Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · 6d

🥇 We are happy to announce the recipients of this year’s GESS Awards for outstanding achievements in teaching and research!

These awards acknowledge the commitment and hard work our graduate students have poured into their academic work. 🏆

Congratulations to our award winners!

Meet the Winners: GESS 2025 Awards |

www.uni-mannheim.de

1 2

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · 7d

Enjoy your research stay!

1

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

MZES Uni Mannheim @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social · 7d

📣 Diversity Week 🏳️‍🌈
📆 13-16 October 2025
📍 University of Mannheim

With contributions from MZES researchers Rainer Freudenthaler, @wurthmann.bsky.social (14 October), Andrea Chagas López, Oliver Rittmann (15 October) and many others.

Programme and details:
👉 www.uni-mannheim.de/en/gleichste...

5 9

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · 12d

Congratulations, Julius! So well deserved. 🏆

1

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

Domantas Undzėnas @unddom.bsky.social · 22d

🚨 New working paper alert! 🚨

I analyse how the UK Supreme Court declaring the Rwanda Scheme unconstitutional changed individuals' political values. I find that Britons become more supportive of racial and ethnic hierarchies after the ruling.

doi.org/10.31235/osf...

A 🧵:

1 4 9

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

João Areal @jnareal.bsky.social · 28d

🚨 New working paper

(highly recommend reading open-ended answers about politics btw. A good reality check if nothing else)

Eelco Harteveld @eelcoharteveld.bsky.social · 28d

What do citizens imagine their political opponents to be like? Polarization is real, but it also lives in our heads, fueled by stereotypes. We asked people in 🇧🇷, 🇬🇧, 🇩🇪 & 🇵🇱 to describe opponents in their own words.

With @jnareal.bsky.social, @markuswagner.bsky.social & @piotrmarczynski.bsky.social 👇

OSF

doi.org

1 5

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

Klara Müller @klaramueller.bsky.social · Sep 4

Full circle moment ⭕:
@psaepop.bsky.social was the first ever conference I presented at, and now I'm thrilled to wrap up my PhD conference cycle at #EPOP2025 in Exeter. Enthusiatic to present joint work with @aleferna.bsky.social and to be part of this promising panel. Curious to hear your thoughts!

1 5 19

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

Klara Müller @klaramueller.bsky.social · Sep 4

Join us tomorrow, we’re super curious about your feedback! 🙌🏻

Alejandro Fernández-Roldán @aleferna.bsky.social · Sep 4

Back in Exeter for the first time since my first PhD visiting stay! I'm thrilled to be presenting joint research on election polling with @klaramueller.bsky.social at the @psaepop.bsky.social Conference tomorrow. So looking forward to this panel full of great scholars

1 1

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Sep 5

Breaking from tradition, this one isn’t about our doctoral students’ accolades: We are excited to share an update about our board of directors!

Please join us in welcoming Prof. Höhle and Prof. Rothe to their new roles!

New Appointments to the GESS Board of Directors |

www.uni-mannheim.de

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Aug 29

Get ready to explore the campus, including our iconic Mannheim Baroque Palace or “Schloss” 🏰, and connect with your fellow students!

Here’s to a new academic year and an exciting adventure ahead! (2/2)

1

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Aug 29

Orientation day is here in Mannheim! 🏙️

We warmly welcome our incoming cohort of doctoral students as they arrive for orientations.

After months of preparation, we're excited to meet you and help you navigate the start of your academic journey with us at the GESS, University of Mannheim! 📚🎓 (1/2)

1 1 6

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

Gerrit von Zedlitz @gerritvzedlitz.bsky.social · Aug 24

🌍 Can climate stress tests drive real change in the financial system? #TRR

Excited to share our new working paper on climate stress tests! We show that climate stress tests can drive change but primarily if #banks are already climate-committed or under #ESG pressure. (1/3)

1 1 2

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Aug 18

🙌

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

GESIS Training @gesistraining.bsky.social · Aug 15

3.5 amazing weeks at #GESISsummerschool 2025 done!
Thanks to:
- participants for curiosity
- instructors for passion
- speakers for insights
- @gessunimannheim.bsky.social & @esrasurvey.bsky.social for support!

