Data-driven political campaigns are on the rise. Concerns have been voiced that practices like online political microtargeting techniques are harmful for democracy. These concerns grew after the unexpected outcome of the US presidential elections in 2016, the Brexit vote in the UK, and several recent elections in Europe. However, it is unclear if data-driven campaigns using online microtargeting techniques are an actual threat to democracy. The project will focus on both the intended and unintended consequences of data-driven targeting and digital persuasion. In light of ongoing political and societal turmoil, investigating how citizens may be persuaded in a turbulent age and in a changing media landscape has never been more important. The study will focus on micro (consequences for citizens), meso (consequences for political elites), and macro level effects (consequences for democracy). The project will address four research questions: (RQ1) How do organizations shape elections campaigns by targeting potential voters online during elections? (RQ2) What are the constitutional and legislative frameworks shaping the extent and nature of data-driven campaigning in European countries? (RQ3) How are data-driven targeting practices perceived? (RQ4) To what extent do data-driven targeting practices actually affect voters? The project is novel as it (1) extends and empirically tests a theoretical framework of data-driven campaigning, while (2) using a mixture of research methods and a (3) comparative perspective. DATADRIVEN will offer a deeper understanding of online data-driven targeting techniques during elections in four European countries (i.e., Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and United Kingdom).

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are extremely bright extragalactic flashes of radio waves, and some of the shortest duration astrophysical transients known. In the last five years, new surveys have revolutionised the FRB field, detecting hundreds of new bursts, discovering several FRBs that repeat, and localising them to host galaxies. Still, the origin of FRBs is among the greatest mysteries in astronomy. Since extraordinary amounts of energy are required to produce FRBs, compact objects such as neutron stars or black holes are potential progenitors. I aim to address some of the major questions in the field: What is the origin of FRBs? Are repeating and one-off FRBs the same? How do FRBs evolve with the Universe? For this, I will undertake two complementary approaches: 1) I will analyse new FRBs discovered with MeerKAT to evaluate their population properties and cosmological evolution, and compare these to other astrophysical phenomena to determine their progenitors. 2) I will conduct long-time monitoring of repeating FRBs with the Lovell radio telescope to collect large burst datasets, study their repetition patterns, and compare them to galactic neutron stars. Through the innovative use of these powerful radio telescopes, I will help advance our current understanding of FRBs.

It is widely reported that invasive species can alter the functioning of ecosystems, with often negative impacts on ecosystem services. Despite this, we currently lack knowledge of the mechanisms that allow invasive species to enter natural communities. In the face of on-going global change, such knowledge would allow us to prevent or mitigate invasions. Recently, exiting advances in plant nutrition research show that organic nitrogen (N), in addition to inorganic N, constitutes a highly important resource to plant communities. To take up complex organic N, plants collaborate intensively with microbial symbionts. Human disturbances can shift dominant N forms and microbial community composition. This raises the question: do disturbances increase ?invasibility? of natural communities via these pathways? I hypothesize that 1) invasibility of natural communities depends on the composition of the microbial community and the dominance of N forms 2) disturbances can shift microbial community composition and N forms, thus increasing the invasibility. To test these hypotheses, I will use a large-scale field experiment with different natural communities where I will apply a disturbance, and subsequently test the effect on invasibility. This project will generate novel insights into the invasibility of ecosystems, as well as how environmental change drives ecosystem functioning.

Graphene is a one-atom-thick layer of carbon with an impressive list of material properties that have led to high-impact science and set the premise for a technology revolution. Current research has shown how graphene excels on the two-dimensional transport of electronic charge, spin and heat currents. Nevertheless, the interactions among these degrees of freedom are not well understood. In particular, fundamental processes at the nanoscale leading to interactions between spin and heat currents, experimentally unexplored in graphene until now, could ultimately lead to fast and energy efficient nanoelectronics. The aim of this proposal is to experimentally investigate in graphene nanodevices the transport of heat, spin, and their mutual interactions. This is the subject of the emerging field of spin caloritronics. I will study pure spin and heat currents in graphene using spin-dependent and thermoelectric nanoscale circuitry. This experimental effort, complemented with device modelling, will advance our understanding of the rich physics of nanoscale heat and spin transport in graphene.

This project addresses two themes of the call, the emerging politics of threat and shifting identities and representations, in relation to the presence of Muslims in European public spheres. Through two phases of research, followed by an action phase involving civil society and policy actors, the project aims to (a) consider common discourses of threat accompanying the growing presence of Muslims in four European societies with different traditions of minority inclusion; (b) to move beyond such ‘problem oriented’ approaches by examining the shifting identities and representations of Muslims as these are emerging in an era of ‘democratic deficit’. A key aim is to identify individual and collective discourses, practices and strategies in the re-elaboration process of what it means to ‘be Muslim’ in a polarized Europe, by focusing on responses to stigmatization and exclusion. A final action phase (c) will seek to transfer innovative practices of engagement and dialogue across the different European contexts. The project will make use of an ethnographic approach that involves mapping cultural production and activism through extended engagement with Muslims in urban settings, and with a special focus on youth and gender. While acknowledging the discourses of threat that pervade representations of Muslims in European public spheres, the project distinguishes itself from much of the research that represents Muslim agency in a stultifying manner. By focusing on new forms of engagement and dialogue in collaboration with civil society actors, the project seeks to promote more inclusive societies in a period of growing anxiety and mistrust.