Flowzine, December 2021

FLOWZINE JULIETTE SCHAAFSMA about her research grant

The future of the EFTELING

Meet the new DAILY BOARD

Issue 24 December 2021

Dear Flowzine readers, Afterabitofdelay,wefinallypre sent our last Flowzine. I want to reiterate how incredibly thankful I am for the things we’ve made and the time we’ve had together as a team.

Moving through other’s lives as a system of memories is something I think about a lot. I think there’s something very beautiful about how we’re all here together, doing things with and forothers.Sharingourcoreexperien cesandthememoriesthatshapeus with each other, regardless of who staystoseehowthoseexperiences make you grow. I am thankful for the opportunitytohavebeenevena smallpartofyourlife,evenifImight not see much more of it. I am certain you’ll do astounding.

Lots of love, Rosa van der Vleuten InFlow commissioner ‘20-’21

COLOPHON Flowzine is the official magazine of Study Association Flow.

Issue no. 24 Contact: NL:inflowcommissie@svflow.nl EN:inflowcommittee@svflow.nl Commissioner: Rosa van der Vleuten Design: Rosa van der Vleuten, Désirée van den Berg Committee: Rosa van der Vleuten, William van Wijk, Désirée van den Berg, Isa Kraaijvanger, Ioana Pintilie, Sandra Pham In collaboration with: Prof. dr. Juliëtte Schaafsma,prof.dr.EmielKrahmer, the ‘21-’22 Daily Board.

CONTENTS

03 04 05 09 10

Column: the need to belong

By Sandra Pham

Autumn Cake Recipe

By Désirée van den Berg

Meet the new Daily Board

By Désirée van den Berg & Rosa van der Vleuten Flow Membercard

By Isa Kraaijvanger

The Five: Tilburg’s Hidden Gems

By Sandra Pham

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Juliette Schaafsma: a follow-up after five years

By Isa Kraaijvanger & William van Wijk

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The Future of the Efteling

By Désirée van den Berg & Ioana Pintilie

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Optical Illusions with Emiel Krahmer

By Désirée van den Berg & Isa Kraaijvanger

19 21

Online Trends: When does something go viral?

By Rosa van der Vleuten & Désirée van den Berg

Lost and Found: Tilburg Student Accomodations

By Ioana Pintilie

Inthefirstyearofmystudies,Ihadthe chance to join the student choir EPIC and study association Flow. I turned this down,becauseIthoughtmyspoken word and writing career was more important.Iwaspartofthewriters’ collective Poetry Circle 013 but left

by Sandra Pham immediatelyaftertheworkshopsessi whileotherswenttoapubforadrink.

Two years ago, I threw myself in the Likewise,Imademypopmusicinmy deepbygoingtostudyinacityI bedroom but did not dare to involve barely knew, and by moving there othersinmypassion.Myagendawas immediately. It was a lot at the packed,butmostlywithmystudiesand beginning:thepressuretogetenough credits,thehousekeepingofmyroom, work, and hardly any social activities.

Mygradesweregood,Ihadapartand building a life in this city. I was time job that matched my studies, I under a lot of stress. wenttowritingworkshopseveryweek, butIwasn’t…happy.Iwasprettylonely One of my biggest worries was in Tilburg, and this only got worse during Communicatie In Organisaties (CIO), thepandemic.Suddenly,thecasual the course feared by most students of mystudies.Duetomyunderdeveloped socialcontactalsodisappeared.IfI wasn’t careful, days could go by when time management as a freshman, I spentnightswritingmypaper.Myidea I barely saw anyone.

The NEED to BELONG

was to write about how feedback In my influencestheintrinsicmotivation of second year of studying CIS, I was employees.Ilearnedthatintrinsicstill a career-oriented young woman who worked hard on her studies and motivation consists of three elements: artist life. But I realized that achieving the need for autonomy, the need for competence,andtheneedtobelong. something isn’t worth anything if I couldn’t celebrate it with others. And It was quite confrontational because I since one of my favorite things to do is realized my needs for autonomy and competencewerefulfilled,butthatI writing stories, I also realized that I had toexperiencethingstowriteabout. felt that I didn’t belong anywhere, a So,Istartedopeningupaboutmyself feeling I’ve had all my life. and made new friends with whom I became close.

