Wie empathisch glimlacht om iemands geluk of fronst om iemands leed, stijgt in aantrekkingskracht. Andersom maakt glimlachen uit leedvermaak iemand niet minder aantrekkelijk. Roujia Feng promoveert 26 mei op onderzoek naar de sociale gevolgen van het uiten van (contra)empathische emoties.

Receiving welfare benefits has a major impact on criminal behaviour. This has been demonstrated by Marco Stam, who defended his thesis on 20 January 2022.

An international visitation committee has judged the research programme of the Institute of Public Administration of Leiden University as excellent. The report, which looked at the period 2014-2019, was published last week.

In the academic year 2022-2023 the Social Resilience and Security interdisciplinary programme will offer a new minor for students who are interested in studying interpersonal violence and who are entering the third year of their Bachelor's degree. The announcement went down well with students: the available…

Dutch citizens are not opposed to additional earnings and financial gifts for people on welfare, but believe it is important that there should also be an obligation to look for a job. This was the outcome of a research project on the opinions of Dutch people regarding the implementation of welfare p…

Oostenrijk wil online bedreigingen en haat harder aanpakken. Aanleiding is de dood van huisarts Lisa-Maria Kellermayr. Zij maakte eind juli een einde aan haar leven, nadat ze maandenlang werd bedreigd door mensen die tegen coronamaatregelen en vaccinaties zijn.

Our world may seem unpredictable and uncertain, especially when others are involved. When interacting with others, we cannot know for sure what they may be thinking or planning to do, but we do a good job guessing. This may not be so easy for everyone…

PhD defence

Bullying, abuse or a difficult divorce: many young people struggle with mental health problems after traumatic experiences. But why do some suffer much more than others? This is the question that Hannah Dorsman is exploring within the THRIVE project.

Over the past five years, medical anthropologist Annemarie Samuels has studied palliative care in different parts of the world. Over the next five years, she will focus on end-of-life care in the Netherlands. 'Everyone has the right to good care at the end of their life, but what that means differs…

Valedictory lecture

Being rejected always hurts, but so does having to reject someone. Social psychologists have discovered that at interviews to select suitable housemates students dehumanise candidates to make it easier to reject them. That may sound harsh but, according to the researchers, it is also logical.

In the second semester of this academic year (February 2025), the Faculty of the Humanities will switch to Ans for digital exams. Several lecturers have already gained experience with the new platform through pilot exams. Two lecturers from Dutch Studies, Liesbet Winkelmolen and Myra Arends, share their…

Festival

The Mindlab theatre and discussion programme will start at the Faculty of Humanities at the end of September. University lecturers Tazuko van Berkel and Sara Polak were moderators at the first session.

On 22 July, Danny Mekić, PhD candidate at eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology, was named ‘Mr. of the Week’ following his recent wins in two lawsuits against social media company Twitter.

Social media are playing a key role in calling for resistance to the corona measures. Online, agreements are made about where and when people will gather to protest. The authorities are not always fully aware of what is happening and cannot just infiltrate, whereas civilians can often easily participate…

The Faculty of Humanities will introduce a new assessment system in the next academic year. Marcel van Brunschot, the project leader for the digital assessment migration, is responsible for overseeing the transition to ANS.

A collection of interviews from the oral history project "Storia de Nhas Pais" ("Story of my Parents") was handed over to the Rotterdam City Archive on 26 November 2021.

Education, ICT

Dutch election signals a return to the political centre, with voters seeking practical solutions both at home and across Europe. Bernard Steunenberg, Professor of Public Administration, cautions that losses for the PVV, the party of Geert Wilders, do not mean the far right has been defeated.

PhD defence

People suffer from anxiety wait on average twelve years before seeking professional help. That’s a pity and it’s unnecessary, says development psychologist Leonie Vreeke. She is therefore developing prevention programmes where parents learn to react in a helpful way to anxious behaviour on the part…

A basic income would not necessarily mean that people would work less. This is the conclusion of a series of behavioural experiments by cognitive psychologist Fenna Poletiek, social psychologist Erik de Kwaadsteniet and cognitive psychologist Bastiaan Vuyk. They also found indications that people with…

The fact-checking initiative Nieuwscheckers has won the Dutch round of the European Citizens Award. This prize is awarded annually to projects and initiatives that deliver an exceptional performance within the EU.

The issue of how to deal with a development such as digitalisation in the public domain raises difficult questions for the municipality: who is responsible and when do you intervene?

Lecture, Discussion

Lecture

Neeltje Blankenstein receives an LUF grant to conduct research on online risk behaviour among young people. What risks do young people take online and why? 'With this research, we not only want to help prevent serious risk behaviour, but also understand what drives young people to it.'

Ten projects have been selected during the fourth call in the Seed Funding Programme launched by EUniWell. Marieke Liem, Professor Social Resilience and Security, has received a grant for the MASTERY project.

PhD defence

Lecture

Lecture, Ancient History Research Seminar

Mums posting photos and videos of their child on Instagram and TikTok and also earning loads of money doing so. Kidfluencers, momvloggers and familyvlogs are very popular, in the Netherlands too. But the lack of legislation regulating these activities means that these children are barely protected.…

Tahir Abbas, Associate Professor in Terrorism and Political Violence at ISGA, explained how polarisation and social exclusion were at the root of radicalisation around the world. Papers ‘The News’ and ‘Dawn’ wrote articles about it.

Dr. Eduard Fosch-Villaronga from eLaw collaborates with researchers from the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi) and University of Delhi (DU) in an effort to explore and reflect upon the potential legal, ethical and pedagogical challenges of deploying a social robot in…

Cancelled trains, massive queues at Schiphol Airport, nursery closures and long waiting times for health care. These are all the results of labour shortages. Economist Lars van Doorn can see some possible solutions but has some less optimistic news too.

Rebekka Grossmann awarded Gerald Westheimer Career Development Fellowship for research on the effects of migration on visual codes of global solidarity