Bring on 2026!

Sc. coordinator Sebastian E. Wenz, Adm. Coordinator Jackie Schüller (in the middle in red) and Intern Sophia Hagedorn at the registration desk.

2 1 5

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

Hannah Rajski @hannahrajski.bsky.social · Jul 21

Interested in election forecasting? 📊🗳️

Check out @cornelius-erfort.bsky.social and my talk on different forecasting models for the 2025 German election and insights into our Zweitstimme.org research project.

MZES Social Science Data Lab @mzes-ssdl.bsky.social · Jul 17

🚨 Content alert 🚨

New recording and workshop materials published!

➡️ Forecasting the German Federal Election 2025 - Different Modelling Approaches
👤 @hannahrajski.bsky.social (Uni Mannheim) & @cornelius-erfort.bsky.social (Witten/Herdecke Uni)

📺 youtu.be/iQXUQ3NsKsk
🗒️ github.com/SocialScienc...

Forecasting the German Federal Election 2025 - Different Modelling Approaches

YouTube video by MZES Methods Bites

youtu.be

2 11

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Jul 2

Wishing you a great time and great conversations!

1

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

MZES Uni Mannheim @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social · Jun 27

📢 We’re also excited to announce that Oliver Rittmann received this year’s Bojanovsky Dissertation Prize, awarded by the Prof. Dr. Anna and Prof. Dr. Jörg Jiri Bojanovsky-Stiftung, which honours outstanding research by young scholars at the University of Mannheim.

MZES Uni Mannheim @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social · Jun 27

📢 MZES Fellow Oliver Rittmann has been granted this year’s Lorenz von Stein Award for his outstanding thesis titled “Video-as-Data for the Study of Parliamentary Speech: Methodology and Application”

Congratulations! 🥳

(1/7)

Dr. Oliver Rittmann inside the A5 building at the University of Mannheim

1 2

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Jul 2

🥳 We’re on a roll this week, and it’s only Wednesday!

Congratulations to our alum Dr. Oliver Rittmann for winning the Lorenz von Stein Award for his dissertation! 🎉

MZES Uni Mannheim @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social · Jun 27

📢 MZES Fellow Oliver Rittmann has been granted this year’s Lorenz von Stein Award for his outstanding thesis titled “Video-as-Data for the Study of Parliamentary Speech: Methodology and Application”

Congratulations! 🥳

(1/7)

2

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Jul 2

📣 New article alert 📣
How do we understand the rally around the EU flag effect after the Russian invasion of Ukraine? CDSS doctoral candidates Domantas Undzėnas and Muhammad Muhammad's new article has valuable insights. Highlights in the thread below.
Congratulations on your publication! 👏 #polisky

Domantas Undzėnas @unddom.bsky.social · Jul 1

In our new publication to @nature.com Humanities & Social Sciences Communications @muhx2.bsky.social and I explore if the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine increased support for European integration among Europeans. The answer is yes!

A short 🧵:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Entangled fates—the rally effect around Europe due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Entangled fates—the rally effect around Europe due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

www.nature.com

3

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Jun 23

📣 New article alert 📣
In-depth insights from CDSS doctoral candidate Klara Müller on the determinants of post-election survey participation. Take a look at her thread below, in which she breaks down her main results. Congratulations, @klaramueller.bsky.social !👏

Klara Müller @klaramueller.bsky.social · Jun 23

🚨 Excited to see my first solo-authored paper now published in IJPOR! 🚨

Do election outcomes affect participation in post-election surveys? And specifically, do election winners respond more than losers? The short answer: not really.

The slightly longer answer: 🧵👇

academic.oup.com/ijpor/articl...

