In the media
Who still reads today?
Roel van Steensel, Professor of Reading Behaviour was extensively featured in de Volkskrant. As part of Book Week, the newspaper examined who the readers are and what they read. What determines whether someone is a reader or not? “That depends on three factors: motivation, opportunity and time”, says Van Steensel. “Time is the most fragile factor. The day is filled with other distractions and screen time in particular gets in the way of reading time. Reading is routine for fewer and fewer Dutch people; there are more behavioural alternatives."
Science and science in development
“It is important that we continue to explain what science is, and why it is not just an opinion”, Professor of Cultural History and interim director of the Meertens Institute (KNAW), Inger Leemans tells de Volkskrant. Leemans was also a guest in Spijkers met Koppen. During an animated interview she explains what scent research can mean for our understanding of the past.
Concerns over declining vaccination rate
Vaccination rates have been declining for years, averaging 89 per cent. Experts are concerned about the declining trend, not least because a growing group of parents doubt the usefulness of vaccination. European research shows that 52 per cent of Dutch parents are genuinely convinced of the importance. "The group of doubters may be larger than you think", says researcher Robert Prettner in BN/De Stem (only Dutch). "A good conversation can be helpful in case of doubt.”
'Cauliflower' neighbourhoods
A significant part of our living environment was built and landscaped in the period 1965-1990. This period is referred to as Post 65. An example is the cauliflower district Doorslag in Nieuwegein. Twisty and sometimes incomprehensible. Cauliflower neighbourhoods are a phenomenon in the province of Utrecht. “They were built in response to the large-scale neighbourhoods that arose in the 50s and 60s”, Jaap Evert Abrahamse, Endowed Professor of City, Landscape and Heritage told RTV Utrecht. “You couldn't drive faster than 5 kilometres per hour on those winding residential streets.”
How popular is Modi?
Endowed Professor of Philosophy of Culture, Politics and Organisation Haroon Sheikh, was a guest on the radio programme Bureau Buitenland. The elections in India, which lasted no less than a month and a half, were discussed. Among other things, Sheikh addressed the question of how Europe should relate to Prime Minister Modi's India.
Arguments for the existence of God
According to philosopher Emanuel Rutten, “God is making a comeback in philosophy and the arguments for His existence are better than ever, thanks in part to new scientific insights." Rutten discusses this in De Ongelooflijke Radio (a Dutch play on words meaning both ‘The Incredible Radio’ and ‘The Unbelievable Radio’). He has also formulated several new arguments for the existence of God and has collected them in his new book with the poetic title: That beyond which nothing greater can be conceived.
magazine for humanities alumni june 2024