Research Library

The author shows that mosque construction in Islamic states increased after 1979, when political elites adopted a strategy of Islamic nation-building. Mosques visually manifested a regime’s religious authority. The findings have implications for understanding the use of symbolic religious structures as tools for nation-building — a goal that is often overlooked due to the tendency to associate nationalism with secular visions of modernity.

By tracking the math scores and earnings of adults who were in-utero during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, the authors were able to identify some of the consequences of prenatal malnutrition and stress.

U.S. studies suggest that the Uber ride-sharing service may reduce alcohol-related driving fatalities. This study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, examines the effect of Uber on traffic deaths in South Africa, where driving fatalities are twice the global average and over 60 percent are alcohol-related.

By Philip W. Chui, Craig S. Parzynski, Joseph S. Ross, Nihar R. Desai, Hitinder S. Gurm, John A. Spertus, Arnold h. Seto, Vivian Ho and Jeptha P. Curtis Certificate of need regulations are intended to coordinate new health care services, limit expansion of unnecessary new infrastructure and limit health care costs. This study characterizes the association between state regulations and the appropriateness and outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions. JAHA: https://bit.ly/2QSWMNa

Reforms enacted by the Texas Legislature have allowed Texans to choose their own electricity provider since 2002. In this study, the authors analyze monthly residential billing data to assess the impact of competition on retail electricity prices.

Nonresident scholar Julie Cohn explores the history of the giant interconnecting machine that linked the majority of power users across the country from 1967 to 1975. Proceedings of the IEEE, Dec. 28, 2018.

The authors examine the role that government policy can play in accelerating production and use of biochar at commercial scale, such as providing commercial financial incentives, nonfinancial policy support and research and development funding. The article also includes broad recommendations for the development of policy that maximizes the net benefits of biochar adoption.

By Eugene Lin, Matthew W. Mell, Wolfgang C. Winkelmayer and Kevin F. Erickson U.S. patients without Medicare who develop end-stage kidney disease become Medicare eligible by their fourth dialysis month. This delay in insurance coverage can lead to disparities in health care that may not fully correct over time, write the authors in the Clinical Journal of American Society of Nephrology: https://bit.ly/2SEW20u

The policy and regulatory frameworks for hydraulic fracturing in Texas and Spain are examined to determine the possible trade-offs between water security and energy security. Environmental Science & Policy: https://bit.ly/2NMr9WY.

The authors examine the relationship between market competition and the use of surgical services for cancer to test the theory that market competition promotes patient access and health care delivery.