Participation, Power and Preferences in International Development

Grillos, Tara Harvard University ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

Participatory development is widely touted as the remedy for ineffective and disempowering top-down development models of the past. However, participation can take many different forms, so an important open question for effective delivery of development assistance is: Which forms of participation influence which development outcomes under which circumstances? In this dissertation, I identify six key areas of research related to participatory development: the initial adoption of a participatory institution, the decision by individuals to participate or not, the direct outcomes of the participatory process, the effects on participants themselves, changes in the process over time, and carefully selected comparisons across contexts. I then make specific contributions to three of these areas through empirical research. The first essay, Popular Participation, Reciprocity Norms and Conservation Incentives in Bolivia, examines the decision to participate. In it, I compare the characteristics of participants and non-participants in a compensation program for environmental conservation in Bolivia, and I show that in addition to material incentives, social embeddedness plays a role in motivating participation. The second essay, Poverty Targeting and Elite Capture in Participatory Planning in Indonesia, addresses the direct outcomes of participation. In it, I examine the geographical distribution of the outcomes of a participatory planning process in Indonesia, and I show that the benefits are captured most by the least poor areas, but that this occurs in ways distinct from how capture is typically conceived. The third essay, Gender Inequality and the Multi-Dimensionality of Power in Northern Kenya, addresses the effects of participation on the empowerment of participants themselves. In it, I assess the impact on women's empowerment of a program meant to enhance women's political participation in northern Kenya, and I find that while the program largely fails to promote political participation, it has an impact on women's empowerment within the household, very likely due to a component of the program which engaged directly with men. Overarching themes that emerge across these studies include (1) the importance of increased conceptual clarity not only with respect to the various forms that participation can take and the various goals it can be invoked to seek, but also regarding various hypothesized effects of and motivations for participation, (2) the potential relevance of the implementing agency and its relationship with pre-existing, overlapping social institutions, and (3) the usefulness of engaging with literature on psychology and behavioral economics. Understudied areas for future research include the evolution over time of a particular participatory process and more systematic comparisons of participatory processes across settings.

Implementing learner-centered education: A case study of Arizona State University

Grillos, Paul A Arizona State University 2007 해외박사(DDOD)

This study examined the effectiveness of learner-centered education (LCE), through a case study analysis of LCE implementation at Arizona State University (ASU). In contrast to traditional teaching-centered approaches, LCE places greater emphasis upon students, prompting them to participate actively in learning activities and to share responsibility for their progress. Under the purview of the Arizona Board of Regents Tri-University LCE grant (2005-06 funding cycle), I developed four questions to guide this research: (1) what are the potential advantages and disadvantages of an LCE-mediated environment; (2) to what extent can faculty meet their intended learning outcomes utilizing LCE methodologies; (3) how do the experiences of students and faculty operating within an LCE framework differ by academic discipline; and (4) by what channels, formal or otherwise, is LCE advocated at departmental, college, and university-wide levels. Study participants derived from individuals who partook in the 2005-06 Tri-University LCE grant, in addition to participants of an earlier funding cycle. Regarding the former, I selected instructors from ASU who taught a spring 2006 course using LCE methods, along with students enrolled in these courses. Data collection occurred through semi-structured interviews with instructors and students, classroom observations, and document analysis. Additionally, I interviewed ASU instructors from the 2004-05 Tri-University LCE funding cycle. Data revealed that LCE has the potential to enhance student attainment of learning outcomes. Indeed, within the context of this relationship between LCE and learning goals, instructors discussed numerous advantages the approach has to offer, including enhanced student involvement, increased motivation and efficacy, and greater accountability on the part of students to achieve learning outcomes, among others. Student commentary, in addition to my own classroom observations and document analysis, likewise reaffirmed such advantages. Despite these benefits, not all instructors utilized LCE techniques equally, suggesting individual and/or disciplinary differences in the adoption of the approach. Of even greater concern, particularly within a research-based institution such as ASU, is the tenure system, which appears to threaten the widespread implementation of LCE. The challenge, therefore, is to promote LCE to make it appealing and practical to a wide range of audiences (faculty and administrators alike), thereby ensuring its successful adoption.

