Recharge overview
Sustainability in education
Radboud University wants to contribute to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. That is why we assign sustainability a prominent role in our education. All encounter sustainability issues within their own discipline. And for students who want more, there is a wide range of courses and a sustainability certificate. Marije Klomp, Programme Director Sustainability at Radboud University, explains what this looks like in practice.
Working on biodiversity with farmers
Natural habitats and agriculture often seem to be at odds with each other, but the Living Lab Ooijpolder has taken a different approach. In this project, scientists from Radboud University work side-by-side with farmers to discover how rural landscapes can become more diverse and sustainable.
Black Friday: the consequences of our consumerism
25 November is the date of this year’s Black Friday, aka high mass of the consumption society. Physical and online shops advertise their best deals of the year, and this is reflected in our buying behaviour: on no other day do we make so many purchases. But in these days of climate change, is it still justifiable for companies to push for unnecessary purchases, and what are the consequences for the environment?
It is not children but adults who prefer friendly looking robots
Robots are occupying an increasingly prominent place in our society. How do we deal with this, and what is it that determines whether or not we trust these robots to carry out certain tasks and assume certain responsibilities? Sari Nijssen investigated the situations in which adults and children are inclined to ascribe human characteristics to a robot, and what consequences this has for our behaviour. It seems that both adults and children are equally inclined to treat robots as a ‘humans’.
Repetitive negative thinking is not only a bad thing
Everyone worries or ruminates from time to time. However, when such repetitive negative thoughts get the better of us, they can get in the way of everyday life. Nessa Ikani, who obtained her PhD with distinction cum laude from Radboud University’s Behavioural Science Institute, conducted research into the way in which these processes are established and attempts to explain how someone can end up in a vicious cycle of repetitive negative thinking.
Folklore and jurisprudence to prevent disaster
What do stories about floods, stone markers on dykes and recent climate law cases have in common? They revolve around solidarity and accountability. Historian Adriaan Duiveman interviewed religious scholar Arjan Sterken and jurist Sanne Biesmans about flood prevention.
Afghan refugees attend lectures at university
Afghans staying at refugee camp Heumensoord can attend courses at Radboud University since today. Around twenty refugees are starting their education this Monday. ‘The need for social contact and education is huge.’
Lack of massive black holes in telescope data is caused by bias
Our telescopes have never detected a black hole more massive than twenty times the mass of the Sun. Nevertheless, we now know of their existence as dozens of those black holes have recently been “heard” to merge via gravitational wave radiation. A team of astronomers led by Peter Jonker (SRON/Radboud University) has now discovered that these seemingly disparate results can be explained by biases against massive black holes in conventional telescope observations.
Societal consequences will also be addressed in Glasgow
Around 30.000 people are attending the climate summit COP26 in Glasgow these weeks. Among those attending are lobbyists, action groups, students, and scientists. Sustainability researcher Vincent de Gooyert (Radboud University) is one of them.
How pronunciation can save you from bodily harm
A swallowed ‘H’, a hard ‘R’ or an ‘E’ that sounds like an ‘A’: the slightest differences in pronunciation can spark irritation and even death threats. This is illustrated in the documentary By the Throat, which will be screened at this year’s InScience Film Festival.
Crowdfunding for art in nature to discuss climate change
The natural landscape between Kleve and Nijmegen played a central role in the life and oeuvre of one of the most influential and controversial artists of the 20th century: Joseph Beuys from Kleve. Life-sized photographs of the artist placed in this beautiful lower Rhine region should offer viewers the opportunity to critically 'read' climate change in the landscape and get inspired to think about art as a key to an ecologically sustainable future.
“I’m trying to find something that will benefit everybody"
“It’s so inspiring to think that you can contribute to the development of a country.” Astronomer Marc Klein Wolt, director of the Radboud Radio Lab, is working together with colleagues from the international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) consortium to set up a radio telescope in Namibia. But he won’t stop there: “I’m trying to find something that will benefit everybody.”
Learning to collaborate with other perspectives
Collaborating with professionals from other academic disciplines and levels is not yet a standard skill that students learn during their studies – even though it is indispensable in their work later on. In Arnhem and Nijmegen, students can now gain experience with this skill in practice.
What time is it in your brain?
Have you noticed how, depending on the context, sometimes time flies, and other times it seems to drag? Unravelling the mystery of how the brain keeps track of time is key to understanding how our state of mind affects not only what we perceive but how we perceive it.
Civic integration: a second chance for missed opportunities
The new Civic Integration Act that is set to come into force in 2022 should eliminate many of the bottlenecks in the current civic integration policy. However, Professor Ricky van Oers fears that the act is destined to fail.
160 years of unemployment schemes in the Netherlands
The creation of unemployment schemes in the Netherlands between 1861 and 2020 was always accompanied by struggle. With his research, parliamentary historian Leon van Damme provides insight into how the character and objectives of the unemployment schemes have changed over the past 160 years.
Pleasantly sustainable: green façades with coloured solar panels
The start-up Soluxa has combined necessity with aesthetics, resulting in coloured solar panels that can be used on building façades. Soluxa completed their first pilot project which involved the installation of a solar façade on the Huygens Building.
Can a child learn three languages at once?
Many children in the world grow up with three languages. For example, because their parents both speak a different language and they learn a third language at school. Or because they speak one language at home and go to a bilingual school where they learn two new languages. There are also many countries in the world where almost everyone is trilingual. Think, for instance, of countries in Central and West Africa, countries like India, Luxembourg and Switzerland. There are actually far more trilingual children than you might first think, also in countries like the Netherlands.
How healthy is James Bond?: A flu to a kill
James Bond made a total of 25 films between 1962 and 2021. In all those films, secret agent 007 washed his hands only twice, even though he often stayed in less than hygienic places with considerable health risks. If so, he must be sick much more often, thought PhD student Wouter Graumans of Radboudumc, when he had a serious food poisoning during a working visit to Burkina Faso. To test this, Graumans, along with epidemiologist Teun Bousema and malaria researcher Will Stone, systematically examined all the health risks in the 47 countries Bond visited. Using the advice of the Center for Disease Control as a benchmark. 'Bond was at much greater risk than we always thought!'
‘Mini-brains’ used for innovative and individualised brain research
Mini-brains grown from skin cells display a distinctive pattern of electrical discharges. That pattern is different in people with neurological disorders or intellectual disabilities. Three publications by neurobiologist Nael Nadif Kasri of Radboud university medical center illustrate the potential of this method for innovative and individualised brain research.