Ritika C

Apologies, here is the right link to apply for postdoc positions in the lab:
forms.gle/Hb8rS9hD3BV7...

Please repost to help us spread the word!

Is your example about when to stretch/truncate available somewhere to read?

Building causal knowledge in behavior genetics - PubMed Behavior genetics is a controversial science. For decades, scholars have sought to understand the role of heredity in human behavior and life-course outcomes. Recently, technological advances and the rapid expansion of genomic databases have facilitated the discovery of genes associated with human p …

one paper that helped me better understand the difference between probabilistic and deterministic causes was this one: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35510303/

I think this also comes from the fact that you're expected to see more complex clients using same amount of time, with same amount of support/supervision. It works better in services designed especially for more complex work and have adjusted caseloads/support systems. Trickier in private practice.

Such an important topic!

10 considerations for applying to UK PhD programs | Ritika Chokhani I provide some tips on applying for doctoral programs in the UK, based on my personal experience as an international student

I wrote a blog on applying for UK PhD programs, particularly based on my experience applying as an international student. I also link to other great resources I've found - do share if you think it might be helpful for someone :)

⚠️ Job Alert ⚠️

I'm recruiting a postdoc to work with me and Professor @jonroiser.bsky.social on an exciting new project examining the link between young people's decision-making on social media and their mental health.

Network analysis of multivariate data in psychological science - Nature Reviews Methods Primers Network analysis allows the investigation of complex patterns and relationships by examining nodes and the edges connecting them. Borsboom et al. discuss the adoption of network analysis in psychologi...

I found this paper useful - and it does have the basic definitions - but did not find it fully introductory as I understood it better after I'd read some other papers on network analysis: www.nature.com/articles/s43...

A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year.

A figure detailing the drain on researcher time. 1. The four-fold drain 1.2 Time The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce, with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure 1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs, grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time. The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many review demands. Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in ‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier, local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision.

A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below: 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year.

The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.

We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...

also, i'm looking for a phd student to join our team at the @aial.ie

bsky.app/profile/abeb...

I also feel that sometimes when students try to do something useful in the field, they're then told it's a training program/dont be too ambitious, but really the Prof may not have a good sense of how to guide the student through what they're asking bc it's different from what they usually do.

CDC to Fund Controversial Study in West Africa on Infant Hepatitis B Vaccines The study prompted swift outcry from scientists in the U.S. who say it’s “unethical.”

This is not the first time RFK Jr or his fellow anti-vax travelers conducted a study they knew would harm or kill children in low-income countries. It is a dehumanizing, colonialist model of manufacturing evidence: sacrificing foreign kids for political pseudoscience.
www.notus.org/health-scien...

The Psychological Impact of Digital Isolation: How AI-Driven Social Interactions Shape Human Behavior and Mental Well-Being Felix Eling 3697-3705 Apr 30, 2025 Education The Psychological Impact of Digital Isolation: How AI-Driven Social Interactions Shape Human Behavior and Mental Well-Being Felix Eling Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Gulu College of Health Sciences, Gulu City, Northern Uganda DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90400265 Received: 13 March 2025; Revised: 22 March 2025; Accepted: 25 March 2025; Published: 30 April 2025 ABSTRACT The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in social interactions has transformed how humans experience companionship, communication, and mental well-being. This review examines the psychological impact of AI-driven social interactions, focusing on virtual assistants, AI chatbots, and digital companions. It explores the benefits, risks, and ethical concerns associated with AI companionship. A systematic review methodology was employed, detailing inclusion criteria, databases searched, and analysis techniques. Findings suggest that while AI can offer emotional relief and support, over-reliance may disrupt real-world social bonding. Ethical concerns such as data privacy, emotional manipulation, and regulatory gaps are highlighted. The study underscores the need for balanced AI integration in human socialization. The study also addresses gaps in previous literature by examining AI’s influence on different demographic groups and cultural contexts.

Let me tell you a story. Perhaps you can guess where this is going... though it does have a bit of a twist.

I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵

Hilarious thread

thank you for sharing :)

While there is sig research on how social support is a resilience factor after experiencing trauma, I'm aiming to take a more "social-transactional" perspective and look at the mechanisms that could lead to "social thinning" i.e. having sparser networks, feeling less supported, more lonely.

My PhD is based on the neurocognitive social-transactional model: the idea that interpersonal trauma in childhood can lead to changes in the way we think/feel/act in relationships, which in turn could affect mental health. This review scoped initial evidence for candidate mechanisms for this model!

V excited to have 1st study from my PhD out as a preprint. We looked at whether interpersonal adversity in childhood is associated with changes in trust, mentalizing, agency and interpersonal emotion regulation and in turn, with mental health. All feedback much appreciated :) osf.io/preprints/ps...

This made me check out the slack just to see the memes haha

and all of the arguments we made 5 yrs ago in this paper about why the idea of robot rights relies on faulty assumptions about the nature of human cognition and intelligence still hold

Robot Rights?: Let's Talk about Human Welfare Instead dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Beautiful piece, so important. +100 relate for how medical practice struggles with helping those of us with chronic problems and the help that the internet provides. Reddit has been my best friend with my skin issues after a dermat said "we already discussed this last time" when I dared to ask f/u q

** Recruiting a postdoc ** We are looking for a postdoc to work on emotion, mental health, and interoception, based in London at @ucl.ac.uk in my lab (Clinical and Affective Neuroscience). Part of a large Wellcome Grant (co-led with the brilliant @camillanord.bsky.social)

Oh no, that's awful

Research Fellow (x2 posts) at UCL Apply for the Research Fellow (x2 posts) role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now.

6 days to go to apply to 2 postdoc positions (3-year and 2-year) at @ucl.ac.uk with @pravpatalay.bsky.social!
For all those interested in employment<->health, trade unions & longitudinal methods.
Feel free to share.
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPB406/r...

So revealing!

Deporting legally settled people is ‘broadly in line’ with Tory policy, says Badenoch’s office Conservative leader’s spokesperson sets out plan to strip the right of indefinite leave to remain from people claiming benefits

Here this all is as a story. The Conservatives said they would provide clarity, but they have not as yet.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Katie Lam has made a video - focusing on not giving new ILR grants to people who don't have it

But quietly including the Conservative proposal to be the first government since Idi Amin in 1972 to revoke the permanent leave to remain, then expel: she underplays to what extent
x.com/Katie_Lam_MP...

Oh! I thought our household had been randomly selected to receive the letter but appears not...

Please share! There are still spots available for my 3-day workshop on psychometric network modeling of longitudinal data in Singapore Dec 11 - 13!

fass.nus.edu.sg/psy/network-...

The workshop can be combined with a workshop Dec 8 - 10 on Foundations, Theory, and Cross-sectional Data Analysis!

Thank you!