Considering the increasing popularity of Social Media Marketing, strategists have begun to explore the ability of Brand Communities to enhance consumers’ emotional bonds and develop, in turn, higher levels of brand loyalty, trust, brand reputation and positive word-of-mouth. For this reason, the arising of Brand Love as a managerial construct seems to be deeply involved with the online consumer behaviour patterns within Brand Communities. In order to uncover the relationship between both phenomena, a quantitative empirical research was conducted on the basis of and online survey with 251 respondents. The result of be-varied correlation analysis showed that social media based brand communities can directly influence the creation of positive emotional connection with the brand, as a constitutive component of Brand Love prototype. Furthermore, related analyses were run to determine the moderating effect of the level of participation within the brand community in the model’s overall performance. Finally, implications for marketing strategy and recommendation for further research are presented to conclude the investigation.

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 paper is concerned with four aspects in the implementation of Article VI on domestic regulation in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). First, the need to reach a better understanding of the scope of the GATS existing disciplines, particularly, the national treatment and the transparency rule. Secondly, the feasibility of the necessity test to reach the Article VI objectives. Third, the assessment of the international standard’s role in the facilitation of the trade. Fourth, the desirability to evaluate the sectoral testing exercises to determine whether the principles and disciplines developed are relevant and adaptable to other sectors. For GATS domestic regulation development, the mentioned factors are crucial accompaniment to future liberalization of services trade and to fulfil Article VI mandate. Whether this progress can be achieved within a time frame consistent with the duration of the current negotiations remains to be seen.

The shift from government to governance has committed its goal to realize a more inclusive and plural way to govern contemporary societies. It has allowed the different actors to interrelate themselves in decision-making processes around strategic metropolitan projects. Citizen participation is also increasingly playing a role in the planning domain, as the traditional role of government as the main decision-maker, becomes challenged or accompanied by new and emerging participatory structures. The recent literature on governance in the Latin American metropolitan context is just developing, as the term first appeared in the region in the 1990s. Although the region is advancing into the consolidation of governance structures, the metropolitan institutional framework is still deficient in the region for its short-lived background in democracy. By delving the context of the Aburrá Valley in Colombia, the present thesis is based on a single case study investigation which uses two frameworks: governance and citizen participation. The thesis aims to answer the question: How have the different actors been interrelated in the decision-making process of Parque del Río Medellín and what were the policy outcomes? Parque del Río Medellín is a project that not only aims to enhance the deficit of public space in the city and improve mobility and quality of life conditions for its inhabit-ants, but also to challenge the current land use model which has saturated to an almost un-sustainable point the slopes of the valley. The results of the investigation achieved through elite semi-structured interviews, show that public sector actors deploy enormous amounts of resources and decision-making capacity, while civil society actors mildly influence the decision-making process. On the other hand, the role of citizen participation around the project resembles classic ‘tokenism’ or symbolic participation achieved through ‘imaginary workshops’, ‘socializations’ or round tables. Finally, the investigation reveals the role of the municipal mayor and his ‘political’ will is crucial to understand the present and future a project, that while is strategic, paradoxically receives scarce attention on behalf of the citi-zens or other civil society actors.

A feasibility study of one of the most complex and representative core products of Sebel Furniture (a well known furniture manufacturing company, based in Sydney, Australia) by comparing its current operations in a centralized model, to a future state in a de-centralized logistics model. The method for doing this was Value Stream Mapping, a Lean manufacturing methodology to identify non-value-added activities along the processes, and reduce Lead Time (LT) and costs by removing those wastes. It is important to mention that, although most of the information in this report corresponded to real data, some assumptions were made, given constraints such as time and the fact that, by the time this report was written, the company was yet working on some of the projections for the future business model. Through the development of the project, Value Stream Maps (VSM) for the family product Postura Plus Shell range were documented on its centralized and de- centralized logistics, main wastes and non-value-added activities were identified, as well as considerations for improvement were raised. This report also shows a basic simulation model of how the VSM would looks like in an improved state, and how each scenario differs from the others. Results showed risks of the future decentralized logistic model of the company regarding complexity of operations planning and inventory management, as well as it describes how successful could it be in terms of a shorter lead time, if an action plan were implemented.

