Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Andrea Bradford, Ph.D.

Erica Friedman @okazu.yuricon.com · 4d

Bookshop is having an Anti-Amazon sale, with cheap e-books and free shipping for print today and tomorrow:

bookshop.org/lists/ebook-...

2 430 490

Reposted by Andrea Bradford, Ph.D.

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 10d

A lot of states have taken steps to chill academic freedom - but they’ve mostly couched their “reforms” as “anti-indoctrination.” TX seems to be taking the next step: simply banning ideas it dislikes.

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 10d

And now the UT System is auditing all courses for “gender ideology.” We haven’t been told what that even means.

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 11d

A thread on the illegality of the Texas Tech president’s letter banning reference to more than two genders. We saw a similar confusion of EO’s with law and a similar overriding of free speech and academic freedom in the Texas A@M case.

1 9 14

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · 11d

I'm delighted to share the launch of a new clinical psychology training program at Baylor College of Medicine!

www.bcm.edu/news/baylor-...

Baylor College of Medicine to offer new clinical psychology degree program

The Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees, Academic Council and Faculty Senate have approved a new Clinical Psychology Program, which will award...

www.bcm.edu

2 3

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · 17d

Today in lessons from recent history that are specifically relevant to current events

AAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 17d

www.texasobserver.org/texas-facult...

Texas History Offers Warnings amid Rash of Faculty Firings

Lessons to learn from the politically motivated firing of a UT president in the 1940s

www.texasobserver.org

2

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · 19d

Journal editors make controversial and sometimes regrettable calls. No one is perfect. If the goal is "open review," the reviewers' critiques should be transparent, regardless of whether the reviewers are identified. Identifying the reviewers without this context seems a bit cowardly.

Jaclyn A. Siegel, PhD @jacasiegel.bsky.social · 19d

Just had a novel experience reviewing. I recommended rejection for fundamental issues (e.g., underpowered, testing hypotheses well-established in the lit). I wasn’t given the chance to review again, & it was accepted. I will be listed online as a reviewer, but my name will not reflect my evaluation.

1

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · 19d

I would also feel uncomfortable in this situation. I'd much rather see de-identified reviewer comments than reviewers' names, if given the choice. If "openness" is really the goal, it is important to make the process transparent.

4

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · 20d

Remember playing the telephone game? It’s like that but at scale.

1

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · 21d

No.

Jamie Cummins @jamiecummins.bsky.social · 23d

Can large language models stand in for human participants?
Many social scientists seem to think so, and are already using "silicon samples" in research.

One problem: depending on the analytic decisions made, you can basically get these samples to show any effect you want.

THREAD 🧵

The threat of analytic flexibility in using large language models to simulate human data: A call to attention

Social scientists are now using large language models to create "silicon samples" - synthetic datasets intended to stand in for human respondents, aimed at revolutionising human subjects research. How...

arxiv.org

1 1

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · 25d

One thing I miss about Editorial Manager was the ability to make private notes on reviewer profiles to discreetly warn other editors (and remind oneself). That, and the ability to edit reviewer reports if and when they really crossed the line.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Lipstick on a pig’: how to fight back against a peer-review bully

Scientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews.

www.nature.com

Reposted by Andrea Bradford, Ph.D.

Jaclyn A. Siegel, PhD @jacasiegel.bsky.social · 26d

Deeply obsessed with this chaotically-written manuscript, featuring Simpsons references, punctuation such as “???”, and a final thoughts section that simply reads: “There is no need to summarize key points in a 2,000-word manuscript. Screw Flanders.”

Size Does Matter and Shorter is Better: It’s Time to Shorten Our Papers - William G. Obenauer, 2025

In The Simpsons episode “Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner” (S11E3), Homer becomes a food critic and is tasked with writing reviews for the local paper. It...

journals.sagepub.com

2 4 23

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Sep 8

Another day, another AI-generated journal article submission.

✅ Review that is not systematic and describes no methodology
✅ Near epic in scope
✅ Grammatically correct phrases that impart conspicuously little information
✅ Numbered headings
✅ Plenty of dashes
✅ Neat-as-a-pin reference list

2

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Sep 8

This sounds like the D.A.R.E. approach to genAI

Reposted by Andrea Bradford, Ph.D.

Sy Islam @iosyislam.bsky.social · Sep 7

If you're in #iopsych in #Healthcare please consider participating in this study!

1 2 1

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Sep 7

That is a really cool way to celebrate! Happy birthday!!

1 1

Reposted by Andrea Bradford, Ph.D.

Kasey Stanton @kstanton.bsky.social · Aug 24

APA call for editorial fellowships, including for Psychological Assessment. Please checkout Psych Assessment if you have interests in clinical assessment, measure development, psychometrics, or related areas!

www.apa.org/pubs/journal...

www.apa.org

7 10

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Sep 2

In fairness, the side effects of processed foods are fairly well established by this point, whereas the news cycle updates almost every week with new ways that GLP-1s can harm you.

1

Reposted by Andrea Bradford, Ph.D.

Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · Sep 1

A Labor Day reminder: today there isn't a single city, metro area, or state in the U.S. where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment.

Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.

Opinion | America Is Pushing Its Workers Into Homelessness

www.nytimes.com

85 2K 4.2K

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Sep 1

Authors typically transfer the copyright to the publisher by way of a written agreement. Work for hire is not the issue here.

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Aug 28

Most of my papers are in there but I'm not sure I'm the copyright holder on any of them!

2

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Aug 28

Often the copyright belongs to the publisher of the academic journal. There are several exceptions, however.

2 4

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Aug 26

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

RFK Jr demanded a vaccine study be retracted — the journal said no

In a rare move for a US public official, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr called for a Danish paper finding no link between aluminium in vaccines and disease to be retracted.

www.nature.com

2

Reposted by Andrea Bradford, Ph.D.

Science Magazine @science.org · Aug 25

"The day the paper was published should have been a moment of pride. Instead, it felt like a quiet erasure." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/4p3eH5g

An illustration of a man falling out of a piece of paper, with text that says: How an academic betrayal led me to change my authorship practices.

2 22 60

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Aug 20

yeah... so did I 😏

1

Andrea Bradford, Ph.D. @abradfordphd.bsky.social · Aug 19

This is a brilliant explainer on anti-vaccine junk science laundered through peer-reviewed journals. Many of the same tactics appear in other dubious scientific papers.

Megan Ranney MD MPH @meganranney.bsky.social · Aug 19

A must-read, must-share piece - clearly deconstructing the shoddy science of the Geiers (who are inexplicably in charge of studies at HHS).

Consider this an early warning for what lies ahead. 🛟🩺🧪

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Opinion | The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism (Gift Article)

Data can easily be manipulated to show a causation that doesn’t exist.

www.nytimes.com

16 46

Reposted by Andrea Bradford, Ph.D.

Joar Øveraas Halvorsen @joarhalvorsen.bsky.social · Dec 29

Another trial indicating that eye movements doesn’t contribute to outcomes of EMDR.
bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

The effect of eye movement desensitization on neurocognitive functioning compared to retrieval-only in PTSD patients: a randomized controlled trial - BMC Psychiatry

Background There is robust evidence that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with neurocognitive deficits, such as executive dysfunction or memory dysfunction. Eye Movement Desensitizat...

bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com

4 18 37