Visual processing often requires the coordination of different neurophysiological regions in the visual system to independently represent and then re-integrate the different features of an object to gain an accurate and coherent representation of that object. Yet, under certain circumstances, this process can go awry and result in illusory misbindings,...
The basal ganglia operate largely in closed parallel loops, including an associative circuit for goal-directed behavior originating from the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and a somatosensory circuit important for habit formation originating from the dorsolateral striatum (DLS). An exception to this parallel circuit organization was proposed to explain how information is...
This dissertation consists of three chapters on theoretical and empirical industrial organization. The first chapter highlights a previously unnoticed property of commonlyused discrete choice models, which is that they feature parallel demand curves. The second chapter studies how a behavioral consumer preference with “price reference effect” can overturn the standard...
This dissertation is a collection of three studies on topics in economic history and labor economics, in the United States. In the first chapter, I investigate the relationship between temporary paternal absence and long-term labor market outcomes. Specifically, I exploit the natural experiment of fathers’ WWII conscription, combined with longitudinal...
Simple sensorimotor tasks, such as lifting a cup or balancing a tray, requires not only controlled motor output, but also the ability to accurately perceive sensory information. After a hemiparetic stroke, individuals often experience sensory deficits in addition to motor impairments. However, research on the extent of changes in sensory...
As more thermoelectric materials/devices make it into the market for various applications, severalaspects need to be explored and optimized, beyond simply targeting high conversion efficiency at
the material levels. One critical aspect is the guarantee of mechanical stability at both the material
and the device level, which demands deeper understanding...
The potential association between Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the incidence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been a part of academic discourse for three decades. By considering the mixed reports on the association between FGM and HIV so far, this dissertation contributes to the current state of research by...
This dissertation considers how women’s spectatorship—how women are imagined as viewing subjects, and what are defined as feminine ways of watching—is transformed by digital technologies, and what it reveals about the shifting nature of privacy and visibility. It maps the contours of our current configuration of gendered looking relations by...
Machine learning is seeping into every fabric in various practical domains such as autonomous driving, wearable computing, and smart buildings. However, in the actual development and integration, especially when the learning-based components are frequently included as components of large complex systems where the physical instances can be included as interactable...
As polymer science has advanced as a field, so too have the uses for polymeric materials. We encounter polymers and plastics on a daily basis, and while their presence has greatly improved our quality of life, they have also had a profound and often negative impact on our environment. Plastic...