MARINE PROTECTED AREAS IN COLOMBIA: RE-CONNECTING SOCIAL, ECOLOGICAL, AND POLICY ASPECTS THROUGH A GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this doctoral research is to examine opportunities and constraints for integrating key aspects of governance into marine conservation strategies and for shifting top-down approaches toward collaborative and integrative forms of governance that enhance conservation and social outcomes in marine protected areas (MPAs). Although there is evidence that demonstrates that MPAs are an effective tool for marine conservation, shortcomings in addressing ecological characteristics and particularly in addressing social factors in the design and planning of MPAs often constrain achieving conservation and sustainability goals. These shortcomings are particularly acute in MPAs implemented through top-down governance approaches that overlook stakeholder participation in planning and management decision-making and in assuming responsibilities. As an alternative to better integrate social and ecological characteristics, hybrid governance has gained prominence in the last decades; yet, the transition from a top-down towards a hybrid MPA governance model is not straightforward and mechanisms for sharing marine and coastal access rights, authority, and power are not well understood. Based on the multiple-site case study in the Caribbean of Colombia, this research synthesizes and examines historical and development aspects under which top-down marine protected areas are established and explores the role of different components and attributes of the governance system in MPA performance. Specifically, this research analyses barriers and opportunities for moving towards shared-governance approaches and for improving MPA governance. The multiple-site case study includes four MPAs—National Natural Park Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo, Regional Natural Park Boca Guacamaya, Regional Integrated Management District Ciénaga de la Caimanera, and Private Natural Reserve Sanguare—sharing similar bio-geographical and socio-economic characteristics, but operating at different jurisdictions (regional and national) and under different categories of management and use restrictions. The data collection methods included: review and analysis of documents, semi-structured interviews (n=69) with key informants from the communities within or near the selected MPAs and from environmental authorities, NGOs, and the private sector; focus groups (n=6) with community representatives; and direct observation of activities carried out by locals focused on social and environmental interactions. Inductive-deductive content analysis was used for finding the main elements of governance and key interactions underpinning the overall MPA governance system. The findings show that MPA system development in Colombia has been considerably influenced and supported by international mandates and agreements and some national policies. However, governance barriers related to government and community spheres still constrain conservation outcomes. To overcome these barriers there is a need for bringing together efforts and capacities from different actors (community, government, NGOs, academia, private sector) and recovering trust among them. A policy reform stating clear ocean management directions and allocating sufficient resources to reinforce the capacity and coordination of environmental agencies and other key actors is also needed. One of the key opportunities that comes from this analysis, and is explored in detail through the case of the afro-descendant communities within and around the National Natural Park Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo Archipelagos, is the recognition of community territorial rights as a legal mechanism for including local communities in making decisions and assuming responsibilities in relation to MPAs. Community territorial rights provide mechanisms (use rights, responsibilities) to support the transition from top-down toward shared governance. Rights recognition gives a voice to ethnic communities as political actors and recognizes ethnic minority communities as key stakeholders in the MPA planning and management decision-making process. Furthermore, the assessment of governance principles in different MPA management scenarios indicates that less hierarchical institutional arrangements that facilitate interactions among stakeholders and provide livelihood opportunities increase accountability, legitimacy, participation, and knowledge exchange. These types of arrangements are more flexible to adapt to local socio-ecological characteristics. Ultimately, this thesis provides insights for using a governance perspective to examine the dual social-ecological nature of MPAs through the understanding of governance processes, interactions, and components. The analysis of afro-descendant territorial rights implications for MPA governance contributes to understanding the underlying aspects for the application of territorial rights in MPA governance, while the assessment of MPA institutional arrangements points out the need to move beyond governance paradigms towards tailored approaches that keep the balance between social and ecological objectives

Comprehensive characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains after acquisition of isoniazid resistance

