The battle between engineers & artists...

We are proud to present our webvideo and we would like to thank Annemarie Quispel for her coöperation. Her research challanges the way graphs are currently presented...
Sit back and enjoy our video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1vO5VjCLaw

Let us know what you think of it!

Do you feel like you are being watched??...

Espionage is timeless and at the time of the Cold War, it was usually from a political purpose. However, after 1990 the motives for espionage became more economical. American research shows that 43% of all the big organizations had to deal with an average of six cases of corporate espionage in the last few years. This was mostly done by spies from China, Libië and the Sovjet-Unie. (http://www.mt.nl/1/1020/home/bedrijfsspionage-van-fake-sollicitatie-tot-brilcamera.html ).
In 1994 Dutch countries suffered millions of NLG from corporate espionage. Although many people immediately think of ballpoints with camera’s and listening devices, technical innovations are only a small part of it. It appears to be that so-called ‘fake job applications’ are more common than what is usually thought. A new employee collects as much confidential information about the organization  before he/she returns to the old employer. Own employees who start their own company, can be a great risk too. 

The new working style...

Did you know that all Dutch traffic jams would disappear when everyone picks one day per week to arrive one hour earlier or later at office?

We’re talking about working in a new style: ‘Het nieuwe werken.’ This concept is mainly about flexibility and it is applied in different ways. Employees and managers can start a little earlier or later with their work, or they can choose to work one (or more days) per week at home for example. Working in new style can also mean that the duration of the  working schedule changes (regularly).

According to TNS Nipo, it appears to be that 87% percent of the Dutch people think that less day care is needed for children. As mentioned above, it is also said that traffic jams will slowly disappear when more people tend to work flexible. Furthermore, it seems that people who already work in new style experience much more freedom. This causes greater happiness which makes employees and managers less stressed.

I personally think that working in new style has the future. Thanks to techniques of videoconferences, it is possible to attend a meeting with your colleagues almost as real as face to face contact, but without being in the same room. I also find that typing a report is much more relaxing when you are at a quit space with no distractions from others. And where could you find a better place than your own home?

So if it was up to me, we all would be flexible workers! Not convinced yet? Watch this movie on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPVu2PiUalU

Source: TNS NIPO

Nervous when you weren't able to check your e-mail for two hours?

Well, you’re not the only one! Forget about Obesity, Infobesity seems to be the latest trend.

Nowadays, almost everyone has a Twitter-, Facebook-, and/or Linked-In account. It was never  so easy to keep in touch with your friends, colleagues and acquaintances. However, these kind of interactive advantages have also a few disadvantages.

Our brain receives 10 times (!) as much information to process than about 100 years ago. The brain constantly has to make decisions on which information is relevant at the moment and which is not. This can result in fatigue and nervousness.
Another symptom of Infobesitas is the fear of  missing something. It might sound a little bit exaggerated, but this symptom is often reflected in the need to refresh a website every 5 minutes. In that light, I think almost everyone who uses his Twitter-, Facebook-, and Hyvesaccount frequently, might have Infobesitas in greater or less extent.

Although Infobesitas is a new labeled disease, the complaints have to be taken very seriously. People who heavily suffer from Infobesitas have a sleep deficit, fatigue and feel constantly restless.
Luckily, Infobesitas can be healed. If you have the feeling that there is too much information coming after you, it is wise to check and answer your e-mail for example only three times a day. Or schedule every day one hour to update your network sites. In the beginning it will be really difficult, but after a few weeks you will be more relaxed (and probably sleep better).

Want to see more about Infobesitas in the Netherlands? Check this 2 minute movie on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwXcgg4LgXs

Uncertainty reduction theory: What are you sinking about!?

In this society we are all trying to be different from the rest of the world. It’s funny that we humans are more similar to each other than we all think. For example, if we (have to) meet a person we don’t know, it is likely that we are trying to get more information about the person in front of us. Think about it yourself: if you meet a nice boy or girl in a club, you’ll ask how old he or she is, what she does etc.

Researchers have discovered that the more humans know about each other, the less uncertain they will feel about each other. And if you feel more certain, you will like that person more. This phenomenon is called the Uncertainty Reduction Theory. It is assumed that people will always try to find out new information about people they are interested in but don’t know. This can be done by simply asking (think again of that attractive person you met in a club), but also active strategies like visiting someone’s webpage can be used for this purpose.
In regard to the reduction of uncertainty, people will act predictable and move true certain stages. When strangers meet for example, the entry phase starts. In this phase you greet someone (‘Hi, how are you?’). In the personal phase, people exchange personal information (‘How was that party you went to last night?’). This phase is more likely to occur after several meetings, but that is not necessarily. The last phase is the exit phase, in this stage people decide whether they want to continue the contact or not.

I recently found out that even in a close relationship with your friend or partner, it is still important to reduce uncertainty. In this cases, only the interactive strategies like directly asking what he or she has on his/her mind will work. If you know why your friend or partner behaves like he/she does, you will have more certainty which makes you more confident in a relationship, despite of all differences you might see.  

So there you have it again: humans are more similar to each other then they think they are.  

Another major aspect to reduce uncertainty is speaking each other language, either literally or figuratively. The hilarious video beneath shows what can happen if you don’t speak each other’s language literally. I suspect that the captain of the ship won’t be too happy with this coastguard…

How do we become happy?

Last week I found out that having a million dollar does not necessarily make you happy. But now I am curious what it is that makes us happy.

According to professor Bartels from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, happiness is partially due to heredity. If none of your family members suffers from a depression, it is likely that you will not develop a depression either.
As people grow older, their environment tends to have less impact on them because they have to build their lives on their own. So if your grandfather was a grumpy old man who died alone as a result;  poor you.

However, about 40% of being happy can be affected by an individual itself! According to some philosophy professors, the so called ‘life skills’ are an important aspect. The life skills exist from three parts: independence, decisiveness and sociability. What does this mean in daily life? Well, Kennislink  gives a few interesting do’s and don’ts:

ü  Get married (I could not believe it either but is said to be true) 

ü  Do not be materialistic (that means throw away your I-phone?)

ü  Try some exercise (but, so the article says, if you really believe you are not made for all kinds of movement faster than walking ; just stop exercising immediately)

ü  Get in some sort of club

ü  Change what you can change and accept what you cannot change

Although people who suffer from a depression swallow antidepressiva in order to be happy, this is not recommendable for healthy people. If I look at the do’s and don’ts, it appears to me that happiness is just luck in combination with hard work.

Want to know more do's and don'ts about happiness? Check http://www.kennislink.nl/publicaties/de-kunst-van-het-geluk 

Does money make you happy??

A few weeks ago, I tried to figure out why people buy lottery tickets. Well, now I was wondering: does money make you happy?

The Radboud Univerity of Nijmegen figured it out for me. It appeared to be that when all the basic needs are fulfilled, it only matters whether you are richer or at least as rich as your neighbor. Health plays a more important role when it comes to happiness than money does.
In order to stay happy it is important that an income continues to grow, even if it is still only a little. According to Nobel Laureate some sort of ‘Happiness Ceiling’ exists. This means that you cannot be more happier than when you have a year income of €58.000. So actually, there is no point to win a few million. And that makes me happy J