Here Comes the Sun: An Overview of Semiconductor Photovoltaics

Global temperatures have risen alarmingly fast in recent decades due to human-based activity. Delivering energy from non-combustion sources is crucial in stopping this trend and preserving the future of Earth’s species. The Sun presents an effectively boundless energy source; however, it must be converted to a form like electricity to be useful for society. This paper describes the mechanism behind rising global temperatures as well as the key processes in converting sunlight to electricity. Since semiconductor devices are the most common (especially those using silicon), they are the focus of this paper. Starting from background concepts, this paper provides an overview of semiconductor photovoltaics—a crucial tool in the fight against climate change

Beyond Arrow: Revealing True Preferences

In this paper, we examine the existence of strict strategy-proof voting mechanisms. Using Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem we prove any rational social choice function that respects Pareto optimality, independence of irrelevant alternatives, and monotonicity must be dictatorial. Next, we use the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem to show that strategy-proof voting mechanisms are necessarily dictatorial. Then, we use the Gibbard-Satterthwaite correspondence theorem to establish a one-to-one correspondence between social choice functions under Arrow’s construction and voting mechanisms under Gibbard and Satterthwaite’s construction. Finally, we extend these results by considering other voting mechanisms and discussing Vickrey-Clarke-Groves mechanisms

Inflation Expectations and Political Polarization: Evidence from the Cooperative Election Study

Using a unique, nationally representative survey from the 2022 midterm elections, we investigate the partisan divide in beliefs about inflation and monetary policy. We find that party identity is predictive of inflation forecasts even after conditioning on beliefs about both past inflation and the Federal Reserve’s long-run inflation target. Partisan forecast differences are driven by respondents who express low generalized trust in others and have a high degree of political knowledge; high-trust and low- knowledge partisans make similar forecasts all else equal. This finding is consistent with the literature in political psychology that examines the endorsement of conspiracy theories and political misinformation. We argue that the partisan divide in consumer inflation surveys is consistent with strategic responses by partisans

BOYS IN THE SUN

After an abrupt and heated break-up, two boys must learn how to cope with heartbreak as they relive and remember a time when they were inseparable. Nostalgia, regret, and longing are just a few of the obstacles they must confront as one of them navigates a new life in NYC while the other lingers in their small hometown. This queer coming-of-age short film warps the spatial and temporal timeline of their romantic experiences to tell the story of this young couple