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

Biertje?

In class I heard that it is important to use current topics in our blogs. Well, at the moment there is no topic more current than Carnaval is. And, dear readers, what type of beverage will be most popular during Carnaval? Exactly: Beer.

Off course, we all know that drinking too much beer can be devastating for your health, but I was wondering whether there are also positive side-effects. And guess what: there were! I’ll give you a few good excuses to drink beer during this Carnaval! Cheers!

Did you know that:

… Beer protects you against heart attacks? If you drink 500 Cl beer a day, your chances to get a heart attack will decline with up to 60%.

… Beer also protects you against a stroke because it prevents you for blood clots.

…Beer helps you to sleep better. Only one glass is needed to bring you in a more relaxing state.

…Beer protects you against stress. Scholars of the University of Montreal found out that a few glasses beer per day caused a decline in stress hormones. People who were completely sober felt more stress at work than people who were not.

…Beer takes care of a clear skin. Some vitamins in Beer support the building of pigment in your skin. This will make sure that your skin looks pure en clean.

…Beer is good for your hair because the ingredients will give it more volume. Important to know is that you have to use it as a hair rinse instead of drinking it. As you can see below, a lot of shampoo manufacturers have used this wisdom in order to improve their products.  

Want to know the other 14 reasons for drinking beer? Check this website:

http://www.telegraaf.nl/etenengenieten/3768924/__Twintig_redenen_om_bier_te_drinken__.html

Oh my god, what is thát!?

I remember I was walking the dog in a natural environment near my hometown when I suddenly  shocked. About 10 meters in front of me I saw something which looked like a human body in a plastic bag! It took quite a few seconds before I dared to walk up to it. When I stood in front of the plastic bag, a sigh escaped me. The ‘human body’ turned out to be just a bag of garbage! It seemed to be that my mind was playing tricks with me while I was completely awake.

Apparently, I am not the only one who is fooled by the mind. It is in the nature of human beings to create a link between existing information and new data. And sometimes the link is not made correctly: you think you see a human being or a beast while actually it is not. In terms of evolutionary, this is a really useful tool in the brain. Thousands of years ago, it was crucial to recognize patterns which could mean danger, for example the silhouette of a wolf or a bear. There is a nice Scrabble-word for the phenomenon of seeing something which looks like a human being when actually it is not.  This phenomenon is called ‘Pareidolia’. Below one can see one of the most famous examples of Pareidolia. Do you recognize a human face in it? Some people actually believe that it is the face of Jesus Christ, but you all know better now… ;)

                                            Face on mars

Wanna see some other illusions? Check this website: http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/ 

What if...

You dó win???

Did you know that in the year 1726 the first Dutch lottery was established? Nowadays there are about 12 lotteries in the Netherlands. Dutch people are normally quite a bit frugal, except when it comes to gambling. Each year, we spent a few hundreds of million Euros on lottery tickets. 

I personally do not understand the need to buy a ticket. The probability that you win the lottery is about 1/14.000.000. For the record: if you would buy 1 lottery ticket per week, you will surely win the jackpot at least once if you continue that for 250.000 years. Knowing this, you would be crazy to buy lottery tickets. But still, what if you do win the lottery and become a millionaire? What would you do then? Think of all the possibilities. You will never have to work one day again! You can built your own aiprort, island or whatever you want to. There is no mammal on the entire planet who can dream better than humans do. It is part of the human nature to tell stories and think of ‘what if scenario’s.’ 

That is probably one of the reasons why we keep buying lottery tickets and never win. So you must be out of your mind to spend a lot of money on lottery tickets. But what if…

You've got mail!

According to my big old friend Wikipedia, in 2015 there will be 3 million singles in the Netherlands. For those who consider themselves as a happy single, you can stop reading. But if you are (secretly, of course) a little bit unhappy, you could use the internet in order to meet new people.

The internet? Isn’t that a little bit pathetic if you find your partner via the worldwide web? Well, no it is not. Although I found my partner in real life, I always advise some of my (happy) single friends to seek for luck on the internet.

Especially if you don’t go out that much in the weekends for whatever reason, you can still meet new people via the internet.  Just sign up at a dating site, and ready is Kees.
If you have clear requirements, or should I say wishes, you can search directed and filter out the ones you are not interested in. After all, if you meet someone in a pub, you know ‘what kind of meat you have in the cockpit’ as the Dutch people say.
Another advantage of internet dating is the fact that (if you don’t turn on your webcam), the other person is not able to see you. So this means you do not have to take a shower, put on your make-up and put on your new clothes. (In fact, you don’t have to put on clothes at all). And the nice part of this is that you are still looking fabulous. (According to yourself). Ok, I must admit, the other person will sure be looking just as fabulous as you do, but at least you are both liars. J

However if you decide that you want a serious relationship in real life, keep in mind that you might have to kiss over 20 frogs until you find your prince/princess. If you expect to find the love of your life when you go out with someone for the first time, you will surely be disappointed. But if you go on a date with no expectations, you might have the time of your life!

I clearly support the Liberated perspective. Not convinced yet? I have some interesting sites for you for all different types of people ;).

http://www.parship.nl/

http://www.be2.nl/

http://www.plentyoffish.nl/

http://www.wikipedia.nl/