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Examining the Effects of the Other-race Effect on Conscious and Unconscious Deception Detection Using Online Testing Methods
No full textEveryday, people interact with other people. Whether it is face to face or online, people interact
and make judgements about the quality and veracity of those conversations. Despite this,
previous research has found that people are only about 54% accurate when detecting deception –
just slightly better than a coin flip. This research aims to further understand the mechanisms
behind deception detection as well as the cross-cultural elements and thought processing that
influences deception detection. In this study, I ran a cross-cultural research study looking at how
participants evaluate the veracity of videos of people in their own and other culture lying and
telling the truth. Overall, I found that Caucasian individuals were more accurate at detecting
deception than East Asian individuals. In addition, I found that while Caucasian individuals did
not show an own or other race bias when detecting deception, East Asian individuals were more
likely to characterize those of their own race as being honest and those of the other race as being
dishonest
Essays on Electric Vehicles Ecosystem Development
No full textThis dissertation consists of three essays which study government subsidies, manufacturer
decisions, and innovative business models motivated by problems in electric vehicle and other
green product markets.
In Chapter 2, we investigate the optimal consumer and station subsidies to promote electric
vehicles by modeling the interactions between the government and the charging supplier.
We formally show that the charging inconvenience is decreasing convex with the number
of stations. In the expenditure minimization case, the optimal policy depends on the government adoption target and the charging station construction cost. We establish that
expenditure minimization and adoption maximization yield the same subsidy policy if the
charging inconvenience is linear. We also conduct a numerical study with real-life fueling
data in Beijing, compute the optimal decisions and obtain the magnitude of subsidies and
show their consistency with the analytical results.
In Chapter 3, we develop two-period game-theoretical models between the government and
the green product manufacturer(s) to study their optimal decisions in the context of subsidy
termination. We also incorporate learning effect as green products are usually costly and
present ample opportunities for cost reduction. Under subsidy termination, we find that
the manufacturer would adopt a sandwiched pricing strategy and the government prefers
no-advance sales termination mechanism which leads to lower subsidy expenditure. We
further show that competition acts as a substitute for the subsidy, and thus the government
can provide a lower consumer subsidy as the green product market matures to become
competitive. Interestingly, the cooperation through group learning may outperform the
competition between manufacturers. Our study illustrates these interesting ways subsidy,
learning and competition interact with each other, which provide important managerial
insights as well as practical suggestions to different players.
In Chapter 4, we study a flexible electric vehicle battery lease program where customers lease
batteries of their chosen capacities with the option to temporarily up/downgrade to batteries
of different capacities during a peak period. Adopting a game-theoretical model, we find that
the manufacturer may depend on acquiring additional batteries or reallocating customers’
batteries to satisfy the peak up/downgrade demands, and that flexible battery leasing can
lead to win-win outcomes (increased manufacturer profit and reduced customer total cost)
compared with simple battery leasing. The results are found to be robust for different levels
of customer sophistication, noncommittal battery acquisition, and correlated regular and
peak needs for range. These findings inform electric vehicle manufacturers adopting the
innovative business model and highlight the value of flexible battery leasing
Molecular Basis for Chaperone Control of Rtt109 Acetylation of Histone H3-H4
No full textAcetylation is one of many protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) that frequently occurs
in the cell. One type of acetylation is when the acetyl group from acetyl-coenzyme A (Ac-CoA) is
transferred onto the ε-amino group of lysine sidechains. Histones are highly basic proteins that
associate with genomic DNA and compact it into chromatin in the nucleus of the cell. They are
often accompanied by a group of histone-binding proteins called histone chaperones in events such
as nucleosome assembly/disassembly, histone transport and nuclear import. Being rich in lysine
content, histones are frequently acetylated and therefore influence chromatin structure. Enzymes
that carry out histone acetylation are termed histone acetyltransferases (HATs). Rtt109 is one such
HAT that is found in fungal species, and requires association with histone chaperones to efficiently
acetylate histones. Vps75 and Asf1 are the two known histone chaperones that when bound to
Rtt109, enhance its enzymatic activity significantly. They also play a role determining Rtt109
selectivity and specificity towards different lysine residues in histones H3-H4. Cells deleted for
Rtt109, Asf1 or both, are highly sensitive to genotoxic exposure; and it has been shown that Rtt109
acetylation of K56 is required for a cell to maintain its genomic integrity. This has made Rtt109
and its chaperone-containing complexes attractive anti-fungal therapeutic targets. The structure,
dynamics and function of Rtt109 complexes are the focus of this dissertation.
