In early July 2023, two researchers from the University of Twente were awarded the NWO SSH XS Grant. Dr. Saana Jukola from the Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Sciences (BMS), and Dr. Yue Dou from the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), were recognized for their contributions to the realm of social sciences and humanities. The SSH XS Grant focuses on fostering bold and innovative ideas with the potential to generate valuable knowledge and the grant consists of a maximum of up to €50,000.
What is ‘an alcohol problem’?
Mapping the epistemic landscape of alcohol research
By dr. S.J. Jukola
Science-based interventions to reduce alcohol-related harms are urgently needed. Yet there is no consensus about how to identify problematic alcohol use. Research to alcohol use is pervaded by partially conflicting conceptualizations, definitions, and operationalizations, which leads to tensions and conflicts in interdisciplinary collaboration, policy-making, and clinical practice. This exploratory philosophy of science project provides a mapping of conceptualizations in and the epistemological landscape of alcohol research. It thus aims at increasing our understanding of the conceptual and epistemological sources of conflicts in alcohol research and policy.
Sustainability without borders
Connect distant production and consumption with SmartAvocado
By dr. Y. Dou
Food today is often produced thousands of miles away from where it is consumed, making it challenging to track the farm origin and routes. Current norms in science are using country origins and national aggregates, oversimplifying the environmental impacts that can vary 50-fold across farms. This pilot aims to develop a monitoring system to track avocados, an imported, water-hungry product using the latest Internet-of-Things technologies. This will provide an unprecedented high-resolution map of food flows, enabling better environmental assessment and optimized transport routes. The ultimate aim is to encourage sustainable consumer behaviors and business models to govern sustainable food trade.
About the SSH Open Competition XS grants
The SSH Open Competition XS pilot is explicitly about curiosity-driven, cutting-edge research and the ability to rapidly analyze a promising idea. The proposed research should be groundbreaking and it should not be certain in advance whether the intended objective will be achieved. The aim is for each project to contribute to existing and new scientific insights.