Includes bibliographical references.2016 Fall.Despite the global efforts to reduce tuberculosis (TB) rates, the emergence of drug resistant TB has not allowed effective control of this disease. In the last decade, there were roughly 10 million new TB cases per year and isoniazid resistant (INHr) TB accounted for 9.5% of these cases around the world. In 2012, United States had an interruption in the supply of isoniazid (INH), which increased the likelihood of INH resistance rates. Although INH resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is multigenic, mutations in the catalase-peroxidase (katG) gene predominate amongst INHr Mtb strains. The characterization of the Mtb proteome before and after acquiring INH resistance remains understudied. Additionally, the effect of these drug-resistance-conferring mutations on Mtb fitness and virulence is variable. The purpose of this work is to describe a complete biochemical and immunological characterization of the INHr acquisition in Mtb. In this way, a global exploration of the protein and mycolic acids differences in Mtb cultures, as well as differences in the immune response and bacterial virulence in the mouse model comparing clonal susceptible and INHr pairs of Mtb were evaluated. After this, common trends were analyzed and the findings were interpreted in the context of bacterial metabolism and host-interaction. For this work, two clonal clinical Mtb strains and one laboratory clonal pair of the H37Rv strain with different susceptibility profiles to INH were studied. The H37Rv INHr strain was isolated from a mouse that was exposed to INH in the lab and developed the same katG mutation that one of the clinical INHr strain has (V1A). In all cases, the first strain was susceptible to all tested drugs (mostly known as the INHs strain in this dissertation) while the second strain was resistant only to INH (named INHr throughout this work). The clinical pairs were confirmed as clonal pairs of the Beijing and T genotype respectively by spoligotyping and restriction fragment polymorphism analysis that uses the patterns given by the distribution of the insertion sequence (IS)-6110. Previous whole genome sequencing analysis of the clinical clonal pairs showed a katG mutation and the presence of some additional non-synonymous polymorphisms in the INHr strains. After the proteomic analysis, a katG PCR sequencing confirmed two mutations in katG for the T INHr pair (V1A and E3V) while the L101R mutation previously identified for the Beijing INHr was not confirmed. This mutation was highly unstable and the Beijing INHr might have reversed its phenotype after the absence of INH during in vitro growth. Therefore, the analysis with the Beijing clonal pair is only presented in chapter II. Protein comparison of secreted and cellular fractions (membrane, cytosol and cell wall) between clinical and lab clonal pairs of Mtb before and after acquisition of INH resistance revealed at least 25 commonly altered proteins looking at the same cellular fractions. These proteins were involved in ATP synthase machinery, lipid metabolism, regulatory events, virulence, detoxification and adaptation processes. Western blot analysis supported some of our findings, particularly the lower level of bacterial enzyme KatG in the INHr strains. Mycolic acid (MA) analysis in these clonal pairs did not reveal a common trend in these molecules for INHr strains but generated supporting information about an alternative fatty acid biosynthetic pathway in the clinical INHr strain. These analyses are further described in chapter III. Additionally, differences in bacterial growth, immune response and pathology induced by Mtb strains harboring mutations at the N-terminus of KatG were evaluated in the C57BL/6 mouse model. The results in the mouse study support the idea of the individual effect of specific located mutations in the katG gene together with the associated changes in the bacterial proteome induce differences in the Mtb virulence and pathogenicity. In addition, the in vivo results also suggest the contribution of innate immune response via TLR-2 in the clearance of the INHr-attenuated Mtb strains. Further details of this work are described in chapter IV. This work provides a better understanding of new compensatory mechanisms in Mtb after INH resistance acquisition providing novel information that could be used to address alternative combined therapies as well as the identification of new drug targets in INHr strains. The results presented here also contribute to the generation of new hypothesis regarding RNA decay in Mtb and the need to evaluate if the observed biochemical differences are also associated with the bacterial exposure to the first line drug therapy that occurred in the patient. After the results obtained in this study, a subsequent biochemical analysis of Mtb strains obtained from patients before and after drug treatment is proposed to improve the description of the evolution of the acquired drug resistant phenomena observed in TB cases that limit the global disease control and hence its eradication (chapter V)

Understanding The Relationship Between Academic Burnout And Field Practicum Satisfaction