Utilizing comprehensive biophysical and biochemical analysis, we first investigate molecular
interactions between Vps75 and H3-H4. We report the stoichiometry of binding in multiple ionic
conditions and compare their interactions to a homologous complex containing Nap1. We identify
the interface between Vps75 and H3-H4, and reveal how specific structural elements are tailored
for Vps75 chaperoning activity with Rtt109. Next, we add Rtt109 to the Vps75-(H3-H4) complex
and extensively characterize complex homogeneity and absolute stoichiometry. We define a
detailed step-by-step Rtt109-Vps75 co-expression and purification protocol that maximizes yield
and purity. We show the stoichiometry of binding is 1:2, with a second Rtt109 binding only at high
concentration and readily replaced with H3-H4. We show that Rtt109-Vps75-(H3-H4) has a 1:2:1
unit that can self-associate to become a 2:4:2 complex through the H3-H3 contacts in a H3-H4
tetramer. Our large-scale reconstitution methods for various Rtt109 complexes paved the way for
acquiring high-resolution structures via crystallography or cryo-electron microscopy. It also
facilitated solution characterization via hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDXMS).
Finally, we added Asf1, the last binding partner to reconstitute the double-chaperone complex −
Rtt109-Vps75-(H3-H4)-Asf1. This allows for a comprehensive comparative HDX-MS experiment
to uncover the mechanism behind chaperone activation of Rtt109. We purified and reconstituted
eleven relevant protein complexes for analysis. We identify direct binding sites between each
member of the complex and compare them to existing structures, and show different conformations
upon addition of each chaperone. These results elucidate the acetylation mechanisms facilitated
by cross-talk between two histone chaperones Vps75 and Asf1
Cooperation Catalysts? The Impact of Intergovernmental Incentive Structures on Digital Public Service Provision in German Municipalities
No full textWhat is the impact of intergovernmental incentive structures on the degree of implementation of digital public services in German municipalities? I develop an original data set on
municipal digitalization progress in the state of Baden-W¨urttemberg along with key indicators of relations with the state government, as well as local demand and capacity. Findings
reveal initial evidence that discretionary transfers might have a small impact on local public sector digitalization, while joint state-municipal government partisan identity does not.
Additionally, social, geographic, and economic factors appear to play an important role in
determining the final level of digitalization. These findings both further the general understanding of the behavior of local decision makers in a multi-level government as well as
provide practical insights for politicians aiming to advance digitalization initiatives on the
municipal level. Future research should further investigate the concrete mechanisms behind
intergovernmental incentive structures’ impact, gain deeper insights into causal mechanisms
driving positive results, and assess the role of soft factors of administrative capacity
A Queer History of Dallas: the Formation, Development, and Integration of Big D’s LGBT Community, 1965-2005
No full textA Queer History of Dallas contributes to the historiography on LGBT communities by focusing
on a community for which very little history has been written. It shows how the organizations that
queer people in Dallas founded provided them with a sense of community. This organizational
history demonstrates that queer men and women in Dallas were adept at forming social, religious,
political and cultural organizations. In addition to being skilled at creating vital community-based
institutions, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) women and men proved effective at
modifying those organizations when it was necessary to do so. Since queer people in Dallas were
efficient at forming and maintaining community-based organizations, several of them endured for
decades. By 2005 these decades-long organizations included the Cathedral of Hope (CoH), Dallas
Gay and Lesbian Alliance (DGLA), and Turtle Creek Chorale (TCC). This dissertation not only
demonstrates how the organizations that LGBT people formed in Dallas brought together a
sizeable number of men and women linked by their group identity as queer people, but it also
shows how LGBT women and men carved out a geographic community for themselves in the
Dallas neighborhood of Oak Lawn. Queer men and women faced discrimination when they began
to move to the area in the early 1970s. Even though LGBT people experienced resistance to their
congregating in Oak Lawn, they continued to move to the neighborhood in large numbers. Since
so many queer people inhabited Oak Lawn, by 2000 its zip code contained the highest number of
same-sex households of any in the state of Texas. In addition, this project shows the important part
that religion played in Dallas’ queer community. Progressive ministers, both straight and gay,
played a vital role in helping form a visible LGBT community in Dallas. From the mid-1960s,
when four straight ministers joined the first gay social organization in Dallas called the Circle of
Friends (COF), to 2005 when the Reverend Dr. Jo Hudson was elected the first female pastor of
the CoH, religious leaders played a significant part in the life of Dallas’ queer community
Cortical Thickness and Age-associated Executive Function: Influence of Dopamine and Health & Lifestyle Factors
No full textThroughout history, many individuals have pondered what it means to age and what we can do to
improve not only our lifespan but also our healthspan. How we age is strongly linked to our
genetic makeup and is very sensitive to our environmental conditions. Regardless of our age
trajectory, what we observe is an overall decline of a multitude of cognitive processes along with
structural changes to the brain. Dopamine (DA) signaling is critical for optimal cognitive
performance as we age, especially in prefrontal-parietal networks and in fronto-striatal networks.
