Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · 12h

Check out these *amazing* papers on the adoption, use, and effects of postal voting!

Including a little self-promo 🎉: my article on how the direct cost of voting shapes citizens’ preferences for postal, in-person, or internet voting.

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Electoral Studies @electoralstudies.bsky.social · 13h

Today is #WorldPostDay, marking the establishment of the Universal Postal Union—a UN agency coordinating postal policies globally. The post revolutionised communication and is an increasingly common voting method, so to mark the occasion, here are some of our recent articles on postal voting... 📫 ✉️

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Markus Gastinger @markus-gastinger.eu · 16d

Last Friday (Sept. 19), @andduer.bsky.social, @mcortinaescudero.bsky.social, @yavuzmehmet.bsky.social and I had the great pleasure of hosting an excellent workshop at @unisalzburg.bsky.social on how to use Large Language Models #LLMs to boost International Relations research. A short 🧵1/4

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · Jun 30

‼️ There are a few more days left to apply for the PhD positions in my group at KU Leuven. Make sure to send in applications by July 4! 👇

Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · Jun 3

I'm recruiting 2 PhD researchers to work with me on a project studying how social groups influence vote choices!

Info on the position and how to apply 👉 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...

Please share with interested students who would like to move to beautiful Leuven!

2 PhD positions in Electoral behavior

2 PhD positions to research how social group memberships become connected to vote choices

www.kuleuven.be

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Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Jun 30

Thrilled to share that "The Meanings of Voting for Citizens" is out with OUP!

Loved working on this with brilliant mentors, co-authors, and friends

📘 The book (open access) explores how people think about voting and how these meanings influence participation

📊 And the data’s open too via AUSSDA

Universität Wien / University of Vienna @univie.ac.at · Jun 23

New book publication by @carolinaplescia.bsky.social et al.: What does #voting mean to citizens around the world? 🗳️
A new open access (via @oxunipress.bsky.social) explores answers from 25,000+ people in 13 countries. Read here: ⤵️
staatswissenschaft.univie.ac.at/news-detaila...
#PoliticalScience 📚

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Phillip Ayoub @payoub.bsky.social · Jun 28

Absolutely incredible turnout for Budapest Pride! So proud of all the organizers, including some old friends, who estimate hundreds of thousands— major embarrassment to Orban

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Marta Vukovic @martav.bsky.social · Jun 27

Doing important things at @epsanet.bsky.social …like locating the one veg canapé at the reception 👀
@stawi-univie.bsky.social
@bseisl.bsky.social
@mkaltenegger.bsky.social
@alexanderdalheimer.bsky.social
@marvins.bsky.social
@elenaheinz.bsky.social
@mascakir.bsky.social
@thomasmmeyer.bsky.social

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Damien Bol @damienbol.bsky.social · Jun 23

🚨EPSA alert 🚨 @priera.bsky.social and I are organizing a pre-EPSA conference on political institutions on Wed 25 June. Same location as EPSA - Room 0.A.04. We've an amazing line-up of fantastic junior colleagues matched with more senior discussants. All EPSA attendees can attend and are welcome

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Ruth Dassonneville @rdassonneville.bsky.social · Jun 3

I'm recruiting 2 PhD researchers to work with me on a project studying how social groups influence vote choices!

Info on the position and how to apply 👉 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...

Please share with interested students who would like to move to beautiful Leuven!

2 PhD positions in Electoral behavior

2 PhD positions to research how social group memberships become connected to vote choices

www.kuleuven.be

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Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Jun 3

Some exciting news!
Today’s my first day at @unisalzburg.bsky.social, joining the DEUDEM team (sites.google.com/view/deudem) with @mblauberger.bsky.social to study democratic backsliding in the EU.

Thrilled to be part of this project 💫

And what a view to kick things off! 🤩

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · May 10

Systematic peer-reviewed assessment showing the fundamental flaws of the Cass Review. Many in politics and beyond have used the Cass report to justify the erosion of gender-affirming care. This study is a litmus test for those who claim to "follow the science" on the topic.

