This study was carried out as a bachelor's thesis at KTH Royal Institute of Technology during the spring of 2023, investigating the correlation between the color with the concentration of various metal and metalloids (MMs) in the soil of Marinduque, The Philippines. With a history of mineral exploitation, notably copper and gold, the island has faced persistent environmental challenges, exemplified by the catastrophic waste spills in 1993 and 1996 that contaminated the Boac and Mogpog Rivers. These incidents have left lasting consequences on the environment and human health. The research methodology involved an analysis of soil samples collected from Marinduque, using portable equipment such as Olympus Vanta X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), color scanning using the Nix Pro 2 Color Sensor, followed by data processing through MATLAB version R2023a. The latter involved statistical methods such as Pearson correlation and p-value, which produced correlation coefficients and identified which correlations were statistically significant. The correlations yielded were those between varying MMs concentrations in the soil and CIE L*a*b* soil color parameters across different municipalities in Marinduque. These correlations offer insights into potential causal relationships between arsenic (As), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn), and soil discoloration. Based on correlations between MMs concentrations and soil color, future studies can encompass a broader range of soil assessment and contamination risks analysis, thus offering valuable guidance to local communities and authorities in devising effective strategies for mitigating MMs pollution in the natural environment. / Denna studie utfördes som en kandidatuppsats vid Kungliga Tekniska högskolan (KTH) under våren 2023 och undersökte korrelationer mellan färg, metalloid- och metallkoncentrationer i marken på Marinduque, Filippinerna. Med en historia av mineralutvinning, särskilt koppar och guld, har ön stått inför pågående miljöutmaningar, såsom katastrofala avfallsutsläpp som förorenat floderna Boac och Mogpog. Dessa händelser har lämnat långvariga konsekvenser för miljön och människors hälsa. Forskningsmetoden omfattade en analys av jordprover från Marinduque, med användning av laboratorieutrustning som röntgenfluorescens (XRF), färgskanning med Nix Pro 2 Color Sensor, följt av databehandling genom MATLAB version R2023a. Den senare involverade statistiska metoder som Pearson-korrelation och p-värde, vilka genererade korrelationskoefficienter och identifierade vilka korrelationer som var statistiskt signifikanta. De erhållna korrelationerna var mellan varierande metallkoncentrationer i jorden och CIE L*a*b* markfärgsparametrar inom olika kommuner på Marinduque. Dessa korrelationer ger insikter i potentiella kausala samband mellan arsenik (As), järn (Fe), bly (Pb), mangan (Mn) och zink (Zn), samt jordfärg. Baserat på korrelationer mellan metalloid- och metallkoncentrationer i mark och markfärg kan framtida studier täcka en bredare räckvidd av risker för markförorening, och därmed erbjuda värdefull vägledning till lokala samhällen och myndigheter för att utveckla effektiva strategier för att minska förorening av tungmetaller i den naturliga miljön.

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<p>With the increased role of local authorities in creating cultural policy, gathering information on how successful and sustainable local heritage conservation programs are established will be very valuable in crafting future policies. This dissertation investigated the development of local government heritage conservation policies in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga in the Philippines in order to determine (1) predictors of community support for heritage conservation policy – why communities support heritage conservation policy and what characteristics or elements of communities lead them to support heritage conservation policies, (2) factors that lead to the adoption and implementation of heritage conservation policies or policy drivers of heritage conservation policy, and (3) given the deeper understanding of community support and policy drivers, the relationship between these predictors and drivers with heritage conservation policy management and sustainability. It did this by being cognizant of the lack of homogeneity across communities, with actors, factors, contexts, and nuances specific to each community.</p><p>Implementing two component studies, the dissertation used mixed methods, which interprets and integrates information drawn from the combined strength of both quantitative and qualitative data, following the convergent design (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2018; Harrison et al., 2020) and guided by the Rigorous Mixed Methods framework (Harrison, Reilly and Creswell, 2020). This first study used a self-administered online survey to collect data from stakeholders and ordinary residents of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga which was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). In the second study, guided by the naturalist paradigm (Guba and Lincoln, 1982; Lincoln and Guba, 1985), transcripts of semi-structured interviews conducted by City Tourism and Investment Promotion Office (CTIPO) were coded and analyzed using the grounded theory approach. It combined several coding approaches, specifically a blended approach (Skjott Linneberg, and Korsgaard, 2006), with the the Gioia Methodology (Gioia et al., 2012) and Ünlü-Qureshi instrument (Qureshi and Ünlü, 2020)</p> <p>The integration of qualitative and quantitative data and results was guided by the dimensions of the mixed methods research integration trilogy (Fetters and Molina-Azorin, 2017). The dissertation identified predictors for community support for heritage conservation policy, policy drivers of the heritage conservation policy process, and the relationship