación teórica, a través de un recorrido histórico de los matices que ha sufrido con el paso del tiempo, y desvirtúa prejuicios, como aquel que sostiene que los derechos romano y medieval proporcionan sólidas bases para su formulación actual. Luego de hacer una breve introducción a la regla de la ignorancia de la ley en un sentido amplio, el trabajo expone la evolución (¿o involución?) que históricamente ha sufrido dicha regla en los diversos ordenamientos jurídicos que han tocado con ella, desde sus más tempranos inicios, comenzando por el derecho romano (Capítulo 1), pasando, luego, por los derechos intermedio (Capítulo 2) y español (Capítulo 3), para finalizar por los derechos de la modernidad: sistemas continental (Capítulo 4) y anglosajón (Capítulo 5). La disertación remata con un análisis de derecho comparado, que persigue develar las principales tendencias de las legislaciones contemporáneas en torno a la regla de la ignorancia de la ley (Capítulo 6).

Nash and Walras equilibria have been studied from the angle of differential topology, yielding comparable results about existence and topological structure of equilibrium sets. Following a presentation of such results we shall review results on the Nash implementation of Walrasian equilibria. The purpose of the exercise is twofold: to establish a refinement criterion among multiple Walrasian equilibria and to study mechanisms closer to real markets than the Walrasian tâtonnement. Following up on results relating the best-reply dynamics and the natural projection, our conclusion is that some adjustments on the economic model are likely needed for implementation to link the topological structure of Walrasian and that of Nash equilibria.

Abstract: The research dissertation “Can Tourism School Enterprises build Social Capital to enhance people’s livelihoods?” carried out and submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the MSc. in Development Administration and Planning at the Development Planning Unit - University College London. The paper analyses the construction of social capital through vocational high school education and training, specifically in tourism school enterprises. The objective of the research was to understand how tourism school enterprises can help communities to engage with other actors in the spheres of the state, market and civil society to access, defend and transform assets for individual and collective benefit. For this purpose, the paper elaborates on social capital as an analytical tool, developing a specific framework to assess the construction of social capital in tourism school enterprises. Base on this framework, there are two case studies presented, one in Ecuador and other in Guatemala. In these case studies, tourism school enterprises have been established and work with local communities in rainforest areas of Latin America. Resumen: El proyecto de investigación “Pueden las Escuelas-empresa de Turismo, construir Capital Social para mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas?” fue presentado en cumplimiento de los requerimientos para obtener el título de MSc. in Development Administration and Planning de la Development Planning Unit de University College London. El proyecto de investigación analiza la construcción del capital social a través de la educación superior vocacional y de entrenamiento, específicamente en las escuelas-empresa de turismo. El objetivo de la investigación fue el entender como las escuelas-empresa de turismo pueden ayudar a las comunidades para relacionarse con otros actores en las esferas del estado, el mercado y la sociedad civil para acceder, defender y transformar recursos para el beneficio individual y colectivo. Para este propósito, la investigación elabora en el capital social como herramienta analítica, desarrollando un marco específico para evaluar la construcción de capital social en las escuelas-empresa de turismo. Basado en este marco analítico, se presentan dos casos de estudio, uno en Ecuador y otro en Guatemala. En estos casos, las escuelas-empresa de turismo han sido establecidas y trabajan con comunidades locales en áreas selváticas de Latinoamérica.

The oil and gas industry has long recognized the inadequacy of existing theories to predict the behavior and outcome of some hydraulic fracturing treatments. Data sets compiled over the last two decades are incompatible with the conventional picture of a single planar hydraulic fracture. These data sets include field studies, laboratory studies and theoretical models. Several field and laboratory observations show very complex fracture paths, multisegmented fractures, branching, asymmetry and the presence of multiple fractures. The purpose of this study is to investigate the pressure behavior of systems containing near wellbore and far field multiple vertical fractures. This objective is achieved by using two analytical models. These newly developed models are used to explore pressure behavior and to generate type curves using the pressure derivative concept. The first new analytical model considers a composite reservoir with the inner zone containing an arbitrary number of dendritic multiple hydraulic fractures and the outer zone showing natural fractures. Transient pressure, derivative and flow regimes of the fractured system are investigated using this model. This study also uses a numerical model to calibrate and validate the analytical model. Pressure transient behavior of multiple fractures is modeled using a full field model (FFM) with a detailed Cartesian local grid refinement (LGR) around the fractures. The model was calibrated and validated using the case of two wing fractures at 180o. Simulations of the two types of multiple fractures, dendritic and parallel, validate some results of the analytical solutions. The TDS technique is also used to analyze the linear and pseudo-radial flow regimes in order to find fracture length, angle between fractures, fracture conductivity and several conventional reservoir parameters, e.g. permeability, wellbore storage and skin.  Multiple fractures create more surface area in direct communication with the wellbore. As a consequence, a greater volume of fluid can be produced from the wellbore per unit time. While fracture treatments continue to be designed using the best tools and techniques available, geometry estimates from fracture models have been difficult to verify. Pressure transient analysis is one of the fracture diagnostic techniques available to fill this knowledge gap, improving our understanding of hydraulic fracture behavior. It is an excellent calibration tool because it lets us evaluate the effective length of the fracture, and determine the appropriate length to use in history matching. Also, regardless of the application, identifying and understanding fracture complexities can lead to improved treatment designs, better completion strategies, and the potential for significant economic rewards through improved well performance and/or reduced completion cost.

This dissertation studies the Indigenous Guard, a non-violent strategy of survival of the CRIC Indigenous Movement of southern Colombia. It seeks to understand what has made the unarmed alternative of the Indigenous Guard viable in the midst of the Colombian armed conflict. Different approaches to non-violent action are discussed, and based in this discussion it is argued that a combined attention to changing conditions in the social field and internal community dynamics is needed to account for the viability of the Indigenous Guard. Thus, the case study is pursued through attention to two levels. Firstly, it approaches the broad framework in which the CRIC operates, in which the struggle for land and changing citizenship regimes are key explanatory factors. Secondly, and in order to approach internal community dynamics, participant observation and a series of interviews with members of the communities were carried out, the results of which are presented. It is concluded that the functioning of the Indigenous Guard is based in strong norms of reciprocity – duty towards each other- that are reinforced by external referents such as the FARC guerrilla and the Colombian state. Furthermore, it is suggested that this process affects how these communities face changing political opportunities.