VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Weathering with You: Climate Impacts on Famine and Sex-Selective Infanticide in Northeastern Japan, 1750-1869

The extent of family planning among even poor peasants in Tokugawa Japan has always stood out in global demographic history. The prevalence of abortion and infanticide as tools to determine family composition have drawn attention to whether parents were motivated by economic foresight, superstition, or necessity. I investigate how peasant death and birth rates are affected by harvest yields in the Minamiyama region of Northeastern Japan from 1750 to 1869. Using a pooled ordinary least squares regression with panel-correlated standard errors (PCSE), I find significant positive associations between yearly female birth rate and the number of sunny days in the June through September growing season. The relationship between male births and days of sun is not significant across multiple specifications of the model, which (combined with textual evidence) suggests intentionally sex-selective infanticide during short-term income shocks.

Keywords: sex-selection
infanticide
famine
demography
Japan
economic history
Department of Economics
Thesis
Weighted sampling sketches for functions of frequencies

Weighted sampling is an extremely useful technique for processing streaming or distributed data. In particular, for the purpose of computing statistics or aggregates that depend on the frequencies of keys, a sample can be used to efficiently compute estimates without storing the entire table of keys and frequencies in memory. In order to get low-error estimates using a small sample, the sampling method should be weighted and tailored to the specific aggregates of interest. As a rule of thumb, the sampling weight of each key should be proportional to its contribution to the aggregate. For aggregates that sum over a function f applied to the frequency of each key (e.g., frequency moments), the sampling weight of a key x with frequency w_x should be f(w_x). A main question, and the focus of this work, is designing weighted sampling schemes for broad families of functions that can be computed efficiently over streaming or distributed data. First, we consider the family of concave sublinear functions, which includes x^p for p at most 1, ln(1+x), capping functions (min{x, T} for a constant T), their compositions, and more. We design a sampling sketch that can be tailored to any concave sublinear function with near-optimal guarantees on the variance of the estimates. We complement the theoretical analysis with an experimental study, which shows that in practice the variance of our estimates is even lower than the theoretical bound and is actually close to that of the optimal benchmark. For some functions of frequencies (for example, x^p for p > 2), there are hardness results that show in the streaming setting, weighted sampling according to these functions requires polynomial space. In the second part, we consider two scenarios that go beyond worst-case analysis. In the first scenario, the input is still adversarial, but we additionally assume some noisy knowledge of the input distribution. In the second scenario, we assume that the input comes from a more restricted class of frequency distributions that is better aligned with what is observed in practice. In both scenarios, we show how to leverage our assumptions to sample according to functions that are "hard" on worst-case inputs. In the final part, we propose a method to post-process weighted samples to satisfy element-level differential privacy, while retaining the sample utility to the maximum extent possible. Our method maximizes the reporting probabilities of keys and estimation quality for a broad family of statistics

Advisor: Charikar Moses
Cohen Edith
Valiant Gregory
“We’re All About That Family”: What First-Generation, Low-Income Students At A Highly Selective University Value About The Nature And Strength Of Ties Formed In A Community And Belonging Centered Bridge Program

As the first in their families to go to college, first-generation, low-income (FLI) students face unique social, emotional, and academic challenges at elite universities. To aid these students in their transition to college, many universities have implemented interventions such as the bridge program. However, most bridge programs focus on STEM development and most studies of bridge programs focus on measuring quantitative outcomes like graduation rates and grades through the use of longitudinal surveys. This study documents the qualitative outcomes of a community- and belonging-centered bridge program through semi-structured interviews with participants from one cohort of the program in their final year at a highly selective university. Students reported that the program’s centering of the FLI identity throughout its programming, structure, and staffing had myriad positive impacts on their ability to build community and feel a sense of belonging, both socially and academically, throughout their time at university. This study demonstrates that dedicated, intentional programming and support facilitated and enforced a strong sense of belonging and community for FLI students, enabling them to make the most of their higher education experience. Finally, this study also contributes to the understanding of FLI students’ nuanced experiences through their own words, filling the gap of qualitative data in the current literature about bridge programs and their outcomes within the “black box” of higher education.

Keywords: Graduate School of Education
First-Generation Low-Income Students
Bridge Programs
Higher Education
Elite Universities
Honors in Education
Community
Belonging
Community and Belonging in Higher Education
Thesis
What do reactive astrocytes do?

