VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The few who persist : supporting the development of science interest in adolescent girls

Nurturing the development of science interest in adolescents has been identified as a key concern of educators, policy-makers, parents, and employers. Research has suggested that out-of-school experiences may be uniquely able to support the development of interest in science for students who may be disengaging from school science in disproportionate numbers, such as girls or non-majority status students. This series of studies sought to explore factors that influence adolescent girls' participation in extracurricular science activities. In Study One, four focus group discussions were held with Bay Area high school girls who participated in extracurricular science. Study Two explored patterns revealed in Study One through a six-month, ethnographic examination of the motivational and environmental factors associated with six girls' experiences as they engaged in science outside school in the Bay Area. Analysis from Study Two clarified and expanded upon patterns identified in Study One and informed the design of a survey instrument with which to test the constructs and associations of the proposed new model of adolescent girls' interest development in science in Study Three. Contributions to the literature and implications for designers of out-of-school science programs and scholars of adolescent girls' interest development are discussed.

Keywords: Education.
Advisor: Osborne Jonathan 
Barron Brigid 
Longino Helen E.
Film Franchise Strategy In the Age of Intellectual Property

This thesis aims to discuss the presence and power of franchises at a time when consumers have different mediums to access film and TV as well as a growing amount of entertainment options to choose from. For studios to be even more successful in an economy where consumers are shifting away from a transactional service good and more towards experience goods, a studio should aggressively extend their films outside the theaters into as many aspects as possible of consumers’ daily lives in order to immerse the consumer in the story and capture the connective tissue between a film, its experiential marketing, merchandising, pop-up experiences, and more. These studios may each have their own recipe for success and should be introspective, but they should be studying what their competitors are doing well to integrate those ideas into their own strategies. Should they want audiences to return for sequels, spin-offs, and cinematic universes, their franchises must maintain a presence in a consumer’s life outside of the theater. My point will be made by discussing the evolution of the exhibition space as well as how and why audience habits have shifted in recent years; analyzing three different studios and their approach to franchise films; and discussing the different spaces a franchise should aim to occupy in the future. NBCUniversal will provide an example of a studio whose franchises are easily transportable overseas, increasingly becoming eventized, and have improved the company’s licensing and merchandising presence. Sony is an example of a studio whose filmmaker and artist-driven model is no longer sufficient at a time when brands and franchises dwarf a celebrity’s status. Disney will illustrate the rise of “event films”, the importance of intellectual property (IP), and how its acquisition of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm has enabled Disney to have an increased presence in theaters, merchandising, and theme parks.

Keywords:  Department of Communication
Stanford University Department of Communication
Disney
Film Studies
Thesis
Advisor: Hamilton James
Finding someone like me : the strategic pursuit of co-ethnic peers on a college campus

This dissertation demonstrates the agentic processes involved in forming ethnic-minority friendships on predominantly White campuses. Through the quantitative survey data (paper A), I demonstrate that students of varying ethnicities (Asian/Asian-American, Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Pacific Islander, and White/Caucasian) engage in fewer cross-race friendships than expected according to the baseline demographics of the university. Through the interviews (papers 2 and 3), I show how ethnic-minority students seek out their ethnically-similar peers and determine if they have a rightful claim to certain ethnic identities. Together, these three papers highlight the role of individual agency in the process of friendship formation while in the pursuit of ethnic homophily on a predominantly White campus.

Keywords: Education.
Advisor: Antonio Anthony Lising
Bettinger Eric 
Carter Prudence L.
McFarland Daniel (Daniel A.)
First principles modeling of the electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction : from electronic structure to kinetics

