Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Roxanne Connelly @roxanneconnelly.bsky.social · 10d

📣Do you have experience of using Generative AI in your social science research? Or critical thoughts about the use of Generative AI? Consider contributing an article to our special issue!

Methodological Innovations Journal @methodinnovations.bsky.social · 10d

Special Issue: Generative AI and Social Science Research. Deadline for full papers extended to 9th of January 2026
journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...

journals.sagepub.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Markus Klein @markusklein.bsky.social · 24d

📢 New in @sfjournal.bsky.social: We study how parental #education shapes children’s #cognitive development. Accounting for selective parenthood & grandparent & early parent characteristics, we find education largely reflects broader #intergenerational advantages. academic.oup.com/sf/advance-a...

Parental education and children’s cognitive development: a prospective approach

Abstract. This study uses nationally representative data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) to estimate the impact of parental education on childre

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Tom VanHeuvelen @tvanheuvelen.bsky.social · 27d

I wrote about @hermwerf.bsky.social 's excellent ASR article last year on education expansion and intergenerational mobility.

Hope you find it useful!

asocial.substack.com/p/inequality...

Inequality Readers. On the merits

Education expansion merits optimism, and other puns

asocial.substack.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Alicia García-Sierra @aliciagsierra.bsky.social · 28d

📣 New publication in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility!

🔎 Do mothers’ occupation-specific skills shape children’s development?

✅ Yes! When mothers move into jobs with higher skill demands, their kids show stronger skills.

Open access here 👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Do mothers’ occupation-specific skills impact children’s developmental processes?

This study examines whether mothers’ occupation-specific skills influence children’s development. I argue that while education is a valuable proxy for…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

British Journal of Sociology @bjsociology.bsky.social · Sep 5

📣 The Call for Papers for the British Journal of Sociology 2026 Conference is open!

Following the success of our inaugural conference in 2024, we are delighted to announce its return on 23 and 24 April 2026 at LSE.

📆 Submit your paper by 20 October 2025 ➡️ buff.ly/TdmBcur

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Jonathan Burton @jonburton.bsky.social · Aug 28

Reviewing our questions on ethnicity and immigration.

Let us know your views on this important part of the @usociety.bsky.social survey.

www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/news/2025/06...

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Weverthon Machado @weverthon.com · Aug 19

New paper in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility! I track long-term trends in educational assortative mating in 🇧🇷. After decades of decline, homogamy rose in the 2000s, due to a balance shift: more fluidity at lower edu levels vs. stronger homogamy at the top.

Check it out (open access):

Trends in educational assortative mating in Brazil: 1960–2015

Using both census and survey data, this study analyzes educational assortative mating trends over half a century in Brazil. Odds of both overall and g…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

UK Data Service Impact @ukdsimpact.bsky.social · Aug 12

🎉New on the Data Impact blog🎉

Jay Dominy, Public Affairs Manager at UCL and CLOSER, introduces CLOSER’s new monthly Policy Surgeries and encourages researchers interested in informing policy to sign-up.

blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/closer-polic...

View of Parliament and surrounding buildings across the Thames

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

UK Data Service Impact @ukdsimpact.bsky.social · Aug 12

Professor Debora Price @gerontologyuk.bsky.social
recently reflected on recent international threats to data infrastructure, and why we must protect trusted data services as essential public institutions, on the Data Impact blog

blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/why-data-pre...

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Chloé Lavest @chlolv.bsky.social · Jul 31

💥Today, 3 years after I graduated from my research master, my (revamped) master thesis got published at @ssreditorial.bsky.social under the name "Who do they think you are? Inconsistencies in self- and proxy-reports of education within families". Check it out here: doi.org/10.1016/j.ss... (OA)

ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.

eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Jul 31

💬 "Ultimately, lots of working-class people simply cannot afford to work for no or little pay. It’s a luxury only some can afford."

Our alum, Bethany, draws on her experience of working for free to discuss the need for change on the usage of unpaid labour ⬇️

www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion...

Unpaid work is killing class diversity in the creative industries - The Sutton Trust

Our alum, Bethany, discusses the prominence of unpaid work in the creative professions.

www.suttontrust.com

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Roxanne Connelly @roxanneconnelly.bsky.social · Jul 28

The next meeting of the Scottish UKHLS User Group will be online on Friday 15th August from 1500-1630

This time there will be talks from Laurence Rowley-Abel @uoe-sps.bsky.social and Mhairi Webster @yunuscentregcu.bsky.social

Sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scotttish-...

Scotttish UKHLS User Group Meeting August 2025

Short talks and discussions on UKHLS with other Scotland-based users.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Education Policy Institute @edupolicyinst.bsky.social · Jul 16

Our Annual Report reveals a troubling trend: fewer disadvantaged young people are participating post-16 than at any point since 2019.

More than 1 in 5 disadvantaged 16-year-olds are now out of education or training.

It’s time to identify — and act on — the root causes of this sharp decline.

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Mark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · Jul 16

Registered report of 35 social class hypotheses (N = 33,536) finds around 50% are supported.