Duringmychildhoodandpuberty,I had always been the only VietnameseDutch girl in the room, which made me Iaminmythirdyearnow;thecampus isopenagain,andthistimeIjoined immediately an outsider and someone bothFlowandEPIC.Overthepastfew who was bullied. The bullying was one ofthecausesofmydepressionthat months,InoticedthatIamhappier startedwhenIwasfifteenandlastedthan ever in Tilburg. Probably because afewyears.Atacertainpoint,Ilost my need to belong has now been almost all my friends due to my misery. I fulfilled;Ihavefoundmyplaceinthe student community. was constantly alone, but I had gotten used to being alone, but my behavior wassuchthatIkeptthislonelinessalive myself.

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Autumn Cake Receipe Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to our summer vibes. It’s getting colder, so we have to take our sweaters out of our closets again and it will also be raining more,whichgivesusmoretimetospendinside.

Luckily,theAutumngivesusthistime,whichwecanspendonbakingadeliciou Autumncake!Thenameofthiscakeisvagueandtherebysurprising,butwewil giveyoualittlehint:it’smadeofspeculaas,whichiskindofaDutchspiced b cuit,appleandpear.Asyoureadbefore:thiscakeissurprising,butverydelic and suitable to this Autumn season!

Youwillneed20minutesofpreparingand60minutesforbakingitintheoven.

This is what you need for one cake: -250gramsofflourforcake - 200 grams of dairy butter - 100 grams of sugar - 2 sachets of vanilla sugar - 4 eggs - 40 ml milk -2gramsofVerstegenSpecerijen mixKoek&Speculaas -oneGoudreinetteapple -2poachedpears - breadcrumbs How to make the Autumn cake: 1.Preheattheovenon160degreesCelcius.

2.Starttomixtheflour,dairybutter,sugar,vanillasugar,eggs,SpecerijenmixKo &Speculaasandmilkinabowl.Youcanuseyourhandsoramixerformixing.Mix ituntilyoudon’tseeanymoreclumps.

3.Peeltheappleandpoachedpearsintothinslices.Greaseabakingtraywit some butter and add breadcrumbs to the buttered tray.

4.Mixtheslicesofappleandpearwiththecakebatter.Pourthecakebatter thebakingtray.Putanoventrayinthemiddleoftheovenandputthebakin trayonit.Bakethecakeforabout60minutes.

5.After45minutes,pokeaskewerintothehighestpointofthecake.Whenthe skewer comes out clean, your cake is ready. Let your Autumn cake cool down in thebakingtraybeforeeating.EnjoyyourperfectAutumncake!

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MEET THE DAILY BOARD

My name is Milan Baars and I am the chair of Study Association Flowfortheupcomingyear.Iam20yearsoldandcomefrom Doesburg in Gelderland. Flow and its members really made my years in Tilburg enjoyable. In these years I was active in the IntroductionCommitteeandlastyearIwasresponsiblefor CityTripandtheAssociationWeekend.Iamverymuchlooking forwardtotheupcomingyearasamemberoftheBoardofFlow andallnewexperiencesthisyearentails!

My name is Puck Outshoorn and I will take on the role of Secretary. I’m 21 years old and was born and raised in Breda.

I became a member of the Informal Activities Committee, andlastyear,IwasintheSportsandGamesCommittee.Flow made me feel at home right away, and I knew that I wanted to do more for this association. Being a board member will be a challenge, but it’s one I’m ready to take on and I’m looking forward to seeing what this year has in store for me!

My name is Jennifer Steenkamp and I’ll be the treasurer this year. I’m 21 years old and born in Eersel (a small village near Eindhoven). First I was a member of the InFlow committee. In my second year I was the commissioner of the Informal Activities Committee,whereIorganizedalotof(online)partiesand activities. Furthermore, I like Christmas, singing and dancing to K3 music, cooking and to have a beer sometimes. I’m really looking forwardtotheupcomingyear!

My name is Rosa van der VleutenandIwillbefulfillingtherole of Internal Affairs and Vice-chair. I am currently 20 years old and IgrewupinBeekenDonk.Inthelasttwoyears,Ihavebeen active both as a member and the commissioner of the inFlow Committee. I enjoy cooking and most artistic things like drawing, painting,theatreandmovies.Iamgreatlylookingforwardto broadeningmyhorizonandseeingjusthowmuchI’mcapable of and what I can still learn.

My name is Lynn WillemsandthisyearIwillfillthepositionof ExternalAffairs.IamfromGennep.ImovedtoTilburgtwoyears ago, when I was only 17 years old. I instantly became active atFlowbyjoiningtheIntroductionCommitteeinmyfirstyear loved the committee so much that I also did the committee the year after, but as a commissioner. Flow has given me so many fun memories and good times, so I’m looking forward to giving back to the association. I know this year will be a challenge, but IlovetochallengemyselfandseewhatIcanaccomplish.

