Do conflicts create poverty traps? Asset losses and recovery for displaced households in Colombia

Internal conflicts entail large asset losses for certain segments in the civilian population. Asset losses may compromise the future welfare of households, thus leaving a legacy of structural poverty that is difficult to overcome. The purpose of this article is to analyze how asset losses occur during internal conflicts and the process of asset accumulation following the initial shock. To do this, we concentrate on a particularly vulnerable group of victims of war—the displaced population in Colombia. In achieving our objective, we adopt quantitative and qualitative approaches by: (i) providing a detailed description of losses stemming from forced displacement; (ii) analyzing qualitative evidence so as to understand the asset recovery processes for the displaced population; and (iii) estimating OLS, Instrumental Variable and quartile regressions in order to identify the determinants of asset losses stemming from forced displacement, and asset accumulation following the initial shock. The results indicate that recuperating asset losses or accumulating new assets is a rare event; only 25 percent of households are able to recover their original asset base, while asset ownership still seems insufficient for overcoming poverty. In addition, displaced households do not catch up even as settlement at destination sites consolidates. Therefore, unless a positive intervention is implemented, displaced households become locked in a low income trajectory, and are unlikely to leap forward to a high return asset level.Forced migration, civil conflict, asset losses, structural poverty, quantile regressions

DOES VIOLENCE REDUCE INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION?: A THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL APPROACH

The paper develops a dynamic theoretical model and presents empirical evidence about the relationship between violence and education investments. Although some papers have estimated regressions to link educational outcomes and violence, no formal models have been developed yet. A theoretical model is crucial to understand the different channels through which violence affects education. Three channels are identified. First, violence can affect directly the utility of households and, therefore, it may modify the consumption of education. Second, extreme violence can destroy physical capital and create uncertainty, which will lower investment and production. In the long run, destruction of physical assets and drop in investment impact the income of households who in turn must reduce consumption and cutback investments in education. Third, violence can modify the rates of return of education, and therefore, can change the investment on education. We find violence indeed exerts a toll on education. School enrollment is less in Colombian municipalities with homicide rates above the national median. Moreover, the likelihood of school enrollment decreases as homicide rates rise for all group ages. The impact of homicide rates is larger than transferences from the national government to the local government earmarked for investment in education and health.Theory of Education

An evaluation of the Macarena Integral Consolidation Plan (PCIM)

This paper presents a description of the new strategy for the fight against drugs implemented in Colombia since the year 2007. The Strategic Leap Forward, as the Colombian government has called the program, or the Strategic Development Initiative, as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) calls it, is a step forward in the design of anti-drug policies that are more sustainable and effective in the mid-term. Currently, a pilot project is being implemented in the Macarena region, in the department of Meta (southeast of Bogotá), where coca crops and illicit activities were the norm just a few years ago. The Colombian State, partially financed by the United States governments and European countries, consolidates its presence in this region with the different instances and programs of the state apparatus to recover territorial control and combat the production of illicit drugs. But even more important is that this new approach in the fight against illegal drugs is based on a regional economic development plan, to avoid that peasants become involved in the first stages of cocaine production and trafficking process. The adequate functioning of this strategy can be a reference point to other countries that face similar problems of illicit drug production and conflict associated with these activities.Macarena, Consolidation Plan, Colombia, Anti-drug policies

Mujeres y Liderazgo Auténtico ¿Podría ser una salida para lograr la igualdad de género?

Treball Final de Grau. Grau en Psicologia. Codi: PS1048. Curs acadèmic 2016/2017Establecer y desarrollar un liderazgo más auténtico se ha convertido en una labor fundamental para poder llegar a alcanzar los objetivos que se plantean en estos tiempos tan difíciles. Muy recientes son las investigaciones que existen sobre este nuevo tipo de liderazgo, por lo que aún no existe una amplia evidencia empírica al respecto en comparación con los otros modelos de liderazgo clásicos. Concretamente el liderazgo auténtico se basa en la premisa que la persona que ejerce el liderazgo sepa quién es, en lo que cree y lo que en realidad valora. Esto invita a que el líder actúe de forma abierta y sincera. Los seguidores le otorgan un comportamiento excelente, extraordinario, superior, por eso se considera que la cualidad primordial del liderazgo auténtico es la confianza. Estos líderes comparten información, animan a tener una comunicación mucho más fluida y abierta, son fieles a sus palabras a sus ideas, por eso es que la fidelidad de los seguidores es fuerte. Las características de este tipo de liderazgo son próximas a los rasgos que habitualmente se atribuyen a las mujeres. Por este motivo, la adopción de este tipo de liderazgo por parte de las mujeres podría facilitar su incorporación y permanencia en el mercado de trabajo y en especial en los puestos de responsabilidad y poder. Esto contribuiría de manera significativa a alcanzar la tan ansiada igualdad efectiva entre hombres y mujeres. En este marco, en el presente trabajo se realiza una revisión bibliográfica sobre el liderazgo auténtico y sus posibles beneficios para el acceso y permanencia de las mujeres en puestos de responsabilidad.Establishing and developing a more authentic leadership has become an essential task to be able to achieve the targets in these difficult times. The investigations around this new model of leadership are quite recent therefore there isn´t wide empirical evidence in comparison with other classical models. Specifically, authentic leadership is based on the premise that the person who applies the leadership knows clearly who they are, what they believe in and what they really value. This encourages the leader to behave in an open and sincere way. This type of excellent behaviour is rewarded by followers. That’s why the fundamental quality of authentic leadership is trust. These leaders share information, encouraging more open and easy communication. They are true to their word and ideas, that’s why their followers are very loyal. The characteristics of this type of leadership are close to the features traditionally conferred to women. For this reason, women adopting this kind of leadership could facilitate its incorporation and continuity in the work place, especially in positions of power and responsibility. This could contribute to achieve the long wanted equality between men and women. In this context, this work reviews literature about authentic leadership and its possible benefits for women’s access and presence in higher positions

