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Newsletter 98 BCN - SCHOOL for BEHAVIOURAL and COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCES June 2015 Newsletter 98 BCN - SCHOOL FOR BEHAVIOURAL AND COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCES IN THIS ISSUE Interview with professor Tom Koole 2 “Fantastic Voyage” Afterthoughts: Interactive double interview with Rimke Groenewold & Laura Bos 4 The future of surgical robotics at our doorstep: an interview with Prof. Sarthak Misra 6 Introducing a new staff writer - Wouter Huiting 8 A column about life as a postdoc The Wandering Mind 9 Interview with BCN dissertation award winner Linda Geerligs 10 Bone regeneration - translating knowledge into products 12 Introducing a new staff writer - Stéphanie Klein Tuente 13 Alumnus Column - Wolves, rope, and chocolate: Tracking the elusive major project 14 Mindwise: Can we crack the secrets of talent and excellence? 15 Introducing a new staff writer - Peter Roemers 16 Conflict Management: What if you both want the apple? 17 BCN Principle Investigator’s Day 19 BCN Lunch # 6: Life beyond academia 20 BCN Lunch #7: How to be a healthy PhD - Preventing burnout 21 BCN Retreat 2015, March 26 & 27 22 Alumnus Column - Flexibility is great, constant fear is not 24 New copy editor wanted! 25 Grand stuff 26 Cool links 27 Growing up in science 28 PhD and other news 29 Orations 30 Promotions 30 Cheeky propositions 43 Co lo phon 43 2 | 43 BCN NEWSLETTER 98 | JUNE 2015 Interview with professor Tom Koole Interactional research: “How do we deal with purpose of the call, and whether or not those displays not capable of looking cognitive phenomena, given the fact that we have disrupt the giving of information. The funny thing is that into the mind of the other no access to each other’s cognitive processes?” when you talk to emergency call takers, very often they to see what the problem Just back from his visit to South Africa, I’m meeting talk about the problem of emotional callers. But when is. And the one who gets professor Tom Koole from the Department of you actually listen to the recordings of emotional calls, the explanation is not Communication and Information Sciences. Since it appears that in 90% of the cases, emotions are not a capable of looking into March 2014, he has been appointed as a visiting problem at all. the mind of the explainer professor at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) in Very recently we established the ‘Kennisplatform to see what the solution Johannesburg, where he collaborates with his South Gezondheidscommunicatie’ with the UMCG. This is is, so they will have to African colleagues to investigate health communication. meant to be a place where health professionals from the do some interactional As BCN is an internationally orientated community, we UMCG can come to ask about communication research. work – first to establish were interested in getting to know a researcher like ‘What is the problem?’ Tom Koole, who can tell us how such collaboration may From what I’ve heard, you are quite famous for and second ‘Do you result in fruitful research. your research on emergency calls. Based on your understand the things research, the national 112 help desk changed its that I’m explaining?’. First of all, could you briefly introduce yourself opening phrase from ‘Emergency center, with These are issues that I and give a summary of your research interests? whom would you like to speak?’ to ‘Emergency became interested in through classroom interaction > Basically what I I’ve been in Groningen for almost two years now. Before center, do you need police, firefighter or research. From that I got interested in the phenomenon would like to find that, I worked in a similar department at the University ambulance?’ Would you characterize this as the of ‘How do we deal with cognitive phenomena, given out is the way in of Utrecht. I’m interested in the way we use language highlight of your career? the fact that we have no access to each other’s cognitive which we give to interact with each other. My research is focused on No (laughs), not so much. That’s something that appeals processes?’ We interpret each other constantly in terms meaning to the the way we communicate when face-to-face or over the to people and what people ask quite a lot about. It of cognition and cognitive processes, although these things we say. < phone. Basically, what I would like to find out is the way brought me into the Dagblad van het Noorden last year. processes are the only thing we do not have access to. in which we give meaning to the things we say – how The 112 research I always did with masters students. It communicative meaning is attributed. is research, of course, but it’s actually done very much Since September 2014 you have been appointed during my teaching time. as a visiting professor at the University of You investigate oral health communication. Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg. How was Could you explain in more detail what your So what is the highlight of your career? this collaboration established? research is about? Over the last 15 years I’ve worked a lot on classroom The collaboration was originally established in 2003, One of the last things I’ve written about is the way in interaction, on the way in which teachers and there was the Sanpad fund from the Dutch Ministry which we display emotion in talk. For example, we look students deal with issues of understanding and not of Education and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign affairs at how people call the emergency call centers (the 112 understanding. What I got interested in, and what I’m which aimed to de-isolate South African universities help desk) in the Netherlands. We look at how emotion still working on, is the issue of two people talking to after the apartheid regime was abolished. This fund is displayed, and how this display interacts with the each other: One person is explaining a problem, but is was intended to boost South African academia. South 3 | 43 BCN NEWSLETTER 98 | JUNE 2015 >> CONTINUATION OF THE INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR TOM KOOLE Africans could apply for Simply the fact that you as professionals have Why investigate this in South Africa? What makes research from that fund, developed a certain test already means that you believe South Africa unique? on the condition that they that this test is worthwhile to do. What is interesting about South Africa is the recent collaborated with a Dutch history of the differences between different parts of researcher. I’ve been In the study, qualitative methods and the population, so the historical and political issues. But involved as a collaborator interactional research were used to investigate there is also the cultural issue, for example the tradition in a number of projects decision making and patient autonomy in genetic of traditional healers in large African communities. This now, and I’ve been an counselling interaction. How? tradition means that people have to decide ‘Do I go to advisor for several South The aim was to find out how people manage this talk the hospital or do I go to traditional healer, or do I go to African PhD students. and how they show each other how they understand both?’ What does that mean for example, for things like each other, how they want to be understood, how they taking your drugs? If the traditional healer says A, and One of your latest negotiate these understandings and how they establish the doctor says B, who do you obey? Most patients do publications is a mutual understanding. The basic question is what kind not only go to the hospital but also go to a traditional > There are parts study about multicultural genetic counseling of methods we use to do that kind of thing. Once you healer. And there is of course the language issue. How of South African interactions. What is this study about? have a research question, you start to make collections do people who speak an African language and do not universities that The study is about genetic counseling, a profession that of particular phenomena. In this case, we started speak Afrikaans or English talk with health professionals are just as good, we in The Netherlands do not have. to collect occasions of encounters where a genetic who mainly speak Afrikaans or English? or even better in The study is based on video recordings of genetic counselor responded to a positive or negative decision. some respects, counselors that talk about the possibilities of Down Once you have such a collection, you do not so much How is academic life in South Africa? than parts of the Syndrome and the option of ‘amniocentesis’ to look at the other parts of the talk anymore, but you start Some parts are very comparable. There are parts Dutch academic pregnant women of advanced age. The interesting to compare. This allows you to focus on particular issues. of South African universities that are just as good, world. But thing is that there is a professional norm among or even better in some respects, than parts of the there are large counselors, that it should be entirely the decision of the What is especially fruitful about this method? Dutch academic world. But there are large differences differences. < patient. So a counselor should not influence them in It always looks at authentic data, so it restricts itself to between different types of universities. Many of the any way. But this is hardly possible, and this is the issue recordings of talk that would have occurred regardless formerly black universities are still very much behind, that we are talking about in this study.
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