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Digital Transformation in Mexico City’s Government Services (2018-2024): Motivations, Benefits, and Challenges
No full textMexico City\u27s increased use of technology in government services during Claudia Sheinbaum\u27s term as mayor from 2018 to 2024 represented an improvement in fighting corruption and making the government more inclusive and efficient. This thesis contributes to existing literature on Mexico City’s increased use of technology in its government services and the digital innovation strategies that have been implemented. Given Mexico City’s leadership in the digital transformation of its government services, this thesis addresses the following two questions: Why did Mexico City increase the use of technology in its government services between 2018 and 2024? And what were the challenges and benefits of increasing technology in government services? To answer these questions, my thesis describes Mexico City’s digital innovation strategies and analyzes why Sheinbaum prioritized this political agenda. In the first chapter, I contextualize Mexico City’s digital innovation strategies. In Chapter 2, I explore the reasoning behind the use of technology and the implementation of digital strategies. Overall, this thesis highlights how digital innovation in government services using technology can push for a more inclusive, efficient, and transparent government. Through this, Mexico City has framed itself as a leader in digital innovation and more equitable governance
Microplastics an Environmental Trigger for Intestinal Damage: Implications for Nutrient Malabsorption
No full textPlastics are everywhere now from cups, electronics, clothes, and even in the air. The overwhelming plethora of microplastics (MPs) that are present makes them almost impossible to avoid. Hence, it is important to acknowledge and identify the potential damages these foreign particles can do to the environment and human systems. The recent growing concerns regarding these particles have led to an increase in the amount of research that has been conducted on their potential impacts to biological organisms. This meta-analysis integrates existing research on the impact of microplastic exposure across a multitude of study organisms. By focusing on articles that display valuable data on organisms that can be applicable to human exposure, a careful approach allowed for proper examination of how MP exposure can lead to nutrient malabsorption via impacts on the intestines. Through an intensive selection process, twenty-nine research articles were selected for data analysis. The analysis was concentrated on variables caused by MPs, specifically intestinal oxidative stress, inflammation, and altered mucus secretion. A consistent negative impact was found among all of the screened articles, supporting the claim behind microplastic-induced intestinal damage. Through altering the construction and maintenance of the intestines, MPs can lead to not only nutrient malabsorption, but also conditions like cancer and irritable bowel disease (IBD). This meta-analysis illuminates the profound impact that MP exposure has on biological systems, revealing the importance of driving towards a sustainable approach to replace the profuse abundance of plastics present today
When Surveillance Silences: Contextual Integrity and the Erosion of Protest Rights
Full text linkGovernment intrusion into our private lives is a standard part of modern democratic life, but how much intrusion should we accept? In the tension between government surveillance and security, many believe security to be a more important value and thus justify greater surveillance at the expense of informational privacy. However, at what point is this intrusion indefensible. This thesis explores the tensions between privacy and security through John Rawls’s theory of justice and Helen Nissenbaum’s theory of privacy as contextual integrity and applies them to issues of public surveillance and the suppression of political protest. I argue that in the battle between security and privacy, matters of democracy are often overlooked. In Chapter 1, I examine Kenneth Himma’s arguments that, in most matters, security trumps privacy, and he legitimates this account by appealing to Rawls’s theory of justice. I challenge this claim by appealing to a critique from Adam Moore, who suggests that privacy plays a role in constraining the policy decisions of an unideal government. In Chapter 2, I turn to Nissenbaum’s theory of contextual integrity, a more adaptable and footed approach to modern debates around privacy and security. Her theory is context-sensitive and provides a method for evaluating privacy violations through analysis of entrenched social norms and values such as autonomy, democracy, and efficiency. In Chapter 3, I use contextual integrity to analyze hypothetical case studies based on real world policy issues. I argue that democratic values are often overlooked in discussions of privacy and policy, yet are central to evaluating whether certain government actions are ethically permissible. Throughout, I maintain that while security concerns are important, privacy must be protected for its essential role in safeguarding democratic engagement
Neural Correlates of Attentional Biases in Dietary Choice: Role of Childhood Socioeconomic Status
