In the 21st century, symphonic music institutions face challenges that endanger their traditional ways of operating. Although symphonic music is widely accessible, it has lost its once position as the leading music culture. The number of visits is declining. Audiences are ageing. Due to budget cuts, government funding is no longer guaranteed. Whereas symphonic music was a vital element in the cultural landscape until the 1960s, it has become a museum art form since. In an “experience society”, the social value of classical orchestral music has changed profoundly. Its identification with high culture is no longer valued. In this project, the world of the symphony orchestra is studied as an exemplary case in scientific and artistic research on cultural reproduction in the 21st century. The project claims that innovation of the symphonic music practice is not possible without improving the quality of audience participation in this practice. Our project combines strategic research into reasons for the declining interest in symphonic music with artistic research to innovate this practice in an artistically relevant way. This artistic research takes place in three experiments with new forms of audience participation. In the current symphonic practice, audiences are performed as listener, consumer or amateur. We will experiment with the new roles of maker, citizen and expert, thus actively involving audiences in programming, making and assessing symphonic music. The reflection on these experiments will result in a Learning model that will help to innovate the classical music practice.

The 3WE project investigates the processual well-being of female workers in foreign financed firms and farms in Ethiopia. Preliminary insights show that women view these jobs as a temporary solution until they transition to better jobs and self-employment. Their well-being is embedded in the social relationships within and beyond their workplace. Interviews with employers and managers indicate a widespread compliance culture to international standards on working conditions which comes at the expense of more effective investments in culturally sensitive foreign and local managers, human resource policy on worker retention and upskilling, and effective multi-stakeholder engagement.

The use of artificial intelligence is changing medical practice. AI is already being applied, but ethical orientation towards responsible development and use of AI in medical decision-making urgently needs to be strengthened. The RAIDIO research team focuses specifically on new AI applications in the field of image driven diagnostics (pathology and radiology) and uses research methods from the fields of ethics, medical sociology, narrative medicine and history. With this interdisciplinary approach, the researchers study changing notions of trust, responsibility, expertise, and patient perspectives in the development of guidelines for responsible AI in the practice of medical decision-making.

De globale milieupolitiek zoals we die nu kennen ontstond tussen 1945 en 1973 binnen organisaties zoals UNESCO en UNEP. Deze wereldwijde initiatieven waren afhankelijk van invloedrijke actoren, met brede en vaak onsamenhangende netwerken, zowel privé als professioneel. Tot vandaag worden deze heterogene netwerken niet goed begrepen. Voortbouwend op werk in de wetenschapsgeschiedenis die het belang van alternatieve actoren en informele omgevingen heeft erkend, onderzoekt Intimate Allies de governance van milieu-netwerken en bestudeerd daarvoor het gezamenlijke werk van twee koppels die centraal stonden in naoorlogse intergouvernementele milieuorganisaties: Juliette en Julian Huxley, en Hanne en Maurice Strong.

Opdat 3D-content zijn plaats zou kunnen innemen als wetenschappelijke output, moet het onderworpen worden aan de typische processen van publicatie en peer review. Het doel van OPER3D is om concrete en gedeelde workflows en best practices te ontwikkelen voor het publiceren en peer-reviewen van 3D-gebaseerd onderzoek, en uiteindelijk de manier te veranderen waarop 3D-wetenschap wordt geëvalueerd, gepubliceerd en erkend. Dit project sluit aan bij recente initiatieven om de beoordeling van onderzoek te hervormen en te onderzoeken hoe wetenschappelijke resultaten die en afwijken van de gevestigde wetenschappelijke praktijken en conventionele publicatievormen kunnen worden erkend en geëvalueerd.