Interdisciplinary Institute for Societal Computing

📣Call for Applications‼️
ARTEMIS – African Research Talents Experiencing Mentoring In Science
📅Application Deadline: April 13, 2026.
👓Read all:
https://www.mpg.de/26122924/artemis-mentoring-programme
✍️Application:
https://www.mpg.de/26133233/MPG_ARTEMIS_2026_call-and-application-documents.pdf

Great news! 💬 Our series of #ActEU Animated Explainers is available on YouTube with SUBTITLES in Italian 🇮🇹, French 🇫🇷, and German 🇩🇪‼️

Follow the animated characters here & learn more about political trust in Europe👉 www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
@unidue.bsky.social @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

The third #ActEU policy brief has arrived!

Party Competition and Voter Attitudes in German Border Regions: Evidence From Local VAAs | Article | Politics and Governance Daniela Braun, Elisa Deiss-Helbig, Theresa Gessler, Jochen Müller, Julia Wagner, Georg Wenzelburger

New publication: Party Competition and Voter Attitudes in German Border Regions

Using innovative local VAA data the study shows how party competition and voter preferences on European integration take shape where #EUpolitics meets the local level.

Learn more: www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandg...

Abstract submissions close on March 3rd!

We are also extending a ✨ call for mentored reviewers ✨ if you advise excellent graduate or postdoctoral researchers you are welcome to recommend them to review for IC2S2 2026. Email IC2S2@uvm.edu to nominate mentored reviewers (or faculty colleagues)

The SOUNDS initiative is hiring for 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻/ 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱
𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻/ 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱-𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗸𝘂𝘀
𝗪𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗳𝘁𝘀𝗸𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 (𝗺/𝘄/𝗱).

Link: www.uni-saarland.de/fileadmin/up...

@ingmarweber.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social

Join us on 5. March for our (German) #PoliSci talk with #UNTWIST: "How political are gender question really?"

Sign up here: bit.ly/untwist-gsb

The second #ActEU policy brief is here!

The Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS) project is inviting applications for the following position:

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗳/𝗺/𝘅) 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗿𝗲𝗳: 𝗪𝟮𝟴𝟬𝟭)
Paygrade: E13 TV-L 100%
Duration: 2 years

@ingmarweber.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social @uni-saarland.de

SOUNDS The Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS), based at Saarland University and led by Prof. Ingmar Weber and Prof. Daniela Braun, is a pioneering interdisciplinary initiative designed to...

SOUNDS is an interdisciplinary research project funded by the State Transformation Fund, investigating societal transformation processes using innovative, large-scale data sources such as satellite imagery and social media.

Learn more about SOUNDS: www.sounds-observatory.org

Please submit your application (including a letter of motivation, a Curriculum Vitae, and a list of publications in a PDF file) by 𝟮𝟳.𝟬𝟮.𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 to 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗸𝘁-𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀@𝘂𝗻𝗶-𝘀𝗮𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱.𝗱𝗲.

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝟮𝟴𝟬𝟭 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Link to advertisement: www.uni-saarland.de/fileadmin/up...

The Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS) project is inviting applications for the following position:

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗳/𝗺/𝘅) 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗿𝗲𝗳: 𝗪𝟮𝟴𝟬𝟭)
Paygrade: E13 TV-L 100%
Duration: 2 years

@ingmarweber.de @politicsunisaar.bsky.social @uni-saarland.de

Job opening for postdoctoral researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic-Epidemiology.

The Medical Demography research group explains its goals for studying disease progression and its effects on health and the population.

We are looking for a PhD in demography, sociology, epidemiology, or related fields with experience in quantitative health data analysis.

Apply now: The application deadline is March 22, 2026. For more information, visit www.demogr.mpg.de/go/jobs.

📢Job Offer‼️New Max Planck Research Group on Medical Demography
Marcus Ebeling will lead the team starting on 1 July 2026. The research group will be based at the MPIDR in Rostock. Read an interview with Marcus on his future research here: www.demogr.mpg.de/go/rgmd (including link to job) #postdoc

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

7 days of hands-on advanced methods + networking for PhDs, postdocs & early-career researchers.
Free of charge (limited travel support).

Deadline 1 March 2026: summerschoolwpm.org
#methodsky #polisky

Bowling with ChatGPT: On the Evolving User Interactions with Conversational AI Systems Recent studies have discussed how users are increasingly using conversational AI systems, powered by LLMs, for information seeking, decision support, and even emotional support. However, these macro-l...

