Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · 5d

Oh great, a new way for excel to turn numbers into dates unasked

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Reposted by Anna J Finley, PhD

José Cerca @naturalselection.bsky.social · 19d

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · 19d

Casually dropping the job posting here, and happy to answer questions about NDSU and life in Fargo, @erinwestgate.bsky.social might say I’m an ”expert” now 😆 tinyurl.com/3sjknmxn

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Reposted by Anna J Finley, PhD

Erin Westgate @erinwestgate.bsky.social · 19d

If you applied to North Dakota State Unjversity’s job in developmental psych, you too could eat your (delicious) way across Fargo!!!

(Downside: I’m told it gets cold here?)

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · 25d

Might even be cold enough turn on the heat!

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · 25d

🤣 we’ve got a hot tub to thaw you out in. And lots of extra blankets

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · 25d

Leaves are turning up here and looks like the high is projected to be in the 60s when you visit. Get ready for some Fargo fall! 🍂🎃☕️

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Reposted by Anna J Finley, PhD

Erin Conwell @erconwell.bsky.social · Aug 22

We are HIRING! The Department of Psychology at NDSU is seeking a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Developmental Psychology (broadly defined) to begin August, 2026. Full details here: tinyurl.com/3sjknmxn
Questions can be directed to me.
Please share widely!

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Reposted by Anna J Finley, PhD

Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · Jul 8

BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.

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Darby Saxbe @darbysaxbe.bsky.social · Jun 4

I posted this article about my student's grant cancellation this morning. A few minutes ago, I learned that another very talented student in my lab had their funding cancelled too. I'm heartbroken -- not just about my students, but the future of science.
darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/my-student...

My student's funding just got axed

How the administration's attacks on science are hurting trainees

darbysaxbe.substack.com

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Reposted by Anna J Finley, PhD

Ben Balas @bjbalas.bsky.social · Jun 4

In a little more than a week, kiddo will have the chance to pitch her novel at StokerCon! Do any of my Bluesky friends have experience or advice about how to prepare? We have some general guidelines from the editor she'll be talking to, but any insight about Qs to expect, etc. would be very welcome!

HOME | StokerCon 2025

www.stokercon2025.com

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Reposted by Anna J Finley, PhD

Erin Westgate @erinwestgate.bsky.social · May 24

What happened when they instituted post-tenure review at Florida? The best professors left.

Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · May 23

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Fight or Flight: The Impact of Post-Tenure Evaluations on Faculty Productivity and Selection
30 Pages Posted: 19 May 2025
Simon Quach
University of Southern California

Zhengyi Yu
University of Southern California - Department of Economics

Date Written: May 15, 2025

Abstract
This paper examines the labor market effects of Florida's 2022 post-tenure review policy, which weakened tenure protections at public universities. Using a differencein-differences approach, we compare faculty outcomes in Florida to nearby states. We find the policy increased faculty exits-particularly among high-performing researchers-indicating a brain drain rather than improved selection. Additionally, we detect no productivity gains among incumbents and observe a decline in the research output of new hires. Overall, the findings suggest that reducing tenure protections negatively affects the research capacity and competitiveness of public universities.

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 24

And sound “sciency” for the tech bros and general public who think science is good but don’t really understand it. Sigh…

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 24

Also comes with the misunderstanding of science, distorting the process of truth finding through continual skepticism and refinement of models that approximate truth/reality to bend it to skepticism of everything that doesn’t fit your narrative. Sigh…

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 24

I mean with them wanting to RTC vaccines that have already been RTC-ed, medical ethics be damned, paired with a lack of understanding of science…I think you are giving them too much credit. We all know “high quality” evidence = matches my beliefs, no matter how they try to dress it up

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 24

Oh I know. And the whole bit about evaluating the balance of the evidence based on its strength, they will just argue the strengths of junk science aren’t recognized, you have to consider all the “evidence”, etc etc.

a man in a suit and tie is rubbing his eyes with his hands .

ALT: a man in a suit and tie is rubbing his eyes with his hands .

media.tenor.com

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 24

Hilarious in a if-you-aren’t-laughing-you-are-crying way that they define data fraud/fabrication, say that gov employees can’t rely on that, but we all know it won’t apply to anything from Wakefield… oh and they “forbid” cherry picking

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 24

Hilarious that they define academic misconduct and fraud and say that no employee should rely on it, but of course I’m sure that doesn’t include anything authored by Wakefield…

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Sheril Kirshenbaum @sheril.bsky.social · May 20

Bottom line: the proposed NIH & NSF cuts alone would eventually strip at least $10 billion per year from U.S. output.

www.forbes.com/sites/johndr...

Trump’s NIH And NSF Cuts Estimated To Cost The U.S. Economy $10 Billion Annually

Economists find public R&D drives U.S. productivity growth — and pays for itself

www.forbes.com

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Reposted by Anna J Finley, PhD

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · May 21

Testifying tomorrow at a Senate hearing showcasing damage done to HHS by (personnel) terminations 3:00-4:30 convened by Senators Welch and Baldwin.

With former leaders from CDC, SAMSHA< AHRQ, ACL (Admin. for Community Living)

www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-...

Senate Democrats to hold hearings on mass terminations at HHS, decrying RFK Jr. "destructive rampage"

The widespread terminations at the Department of Health and Human Services have drawn questions about the functioning of key health programs.

www.cbsnews.com

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 18

It’s shocking how well the white font trick for hidden AI instructions to add in dinosaurs or vampires or other nonsense to responses works. I’ve also had students turn in reflections that say “as an LLM, I am interested in human cognition….” 🤦🏼‍♀️

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 18

Maybe it’s just because I finished grading, but I’ve never had to fail students for continuing to cheat after I caught them, but I’ve failed 3 this year because they clearly AI-ed additional assignments after we talked one-on-one (plus syllabus policy, plus in class rant after AI exam cheating).

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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · May 18

say it again:

4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities

ROI for NIH and NSF for local economies is conservatively 4x, often close to 10x

demolishing higher education is economic sabotage

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · May 18

There is a false dichotomy drawn between "the ivory tower" and "the real world," and I'm here to report that in a post-industrial society, your real-world economy absolutely hinges on the university.

University towns are factory towns. Universities drive economic activity, not the other way around.

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · May 18

A must read

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 18

Will lead to fewer and fewer humans actually engaging in the loop, & as time goes on resulting in basically robots talking to robots. And I have no idea how to advert that, the genie is out of the bottle. It’s astonishing what students will turn in without reading the AI slop that is produced 2/2

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Anna J Finley, PhD @annajfinley.bsky.social · May 18

Yeah, that could be helpful. I have been inundated w/ AI generated basic reflections from my intro psyc class this semester tho, & I worry that the easy accessibility of AI is destroying critical thinking skills of so many. I am concerned that finding more & more ways to outsource crit thinking 1/?

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