WE WERE WONDERING...

When did you realize you wanted to become part of Flow’s board? did you already know what function you wanted to have?

Milan: IthinkitwashalfwaymysecondyearIdecidedformyselfIwasgoingtoapply foraboardfunction.Iwasdoubtingquitealotaboutitatrst fi hand,butitwasarou the Christmas break that I knew for sure. I didn’t know which function I wanted to have,becauseIdidnotknowallthefunctionspecificdetailstomakearightchoice SoIreallytriedhardtogatherasmuchasinformationIcouldtohelpmewithmy decision.

Rosa:InNovemberofI, decided 9102 thatIwouldapplyforaboardpositiononthe conditionthatIthoughtmyselfcapableandthatIhaddevelopedenoughtodoit.

IwassuperfocussedonpersonalgrowthsoIthoughtofitlikearewardtoearn.Idid developpreferencesforfunctionsbutIwasalwaysconvincedthatIdidn’treallyk whataboardyearwouldentailsoIwouldprobablyt fi thebestonwhateverposition if any, the Daily Board would decide for me.

What do you look forward to most the upcoming year?

Lynn:Gainingalotofexperienceandknowledgethatwillbeusefulmyentirelife.I alsolookforwardtothesocialpart,likegettingtoknowsomanynewpeoplefrom different associations.

Puck:Thismightbequiteaclichéanswer,butI’vebeenlookingforwardtophysical activities and seeing everyone again. I think our members are the heart of our association and I’ve really missed the feeling of all being together.

Jennifer: I’mlookingforwardtoalltheofflineactivities.Especiallythemonthlydri andtheAssociationWeekend,becauseIlikedtheCityTripsomuch.

What do you think will be your biggest challenge?

Lynn: Probably dealing with setbacks. Of course it would be nice if everything went exactlythewayIwantitto,butthiswillnotalwayshappenandsometimesthingswi gowrong.OfcourseItrustmeandmyboardtoalwaysnd fi asolution.

Milan: Ithink,thatIhavetocooperatewithfourwomen,forsure.

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What do you hope to have learned one year from now?

Milan

Puck

In what way do you think Flow stands out compared to other study associations?

Rosa

Jennifer

Do you already know what your strength is as a group?

Puck

Lynn

What is your most treasured memory at Flow?

Jennifer

Rosa

What would you like to say to all our Flow members?

Milan

Puck Jennifer

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Ro:as This year, we might have to deal with a lot of uncertainty, but I’m really rp oud of last year and I hope that whatever hape p ns, we can make it through together just like then.

Lyn

: You’re a p rt of an amazing association, so make the most out of it while you can!

ACCORDING TO ACCORDING TOEACH EACHOTHER...

OTHER...

The one most likely to go travelingto“find themself” is Rosa.

Any destination suggestions?

Rosa is most likely to write an autobiographical bestseller.

Wecanfind Lynn dancing until the sun comesup.

Milan is most likely to migrate to another country, so lets hopeheatleast waits until next year.

Jennifer is most likely to be on a broadcasted singingcompetition.

But we’re really glad she chose Flow over K2 zoekt K3.

In accordance, Jennifer is most likely to get famous, which means there’s trust in her singingcompetition performances.

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For more information, conditions and validity take a look at the website www. svflow.nl

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The Five

Tilburg’s hidden gems

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The Gaming Factory Thisisagamehallofapproximately150m2whichhasafantasticrangeofgames.YoucanplaytheirE-gameslikeFortnite,Airhockeyand board games. It’s a great thing to do with your family, friends or date. At thebaritispossibletohaveadrinkandasnack.Atthesametim willbesurprisedbythemanyactivitieswhichtakeplaceintheg hall.

De Nachtzuster Thisisaplacefullofinspirationandsociabilitywhereyoucan meetnewideas,people,andcreators.Theyhavemultipleactivitiesto offer,likecreativehookworkshopwithpizza,dinnerswithspokenword andmusicalnetworkdrinkswithBBQ.Duringtheweektheyoffer - speci al lunches so you can connect with other creators at the lunch table.

DeNachtzusteristhenewcreativemeetingplaceyouneedtovisit.

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3

Cinecitta The arthouse cinema shows movies of all directions of the world, which often transcends Hollywood blockbusters. It has three cinema halls, a multifunctional room, a stylish conference room, a restaurant and a bar.

