📢 New research shows misinformation doesn't just warp beliefs — it breaks relationships.
"When information is partisan and personal, the health of our relationships becomes inseparable from the health of our democracy."
@emilyvanduyn.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Study finds ChatGPT Health did not recommend a hospital visit when medically necessary in more than half of cases. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Quick PSA for all mid-career academics and above: people may be citing articles with your name on them that don't exist.
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's a time-lapse from yesterday as thousands of people marched through downtown Minneapolis to protest ICE.
📷️: Sydney Lewis/The Minnesota Star Tribune
I'm really glad we bought all those guidebooks, we made the right person our guide. ❤️
picture of journal article:: title: Noninferiority and Efficiency/Revenue Facilitation (NERF) Endpoints Shifting Grounds of Argument in Health AI Interventional Studies; abstract: This article investigates ethical hazards associated with argumentative shifts following the emergence of combined non-inferiority and effi-ciency/revenue facilitation (NERF) endpoints, with particular attention to research on artificial intel-ligence (AI) in health and medicine. The study pre-sented here adopts a Toulmin argumentative analysis approach to investigate the dominant persuasive log-ics of twenty-three health AI trials evaluating NERF endpoints. In so doing, the article demonstrates how the argumentative logics of NERF trial reports shifts away from health outcomes as the putative evidence base for adopting novel interventions toward an argu-mentative model that prioritizes economic benefits over patient benefits. Ultimately, the article argues that new logic of NERF endpoints is consistent with and risks accelerating the harms to patient care that arise from increased financialization of the healthcare sector. If the use of NERF endpoints and attendant logics continue to grow unchecked, they could result in significant harms to patient health and well-being.
🚨new pub - Noninferiority and Efficiency/Revenue Facilitation (NERF) Endpoints: @jadeshiva.bsky.social, @kimberharrison.bsky.social & I explore how NERF endpoints prioritize financial incentives over patient outcomes in health AI research & accelerate culture of financialized health. rdcu.be/eQzJe
This is not a deal — it's an empty promise.
Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families.
Time for Democrats to stand tall for affordable healthcare. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Submit to our special issue Hybrid Organizing for Social Good: Implications for Communication. 3/31/26
journals.sagepub.com/page/mcq/202...
On Saturday, the American people will rise up again for a truly historic day of defiance. Make your plan to be part of the biggest day of peaceful protest in modern US history: www.nokings.org?SQF_SOURCE=i... #NoKings
Two minutes out!! Drop on by for a visit.
How can local news thrive?
A study by @EmilyVanDuyn and @TaliaStroud finds that engaged journalism — where journalists connect more directly with communities — may be part of the answer.
A lot of people think that every international student admitted means one fewer spot for domestic students, when the opposite is more likely true - the tuition revenue international students bring allows public universities to provide substantial discounts to domestic students, improving access.
Green and gold flyer announcing an award presentation
I’m doing a thing at @sacstate.bsky.social today. #sacstate #research #nerdalert
AI medical tools downplay symptoms in women and ethnic minorities on.ft.com/46ILa9z
Luckily, Sinclair has a helpful database of all their stations, so you can see if they're operating in your area and respond accordingly.
sbgi.net/tv-stations/
How to Lead Conversations within a Highly Polarized Political Context.
open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
New Issue Alert! Introducing the JoC Special Issue: Qualitative Theorizing and Methodological Advancements, edited by Kristina M. Scharp, Elizabeth A. Hintz @elizabethahintz.bsky.social and Sandra Vera Zambrano
Check it out here: academic.oup.com/joc/issue
Illinois is now the number one state in the Midwest to work in.
This ranking reflects our work in making Illinois the best state in the nation to do business, raise a family, and thrive.
Republicans have tossed the rulebook out.
Here in Illinois, we will do whatever it takes to preserve democracy.
Congratulations to UIUC's own Dr. Kaiyu Guan who is receiving national recognition for his groundbreaking work in food security and environmental sustainability!
What Happens When You Trade Doomscrolling for Hopescrolling: Doomscrolling turns our phones into misery machines—and makes us see the world as a mean, scary place. Here's what happened when Jennifer Mercieca's students tried hopescrolling instead
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/what-happens...
This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine, and Brain-only (no tools). Each completed three sessions under the same condition. In a fourth session, LLM users were reassigned to Brain-only group (LLM-to-Brain), and Brain-only users were reassigned to LLM condition (Brain-to-LLM). A total of 54 participants took part in Sessions 1-3, with 18 completing session 4. We used electroencephalography (EEG) to assess cognitive load during essay writing, and analyzed essays using NLP, as well as scoring essays with the help from human teachers and an AI judge. Across groups, NERs, n-gram patterns, and topic ontology showed within-group homogeneity. EEG revealed significant differences in brain connectivity: Brain-only participants exhibited the strongest, most distributed networks; Search Engine users showed moderate engagement; and LLM users displayed the weakest connectivity. Cognitive activity scaled down in relation to external tool use. In session 4, LLM-to-Brain participants showed reduced alpha and beta connectivity, indicating under-engagement. Brain-to-LLM users exhibited higher memory recall and activation of occipito-parietal and prefrontal areas, similar to Search Engine users. Self-reported ownership of essays was the lowest in the LLM group and the highest in the Brain-only group. LLM users also struggled to accurately quote their own work. While LLMs offer immediate convenience, our findings highlight potential cognitive costs. Over four months, LLM users consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels. These results raise concerns about the long-term educational implications of LLM reliance and underscore the need for deeper inquiry into AI's role in learning.
Looks like oral exams after LLM use may not be the easy fix some are hoping for. arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872
Huge congratulations to my brilliant Rutgers colleague Sophia Fu for receiving the #ICA25 Early Career Scholar Award!
So glad to see her important work recognized with this prestigious award!
Ten actions every one of us can take to defend democracy
open.substack.com/pub/jennifer...
Thanks to a great team: Quinn Grundy, Nandini Sharma, @jadeshiva.bsky.social, @barbourjosh.bsky.social, Justin Rousseau, @zoltanmajdik.bsky.social, and Lisa Bero
Read article here: rdcu.be/elVHg
Excited to share open access to this new book edited by Drs.
Stephanie Fox, Kirstie McAllum, Leena Mikkola. Dr. Cassidy Doucet and I contributed a chapter. If you’re interested in professions, healthcare organizing, or interprofessional communication, check it out! link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
