"Human stressors are currently impacting both the Amazon and Orinoco river basins and these are likely to increase. However, there is a lack of standardized monitoring programs to track these human stressors in most of the countries that overlap these basins, and no clear ecological indicators have been identified. In this study we investigated the relationships between measures of ecosystem degradation and river dolphins as potential ecological indicators. The presence of human stressors and their distance from the areas surveyed were used to provide an estimate of ecosystem degradation. We tested three ecological indicators of freshwater ecosystem degradation using river dolphins: (i) density of river dolphins, (ii) mean group size of dolphins, and (iii) dolphin sighting rates. We found a strong negative relationship between measures of habitat degradation and river dolphin density estimates in selected locations of the Amazon and Orinoco. Therefore, we suggest that river dolphins are good candidates as ecological indicators, flagship and sentinel species for monitoring the conservation status of large tropical rivers in South America. We suggest that further effort should be directed toward collecting reliable data on human stressors, creating collaborative networks for compiling existing data, and documenting and monitoring current trends in freshwater ecosystem degradation and indicator species in the Amazon and Orinoco basins with the goal of targeting areas for recovery or sustainable management."

The following document seeks to elaborate a framework analysis to the practices of Evaluation of Programmes of the National Planning Department of Colombia (DNP) which have been framed in external models and thus, are not entirely accurate for measuring different views of development. This essay will be based on the theory of social change and the assumption that to be developed does not necessarily mean the same thing for a number of distinct stakeholders. Firstly, a background of the Colombian context and the DNP mandate will be presented. Secondly, this essay will show the Evaluation practices and values of the DNP under certain theoretical framework. Thirdly, it will be presented how these practices have addressed concrete impact evaluations without structural impacts. Finally, this document will explain what we can learn from this case.

To improve cardiovascular implant success, metal-based stents are designated to modulate endothelial cells adhesion and migration in order to prevent restenosis and late thrombosis diseases. Biomimetic coatings with extra-cellular matrix adhesive biomolecules onto stents surfaces are a strategy to recover a healthy endothelium. However, the appropriate bioactive sequences to selective promote growth of endothelium and the biomolecules surface immobilization strategy remains to be elucidated. In this study, biofunctionalization of cobalt chromium, CoCr, alloy surfaces with elastin-like recombinamers, ELR, genetically modified with an REDV sequence, was performed to enhance metal surfaces endothelialization. Moreover, physical adsorption and covalent bonding were used as biomolecules binding strategies onto CoCr alloy. Surfaces were activated with plasma and etched with sodium hydroxide previous to silanization with 3-chloropropyltriethoxysilane and functionalized with the ELR. CoCr alloy surfaces were successfully biofunctionalized and the use of an ELR with an REDV sequence, allows conferring bioactivity to the biomaterials surface, demonstrating a higher cell adhesion and spreading of HUVEC cells on the different CoCr surfaces. This effect is emphasized as increases the amount of immobilized biomolecules and directly related to the immobilization technique, covalent bonding, and the increase of surface charge electronegativity. Our strategy of REDV elastin-like recombinamers immobilization onto CoCr alloy surfaces via covalent bonding through organosilanes provides a bioactive surface that promotes endothelial cell adhesion and spreading.