Thecinemaalsohasagreentouch:theheatofthemovieprojector connected to the heat network, which means less ventilation than usual isrequired.Thefurnitureismostlysecond-hand,thepaperthati is sustainable and sustainable cleaning. Pay a visit to Cinecitta, a beautiful cinema full of allure.

De Nieuwe Vorst This is an intimate and warm theatre, where you are sitting close to the skinoftheartists.Aftertheshowaretheseperformershavingadrin withyouintheattractivelylitgardenofthetheatre.It-isaplacein burgwheredifferentartformscometogether,andwherepeoplework together to make the theatre accessible for everyone. They offer a folk kitchenonceaweek,interestinglectures,spokenwordshows,dance performancesandofcoursetheatreperformances.DeNieuweVorst isasmalltheaterthatwelcomeseveryone,andisthereforedefinitel worth a visit.

Het Zuidelijk Toneel Thisisaplacewhereyoucandiscovernewsidesofyourself.It’sathe housewherecreatorswalktheirownpatharoundasix-monthlyth Itoffersperformanceswhointeractwiththepublic,makingpeople aboutthemselvesandtheirviews.HetZuidelijkToneelhasple forthecreativestudentsamonguswiththeiryouthplatform:HZT partofHZTEAMyouvisitpresentationsandrepetitionsandyoure the many activities on the area of art, culture and theatre.

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5

10

JULIËTTE SCHAAFSMA

is a professor at the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences.

Most people will know her from the first year course Communications in Organizations (CIO) which she gives every year. Five years ago she appeared in the Flowzine with an interview. Back then, she was about to start a large-scale, international research project, funded by the European Research Council. Now, five years later, we interview professor doctor Schaafsma again and ask her how research and teaching are going.

PROJECT Can you tell a bit more about the project you’ve been working on for the past five years?

Itisaresearchprojectthatweareconductinginmanycountries.Inrecen moreandmorecountrieshavestartedtoapologizeforhumanrightsviola fromeitherthenearpastorthedistantpast.Andthat’ssomethingtha debatesquiteoften.Canagovernmentleaderapologizeforsomethingtha didnotdohimselfandthathashappenedinthepast?

Also,questionsaboutcollectiveresponsibilityrise:Towhatextentdow responsibilityforpastwrongs?Theprojecthastwobigparts,onepartisl muchmoreatwhatthoseassumptionsthatunderliepoliticalapologies the gesture achievable and desirable?

Wealsodidinterviewswithpeopleindifferentcountries.Andthesearev differentcountries.We’vedoneinterviewsinJordan,JapanandtheUnited States,amongothers,wherepeoplewerepresentedwithsituations,usua pasthumanrightsviolationsandthenaskedhowtodealwiththem.Weals conducted a large-scale survey in 30 countries.

Fortheothersubproject,westartedmappingoutmuchmoreofwhatthewho apologylandscapeactuallylookslike:whichcountrieshaveapologizedan whatcharacterizesthosecountriesandapologies?That’sbeenalotofs and we actually have all the data now. Corona did cause a little bit of a delay, but we have all the data in now, so we’re really very busy analyzing and writing.

At some point, don’t you get a little tired of the research when you’re working on it for so long?

No, I haven’t had that. And I do understand why you’re asking this question. But Ihaven’tfeltthat.Thatismainlybecausetherearesomanydifferentaspe totheresearchandthetopicasawhole.Therearealwaysdifferentsubje differentmethods,differentorganizations.It’sawholelogisticalopera

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can’t do everything ourselves, so then we also need assistants who have to be trained.Thenyoualsohaveawholenetworkofallkindsofpeopleinallkind of countries and you have to coordinate all of this, which is sometimes quite complicated.Sothat’swhyit’sneverboring.

What are the biggest standouts of the research?

Whatstrikesmeisthattheconceptofexcusesexistseverywhere.Itissome that’s“inherent”topeople.Iactuallyfindthatveryinteresting.It’safund gesture in our interactions, that when you’ve done something wrong there is a wayofshowingusthatyouknowyouacknowledgethat.Ifinditinterestingtha that’s something that’s just understood everywhere. It is a fundamental human gesture.

Ialsofinditinterestingthatinalotofcountries,peoplefeelthatcount apologizeontheirown.Peoplethinkthatcountries,ingeneral,shoulddot butmakeanexceptionfortheirowncountry,ofcourse.Thisfindingisrepresen morestronglyinsomecountriesthaninothers.Apologizinghappensallove the world, but more so in liberal democracies. And you see that it’s actually a phenomenonofthelast35years.

