Abstract: This thesis intends to explain the change of strategies to address coca plantation in Colombia before and after the 2016 Peace agreement. To do so, I build a theoretical model that draws on securitization/de-securitization theory and ripeness/readiness theories. The former theory is used to explain what kind of change was there between the different strategies. In this sense, I claim that policies to address coca plantation before 2016 Peace agreement, securitized coca and framed it as a vital threat, something that ought to be eliminated. On the other hand, the Substitution program of the Peace agreement is, I claim, an attempt to de-securitize -move back to the realm of politics- the issue of coca plantation. The latter theory is used to explain this change and address the characteristics of the ready/ripe moment that made possible the peace negotiations and the change of strategies regarding coca plantation. More specifically, the analysis centres on the changing of disputants’ aspirations to end the conflict and the changing perceptions of each other. I claim that this change of perception of ‘the Other’ is fundamental to de-securitize an issue in a conflict. As a result, the attempt to de-securitize coca in a context of conflict like the Colombian is done through reconsidering the perception of ‘the Other’, the former enemy. Resumen: Esta tesis trata de explicar el cambio de estrategias para abordar la plantación de coca en Colombia antes y después del Acuerdo de paz de 2016. Para hacerlo, construyo un modelo teórico que se basa en la teoría de la securitización / de-securitización y las teorías de madurez/ preparación. La teoría de la securitización / de-securitización se usa para explicar qué tipo de cambio hubo entre las diferentes estrategias. En este sentido, afirmo que las políticas para abordar la plantación de coca antes del Acuerdo de paz de 2016, securitizaron la coca y la enmarcaron como una amenaza vital, algo que debería ser eliminado. Por otro lado, el programa de Sustitución del Acuerdo de paz es un intento por de-securitizar -traer al ámbito de la política- el tema de la plantación de coca. Las teorías de madurez/ preparación se usan para explicar este cambio de estrategias y abordar las características del momento preparado/ maduro que hizo posible las negociaciones de paz y el cambio de estrategias con respecto a la plantación de coca. Más específicamente, el análisis se centra en el cambio de las aspiraciones de los contendientes a terminar con el conflicto y en el cambio de las percepciones que los contendientes tenían del otro. Afirmo que este cambio de percepción de 'el Otro' es fundamental para de-securitizar un problema en un conflicto. Como resultado, el intento de de-securitizar la coca en un contexto de conflicto como el colombiano se hace reconsiderando la percepción de 'el Otro', el antiguo enemigo.

Abstract: Literature on the training of music researchers is ample and copious, abundant in reference material and examples from different times and places. The present work tackles the analysis of an original and idiosyncratic project, in which a Ministry of Culture proposes a training program for researchers in music. Inviting agents and institutions from different backgrounds and territories, the Colombian Ministry of Culture through the ‘Pilot Project of Researchers’ Training in Music’ (PPFIM) led to a broad debate on research to strengthen traditional music practices. Through the critical-descriptive analysis of the documentation derived from the process, this study allows one to appreciate the genesis of this policy, as well as the different positions of the actors, the epistemological and political struggle behind the recognition of multiculturality, the forms of rationality involved in the research-training relationship, and the need for greater coherence in methodological, pedagogical and operational matters, which guarantee the formulation of a research policy that is in keeping with the wealth of local social knowledge, as a field of alternatives for open and plural societies more integrated, respectful of difference, and proud of their diversity. Resumen: La literatura sobre formación de investigadores en música es amplia y copiosa, abundante en material de referencia y ejemplos de diferentes épocas y lugares. El presente trabajo aborda el análisis de un proyecto original e idiosincrásico, en el que un Ministerio de Cultura propone un programa de formación para investigadores en música. Invitando a agentes e instituciones de diferentes procedencias y territorios, el Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia a través del Proyecto Piloto de Formación de Investigadores en Música (PPFIM) ha abierto un amplio debate sobre la formación en investigación como dispositivo para el fortalecimiento de las prácticas musicales tradicionales en el país. A través del análisis crítico-descriptivo de la documentación derivada del proceso del PPFIM, este estudio permite apreciar la génesis de esta política, así como diferentes posiciones de los actores involucrados, la lucha epistemológica y política detrás del reconocimiento de la multiculturalidad, las formas de racionalidad existentes en la relación investigación-formación y la necesidad de una mayor coherencia metodológica, pedagógica y operativa, que garantice la formulación de una política de investigación acorde con la riqueza del saber social local, como campo de alternativas para sociedades plurales más abiertas e integradas, respetuosas de la diferencia y orgullosas de su diversidad.