Burnout is a topic of significant consideration in social work. The present study intended to generate findings to address the student burnout phenomenon and offer suggestive means for advancing social work practice through mediating factors. The research followed a descriptive quantitative study design that focused on investigating the relationship between academic burnout among MSW and BASW students and field practicum satisfaction. Self-administered surveys were administered using the Qualtrics system, and the statistical analysis was conducted using SPPS version 21. Findings indicated a moderate-high burnout effect among MSW and BASW students with a positive association with age and a decreased satisfaction with field practicum experience. Results suggest the existence of buffering effects that may protect students from worsening burnout outcomes. Findings indicate the need to increase awareness of academic burnout and its adverse impact, assess students\u27 needs and educational barriers, and evaluate social work programs\u27 operations to identify areas for improvement

Análisis del nuevo concepto de seguridad de China y sus efectos en la diplomacia regional. estudio de caso: creación de la Organización de Cooperación de Shanghái (2001 – 2009).

A través de ésta investigación se pretendió analizar algunos elementos característicos de la política exterior China tras el fin de la Guerra Fría y los nuevos supuestos que tiene en materia de seguridad, los cuales se resumen en el Nuevo Concepto de Seguridad (NCS). Es bajo este nuevo contexto internacional y bajo el marco del globalismo en donde China ha redefinido la seguridad y ha establecido las pautas que han guiado su política exterior actual. Con el fin de ampliar el análisis y de llevarlo a un caso concreto, se profundizó en las relaciones que China ha establecido con los estados de la región de Asia Central a través de la Organización de Cooperación de Shanghái (OCS).The main objective of this research was to analyze some characteristic features of China's foreign policy after the Cold War ended and its new assumptions regarding international security, which are summarized in the New Security Concept (NCS). It is under this new international context and within the framework of globalism where China has redefined and established security guidelines that have guided its foreign policy till today. In order to extend the analysis and bring it to a specific case, this research deepened in Chinas relationships with the states of Central Asia established through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

Calidad de atención al asegurado en el servicio de consulta externa del hospital “Félix Torrealva Gutiérrez” – essalud, de la ciudad de Ica para optar el título

La presente investigación tiene por objetivo determinar el nivel de la calidad de atención al asegurado en el servicio de consulta externa del Hospital “Félix Torrealva Gutiérrez” de la Ciudad de Ica. El estudio corresponde a una investigación de tipo descriptiva, de nivel básica y con un enfoque cuantitativo de acuerdo al manejo de los datos. El diseño de la investigación es no experimental, de corte transversal.The objective of this research is to determine the level of quality of care for the insured in the outpatient service of the Hospital "Félix Torrealva Gutiérrez" of the City of Ica. The study corresponds to a descriptive, basic level research with a quantitative approach according to the handling of the data. The research design is non-experimental, cross-sectional

Planificación estratégica y gestión del talento en una organización gestora educativa de Huancavelica, 2021

La presente investigación tuvo como propósito determinar la relación entre la planificación estratégica y la gestión del talento humano en una organización gestora educativa de Huancavelica, 2021. El tipo de estudio fue básica, enfoque cuantitativo, teniendo el método hipotético-deductivo, nivel descriptivo correlacional y por último el diseño no experimental. Por otra parte, la población y muestra se vio conformado por un total de 50 trabajadores. Para poder hacer efectivo la recolección datos, la técnica aplicable fue básicamente la encuesta y para el instrumento se determinó al cuestionario. De acuerdo al procesamiento realizado los datos obtenidos, los resultados del estudio realizado reflejan que se acepta la hipótesis de investigación, es decir, existe relación directa y significativa entre las variables planificación estratégica y gestión del talento humano en una organización gestora educativa de Huancavelica, 2021, encontrándose el valor de 0.780 para el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman, valor que muestra una correlación alta y directa, es decir cuanto mejor se dé la planificación estratégica en la organización, mejor será la gestión de talento humano. Concluye que, las variables presentan una relación significativa y como también positiva

Administración de Proyectos en el sector de la construcción del municipio de Arauca

