Anna Collins
Learning (and Loving) a Foreign Language
Throughout my high school years, among the things always stashed away in my frayed lime-colored backpack, alongside my IB Chemistry study guide and a slew of math practice tests, was a sheet of vibrantly pink construction paper. On this were written a number of short songs, rhymes, charts and acronyms, all thought up to help [...]
Terrorist Networks: Rethinking the Logic Behind Web Search Engines
Productive network analysis is often hindered by an overabundance of information, the bulk of which is frequently extraneous and of limited relevance. The question is, then, how can this profusion of information be gathered, managed and propagated in an efficient way? Assuming we can surmount some major roadblocks—such as this baffling quantity of data—the answer may be contained in the relatively new but burgeoning field of social network analysis.
The Utility of Social Media in Autocratic Middle Eastern Regimes
In our contemporary era of social media technology and global networking websites, observers of the Middle East widely agree on one point: unless autocratic regimes obstruct or heavily restrict Internet access, they will be subverted by technologically shrewd activists.
Imperfect Information: The Unavoidable Paradox
Are there times when we might prefer people to be less informed? Can advantages flow from the structure of some political institutions that limit political information? How can we benefit from a society in which imperfect information is and will continue to be a widespread phenomenon?
Applied Mathematics in Political Science: A Complement to Tradition
Cornell government majors are bound by a slew of requirements: introductory classes on International Relations (IR), American politics and political philosophy; intermediate courses on comparative government, political theory and American government; advanced seminars on topics ranging from normative issues in IR to the philosophies of Kant and Adorno. These classes train us to philosophize, to [...]
Guns, Germs, Steel, and An Alternative Explanation for Eurasian Hegemony
After 1492, Europeans were able to conquer and subjugate the people of the New World because of their access to gun technology, germs to which Native Americans were not immune, and steel manufacturing, a fact that few students of history question. But why wasn’t it the Native Americans with access to these fateful resources? Why [...]
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