Forced Migration, Female Labor Force Participation, and Intra-household Bargaining: Does Conflict EmpowerWomen?

Civilian displacement is a common phenomenon in developing countries confrontedwith internal conflict. While displacement directly affects forced migrants, it also contributes to deteriorating labor conditions of vulnerable groups in receiving communities. For the displaced population, the income losses are substantial, and asthey migrate to cities, they usually end up joining the informal labor force. Qualitative evidence reveals that displaced women are better suited to compete in urban labor markets, as their labor experience is more relevant with respect to certain urban low-skilled occupations. Our study uses this exogenous change in female labor force participation to test how it affects female bargaining power within the household. Our results show that female displaced women work longer hours, earn similar wages and contribute in larger proportions to household earnings relative to rural women whoremain in rural areas. However, as measured by several indicators, their greater contribution to households´ earnings does not strengthen their bargaining power. Most notably, domestic violence have increased among displaced women. The anger and frustration of displaced women also increases the level of violence directed at children. Because the children of displaced families have been the direct victims of conflict and domestic violence, the intra-generational transmission of violence is highly likely.Forced migration, female labor participation, intra-household bargaining,domestic violence.

Mindfulness y cáncer. Eficacia de las intervenciones mindfulness en cáncer de mama

Treball Final de Grau en Psicologia. Codi: PS1048. Curs acadèmic 2014-2015El cáncer es una de las enfermedades crónicas de mayor prevalencia y la segunda causa de muerte en la actualidad, tras las enfermedades cardiovasculares, tal y como muestra la SEOM. Los tratamientos para el cáncer se han centrado prioritariamente en la sintomatología física y en sus consecuencias, aunque cabe decir que desde hace unos años esta cobrando importancia el apoyo psicológico con terapias de segunda generación, como la terapia cognitivo- conductual, además de la investigación de terapias de tercera generación como el mindfulness la cual empieza a propulsar posibles mejoras en aspectos como la ansiedad, el distrés e insomnio que genera esta enfermedad. Este trabajo pretende observar la eficacia de distintos programas de mindfulness, para la mejora de síntomas psicológicos, en mujeres que han tenido o tienen cáncer de mama, así como observar si mediante la práctica mejora la sintomatología orgánica como la respuesta inmune, la respuesta del cortisol o la actividad de la telomerasa.Cancer is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases and the second leading cause of death today, after cardiovascular diseases, as shown by the SEOM. Cancer treatments have focused primarily on physical symptoms and their consequences, but it can be said that for several years this increasingly important psychological support second-generation therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, in addition to research third-generation therapies such as mindfulness, which begins to propel possible improvements in aspects such as anxiety, distress and insomnia generated by this disease. This work aims to observe the effectiveness of different mindfulness programs, to improve psychological symptoms in women who have had or have breast cancer and see if by practicing organic symptimatology immune response, cortisol response or telomerase activity improves

A single serine residue determines selectivity to monovalent metal ions in metalloregulators of the MerR family

MerR metalloregulators alleviate toxicity caused by an excess of metal ions, such as copper, zinc, mercury, lead, cadmium, silver, or gold, by triggering the expression of specific efflux or detoxification systems upon metal detection. The sensor protein binds the inducer metal ion by using two conserved cysteine residues at the C-terminal metal-binding loop (MBL). Divalent metal ion sensors, such as MerR and ZntR, require a third cysteine residue, located at the beginning of the dimerization (α5) helix, for metal coordination, while monovalent metal ion sensors, such as CueR and GolS, have a serine residue at this position. This serine residue was proposed to provide hydrophobic and steric restrictions to privilege the binding of monovalent metal ions. Here we show that the presence of alanine at this position does not modify the activation pattern of monovalent metal sensors. In contrast, GolS or CueR mutant sensors with a substitution of cysteine for the serine residue respond to monovalent metal ions or Hg(II) with high sensitivities. Furthermore, in a mutant deleted of the Zn(II) exporter ZntA, they also trigger the expression of their target genes in response to either Zn(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), or Co(II).Fil: Ibáñez, María Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Checa, Susana Karina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Soncini, Fernando Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; Argentin

