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Applying Kantian Ethics to a Westernized Social Credit System
No full textDue to the popularity of new gamified systems such as summer reading programs,
language learning applications, positive behavior intervention systems, loyalty rewards
programs and more, humanity is being primed to become homo ludens, or man of play.
Due to this, inevitably, a social credit system, similar to the one that is currently
implemented in China, will become a reality in America. This thesis first determines the
elements of a social credit system that would be feasibly implemented in the United
States. Kantian ethics is used to determine the moral worth of this hypothetical system
due to its emphasis on human dignity, autonomy, community, and privacy. Every element
of a potential Westernized social credit system is assessed as either morally permissible
or impermissible under Immanuel Kant’s deontological framework. It applies his
Universal Law Test, Formula of Humanity, and the Kingdom of Ends. The thesis
concludes that if a social credit system is completely voluntary, is designed to reward
following perfect and imperfect duties, aligns incentives with intrinsic moral motivations,
does not allow people to buy points, and does not include a leaderboard, it is morally
permissible, but not a moral obligation.Extension Studie
Essays on Economic Design: Theory and Estimation
No full textThis thesis studies optimal economic design choices, both theoretically and empirically, in environments where some market participants themselves make welfare-relevant design choices.
In the first two chapters, I study a platform's preferencing mechanism, or rule that assigns the placement of offers on a platform. I theoretically derive a platform's consumer-optimal preferencing rule in a setting in which firms choose prices in a locally envy-free profile, given the preferencing rule, which in special cases, correspond with equilibria in a Generalized Second Price auction. Additionally, I show that Reimers and Waldfogel (2023) empirical test to measure platform bias is valid even under prices endogenous to the preferencing rule in a locally envy-free profile. On Amazon, I measure the extent of platform bias using a large dataset from the platform during the years 2020-2022.
I then extend this study to an environment in which firm prices are determined in a non-myopic, dynamic setting, which depends on the platform's preferencing rule. These dynamic pricing strategies result in pricing patterns that closely resemble Edgeworth cycles.
I provide a method to estimate the primitives that govern these pricing cycles, which allows me to assess the counterfactual welfare implications associated with various preferencing rules, using a large dataset from the Amazon platform from 2018-2022. The welfare effects of policy proposals in this environment, in particular those that eliminate self-preferencing, significantly differ from those under the static price competition environment.
The last chapter studies a class of complete information quantum games, where design choices in quantum versions of classical games, in particular the chosen basis and initial state, determine the set of feasible outcome distributions in a Nash equilibrium in quantum strategies. I derive necessary and sufficient conditions for a Nash equilibrium in quantum strategies to Pareto improve upon classical correlated equilibria in certain classes of quantum games.Economic
Xenogeneic collagen matrix loaded with recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor vs autogenous connective tissue graft for the treatment of peri-implant soft tissue dehiscences: A randomized, controlled, clinical, trial
No full textBackground and Object: Patient’s demands have progressively increased over the last decade that esthetic concerns related to anterior dental implants are not uncommon. Several techniques have been attempted for the treatment of peri-implant soft tissue dehiscences/deficiencies (PSTDs), mostly employing the use of autogenous connective tissue graft (CTG).
The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of combining recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor (rhPDGF)-BB with a xenogeneic “volume-stable” collagen matrix collagen matrix (VCMX) compared to the gold standard CTG for the treatment of peri-implant soft tissue dehiscences PSTDs at anterior implant sites.
Methods: Twenty-eight subjects with isolated PSTDs were enrolled and randomized to receive a prosthetic-surgical approach involving either VCMX + rhPDGF-BB or CTG. The treatment protocol involved a presurgical prosthetic phase, with the removal of the pre-existing crown and the fabrication of a temporary crown. After 1 month, the surgical procedure for the correction of the PSTD was performed via soft tissue augmentation (VCMX + rhPDGF-BB or CTG, based on the randomization). After a provisional phase with the creation of an adequate emergence profile, a new definitive crown was made. The primary outcomes of interest in this study were the mean PSTDs coverage between the two treatment groups at 1 year. Additional outcomes of interest included: i) volumetric changes; ii) assessment of modifications in the peri-implant soft tissue phenotype; iii) ultrasonographic tissue perfusion-related outcomes; iv) ultrasonographic tissue elasticity-related outcomes: v) assessment of patient-reported outcomes during the first post-operative month; vi) evaluation of patient-reported outcomes at the last study visit and their changes compared to baseline. Optical scanning and the superimposition of the digital models were employed to evaluate volumetric changes at the treated areas. High-frequency ultrasonography was executed at different time points over 12 months to assessed changes in the peri-implant soft tissue phenotype, as well as tissue perfusion, and strain elastography. Multilevel linear mixed models were used to assess the study outcomes, accounting for repeated measures with random effects for time and subject, and fixed effects for potential confounders.