between these predictors and drivers and within the heritage conservation policy process and produced three models: (1) predictors of community support for local heritage conservation policy, (2) heritage conservation policy drivers, and (3) managerial implications for heritage conservation policy sustainability, and a framework for heritage conservation, management, and sustainability. The data suggested that in the case of San Fernando, (1) knowledge and awareness, (2) sense of belonging and attachment, (3) place image and community identity, and (4) evaluation of value are predictors of support for heritage conservation policies, with evaluation of value as a mediator for the first three. It also identified two major policy drivers: (1) good governance, and (2) heritage consciousness, and six specific policy drivers: (1) understanding the dynamics of heritage conservation, (2) addressing program sustainability, (3) stakeholder integration in the policy process, (4) appreciation of process-oriented governance, (5) manifesting pride and attachment, and (6) awareness of long-term outcomes of policies, that serve as factors leading to the adoption and implementation of heritage conservation policies. The predictors and policy drivers were incorporated into a single framework for heritage conservation policy management and sustainability.</p>

Cette thèse propose une analyse de certaines des politiques considérées actuellement comme étant des éléments-clé de toute stratégie de développement, avec l’objectif de contribuer au récent débat sur le développement international. Je considère en particulier l’élaboration, la mise en oeuvre et l’évaluation des politiques de protection sociale, de développement participatif et d’intégration régionale. Le premier chapitre repose sur l’idée que, pour être efficaces en matière de réduction de la pauvreté, les politiques de protection sociale doivent avoir pour double objectif de permettre aux ménages pauvres d’accéder à des ressources suffisantes pour satisfaire leurs besoins de base, ainsi que de réduire le risque auquel les ménages non pauvres sont confrontés de voir leur niveau de bien-être diminuer sous le seuil de pauvreté. Je propose une méthode permettant d’estimer le degré de vulnérabilité à la pauvreté des ménages. La vulnérabilité est ici définie comme la probabilité pour un ménage de se trouver sous le seuil de pauvreté dans le futur, étant données ses caractéristiques actuelles. Dans le second chapitre, je me place dans un contexte de ciblage des programmes de protection sociale par un score approximant le niveau de vie (proxy-means testing). La précision, et donc l’efficacité, de cette approche pour identifier les ménages pauvres dépendent de la capacité à prédire avec exactitude le niveau de bien-être des ménages, laquelle découle de la sélection de variables pertinentes. Je propose une méthode basée sur l’estimation d’un échantillon aléatoire de modèles de consommation, pour identifier les variables dont la corrélation avec le bien-être des ménages est à la fois élevée et robuste. Ces variables appartiennent à différentes catégories, y compris la possession de biens durables, l’accès aux services d’énergie domestique et d’assainissement, la qualité et le statut d’occupation du logement, et le niveau d’éducation des membres du ménage. Les troisième et quatrième chapitres de cette thèse proposent une analyse ex-post des politiques de développement, et portent en particulier sur les conséquences inattendues d’un programme de développement participatif et les raisons de l’insuffisante performance de politiques d’intégration régionale, respectivement. Le troisième chapitre évalue dans quelle mesure la réaction des deux groupes rebelles présents aux Philippines face à la mise en oeuvre d’un programme participatif d’aide au développement est compatible avec l’idée que ces deux groupes ont différentes idéologies, caractéristiques et raisons pour lutter contre le gouvernement. Il utilise une base de données collectées en utilisant les reportages d’un journal local concernant les épisodes de guerre impliquant ces deux groupes, ainsi que les prédictions d’un modèle d’insurrection basé sur la recherche de rente (rent-seeking). Les résultats sont conformes à la classification proposée de ces deux groupes rebelles ; leur réaction face au projet dépend de leur position idéologique. Le dernier chapitre analyse l’impact des guerres civiles en Afrique sur la performance des communautés économiques régionales, approximée par la synchronisation des cycles économiques des différents partenaires régionaux. Les résultats montrent que la synchronisation des cycles économiques diminue avec l’occurrence de guerres civiles, non seulement pour les pays directement affectés, mais également pour leurs voisins en paix. / In this thesis, I aim to contribute to the recent international development debate, by providing an analysis of some of the policies that are considered key elements of a development strategy. Focusing on social protection, community-based development and regional integration, I consider aspects related to their design, implementation and evaluation. In the first chapter, I propose a method to estimate ex ante vulnerability to poverty, defined as the probability of being poor in the near future given one’s current characteristics. This is based on the premise that effective social protection policies should aim not only to help the poor move out of poverty, but also to protect the vulnerable from falling into it. In the second chapter, I consider the issue of identifying the poor in a context of targeting social protection programs using a Proxy-Means Testing (PMT) approach, which precision, and therefore usefulness relies on the selection of indicators that produce accurate predictions of household welfare. I propose a method based on model random sampling to identify indicators that are robustly and strongly correlated with household