La Dirección de proyectos supone la aplicación de conocimientos, habilidades, herramientas y técnicas a las actividades del proyecto para cumplir con los objetivos del mismo; así que su estudio en un sector generalmente basado en proyectos y con especiales características dentro de la región -principalmente relacionada con la ejecución del erario público- resulta sumamente relevante. En el presente estudio se efectúa un análisis de la Dirección de Proyectos dentro del sector de la construcción en el municipio de Arauca, a través del mismo se examina la teoría, la aplicación e implementación de metodologías, así como su desarrollo en la práctica. El curso del análisis en cuestión, aborda la revisión bibliográfica, indexa referentes teóricos y cubre diversas metodologías. Se desarrolla el trabajo de campo, recolectando información de las empresas del sector, donde se encuentra principalmente el desconocimiento casi generalizado de la teoría en Dirección de Proyectos, y en un nivel menor de abstracción, poco conocimiento y uso de las metodologías generalmente aceptadas. Los resultados han demostrado que es una tendencia generalizada la orientación que privilegia el logro de los resultados del proyecto, dejando de lado la gestión de procesos según las áreas de conocimiento, la evaluación y el control, así como el uso del sistema de gestión de la información como herramientas de decisiónAbstract : The Project Management supposes the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to the activities of the Project, in order to carry out its objectives; so its study in a sector generally based on projects and with special features within the region, mainly related to the implementation of public funds is extremely relevant. This study makes an analysis of Project Management within the building sector in the municipality of Arauca, also it examines the theory, application and implementation of methodologies, as well as its development in the practice. This analysis, took into account a bibliographic review, and indexes theoretical references and covers diverse methodologies. Field work is developed by collecting information from companies of the sector, where there is a lack of knowledge about Project Management, lower level of abstraction and use of generally accepted methodologies. The results have indicated a trend only oriented to the achievement of project outcomes, leaving out Project Management depending on areas of knowledge, evaluation and control, as well as the use of system information of management as decision toolsMaestrí

Memorias e imaginarios literarios : Homenaje gráfico a las producción literaria de Jorge Luis Borges

Los imaginarios creados a través de la literatura han otorgado incontables representaciones a nivel gráfico, por lo mismo, es de obviar el papel que ocupa la ilustración dentro de la visualización descriptiva de tales imaginarios. Por medio de la lectura de “El Libro de los seres imaginarios” se han extraído diversos elementos, que a nivel personal han tenido trascendencia durante las lecturas, tales componentes conforman texturas, colores, elementos de la naturaleza y otros creados por el hombre. La inquietud que surge de la recopilación de estos objetos, se encuentra en como otorgar protagonismo y presentar de forma armónica e innovadora dichos pormenores obtenidos en el texto

Simplificación del procedimiento de priorización efectuado por el PRONABI en la asignación temporal de los bienes incautados al Ministerio Público. Noviembre 2018

La investigación tuvo como objetivo elaborar una propuesta de simplificación del procedimiento de priorización efectuado por el PRONABI en la asignación temporal de bienes incautados por el Ministerio Público – 2018, debido a la falta de recursos para desarrollar funciones propias como son la defensa de la legalidad, de los derechos de todos los ciudadanos, sus intereses públicos, representando a la sociedad, en todos los ámbitos que esta exige, actuando de manera rápida y eficiente, que es lo más esperado por la sociedad. La investigación es Cuantitativa – Propositiva con diseño Descriptivo, la muestra no probabilística estuvo conformada por 50 personas entre fiscales y trabajadores del Ministerio Público y el instrumento fue un cuestionario elaborado para recoger opiniones sobre el citado procedimiento de priorización. La propuesta se basó en identificar que la debilidad del procedimiento de priorización efectuado por el PRONABI en la asignación temporal de bienes incautados por el Ministerio Público, radica en establecer requisitos subjetivos para su asignación, como exigir que se garantice que el bien no será sujeto de robo o pérdida sin establecerse los parámetros; asimismo que se priorice la asignación al Instituto Penitenciario, a los Gobiernos Locales o Centros Poblados Menores, que desarrollan mecanismos de apoyo a las comunidades aledañas a los establecimientos penitenciarios, como entidades que tiene prioridad frente a otros sin que se precise el criterio objetivo, así también se prioriza la entrega de bienes para las instituciones que no han recibido bienes, cuando la prioridad debe estar en función de las finalidades tutelares que realiza la institución que solicita la asignación