Astrocytes are essential homeostatic regulators of the central nervous system (CNS) environment, maintaining extracellular ion concentrations, shuttling food and waste between neurons and the blood, and recycling neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft. Astrocytes also respond to disease and injury by undergoing a set of morphological and functional changes collectively called astroglio- sis, but the mechanisms that underlie these changes and their consequence in vivo are poorly under- stood. In this thesis, I investigate the form of reactive astrogliosis that occurs in neuroinflammatory contexts. I review technical challenges in studying reactive glia, characterize reactive astrocytes that form in neuroinflammatory contexts, investigate the impact of neuroinflammatory astrocytes in mouse models of neurodegenerative disease, and outline one mechanism by which astrocytes are toxic to other cells

Advisor: Gitler Aaron D.
Li Lingyin
Reimer Richard J.
Zuchero J.
What makes livestreaming enjoyable? Understanding the impacts of live streaming affordances on hedonic media experiences

Live streaming refers to technology that can broadcast video to a remote audience in the instant that it is captured. This dissertation identified three affordances of live streaming platforms: media liveness, shared attention, and social information, and provided empirical evidence for the influence of these affordances on emotional and relational processes during live streaming. The current research draws on shared-attention theory to examine the effects of large-scale shared attention on hedonic media experiences, and the moderating roles of media liveness and social information on shared attention effects. Study 1 employed a 2 (attentional focus: shared vs. unshared) by 2 (media liveness: live vs. recorded) between-subjects design. Data from 652 participants online showed that shared attention increased positive emotions during a media experience, and fostered a sense of social connection and belonging compared to unshared attention. Live streamed media, however, neither intensified emotional experiences nor boosted social bonding compared to recorded media. As a follow-up, Study 2 employed a 2 (attentional focus: shared vs. unshared) by 2 (social information: present vs. absent) between-subjects design to investigate the moderating role of social information. Data from 750 participants revealed that shared attention increased emotional arousal compared to unshared attention in the presence of social information, and that the effect of shared attention on social bonding was stronger when the social information was present versus absent. Taken together, the dissertation findings suggest that it may not be the liveness of the live streaming that benefits emotional experiences of media use, but rather the shared attention and exchange of social information associated with live streaming that carries important emotional and relational implications

Keywords: Communication.
Advisor: Hancock Jeff 
Bailenson Jeremy
Reeves Byron
Zaki Jamil
When neural and behavioral forecasting works : the critical role of matching

Over the last decade, decision neuroscientists have documented several stylized examples of neuroforecasting -- the idea that neuroimaging data collected from a small sample of subjects can be used to estimate how populations will behave. Frequently, these studies demonstrate significant neural forecasts even when forecasting is not possible with choice. Additionally, only three brain regions have been demonstrated to forecast: the Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc), Medial PreFrontal Cortex (MPFC), and the Anterior Insula (AIns). However, these studies vary on which brain regions forecast the market outcome of interest. To date, two concepts have been proposed that may help explain discrepant neuroforecasting results. According to a "partial scaling" account, the generalizability of a choice component depends on how basic or integrative the process in question is. Acording to a "market matching" account, choice components that are closely matched to the market outcome of interest will provide better forecasts. This dissertation comprises three studies that aim to test generalizability and matching in forecasting. Chapters 2 and 3 demonstrate that components that generalize well do not always outperform components that are well matched to the market outcome of interest. Chapter 4 demonstrates that when market matching is achieved by matching demographic features between the sample and the population, less generalizable components forecast better. Chapter 5 discusses implications of this research for theory and practice

Keywords: Psychology.
Advisor: Knutson Brian
Krosnick Jon A.
Zaki Jamil
When new markets and powerful institutions collide : how mission-driven entrepreneurs form strategy, organize, and compete

This dissertation explores how entrepreneurs form strategy, organize, and compete in nascent markets that emerge within institutional fields. In these settings, entrepreneurs face the dual challenges of creating successful ventures while also navigating (and perhaps changing) the institutional field. Despite the challenges, nascent markets within institutional fields offer enormous potential for both financial success and social impact—a particularly attractive combination for mission-driven entrepreneurs. Yet, prior research overlooks how entrepreneurs form successful strategies, organize their ventures, and compete with rivals in these challenging but important settings. Given limited theoretical understanding and empirical evidence, I use a multiple-case theory-building approach to explore the nascent MOOC (massive open online course) market that emerged within the field of U.S. higher education. I present three related emergent theoretical frameworks. The first, Mavericks and Diplomats, identifies two contrasting but effective processes to form strategy in nascent markets within institutional fields. The second, Mission and Money, explores competition over time between ventures that organize as hybrids by integrating the logics of multiple institutions. The third, The Pain of the Pivot, unpacks the often-painful processes of enacting significant changes in a venture's strategy, commonly referred to as pivoting. Jointly, these three theoretical frameworks provide novel insights into how mission-driven entrepreneurs form strategy, organize, and compete when new markets collide with powerful institutions. Overall, this dissertation contributes to strategy, entrepreneurship, and organizations research and practice