Survey Nonresponse After Elections: Investigating the Role of Winner-Loser Effects in Panel Attrition

Abstract. When and for whom do election outcomes drive survey nonresponse? This paper investigates whether belonging to the winners or losers of an electio

academic.oup.com

1

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

MZES Uni Mannheim @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social · Jun 23

❗ Hier das working paper zu diesem Thema von Marc Ratkovic, Thomas Gschwend, @wendering.bsky.social, Kevin Bauer, @annakurella.bsky.social, Oliver Rittmann, @melinscribe.bsky.social, @nschwitter.bsky.social:

www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) Harnessing GPT for Enhanced Academic Writing: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Early-Career Researchers in the Social Sciences

PDF | Large Language Models (LLMs) bring both risk and opportunity to scholarly communication, yet their effects on expert‐level research remain... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on R...

www.researchgate.net

5 3

Reposted by Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS

MZES Uni Mannheim @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social · Jun 23

Wie beeinflusst KI wissenschaftliches Arbeiten?
Journalist @jmwiarda.bsky.social berichtet aktuell über den #hackathon, den die Mannheimer Politikwissenschaftler Thomas Gschwend und Marc Ratkovic letztes Jahr mit @springernature.com veranstaltet haben:
‬

www.jmwiarda.de/blog/2025/06...

„KI verändert schon jetzt, wie wir denken“

www.jmwiarda.de

1 3 5

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Jun 18

📆 And don’t miss Felix' talk at the upcoming Panel Data for Causal Research Designs summer school in Bertinoro, Italy (29 June – 4 July 2025)! (2/2)

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · Jun 18

🎉 Cue the confetti, ...
CDSE doctoral graduate @felixrusche.bsky.social has been awarded the FBK-IRVAPP Best Paper Award 2025 for his research showing how access to media can serve as a transformative tool in advancing gender equality. Congratulations, Felix! 👏 (1/2)

Felix Rusche Wins FBK-IRVAPP 2025 Best Paper Award |

Felix Rusche has been awarded the prestigious FBK-IRVAPP Best Paper Award 2025 for his research showing how community radio in India can empower women and reduce gender inequality.

www.uni-mannheim.de

1 1 2

Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - GESS @gessunimannheim.bsky.social · May 16

📣 If you are interested in election forecasting, cancel your plans!
CDSS doctoral candidate @hannahrajski.bsky.social and co-author Dr. @cornelius-erfort.bsky.social will be sharing their work at the MZES Social Science Data Lab.

Time, location, and abstract below. Don’t miss it.

MZES Social Science Data Lab @mzes-ssdl.bsky.social · May 15

🚨 Upcoming: "Forecasting the German Federal Election 2025 - Different Modelling Approaches"

👤 @hannahrajski.bsky.social (Uni Mannheim) & @cornelius-erfort.bsky.social (Witten/Herdecke Uni)

🗓️ Wed, May 21, 13:45-15:15 CET

📺 Register for the live stream: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Forecasting the German Federal Election 2025 - Different Modelling Approaches

Abstract

The Zweitstimme.org project presents a comprehensive approach to forecasting the 2025 German federal election, combining multiple methodologies to predict both party vote shares (Zweitstimme) and constituency-level outcomes (Erststimme). This presentation showcases three distinct forecasting approaches: a dynamic Zweitstimme model, a proportional swing Erststimme model, and citizen forecasting. The project also communicated the forecasts and their uncertainties to the public, with results being shared in various media outlets.

Presenter(s)

Hannah Rajski is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim. She works in the project Election Forecasts for the German Federal Election 2025. Her main research interests lie in quantitative methods, comparative politics, and political sociology with a focus on political behaviour and elections. In her dissertation she analyses voters‘ expectations about election outcomes and how these can be aggregated into citizen forecasts. Hannah holds a bachelor’s degree in Politics, Administration and International Relations from Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen, Germany and a master’s degree in Politics and Public Administration from the University of Konstanz, Germany.

Cornelius Erfort is Postdoc at the Witten/Herdecke University, working on the project Election Forecasts for the German Federal Election 2025. His general interests are in comparative politics and quantitative methods. More specifically, he is working on voter targeting, interest groups, and voting behavior. In his dissertation, he analyzed how parties use the target and tailor their digital election ads. He was a member of the Research Training Group DYNAMICS which is jointly organized by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Hertie School.

1 3