“What strikes me is that the concept of excuses exists everywhere. It is something that’s “inherent” to people.”

Youalsoseethatvictimsareplayinganincreasinglyimportantroleinth domain.Previouslyifyouwereavictimofsomething,youkeptyourmouthshut anddidn’tgoouttellingpeopleaboutyourstruggles.Throughthemediawe have,victimshavemoreopportunitiestotelltheirstories.Youcansee playanincreasinglyimportantroleinthepublicdomainandcantherefore pressure.

What did you like the least about all of the research?

The bureaucracy. Sometimes it’s just frustrating that things take a very long time becauseyouhavetowaitforredtape,forexample.So,intermsofcontent,ther is nothing I didn’t like!

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CONCLUSION OF THE RESEARCH What is the idea for the future of the research?

It should be ready next year. But we still have some work to do. We have so much datalyingaround,sobeforetheenddate,wewon’tgetitallprocessed.We needafewmoremonthstoreallyfinishit.There’smaterialforyearsIwillsay don’thavetobeboredintheupcomingtime!

When the research is done, what then?

Whentheresearchisdone,therewillbeplentyofnewmanagementfunctions waiting and then there will be time for teaching and new research.

Do you plan to do more teaching when this project is finished?

Itdependsalittlebitontheproject,alsoonthemanagerialtasks.Itma Iwillteachalittlemore.Butitwon’tbesubstantiallymore.Ithinkitis teach and to have contact with students, to move with the students. This is also whyIcontinuedtoteachCIOduringthisproject.Ifyoustopteachingforfive years, suddenly you have a whole new generation of students in front of you.

“Education should challenge and education is interaction.”

TEACHING AND CORONA Has there been much change in the way you teach or how education is generally taught in the past five years?

Because of corona, of course, a lot has changed and that has had a lot of impactonteachingandhowweteach.Ireallyliketeachingintheclassroom the contact and interaction with the students and the dynamics of the room. I amveryhappythatwecangobacktoofflineteaching.I’mnotinfavorofonline education. I understand that it has certain easy sides, but education should not be easy. Education should challenge and education is interaction. Looking at education in general, I notice that students are increasingly addicted to devices.

Ialsofindthatthequalityofcertainskillsisdeclining.Forexample,stude language skills are not getting better, only worse.

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KNOWLEDGE AND LANGUAGE And why is it that language skills are declining? Is it because people have more and more devices and conveniences?

Idon’treallyknow,Ineverhavethatmuchinsightintowhatpeoplearetau in high school and how much guidance or how much feedback they get in theprocess.Ialsofeelthattheknowledgeofsentencestructureisdecr That also really has to do with vocabulary and reading. So, I think that reading is really one of the main causes; or rather, the lack of reading. Reading may not beseenassomethingenjoyableanymoreorsomethingthatwillbenefityou throughout your life. Reading is one of the main ways of acquiring knowledge both consciously and unconsciously.

In this, a major fallacy is also often made by students. It is a mistake to think that knowledgeissomethingyoucanlookup.Realknowledgeissomethingthatca eventuallyresultinwisdom.Knowledgeissomethingyoubuildupandforwhi youhavetoputmanythingsinyourhead,butwhichnobodycantakeaway from you once it is in your head. Knowledge is something you carry with you, in every situation. So, I think as a university we have a duty to teach students this.

AndthatissomethingIhavetoexplaintostudentsoverandoverandsome not everyone understands equally well.

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The Future of the Ef teling We can finally go to the Efteling again! Next to the fact that this amazing theme park is open again, there are also a lot of exciting new things have been built in the last few months, or which are going to be built in the upcoming period. In this article we will tell you about the new eat and drink facilities ‘t Verwende Nest in Speelbos Nest (Play Forest Nest) and about the plans around Reizenrijk (Travelsquare). ‘t Verwende Nest: in the end of May the new PlayForestinRuigrijkopened,namedSpeelbos Nest. For us, as communication scientists, it’s very interesting to know that this Play Forest is made foreveryyoungparkvisitor,withandwithout (visible)disabilities.Eventhoughthisplaygroundis made with a focus on children, it is worth to have alookaroundthisplayground.