The results of this report indicate how niche product developments for Space Based Solar Power (SBSP) can be easily achieved using present day technology, which markets need to be addressed, which niche configurations to pursue, and which organizations have the needed competencies to proceed. Classical SBSP concepts generally call for large rigid systems to be placed in orbit to collect and transmit several GW of energy down to Earth’s commercial electricity grid, and are still faced with many problems including system complexity, development, and costs. Smaller more specific niche applications of these concepts focus on different markets with lower complexity and barriers to entry while developing technologies and infrastructure needed for the classical SBSP. Technical research was performed in order to identify potential system configurations as well as crucial competencies and technologies needed by the SBSP effort. A pair of unique technical configurations was proposed in an attempt to mitigate standard SBSP challenges such as construction, rigidity, and launch costs. A strategic evaluation tool was created to evaluate all potential system configurations in terms of risk and complexity; ideal configurations were chosen based on anticipated markets and the results from the strategic analysis. Market research was performed in order to understand and valuate the utility of different niche configurations; these included the scientific, remote, green, space to space, and military markets. Very high value segments were observed in each of these market areas with a range of $0.37 to $1.88 USD per kwh for Terrestrial applications, and a range of $380.00 to $1200.00 per kwh for space applications. Exploration of the European Carbon Trading Exchange as a source of revenue is explored due to CO2 offsets. A unique satellite product is proposed and valuated which receives energy directly from an external on orbit source. The value of restoring functionality to damaged satellites is estimated in the millions of dollars.

The city of Al Buraimi, located in the northwest of the Sultanate of Oman, has experienced rapid urban growth characterized by patchy and unsustainable development over the last years. As a result of this process, the city is facing challenges in different dimensions of the urban structure. One of these problems is transportation, which is automobile dependent and road based. Additionally, Al Buraimi presents segregated land use patterns, low densities, reduced travel choices, considerable occupation of land for car facilities and high accidents rates, amongst other issues. Thus the increasing transportation needs may lead to social, environmental and economic problems. Additionally, the transportation planning process is characterized by a lack of coordination among institutions and shortage of vision. Car dependency can be attributed to different factors; firstly, the national transportation policy and legal framework are focused on roads development. Secondly, prices of cars and oil are relatively affordable in the Sultanate, and there is a car culture based on foreign automobile models. Furthermore, the current strong top down approach does not facilitate the instruments necessary to implement a sustainable mode of transportation. A more balanced transportation system, achieved via a more holistically coordinated and inclusive planning approach would provide many benefits to the city. This thesis has the aim of analyzing the current transportation system in Al Buraimi. Afterwards, this study intends to provide proposals which are based on criteria and concepts to adapt toward a more balanced/sustainable transportation system in Al Buraimi.

The Passivhaus Standard is a construction concept based on affordably achieving the best indoor conditions with the lowest energy demand. If adopted, it could contribute to fulfil the lack of regulations in energy and comfort performance in Colombian dwellings that the current sustainability laws mandate. The Standard has been applied in warm regions mostly throughout the Mediterranean.This work intended to study its applicability for social housing in tropical climates, specifically four Colombian cities with different average energy demands and number of occupants per household and diverse climatic conditions. The work identified and described a reference building based on an average ‘good practice’ social housing project product of the current Building Regulations. It was modelled in the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) to analyse its performance in the four cities. The results showed that the thermal performance of the building envelope is better than expected due to favourable climatic conditions in most of the cities, although it needs improvements. Even if primary energy demand is lower in the four cities than the maximum allowed by the Standard, it would be considerably high for dwellings without mechanical heating or cooling. The improved models showed that adopting passive strategies according to local climates reduced daily temperature swings and increased indoor comfort. Applying energy efficiency measures such as solar thermal DHW and more efficient fridges and lighting decreased primary energy demand significantly to less than a half of the maximum allowed. The Standard would be applicable in tropical climates even within the budget limitations for social housing in Colombia, although not exactly in the same way as in central Europe. Local circumstances and passive strategies must be taken into account to feasibly achieve the Passivhaus Standard in Colombian social housing.

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.

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.