Results: The preliminary findings from the randomized clinical trial depicted a mean follow-up period of 7.6 months. No statistically significant differences were observed for the primary outcome (mean PSTD of 94% for CTG, and 87% for VCMX + rhPDGF-BB, p>0.005). CTG-treated sites showed significantly higher KMW changes (2.9 mm vs 0.6 mm, p.01), MT gain (1.6 mm vs 0.9 mm, p=0.02) and Vol gain (114 mm3 vs 81 mm3, p=0.04) compared to VCMX + rhPDGF. On the other hand, the patients allocated to CTG reported significantly greater post-operative morbidity (20.9 VAS vs 5.5 VAS, p.01) and time for recovery (8.3 days vs 4.1 days, p.01) than the subjects that received VCMX + rhPDGF-BB. No significant differences were found between the groups for patient-reported treatment satisfactions and esthetic assessment (p.05).
Conclusion: Treatment of PSTD with CTG or VCMX + rhPDGF-BB resulted in similar mean PSTD coverage. CTG resulted in a significantly greater KMW, MT, and Vol gains, while it also caused significantly higher post-operative pain and time to recover than VCMX + rhPDGFPeriodontolog
New Age
No full textNew Age is a memoir about growing up as a witness for my mother, an atheist Jew, who rejects a terminal cancer diagnosis by embracing non-western healing modalities transforming into an occult feminist, living each day full of gratitude, joy, and music.
The scene is 1980s Boston, which happens to be the perfect place for a terrible tragedy to unfold. Not only is Boston home to cutting edge western medicine, but it is also open-minded enough to support expansive, new age healing modalities, coop grocery stores, a thriving music scene and a non-western spiritual community. The story starts in December 1970, with the beginnings of my music education in utero, and chronicles the ups and downs of my family’s life through psychotic breaks, divorce, a terminal cancer diagnosis, a groundbreaking lawsuit, a major miracle, a hugging saint, and the daily traumas and magic one might expect growing up with a very non-traditional mother and the constant threat of impending death.
New Age contains many short vignettes or essay chapters which flow back and forth from past to present as I uncover buried memories and try to connect my children to the grandmother they never met. I do this work through a ketamine assisted psychotherapy session and by reconnecting with some of the esoteric healing modalities and people that helped my mother in the 1980s.
The story is told from a few points of view. There are three flavors of first-person: adult narrator talking about the present, adult narrator looking back, remembering, and child narrator, sharing the moment with the reader. There’s some third person, mostly used to give some background on my parent’s lives, to round out their characters. These chapters are usually events that I was either not alive for or too young to participate in. There’s one chapter that uses second person, where I speak directly to my mother. In addition to all of those, I include excerpts from my mother’s writing which consist of journal entries, poetry, and some prose from my personal archive.
New Age is a memoir about memory, grief, connection, music, healing, and being present in the moment.Extension Studie
The Big One: Understanding Risk in an Uncertain World.
No full textIn today’s unstable nuclear multipolar world, issuing threats —both physical and verbal—has become central feature of strategic interactions between nuclear-armed states. "In a nuclear world filled with noise, policymakers often struggle to discern which threats are real and require urgent attention, and which are merely posturing or signaling."
This thesis develops and explores a risk-based framework that might help policy makers gain much needed clarity. The framework is applied in this thesis specifically to decipher threats that the Russian Federation has emanated from 2014 to 2024 to determine which are the threats that require focus.
This framework draws from risk assessment models and resilience-based regulation in the business world to identify threats, assess situations, and determine appropriate responses. It evaluates whether the threat places the current status quo at risk, or if the status quo has been redefined, potentially increasing levels of risk. Finally, it identifies the triggers necessary for re-evaluation—an essential process for understanding, quantifying, and managing business risks.Extension Studie
Essays on Coworkers and Labor Mobility
No full textSocial networks influence labor market outcomes. This dissertation investigates how the sectoral composition of an individual's current and past coworkers affects their job-switching decisions.