Next to the very detailed elements of the Eftelingrollercoasters-whichyoucanfindinthis playforesttopreparetheyoungervisitorsforthe rollercoasters - you can get a nice snack at the new eat and drink facility. At this facility called ‘t Verwende Nest, you can get a Chimney Cake (or in Dutch Kurkentrekker) with a nice drink. This Chimney Cake is made of sweet bread in the form of a corkscrew (in Dutch this means kurkentrekker). Before baking, the bread issprinkledwithsugarandcinnamon.Tosoundmoreexcited,youcanchoosea topping(chocolate,strawberrymeringue,orkiwi-watermelon)tofillthe - Kurke trekker! à

An extra fact for the real Eftelingfans: the name of the snack refers to the eat and drinkfacilitywhichwasopenedwiththePythonin198.ThisfacilityKurkentrek (Corkscrew)referredtothepartofthePythonwhereyouhangupsidedownin therollercoaster.TheKurkentrekkerwastakendowntomakeplacefor - th coaster De Vliegende Hollander (Flying Dutchman).

Unfortunately,inthefirstweekofSeptember,wehadtosaygoodbyetothe-Mon sieur Cannibale and the Adventure Maze (Avonturen Doolhof), but nevertheless we will get two beautiful attractions back, in theme of Sindbad the Sailor, from thestoriesof10Nights.TheAdventureMazeopensitsspaceforanewwater playground,namedArchipel.TheMonsieurCannibalespinningcauldronswill adaptedbymerchantbargesandthenameofthisattractionwillbeSirocc Nexttothesenewattractions,thewholeTravelsquare(Reizenrijk)-,excep nivalFestival,willbeadaptedtotheworldofSindbadtocreateanovera Nights vibe.

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An extra fact for the real Efteling fans: did you know that our wealthy merchant Sindbad has becomepartoftheEftelingsince198?The rollercoaster Vogel Rok is an adventure from one of his seven sea journeys. Besides Vogel Rok, the newattractionsArchipelandSiroccowillsh two of his other sea journeys. In these drawings, wecanseesomeimpressionsaboutthetheme and how everything is going to be built.

It seems that the ‘outside’ fun that we were deprivedfrominthepandemicisnowtakingnew andcreativeforms.Thethemeparkhasevolved anditispreparedforabrand-newstart,welco mingitsvisitorswithopendoors.Areyouexcit togo(back)toEftelingtoexperienceeven more of its magic world?

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Optical Illusions with Emiel Krahmer

Most students Communication- and Information Sciences will probably be familiar with Emiel Krahmer. As a professor and researcher, Emiel is very interested in cognitive science. We were lucky to have an interview with him about optical illusions: ambiguous pictures with more than one interpretation.

Could you explain how you became interested in cognitive sciences?

“Iamveryinterestedinhowpeople communicate with each other, using language but also non-verbal cues such as gestures. But if you start looking at how language works, it turns out that alotofdifferentcognitiveprocesses playarole.Forexample,it’sdifficult to talk to each other when you can’t remember what someone else just said, Schroeder stairs somemoryisveryimportant.It’salso veryimportantthatyoucanseeeachWhat’s nice about the Schroeder Stairs is that it is a staircase that you can see other when you talk to each other both from below and from above. The face-to-face.Inthatwayyoucanpick upnon-verbalsignals,sovisualpercep - funnythingisyouhavetwointerpreta tions tionisimportant.Inshort,whentrying to ofthispicture.You’llprobablys the stairsfromthetopbecausethat understand communication, studying the otherprocessessuchasmemory,visual interpretationyouseethefast and perception,andauditoryperception is you really have to think to see the stairs inescapable.That’swheremyinterest from the bottom. actually started.”

The Necker Cube, recognizable from the lecture, is based on the same idea: What is your most favourite optical illuit’s a cube that you can see from besion? low and from above, but with the stairs “We were just talking about cognitive you’llprobablyhaveastrongerfeelin processesbeingimportant.Cognitive of ‘I only see the staircase from the illusions also say a lot about how visual top’,becausebyfarthemoststairca perceptionworks.Opticalillusions work ses you have seen in your life are from becauseofhitchesinourvisual - perthetopinsteadofthebottom.” ception.Asdiscussed,andaswillbe discussedinthelecture:yourprevious experiences,thingsyou’veseenbefore, determine to a larger degree how the illusion works.

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compressed.So,theinformationabout visualperceptionisusedtocompress pictures.”

Can a person’s characteristics be reflected in what they see in an optical illusion?

“Yes,Ithinkso,becauseyourprevious visualexperiencesdeterminewhatyo see, and not everyone has the same viWhat do you like the most about optisual history, so not everyone falls for the cal illusions? sameopticalillusionseither.Butit “WhatIfoundcompletelyamusing between illusions: you have illusions andsurprisingaboutopticalillusions is the functioning of the eye for targeting that they are actually still being disexample.Thosearephysiologicalrathe covered.So,peopledoresearchon thancognitive.Youexpectlessofa visualperception,andtheydiscover person’scharacteristicsbeingreflec newillusions.Thereareevenprizesfor inwhattheyseeinaopticalillusion that! So, on the one hand you learn a lot about how the visual system works.

