Essays on Social Dilemmas in Networks

The focus of the research is to study mechanisms that can raise the total social welfare in social dilemmas in exogenous networks. The two chapters apply experimental and empirical designs based on an underlying theoretical model which studies the effect of network structure on the group and individual behavior in laboratory settings. The first chapter studies the efficacy of two cost sharing rules in raising efficiency in a best shot public goods game. The two cost sharing rules align individual incentive with group efficiency. The first is a local cost sharing rule, where individuals who invest receive a transfer from each of their neighbors who do not invest. The second is a global cost sharing rule, where the total cost of investment is equally divided among members who benefit from the public good. The second chapter studies the effectiveness of two communication architectures in resolving inefficiencies in the provision of local public goods. Communication can help with coordination by lowering strategic uncertainty. The two communication structures I study are the following: (i) global, where everyone in the group can talk, (ii) local, where only neighbors can communicate with each other

Agency, Benevolence and Justice

We test for social norms regarding how Agents should select between risky prospects for Principals, including norms consistent with observations by Adam Smith. We elicit norms from subjects serving as ``impartial spectator[s] about the choice of risky prospects selected by the Agents. We find strong evidence for the existence of norms, consistent with Smith\u27s observations. Furthermore, we find that Agents are more likely to select more normative options. In contrast, we find that Principals\u27 allocation for bonuses depends on the realization of the risky prospect rather than whether the Agents\u27 choice was consistent with the norm

High Throughput and Highly Controllable Methods for in Vitro Intracellular Delivery

In vitro and ex vivo intracellular delivery methods hold the key for releasing the full potential of tissue engineering, drug development, and many other applications. In recent years, there has been significant progress in the design and implementation of intracellular delivery systems capable of delivery at the same scale as viral transfection and bulk electroporation but offering fewer adverse outcomes. This review strives to examine a variety of methods for in vitro and ex vivo intracellular delivery such as flow-through microfluidics, engineered substrates, and automated probe-based systems from the perspective of throughput and control. Special attention is paid to a particularly promising method of electroporation using micro/nanochannel based porous substrates, which expose small patches of cell membrane to permeabilizing electric field. Porous substrate electroporation parameters discussed include system design, cells and cargos used, transfection efficiency and cell viability, and the electric field and its effects on molecular transport. The review concludes with discussion of potential new innovations which can arise from specific aspects of porous substrate-based electroporation platforms and high throughput, high control methods in general

Data for Agency, Benevolence and Justice

We test for social norms regarding how agents should select between risky prospects for principals, including norms consistent with beneficence and justice propositions from Adam Smith. We elicit norms from subjects serving as impartial spectator[s] about choice of risky prospect selected by the agents. We find strong evidence for the existence of norms, consistent with the Smith propositions. Furthermore we find that agents are more likely to select more normative options. In contrast, we find that principals\u27 allocation for bonuses depends on the realization of the risky prospect rather than whether the agents choice was consistent with the norm