Individual Dignity as the Foundation of an Inclusive Society

In Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, the Supreme Court considered voluminous evidence that Harvard discriminated against Asian Americans to keep the racial composition of its student body similar year after year. The Court held that Harvard engaged in unlawful discrimination, providing clarity to an area of the law that was filled with ambiguities and self-contradictions. The Court’s decision made clear that discrimination in favor of some racial groups necessarily inflicts discriminatory, race-based harms on others. This Article explores how Fair Admissions sheds light on the failure of identity politics to create a genuinely inclusive, egalitarian society. Practitioners of identity politics, whom this Article refers to as identitarians, argue that all “people of color” in the United States have a common political interest in uniting against the hegemony of the White majority. In reality, racial minorities experience both positive and negative interactions with members of the White majority and other racial minorities. Fair Admissions revealed how, in some circumstances, members of the White majority may unite with some racial minorities to perpetrate discrimination against other minorities. Identitarianism provides no account of how society should weigh the competing interests of different minorities in a manner that best serves the common good. Nor does it offer a vision for how the White majority and racial minorities can and should strive to live together in harmony and cooperation. This Article argues for an alternative theoretical framework for civil rights advocacy rooted in individual dignity. It argues that society should banish arbitrary racial categories from public life, enforce bans on discrimination against both overt and covert discrimination when justified by the evidence, foster talent-based institutions that are inclusive of all people, and promote honest discourse about race. Only a society that values and respects the dignity of the individual can be genuinely inclusive and egalitarian

Essays on the Application and Improvement of the Geographical Economics Models to Policy Analysis: The Case of Road Infrastructure in Central America

The novel models of Geographical Economy have analyzed the effects on the distribution of economic activity over the area of a given region, generated by different socio-economic shocks. For example, the costs of migrating from one place to another, as shown in Desmet et al. (2018). A key advantage of such models is that, given the structural definition of the market interactions, they can first create counterfactual scenarios based on the economic fundamentals. And second, a broad set of variables can account for that impact. These dynamic spatial general equilibrium models embody features such as measures for amenities, trade and transportation costs, productivity, and GDP that allow for multiple applications and uses. One of those is the design and evaluation of specific policies, such as the investment in infrastructure. This dissertation analyzes the application of the model to the case of the Pacific Corridor. It is a highway from Mexico City to Panama City, passing through six countries over 1.300 miles. This corridor is critical to the economic integration of that region. Desmet et al. (2018) model can account for the potential benefits of improving such infrastructure. In the first Chapter, I show how to adapt the model to create the necessary counterfactuals. The benefits are favorable for the locations near the project. In the second Chapter, I introduce an improvement to the model’s transportation costs matrix. It consists of the possibility to account for the effects of the administrative border controls (customs) on transportation costs. I used data on travel times in five regional countries to calibrate the model’s matrix. It matches the observed increase in transportation time cost due to border delays. The impact of removing such delay is more significant than the effect of the corridor on economic activity. Finally, I provide policy recommendations and the future steps of this research

The Tissue-Specific Role of smn-1 in C. elegans

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disease that results from mutations in the Survival Motor Neuron (SMN-1) gene. Although SMN is a ubiquitously expressed protein that acts as an RNA-binding protein (RBP), SMA is characterized by the selective degeneration of motor neurons of the lower spinal cord. Despite a clear understanding of the genetic causes underlying SMA, the mechanisms associated with low SMN levels to disease pathogenesis remains unclear. Here, we investigate the role SMN-1 has in different tissues to begin understanding possible mechanisms. This project has three aims that has guided our experiments. The first aim is to discover which cells or tissues are responsible for the SMA phenotypes in C. elegans. Behavioral assays such as pumping, thrashing, and defecation are used as a measurement of health since defects in these areas are typical SMA phenotypes. Chapter 1 outlines the surprising discovery that the loss of smn-1 in neurons and muscles, as previously studied, did not result in any strong phenotypes, but rather the loss of smn-1 in the intestine cause defects similar to that of null smn-1 mutants. These findings represent a new area of study for a better understanding of SMA. More research is needed to begin to understand the connection between the intestine and the neuromuscular defects. The second aim looks at how deleting smn-1 in specific tissues alter patterns of gene expression. The results from Chapter 1 prompted us to survey the impact of the intestinal deletion of smn-1 on gene expression. In Chapter 2, RNA-sequencing data revealed a set of proteins produced in the intestine to be highly upregulated in smn-1 mutants. These proteins were found to be involved in the intracellular pathogen response (IPR) that provides resistance against proteotoxic stress. In relation to this type of gene expression profile, thermotolerant properties are exhibited with the mutants. The third aim studies possible mechanisms in the intestine that lead to the observed phenotypes. A unique observation was made while testing the health of smn-1 mutants. We observed in the lifespan assay that the intestinal KO of smn-1 was surviving longer on FUDR than on normal plates. Therefore, Chapter 3 examines the impact of FUDR on SMA phenotypes seen in the intestinal smn-1 KO. We found that FUDR acts on RNA to some capacity and causes lifespan extension of the intestinal KO. Through further experimentation we hope to uncover how organisms cope with stress, via the IPR, as it relates to SMN deficiency in the intestine and how FUDR acts on RNA when smn-1 is absent in the intestine

Expanding the Horizon: Blockchain Technology Beyond the Bounds of Cryptocurrency

Blockchain technology has extended beyond its initial role as the infrastructure for cryptocurrencies to transform various industries with its decentralized and transparent ledger system. This paper examines the broad spectrum of blockchain applications beyond cryptocurrency. It explores its potential to innovate and drive change across finance, supply chain management, healthcare, real estate, and voting systems. We review recent literature, detail specific use cases, and discuss blockchain\u27s challenges and opportunities, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of its transformative impact. Integrating emerging technologies, scalability, regulatory considerations, and energy consumption are critical challenges to its adoption. Our findings underscore the need for continued research and multi-stakeholder collaboration to harness blockchain\u27s capabilities for innovation and decentralization in contemporary systems

Breakout Session A: Non-Profit/Non-Governmental Organization Data

This breakout session provides the space for participants to discuss human trafficking data (facts and statistics that can be used for statistical analysis for strategic application) collected by NPOs/NGOs, the methods of and difficulties in NPO/NGO human trafficking data collection, and the data and visualization needs of NPOs/NGOs in anti-human trafficking and survivor restoration efforts

Unveiling New Realms: Enhancing Procedural Narrative Generation and NPC Personalization using AI

A System Design Framework used to train GPT - based agents can significantly help improve current Procedural Narrative and Character (NPC) Personality Generation Models in games. This approach can lead to a Richer Gameplay Experience that allows players to craft their own Personalized and Unique stories