A team of researchers from Innsbruck has compared the historical development of yodeling as between Switzerland and Tyrol thanks to funding from the Austrian Science Fund FWF. This is the first study of the eventful history of yodeling and yodel songs from the Alps in the 19th century to their urban popularity today. Continue reading “The history of yodeling and how it survived”
By redesigning its career development programmes, the Austrian Science Fund FWF intends to initiate trailblazing changes to promote equal opportunities and innovation. This would provide a huge modernization thrust to the academic system as a whole, as Edith Gößnitzer notes in this interview. Gößnitzer, a chemist and expert on gender equality, is convinced that the […] Continue reading ““The excellent women researchers are right here””
A research group from Graz investigated how solar storms can be simulated in order to enable a more accurate prediction of their effects on the Earth. Their work has furnished a more accurate model for simulating solar storms in real time. Continue reading “When the Sun turns the power off”
The Goffin cockatoos are an amazingly clever parrot species. Behaviorist Mark O’Hara wants to find out why. In order to better understand how the animals tick, the Schrödinger scholar has set off for Indonesia. Continue reading “The cockatoos of the forgotten islands”
Aid organisations have to react rapidly and effectively in crisis situations. Logistics is a crucial aspect of such action. A research project of the FWF is focused on how private logistics companies and humanitarian organisations can intensify their cooperation and work more effectively. Economists develop optimal pricing and contractual forms for this purpose. Continue reading “Humanitarian logistics – when help is effective”
The sociologist Hilde Weiss talks about the specific Austrian context, the salient features of a good society, and why one needs a thick skin in the world of science. Continue reading “Enemy stereotypes: collective problem-solving”
Rita Fürst does research at the renowned Scripps Research Institute in Florida, where the chemist enjoys reaping the fruit of her interdisciplinary work and making friends with manatees. Continue reading “Welcome to the Sunshine State, welcome to Scripps Florida!”
Life as a shift-worker, far from home, is usually considered problematic and often described in such terms. An interdisciplinary project funded by the FWF focuses on the Russian petroleum industry to study the complex interconnections in long-distance commuting and reconstituting the normality of a life between extremes. Continue reading “At the far end of the pipeline – Long-distance commuting as a way of life”
To date, chip-based retinal implants have only permitted a rudimentary restoration of vision. However, modifying the electrical signals emitted by the implants could change that. This is the conclusion of the initial published findings of a project sponsored by the FWF, which showed that two specific retinal cell types respond differently to certain electrical signals […] Continue reading “New approaches to vision with retinal implants”
Scientists can now gain a better understanding of space weather – the dreaded solar winds and flares – thanks to the development of high spatial resolution observation and computing methods. For the first time, it will thus be possible to study the interrelated events that occur on the sun and trigger solar activity. To this […] Continue reading “New method makes space weather easier to predict”