Abstract: Bovine Digital Dermatitis (DD) is a multi-etiological disease that affects several ungulate production species. One of the most studied ones are the Dairy Cattle, due to its population numbers in both developed and developing countries all around the world and the size of the dairy production globally.DD has no definite cure and there are currently several strategies to address this disease, including control of the risk factors at individual, animal and herd level, topic and systemic treatments with or without antibiotics. In these kind of diseases genetics can play a special role improving the overall health of the farm. It can help to select animals against the disease if it is included in the breeding goal. Using Generalized Linear Models, this thesis uses the SIS (Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible) model, taken from the Quantitative Epidemiology, to see whether there is a heritable component of susceptibility and infectivity related to the sire for DD in a group of 12 Dutch Dairy Farms. Resumen: La Dermatitis digital bovina (DD) es una enfermedad multietiológica que afecta a varias especies unguladas de producción Uno de los más estudiados es el ganado lechero, debido a su población en países desarrollados y en desarrollo en todo el mundo y al tamaño de la producción lechera a nivel mundial. El DD no tiene una cura definitiva y actualmente existen varias estrategias para tratar esta enfermedad, incluido el control de los factores de riesgo a nivel individual, animal y de rebaño, tratamientos tópicos y sistémicos con o sin antibióticos. En este tipo de enfermedades, la genética puede desempeñar un papel especial para mejorar la salud general de la granja. Puede ayudar a seleccionar animales contra la enfermedad si está incluida en el objetivo de reproducción. Usando Modelos Lineales Generalizados, esta tesis usa el modelo SIS (Susceptible-Infectado-Susceptible), tomado de la Epidemiología Cuantitativa, para ver si hay un componente hereditario de susceptibilidad e infectividad relacionado con el padre para DD en un grupo de 12 granjas lecheras holandesas.

Abstract: In England 11% of households are considered to be fuel poor, however, this figure reached 12.4% in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2015. Nonetheless, improvements in energy efficiency are a powerful tool for reducing energy bills, allowing households to keep a higher residual income, reducing the proportion of people living in fuel poverty. This paper shows the results of the assessment of thermal insulation of a community building in Sheffield along with the simulation and economic analysis of a set of viable improvements to increase energy efficiency. Thermal imaging along with energy analysis software were the main tools used. Results show that energy savings could reach 72% by improving insulation in external walls and roofing. However, there is a funding challenge as investments required are significantly high and the payback periods are over 5 years. On the other hand, measurements and analysis in the building assessed shown that basic changes in behaviour related to the operation of the heating system could reduce energy consumption by up to 49%. This finding motivated occupants to take action in order to see reduction in energy bills immediately with no investment required. Additionally, results shown the impacts of overheating the building; a 1°C increase could boost energy requirements by up to 15%. All these findings show the potential benefits of improving energy efficiency to reduce fuel poverty. Resumen: En Inglaterra 11% de los hogares se considera que viven en pobreza energética, sin embargo, esta cifra alcanzó 12.4% en Yorkshire and the Humber en 2015. Las Mejoras en eficiencia energética son una herramiento ponderosa para reducer las facturas de energía, permitiendo a los hogares conservar un mayor ingreso residual, reduciendo la proporción de gente viviendo en pobreza energética. Este artículo muestra los resultados de la evaluación del aislamiento térmico de un edificio comunitario en Sheffield junto con la simulación y análisis económico de un conjunto de mejoras viables para incrementar la eficiencia energética. Las principals herramientas usadas fueron imágenes térmicas y software de analisis energético. Los resultados mostraron que se puede alcanzar ahorros del 72% mejorando el aislamiento en las paredes externas y el techo. Sin embargo, la financiación es un reto ya que se require inversions significativamente altas y los periodos de recuperación de la inversion superan los 5 años. Por otra parte, las mediciones y analisis realizados en el edificio evaluado mostraron sencillos cambios cambios en el comportamiento, en relación con la operación del Sistema de calefacción pueden reducer el consume de energía hasta en un 49%. Este hallazgo motive a los ocupantes del edificio a tomar acciones con el fin obtener inmediatament una reducción en las facturas de energía sin ninguna inversion. Adicionalmente, los resultados mostraron los impactos de sobrecalentar el edificio; un increment de 1°C podría elevar consume de energía hasta en un 15%. Todos estos hallazgos muestran los potentials beneficios de mejorar la eficiencia energética para reducir la pobreza energética.

Despite the numerous and insightful studies on military change, the scope of the countries and militaries, which have been a subject of analysis is limited. The attention has been brought mainly to the study of lessons from the United States, Great Britain and France. Some other studies explore Russia (and former USSR), Ireland, Israel and Japan among others, while not many have sought to explain how the armed forces of states committed to fight against a long-lasting insurgency in a non-international armed conflict, amidst constrained economies and particular social and cultural settings, have undertaken the endeavour to innovate, emulate and adapt. The present dissertation explores three case studies featuring evidence of innovation, emulation and adaptation in Colombia, in which ‘defence ownership’ is introduced as the overarching concept identified as an enabler of military change in a developing country dealing with a non-international armed conflict. Furthermore, it is argued that the effects of ‘norm compliance’ had provided the framework of action for innovation, limited the extent of emulation and represented the converging mechanism for using military capabilities for social purposes.

