Emma Zang | Lightnews

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · 9d

Thrilled to be serving on the postdoc selection committee this year! If you’re working on social applications of LLMs or causal inference using observational data, I’d love to see your application!

Nicholas A. Christakis @nachristakis.bsky.social · 9d

Yale’s Institute for Foundations of Data Science (FDS) @yaledatascience.bsky.social is seeking applications for postdoctoral positions. These are cool, generously supported, competitive positions, expected to last 2-3 years, for independent scholars working on the foundations of data science.

Yale University, Institute for the Foundations of Data Science

Job #AJO31114, Postdoc in Foundations of Data Science, Institute for the Foundations of Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US

academicjobsonline.org

Nicholas A. Christakis @nachristakis.bsky.social · 9d

Yale’s Institute for Foundations of Data Science (FDS) @yaledatascience.bsky.social is seeking applications for postdoctoral positions. These are cool, generously supported, competitive positions, expected to last 2-3 years, for independent scholars working on the foundations of data science.

Yale University, Institute for the Foundations of Data Science

Job #AJO31114, Postdoc in Foundations of Data Science, Institute for the Foundations of Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US

academicjobsonline.org

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · 13d

I talked about the fertility issues in China in this article:

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

China Enforced Strict Population Controls for Decades. Encouraging Births Is Far Harder

A Chinese steel city has doubled down on pro-natalist policies in search of an elusive baby bump.

www.bloomberg.com

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · 26d

See many of you next Friday!

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · 29d

The Hoover Institution was a beautiful setting, and the organizing team was fantastic. I’m already planning to join again next year. Hope to see more demographers and sociologists there!

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · 29d

Had a great time at the Remote Work Conference last week! It’s been a while since I’ve attended such an intellectually stimulating and welcoming event.

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 17

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Feedback very welcome!

From Extraction to Inference: Comparing Rule-Based, Machine Learning, and LLM Approaches for Classifying Social Outcomes in Legal Text

Legal texts encode key social outcomes, but their unstructured format, domain-specific language, and culturally embedded cues make them difficult to an

papers.ssrn.com

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 17

Just posted a new working paper on SSRN! We pit rule-based, machine learning, and various LLM methods against each other to classify social outcomes (like gender, custody, and housing) from Chinese divorce judgments. What can human–machine disagreement teach us about validity and inference?

From Extraction to Inference: Comparing Rule-Based, Machine Learning, and LLM Approaches for Classifying Social Outcomes in Legal Text

Legal texts encode key social outcomes, but their unstructured format, domain-specific language, and culturally embedded cues make them difficult to an

papers.ssrn.com

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 14

Join us in advancing cutting-edge, data-driven research on inequality and population health! Please spread the word!

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 14

The official posting will appear soon on our lab website, but interested candidates are encouraged to reach out now with a CV and a writing sample (with an associated sample code). You can reach me at [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until we find the right fit.

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 14

Z-CAFÉ will soon open a new postdoctoral position. We’re looking for scholars passionate about family, health, demography, policy, and aging, broadly defined, who also bring strong statistical and computational skills.

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 13

Looking forward to the amazing Deborah Carr visiting us next Monday!

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 6

Excited to attend this year's Remote Work Conference at Stanford (www.remoteworkconference.org)! Look forward to connecting with scholars who are interested in flexible work and those in the Stanford area!

2025 Conference Schedule

The Schedule

www.remoteworkconference.org

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 5

This would likely be a side project, but I think it could be extremely interesting (and important). If this sparks your curiosity too, please reach out or drop me a message—I’d love to chat!

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 5

I’d love to start talking with families whose children or parents have been in facilities recently acquired by private equity companies. I’m also looking to connect with researchers—especially those with qualitative expertise—who might be interested in exploring this with me.

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 5

As both a scholar who studies caregiving and a parent, I find this trend fascinating—and a bit concerning. There’s already a growing body of research on private equity in healthcare, but much less on its impact on the everyday experiences of families.

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 5

Lately I’ve been hearing parents talk about how private equity firms are increasingly buying up daycares and nursing homes in Connecticut.

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 4

As someone who studies family, law, and inequality, I found these stories both personal and urgent—they remind us how policies ripple through everyday lives and futures.

I hope you’ll take a moment to read it and support student journalism: thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/09/disr...

Disrupted Customs | The New Journal

Chinese international students are the foremost targets of Trump’s student visa restrictions. Now, their place at Yale and their ability to speak freely seem more precarious.

thenewjournalatyale.com

Emma Zang @dremmazang.bsky.social · Oct 4

I was recently interviewed for this thoughtful piece in The New Journal about Chinese international students navigating today’s political climate. The article captures both the courage and vulnerability of students whose education and voices are shaped by forces far beyond the classroom.

Disrupted Customs | The New Journal

Chinese international students are the foremost targets of Trump’s student visa restrictions. Now, their place at Yale and their ability to speak freely seem more precarious.

thenewjournalatyale.com