Recharge overview
Harry Styles as pain relief
Tackling pain with your favourite music: according to pain expert Esmeralda Blaney Davidson and senior researcher Hans Timmerman, it can be done. They investigated how music can help make pain more bearable.
Listening habits turned upside down with Gregorian chant
Making noise to become quiet: Thomas Quartier says it is possible. The Professor of Liturgical Studies and Benedictine monk talks about the stillness of Gregorian chant, and how other types of music can sometimes put you in a ritual state. All of which has little to do with decibels. He explains how this silence paradox works.
Hands in the air for a higher tone
The media are buzzing with new developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Quite literally so, when it comes to AI in music. Radboud University researchers Michelle Appel and Daniel Danilin are using AI in an interactive installation that allows visitors to influence music through physical movement. Michelle Appel explains how it works.
Pop music according to a set recipe
‘Alles is al eerder bedacht. Het is alleen de kunst om er weer aan te denken’, aldus Duitse wetenschapper, schrijver en filosoof Goethe. Zou hij ook bedacht hebben wie de rechten heeft op de uitvoering van die gedachten? Misschien niet. En hoe zit dat bij muziek, als alles al eens is gedaan en gemaakt? Wat is nog beschermd en wat niet? Roma Leuyerink is docent en promovenda bij de vaksecties Burgerlijk Recht en Intellectueel Eigendomsrecht aan de Radboud Universiteit. Zij vertelt erover aan de hand van enkele voorbeelden.
Entrepreneurs around the world are (a little) alike
Anthropologist Joost Beuving (Radboud University) provides new insights into entrepreneurial behaviour in his recently published book. This behaviour shows striking similarities around the world, according to Beuving’s long-term studies and fieldwork in Greece, West Africa and the United States, among other countries. “In reality, entrepreneurial success often has more to do with a variety of circumstances over which entrepreneurs have very little control, than with rational anticipation and well-thought-out planning.”
Socrates in the computer: a smart AI that asks questions
AI as a thorn in our side, rather than a harbinger of endless streams of data. That is what Pim Haselager sees in the future. The Professor of Artificial Intelligence devised a ‘reflection machine’, which is now being developed in a number of studies. ‘AI can be a powerful aid in decision-making, but if we’re not careful, it may reinforce our tunnel vision or undermine our accountability.’
New African-European research on infection, immunity and inflammation
The universities united in the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild) are starting 17 research clusters aimed at changing the nature of African-European research collaboration. These clusters emphasise equality as a prerequisite for excellent and impactful research. One such research cluster, in the field of infectious diseases, immunity and inflammation, is led on the European side by Radboud university medical center. The intention is also that non-medical disciplines of Radboud University make a contribution to the partnership.
Saying goodbye is important
How do you say goodbye when, for instance, you're leaving a job? What is the best way to do this? Psychological research shows that properly ending events and chapters in your life is important for how you feel and move on to the next phase in life.
5 questions about our online energy consumption
Saving email in your inbox, watching YouTube videos on your phone, posting on Instagram; everything we do online consumes electricity and is therefore a source of CO2 emissions. Which internet activities devour energy and what can we do to make our online activities more sustainable?
Why you should stop getting coffee for your colleagues
Most people are by now aware that sitting at your desk all day is not particularly healthy. Yet existing interventions, such as sit/standing desks and smartwatches with reminders to stand up, seem to bring about very little lasting change. Psychologist Pam ten Broeke (Radboud University) investigated where our sitting behaviour comes from, and how we can actually change it.
How regularly changing diapers can give dads a “parenting brain”
The ads for aftershave, tools, barbecues, and other so-called ‘guy things’ were everywhere around Father’s Day. Fortunately, despite these stereotypes in commercials, we know that you don’t have to be a father to use a drill. In addition, not all fathers enjoy getting a barbecue apron and a bottle of craft beer. What fathers do have in common are the brain changes that make them better parents. Although this mainly has to do with how involved parents are in care tasks and not so much with their gender.
'Healthcare for the elderly needs more than small changes'
How do we treat the elderly? How can we provide the care that they need and deserve despite an increasing shortage of personnel and budget cuts? Researchers from Radboud University brought together various organisations involved in healthcare for elderly people, the government and academia to discuss these challenges. The final goal is to design future healthcare communities.
What does a year of research in favelas teach us about politics?
Is building more housing the solution to the housing shortage? Can poverty be solved by increasing social assistance? Can distrust in the government be solved by more participation? According to Martijn Koster, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Development Sociology at Radboud University, we still too often view such social issues from the perspective of the government. That is both unjust and unjustified, he argues: "Recognition of other, often marginalised, perspectives on society is essential to do more justice to the situation of disadvantaged residents".
Wildlife cameras capture campus life: five fox cubs
Recently, students and employees have been able to track the animals living on our campus via wildlife cameras. The first images are a surprise: five young foxes are living on the university grounds.
New street signs revealed on campus: ‘It feels very unreal’
Eight new street signs were revealed on campus. The various paths were named after late alumni and PhD candidates of Radboud University. Surviving relatives were invited to the unveiling. ‘It’s an incredible honour that they named a path after my father, out of all the students who attended here.’
“Start teaching young people media literacy on time“
In times of fake news and endless streams of information, it is important that young people learn to critically reflect on what they read or see online. That is the opinion of Sanne Tamboer, a Communication Science researcher. At Radboud University, she did research about how young people between the ages of 12 and 15 consume news and on ways to train them in media literacy.
Effect of nitrogen deposition on animal species stronger than expected
Anthropogenic increased nitrogen deposition is a well-known environmental stressor, resulting in impoverishment of soil quality in naturally nutrient-poor ecosystems. As a result, habitat conditions for plant and animal species are also changing. Such changes are sometimes clearly visible in the field. For instance, plant species that benefit from extra nitrogen often become dominant, leading to grass-dominance in heathlands and increasing cover of blueberries and bramble in woodlands. Less visible however are the effects of nitrogen deposition on food quality of plants, and the subsequent effects on animal fitness.A group of researchers from several Dutch and Belgian universities and research institutes show that nitrogen deposition alters the ratio of nutrients in plants, which in turn may lead to a reduced performance in many animal species.
Understanding FOMO
Have you ever turned down an invite to a party only to later regret your decision by assuming that your friends who went had the greatest time in their lives? Or on the contrary, have you ever been to a party, only to suddenly realize that you should have rather stayed back home and worked towards finishing that deadline? Well, FOMO may be the devil at play here.
Me versus the other
Social comparison, or the tendency to compare oneself with another, is an individual behavior largely embedded in cultural and political background. Research has converged on the idea that the brain’s reward-related system is involved. Why is that?
'Money whitens': why people are more likely to change ethnicity
Gedurende je leven meermaals van etniciteit wisselen: voor miljoenen mensen wereldwijd is het helemaal niet zo absurd. Etniciteit is voor hen niet een aangeboren, rigide begrip, maar iets dat verandert naar mate van hoe je plek in de samenleving verandert. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van econoom Robbert Rademakers, die op 16 juni promoveert aan de Radboud Universiteit.