This thesis introduces a financial simulation model covering two related financial domains: Mobile Payments and Retail Stores systems. The problem we address in these domains is different types of fraud. We limit ourselves to isolated cases of relatively straightforward fraud. However, in this thesis the ultimate aim is to introduce our approach towards the use of computer simulation for fraud detection and its applications in financial domains. Fraud is an important problem that impact the whole economy. Currently, there is a lack of public research into the detection of fraud. One important reason is the lack of transaction data which is often sensitive. To address this problem we present a mobile money Payment Simulator (PaySim) and Retail Store Simulator (RetSim), which allow us to generate synthetic transactional data that contains both: normal customer behaviour and fraudulent behaviour. These simulations are Multi Agent-Based Simulations (MABS) and were calibrated using real data from financial transactions. We developed agents that represent the clients and merchants in PaySim and customers and salesmen in RetSim. The normal behaviour was based on behaviour observed in data from the field, and is codified in the agents as rules of transactions and interaction between clients and merchants, or customers and salesmen. Some of these agents were intentionally designed to act fraudulently, based on observed patterns of real fraud. We introduced known signatures of fraud in our model and simulations to test and evaluate our fraud detection methods. The resulting behaviour of the agents generate a synthetic log of all transactions as a result of the simulation. This synthetic data can be used to further advance fraud detection research, without leaking sensitive information about the underlying data or breaking any non-disclose agreements. Using statistics and social network analysis (SNA) on real data we calibrated the relations between our agents and generate realistic synthetic data sets that were verified against the domain and validated statistically against the original source. We then used the simulation tools to model common fraud scenarios to ascertain exactly how effective are fraud techniques such as the simplest form of statistical threshold detection, which is perhaps the most common in use. The preliminary results show that threshold detection is effective enough at keeping fraud losses at a set level. This means that there seems to be little economic room for improved fraud detection techniques. We also implemented other applications for the simulator tools such as the set up of a triage model and the measure of cost of fraud. This showed to be an important help for managers that aim to prioritise the fraud detection and want to know how much they should invest in fraud to keep the loses below a desired limit according to different experimented and expected scenarios of fraud.

Aunque no se puede afirmar en ningún caso que la formación de los Estados, ni en América Latina ni en Europa, fue el resultado de un devenir social y cultural pacífico en el cual los individuos concientes de su libertad, de su igualdad, firmaron un contrato social para vivir bajo el imperio de las leyes gobernados por otros ciudadanos que ellos mismos elegían, si es claro que en Europa occidental, este modelo se abrió paso con sus elementos y pudo triunfar contra la natural oposición, en virtud de una línea de base, unas condiciones directas e indirectas de estatalidad- que lo hicieron posible. En cambio, en América Latina, este modelo se impuso porque era el referente más inmediato para que los criollos sustituyeran la organización política colonial, como una opción coyuntural, pese a que no tuviera más línea de base que la de ser un hecho territorial. Esa línea de base, es decir, ese piso para la modernidad; la armoniosa articulación entre las regiones, la transformación de habitantes en ciudadanos, la relación igualitaria entre los sujetos, entre otras; es lo que durante los dos siglos siguientes los países de América Latina han intentado crear.

El presente trabajo constituye el consolidado de los resultados de investigación correspondientes a un estudio exploratorio conducente a la identificación de los estilos de liderazgo predominantes en los dirigentes de las empresas de la ciudad de Bucaramanga, Colombia y su Area Metropólitana (AMB). Para tal fin, a partir de un muestreo representativo, se aplicó un instrumento de evaluación basado en el modelo de los cuatro marcos del liderazgo sobre 329 gerentes y se realizó el subsecuente análisis estadístico de los resultados. De acuerdo con lo anterior, se concluye que los gerentes del AMB, en general, tienden frecuentemente hacia prácticas como la definición de objetivos, procedimientos, normas claras, dirección a través del análisis y el diseño de planes ampliamente aceptados; y, en menor medida hacia prácticas como el estímulo al desarrollo de sus colaboradores, la competencia interna, la resolución de conflictos y la conformación de una base de poder para ejercer su liderazgo. Adicionalmente, se señalan las relaciones existentes entre cada uno de los estilos definidos y algunas variables sociodemográficas como la edad, el sexo y el sector económico de desempeño.

This article develops a forestry model to obtain the optimal control strategy and optimal rotation length after a disease attacks in a perennial variety. Three cases are considered: a benchmark consisting of a disease-free field, an identical field with the disease present but no resistant variety with which to replant, and an identical field with the disease present and a resistant variety with which to replant. We determine general decision rules and then apply the model to the case of Pudrición del Cogollo, a major disease threat to the Colombian oil palm industry. In the application, we compare the optimal rotation length between the three scenarios and determine the optimal level of control in each period for the disease scenarios. The singular solution involves complete control of the disease, and in the absence of a resistant variety, the presence of the disease increases the rotation length. With these solutions, we then determine the value of developing a resistant variety. This value depends heavily on the age distribution of the current trees and decreases as the average tree age decreases. The value further declines when the resistance variety has negative attributes such as higher replanting and maintenance costs than the original variety.

