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Aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) is a phenomenon where a molecule that is weakly or non‐luminescent in a diluted solution becomes highly emissive when aggregated. AIE luminogens (AIEgens) hold promise in diverse applications like bioimaging, chemical sensing, and optoelectronics. Investigation in AIE luminescence is also critical for understanding aggregation kinetics as the aggregation process is an essential component of AIE emission. Experimental investigation of AIEgen aggregation is challenging due to the fast timescale of the aggregation and the amorphous aggregate structures. Computer simulations such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulation provide a valuable approach to complement experiments with atomic‐level knowledge to study the fast dynamics of aggregation processes. However, individual simulations still struggle to systematically elucidate heterogeneous kinetics of the formation of amorphous AIEgen aggregates. Kinetic network models (KNMs), constructed from an ensemble of MD simulations, hold great potential in addressing this challenge. In these models, dynamic processes are modeled as a series of Markovian transitions occurring among metastable conformational states at discrete time intervals. In this perspective article, we first review previous studies to characterize the AIEgen aggregation kinetics and their limitations. We then introduce KNMs as a promising approach to elucidate the complex kinetics of aggregations to address these limitations. More importantly, we discuss our perspective on linking the output of KNMs to experimental observations of time‐resolved AIE luminescence. We expect that this approach can validate the computational predictions and provide great insights into the aggregation kinetics for AIEgen aggregates. These insights will facilitate the rational design of improved AIEgens in their applications in biology and materials sciences. Kinetic network models enable quantitative comparisons of the kinetics of aggregation‐induced emission between computational predictions and experimental observations.

Can highlighting the national contributions of a religiously marginalized group increase tolerance toward that group, even when its presence in the national identity is disputed? Research shows that prejudice can be overcome by emphasizing a superordinate identity to which members of different groups belong. Our paper investigates whether the provision of information about a religious minority group's contribution to the nation—and in the process, reiterating to citizens the broader identity to which they all belong—can increase tolerance toward members of that group. We test the effect of randomly exposing survey respondents to factual information about Pakistan's first Nobel Prize winner, a member of the widely ostracized Ahmadi minority sect, on support for pro-Ahmadi policies. We find that respondents overall are more willing to express tolerant views toward Ahmadis, but that this effect is attenuated (and in some cases, reversed) among respondents potentially alienated from the national identity.

Religion is often seen as important to voting behavior, particularly in the Islamic world, where personal piety may serve as an informational shortcut to voters otherwise unclear about candidate quality. But how do voters react when nominally pious candidates are alleged to be corrupt? Are pious candidates evaluated differently according to their sectarian affiliations? To investigate the impact of candidate piety and sectarian identity on voter choice, we conducted a survey experiment in Quetta, Balochistan, a region of Pakistan, which has experienced high levels of Sunni-Shia violence. Our results suggest that voters are significantly more punitive of corrupt behavior committed by candidates from sectarian out-groups than those belonging to their religious in-group. Further, we demonstrate that respondents react negatively to information about candidate religiosity, and uncover the existence of a “hypocrisy effect” whereby voters disproportionately punish corrupt candidates purporting to be pious compared to candidates who make no such claims.

What remedies are warranted when religious identity becomes the lens through which inter-group conflict is viewed? Adopting a broad framework grounded in social identity theory, this dissertation evaluates various strategies to reduce religious prejudice. Using a survey experiment in Pakistan, the first paper finds evidence that emphasizing a secular superordinate identity makes respondents more willing to extend distributive policies to an otherwise ostracized religious minority. Turning my focus to strategies that make use of religious elites and their influence, the second paper explores the causal effects of promoting a non-violent theology among clerics. Partnering with the Government of Chad to examine the effects of a religious literacy workshop aimed at influencing teachers in the country's Qur'anic school system, I find that randomly inducing greater awareness of the doctrinal basis for pluralism and non-violence in Islam does not, in the short term, produce change in clerical beliefs or attitudes but it does significantly influence how participants perceived social norms - defined as perceptions of typical or desirable behavior among their peers - when considering concrete manifestations of religious peacebuilding behavior as advocated by the curriculum. To make sense of this finding, I draw on an emerging literature from social psychology that suggests behavioral change may be more effectively pursued by prioritizing the modification of individual perceptions of normative behavior rather than altering private beliefs or attitudes. The third and final paper in this dissertation uses a survey experiment to explore how the sectarian affiliation and political involvement of religious elites impact their influence over popular perceptions of intra-Islamic sectarian relations. My findings offers qualified empirical support for the longstanding theory that centralized Shia clerical structures such as the marja' al-taqlid make Shia clerics, relative to Sunni clerics, better placed to promote peaceful co-existence. I suggest this may be due to a mechanism of in-group policing. Taken together, these studies imply three key lessons for policymakers: that multiple approaches may be effective in the fight against contemporary violent extremism but especially those that aim to change social norms; that governments can play an active role in defusing religious conflict; and that promoting the institutionalization of religious authorities can temper the expression of violent extremism.

[...]we are quoting outdated, weak medical data from another jurisdiction with poor follow-up.

THE SELECTION of Jon Stewart as the host for Sunday night's 2006 Oscars undoubtedly marks a career milestone for the aspiring king of late-night comedy. Unfortunately, however, the ascension of Stewart and \"The Daily Show\" into the public eye is no laughing matter. Stewart's ever-increasing popularity among young viewers directly correlates with the declining influence of progressive thought in America. Coincidence? I think not. Let me explain. The tragedy of this portrait is not that investment banking corrupts young souls (although one could argue otherwise), but rather that the students who abandon politics out of a naive self- consciousness often represent our country's most idealistic minds. Stewart's daily dose of political parody characterized by asinine alliteration leads to a \"holier than art thou\" attitude toward our national leaders. People who possess the wit, intelligence, and self- awareness of viewers of \"The Daily Show\" would never choose to enter the political fray full of \"buffoons and idiots.\" Content to remain perched atop their Olympian ivory towers, these bright leaders head straight for the private sector.