welfare, measured by per capita consumption. These indicators span the categories of household private asset holdings, access to basic domestic energy, education level, sanitation and housing. The third and fourth chapters of this thesis provide an ex-post analysis of development policies and focus in particular on the unintended consequences of a community-driven program and on the reasons for the lack of progress in regional economic integration. The third chapter assesses whether the reaction of the two distinct rebel groups that operate in the Philippines to the implementation of a large-scale community-driven development project funded by foreign aid is consistent with the idea that these two groups have different ideologies, characteristics and motives for fighting. It is based on a unique geo-referenced dataset that we collected from local newspaper reports on the occurrence of conflict episodes involving these rebel groups, and on the predictions of a rent-seeking model of insurgency. The findings are consistent with the proposed classification of the rebel groups; the impact of the foreign aid project on each rebel group depends on their ideological stance. In the last chapter, I analyze how civil conflicts affect the economic fate of African regional economic communities through its effect on the synchronicity of regional partners’ economies. I find that conflict decreases business cycle synchronicity when it occurs within a regional economic community, both for the directly affected countries and for their more peaceful regional peers.

This study explores the foundations of US counterinsurgency policy and doctrine in order to better understand the main historical influences on that policy and doctrine and how those influences have informed the current US approach to counterinsurgency. The results of this study indicate the US experience in counterinsurgency during the Greek Civil War and the Huk Rebellion in the Philippines had a significant influence on the development of US counterinsurgency policy and doctrine following World War II through the Kennedy presidency. In addition, despite a major diversion from the lessons of Greece and the Philippines during the Vietnam War, the lessons were re-institutionalized in US counterinsurgency policy and doctrine following the war and continue to have significant influence today, though in a highly sanitized and, therefore, misleading form. As a result, a major disconnect has developed between the “rhetoric and reality” of US counterinsurgency policy. This disconnect has resulted from the fact that many references that provide a more complete and accurate picture of the actual policies and actions taken to successfully defeat the insurgencies have remained out of the reach of non-government researchers and the general public. Accordingly, many subsequent studies of counterinsurgency overlook, or only provide a cursory treatment of, aspects that may have had a critical impact on the success of past US counterinsurgency operations. One such aspect is the role of US direct intervention in the internal affairs of a supported country. Another is the role of covert action operations in support of counterinsurgency operations. As a result, the counterinsurgency policies and doctrines that have been developed over the years are largely based on false assumptions, a flawed understanding of the facts, and a misunderstanding of the contexts concerning the cases because of misleading, or at least seriously incomplete, portrayals of the counterinsurgency operations.

This study investigates two central research problems. These are: What are the healing practices of Aeta women? What are the implications of the healing practices of Aeta women in the academic discourse? This inquiry is important for the following reasons: (a) it focuses a reconsidered gaze and empirical lens on the healing practices of Aeta women healers as well as the lessons, insights and perspectives which may have been previously missed; (b) my research attempts not to be 'neutral' but instead be an exercise in participatory action research and as such hopefully brings a new space of decolonization by documenting Aeta women healers’ contributions in the political and academic arena; and (c) it is an original contribution to postcolonial, anti-colonial and Indigenous feminist theories particularly through its demonstration the utility of these theories in understanding the health of Indigenous peoples and global health. There are 12 Aeta women healers who participated in the Talking Circle. This study is significant in grounding both the theory and the methodology while comparatively evaluating claims calibrated against the benchmark of the actual narratives of Aeta women healers. These evaluations subsequently categorized my findings into three themes: namely, identity, agency and representation. This work is also important in illustrating the Indigenous communities’ commonalities on resistance, accommodation, evolution and devolution of social institutions and leadership through empirical example. The work also sheds light on how the members of our Circle and their communities’ experiences with outsider intrusion and imposed changes intentionally structured to dominate them as Indigenous people altered our participants and their communities. Though the reactions of the Aeta were and are unique in this adaptive process they join a growing comparative scholarly discussion on how contexts for colonization were the same or different. This thesis therefore joins a growing comparative educational literature on the contextual variations among global experiences with colonization. This is important since Indigenous Peoples' experiences are almost always portrayed as unique or “exotic”. I can now understand through comparison that many of the processes from military to pedagogical impositions bore striking similarities across various colonial, geographical and cultural locations.

Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. / Since World War II, the Philippines has confronted threats from communist insurgents, Muslim secessionists, and a few other agitators. Recently, however, a new threat has emerged-- this time coming from a terrorist organization known as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Although the ASG is a relatively small group, it has wrought great injury to the Philippine image as of late. Common among the groups presenting a threat to internal security are that their strategies and tactics tend to be unconventional and asymmetric. This thesis seeks to determine how special operations can improve the AFP's capability to address internal security threats. The study begins by examining the security environments in which the AFP currently operates, and then proceeds to study emerging security environments in which it will likely operate. The current special operations capability of the AFP is explored and assessed, while inquiring whether it needs enhancing. Case studies of past AFP special operations against groups which posed major internal threats are analyzed to determine whether or not the doctrine and strategy of the AFP was correct, especially regarding its use of Special Operations Forces (SOF). Furthermore, this study considers the United States (U.S.) model for special operations, namely the U.S. Special Operations Forces, in proposing a special operations strategy for the AFP that is feasible, suitable, and sustainable. It is suggested that such an examination will produce a strategy that is relevant, adaptable, and responsive to dealing with the internal security environments likely to be encountered by the Philippine government. / Major, Philippine Army

Le but de cette étude est de retracer l’évolution de l’hydrologie dans la partie occidentale de l’Océan Pacifique subtropical en utilisant le proxy εNd analysé sur les foraminifères et sur les oxydes de ferromanganèse authigéniques dans les sédiments. Ceux-ci proviennent de carottes sédimentaires prélevées au nord de la Mer de Chine du Sud (MCS). Avant d’utiliser l’εNd dans les sédiments profonds de la MCS, 16 profils d’eau de mer, collectés au nord de la MCS et dans le Mer des Philippines, ont été analysés afin d’établir la distribution d’εNd des masses d’eau dans l’ouest du Pacifique tropical et dans la MCS, qui jusqu’à aujourd’hui n’était pas documentée. Les valeurs d’εNd des masses d’eau profondes et intermédiaires varient de -2,7 à -4,4 et augmentent légèrement avec la profondeur. Dans la mer des Philippines, les valeurs d’εNd de l’eau intermédiaire du Pacifique Nord (North Pacific Intermediate Water, NPIW) atteint -2.7±0.4 à moyenne profondeur (500 à 1400m). En-dessous de de 1800m, l’eau profonde Pacifique (Pacific Deep Water, PDW) est caractérisée par du Nd moins radiogénique (-4.1±0.5), indiquant l’intrusion de masses d’eau australes. Pour la plupart des stations du nord de la MCS, les masses d’eau en-dessous de 1500m (PDW) affichent des valeurs d’εNd homogènes (~ -4.1), similaires à celles de la PDW dans la Mer des Philippines. Les valeurs d'εNd pour l'eau intermédiaire de la mer de Chine du Sud (South China Sea Intermediate Water, SCSIW, 500-1500m) varient entre -3.0 et -3.9 dû au mélange vertical de la NPIW avec la PDW. Les valeurs d'εNd de l'eau de mer dans la MCS (-5.3 à -7.0) affichent des modifications locales dans des zones où l'eau s'écoule au-dessus de systèmes de dépôt sédimentaire. Ceci implique que "l'échange à la marge" avec des sédiments non radiogéniques (autour de -11) peut se produire dans le temps et dans l'espace sans modifier la composition isotopique du Nd de la PDW dans le Nord de la MCS. Dans un second temps, l’εNd extrait des foraminifères planctoniques G. ruber a été étudié sur la carotte MD05-2904, collectée à 2000m de profondeur sur la marge nord-ouest de la MCS. Cette étude a été conduite dans le but de retracer les variations hydrologiques depuis le Dernier Maximum Glaciaire (DMG) dans la partie occidentale du Pacifique Nord subtropical. Les enregistrements d'εNd ainsi obtenus couvrent les derniers 25 000 ans. Ils affichent une large gamme de valeurs de -4±0.2 à -6.7±0.3, suggérant d'importants changements dans la contribution de la NPDW (εNd=-4) et de la UCDW (Upper circumpolar Deep Water, εNd -6 to -8) dans la zone étudiée. Durant la déglaciation, les enregistrements d'εNd indiquent une diminution des excursions négatives de l'εNd impliquant une plus forte proportion de SSW (Southern-sourced Water) entre 17 et 15 ka BP ainsi qu'entre 10 et 8 ka BP. Ces intervalles de temps sont contemporains de l’évènement Heinrich 1 (HS1) et de l’Holocène inférieur. Les shifts négatifs centrés sur le HS1 coïncident avec un phénomène d'upwelling renforcé dans l'océan austral, associé à un déplacement vers le pôle des vents d'ouest. Ceci implique une augmentation de la formation de la SSW qui se propage dans l'Ouest du Pacifique subtropical. L'excursion négative de l'εNd durant l’Holocène inferieur (~10-8 cal ka BP) indique une plus grande proportion de SSW qui pourrait être associée avec une plus forte production de SSW, comme observé récemment dans l'atlantique Sud, et/ou avec une possible réduction de la NPIW. Nos données suggèrent que le schéma de circulation actuel dans la partie occidental du Pacifique subtropical s'est mis en place il y a 4600 ans. / The aim of this study is to reconstruct the evolution of the hydrology of the western subtropical North Pacific Ocean by using εNd proxy analysed on foraminifera and dispersed authigenic ferromanganese oxide precipitates in sediments from deep-sea cores collected in the northern SCS. Before using the εNd proxy on deep sea sediments of the SCS, Nd of 16 seawater profiles collected in the northern South China Sea (SCS) and the Philippine Sea were investigated to establish the εNd distribution of water masses along the tropical western Pacific and the SCS that, until now have not been documented. εNd values for mid- and deep-water masses of the Philippine Sea and the SCS range from -2.7 to -4.4 and generally increase slightly with water depth. In the Philippine Sea, εNd values for the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) reach- 2.7±0.4 at mid-depths (500 to 1400 m). Below ~1800 m, the Pacific Deep Water (PDW) is characterized by less radiogenic Nd (-4.1±0.5) indicating the instrusion of southern sourced water masses. For most of the stations in the Northern SCS, water masses below 1500m (PDW) display homogenous εNd values (~ -4.1) similar to those of the PDW in the Philippine Sea. εNd values for the South China Sea Intermediate Water (SCSIW, 500-1500m) vary from -3.0 to -3.9 as a result of the vertical mixing of the NPIW with the PDW in the SCS. Seawater εNd values for the SCS (~5.3 to -7.0) display local modification in areas where the water lies above sediment drift deposit systems. This implies that “boundary exchange” with unradiogenic sediments (around~11) may occur temporally and spatially and does not modify he Nd isotopic composition of the PDW in the Northern SCS. In a second step, seawater εNd extracted from cleaned planktonic foraminifera G. ruber has been investigated on core MD05-2904, collected at a deph of 2000m on the north-western margin of the SCS. This study was undertaken in order to reconstruct hydrological variations since the LGM in the western subtropical North Pacific. The εNd records obtained from foraminifera spanning the past 25kyr. Display a wide range of values, ranging from -4±0.2 to -6.7±0.3, suggesting important changes in the contribution of the NPDW (εNd=-4) and the UCDW (εNd -6 to -8) in the subtropical western Pacific. During the period of deglaciation, εNd records indicate a relative decrease in the negative excursions of the εNd implying a higher proportion of SSW during the time intervals 17-15 cal kyr BP and 10-8 cal kyr BP; these intervals are coeval with the HS1 and early Holocene. The negative shifts centered on the HS1coincide with an enhanced upwelling in the Southern Ocean, associated with a polewards shift of the southern westerlies, inducing an enhanced formation of the SSW that propagates to the subtropical western Pacific. The negative excursion of the εNd during the Early Holocene (~10-8 cal kyr BP) indicates a higher relative proportion of SSW that could be associate with higher production of the SSW, as has been recently observed in the South Atlantic, and/or with a possible reduction of the NPIW. Our data suggest that the present modern circulation pattern in the western subtropical Pacific Ocean was fully established after 4.6 cal kyr BP.