Recharge overview
A time travel along the Via Appia
Would you like to travel in time? You can, at Museum Het Valkhof, with the interactive time travel along the Roman Via Appia, one of the oldest highways of the world. REVISITED Via Appia is the result of a longterm multidisciplinairy research. The exhibition combines the results of academical and artistic research and offers a refreshing perspective on the “Queen of Roads”.
How our brain keeps vowels apart
Cup or cap, the difference between these two words is just a vowel. But in order to understand what someone is saying, it is important that we are able to recognise such differences properly. Nadine de Rue studied how Dutch vowels are stored in our brains.
Babies are sensitive to rhyme, rhythm and phrases in children’s songs
All over the world, parents sing songs and recite rhymes to their young children. Researchers have known for some time that this has a stimulating or calming effect on babies, but it turns out that babies are also sensitive to the language patterns in these rhymes. This is the conclusion reached by linguist Laura Hahn in her Radboud University PhD thesis.
God on earth: emperor Domitian
Are bad Roman emperors really that different from good Roman emperors? Nathalie de Haan and Eric M Moormann look at the case of Domitian, an accomplished military man and prolific builder who emulated Augustus but was reviled as a new Nero.
Our brains are like a miniature RIVM
Almost all decisions we make come with a level of confidence. We base this confidence on scenarios that our brain unconsciously calculates before we decide. The fewer alternative scenarios, the more certain we feel about a decision.
‘Rough’ words feature a trill sound in languages around the globe
In languages spoken around the world, words describing rough surfaces are highly likely to feature a ‘trilled /r/’ sound – a linguistic pattern that stretches back over 6,000 years, a new study reveals. The international team of researchers from the University of Birmingham, Radboud University, and the University of British Columbia has published its findings in Scientific Reports.
When it comes to puppies and babies, the climate remains out of our view
Article by philosopher Fleur Jongepier on our daily choices and the climate.
Mental health care for detainees failing worldwide
A substantial majority of prisoners around the world experience psychological problems, yet authorities do little to address this issue. A new volume edited by Piet Hein van Kempen and Maartje Krabbe from Radboud University highlights for the first time how the situation has dramatic consequences worldwide and promotes human rights violations.
Educational researchers quite good at citing each other
85 percent of the references in educational research articles are substantively correct. This is the conclusion that Ard Lazonder and Noortje Janssen of Radboud University reached after analysing 500 articles from 244 different educational journals.
The future is a linguistic thing of possibility
Would you rather get 100 euros directly or have a 50 percent chance of 200 euros later? The choices people make are influenced by the degree of uncertainty that is expressed in a language. That is the outcome of Cole Robertson's research among speakers of Dutch and English.
New Year’s Resolutions: Friend or Foe?
The new year’s resolution is a tradition that goes back way long to when people used to make promises to gods to pay off their debts. But how about today? Is it all good or can it bring forward some challenges along with it?
Transporting people with magnets
Floating to work... no, you are not dreaming. You are using an innovative means of transport that consumes little energy and is good for the climate too. It sounds almost too good to be true, but engineers and scientists are working on it!
Historians investigate painful expropriation of Jewish property
North Holland municipalities have asked Radboud University to research the confiscation of Jewish properties during the Second World War. The original owners had to pay outstanding bills after returning from concentration camps or from hiding.
What do Western European Muslims think about homosexuality?
The frequency of mosque attendance, the norms of the country of origin, the time since migration and experiences of discrimination all play a role in how Western European Muslims view homosexuality.
What can we learn from rural Tanzanian food?
Why did internist-infectous diseases specialist Quirijn de Mast (Radboudumc) conduct research in Africa? He studied the effect of both rural food and urban food - which is similar to ours - on gut and immune systems of healthy Tanzanians. 'The rural food may help to prevent lifestyle diseases.'
Exciting story? The brain needs less controlled attention
What happens in your brain when you read a story with exciting plot twists and intriguing characters that is also well written? Cognitive neuroscientist Marloes Mak and fellow researchers dissected the brain systems involved in the aesthetic appreciation of literature.
Can an accent influence moral decision-making?
When people are presented with a moral dilemma in their native language but the words are spoken with a foreign accent, it appears that they make more rational decisions. This was revealed in research that Susanne Brouwer of Radboud University and Alice Foucart of Nebrija University in Madrid carried out among Dutch and Spanish participants.
When it comes to brains, the bigger, the better?
Are small-brained animals capable of elaborate learning?
Error is the key to success
What to do when facing a situation we’re not familiar with? Too many unknown elements to react intuitively. That’s when we need to pause and think about a new plan. And then, just try and see?
How your brain makes sure you always have room for dessert
The holidays season is right around the corner, which means we will be grouped around the dinner table soon enough. All kinds of delicious dishes appear on the table, and when you think you are not able to eat another bite, your aunt unveils an amazing looking dessert. Luckily, you always have room for dessert! But how can that be, even when you have just finished an entire Christmas meal? Research shows that there is a psychological as well as a physiological explanation.