There is a set of myths which are linked to the recovery of L’Aquila, such as: the L’Aquila recovery has come to a halt, it is still in an early recovery phase, and there is economic stagnation. The objective of this paper is threefold: a) to identify and develop a set of spatial indicators for the case of L’Aquila, b) to test the feasibility of a numerical assessment of these spatial indicators as a method to monitor the progress of a recovery process after an earthquake and c) to answer the question whether the recovery process in L’Aquila stagnates or not. We hypothesize that after an earthquake the spatial distribution of expert defined variables can constitute an index to assess the recovery process more objectively. In these articles, we aggregated several indicators of building conditions to characterize the physical dimension, and we developed building use indicators to serve as proxies for the socio-economic dimension while aiming for transferability of this approach. The methodology of this research entailed six steps: 1) fieldwork, 2) selection of a sampling area, 3) selection of the variables and indicators for the physical and socio-economic dimensions, 4) analyses of the recovery progress using spatial indicators by comparing the changes in the restricted core area as well as building use over time; 5) Selection and integration of the results through expert weighting; and 6) determining hotspots of recovery in L’Aquila. Eight categories of building conditions and twelve categories of building use were identified. Both indicators: building condition and building use are aggregated into a recovery index. The reconstruction process in the city center of L'Aquila seems to stagnate, which is reflected by the five following variables: percentage of buildings with on-going reconstruction, partial reconstruction, reconstruction projected residential building use and transport facilities. These five factors were still at low levels within the core area in 2012. Nevertheless, we can conclude that the recovery process in L’Aquila did not come to a halt but is still ongoing, albeit being slow.

Metástasis, a Colombian remake of the award-winning 5 season series created by Vince Gillian, Breaking Bad, will premiere in Latin America in the second semester of 2014 on the basic-cable television channel MundoFOX. The remake’s success is still to be seen, but Internet blogs and news sites commenting upon it reveal that fans of the original series are really upset, predicting it to be a complete failure. While identifying and explaining the process of adapting both the particular character and the “world” portrayed in Breaking Bad to make them as believable as possible for the Latin American audience, this essay will discuss whom its target audience might be. Thus, based on an analysis on cable television, it will propose that a stronger reason for the realization of this remake is to set-up a new audience in Latin America for the future benefit of United States television networks.

Colombia, as many low and middle-income countries, has been deeply influenced by the predominant linear economic model by using their extensive natural resources to create, to some extent, wealth. However, the current environmental problems and global economy deceleration are challenging the country to find new ways to growth the economy without harming the environment. The circular economy (CE) seems to be a promising model to achieve this goal by reducing the dependency on non-renewables, improving the competitiveness through innovation and ¬generating new and rewarding jobs. Thus, this paper explored the enablers that would facilitate the transition towards a CE in Colombia given its specific circumstances such as development gaps in infrastructure and a large informal sector involved in recycling. As a result, an enabling framework was proposed based on secondary data and the insights from interviewing an expert on the field. This framework was the baseline to assess the CE in Colombia and to identify the main interventions that are required to support a transition towards a more sustainable economy. This assessment was carried out through secondary data and some interviews with professionals performing in sustainable development in the country. The evaluation showed that Colombia does not have at the moment the right enabling conditions for a CE deployment. Therefore, the country presents opportunities to reinforce a CE transition in terms of political coherence and a suitable fiscal framework that promotes sustainable practices as well as a robust IT infrastructure and ICTs appropriation among the enterprises to develop business models framed within the CE principles. Moreover, it is required a safe and profitable recovery of materials discouraging the current practices of recycling. Finally, it is important to promote financing schemes and the development of design-led approaches to production among the industrial sector to foster innovation as a key building block of a CE. The findings of this dissertation provide a starting point for future research about the enablers for a CE transition in the context of low and middle-income economies.