Sociology - VUB

🏆ASA Distinguished Scholarly Article Award for Bryan Boyle and Dieter Vandebroeck

We are proud to share that Bryan and Dieter have been named co-winners of the American Sociological Association (ASA) Labor and Labor Movements Section’s Distinguished Scholarly Article Award for their article "The Labor of Distinction: Butlers, Service Work, and the Production of Elite Lifestyles" published in American Sociological Review.

The Labor & Labor Movements Distinguished Scholarly Article Award goes to what is judged by the award committee to be the best article in the sociology of labor unions, the working class or working class movements, work, or the labor process, published between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025.

The article introduces the idea of “labour of distinction”, showing how elite lifestyles rely on specialised forms of labour. The study is based on ethnographic research on the revived profession of butlering, including fieldwork where Bryan himself trained and worked as a butler in the UK.

Congratulations to both authors on this achievement!

You can read the article here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00031224241305357

📚 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗙𝗪𝗢 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 awarded to Marloes Hagenaars!

Marloes will lead the project “𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗹” (2026-2029), which examines how representations of social identities in primary school textbooks are created, interpreted and experienced by pupils.

The project follows the journey from publishers, to teachers, to pupils, using an intersectional approach to better understand how educational materials shape children's perceptions of themselves and others.

Congratulations to Marloes on this achievement! 👏

💡 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗢 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁!
It's time for another project in our BRISPO Spotlight series. Each month, we present one of the ongoing projects carried out within BRISPO. This month, we feature DE-CONSPIRATOR a Horizon Europe project focused on combating Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁: DE-CONSPIRATOR: Detecting and Countering Information Suppression from a Transnational Perspective
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀: Tuba Bircan, Sabina Imatova (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 2024-2026

How do foreign actors manipulate information to influence public opinion and democratic processes?
DE-CONSPIRATOR investigates Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) by actors, such as Russia and China, not only the tactics they use, but also why these campaigns succeed and how their societal impact can be understood and measured.
Its multidisciplinary approach focuses on three key areas:
🔍 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 the disinformation tactics and strategies behind FIMI campaigns
🗺️ 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 the networks that spread and amplify them across Europe and beyond
🧰 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀, including psychometric scales to assess susceptibility to disinformation and a multilingual FIMI incidents database to track and analyse real-world impacts
📅 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 - 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘀:
• 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲: Joint policy event with sister projects from the EU’s FIMI cluster
• 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲: DE-CONSPIRATOR Final Conference
🌐 Learn more: https://deconspirator.eu/
Stay tuned, more details and registration information will be available soon.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: Özyeğin University; AdCogito; Center for the Study of Democracy; CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs); EDAM - Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies; Heidelberg University; IAI - Istituto Affari Internazionali; University of Groningen; Rīga Stradiņš University; University of Amsterdam; White Research

𝗡𝗲𝘄𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆: 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱!

We have just announced the results of the first-round NewVoices survey raffle. The survey was conducted among newcomers in Belgium between March and May this year.

The winning codes are now available on our website: https://brispo.research.vub.be/newvoices-survey-first-round-raffle-results-announced

If you took part in the study, please check whether your code appears on the list of winners and follow the instructions on the BRISPO website for information on how to claim your €200 voucher.

NewVoices survey: First Round Raffle Results Announced The winning numerical codes are listed below. If your code appears on the list, congratulations - you have won a €200 voucher.

𝗗𝗲 𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗱: 𝘄𝗶𝗻-𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗷𝘀?

Uit nieuw BRISPO-onderzoek blijkt dat een belangrijke groep studenten werkt uit financiële noodzaak (om hun studies te betalen of om zichzelf of hun familie financieel te ondersteunen).

Studenten in een dergelijke situatie presteren vaak veel werkuren, een tijdsinvestering die bovendien aanleiding geeft tot werk-studieconflict en zo ten koste lijkt te gaan van hun studietijd.

Die spanning wordt bevestigd door de cijfers, waarbij één op drie studenten aangeeft lessen of contactmomenten over te slaan om te kunnen werken. Dit percentage is nog hoger onder studenten die aangeven te werken uit financiële noodzaak. Bovendien is de uitgevoerde studentenarbeid meestal niet of nauwelijks relevant voor de huidige studie of de toekomstige carrière, wat het beeld van studentenarbeid als middel om rond te komen nog versterkt.

Het onderzoek legt dus een opvallende paradox bloot: een belangrijke groep studenten werkt om te kunnen studeren, maar zet daardoor diezelfde studies op het spel.

Als we gelijke onderwijskansen ernstig nemen, dringt een koerswijziging zich op. Studentenwerk zou een keuze moeten zijn in plaats van een noodzaak en het is dan ook cruciaal om de werkelijke studiekosten onder controle te houden en het systeem van studiefinanciering kritisch te herbekijken.

