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Transnational Organized Crime in the Dominican Republic: A Convergence Center for Illicit Economies
No full textFor more than four decades, the Dominican Republic has been a key warehousing center for cocaine heading for the U.S. market, beginning with the rise of the Medellín Cartel in the 1980s, whose leader Pablo Escobar pioneered multi-ton shipments of the drug through the Caribbean for consumption in the United States. As the primary routes shifted to Central America in the late 1990s, the Dominican Republic and its Caribbean neighbors, while remaining critical, were no longer the primary routes.
Now, as Latin American markets face a new “Fourth Wave” of rapidly evolving transnational organized crime structures1, the Dominican Republic is again becoming a central player in the multi-faceted, rapidly shifting global criminal economy. As a result, the multi-billion dollar illicit economies of Latin America, for more than four decades, centered on one primary product – cocaine – with the United States’ primary market diversifying into new commodities, new trafficking routes, and new lucrative markets globally.https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/jgi_research/1075/thumbnail.jp
Annual Report, 2023-2024
No full texthttps://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/controller_annualreports/1035/thumbnail.jp
Enhancing Silver Nanoparticles Based Inks for Printable Flexible Electronics
No full textAs additive manufacturing comes to the forefront of industrial fabrication processes, the possibility of printable electronics has become a reality. However, commercial implementation of such processes is constrained by scalability and reproducibility. This project aims to improve the formulation of silver based conductive inks through the integration of silver nanoparticles and a viscoelastic polymer enabling printability on both rigid and flexible substrates. Test specimens were printed and characterized for conductivity, resistivity, and viscosity. Post treatment annealing temperatures were analyzed using a four-point probe system to verify any variations in the conductivity. Additionally, viscosity was measured to ensure both correct ink flow and dimensional printability. The final formulation presented an average conductivity and resistivity of 535.49 (S/m) and 0.002046 (Ω•m) with a viscosity of 1721.8 (cP). These results demonstrate the feasibility of the formulated ink for applications in printed electronics. While this methodology was able to consistently print stable and dimensionally accurate circuits, further improvements could be made to further optimize the scalability. Future goals are focused on decreasing viscosity to steer the formulation towards inkjet printing applications and altering the ink synthesis to achieve better electrical properties
Screen Time vs. Street Time: How Technology Shapes Public Spaces
No full textAs digital technologies like smartphones, social media, and mobile GPS become increasingly integrated into daily life, they are transforming our interactions with public spaces, but the interactions between the two have yet to be sufficiently explored. This paper examines technology’s impact on public spaces through a meta-analysis of existing literature on design, technology, and culture, and offers new hypotheses of how technological advancement will affect these spaces in the future. It finds that technology is redefining public space by affecting mobility, reducing urban legibility, and altering our connection with nature. Furthermore, trends like the growth of scalable design and the proliferation of QR codes may contribute to trends like urban homogenization, inaccessibility, and technology dependence. Together, these findings highlight the need for urban planners and policymakers to carefully consider the relationship between technology and public spaces to preserve their critical social role in today’s digital age
Systematic Review of Interventions to Improve Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screening in Underserved Populations: A Case Study in West Kendall, Florida
Full text linkThis systematic review examines evidence-based interventions to improve breast and colorectal cancer screening rates among underserved adults in West Kendall, Miami, Florida. After analyzing 55 relevant studies, findings highlighted the potential of multi-component, community-integrated approaches to reduce screening disparities and align local rates with national standards
Prevalence and factors associated with appetite changes in healthy individuals: a cross-sectional study using data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey
Full text linkPandemic Stress and Adverse Mental Health Outcomes among Recent Latino Immigrants: A Cross-Sectional Study Exploring Effective Coping Strategies
Full text linkAccess to Robotic and Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery for Chronic and Congenital Heart Disease: A Scoping Review of Health Inequities
Full text linkThis scoping review evaluates disparities in access to minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery in the United States. Findings highlight inequities related to race, socioeconomic status, and hospital volume, and explore their implications for patients with chronic and congenital heart disease
Territories and Coca and Cocaine: Bolivia\u27s Drug Economy, Political Movements, and Transnational Crime (2005-2025)
Full text linkThis study questions whether Bolivia in the period between 2005 and 2025 should be considered a narco-state, a narco-democracy, or a new hybrid model.1 The evidence suggests that Bolivia is best described as a narco-competitive authoritarian regime, a system in which elections are held and formal democratic institutions persist, but incumbents tilt the playing field through repression, judicial manipulation, and systematic harassment of opponents, while the cocaine economy penetrates unions, regions, and state institutions.2 Presidents Evo Morales and later Luis Arce sought to build a one-party state under the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). Human rights violations were routine, political prisoners and exiles were common, and civic spaces were restricted. Both leaders kept Bolivia deeply enmeshed in the global cocaine economy.https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/jgi_research/1084/thumbnail.jp