Inter-firm marketing collaboration in family businesses: The role of risk aversion

Family businesses show low participation in inter-organizational collaborations. Inter-firm collaborations are activities in which companies seek to access resources and develop capabilities that they cannot achieve on their own. While there is empirical evidence that family businesses show a high level of risk aversion, some studies have shown the opposite. Further, research on this topic has focused mainly on economic and financial decisions, but few studies explore family business attitudes toward risk in non-financial decisions, such as marketing collaborations. Using a bivariate probit model in a sample of 1,118 Chilean family firms, we analyzed the extent to which the degree of risk aversion influences the probability of family firms participating in marketing collaborations with other firms and on the probability of cooperating with firms with which the family firm has had previous business experience. We found that although most conservative family firms are reluctant to take risks when entering a collaborative relationship, they are willing to take risks when engaging with partners with whom they have not had a previous relationship. The findings expand on research regarding family businesses’ attitudes toward risk, relative to strategic non-financial decisions, and the theoretical development of their collaborative marketing visions

Introducing Active Learning Strategies in the EFL Secondary Education Classroom: A Didactic Proposal

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Professor/a d'Educació Secundària Obligatòria i Batxillerat, Formació Professional i Ensenyaments d'Idiomes. Codi SAP419. Curs: 2020/2021Throughout the history of education, many methodologies based on teaching approaches have emerged. Constructivism (Piaget, 1971; Vygotsky, 1978; Dewey, 1902; Bruner, 1901), in its pedagogical current, postulates the need to provide the student with new experiences that can overlap with their previous knowledge, to create new schemata and learn new concepts or create new ideas (Ajdini, 2021; Stapleton & Stefaniak, 2018). However, according to my personal experience during the Master’s Degree internship period, a methodology based on memorisation and repetition of content where the focus is on grammar is still widely used in learning environments (Bérešová, 2021; Meneses, 2019). This type of instruction is known as the Traditional Methodology (Nie, 2011; Saira, Zafar, Hafeez, 2021), which is currently starting to be adapted towards innovative strategies such as Active Learning by, for example, using collaborative learning or the use of technology in the classroom (Trahasch, 2004; Mashau & Nyawo, 2021). Active Learning is based on releasing the teacher from the active role in the classroom, and letting students learn from experience (Brown, 2007; Kahrhoff, 2006; Bonwell & Eison, 1991) which is a theory supported by several studies in the pedagogical area (Hoellwarth & Moelter, 2011; Prince, 2004; among others). Despite this and the fact that the current legislation in Spain, specifically in the Valencian Community governed by the LOMLOE law (2020) and the curriculum established by the Document Pont of the Generalitat Valenciana, support the Active Learning methodology, the reality within some Secondary Education classrooms is far from implementing these strategies. Nowadays, some contents continue to be taught through repetition, memorisation, and evaluation. In particular, according to the experience in my internship period in the Secondary Education School Vicent Castell I Doménech, English as a Foreign Language is currently being taught from a linguistic perspective, departing from lexical and grammatical points, decontextualising the language and making the task of mastering the language arduous (Heidari, 2011). For this reason, with the objective of a future implementation of Active Learning strategies in the secondary education classroom in the subject of English as a Foreign Language in Vicent Castell I Doménech, a proposal based on Active Learning strategies has been elaborated. This pedagogical proposal is intended to create a Mediation Plan and is designed to be implemented in the courses of the fourth level of Compulsory Secondary Education in IES Vicent Castell I Doménech. Thereby, the present Final Master’s Dissertation) focuses on the contextualisation and presentation of a Didactic Unit with these purposes

Adjusting the Labor Supply to Mitigate Violent Shocks: Evidence from Rural Colombia

This paper studies the use of labor markets to mitigate the impact of violent shocks on households in rural areas in Colombia. It examines changes in the labor supply from on-farm to off-farm labor as a means of coping with the violent shock and the ensuing redistribution of time within households. It identifies the heterogeneous response by gender. Because the incidence of violent shocks is not exogenous, the analysis uses instrumental variables that capture several dimensions of the cost of exercising terror. As a response to the violent shocks, households decrease the time spent on on-farm work and increase their supply of labor to off-farm activities (non-agricultural ones). Men carry the bulk of the adjustment in the use of time inasmuch as they supply the most hours to off-farm non-agricultural work and formal labor markets. Labor markets do not fully absorb the additional labor supply. Women in particular are unable to find jobs in formal labor markets and men have increased time dedicated to leisure and household chores. Additional off-farm supply does not fully cover the decrease in consumption. The results suggest that in rural Colombia, labor markets are a limited alternative for coping with violent shocks. Thus, policies in conflict-affected countries should go beyond short-term relief and aim at preventing labor markets from collapsing and at supporting the recovery of agricultural production.Conflict, labor markets, developing economies, instrumental variables