VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Inequality and discrimination in historical and modern labor markets [electronic resource]

This dissertation uses two disparate settings to investigate sources of racial and ethnic inequality in labor markets. In the first setting we study the effect of race on economic outcomes using unique data from the first half of the twentieth century, a period in which skin color was explicitly coded in population censuses as "White, " "Black, " or "Mulatto." We construct a panel of siblings by digitizing and matching records across the 1910 and 1940 censuses and identifying all 12,000 African-American families in which enumerators classified some children as light-skinned ("Mulatto") and others as dark-skinned ("Black"). Siblings coded "Mulatto" when they were children (in 1910) earned similar wages as adults (in 1940) relative to their Black siblings. This within-family earnings difference is substantially lower than the Black-Mulatto earnings difference in the general population, suggesting that skin color in itself played only a small role in the racial earnings gap. To explore the role of the more social aspect that might be associated with being Black, we then focus on individuals who "passed for White, " an important social phenomenon at the time. To do so, we identify individuals coded "Mulatto" as children but "White" as adults. Passing for White meant that individuals changed their racial affiliation by changing their social ties, while skin color remained unchanged. We compare passers to their siblings who did not pass. Passing was associated with substantially higher earnings, suggesting that race in its social form could have significant consequences for economic outcomes. The second setting is an online employer-freelancer matching platform freelancer.com. I study the effect of a freelancer's country-of-origin on the employer's decision of whether to hire them. Having to rely on a relatively small number of characteristics, employers use the freelancer's country of origin and reputation scores to infer the expected service quality. I find that freelancers from developing countries are less likely to be hired when they have no individual reputation, and as individual reputation becomes better this country effect disappears. This setting also allows me to study how employers' experience in past hires affects their behavior in current hires. I show that following a good match with a freelancer, employers are more likely to hire freelancers from the good match's country. I discuss how these findings contributes to our understanding of matching, learning, and discrimination in online settings.

Keywords: Economics.
Advisor: Abramitzky Ran primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Einav Liran advisor. Thesis advisor
Greif Avner
Wright Gavin
Inferring protein structure and dynamics from simulation and experiment [electronic resource]

An atomic-scale understanding of biological molecules remains a grand challenge for the physical and biological sciences. Here, I describe how molecular dynamics simulations can be used to directly connect to biophysical experiments. I first describe the use of Markov state models to connect simulated and measured protein kinetics, allowing studies of protein folding at the atomic scale. I then introduce the use of NMR measurements, such as chemical shifts and scalar couplings, for the evaluation of molecular dynamics force field quality. Finally, I propose a new statistical technique that can be used to combine both simulation and experiment into accurate models of conformational ensembles. Such models are shown to be free of force field bias and can be used to investigate the structural and equilibrium properties of biomolecules. In sum, the present work demonstrates how statistically-sound methods of inference can forge a direct connection between simulation and experiment.

Keywords: Biophysics.
Advisor: Das Rhiju
Pande Vijay primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Harbury Pehr advisor. Thesis advisor
Martinez Todd J. (Todd Joseph)
Inhibitory projection neurons in olfactory information processing [electronic resource]

Inhibition occurs throughout the nervous system and impacts diverse neuronal processes. In this dissertation, I focus on an inhibitory circuit motif in the Drosophila olfactory system, parallel inhibition, which differs from the classical feed-forward or feedback inhibition. The Drosophila excitatory and GABAergic inhibitory projection neurons (ePNs and iPNs) each receive input from antennal lobe glomeruli and send parallel output to the lateral horn, a higher-order brain center implicated in regulating innate olfactory behavior. By incorporating in vivo two-photon calcium imaging, advanced fly genetics and optogenetic methods to manipulate and record neuronal activity, we find that iPNs selectively suppress food-related odorant responses but spare signals from pheromone channel stimulation when using specific lateral horn neurons as an olfactory readout. Co-applying food odorant does not affect pheromone signal transmission, suggesting that the differential effects likely result from connection specificity of iPNs, rather than a generalized inhibitory tone. Calcium responses in the ePN axon terminals show no detectable suppression by iPNs, arguing against presynaptic inhibition as a primary mechanism. The parallel inhibition motif may provide specificity in inhibition to funnel specific olfactory information, such as food and pheromone, into distinct downstream circuits.