Essays on strategic information transmission

Grillo, Edoardo Princeton University 2012 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation analyzes strategic information transmission between informed and uninformed economic agents. Chapter 1 overviews the contents of the dissertation. Chapter 2 and chapter 3 analyze strategic communication under the assumption that the uninformed party has reference-dependent preferences and is loss averse a la Koszegi and Rabin. In particular, chapter 2 studies the link between reference dependence, loss aversion and credible communication in an environment where an uninformed agent (B) has to decide whether to participate or not in a risky project, whose probability of success is known to an informed agent (A) only. We show that reference dependence and loss aversion may give rise to credible information transmission. This happens because inaccurate information has two effects: it leads B to choose the action A prefers in the short run, but it also generates unrealistic expectations that, modifying his reference point, may induce B to take actions in the long run that hurt A. This phenomenon is not possible in a model where B is an expected utility maximizer. In Chapter 3, we use a similar insight to analyze a model of electoral competition in which two parties compete to get the support of a mass of voters. Each party is represented by a politician whose valence is unobservable and can take one of two values: high or low. All voters prefer politicians with high valence, but ideological biases may lead them to vote according to party affiliation. Candidates can make statements concerning their valence; however, if voters are expected utility maximizers, politicians' statements lack any credibility and no information transmission takes place. By introducing reference dependence and loss aversion, information transmission becomes possible. This happens because reference dependence introduces an implicit cost of lying: lies may raise voters' expectations about the candidates' valence and, if detected, may lead them to vote against ideological biases in order to avoid the psychological loss associated with supporting a candidate worse than expected. In this context, we show that the set of parameters under which the fully informative equilibrium exists expands with increases in loss aversion. In chapter 4 we consider a mechanism design problem and we characterize the extent to which an uninformed agent can use hard evidence to induce informed agents to truthfully reveal their, possibly exclusive, information. More precisely, we study the problem of full implementation in Bayes-Nash equilibrium in environments with incomplete information and hard evidence. We provide a full characterization of the set of implementable social choice functions in economic environments with at least 3 agents, while, in general environments with at least 3 agents, we provide separate necessary and sufficient conditions.

MODULAR ICONOGRAPHY IN MULTIPLE SYNTAXES : A TOOL FOR EXEGESIS IN ITALIAN MEDIEVAL ART (ICONOGRAPHY)

GRILLO, MICHAEL HENRY Cornell University 1991 해외박사

The role of sensory feedback on the coordination dynamics of a limb and a voice task

Grillo, Elizabeth Urban University of Pittsburgh 2006 해외박사(DDOD)

Although it is generally acknowledged that sensory feedback is required to fine tune movement patterns, its role in coordinative dynamics has received less attention. Experiment 1 investigated the role of visual and auditory feedback on 0° and 180° relative phase patterns at increasing frequency of oscillation for a bimanual limb task. The dependent variables were mean error of relative phase and standard deviation of relative phase. Results indicated that the visual and auditory feedback conditions did not influence the accuracy and the variability in performance of the 2 relative phase patterns, whereas increasing frequency influenced the performance of the 180° relative phase pattern, but not the 0° relative phase pattern. Experiment 2 investigated the role of auditory feedback on breathy, normal, and pressed voice qualities at increasing fundamental frequency for a voice coordination task. The dependent variables were mean of laryngeal resistance (cmH2O/l/s) and standard deviation of laryngeal resistance (cmH2O/l/s). Results indicated that the masked auditory feedback condition significantly increased variability in performance across all 3 voice qualities and specifically, the masked auditory feedback condition facilitated significantly higher mean laryngeal resistance values for the pressed voice quality but not for the breathy and the normal voice qualities. As a potential explanation of the current findings in Experiment 1, it is hypothesized that the bimanual coordination task did not rely on visual and auditory feedback because the task was governed by proprioceptive feedback, which was not controlled in the present study. For Experiment 2, sensory feedback may be relevant for voice patterns that have a shallow basin of attraction (i.e., pressed voice), but irrelevant for voice patterns that have a steep basin of attraction (i.e., breathy and normal voice). Perhaps the breathy and normal voice qualities were governed by voice coordination dynamics, while the pressed voice quality was partly influenced by auditory feedback connections. In addition, level of expertise may also play a role in the coordination dynamics of a voice task. The influence of auditory feedback on voice coordination dynamics suggests an expanded view of dynamic systems theory and supports the role of auditory feedback in vocal rehabilitation.

Mechanisms of adaptation in Oryza and Arabidopsis

Grillo, Michael A Michigan State University 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

Here I present a dissertation aimed at understanding the mechanisms of adaptation in two wild rice species and locally adapted populations of Arabidopsis thaliana. First, I assess the genetic architecture of adaptation in the wild progenitors of cultivated rice, by identifying QTL for a number of putative adaptive traits. Through this work flowering time was revealed as a key adaptation for habitat preference between these species. In the next chapter I attempt to elucidate the genetic basis of a major flowering time QTL through fine mapping. I continue my examination of flowering time genetics by examining the genetic basis of flowering time differentiation between locally adapted populations of Arabidopsis thaliana. Finally, I conduct a thorough study of comparative floral biology to identify key traits that control mating system divergence between the wild rice relatives. This work sets the stage for future efforts to understand the genetic basis of mating system evolution.