Full text linkChildhood poverty has been shown to increase adult risk for obesity above and beyond its direct effects on adult socioeconomic status (SES). One proposed mechanism of these effects is by shifting behavioral patterns of dietary consumption and choice, for example by increasing rapid attention to high-calorie unhealthy foods. Yet, whether such neural mechanisms can explain observed differences in dietary behavior based on childhood SES remains an open question. Here we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine early attentional correlates of low childhood SES during a dietary choice task, based on research suggesting that early attentional biases toward high-calorie foods emerge within 260 ms after stimulus onset. Participants (N = 41) first completed a behavioral bidding task for different snack foods varying in taste and health, then viewed and rated the same snack foods while their brain activity was recorded with ERP. Childhood socioeconomic status was assessed via retrospective self-report measures. Although bidding behavior was significantly correlated with liking ratings, no significant effects of childhood SES or food healthfulness on bidding were observed. ERP analyses of activity over parietal electrodes revealed that early attentional responses (200–280 ms after stimulus onset) tracked the health quality of food images, with larger amplitudes to unhealthy vs. healthy foods as previously reported. However, both the main effect of childhood SES and interaction of childhood SES and food healthfulness were non-significant. Although our inferences were limited by a relatively small incidence of low childhood SES in our sample, these results provide a first examination of how childhood SES interacts at the neural level with early attentional processing of foods. Future work should explore these questions further using larger and more diverse samples to gain a fuller picture of the influences of childhood SES on dietary choice
Robert Frost and the Myth of Adam and Eve
Full text linkWhat exactly it is about the story of Adam and Eve that fascinated Robert Frost is hard to say. Of course, he is not the first to engage with it in writing – for much of recorded human history, the Genesis account of man’s creation has held a place of unparalleled importance in our understanding of what it is to be human, provoking innumerable exegetic responses. In popular literature, too, it has served as inspiration for some of the most celebrated English and American poems. From the “bloodless myth” of Geoffrey Hill’s “Genesis” to the great theodicy of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, it is an unshakeable story that has invited engagement from artists for centuries. But Frost’s approach is unlike any other. A close study of his engagements with the story reveals, as I hope to show in this paper, that Frost saw a kind of metaphorical truth in the creation story. Though invalid as a scientific account of the origins of mankind, the story of Adam and Eve and their subsequent loss of Eden nonetheless remains a successful distillation of our social identity. To Frost, its portrayal of our emotional behavior, our desire for companionship, our ceaseless striving for knowledge and transcendence, as well as our relationship to the plants and animals of the natural world, captures a certain essence of our existence. Thus, in his poetic practice of metaphor, we observe Frost seeking to revive our understanding of these ineffable but quintessentially human characteristics by bringing the myth into his poetry
Buying Wins? A Study of NIL Spending and Team Performance in NCAA Division I Athletics
Full text linkThis thesis explores the relationship between NIL (name, image and likeness) investment and winning percentage in Division I collegiate basketball and football programs. I assessed the impact of NIL expenditure on team winning percentage by compiling several financial variables, recruiting metrics, and winning percentage for programs between 2021 and 2024. I then utilized separate Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models for football and basketball. Through these regressions, I found that NIL spending has a much stronger positive relationship with team performance in basketball when compared to football. Additional analysis highlighted coaching expenditure, conference affiliation, and average recruit score as significant predictors of success within both sports. The results found within this study suggest that while NIL investment may be a potential driver of success, its impact is complex and dependent upon other existing structural advantages. This research contributes to previous literature that has explored the relationship between financial drivers and success within collegiate athletics, helping to provide practical solutions for athletic departments who want to optimize resource allocation in the new NIL era
Alliance in Flux: Oil and the US-Saudi Strategic Bargain Reconsidered
