Four researchers within the NWO domain Social Sciences and Humanities are receiving funding in the Open Competition. They may start with a promising idea or an innovative and risky initiative. The laureates are Dr. Femke Hilverda from Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, and Dr. Clara Egger, Dr. Francisca Grommé and Dr. Irene van Oorschot from Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences.
A summary of the studies receiving funding:
DisLex – Analysing the Features of Disaster Law Through Computational Text Analysis Methods
Dr. Clara Egger, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Strengthening the resilience of our societies to disasters is a priority global goal. Key to such agenda is legal preparedness, namely the adoption of disaster law that organizes effective disaster response while safeguarding human rights and democratic governance. Despite international guidelines on how to best design such law, little is known about the quality of disaster law worldwide. DisLex fills this gap by using computational text analysis methods to create the first dataset comparing the features of disaster law in 100 countries over 10 years (2013-2023). DisLex opens new research avenues on the impact of legal preparedness on disaster resilience.
Connecting work automation to everyday environmental care: the case of fish farming
Dr. Francisca Grommé, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Farmers are automating care of animals and their habitats, for instance, by predicting and automating feeding. But how does workplace automation influence agrifood workers’ experienced responsibilities for animals and their environment (‘environmental care practices’). Qualitative research at two high-tech fish farms will answer this question, with the aim of establishing an innovative, interdisciplinary research line in work organisation research. The ground-breaking aspect is that fish farms potentially make visible the effects of automation on relations between workers, animals and habitats, instead of focusing on human autonomy. The results can support technology design and contribute to policy debates about farming reforms.
(Un)intended Fatherhood and Paternal Involvement
Dr. Femke Hilverda, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management
Paternal involvement during preconception, pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare is key. However, little research focusses on fathers specifically, especially in case of unintended pregnancies. That is why factors that enable or hinder men in paternal involvement in childcare are largely unknown. This research taps into this gap by using a mixed-methods design to examine the difference in paternal involvement between men who unintendedly and intendedly become fathers. Moreover, we will examine possible factors that might explain why some men are more successful in taking up their role as father compared to others.
Sludge Matters! An ethnographic exploration of post-flood river sludge and its implications in socioecological relations
Dr. Irene van Oorschot, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
This ethnographic research explores transformations of the socioecological relations in Valkenburg at the Geul due to the 2021 floodings. Highlighting river sludge – the floods’ reminder and material remainder - this study analyses how sludge has informed, transformed, and deformed socio-ecological relations within the Geul riverscape. It develops an approach to post-disaster landscapes attuned to the persistent materialities after such a disaster and the ways these impinge on nature-culture relationships. Furthering disaster and post-disaster research by adopting a post-humanist lens, this study will help decision-makers and other stakeholders improve future preparedness for natural disasters in the Netherlands and beyond.
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