Students pursue educational and career future identities (e.g., graduating college, becoming an engineer, etc.) that are tied to their deepest wants, desires, and needs, yet many find it difficult to exert self-control and resist temptations while pursuing these identities (e.g., studying versus watching TV, paying attention in class versus scrolling...
Judiciary at the Crossroads argues that a professional judiciary was able to restrain power, and thus lay the foundation for an independent judiciary and possible the rule of law later. Historical evidence comes from the performance of courts in property ordering projects launched by the governments in Taiwan and Manchuria...
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is among the most common endocrine disorders of premenopausal women, affecting 5-15% of this population depending on the diagnostic criteria applied. It is characterized by hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovarian morphology. PCOS is highly heritable, but only a small proportion of this heritability can be...
This dissertation takes up Islam’s relationship to Black nationalism across the Atlantic diaspora of Muslims that I call “the Fugitive Islamicate.” Scholars most often have described this relationship as commencing in the twentieth century with the rise of “Black Muslim religion,” a U.S. religious movement that begins with Noble Drew...
This dissertation is composed of three articles that focus on the electoral support coalitions of populist parties in Latin America. Using typologies, comparative-historical analysis, and experimental methods, the articles conceptualize and explain variation across several dimensions of these coalitions: their size and scope, their level of organization, and the identities...
Many species of rodents rely on the set of exquisitely sensitive facial vibrissae (whiskers) to guide rich behaviors in which other senses are inadequate. Although whiskers are, like all hairs, inert strands of keratin, they provide the animal with a rich landscape of tactile information which is used to guide...
Magnetic resonance imaging is a powerful research tool for studying anatomical processes in intact large organisms, as it is capable of generating high resolution images with unlimited penetration depth and excellent soft-tissue contrast. However one of the challenges faced by those seeking to use the technique to answer biochemical questions,...
Reducing the high incidence of metabolic syndrome especially among older people living in low income communities is a goal of the health system. Residents of the Austin community of Chicago suffer from a heavy burden of health issues related to metabolic syndrome leading to disproportionally higher morbidity and mortality rates...
The problem of theological normativity concerns the conflict between the purported eternal, universal, and ahistorical nature of Christian theological and ethical claims and the fact that such claims are always articulated in a particular time and place and, therefore, seem to bear the marks of cultural and historical contingency. My...
This dissertation explores the role and relation of capitalism in contemporary political life, with the aim to reveal the inherent oppression of what I refer to as capitalist culture. To this end, the project follows three main objectives: (1) to identify the widespread and pervasive nature of capitalist culture (2)...