The efficient storage of intermittent, renewable energy in the form of chemical bonds is critical to successfully transition away from fossil-derived fuels and chemicals. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a central role in many of these storage technologies by splitting water molecules to supply reactive protons and electrons. The activity of OER electrocatalysts directly influences the efficiency of these technologies by reducing the overpotential required to achieve reasonable production rates. Density functional theory (DFT) is a useful tool for investigating potential OER catalyst active sites at the atomic scale in an effort to either explain experimental observation or suggest new experiments to perform. Such theoretical studies are popular for a variety of electrochemical and thermochemical reactions, but OER catalysts are particularly challenging to model because of the highly oxidizing conditions at which they operate, leading to corrosion via oxidation and dissolution of the catalyst surface. In the first part of this thesis, we examine two state-of-the-art OER catalysts, SrIrO3 and RuO2, that are known experimentally to dissolve under reaction conditions and use DFT to explore possible active sites that might form. In the case of SrIrO3 we consider various Sr-deficient surface structures, while for RuO2 we consider defect motifs such as Ru-vacancies, steps, and kinks, and in both cases we identify sites with higher theoretical activities than the ideal, defect-free surfaces. These studies are computationally expensive because they require individually probing the activity of possible active sites by calculating the stability of OER intermediates OH*, O*, and OOH* at each site. Towards circumventing these calculations, we identify an electronic structural descriptor, namely the average 2p-state energy of adsorbed atomic oxygen, that correlates strongly with the theoretical OER activity and allows for screening multiple active sites at once with a single DFT calculation. In the second part of this thesis, we attempt to move beyond the conventional thermodynamic analysis of theoretical OER activity with microkinetic modeling, which allows for a more direct comparison to experimental results. This involves explicitly modeling the aqueous-solid electrochemical interface and computing kinetic barrier heights for reactions that involve charge transfer across the interface. We find that the intrinsic barrier height for one elementary step in particular, OOH* formation, is significantly higher than the others for rutile (110) surfaces and directly accounts for the non-negligible OER overpotential observed experimentally. The resultant microkinetic model, which assumes OOH* formation to be the sole rate determining step, is analyzed in the context of experimental observations including Tafel behavior and is used to construct an OER volcano consisting solely of experimental data.

Keywords: Chemical Engineering.
Advisor: Jaramillo Thomas Francisco 
Noerskov Jens
Qin Jian (Professor of Chemical Engineering)
Flight dynamics and control of two autonomous helicopters carrying an external slung load

Cargo missions of the near future will require transportation of increasingly heavy loads to remote locations that are at distances farther, and at altitudes higher, than what can be accomplished by current helicopters. Using two helicopters to carry a single load, termed dual lift, provides heavy lift on demand and avoids the very costly design and development of a special purpose heavy lift helicopter. The dual lift benefits of increased lifting capability, increased range, and flight at higher density altitudes, are contingent on equal load distribution between the helicopters. In other words, each helicopter must lift an equal portion of the external payload. Furthermore, to maximize these benefits, the helicopters must operate close to their maximum power available, leaving little room for unequal load distribution. This research focuses on gaining a fundamental understanding of the dynamic behavior of a dual lift system and the associated flight control challenges. A detailed stability and control analysis of the dual lift system has been conducted and the unique multi-body modes and their effects on the development of an attitude control system has been quantified. With the identified control challenges as a foundation, a multi-objective parametric optimization approach has been used to design an attitude control system that meets a comprehensive set of stability and performance specifications. In addition, a guidance and control strategy that ensures equal load distribution between the helicopters has been developed. The guidance strategy computes an optimal trajectory for the system to fly using nonlinear programming and incorporates a feedback controller that commands an additive height change for the trail helicopter to account for un- modeled dynamics and disturbances. The developed concepts, models, and guidance strategies have been validated and assessed via flight test experiments on two medium-sized, autonomous RMAX helicopters (10 ft rotor diameter). This was the first time that two autonomous helicopters have been flown in the pendant configuration and with a control system that equalized the two helicopter loads.

Keywords: Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Advisor: Powell J. David
Rock Stephen M. 
Pavone Marco
Flower of Dreams: Longing and Loss in Yosano Akiko's Man-Mō yūki

In 1928, Japanese feminist poet Yosano Akiko traveled to Manchuria at the invitation of the Japanese-operated South Manchurian Railway Company. She recorded the six-week journey in a travelogue, Man-Mō yūki, which is notable for its organization in two parts: prose followed by poetry. English language scholarship on the travelogue has centered on the prose account, discounting the poetry or ignoring it entirely. This scholarship has largely converged around the point of Akiko’s complicity with Japanese imperialism. In this thesis, I examine Akiko’s poetry composed on the journey and show how it reveals ambivalences in Akiko’s position that resist easy categorization. In particular, I examine Akiko’s poetry related to a young Chinese noblewoman she meets on the journey, Wu Yousheng. For Akiko, Wu is a pivotal figure – one who stands at the intersection of literature and politics within the imperial context. Akiko’s poetry related to Wu reveals an emotional narrative of love and loss untold in the prose. Her grief is both personal and political, fueled by a commitment to a Sino-Japanese tradition of poetic exchange that she views as threatened by the violence of imperialism. Lamenting violence without rejecting imperialism itself, Akiko’s position is ultimately ambiguous, eluding a definitive political stance while in the end remaining loyal only to her core vision for poetry as a pure space for the free expression of emotion.