COMT Val 158Met (rs4680), a common polymorphism that affects DA D1 receptor dopamine
availability, influences enzymatic breakdown of DA, with COMT Val carriers having a 3- to 4-
fold reduction in synaptic DA compared to COMT Met carriers. Dopamine receptors and
postsynaptic availability are drastically reduced with aging, coupled with a loss of striatal and
extrastriatal D2 binding potential. The reduction in dopamine modulation with age negatively
influences various aspects of cognition, as performance ostensibly relies on DA pathways. DRD2
C957T (rs6277) impacts DA D2 receptor density and availability, with C homozygotes linked to
lower striatal DA availability and reduced executive functioning, but also high extrastriatal
binding potential. In a healthy lifespan sample of adults, the current studies aimed to showcase
the impact of DA on cortical thickness and executive function, coupled with demonstrating how
various physical, mental, and vascular health factors modify this association. Study 1 sought to
evaluate the cognitive consequences of longitudinal aging of brain structure, while addressing
the role of dopamine on these associations. We also investigated whether tests of executive
function demonstrated four-year longitudinal change, with the goal of assessing the role of
dopamine and cortical thinning on cognitive decline. Study 2 sought to investigate the complex
associations among mental and physical health variables as potential modifiers of cognitive and
structural brain aging in a cross-sectional sample, while also assessing how health and lifestyle
factors modify the links among dopamine, executive function, and cortical thickness. We
identified novel evidence that dopamine-dependent cortical thinning predicts performance on
tasks of executive function, helping to further elucidate mesocortical thickness as one
mechanism underlying the link between the genetically influenced propensity for D1 and D2
availability and cognitive performance across adulthood. Additionally, we demonstrated that
dopamine and age impact executive function through mesocortical thickness, while also
demonstrating that arterial stiffness, sleep quality, lifetime stress and trauma, and physical
activity, are all salient factors that modify both brain structure and cognitive performance. This
dissertation highlights the critical role of dopamine and health and lifestyle factors on both
structural and cognitive outcomes. Here, we show that aging of the brain and cognition is a
surprisingly heterogeneous process and is, in part, a product of our mental and physical health
The Politics of Making 3D Models and the Construction of Publics
No full textThe field of 3D model sharing platforms is a recently discovered space of knowledge production
that is equivalent to textual analysis (Sullivan et al., 301). An important attribute of this
knowledge production is that it is formed by a complex interdisciplinary network of individuals
from design, research, science, and history backgrounds. These networks, while built by the
unique purpose of individuals, are often influenced by the platforms they are supported in
meaning, 3D models are understood as the situated engagement of social, cultural, technical, and
political decisions made in the practices of making. In the coming chapters, I present various
examples and case studies to discuss ways that 3D model sharing platforms inform, shape, and
reinforce ideological and cultural narratives by framing 3D models as a source of knowledge.
In the first section of Chapter 2, with the case study of Smithsonian 3D, I argue ways of making
and displaying 3D models shape the construction of culture and history of publics situated in the
scientifically objectified and technologically sanitized modes of display and representation. In
the second section of Chapter 2, with the case study of the online article Reconstructing the
Neighborhood, I demonstrate a counter-cultural practice that de-prioritizes visuality and opens
the field for speculative inventiveness when understanding the tracing of pasts in making
historical reconstructions. In Chapter 3, with the case study of TurboSquid, I introduce
commercially-driven 3D model sharing platforms as spaces of economic and cultural capital
aiming to construct neoliberal professional publics by the authoritative and techno-centric
features of standardizing the making process of 3D models. Lastly, in Chapter 4, with the case
study of Tinkercad, I introduce distributed 3D model sharing platforms as spaces of “free labor,”
that inform the construction of maker publics with democratizing platform features while posing
issues of masculinity and fortification of boyhood. In this dissertation, I argue that one needs to
become personally aware and socially conscious of the socio-technical and ideological inner
workings of the platforms that construct, imply, and refine the construction of publics by their
given expectations or standards of engagement over the acts of making and sharing 3D models.
Some of the issues I will critique in the case studies are standardization of making, the precarity
of free labor, creative entrepreneurship, and issues of hegemonic masculinity. As a methodology,
I use media analysis and ideology critique to demonstrate, discuss, and claim the socio-technical
aspects of platforms. In doing so, I aim to bring forth 3D model sharing practices as an emerging
critical sight in digital humanities, new media studies, and critical media studies
Through a Gender Lens: Leadership and Charitable Giving in Faithbased Nonprofit Organizations
No full textThis dissertation uses a gender lens to examine the leadership and philanthropy practices in
nonprofit organizations. Despite being the majority of employees in the nonprofit sector, women
are underrepresented when it comes to leadership. Women face complex issues such as implicit
gender bias and stained-glass ceiling when navigating the leadership maze within organizations.