Keywords: Applied Physics.
Advisor: Luo Liqun
Schnitzer Mark Jacob
Deisseroth Karl advisor. Thesis advisor
Innate immune control of liver regeneration [electronic resource]

Eosinophil-derived IL-4 stimulates hepatocyte proliferation to promote liver regeneration Abstract It has been proposed that allergic immune responses, like those mediated by type 2 immunity, evolved to protect the host from damage caused by environmental challenges, including toxins, xenobiotics, and helminth infections (1, 2). Despite some support for this hypothesis (3, 4), the underlying mechanisms by which type 2 innate responses orchestrate the regeneration of injured tissues remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate a requirement for type 2 innate immunity in regeneration of liver after partial hepatectomy and toxin-mediated injury. Injury to liver results in rapid recruitment of eosinophils, which secrete IL-4 to promote the proliferation of quiescent hepatocytes. Surprisingly, signaling via the IL-4R[alpha] in macrophages, which have been implicated in tissue repair (3-5), is dispensable for hepatocyte proliferation and liver regrowth after injury. Instead, IL-4 exerts its mitogenic actions by directly activating IL-4R[alpha] in hepatocytes. Our findings have thus uncovered an unexpected mechanism by which allergic type 2 innate immunity stimulates hepatocyte proliferation to promote liver regeneration.

Advisor: Steinman Lawrence primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Chawla Ajay advisor. Thesis advisor
Galli Stephen J. advisor. Thesis advisor
Martinez Olivia
Innate immune regulation of metabolic physiology & inflammatory rhythm [electronic resource]

Monophagocytes are a frontline defense against anything that should not be present in the body. Being highly mobile, they infiltrate almost every tissue to consume and dispose of material that might be damaging. To fight pathogens, monocytes and macrophages are transformed into pro-inflammatory machines that secrete catecholamines. However, monocytes and macrophages also exist in alternatively activated, anti-inflammatory forms that have a wide range of physiological roles. Unlike classically activated cells, which exhibit high pro-inflammatory potential, alternatively activated monocytes and macrophages (which are promoted by the TH2-type cytokines IL-4 and IL-13) are less pro-inflammatory and have distinct secretory and functional capacities. The inherent functional plasticity as well as the omnipresence of monocytes and macrophages in all tissues enables them to sense environmental changes. My dissertation will highlight two physiological settings in which, monocytes and macrophages, act as the sensors of perturbations in the environment to activate distinct physiological programs. The first part of my dissertation will discuss the role of adipose tissue alternatively activated macrophages in sensing changes in environmental temperature and its subsequent involvement in the maintenance of body temperature. The second part of my dissertation will provide evidences to show that inflammatory monocytes can sense change in the daily light dark cycle via their interaction with the circadian clock system to generate diurnal oscillation in monocyte-mediated inflammation.

Advisor: Chawla Ajay primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Steinman Lawrence primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Engleman Edgar G. advisor. Thesis advisor
Mellins Elizabeth advisor. Thesis advisor
Insights into NF-[kappa] B signaling from single-cell dynamics [electronic resource]

The mammalian immune response is a striking example of many cells working in concert to produce a coherent, complex behavior. The first steps in the immune response are orchestrated by the innate immune system, and one particularly important protein is the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-[kappa] B. To better characterize the signaling events of innate immunity at the level at which they start, we have developed a platform to monitor the dynamics of NF-[kappa] B signaling in live, individual cells. This thesis presents three studies that use live-cell imaging, quantitative analysis, and computational modeling to reveal novel insights into how the NF-[kappa] B network functions. In the first study, we investigate how single mammalian cells respond to different concentrations of the signaling molecule tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and how they relay information to the gene expression programs by means of NF-[kappa] B. We find, in contrast to population-level studies, that the activation is heterogeneous and is a digital process at the single-cell level. Next, we focus on lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a molecule found in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria that strongly activates NF-[kappa] B. We find that different sources and preparations of LPS induce markedly different dynamics of NF-[kappa] B. Finally, studies of signal transduction often focus on how responses to stimuli differ, and yet the network's most essential dynamic features are probably invariant across stimuli. To identify invariant dynamic features in the NF-[kappa] B network, we treated cells with a broad panel of stimuli. Most properties of the dynamics varied with stimulus type or concentration, but one property had an invariant distribution: the period of NF-[kappa] B's oscillations between cytoplasm and nucleus. Contrary to existing theory of NF-[kappa] B dynamics, this invariance is only observed in the population; individual cells vary significantly. Overall, this work underscores the dynamic nature of biological systems, and highlights how quantitative measurements in single cells can advance our understanding of such systems.