Full text linkThis thesis examines the historical development and future trajectory of the longstanding relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It traces its roots back to the early twentieth century, during which the Kingdom was established officially and the United States was on the hunt for a substance that quickly became one of the world’s most precious commodities–oil. Since then, oil has both acted as a binding force and a point of contention between the two nations. However, through ups and downs in the partnership, oil has remained at the heart of the arrangement. This study follows the development of US-Saudi ties over the past century with a particular focus on the transformational shifts of the past two decades. It uses economic data and diplomatic negotiations to suggest that the once-cozy relationship will continue becoming more transactional rather than steadfast as it was historically. Recent developments like the rise of Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s increased international relevance, and shifting US narratives are a special focus. This thesis argues that the US-Saudi bargain is at a turning point, undergoing a fundamental change that will have enormous consequences in the future considering the tumultuous geopolitical environment of the mid-2020s
Evolution of Bolivia’s Current Account Trajectory 1990-2024
No full textThis thesis assesses the evolution of Bolivia’s Current Account dynamics from 1990 to 2024 within the Trehan and Walsh (1991) and Husted (1992) stationarity and cointegration frameworks. Using quarterly data from 1990 to 2024 and applying break-robust methods, including Bai–Perron, Zivot-Andrews, ADF, KPSS, Johansen, and Gregory-Hansen tests, the analysis proposes three distinct external adjustment regimes aligned with major policy and commodity shocks. During the liberalization and crawling-peg era (1990–2003), the Current Account exhibits mean-reversion around a deficit and strong export–import cointegration, suggesting disciplined external adjustment. The gas-boom phase (2003–2014) produces record surpluses, but the underlying trade dynamics weaken, and the long-run link between exports and imports deteriorates once structural breaks are accounted for. Under the post-2014 hard peg, results suggest increasing external fragility as the Current Account loses mean-reversion properties, and trade flow cointegration collapses. These findings reveal that treating the full period as a single process would mask the transition from adjustment to vulnerability. Policy implications emphasize restoring exchange-rate flexibility, promoting export diversification, and rebuilding reserves to strengthen Bolivia’s external position
Predicting Transfer Valuations and Transfer Probabilities of Football Players Within the Top Five Major European Soccer Leagues
No full textThe transfer market has long been a staple of modern-day soccer around the world. Teams use it to acquire players who can strengthen their team or to sell players for a profit. For the players who join new clubs, transfers offer an opportunity to advance their careers. In recent memory, global superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Real Madrid and Lionel Messi, who joined Paris Saint-German on a free transfer. In this project, I employ various predictive methods to estimate a player’s market value based on their performance statistics. Then, I use a logistic predictive method to estimate the probability of a player being transferred based on their demographic information (club, nationality, age, etc.) for all players in the five major European leagues (France’s Ligue 1, England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, and Germany’s Bundesliga)
The California Experiment: An Analysis of How Far-Left Progressive Policies are Destroying One of the Most Beautiful Places on Earth
No full textThis paper examines how the current Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and progressive state politicians have turned California from a gleaming paradise of natural wonder and beauty into a state threatened by millions of fallen trees and overrun with forest brush, increasing extremely destructive wildfire risk. Through historical analysis, I investigated the evolution and current shortcomings of prescribed burning practices in California. Due to regulatory and bureaucratic obstacles, CAL FIRE and the U.S. Forest Service have consistently failed to meet their yearly stated goals of acreage to be treated. Additionally, I analyzed Newsom’s wildfire funding patterns revealing that much of the allocated funds were consistently only one-time payments absorbed disproportionality by administrative overhead costs rather than actionable wildfire abatement measures. Environmental policy scrutiny showed how stringent regulations effectively prevent both private landowners and local fire departments from conducting essential prescribed burns. Lastly, I analyzed how California’s outdated water infrastructure has impeded the state’s ability to properly fight the increasing occurrence of wildfires while misaligned water conservation incentives have stripped local departments of critical resources at the expense of the California taxpayer. This paper is not so much a review of the results of inept liberal policies but is a stark warning to the rest of the United States about the importance of effective routine forest management. Whether it is poor leadership by the California government in Sacramento or the oblivious California voters, one thing is certain: the far-left liberal experiment in California has failed