Ship-source oil spills are amongst the major sources of oil affecting coastal areas. An end-to-end marine oil spill analysis may provide a model to better allocate response resources or prepare contingency plans for highly vulnerable zones. A consequence assessment, a key aspect of this type of analysis which considers economic, social and environmental aspects of a geographic area, is presented in this study as a GIS index tool, which can be applied in the context of Atlantic Canada. A theoretical framework and conceptual model is developed based on a literature review of oil spill state-of-the-art analysis using Exploratory Network Analysis; and tested on a realistic case study (Halifax Harbour, NS). The novel approach for reviewing the literature provided sound criteria for the conceptual model, which fits the end-to-end marine oil spill analysis, segregating elements regarding exposure and oil behaviour. Furthermore, oil spill management indicators were tailored using expertise from Atlantic Canada’s oil spill responders, and many gaps were identified to potentially refine the model later. Finally, this model considers the range of aspects that influence the consequences of a ship-based oil spill, using readily available information and considering relevant stakeholder’s interests.

The intention of this thesis is to determine the warning signals and prevent actions to conduct successfully FARC DDR’s process. Although, Colombia has experienced multiple DDR processes during its recent history, the political violence continues to be rage with the country. After each process, Colombia notes the mutation of criminal structures, which have deployed their tentacles to other Latin American countries. Understanding the salient issues that led to the success or failure of DDR processes will aid the Government of Colombia (GOC) to faces the process with FARC. The main argument of this thesis is that, GOC; in order to carry out successfully DDR of the FARC must take into account DDR “best practices”, and experiences not only in Colombia but also in other countries. El Salvador and South Africa are the selected countries, due to some similarities that present their DDR’s experiences with some features of the Colombian conflict. This thesis also will cover past Colombian experiences in DDR from the end of La Violencia to most recent AUC’s DDR, as well as the “individual demobilization” programs for insurgents. In other words, an analysis of these cases will provide the best approaches to conduct a successful DDR process.

“El Conservador: periódico noticioso” fue una publicación que circuló en Pasto en 1912 y que se interesó por los asuntos de la región, la política y la religión desde una tendencia conservadora, como su nombre lo indica. En la editorial del número 39 del periódico, se reproducía una noticia sobre Ezequiel Moreno Díaz y su papel al “ocupar la silla episcopal” de la Diócesis de Popayán, el cual, se caracterizó por su rígida postura contra el liberalismo. Además de lo mencionado, encontramos la publicación del Decreto número 48 de enero de 1902, por el cual se decretaba la forma de cubrir los daños causados y las expropiaciones a los “amigos del gobierno”, causados por la Guerra de los Mil Días.

International recovery of illegal assets has received considerable attention in the last 25 years. International conventions against corruption, organized crime and terrorism have recognized its central importance for international and national security, development policy and the Rule of Law. International institutions such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank (WB) have created special units and programs to deliver and implement policy recommendations on the issue. Moreover, private organizations such as Transparency International and the Basel Institute on Governance have also engaged in supporting efforts done by States and local NGOs around the world, especially in developing countries. However all these initiatives to design and implement a comprehensive and effective framework to identify, trace, freeze, confiscate and recover illegal assets from abroad have not fulfilled the expectations of victims, civil society, States and international community. Extensive literature claims that political, legal and operational problems impede an effective approach to international recovery of illegal assets in the context of the fight against organized crime. Yet, there are no studies that consider international asset recovery in the context of peace negotiations between the State and illegal armed groups, where cooperation, compromise and mutual concessions are essential features of such situation. I argue that a peace process is a special opportunity for international asset recovery because in this context parties can create the incentives to overcome the key obstacles of ordinary asset recovery. Still, this requires to rethink international asset recovery in terms of restorative justice. I argue that a peace process setting is an exceptional background to create complementary, temporal and exceptional mechanisms by which illegal armed groups can effectively map, identify and cooperate with State authorities in order to recover, repatriate and liquidate their illegal assets from abroad. By pursuing this, the State would not only comply with the international standards of asset recovery, but also could fulfil the obligations owed to victims of international crimes. I claim that we should examine this new dimension of international asset recovery because most illegal armed groups involved in peace negotiations are also involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorism at a global scale. This dissertation aims to link the standard literature of international asset recovery with the field of restorative justice, peace-making and transitional justice to explore a new a research agenda that could have relevant policy implications. 