Exploring the relationship of playfulness, perceptions of daily hassles, and life satisfaction among college students

Grillo, Peter J., Jr New York University 2007 해외박사(DDOD)

This paper began to investigate potential relationships among playfulness, perception of daily hassles, and life satisfaction in a population of college students. Additionally, the variables of gender, nationality, full-time or part-time student status, and grade point average were considered in relative to the key variable of playfulness. Correlation analyses found a weak positive correlation between playfulness and life satisfaction as well as weak negative correlations between perception of daily hassles and playfulness, and perception of daily hassles and life satisfaction. No correlation was demonstrated among playfulness and the secondary variables gender, nationality, full-time or part-time student status, or grade point average. Regression analyses demonstrated that playfulness and life satisfaction were significantly predictive of each other, but perception of daily hassles, gender, nationality, full-time or part-time student status, or grade point average were not found to be significantly predictive. One sub-group in this study, student-athletes were noted to be more homogenous than any other sub-group. This study contends that the trait of playfulness in adults, while not yet typically considered in serious scientific inquiry, is a valuable source of information concerning adults and worthy of more diligent study especially in relation to life satisfaction.

Ideology and community in Caesar's "Bellum Civile"

Grillo, Luca Princeton University 2008 해외박사(DDOD)

Recent scholarship consistently considered Caesar's Bellum Civile (BC) an unfinished work or propaganda, unworthy of being called "literature." This dissertation, "Ideology and Community in Caesar's Bellum Civile," reassesses its literary value and significance in the context of the late Republic. Starting from a close reading of passages where charged vocabulary occurs, I examine the narrative strategies that Caesar deploys to present a seemingly objective reconstruction of the civil war and yet rewrite a partisan version of history according to his interests. Caesar's pure style engages the readers, creates a work of high literature and promotes a unitary ideology: Caesar represents the Roman state and Pompey its enemy; those who follow Caesar remain loyal to the ideal of the Republic, but those who follow Pompey destroy it. This literary and ideological value of the BC emerges upon close reading techniques developed for Latin poetry and oratory, like intertextual, semantic and narratological analysis. The BC deploys complex language and ideas to participate in its broader cultural context, to redefine the nature of the State and what it means to be a Roman citizen. Caesar's work thus promotes a distinctively Caesarean understanding of community and takes its meaning vis-a-vis both Caesar's program of self-representation to his contemporaries and the political debate that animated the passage from the Roman Republic to the Empire.

Biochemical and Biophysical Assay Development for Screening and Characterization of Small Molecules and Synthesized Analogues Targeting Human Cytosine Deaminases

Grillo, Michael Joseph University of Minnesota ProQuest Dissertations & T 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

The APOBEC3 family of enzymes converts cytosine to uracil in single-stranded DNA as a part of the innate immune defense against viruses. A large body of work has demonstrated that when dysregulated, APOBEC3s contribute to mutagenesis of somatic DNA in cancer. These mutational events lead to poor clinical outcomes such as tumor recurrence, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Because of this, we are interested in targeting APOBEC3s for inhibition by small molecules with the goal of improving the outcome of treatment with current cancer therapies. Chapter 1 introduces APOBEC3s as targets of interest with commentary on current and potential biochemical, biophysical, cellular, and in vivo assay technologies to evaluate potential inhibitors. Chapter 2 discusses careful in silico reconstruction of APOBEC3B followed by molecular dynamics simulations and druggability analysis identifying putative allosteric sites. Virtual screening was performed, and compounds were validated in biochemical and biophysical assays to serve as potential starting points for hit to lead optimization. Chapter 3 focuses on the development of sensitive biophysical assays and implementation in fragment screening. One fragment was validated during triage and served as a starting point for preliminary structure-activity relationship studies on two potentially divergent chemical series. Chapter 4 discusses the development of a real-time fluorescence-based activity assay for human cytidine deaminase utilizing a fluorogenic substrate. This assay was validated with known small molecule inhibitors and implemented in a fragment screen to discover novel non-nucleoside inhibitors of cytidine deaminase. The long-term goal of this work is to apply the same technology to measure APOBEC3 activity. Chapter 5 outlines several attempts at synthesizing a rationally designed covalent sulfur (VI) fluoride exchange probe targeting conserved hydroxyl-containing residues in the APOBEC3 active site. A variety of standard, as well as novel, approaches to nucleoside chemistry were explored with the goal of eventually incorporating a covalent warhead into a DNA oligonucleotide. Finally, Appendix A describes attempts at expressing and purifying A3B containing 5-fluorotryptophan as a tool for protein-observed 19F-NMR experiments.