Turbulent times in Italy: Deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini wants new elections so that he can become prime minister himself. He is campaigning on social media, including photos of himself posing in his swimming trunks.

At the Faculty's opening of the 2019-2020 academic year, the focus lay not just on the vision for the future of the social sciences, and the opening of the refurbished library, but above all on the government's plans for university financing. The speeches included an interview between Annemarie Samuels…

Hardly ever before have different groups in the population retreated into their own bubble as much as they are doing today. Professor of Sociology and Law Maartje van der Woude and her students will be examining the effect of social distancing on relationships. How do the people of Leiden look at students…

A clean street, public transportation, or taxes: these are all public goods that keep society running. But how do people decide which public good to invest in, if at all? These are the kind of questions PhD student Laura Hoenig explores.

Yvonne Erkens, Associate Professor Labour Law, was a guest lecturer at the FHR Institute for Higher Education in Paramaribo, Suriname, from 4 to 11 November.

Our Winter School alumna Ginevra Montefusco defended her Master thesis this March with the title Food in the Margin: a feminist analysis of sense of place in Barriera di Milano, Turin (supervisors: Alessia Toldo and Egidio Dansero).

Governments worldwide invest huge sums in their digital services and data strategies. Efficiency and effectiveness are key. But these are not achieved for some people at least, says Professor of Public Policy Sarah Giest. This makes the intended digital inclusion far from inclusive, as she will explain…

An investigation carried out by Dutch news programme Nieuwsuur has revealed that despite a recent ruling by the Centrale Raad van Beroep (Central Appeals Tribunal, CRvB), people who for years cared for a seriously ill relative paid for via a PGB (persoonsgebondenbudget, personal care budget) do not…

Young Academy Leiden wants to bring together young academics. After all, it is not that easy in practice to meet peers outside your field. With inspiring and fun Faculty lunches, the organisation strives to connect young researchers. The most recent, hosted at the Faculty of Social and Behaviourial…

Leiden’s ‘Learning with the City | On Location’ knowledge store opened its digital doors in Leiden-Noord on 8 February. This is where students, residents and professionals can work together on social issues.

In Ancient Egypt, prominent families engaged in ancestor worship to maintain their high standing. Renata Schiavo researched this link between religion and power for her PhD. ‘People were afraid that their ancestors would bring misfortune if the family’s prestige declined.’

Adolescents with good friendships experience fewer anxiety and depression symptoms, PhD student Iris Koele discovered in her research on high school students' social relationships. 'As a psychologist, I include friends in the treatment plan: who do you call when things are not going well?'

The corona crisis relates to not only the medical field but also the field of the social sciences and humanities. SSH Beraad, a consultation body that aims to improve the position of the social sciences and humanities in the Netherlands, has launched a website bringing together experts in the social…

Both play and politics have the potential to create worlds in which new rules apply, meanings are created, and possibilities emerge for collaboration, strategy and creative solutions. In this sense, play and politics have always been very much alike. But what happens to this kinship in a post-digital…

Taking as a point of departure the Italian American community in Boston and its process of collective remembrance surrounding Saint Anthony’s Feast, we address the limits and potential of montage.

In a joint letter, the Leiden student associations have appeal to students to practise 1.5m distancing and to only meet others if they are fit and well. They urge them to observe the corona rules to prevent a local spike.

As young people’s friendships improve, their mental resilience also increases. This is according to research conducted by Anne-Laura van Harmelen, Professor of Brain, Safety and Resilience at Leiden University.

A unique multicenter study, including about 3,500 youth between 10 and 25 years old from across the globe, shows that artificial intelligence - specifically machine learning - is able to identify individuals with anxiety disorders based on their unique brain structure.

Global notebook (GN) is an educational and socially responsible startup, created by two LU alumni. They built an exciting program, combining Brussels and The Hague, in the form of a week long international student conference - global notebook conference (GNC). Young curious minds from all over the world…

LUNHA strives to redefine global health by prioritizing justice, fairness, and inclusion in Africa. Through collaboration with diverse stakeholders, LUNHA aims to reshape global health research and foster a broader engagement with social sciences and humanities.

Teaching people to recognize subtle, real-world expressions will help them understand and trust others better. The aim of Mariska Kret is to develop an interactive virtual-reality training tool (E-VIRT) for a broad group of users, including patients. Kret provides a brief description of her idea for…

Within the scope of the National Student Survey (NSE) a cheque for €3.087,75 was presented to the Leiden University Fund (LUF) on Monday. The money is for the Leiden Empowerment Fund.

What do children think about computer science and the profession 'programmer'? Shirley de Wit and her colleagues from the Programming Education Research Lab (PERL) are investigating how children see programmers and whether they have stereotyped images of this profession. Last summer more than 550 children…

How to come to valid risk stratification of alcohol use disorder?

Can epigenetic changes explain associations between early life stress and health outcomes?

The aim of this project is to investigate the (cost)effectiveness of two innovative forms of trauma-focused therapy for patients with childhood abuse related PTSD. The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care and contribute to treatment innovation for this severely ill target population.

The more we learn about a (neuro-)psychological or physical disorder and the related behavioral factors, the better we can not only identify them, but also treat them. It is therefore important that recent insights about (neuro-)psychological problems and related behavioral factors are incorporated…

Can excessive worrying be reduced via stimulation of the vagus nerve?

To investigate the effectiveness of an online self-help programme for people with HIV and depressive symptoms.

Perhaps you have questions about your master’s, or could use some extra help, or maybe you’d like some support of a more personal nature? At Leiden University we have people and departments who will be glad to help in any and all of these areas.

A master's degree in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers. However, there are far more graduates than vacancies, especially in mental health care, and competition is therefore fierc…

Social Information Processing in Children with and without Hearing Loss

The roles of shame, guilt and social access in adolescent aggression

Social evaluative fears during adolescence

Following China and Italy, it appears that the United States is becoming the next epicentre of the coronacrisis. Can the US handle this crisis? Is president Trump dealing with the situation correctly? We asked Leiden America expert Sara Polak.

Anne-Laura van Harmelen has received a Vidi grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This talent programme will enable Van Harmelen to research the social and neurobiological mechanisms of resilience in young people with childhood trauma.

Take a walk through any city, and you are likely to come across a brightly coloured mural. Although these paintings often seem to serve solely as a backdrop for Instagram snapshots, art history professor Minna Valjakka says there are rich traditions and intricate histories that uncover more critical…

Does the sitter have agency in the making of a photographic portrait? And if so how?

Migration and Mobility in the Early Roman Empire by Luuk de Ligt and Laurens E. Tacoma (Eds.)

The Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference was founded in 2013 to publish a selection of the best papers presented at the biennial LUCAS Graduate Conference, an international and interdisciplinary humanities conference organized by the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS). The…

We study how communication can heal and harm when patients are confronted with an illness. Most of our studies focus on serious illnesses such as advanced cancer. Communication lies at the heart of medicine, yet we do not always know which specific communication helps patients. Moreover, many complaints…

The NWO has awarded Evin Aktar a Rubicon grant. From September, she will start a 12-month period of research at the Cognitive Affect and Temperament Lab at Penn-State University, USA.