Keywords: Bioengineering.
Advisor: Covert Markus primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Lin Y. K. (Yu-Kweng)
Quake Stephen Ronald advisor. Thesis advisor
Institutional change and entrepreneurship [electronic resource]

This dissertation examines the role that changes to the institutional environment play in the life cycle and performance of new ventures. I do so by taking advantage of three natural experiments that relate to key events in the life of a venture: founding, success, and failure. The first study, examines lowering the "barriers to success" of IPO reform. Then, the second study focuses on the "barriers to failure" with an examination of bankruptcy law reform. Finally, the third study analyzes the effects of changes to "barriers to entry" caused by a reduction of the capital requirements for founding a firm. Each study uses the empirical context of Japan in an era of reform. By developing new institutional theory constructs, I demonstrate that changes to the institutional environment have important effects on the types of firms that form, the individuals who start firms, and on new venture performance. In particular, the studies demonstrate important effects such that institutional changes that make success easier can have a negative effect on new firm performance but changes that ease bankruptcy can improve new venture performance. In addition, changes that lower the cost of starting a venture are resisted by technology firms and new firms with novel founders, but adopted by new firms in other industries. Importantly, the studies indicate that institutional changes have a heterogeneous effect on different types of individuals with important performance consequences. Thus, this work has implications for scholars and policymakers by demonstrating that policies for entrepreneurship should give more import to the quality rather than the quantity of entrepreneurs, to social mechanisms such as conformity and legitimacy that go beyond economic incentives, and to the second order effects of reforms not just their direct effects.

Keywords: Management Science and Engineering.
Advisor: Eesley Charles primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Eisenhardt Kathleen M. primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Powell Walter W. advisor. Thesis advisor
Weyant John P. (John Peter) advisor. Thesis advisor
Ye Yinyu advisor. Thesis advisor
Instruments of religion and empire [electronic resource] : Spanish science in the age of the Jesuits, 1628-1756

Dissertation Abstract This dissertation explores the role of Jesuit mathematicians in the seventeenth century Spanish Monarchy through a series of case studies. From 1625 to 1750, the Society of Jesus acted as the primary source of mathematical pedagogy in the Spanish Monarchy through its network of missions and schools in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Jesuit teachers in Spain taught cosmography, navigation and military engineering to Spanish military and naval officers, while Jesuit missionaries led expeditions and established missions in the frontier areas of Spanish America. The title of this dissertation, "Instruments of Religion and Empire" refers to the dual role that the Jesuits played in the Spanish Monarchy during this period. This dissertation links scientific actors in the Spanish Monarchy to trends and ideas circulating elsewhere in Europe, therby undermining the idea that Spain was an intellectually isolated backwater. Additionally, it demonstrates the continuities between Jesuit mathematicians and missionaries and the subsequent Spanish Enlightenment.

Keywords: History.
Advisor: Findlen Paula primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Bleichmar Daniela
Frank Zephyr L.
Riskin Jessica advisor. Thesis advisor
Integration and deployment of thick film piezoelectric actuators/sensors on organic stretch[a]ble substrates [electronic resource]

Ultrasonic sensing systems are widely used in various applications including inspection for structural safety and material characterization. Networks of micro scale ultrasonic actuators and sensors that could be deployed and integrated into structures conforming to complex shapes could potentially revolutionize how inspections are performed. Such systems could be used to interrogate the state of the host structure on demand and in real time. These systems could also enable a new class of multi-functional materials for various new applications, such as high performance flight of unmanned aerial vehicles or tactile sensing in prosthetic devices. This thesis presents a method to integrate networks of screen printed piezoceramic actuators/sensors with organic substrates enabling the networks to be stretched and deployed over areas an order of magnitude greater than the original coverage area and conform to complex shapes. This work required integration of screen printing with non-standard MEMS and C-MOS fabrication techniques to create complete systems consisting of screen printed piezoceramics, micro-scale wires, electrodes, spin coated organic films, etc. Many limitations were overcome in the process. For example, screen printed piezoceramics require high temperature processing, on the order of 1000 °C, and are attached to the substrates they are printed upon. This prevents direct fabrication of piezoceramics on organic substrates or transfer from a temporary substrate. The method presented here overcame these limitations by creating and processing the piezoelectric devices with electrodes and wiring on a high temperature substrate. Then, in a reversal of typical fabrication methods, the target organic substrate was deposited onto the piezoelectric devices. Finally, multiple layers were used to protect the system while the high temperature substrate was etched off, releasing the complete network of piezoceramics and wiring onto an organic film. This process also enabled the micro-fabrication of multiple layers of independent sensor systems on opposite sides of the same organic film. Prototypes of the devices were fabricated and tested to verify the functionality of the network both on contiguous organic films and on stretched networks covering large areas. The capabilities demonstrated in this work provide a foundation that can be adapted to create and deploy other ultrasonic devices, MEMS, and sensor systems on organic stretchable networks.