Dr Chris Noone @chris-noone.bsky.social · May 10

Just out! Our peer-reviewed critique of the Cass Review has been published by BMC Medical Research Methodology. Please read and share. We show that the Cass Review is fatally flawed and should not be the basis for policy or practice in transgender healthcare.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Dan Pemstein @danpemstein.com · Apr 30

A few years ago, @danweitzel.net, John Gerring, @skaaning.bsky.social and I were curious how well one could predict subjective democracy measures using easy(ish) to code observables. Turns out, *quite* well, even out of sample. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Measuring electoral democracy with observables

Most cross-national indices of democracy rely centrally on coder judgments, which are susceptible to bias and error, and require expensive and time consuming coding by experts. We present an approach to measurement based on observables that aim to preserve the nuanced quality of subjectively coded democracy indices. Our observable-to-subjective score mapping is free of idiosyncratic coder errors arising from misinformation, slack, or biases. It is less susceptible to systematic bias that may arise from coders’ inferences about a country’s regime, for example, from the ideology of the ruler. The data collection procedure and mode of analysis are fully transparent and replicable, and the procedure is based on random forests and is cheap to produce, easy to update, and offers coverage for all polities with sovereign or semisovereign status, surpassing the sample of any existing index. We show that this expansive coverage makes a big difference to our understanding of some causal questions.

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Julia Partheymüller @schnizzl.bsky.social · Apr 14

🎉 Das Warten hat ein Ende: Das Programm für das Pint of Science Festival 2025 in #Wien ist online! 🍻🧠

Vom 19. bis 21. Mai erwarten euch zahlreiche spannende Vorträge in gemütlicher Atmosphäre.

Alle Details und Tickets findet ihr hier: pintofscience.at/events/wien

#Pint25AT

Pint of Science Vienna

Researchers across Vienna share their discoveries with you.

pintofscience.at

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Reposted by Belén Abdala

Fabrizio Gilardi @fgilardi.bsky.social · Apr 16

Call for Papers!

📢 6th Annual Digital Democracy Workshop
🏫 University of Zurich
📅 13-14 November 2025
⏳ Deadline to submit paper abstracts: 31 May 2025

democracy.dsi.uzh.ch/app/uploads/...

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Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Apr 14

This is such an amazing opportunity to learn more about computational methods and connect with inspiring women*! Can't recommend it enough.

Sophia Hunger @sophiahunger.bsky.social · Apr 14

🚨 Join us for the next edition Summer School for Women* in Political Methodology in Bremen 🚨

Open to PhD students and early career scholars Fully-funded places available for applicants, deadline 1st of May 📅 summerschoolwpm.org

Image of a building of the University of Bremen with the text "Summer School for Women in Political Methodology" and "20 to 26 July at the University of Bremen" writen on it.

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Queer Politics Webinar @queerseminar.bsky.social · Apr 8

🏳️‍🌈 Join us for our April webinar with @grahn.bsky.social this Thursday!

🧐 Michal will present his new insights on how negative messages affect support for trans rights in tolerant societies.

📆 Be sure to mark your calendars!

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Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Apr 1

Thanks so much, Filip!

Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Apr 1

Muchísimas gracias! 🎉

Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Apr 1

Thank you so much! Fueron las mejores vacaciones de la historia 🤩

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Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Apr 1

Thank you so much! 🤩

Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Apr 1

✨Big news✨ I successfully defended my PhD last month! Still can’t quite believe it. So grateful to everyone who made it possible, especially my amazing supervisors @carolinaplescia.bsky.social @rdassonneville.bsky.social & committee @turnbulldugarte.com @zeynsom.bsky.social @thomasmmeyer.bsky.social

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Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Feb 25

Huge congrats!! 🎉

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Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Feb 25

Thanks, Jenny! :)

Reposted by Belén Abdala

Ana Catalano Weeks @anacweeks.bsky.social · Feb 21

How does the “mental load” of taking care of family and household influence decisions about participating in public life?

In a new @bjpols.bsky.social paper w @annanhelgoy.bsky.social we use a survey experiment priming domestic mental load to find out.

doi.org/10.1017/S000...

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Crowded Out: The Influence of Mental Load Priming on Intentions to Participate in Public Life | British Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core

Crowded Out: The Influence of Mental Load Priming on Intentions to Participate in Public Life - Volume 55

doi.org

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Belén Abdala @beluabdala.bsky.social · Feb 21

Thank you, Jakob! Very happy to see it out there :)

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