Have you ever been completely fallen Theillusionsarenotjustfunnypictures, into an illusion? butitprovesthattheexpectationsyou “Myvisualperceptionisthesameas have,previousexperiences,havean everyoneelse’s,soalltheoptical ill impactonwhatyouperceive.Andon onsthatpeoplearesusceptibleto,I’ the other hand, it’s not a subject which susceptibletoaswell.Evenifyoubring isfinished.Iusedtothinkthesearethe alltheknowledgeaboutvisualperce illusionsandthat’sit,butit’saplace tionwithyou,youstillfallforthose o for research and new illusions or new tical illusions, because your own visual ways of showing them in an even more perceptionisfoolingyou.” drastic way.”

Necker cube

How does one fall for such an illusion like the Schroeder stairs?

Have you ever used a optical illusion to fool someone else?

“No, and I’ve never thought about that “Visualperceptionisnotsomethingyou either,exceptthatIsometimeswear do with your eyes, but with your brain. blouseswithstripes,butnotintent Yourbrainexpectstoseecertainthings ly.Maybeagoodtipforthefuture.” andthoseexpectationsareverymuch guidingwhatyouperceive.”

Krahmer adds as a moral of the story: “Inthelectureonvisualperceptions Do you know an illusion that is used in and illusions from the Cognition and daily life that people often fall for?

Communication course, it’s not just “Opticalillusionscanmakeyouappear aboutusingtheopticalillusions,wh thinner of fatter. They are also used in isalotoffuntoo,butit’sespecially compressiontechniques.Thingsthat importantthatopticalillusionsa areveryattention-seekingin-apictu to learn something about cognition in re,aretypicallynotthepartsthatgeneral.” are 18

ONLINE TRENDS:

WHEN DOES SOMETHING GO VIRAL? We, as consumers of social media, are bombarded with content on a daily basis. In a world where every fleeting moment is filled with screens, it has become easier to create content. Have you got a smartphone?

Congratulations, you can now become a journalist, photo- or videographer, just by pressing some buttons.

The bar for making content is at an alltime low which means more content is being made every single second.

Despite these heaps and heaps of TikToks uploaded to the internet every day, there are still some particular ones that we all have seen. A viral video can change the life of its creator overnight, and this is what many content creators are looking for; that one video that will conquer the internet in a short amount of time. But what or who decides what goes viral?

‘phenomenon’.Itisthiscommunitythat makessurethevideoisspreadand shared across the internet and starts adding,participatingandinteractin with the content. In this way, viral trends come to be.

Thethirdandlastaspectthatallv content seems to have in common according to Allocca, is the element ofsurprise.Viralvideosneedtobring a kind of novelty and raise curiosity among their viewers.

This need for novelty is also found inpsychology,whereresearchsays thatcontentthatfeelsneworfills informationgapstriggersthereleas ofdopamine.Dopamineisatypeof neurotransmitter that encourages us toexperiencepleasureorexcitement Becauseofthis,dopaminecan influenceustobehaveacertainwayin order to achieve that exciting state as Foravideoorposttogoviral,ithas muchaspossible. to be shared a lot. But what are the underlying motivations of users to share We can see this behaviour whilst we certain content? According to Kevin are browsing through content. Our Allocca, YouTube head of culture and brain directs our attention to something trends at Google viral videos have new, recognising old knowledge and three things in common: neglecting it because it does not offer usthesameamountofdopamineas Firstly,viralvideosorpostsare new content does. In this way, the oftenintroducedtothepublicby brain is hardwired to search for novelty, tastemakers.Theseareinfluentialsinceexploringanewenvironment peoplewhointroduceaveragepeople can come with rewards. This is why it to interesting things, think about is much easier to scroll through your influencersorcelebritieswithfollowed phone,seeingsomethingnewevery by a large online community. Then, three seconds than read a book. asaresultofatastemakerhelpinga video into the limelight, a community Nexttoourneedfordopamine,weare start forming around this now called also just curious and want to broaden

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our knowledge. According to the want to create a viral video. Next to informationgaptheory,humansfeel emotions, novelty and the element theneedtofillinthegapbetween ofsurprise,itseemsasifalsoalarge what we already know and what we portionofluckisneededifyouwant wanttoknowabouttopicswecare to beat the algorithms. This is why most about.Inthisway,wewanttoput videosorpoststhatgoviraldoso effort into learning new information. accidentally or unknowingly. It is these This theory is often used in “how-to” or kinds of videos, of children biting each “everything you need to know about” other’sfingersorseeinglotsofchicken videos. It is these kinds of videos or thatwaspostednotwiththeintent poststhatofferustheopportunity toto go viral but for various other reasons. broaden our knowledge about subjects However, these are also the kind of we care about. videos that everyone, even years later, still knows and loves.