The first chapter establishes the empirical relationship between a worker's current coworkers' past sectors of employment and their decision to move into those sectors. To identify causal effects, I employ multiple strategies, including distinguishing between current-year and non-current-year coworkers, controlling for time-varying shocks specific to industry pairs, and using unexpected death or retirement events to isolate idiosyncratic changes in coworker networks. Using German administrative matched employer-employee longitudinal data, I find a positive causal relationship between the proportion of coworkers from a sector and both the propensity of transitioning to that sector and the sensitivity to sectoral wage changes.
\par The second chapter quantifies the coworker mechanism's contribution to employment and reallocation. Inspired by the empirical relationship documented in the first chapter, I develop and estimate a multi-sector, multi-firm general equilibrium model where perceived wages and adjustment costs for sector transitions depend on coworker shares. My results show that the welfare effect of COVID-induced productivity shocks is higher when considering coworker networks compared to assuming no influence from coworkers. Maintaining worker-employer ties to reduce competition in positively shocked sectors can further increase welfare.
The third chapter provides survey evidence on the underlying mechanisms through which coworkers influence job choices. I investigate how coworkers shape job mobility decisions by altering perceived outside options. Leveraging novel survey data administered to a representative sample of wage and salaried workers in the US, I identify two key channels through which current and former coworkers influence workers' decisions to switch jobs or industries. First, having more current coworkers with prior experience in an industry improves the accuracy of wage beliefs for that industry, as supported by an analysis of perceived wages and coworker composition. Second, having more past coworkers currently employed at a firm increases the perceived likelihood of receiving a job offer from that firm, as evidenced by a survey experiment eliciting job offer probabilities for hypothetical jobs. I explore the welfare implications of these results in a job choice model that incorporates these coworker effects, departing from traditional models that assume perfect information about wages and job-offer probabilities.Economic
An Accessible Maize Sheller for the Post-Harvesting Challenges of Small Farmers in Kenya
No full textMaize is a critical staple crop in Kenya, yet post-harvest processing remains inefficient for small-scale farmers who cannot afford industrial shelling equipment. Manual shelling is labor-intensive and time-consuming, often taking over nine hours per 100 kg bag of maize. While mechanized stationary shellers are faster, their bulk and immobility force farmers to transport their harvests—incurring costs that consume up to 89% of potential profits.
This project developed and tested a low-cost, portable maize sheller tailored to the constraints and priorities of smallholder farmers in rural Kenya. Two prototypes were designed, built, and evaluated. The first achieved high shelling efficiency (97.3%) and processing speeds of 18.9 seconds per kilogram but required manual stabilization of each cob. The second prototype introduced an inner-outer shelling mechanism that enabled hands-free operation and supported continuous feeding. While its average shelling efficiency (89%) fell slightly below the target of 95%, it marked a significant step toward improving usability and throughput.
Design decisions were informed by feedback from agricultural experts and field testing with 13 farmers in Migori County, Kenya. User input emphasized portability, ease of use, and minimal post-shelling cleaning. The project demonstrates the viability of an accessible shelling device that could substantially reduce labor, improve efficiency, and enhance profitability for smallholder farmers. With further refinement, this solution could be adapted for broader deployment in similar agricultural contexts.Mechanical Engineering S
OwlGuard: A Cognitive Science-Backed Intervention to Address Challenges in Data Literacy
No full textThis thesis presents the novel artifact creation of OwlGuard, a browser extension designed to enhance user engagement with and comprehension of privacy policies, as well as a user study testing the effectiveness of OwlGuard. Using a mixed-methods approach with 12 participants aged 20-23, the study employed a within-subjects design to compare interactions with privacy policies both with and without the OwlGuard extension. Key findings include:
- OwlGuard likely reduces perceived complexity and increasing comprehensibility of privacy policies for certain websites, particularly those with lengthy or complex policies.
- Post-study results showed increased self-perceived data literacy and improved accessibility of privacy policies after using OwlGuard.
- Participants spent an average of 42.7 seconds on privacy policies (40.7 seconds specifically among experimental data), significantly longer than the 19 seconds reported in previous literature.
- Computer science majors demonstrated significantly longer reading durations (54.1 seconds on average) compared to those of non-CS majors (34.5 seconds on average).
- Qualitative feedback indicated that OwlGuard made privacy policies more approachable and understandable, especially for non-CS participants. Participants enjoyed the customization, fun "theme" elements, and adorable owl animation.
- The study supports both a user-centric and research-centric design approach by modeling so with the improvement of privacy policy engagement. The study also highlights several exciting areas for future research and refinement of the OwlGuard browser extension.
This thesis is motivated by a deep desire to improve status-quo data literacy in order to foster a more equitable society both online and offline.Computer Scienc