Keywords: Management Science and Engineering.
Advisor: Eisenhardt Kathleen M.
Byers Thomas (Thomas H.)
Eesley Charles
Katila Riitta
Whole genome approaches to uncover etiology of disease in endangered animals and critically ill humans

Identification of disease etiology using whole genome data has the potential to promote the health and wellbeing of both humans and other animals. Historically, the cost to generate genomic data has been restrictive. However, advances in genome sequencing technologies have enabled high throughput data generation at a reduced cost. Now genome data is being generated at an unprecedented scale leading to rapid growth in the field of genomics, and as a result is ready for widespread applications in humans and other animals. The overarching goal of the work presented here is to harness the power of next generation sequencing- combining it with refined analysis pathways and novel applications- to advance precision human medicine and promote the integration of genomic data into veterinary and conservation medicine. In the first section of this dissertation, I demonstrate the utility of whole genome sequencing data in population management of critically endangered ex situ living non-human great apes. Using genomic data from these species, I accurately determine kinship, a measure of relatedness used to select appropriate mating pairs, in effort to promote genetic diversity. Additionally, I investigate genetic determinants of two overrepresented disease phenotypes in ex situ living great apes: interstitial myocardial fibrosis in western lowland gorillas and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in bonobos. These data suggest that integration of genomic data into population management has the potential to profoundly impact these endangered species. In the second section of this dissertation, I describe the development of an ultra-rapid whole genome sequencing diagnostic test for use in a critical care setting. This protocol took as little as 7 hours and 18 minutes to complete using highly parallel nanopore sequencing, a high-performance cloud compute system, and a custom scheme for variant prioritization. Rapid genetic diagnosis can impact the early clinical decision-making process, enabling clinicians to provide fast and precise medical care. My thesis research has focused on the utility of whole genome sequencing in a variety of medical settings with the aim to promote the health of animals and humans alike

Keywords: Genetics.
Advisor: Ashley Euan A.
Buckmaster Paul S.
Bustamante Carlos (Carlos D.)
Montgomery Stephen
Priest James (James Rush)
Why Did Big-City Machines Decline in the South?

The conventional explanations for machine decline in the United States, including welfare reform, civil service reform, and income growth, were largely developed without considering Southern machines. The South adopted civil service reform later than did the North, the welfare expansion of the New Deal was significantly more limited in the South than in the North, and the South was much poorer than the North until at least the 1980s. Therefore, according to the existing literature, Southern political machines should have declined at a slower rate than did their Northern counterparts, since the conventional explanations for machine decline are weaker in the South than in the North. This thesis uses the Newspapers.com database to build the first census of Southern citywide machines from 1920 to 1970, and finds that Southern political machines peaked in the same decade as did Northern machines, and declined at approximately the same rate thereafter. The fact that the peak and decline of Southern machines was similar to that of Northern machines, despite Southern machines not being influenced by the ostensible factors that caused the decline of Northern machines, suggests that the prevailing explanations for why machines declined in the United States are insufficient, or at least do not apply to the South. This thesis, then, presents a puzzle for future research: why did Southern machines decline at the same rate as did Northern machines, even though the conventional explanations for machine decline do not apply to the South? After outlining this puzzle, this thesis begins the work of future researchers by using the Newspapers.com database to review contemporary newspaper articles that analyzed the decline of prominent Southern citywide machines as they collapsed in real time and build a dataset that categorizes these explanations for machine decline. By centralizing all explanations that contemporary journalists, who are experts in municipal politics, offered for the decline of Southern machines, this thesis provides a starting point for future researchers to determine whether these explanations generalize across the South and Nation. In particular, the elimination of the poll tax and other restrictive Jim Crow era voting measures, the end of one-party Democratic dominance in the South, and the return of politically active GIs from WWII who fought to defeat political machines are promising, understudied explanations for Southern machine decline that merit more attention.

