Every week, scilog features an exemplary project funded by the FWF. The presentations shed light on scientific questions and report on recent insights gained in basic research. The projects not only reflect the great variety of scientific disciplines, but also the range of support options offered by the Austrian Science Fund.
For the first time, a digital map provides a collection of information from all over the world on the subject of torture and physical abuse. According to the grim findings, torture exists in almost every country in the world. On the other hand, there are also research projects and initiatives seeking to prevent excessive violence. […] Continue reading “Addressing a painful subject”
Can information and communication technologies help maintain close ties in families who are scattered around the world as a result of (forced) migration? Vienna-based social anthropologist Monika Palmberger explores the role played by new media in this context and the way they might transform these relationships. Continue reading “Making analogue connections by digital media”
What is the attraction of far-right organisations to middle class centrists? Social anthropologist Agnieszka Pasieka observes activists up close to investigate how far right-wing extremist groups are making inroads into the centre of society through social engagement. Pasieka’s analyses diverge from traditional narratives of exclusion and losers. Continue reading “The appeal of the right-wing scene”
When the UK colonies became independent, many British civil servants stayed on in their respective countries as advisers. Development economist Valentin Seidler has created a unique collection of data on the colonial officials of the time. He intends to identify the qualities and skills that make someone a good development aid worker. Continue reading “New lessons from the “cradle of development cooperation””
Migratory birds flying south provide an impressive example of cooperative behaviour that saves power and energy. In the past it was impossible for scientists to study this phenomenon in a natural environment. Researchers who guided young Northern Bald Ibises to their wintering grounds have now succeeded for the first time in obtaining a comprehensive data […] Continue reading “No survival without teamwork”
The physicist Thomas Beyer and his research group have been investigating how to measure human brain activity. The low-impact method they developed is fully automatic and should help to improve diagnoses in such areas as the field of neurology. Continue reading “Thinking about something, darling?”
Developing a medical indication is an everyday process but still lacks a precise definition. In clinical practice, the process is informed by medical expertise and the condition of the individual to be treated. According to the results of a medical-ethical research project, it is also a communicative instrument designed to support – and not patronise […] Continue reading “From findings to therapy: why doctor-patient talk is central”
Being able to grow old and die in one’s own home is something people want, including those who live alone. Behind the life situation of the latter one finds many different relationship constellations and support networks. As soon as their need for help and care becomes more pronounced, non-kin carers such as friends or neighbours […] Continue reading “Robust networks that persist into old age”
In the context of an international research project and with funding from the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a research group from Vienna investigated how aerial images taken with thermal imaging cameras can improve our understanding of water flows in the ground. Their analyses are relevant to both agriculture and climate research. Continue reading “Everything flows – but where to?”
In October 2020, Carinthia will celebrate the centenary of the plebiscite deciding whether Lower Carinthia should remain part of Austria. For the same amount of time, this event has served as a reference point for discourse and assimilation endeavours. In a transdisciplinary project combining theatre and science, researchers are seeking new leverage on the burden […] Continue reading “One hundred years of Carinthian plebiscite”