“The brain is hardwired to search for novelty, since exploring a new environment can come with rewards.”

So, now that we have found new and knowledge-broadening content, why should we share it with others?

There are a lot of motivations to share certain content, varying from starting a conversation to boosting yourreputation,butthereisone characteristic that all shared videos have in common: they have to connecttothepersonsharingthem, most often through emotions. If a user does not feel a connection with a video there is no reason for them to interactwiththatpieceofcontent.

Research has shown us that content that raises certain emotions, such as amusement,surpriseandhappiness, issharedmoreoften.Surprisinglyalso nostalgia and disgust, both strong emotions,arepopularamongviral videos.

Toconclude,therearelotsofaspects andunconsciousprocessesthatneed to be taken into account when you

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Lost and found

Finding the perfect student accommodation in Tilburg

The Verbs

Didanybodysayparty?InTilburg,Verbsiswell-knownforitscrazykitchen parties,inwhichnumerousstudentsdanceandplaymusicuntilear morning.Ifyoulovetobearoundpeopleanddon’tmindabitofnoise, thisistheplaceforyou!Asforthepeoplewhooccupythesebuildings, manypeoplefromallovertheworldcometothecityfortheirexchange programs.Intermsoftheatmosphere:mostoftheexchangestudentsar generallyupforagoodtimealongsidedoingtheirstudies.

Oh, and did I mention that everything is shared — the kitchen, the toilets, and the showers? Be sure you feel comfortable walking on the corridor in your towel — there is a very big chance you will meet many on the way.

Andyou’veprobablyrealizedthatthismightnotbethebestplacefo quietstudysession…Well,therearealwayspeoplearoundtoemotio supportyouwhencomingbackfromatoughdayattheuniversity,which iscloseby.Theywillprobablythrowapartyinyourhonortoobecause thereisalwaysareasonforadrinkwiththepeoplefromyourfloor.

Shared apartment or house

Thereareplacestoliveforpeoplewhodon’twanttohearmusicblas everynight.Areyouhavinga(part-time)joboraninternshipthatrequ youtogetlotsofrest,butyoualsowanttohavefunwithpeoplewhen backhome?Asharedapartment/houseisforyou!

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Livinglikethisisperfectwhenyouhaveafewmoreresponsibilities justbeingastudent.Usually,itisaquietenvironment(dependingo your roommates). Also, these have a homier vibe and can generally be decoratedaccordingtoyourpreferences.Yourroomisnottheonlysp thatcanbepersonalized,butalsothekitchen,thelivingroom,ande thetoilets.Atrendnowadaysishavingpostersorquotesonthein sideofyourtoiletdoor.So,keepthatinmindwhenmovinginandchoose wiselywhichactor,singer,orcartooncharacterisgoingtokeepyou company.

Cobbencampus & Talent Square

If you have the money, Cobben is the choice for you! This is not the student accommodationthatyouwouldexpecttoseewhenfirstmovingoutof your home, though. And I am not saying that in a bad way because this is amoreofa‘luxurious’typeofvibe.Clean,furnished,withallthefacili includedandwithcozycommonareas:thiscouldbetheplaceinwhich youcanliveyourhighstudentlife.Moreover,theapartmentsandstu here offer you a great environment in which you can study. They are spacious,withaneatinteriordesignthatwouldprobablynotmake want to go through the rain to reach the library.

TalentSquareisabitcheaperandalsoanicestudentplacetolive in. Situated only a few hundred meters away from Cobben, this accommodationcomeswithtwooptions:studiosorroomswithprivat bathrooms and shared kitchens. This is a good choice if you want both some quiet time and interaction with international students. Other students arecomingheretopartyaswellwhenitisnotthatcold. Moreover,th common area downstairs is not only great for nightly gatherings, but also for having a barbecue or just chatting with other students at any time of the day.

Haveyoumadeupyourmindalready?Don’thesitatetotrytofindaroom assoonaspossible,becausetheaccommodationsaredifficulttogeti the Netherlands.

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