New work by @anatoliab.bsky.social, Nicolas Sommet, and @frederiqueautin.bsky.social

Open Access: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Theoretical models have been developed to understand how social class influences individual thoughts, feelings and behaviours. However, the validity of these models is threatened by the prevailing use of small, non-diverse samples and flexible measurement practices. We preregistered replications of 35 key hypotheses from 17 correlational and 5 experimental studies, and collected large, quota-based or probability samples from the USA, France, Switzerland and India (Ntotal = 33,536). Our analysis yielded three central findings: (1) ~50% of the effects were successfully replicated; (2) conclusions were consistent across different operationalizations of social class, although objective indicators yielded smaller estimates (for example, income and education); and (3) half of the effects were moderated—mostly strengthened—by social class identification, system-justification beliefs or local income inequality. Overall, hypotheses based on differences between social class contexts in terms of constraints, uncertainty and status were well supported. However, hypotheses based on models positing social class differences in psychological orientations towards ‘the self’ versus ‘others and the environment’ received less support. We conclude that these models need to be reassessed as individuals from higher social classes seem more oriented towards both themselves and others. The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 29 October 2021. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/B6Y8R.

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Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · Jul 15

New study finds that politically diverse social networks, even casual acquaintances, reduce partisan hostility by exposing people to others with opposing views, correcting stereotypes, and fostering understanding.
sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12...

Partisanship Meets Social Networks: How Politically Heterogeneous Acquaintances and Close Relationships Buffer Partisan Animosity

Article: Partisanship Meets Social Networks: How Politically Heterogeneous Acquaintances and Close Relationships Buffer Partisan Animosity | Sociological Science | Posted July 7, 2025

sociologicalscience.com

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The Sutton Trust @suttontrust.bsky.social · Jul 15

❗ Important work from @edupolicyinst.bsky.social highlighting the attainment gap between disadvantaged children & their peers.

Their annual report shows that the gap in attainment between 5 year olds from low income families & their peers has grown since 2019.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Five-year-olds in England with special educational needs 20 months behind peers – report

Children from lower-income families also remain significantly behind their peers as impact of pandemic continues to be felt

www.theguardian.com

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Institute for Public Policy Research @ippr.org · Jul 15

🚂 | NEW REPORT: Britain’s transport system is failing people on low incomes — locking them out of work, health, and opportunity. Our new report sets out how to fix it 👇

www.ippr.org/articles/the...

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Retraction Watch @retractionwatch.com · Jul 14

We're hiring an assistant researcher for the Retraction Watch Database.

Find out more here:

Job opportunities at Retraction Watch

Assistant researcher, Retraction Watch Database The Center For Scientific Integrity, a U.S.-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is looking for a full-time Assistant Researcher to join our crew in…

retractionwatch.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Education Policy Institute @edupolicyinst.bsky.social · Jul 15

Young learners in England are facing a deepening crisis. Our Annual Report shows that disadvantaged five-year-olds are falling further behind their peers — and for children with SEND, the learning gap has widened to over 20 months, the widest gap on record 🧵

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Five-year-olds in England with special educational needs 20 months behind peers – report

Children from lower-income families also remain significantly behind their peers as impact of pandemic continues to be felt

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Jascha Dräger @jaschadraeger.bsky.social · Jul 14

🚨 New paper out in the American Educational Research Journal (w/ @markusklein.bsky.social & @esosu.bsky.social) 🚨
We analyzed whether pupil absences in different school-years are equally harmful for achievement at the end of compulsory schooling. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Methodological Innovations Journal @methodinnovations.bsky.social · Jul 14

⁉️Are you using generative AI in your social science research? We want to hear about it!

We are looking for critical accounts for a special issue on the use of #generativeai in #socialscienceresearch

More details here 👇
journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...

journals.sagepub.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

RC28 Social Stratification @isa-rc28.bsky.social · Jul 8

RC28’s first online thematic meeting🎉This online meeting will be free of charge. The meeting will take place on 20-21 January 2026 and will be hosted virtually by the Centre for Research on social InequalitieS (CRIS), a Sciences Po/CNRS unit, in Paris.

More info 👇
www.sciencespo.fr/cris/fr/actu...

RC28 Online Meeting on Educational Inequalities

20th - 21st January, 2026 - Call for Papers

www.sciencespo.fr

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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Jul 3

ChatGPT has had an “unprecedented” impact on scientific writing, leading to a marked increase in “flowery” language, a new paper has found. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports
#AcademicSky

ChatGPT drives rise of ‘flowery language’ in journal abstracts

Increased use of words such as ‘delves’, ‘underscores’ and ‘showcasing’ identified since popularisation of large language models

www.timeshighereducation.com

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UCL Sociology Network @uclsociology.bsky.social · Jun 25

Is there a religious revival in England?

@sriucl.bsky.social's David Voas raises questions about a recent report claiming that Gen Z is leading a rise in church attendance after decades of religious decline. It appears the devil is in the data.

Read more here: tinyurl.com/2zptnnw3

Is there really a religious revival in England? Why I’m sceptical of a new report

In Anglican and Catholic churches, average weekly attendance is down about 20% from pre-pandemic levels.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Roxanne Connelly

Mark Williams @mwilliamsqmul.bsky.social · Jun 23

📢New paper!📢

"Social Class Origin and Job quality in Higher Managerial and Professional Occupations" out in @sociologyjnl.bsky.social

Those from lower social origins suffer lower
❌ top job attainment
❌ pay

In this new research, we show they also suffer lower
❌ non-pay job quality

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