In this work, the particularities of natural resource wealth are the building blocks for the theoretical identification of some challenges faced by national governments in relation to extractive activities. Such challenges are later on unfolded from the perspective of overlapping claims on both environmental sustainability and social justice. The discussion here presented travels between different spatial, institutional and temporal scales, and particularly from the national to the regional (sub-national) levels. In order to observe how some of the challenges of extractive activities are manifested in practice, the case of La Colosa, an intended gold mining venture in the Colombian Andean region, is addressed. This work exposes some relevant tasks that the Colombian government has to undertake if the economic growth of the country is to be based on natural resources exploitation. In regards to long-term provision of environmental goods and services, the analysis done in this work allows the identification of tensions between the mining interests and the need to protect environmental functions related to the availability and quality of land and water resources. These tensions are aggravated by the existence of disjointed institutions and policies at the national level as well as between regional and national scales. So as to the achievement of social justice, this analysis reveals how the national interest on extractive activities for economic growth need to be not superimposed on, but harmonised with regional interests on natural resources for environmental functionality and local livelihoods, so as to avoid a systematic misrecognition of population’s needs and rights. Misaddressing this challenge conduces local entities to the necessary search of other avenues for claiming their recognition and participation. In this second stage, there is an additional need to ensure the security, effectiveness and legitimacy of participatory spaces that, if overshadowed by particular interests, may end up further reproducing the misrecognition patterns, exhausting the avenues for assertive claiming and even triggering conflict.

Sanando Juntas resalta las capacidades de nueve mujeres víctimas del conflicto armado colombiano que viven en Panamá, quienes tuvieron la oportunidad de transformar sus experiencias y emociones en minicuentos y poemas que trascienden el conflicto armado e involucran otras dimensiones de sus vivencias personales. En el marco de un convenio entre la Unidad para las Víctimas en Colombia y la organización internacional RET, se implementó un proceso educativo de escritura creativa como medida de reparación, en el que las autoras asumieron el liderazgo de la dignificación y el reconocimiento de sus historias de vida. Como resultado, las mujeres participantes construyeron 26 escritos individuales y uno colectivo, con el propósito de amplificar sus voces y memorias, y visibilizar los desafíos particulares que enfrentan ante la violencia, entendiendo sus escritos como puentes hacia la sanación colectiva. Incluye textos de María Esnilda Vega (Brenda de Colombia), Elsy Florencia Angulo, Samia Rosa Caballero (Flor del Futuro), Sirley Segura Gómez (Celeste Flores), Luz Mery González; María Alexandra Prado, Xiomara Grueso (Brisa del Rocío), Merlin Valencia Mosquera (Clarita Arboleda) y Francy Elena Montero Quintero.

Este dibujando escribo trata de establecer de qué manera construye pensamiento Tomás, desde lo dibujado y lo escrito, durante el primer año de formación escolar (2013). Entendiendo este sujeto de análisis como un sujeto de experiencia, desde la mirada de François Dubet, en una conversación constante, mirando, viendo, dejándose ver, implicándose con este otro en una doble vía de co-implicación. En el presente artículo doy cuenta de los conceptos que son transversales a las tres categorías enunciadas: lo dibujado, lo escrito y lo pensado, así como del concepto de sujeto-niño desde el que me posiciono. Parto de los conceptos frontera e interculturalidad, desde donde intento mirar y ver para implicarme.

Esta investigación se abordada desde la perspectiva sociocultural planteada por Gurgel (2003), quien muestra la necesidad de construir currículos educativos orientados a la inclusión de aspectos propios de cada sociedad, como los sociológicos, históricos y culturales evitar la aniquilación de procesos sociales diversos de las culturas. Se busca reconocer las diferentes formas de interpretación de nuestros pueblos ancestrales, específicamente el pueblo Muisca asentado en Sesquilé, y su importancia en la enseñanza de las ciencias de la naturaleza, en este caso la biotecnología. Para ello, abordamos el problema en las maneras como se aproximan e interpretan los y las jóvenes de origen Muisca a los artefactos biotecnológicos, entendidos como artefactos culturales (Cole, 1999). Con respecto a los antecedentes y referencial teórico, se parte de varias investigaciones realizadas en el ámbito de la enseñanza de la biotecnología. Definitivamente, se trata de un concepto potente que debe ser más investigado.

“El Orden: política, noticias, letras, ciencias, artes, etc.” fue una publicación que circuló en el Municipio de Facatativá (Departamento de Cundinamarca) durante 1909. Desde una perspectiva conservadora, el periódico apoyó la candidatura de Arístides Fernández como representante al Congreso de la circunscripción electoral de Facatativá. Además de lo mencionado, el título favoreció la política y el gobierno Rafael Reyes e informó sobre diferentes empresas locales y nacionales en la sección titulada “Hechos diversos”.

“El Duende” fue una publicación que circuló en Cartagena durante 1830. Su cabezote se acompañó del epígrafe: “La imprudencia y el error son funestos precursores de la caída de los reyes”. Según su prospecto, le periódico aparecía en un escenario “poco favorable”, debido a la censura y los ataques que vivía la libertad de imprenta. Además de lo mencionado, se establecía que el título no se comprometía con ningún partido y que apoyaría aquellas iniciativas del gobierno que considerase buenas, sin importar que fuese tildado como una publicación parcializada. El periódico hizo uso de la sátira para cuestionar la política y el programa liberal. De igual manera, en las editoriales de “El Duende”, se realizó un cubrimiento continuo de los debates que rodearon la disolución de la Gran Colombia y la figura de Antonio José Sucre. En el número 6 del 2 de octubre de 1830 el periódico anunciaba su suspensión, luego de concluir su primer trimestre.