This dissertation explores the factors that influence the inclusion of females in leadership positions
in nonprofit organizations using a mixed-method approach. By using the conceptual frameworks
of the Critical Mass Theory and the Kaleidoscope Career Model, this dissertation attempts to
answer three related research questions. First, using the data acquired from GuideStar, I explore
how does the gender composition of staff, board, and the gender of the past CEO influences the
gender of the present CEO in faith-based nonprofit organizations. The findings show that there
exists a causal relationship between the gender composition of staff at senior managerial positions,
the gender of the former CEO, and the gender of the current CEO. Second, by adopting a
qualitative approach, this dissertation explores what gendered barriers are faced by women as
leaders within faith-based nonprofit organizations and to what extent religion impacts these
barriers. 23 female leaders within faith-based nonprofit organizations were interviewed using
open-ended questions. This methodology helped to explore the lived experiences of the female
leaders and devise their perspectives in their own words. Findings showed, in faith-based nonprofit
organizations, along with religious conservativeness, internalization of gender and cultural
stereotypes contribute to the challenges faced by women. And lastly, by conducting an online
survey experiment using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), I explore how charitable giving is
influenced by the gender similarity between the donor and the CEO. Results showed, female
donors are more likely to donate to female CEOs, and less likely to donate to male CEOs.
Similarly, male donors are less likely to donate to female CEOs. Results also showed, if the cause
is related to women issues, female donors are more likely to donate even if the CEO is of the
opposite gender. Female donors donate to a religious organization only if the CEO is a female.
The findings from this dissertation are expected to contribute to the existing research by adding
the impact of the gender of CEO on organizational practices such as leadership, philanthropy, and
career choices made by women in faith-based and the overall nonprofit sector
U.S. Income Volatility and Interstate Migration
No full textThis dissertation consists of three chapters. The first chapter explores how U.S. male income has
evolved, ranging from 1979 to 2017. The research aims to decompose the income into the
permanent component − the long-term average − and transitory component − the period-specific
deviation from the average − since the two have different implications in practice. After
constructing a pseudo panel using the Current Population Survey, we estimate the structure of
income volatility using an extended semiparametric model proposed by Moffitt & Zhang (2018).
The transitory variance fluctuated through the mid-1990s and declined until 2002. Since then, the
transitory variance increased through 2013 and almost recovered to the level in the mid-1990s.
Furthermore, we find a countercyclical pattern of gross volatility and transitory variance around
the Great Recession. Second, the next chapter studies the income convergence of U.S. states. The
decline of the U.S. income convergence rate across states has been widely accepted in the context
of -convergence or -convergence. The chapter revisits the question of income convergence by
applying a relative convergence test, which again demonstrates that U.S. regional incomes do not
converge. Alternatively, income convergence has formed among four subgroups ‒ called clubs ‒
within which states have specific characteristics in common. The ordered logit regression analysis
suggests that changes in labor demand and K-12 public school spending contribute to the formation
and composition of convergence clubs. Finally, the third chapter uses Monte Carlo simulations to
evaluate the efficacy of techniques used to estimate migration responses to redistributional taxes
across states or countries. After constructing a synthetic dataset that incorporates real-world
phenomena using Current Population Survey (CPS), the analysis imposes arbitrary migration
elasticity. We then attempt to uncover the true elasticity using logit and difference-and-difference
regressions, which are commonly applied in this literature. In the simple baseline scenario,
estimators perform well, uncovering the true elasticity. When incorporating frictions into the data,
however, both estimators are biased downward
Constraining Tidal Quality Factor in Low-mass Eclipsing Binaries Using Tidal Synchronization
No full textTides play a crucial role in shaping the evolution of the bodies in binary systems. With
the discovery of close-in hot Jupiter systems from exoplanet missions such as Kepler and
TESS, it has become imperative to understand the tidal effects, which can shed light on
their formation and observed orbital properties. Various models proposed in the literature
come with some inherent assumptions on the evolution of binary systems under the influence
of tides. The tidal dissipation in stars or planets is generally studied empirically using an
efficiency parameter, commonly known as the Tidal Quality Factor (Q∗). Throughout the
literature, significant inconsistencies exist in the constraints obtained on Q∗. In this thesis,
we aim to remove these inconsistencies by relaxing some of the assumptions previously made
and exploring the dependencies of Q∗ on stellar and orbital properties. We perform Monte
Carlo Markov Chain simulations to find tight constraints on Q∗ using the observed rotation
periods of primary star in eclipsing binary systems, selected from the Kepler Catalog