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.

Turning Point is a look into the state of Colombian cinema through the experience of a filmmaker who is working on his first feature film. Edison Vanegas, the father of a child with Down syndrome, is directing and producing Talento Millonario, a film that shows the skills and capabilities of people with learning difficulties. Turning Point tracks the efforts Vanegas makes to accomplish his goals as a filmmaker during the preproduction and production of the film. In order to obtain a wider picture, this documentary also includes the point of view of some of the most important players in the industry´s value chain like: director Victor Gaviria, producers Dago García and Juan Pablo Tamayo, the director of the Mixed Fund for Film Promotion Claudia Triana, among others. These experts will approach relevant issues concerning the state of affairs in national cinema. The film is an opportunity to learn about the effects of the “Film Act” created in 2003, which increased the number of productions being made in the country and gave filmmakers more tools and resources to make their project come to life. This does not necessarily mean consolidating the industry, because as we will see, there are still some major issues to solve and a long way to go. Master with distinction

After more than 50 years of internal armed conflict, the peace agreement between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia- People’s Army (FARC-EP) raises both hope and concern. There are several opportunities for people, derived from wealth and land redistribution. However, the environmental sustainability of the mechanisms to implement the agreements represent the biggest challenges facing the future. Constructing future scenarios with indigenous peoples living in Forest Reserves and external agents working in La Pedrera, Amazonas Department, is a good case example to define what kind of futures they can envision. For this research project, I designed and served as facilitator during six scenario construction exercises, with 40 Forest Reserve dwellers. Additionally, I conducted six semi-structured formal interviews with relevant actors. The process of synthesising participants’ views, the current state of the territory, and perceived future opportunities and threats, lead me to a baseline and three future scenarios: Utopian, Business as Usual, and Dystopian. Furthermore, I used the capabilities approach, and Political Ecology, to understand the kinds of conflicts present in the area, to explore real possibilities of peace for the territory, and to expand the roles participants described as more conducive to achieve desirable futures.

This paper focuses on the problem of functional statistical classification of gene expression curves. A local-wavelet-vaguelette-based functional logistic regression approach is presented. This approach is specially suitable for the classification of non-stationary singular (non- differentiable) curves. The performance of the methodology proposed is illustrated by implementing it for the classification of yeast cell-cycle temporal gene expression profiles. A simulation study is also carried out for comparison with other functional classification methodologies.

Abstract: This paper presents a scale-laboratory test where a 2.0 GHz ground penetrating radar (GPR) is used to assess a controlled-fuel oil injection in a shallow sand tank setup. The test examined several scenarios involving different levels of water saturation and fuel oil contamination. The increase of water content produces a reduction of EM wave propagation velocity, moving some fixed/reference targets to higher reflection times. We use simplified relations to obtain approximated dielectric permittivity values, where the inverted results are consistent with those available in the literature for similar scenarios. Rather than suggesting a true quantitative procedure, these observations could be exploited in a qualitative long-term monitoring strategy in common field situations where a contaminant enters a soil matrix and moves through its pore spaces. Finally, the integration of GPR measurements with other monitoring techniques could increase the reliability of the interpretation and the sensitivity to the contaminant concentration. Reseña: Este artículo presenta una prueba de laboratorio a escala donde se usa un radar de penetración terrestre (GPR) de 2.0 GHz para evaluar una inyección de aceite combustible en una configuración de tanque de arena poco profunda. La prueba examinó varios escenarios que involucraban diferentes niveles de saturación de agua y contaminación con aceite combustible. El aumento del contenido de agua produce una reducción de la velocidad de propagación de la onda EM, moviendo algunos objetivos de referencia a tiempos de reflexión más altos. Utilizamos relaciones simplificadas para obtener valores aproximados de permitividad dieléctrica, donde los resultados invertidos son consistentes con los disponibles en la literatura para escenarios similares. En lugar de sugerir un verdadero procedimiento cuantitativo, estas observaciones podrían explotarse en una estrategia cualitativa de monitoreo a largo plazo en situaciones de campo común donde un contaminante ingresa a una matriz del suelo y se mueve a través de sus espacios porosos. Finalmente, la integración de las mediciones de GPR con otras técnicas de monitoreo podría aumentar la confiabilidad de la interpretación y la sensibilidad a la concentración de contaminantes.