Keywords:  Stanford Global Studies
Yosano Akiko
Wu Yousheng
1928
South Manchurian Railway Company
Japanese Poetry
Tanka
Travel Writing
Manchuria
Japanese Imperialism
Stanford Global Studies
Stanford East Asian Studies
Thesis
Advisor: Reichert James
Fluorescence-based R-loop detection : characterization of cellular RNA-DNA hybrid signals

In this work, we present an improved fluorescence-based R-loop detection method that is more accurate and specific compared to the current standard practice of using the S9.6 antibody in immunofluorescence applications. We used this new procedure to characterize and provide novel insights on cellular RNA-DNA hybrid signals. Additionally, we investigated the nucleotide excision repair (NER)-mediated R-loop processing and explored the mechanisms underlying its impact on genome stability.

Keywords: Biology.
Advisor: Cimprich Karlene 
Feldman Jessica L.
Gozani Or Pinchas
Focal adhesion architecture and composition regulate adhesion and traction generation

Biological systems can sense and respond to a range of mechanical forces that can profoundly affect the forms of developing tissues and the progression of diseases. Even individual cells can recognize mechanical inputs that drive changes in cellular behavior and coordinate cell adhesion and migration. Cells use focal adhesion protein complexes to link the extracellular matrix (ECM) to the actomyosin cytoskeleton, the force bearing and generating network within the cell, allowing for both force sensing and active remodeling of their environment. These complexes include integrins, which are heterodimeric transmembrane proteins that bind to the ECM and recruit focal adhesion proteins that connect to the actin cytoskeleton. However, how force is transmitted through integrins and how cells regulate those forces is not fully understood. We used Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based molecular tension sensors to determine the magnitude and origins of the forces experienced by individual integrins in living cells. These measurements revealed a functional modularity where the number and nature of connections to actin set the force per integrin, while different integrin classes independently controlled adhesion size and ECM ligand specificity. Our single-molecule measurements also revealed the dynamics of force transmission at individual integrins within cellular adhesion complexes. These observations provided a direct test of the predictions of the molecular clutch model, which is commonly used to describe how force is transmitted from the actin cytoskeleton through cellular adhesion complexes. Surprisingly, only a small subset of tension sensors exhibited dynamic loading in contrast to the predications of the clutch model. Instead, we found that the majority of sensors reported constant force magnitudes. We developed a modified model which incorporates the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton and could reproduce the force plateaus we observe. In total, our observations support a general model for how cells create regulated and dynamic adhesions to the extracellular matrix.

Keywords: Chemical Engineering.
Advisor: Dunn Alexander Robert 
Chaudhuri Ovijit 
Sattely Elizabeth
Food, the body, and experience in Boccaccio's Decameron

This dissertation explores the connection between food and the body in Boccaccio's Decameron. I show how representations of food relate to the larger problem of embodiment and how Boccaccio uses food as a privileged material and vehicle through which to discuss such issues. While Boccaccio inherited a tradition that generally sought to abstract the body, he engages with a poetics that is human and embodied as he recognizes embodiment as a condition of human existence. I read food's representation in the Decameron in terms of Boccaccio's notions of corporeality, epistemology, and socio-ethical concerns. Boccaccio presents and links literal and metaphorical meanings of the body and its nourishment in the opening pages of his work, establishing food as one of the vehicles through which he will explore questions of corporeality and human experience. Through his effective application of language, presenting both the body and food items in both literal and metaphorical ways throughout the work, Boccaccio challenges already established notions surrounding class, nobility, gender, and knowledge to create new meanings and establish new paradigms out of the ambiguity that is inherent in his language. The first chapter examines two specific food items, bread and wine, which are, not coincidentally, Eucharistic items, to illustrate how both Cisti the baker (in novella VI.2) and Ghino di Tacco (in X.2) both strategically control and continually offer these Eucharistic elements in order to not only rehabilitate the higher-class individual with whom they are interacting, but more importantly to enact their own elevation and social transformation. The second chapter juxtaposes novella IV.1, the story of Tancredi and Ghismonda, with V.9, Federigo degli Alberighi, to show how Boccaccio uses items traditionally associated with nobility, the heart and the falcon, and turns them into food in order to construct a new way of conceiving of nobility. In the final core chapter, I explore Boccaccio's representation of food in terms of the pursuit of knowledge as well as how it relates to gender issues. I examine Calandrino's character in all four novelle of his saga (VIII.3, the story of the heliotrope; VIII.6, the story of the stolen pig; IX.3, Calandrino thinks that he is pregnant; and IX.5, Calandrino falls in love with Niccolosa) to investigate how Boccaccio uses food to champion a form of knowledge that is no longer abstracted from the body and the senses and how he employs the language of food to undermine ideas regarding disembodied knowledge in order to argue for and defend the body, and to champion the female's virtue, her practical knowledge, and her dominance in the domestic space.