Keywords: Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Advisor: Chang Fu-Kuo primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Christensen R. M. (Richard M.) advisor. Thesis advisor
Senesky Debbie advisor. Thesis advisor
Springer George S. advisor. Thesis advisor
Integration of life cycle assessment and conceptual building design [electronic resource]

Conceptual building design involves decisions that have significant life cycle environmental impact and life cycle cost implications. Designers are aware of the importance of creating sustainable buildings, yet mechanisms are lacking that effectively inform designers of the impacts of design decisions, specifically during the conceptual phase. A method is proposed that provides life cycle impact feedback to designers during the conceptual design phase in a way that better enables designers to make decisions leading to less carbon intensive and less costly buildings. Critical to the method is the development of a set of heuristics requiring very few inputs. These heuristics calculate life cycle impacts for many building design alternatives using an automated approach, thereby allowing designers to understand the full range of impacts possible for a given problem formulation. The method is configured to provide feedback specifically for design decisions made sequentially, as is typical of the building design process. In this way, designers understand the life cycle impact implications of each decision and can easily modify decisions in a way that better aligns with their desired performance objectives. The proposed method's primary contributions to knowledge are the reduction of inputs required for life cycle assessment during the conceptual building design stage to only three inputs, the formalization of heuristics corresponding to the three inputs that approximate the life cycle impact of conceptual design decisions, the integration of heuristics with automation in a way that allows for rapid exploration of the full design space, and the sequential presentation of life cycle environmental impact and life cycle cost feedback on conceptual building design decisions.

Advisor: Lepech Michael primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Fischer Martin
Noble Douglas
Interaction via limited feedback and coding [electronic resource]

The integration of communication and control in modern networked systems calls for study of the connection between the two fields. In this thesis, we investigate two aspects of this connection: the use of feedback in communication systems and the notion of coding in decentralized control. While feedback is an essential part of most control systems, the use of feedback in communication systems is poorly understood; in theory the study of feedback is mostly limited to channels with ideal feedback, and in practice feedback is limited to sending channel state information or a few bits for acknowledgments. We will show how sending more feedback bits drastically reduces the error probability of a point-to-point communication system. Given an AWGN channel with rate-limited feedback, we show that the error exponent can jump from a finite value, in the absence of feedback, to infinity if and only if the feedback rate is not less than the data rate. Coding is an integral part of most communication systems. However, little is understood about the role of coding in decentralized control. We present a class of networked decision problems where agents use a simple coding mechanism to reach an optimal collective decision. The agent with the most information embeds its coded information in its action that is observed by other agents. This communication via action helps other agents improve their individual decisions and leads to an optimal total cost. We conclude the thesis by arguing that feedback and coding play key roles in networked systems as they enable interactive decision-making among agents. Such interaction allows agents (controllers, sensors, actuators, communicators) to optimally adapt to fundamental network/device/environmental limitations such as loss, delay and constrained energy.

Keywords: Electrical Engineering.
Advisor: Goldsmith Andrea
Weissman Tsachy primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Lall Sanjay advisor. Thesis advisor
Interactions and high dimensional data [electronic resource]

To date, testing interactions in high dimensions has been a challenging task. In this manuscript we attack the problem of estimating and testing marginal interactions for binary response in high dimensions. We give a simple approach to testing using permutations that we show to be more robust, more parsimonious, and more powerful than existing alternatives. We also give a framework for classification that we show, in some cases, can significantly outperform more classical methods.

Keywords: Statistics.
Advisor: Tibshirani Robert primary advisor. Thesis advisor
Efron Bradley advisor. Thesis advisor
Friedman J. H. (Jerome H.) primary advisor
Olshen Richard A.