Keywords:  Department of Symbolic Systems
political machines
The American South
Symbolic Systems
Newspapers.com
Stanford
Thesis
Advisor: Cox Gary
Bonica Adam
Why does leviathan innovate? The law and economics of technological change at state-owned electric utilities

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are the dominant firm type in the global electricity sector. Yet, little is known about why some state-owned electricity utilities adopt new technologies more readily than others. Economists are divided about SOE innovation. Neoclassical scholarship suggests that government-owned firms lack the market incentives for adopting new technologies. By contrast, evolutionary economists suggest that precisely because they are less affected by market demands, SOEs can be effective innovators. This dissertation contributes a legal perspective to this broader economic debate. The dissertation argues that SOE innovativeness (or lack thereof) does not derive from their ownership. Instead, SOE innovation is a consequence of the interaction between host government interests and the legal and financial institutions which shape the risk taking ability of SOE managers. Using mixed methods, the dissertation provides evidence supporting this theory from SOEs in high-income countries. The dissertation provides nuance to evolving economic theories on state-led innovation. It also offers policymakers guidance on how to reform SOEs in the electricity sector to incentivize technological change

Keywords: Law JSD.
Advisor: Hensler Deborah R.
Milhaupt Curtis J.
Victor David G.
Wildfire mitigation policies in California

Wildfires and other climate change-related disasters threaten lives, property, and the environment. Effective mitigation, coordination, and preparation can improve disaster resilience among governments and local communities. Across three research studies, this dissertation examines local, state, and federal policies in disaster mitigation and resilience in response to recent wildfires in California. In my first study, I examine historic fuel treatment policies, focusing on the integration of prescribed burns into state wildfire management policies. My second study explores current barriers and enablers to increasing the deployment of prescribed burns across private, state, and federal lands. In my third study, I consider the factors that influence participation in a state-recommended, though not mandatory, program designed to reduce wildfire risk through property protection ordinances in local jurisdictions. In sum, the empirical findings of this dissertation contribute to better decision-making for climate change adaptation and disaster resilience policies and practices

Advisor: Cain Bruce E. 
Field Christopher B.
Mach Katharine J.
Ortolano Leonard
Winged insects and insect wings : geological, ecological, and functional context

There is little doubt that insects---particularly winged insects---represent a uniquely successful evolutionary radiation. Nor is there much doubt that wings were a key innovation that facilitated this diversification. In light of this, it is surprising just how few studies have examined how transformative insect wings really were when they first originated just below the Mississippian/Pennsylvanian boundary. Chapter One of my dissertation examines the influence of atmospheric oxygen on the origin of insect wings. Chapter Two examines the feeding ecology of winged insects throughout deep time, focusing on the diversity of insect damage types on fossilized leaves. Chapter Three examines insect wings themselves: how they function, and what the underlying selective pressures may be

Keywords: Geological Sciences.
Advisor: Boyce C. Kevin
Payne Jonathan L.
Leslie Andrew (Andrew B.)
Wiping out Black and Evil Forces - Understanding China’s campaign to combat criminal syndicates

This thesis examines China’s campaign, Wiping out Black and Evil Forces (扫黑除恶,
hereafter WBEF) to analyze its relationship with the long-existing Anti-Corruption campaign. First, WBEF was launched for both preemptive and preventive reasons. Second, because of WBEF’s bottom-up strategy design and rhetorical ambiguity, WBEF can capture lower-level officials and law enforcement personnel who eluded the net of the Anti-Corruption campaign. Third, local officials and the police both play dual roles as regulators and perpetrators, which undermine campaign legitimacy and efficacy. Based on 239 cases from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China, the thesis elucidates the number of WBEF members indicted per court case, their misconducts, and social backgrounds. The thesis explores the implementation process by analyzing the operational structure of the campaign, which involves the police and the WBEF leadership teams at each level of administration. Lastly, the thesis makes the observation that Beijing’s campaign design is either extremely centralized or overly local. The former results in insufficient coverage at lower-level localities, whereas the latter leads to opaqueness in local operations.

Keywords:  Stanford Global Studies
Stanford Global Studies
East Asian Studies
Campaign
Propaganda
Saohei
Criminal Syndicate
Anti-Corruption Campaign
Thesis
Advisor: Oi Jean
With Many Faces: Vladimir Putin as Literary Character

In this paper, Jasmine Alexander-Greene examines works of fiction from around the world in which Russian president Vladimir Putin appears as a protagonist, secondary character, or significant cameo. Rather than a uniform approach to Putin, Alexander-Greene finds significant variation not only in how Putin is represented but also the works' origins, perspectives, and literary approaches. Together, they underscore the paradox between the fantasy of control, tied to the figure of the Russian leader, and the more chaotic reality. (Master's thesis)

Keywords: Postmodernism (Literature)
Russia (Federation)
Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1952-
Russian fiction
Historical fiction
Stanford Global Studies, Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
Text
Thesis