UNI NOVA – Research Magazine of the University of Basel
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University
Signs of increasing appeal.
Text: Bettina Volz-Tobler / The Alumni Prize was launched in 2015, the 10th anniversary of AlumniBasel. It is endowed with a CHF 10,000 prize by an alumnus and patron and aims to show the many ways in which University of Basel alumni go on to enrich society after completing their studies.
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University
Special issue stamps by a Basel alumnus.
Molecular biologist Dr. Martin Oeggerli, alumnus of the University of Basel, created two special Swiss Post stamps.
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Column
Global challenges and the coronavirus crisis.
Text: Pascale Baeriswyl / Pascale Baeriswyl studied law, history and French literature and linguistics at the University of Basel. Today she is an ambassador to the UN in New York.
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Column
Bolaño’s The Savage Detectives: An unflinching, urgent narrative.
Text: Moisés Mayordomo / My book: The theologian Prof. Dr. Moisés Mayordomo recommends the 1998 published novel "Los detectives salvajes" by the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño.
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Focal area
“Different people make different decisions.”
Interview: Christoph Dieffenbacher / Research into human decision-making brings together the fields of psychology and economics. One of the first researchers to study this topic intensively at the University of Basel is Professor Jörg Rieskamp.
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Focal area
How our memory can trick us.
Text: Martin Hicklin / When we have to make a choice, we often select the options that trigger the strongest memories. One reason for this is that weak memories tend to make us feel uncertain.
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Focal area
How tossing coins can help.
Text: David Herrmann / When faced with a difficult decision, flipping a coin can make things easier. You’re under no obligation to do as it says, but it could trigger feelings and thought processes.
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Focal area
“Risk can be positive, too.”
Interview: Andreas W. Schmid / What determines our willingness to take risks? Cognitive psychologist Jana Jarecki tackles this question in her research at the University of Basel. Her studies show that risk is generally not an end in itself, but rather a means to the end of satisfying certain needs.
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Focal area
How we make decisions.
Which is the best option to choose? Should I take a risk in doing so or rather avoid it? We make decisions throughout our lives – yet only few of these are made consciously.