Videos

Our ageing population is not only growing but is also becoming more diverse. Labour migrants who came to Belgium last century are part of today's ageing population. Most older adults prefer to live at home for as long as possible, but what is 'home' to older adults with a migration background? To explore this, PhD researcher Micheline Phlix conducted 45 interviews with older migrants.

When we say Paris, you probably have a vivid image of the city, and think of the Eiffel Tower or the Pyramid of the Louvre - even if you've never been there. "We remember cities and are fascinated by them, even before we visit them - through photography." But what image do you have of the lesser-known 'Little Paris', the city of Bucharest?

You might think that slavery is something from the past, but it's not. Even today over 40 million people are being exploited through prostitution, forced labor or organ trade globally. There is a lot of research on human trafficking, but little attention is paid to the experiences of victims afterward. Through interviews, Victoria Wozniak-Cole is giving them a voice. She hopes to better understand the negative treatment they get and help break the stigma they face.

Slim top models and muscled hunks are increasingly making way for realistic models in advertising campaigns. A good evolution, although it is not clear whether these campaigns actually result in a more positive body image. Orpha de Lenne studies realistic advertisements to find out how they can really make us feel better about our body. 

Sofie Claerhout's doctorate was looking for a new way to trace offenders in a murder case on the basis of DNA found at the crime scene. Using DNA kinship analysis, she can map out distant kinships, up to 40 generations apart, on the basis of a DNA sample. This makes it possible to trace the perpetrator much more precisely.

A 'vector', isn't that something for mathematicians and physicists? Linguist Weiwei Zhang (KU Leuven) proves the opposite. She uses vectors to study related words and synonyms that appear in different language variants, such as "subway" in American English and "underground" in British English.

Social contacts are very important for our well-being. Unfortunately, people with disabilities often rely on a much smaller network. Evy Meys (KU Leuven) is investigating how their network can be strengthened.

In this video, Elke Emmers (KU Leuven) takes you on a speed date with a real plot twist. In her research she tries to adjust the attitudes of teachers, remedial educationalists and other professionals towards persons with disabilities. 

Imagine you are forced to flee your home and have to resettle in a strange place. Awful thought, isn't it? Well, every day 44,000 people are forced to leave their homes... Tian Shi looks at how Hmong people, an Indochinese refugee group, settled in Europe in the 1970's after the Vietnam war.

Did you know that there are about 7,000 languages in the world? And that more than 2,600 of these languages are in danger of extinction? With every language that disappears, we lose a unique part of the rich diversity that exists in human languages. That's why Dana Louagie studies Aboriginal languages.

Do Google Home, Alexa and Siri have a social impact on our behaviour? Can they encourage us to drive more safely or convince us to exercise more often? That is what Pieter Vanpaemel (Vlerick Business School - KU Leuven) researches in his doctorate.

Not every leader is a manager, and not every manager is a leader. This is a very simple truth that anyone will agree with. If not synonymous to "manager", then what exactly makes someone a "leader"? And what happens when we have no manager at all, and all we are left with is informal leadership?