Het onderzoek verscheen onlangs in de media, waaronder ook:

Studenten die uit financiële noodzaak werken, riskeren hun studies in gevaar te brengen Steeds meer studenten combineren hun opleiding met een studentenjob, maar voor een aanzienlijke groep is dat geen vrije keuze. Vooral studenten die werken om hun studies of levensonderhoud te betalen, lopen een verhoogd risico dat hun job hun studiesucces ondermijnt. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van de....

De voorbije jaren liep er vanuit BRISPO (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) een onderzoeksproject over hybride werken: https://brispo.research.vub.be/en/sushy-towards-sustainable-hybrid-work-the-study-of-hybrid-work-effects-on-well-being-productivity

Tijdens de afrondende fase start nu een 𝗳𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 rond hetzelfde thema. Het doel is vooral om te kijken hoe de evolutie van hybride werken zich uit in verschillende contexten en hoe mensen hiermee omgaan. Concreet zal een onderzoeker-fotograaf de fysieke kenmerken van kantooromgevingen, co-working plekken en thuiswerkplekken fotograferen om te analyseren hoe verschillende mensen en bedrijven hun werkomgeving invullen.

➡️ Met deze open call willen we 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗶𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗸𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗸 𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻. Bij interesse kan je contact opnemen via onderzoekster Ella Oelbrandt: [email protected]

New publication 📢

A new article by Jazmín Mazó, Camila Jiménez-Sánchez, Gerrit Loots, and Marcela Losantos has been published in Behavioral Sciences as part of the Special Issue “Action Research, Methods and Measures in Community Psychology-2nd Edition.”

The study critically examines participatory research with children and adolescents in rural Latin America and identifies three interconnected dimensions shaping participation:
▪️ structural–methodological conditions,
▪️ relational–community dynamics,
▪️ experiential–child engagement.
The article contributes to current debates in childhood studies and participatory research by critically examining the gap between participatory discourse and the actual redistribution of power within research processes.

Read the full article:
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/16/5/773

Every day, we see images and headlines from Gaza. But after a while, news risks becoming abstract. Numbers replace people. Distance replaces urgency.

On 19 May, We are organising the seminar “Be My Voice: Stories from Gaza and What We Owe” at BRISPO (VUB).

We will welcome Alhassan Selmi, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza who continued reporting throughout the war under extremely difficult conditions, documenting everyday life through photography, video, and journalism for social media and international outlets.

Alhassan was only able to leave Gaza thanks to a government scholarship that allowed him to continue his studies in Italy. His family, friends, and fellow journalists remain trapped in Gaza. As he is currently unable to travel within Europe, he will join us via video link.

The seminar will also include contributions from journalist Raffaele Oriani and illustrator Marcella Brancaforte, who helped amplify Alhassan’s story through the BeMyVoice project.

This seminar is not only about listening to testimony. It is also about reflecting on responsibility, solidarity, and what our role can be as researchers, students, and academics.

📅 19 May 2026
🕓 16:00–17:00
📍 VUB Campus Etterbeek (room TBA)

Registration:
https://forms.office.com/e/Ur8NS9KaJu

We invite all students and researchers to the "European Social & Population Issues" Lecture Series, organised by Prof. Sylvie Gadeyne and Dr. Caterina Adelaide Mauri from BRISPO.

This year, the series is dedicated to "Loneliness and Social Isolation", and the next lecture will take place on 12/05/2026: "Interventions to tackle loneliness" by Elizabeth Casabianca (Joint Research Centre; European Commission).

Where: VUB Etterbeek campus (Building D, Room D.2.23)
When: 12/05/2026, 14:00–16:00

We invite you to join the lecture online or in person. Participation is free, but registration is mandatory. After processing your registration, we will send you the URL to participate online.
The full programme of this year’s EPSI Lecture Series and registration link are available here:

Lecture Series | BRISPO: Brussels Institute for Social and Lecture Series European Social & Population Issues Every year from February until May, the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel organises a series of lectures. This year, the series is dedicated to "Loneliness and Social Isolation". We invite you to join...

We invite all students and researchers to the "European Social & Population Issues" Lecture Series, organised by Prof. Sylvie Gadeyne and Dr. Caterina Adelaide Mauri Mauri from BRISPO.

This year, the series is dedicated to "Loneliness and Social Isolation", and the next lecture will take place on 5/05/2026: "Loneliness in young people" by Marlies Maes (Utrecht University).

Where: VUB Etterbeek campus (Building D, Room D.2.23)
When: 5/05/2026, 14:00–16:00
We invite you to join the lecture online or in person. Participation is free, but registration is mandatory. After processing your registration, we will send you the URL to participate online. The full programme of this year’s EPSI Lecture Series and registration link are available here:

Lecture Series | BRISPO: Brussels Institute for Social and Lecture Series European Social & Population Issues Every year from February until May, the Brussels Institute for Social and Population Studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel organises a series of lectures. This year, the series is dedicated to "Loneliness and Social Isolation". We invite you to join...