#BowlingAlone documented a quiet shift from collective to solitary practices.
In Bowling with ChatGPT ( #TheWebConference2026), we study whether a similar shift is unfolding in interactions with conversational AI.

arxiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2602.01114

A quick summary of the first #ActEU policy brief:

Green promises, gray realities: nationalism between climate action and obstruction Abstract. This article examines the intersection of climate obstruction and “green nationalism,” exploring whether the latter can act as a tool against the

New paper 🎉 in Oxford Open Climate Change together with Daniele Conversi, @lorenzoposocco.bsky.social @wenjiening.bsky.social and Joan Enguer
We look at how nationalism shapes climate action — sometimes enabling it, often constraining it.
doi.org/10.1093/oxfc...
#Research #PoliticalScience #Climate

Coming soon: Activating European Citizens’ Trust in Times of Crisis and Polarization

This #PoliSci book will explore how trust and legitimacy shape Europe’s representative democracies, introducing the #ActEU framework to assess democratic change and polarization.

🌍 Are you new to #icwsm or @journalqd.bsky.social and based in a low- or middle-income country?

🚨 There are only 10 days left to apply to ICWSM/JQD Global Initiative!
🚀 Apply by Jan 15: www.icwsm.org/2026/submit....

New deadline is Jan 23. If you're based in a low- or middle-income country and work on computational social science, particularly using online data, please consider applying.

We're #hiring: This time we're looking for a project lead assistant for our large-scale #compsocsci project SOUNDS!

New Publication out! 🔥 Italy’s right-wing politics has changed dramatically over the past two decades. With @gippone.bsky.social and @leonardo-puleo.bsky.social we started from a basic question: Why has the radical right surged inside Italy’s right coalition? Radicalisation or something different?

🎶“The relationship between voters and parties is a complicated dance, with high potential for misalignment” 🎶 Find out more in this #ActEU blog post 👉 www.foederalist.eu/2025/12/acte...

✍️ @alexhartland.bsky.social, Daniela Braun, Giuseppe Carteny, @rosanavarrete.bsky.social & @annreinl.bsky.social

World map with interconnected lines and text about migration during the pandemic

Diagram shows estimated changes in the migrant population after a one-month travel ban for France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the US by country of origin.

Estimate of the change in the migrant population due to a one-month travel ban in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the US by country of origin.

Jordan D. Klein & Ingmar Weber published a Letter to the Editor in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that opens a conversation on the findings of Chi et al (Measuring global migration flows using online data). https://www.demogr.mpg.de/go/PNAS-Letter-Editor

Out of step? The EU’s difficult election dance Ein Blog über die Demokratie in Europa

European parties often miss what voters actually care about. New #ActEU research shows clear gaps between party platforms and voter priorities with consequences for trust and political stability.

Read more in our latest #PoliSci blogpost:

2026 tutorial submissions are open!

✔️ Submission deadline: February 2nd, 2026
✔️Acceptance Notification: February 16th, 2026

View the guidelines here:
lnkd.in/eBHVe2tP

2026 abstract submissions are open!

✔️ Submission deadline: March 3rd, 2026
✔️ Acceptance Notification: April 14th, 2026

View the guidelines here:
lnkd.in/eJEXvd8u

The top half shows a screenshot of a mindful math learning tool with a forest-themed interface and algebra exercises, overlaid with a square portrait of Prof. Dr. Tomohiro Nagashima against a neutral background. The bottom half shows the AlgeSpace learning tool interface with a balance-scale algebra exercise, overlaid with a rectangular group photo of the members of LaLa Lab. Below the images, a large banner reads: "The Henriette Herz Fellowship: bringing researchers together for AI that supports, not dictates."

Are you an international researcher interested in ethical AI in education? Good news — Prof. Nagashima is hiring another Postdoc (as a Humboldt Fellow) to LaLa Lab!

🎤 Read his interview to see what he looks for in candidates: sic.link/lalalab

📄 Application requirements: sic.link/fellowship

Join us in january for a #PoliSci talk by Dr Anne Jadot: "What drives French voters to the polls?"

I’m pleased to share that our paper, "A Global Dataset of Location Data Integrity Assessed Reforestation Efforts," has been published in Nature Scientific Data!
Read the paper in Scientific Data:
lnkd.in/eGrffFqB
Access the dataset on Harvard Dataverse:
lnkd.in/e63mv__Y