Recharge overview
New 'Stoeltjesdans'-platform gives teachers more insight into their classroom
The National Stop Bullying Day on 19 April will call attention to the fact that one in ten school pupils still suffer from bullying. That is easily two to three pupils per class. This is partly because busy teachers find it difficult to manage the social climate of the classroom. Yvonne van den Berg, a developmental psychologist at Radboud University, has designed a platform called 'Stoeltjesdans' (a reference to the children's game Musical Chairs) to support teachers.
Does someone’s behaviour bias the memory of their face?
Someone might be good-looking or have a face only a mother could love. Consciously or not, we draw all sorts of conclusions about people when we see their face. Does this also work the other way around? Does the memory of someone’s face change on the basis of information we have about them?
We can’t fly, but we resemble birds while sleeping
Sleep plays a very important role in our lives, but we actually know very little about it. “With every piece of the puzzle that we find, the puzzle becomes more complex and more beautiful”, says Jacqueline van der Meij, postdoc at the Genzel Lab of Radboud University. On Tuesday 19 April she will give a lecture on sleep during Science Café Nijmegen.
Positive role models help minorities succeed in academia
Women and non-white academics are still under-represented in academia. To find causes and potential solutions, various academics, including sociologist Bas Hofstra of Radboud University, analysed the academic careers of over one million PhD candidates.
Drastic decline in hoverflies in Dutch forests
The numbers of hoverflies and hoverfly species have fallen drastically in the forests of the Veluwe in recent decades. In 2021, an average of 80% fewer individuals and 44% fewer species of hoverflies were counted than forty years ago. This is the first time that hoverfly numbers have been quantified in the Netherlands.
Bacteria generate electricity from methane
Generating power while purifying the environment of greenhouse gases should be achievable using bacteria. In a new publication, microbiologists from Radboud University have demonstrated that it is possible to make methane-consuming bacteria generate power in the lab.
‘Television debate between Macron and Le Pen will be crucial’
The second round of the French presidential elections is going to be a neck-and-neck race between the current President Emmanuel Macron and far-right politician Marine Le Pen. 'If Le Pen wins, the Franco-German axis as the centre of the European Union will disappear,' says historian Jan-Willem Brouwer.
‘We did not live in complete vain'
160 letters from a Jewish-German doctor about the upbringing of his three daughters, written between 1937 and 1943. The Drillingsberichte are like a time capsule that opens a gate to the past. Now - 85 years after the first letter - they are digitised, searchable and downloadable and offer a unique opportunity for researchers from different disciplines to work together.
Group of art critics still not very diverse
In the chronicling of Dutch art criticism, women often play a marginal role. They are in the majority these days, but there is no equality in status and income. Art historian Loes van Beuningen conducted PhD research into the role of women in visual art criticism and concludes that too little has changed since the beginning of the 19th century. The most important positions are still held by a small, fairly homogeneous group.
Why millions of African children have no birth registration
In large parts of Africa, over half of all children lack a birth registration. These children therefore cannot claim essential human rights. A new study by Anne Lieke Ebbers and Jeroen Smits of Radboud University identifies the factors that are responsible for this registration problem and provides suggestions on how this far-reaching problem can be addressed.
Under the microscope cobalt atoms behave like brains cells
Inanimate material such as cobalt sometimes behaves a bit like brain cells, quantum physicist Alex Khajetoorians discovered. This makes it possible to perform energy-efficient calculations. Last month, the professor received a Vici grant for his plans.
A closer look at the social cognitive potential of stories
One of the things that makes us unique as human beings is our urge and ability to communicate with each other through stories. It is often claimed that stories have an effect on, among other things, empathy, but studies into this effect have so far produced mixed results. Together with fellow researchers, linguist Lynn Eekhof (Centre for Language Studies, CLS) developed a new research strategy to look at the possible relationship between reading and social cognition in a nuanced way.
Transition to adulthood leads to a decline in sports participation
The level at which you participate in sports changes throughout your lifetime. As we transition into adulthood, this generally decreases. Changes in time and social contacts in particular are key drivers behind this, according to PhD research conducted by Jasper van Houten.
‘Bill rewards NCTV for doing something that is not allowed’
Should the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid, NCTV) be allowed to process personal data? A bill intended to make this possible is currently under review at the House of Representatives. Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, Professor of ICT and Law, recently spoke out against the bill. “No one doubts the importance of national security, but this bill is really much too vague,” said Zuiderveen Borgesius during a round-table discussion at the House of Representatives.
Limiting global warming is an incredible undertaking, but still possible
The latest IPCC report leave little doubt: we have to put in serious work to keep global warming to manageable levels. A co-author of the report, climate researcher Heleen de Coninck, as well as management scientist Vincent de Gooyert explain what we will have to do.
Advantage for men when reading 'neutral' Polish verb conjugation
The past tense conjugation of Polish verbs indicates whether the 'you' in the sentence is a man or a woman. If it is unclear whether the 'you' is male or female, the masculine form is used by default. An experiment by linguists at the Centre for Language Studies shows for the first time that this 'neutral' form is more difficult for women to process than for men.
Coins as an indispensable communication tool for Roman emperors
Roman coins were more than just a payment method. Coins were widely distributed in large numbers, making them an ideal medium for Roman emperors to communicate their ideological beliefs. In his PhD thesis, Sven Betjes reveals the evolution of the communicative function of coins over time.
‘Avoiding power grid congestion is like solving a super Sudoku’
The demand for electricity has exploded. The Dutch power grid is under strain and network operators are unable to keep up with developments. How can this problem be solved? Network distributor Alliander sought help from Radboud University.
This Nijmegen researcher is helping to develop a solution to help blind people to see
Helping blind people to see would be a miracle. Nijmegen researcher Jaap de Ruyter van Steveninck is one of the scientists attempting to make this a reality.
Creating change by Doing Things with Stories
For Dr Nishant Shah, the essence of research is to bring about change. In the project Doing Things with Stories, he brings together world changers to create change in society through the use of stories. ‘What point is research if it doesn’t generate hope?’