Keywords: French & Italian.
Advisor: Harrison Robert Pogue 
Greene Roland
Lummus David
Formalization of smallest workface boundary (SWFB) : toward generating and operating level of development (LOD) 400-based daily bill of materials (BOM)

Level of development (LOD) 400 provides the definitive and fully developed 3D objects at fabrication level of detail and is, therefore, the level appropriate for a foreman to use for managing the construction work at the workface. However, for a foreman, planning a day, updating the work completed, and tracking the daily performance—thereby going through the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle on a daily basis—with LOD400 objects can be time-consuming and onerous, since LOD400 is highly granular and a foreman's priority is not operating digital information in an office environment. This research considers these conditions of a foreman in a field setting and introduces an ontology that allows a foreman to go through the PDCA cycle on a daily basis with LOD400 objects. The key enabling concept is the smallest workface boundary (SWFB), which is a boundary that encapsulates a set of LOD400 objects in the smallest workable unit for a certain trade. With SWFBs, the granularity of the LOD400 objects that a foreman has to interact with can be reduced and a foreman can quickly select the LOD400 objects to be built on a day, generate a LOD400-based daily bill of materials (BOM), and operate the BOM through the PDCA cycle. The concept of a SWFB was incorporated into a software prototype for field experiments. The field experiments with the prototype showed that a foreman can go through the PDCA cycle with LOD400 objects in 2 minutes and 47 seconds per day on average and the qualitative measure of the usability was also high with a usability score (on the System Usability Scale) of 95 on average, which can be interpreted as above excellent. Future research should focus on applying the prototype on a larger scale with interdependent parties, including suppliers, involved and measuring the impact of the prototype on the performance, such as the accuracy of materials ordered and the reason for non-completion due to inaccurate ordering.

Advisor: Fischer Martin
Khanzode Atul
Lepech Michael
The foundation of the forest : function and maintenance of symbiosis between ectomycorrhizal plants and fungi

Temperate and boreal forests can extend across thousands of kilometers, but some of the key forces shaping their ecology and evolution act on a micron scale. Roots alone often are not small enough to penetrate resource-rich soil pores, but fungal hyphae are: Many trees in these forests rely on symbiosis with ectomycorrhizal fungi to access soil nutrients. This dissertation explores the fine-scale mechanisms that make this symbiosis possible over ecological and evolutionary time, using physiology and gene expression as lenses to examine what happens when a hypha meets a root. The symbiosis itself is based around a cooperative exchange of resources, in which the plant provides carbon in exchange for nitrogen, phosphorous, and water scavenged by the fungus. In this dissertation, I treat this exchange as a resource economy, using stable isotope enrichment to examine trading dynamics and link them to symbiotic function. I also explore how biochemical negotiation, regulated at a transcriptomic level, affects the outcomes of these belowground exchanges, mediating the compatibility of plants and fungi across ecological and evolutionary time. Although a hypha and a root may only exchange a handful of molecules in a soil pore a few microns wide, it is these tiny interactions on which evolution acts to stabilize cooperation and produce the diversity of the forests that we see. Using genomic and physiological techniques, my dissertation highlights the power of micro-scale interactions to affect macro-scale outcomes.

Keywords: Biology.
Advisor: Peay Kabir
Fukami Tadashi
Vitousek Peter Morrison
Free, Open-Source, and Anonymous: Why deep learning regulators are in deep water

Deep learning models have been instrumental in driving recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. Beyond autonomous navigation and game-playing, some deep learning applications, such as facial recognition and deep fakes, or counterfeit audio and video created by algorithms, pose challenges to individual privacy and US national security. The Director of National Intelligence's 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment explicitly mentions the growing threat from deep fakes and machine learning systems. Yet, as most deep learning software, datasets, and academic papers are publicly accessible, individuals can effortlessly access the technical prerequisites required to develop deep learning models, build surveillance systems, and access instruments of mass deception. Thousands of deep fakes of politicians and celebrities have already been shared on the internet. The first step towards combating this threat is understanding how deep learning spreads and how its proliferation process differs from other dual-use technologies, or technologies with both civilian and military applications. This thesis seeks to fill this crucial gap by examining how all three critical components of deep learning - data, software, and hardware - have become accessible to internet users. We analyze how existing approaches to mitigating risks from dual-use technology, including establishing norms, limiting supply, and controlling exports, may fail to effectively delay or prevent deep learning threats. After examining how deep fake technology spread from academia to individuals, we present an original experimental study of how technical countermeasures could confuse a facial recognition deep learning model and be used to mitigate risks from deep fakes. Our experiments indicate how US policymakers could leverage both technical and policy mechanisms to delay or undermine malicious deep learning systems.

Keywords: deep learning
ai
computer science
stanford
center for international security and cooperation
cisac
proliferation
adversarial learning
national security
Thesis
Advisor: Zegart Amy