Religious Extremism: The Good, The Bad, and The Deadly

This paper challenges conventional views of violent religious extremism, particularly those that emphasize militant theology. We offer an alternative analysis that helps explain the persistent demand for religion, the different types of religious that naturally arise, and the special attributes of the %u201Csectarian%u201D type. Sects are adept at producing club goods both spiritual and material. Where governments and economies function poorly, sects often become major suppliers of social services, political action, and coercive force. Their success as providers is much more due to the advantages of their organizational structure than it is to their theology. Religious militancy is most effectively controlled through a combination of policies that raise the direct costs of violence, foster religious competition, improve social services, and encourage private enterprise.

Model of tunneling transistors based on graphene on SiC

Recent experiments shown that graphene epitaxially grown on Silicon Carbide (SiC) can exhibit a energy gap of 0.26 eV, making it a promising material for electronics. With an accurate model, we explore the design parameter space for a fully ballistic graphene-on-SiC Tunnel Field-Effect Transistors (TFETs), and assess the DC and high frequency figures of merit. The steep subthreshold behavior can enable I_{ON}/I_{OFF} ratios exceeding 10^4 even with a low supply voltage of 0.15 V, for devices with gatelength down to 30 nm. Intrinsic transistor delays smaller than 1 ps are obtained. These factors make the device an interesting candidate for low-power nanoelectronics beyond CMOS

Strong mobility degradation in ideal graphene nanoribbons due to phonon scattering

We investigate the low-field phonon-limited mobility in armchair graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) using full-band electron and phonon dispersion relations. We show that lateral confinement suppresses the intrinsic mobility of GNRs to values typical of common bulk semiconductors, and very far from the impressive experiments on 2D graphene. Suspended GNRs with a width of 1 nm exhibit a mobility close to 500 cm^2/Vs at room temperature, whereas if the same GNRs are deposited on HfO2 mobility is further reduced to about 60 cm^2/Vs due to surface phonons. We also show the occurrence of polaron formation, leading to band gap renormalization of ~118 meV for 1 nm-wide armchair GNRs.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Enhanced shot noise in resonant tunneling: theory and experiment

We show that shot noise in a resonant tunneling diode biased in the negative differential resistance regions of the I-V characteristic is enhanced with respect to ``full'' shot noise. We provide experimental results showing a Fano factor up to 6.6, and show that it is a dramatic effect caused by electron-electron interaction through Coulomb force, enhanced by the particular shape of the density of states in the well. We also present numerical results from the proposed theory, which are in agreement with the experiment, demonstrating that the model accounts for the relevant physics involved in the phenomenon.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Effect of dephasing on the current statistics of mesoscopic devices

We investigate the effects of dephasing on the current statistics of mesoscopic conductors with a recently developed statistical model, focusing in particular on mesoscopic cavities and Aharonov-Bohm rings. For such devices, we analyze the influence of an arbitrary degree of decoherence on the cumulants of the current. We recover known results for the limiting cases of fully coherent and totally incoherent transport and are able to obtain detailed information on the intermediate regime of partial coherence for a varying number of open channels. We show that dephasing affects the average current, shot noise, and higher order cumulants in a quantitatively and qualitatively similar way, and that consequently shot noise or higher order cumulants of the current do not provide information on decoherence additional or complementary to what can be already obtained from the average current.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

God games: An experimental study of uncertainty, superstition, and cooperation

This paper uses a novel lab experiment to test claims about the origins and functions of religion. We modify the standard public goods game, adding a computer-based agent that adjusts earnings in ways that might depend on players\u27 contributions. Our treatments employ three different descriptions of the adjustment process that loosely correspond to monotheistic, atheistic, and agnostic interpretations of the computer\u27s role. The adjustments neither mask players\u27 contributions nor magnify their impact. Yet players in all three adjustment treatments contribute much more than those who play the standard public goods game. Players\u27 contributions and survey responses show that adjustments induce superstitions in all treatments, with the strongest superstitions appearing in the quasi-monotheistic treatment and the weakest in the quasi-atheistic treatment. Text-based communication raises contributions and strengthens coordination. But when paired with the quasi-monotheistic description, communication also promotes counterproductive quests for winning numbers

Subsidizing Religious Participation through Groups: A Model of the “Megachurch” Strategy for Growth

Either despite or because of their non-traditional approach, megachurches have grown significantly in the United States since 1980. This paper models religious participation as an imperfect public good which, absent intervention, yields suboptimal participation by members from the church’s perspective. Megachurches address this problem in part by employing secular-based group activities to subsidize religious participation that then translates into an increase in the attendees’ religious investment. This strategy not only allows megachurches to attract and retain new members when many traditional churches are losing members but also results in higher levels of an individual’s religious capital. As a result, the megachurch may raise expectations of members’ levels of commitment and faith practices. Data from the FACT2000 survey provide evidence that megachurches employ groups more extensively than other churches, and this approach is consistent with a strategy to use groups to help subsidize individuals’ religious investment. Religious capital rises among members of megachurches relative to members of non-megachurches as a result of this strategy

From empty pews to empty cradles: Fertility decline among european catholics

Total fertility in the Catholic countries of Southern Europe has dropped to remarkably low rates (=1.4) despite continuing low rates female labor force participation and high historic fertility. We model three ways in which religion affects the demand for children-Through norms, market wages, and childrearing costs. We estimate these effects using new panel data on church attendance and clergy employment for 13 European countries from 1960 to 2000, spanning the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Using nuns per capita as a proxy for service provision, we estimate fertility effects on the order of 300 to 400 children per nun. Moreover, nuns outperform priests as a predictor of fertility, suggesting that changes in childrearing costs dominate changes in theology and norms. Reduced church attendance also predicts fertility decline, but only for Catholics, not for Protestants. Service provision and attendance complement each other, a finding consistent with club models of religion