Towards a more sustainable social and health care system through the EKO-SOTE project
Alongside tackling other topical challenges, the new wellbeing services counties are expected to integrate ecological sustainability into their operations. In order to facilitate the process, the EKO-SOTE project (Objectives and control mechanisms of ecologically sustainable social and health care) coordinated by Tampere University was initiated in the spring of 2022. Its primary aim is to formulate national ecologically sustainable goals for social and health care, and to propose monitoring and control mechanisms to support the implementation of the relevant goals within the wellbeing services counties. The project will last until August 2023.
The EKO-SOTE project will calculate the carbon dioxide emissions of social and health care, determine the current state of ecologically sustainable social and health care in Finland, and explore international control mechanisms for ecologically sustainable social and health care as well as their efficacy. This information is used to determine the types of nationwide monitoring and control mechanisms that can be used to steer ecologically sustainable social and health care in Finland.
Read more about EKO-SOTE (in Finnish).
A project to promote sustainable aviation in Africa
The Triple A project funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Finpartnership (2022–2024) will create a centre of excellence for sustainable aviation in Namibia, Africa, which will provide a wide range of aviation training covering everything from pilots and mechanics to air traffic controllers, airport logistics and more. Another aim is to promote the adoption of new sustainable technologies, such as non-fossil fuels, digitalisation and unmanned drones, in civil aviation
Tampere University is leading the project, which is partnered with the Finnish AiRRhow aviation alliance, the members of which include Patria, Fintraffic and Sitowise. The person in charge at Tampere University is Docent Mika Kautonen. At present, the African parties involved in the project are Namibia’s most important aviation authorities and aviation companies operating in Southern Africa.
Civic aviation will grow rapidly in Africa over the coming two decades. It is possible to steer this growth in an ecologically and economically sustainable direction.
Involving residents and resident data in the sustainable development of suburbs
The ‘Ecosocial well-being and inclusion’ suburb research project is part of a national programme pertaining to suburban areas. In Tampere, the research focuses on the Peltolammi and Multisilta suburbs and seeks ways to bolster vitality and understand the segregation of residential areas from the perspectives of well-being and inclusion. Tampere University researchers are examining the kinds of everyday means of urban policy can be employed to strengthen the ecosocial well-being and inclusion of residents and reduce regional segregation. The project was active in 2020–2022.
One of the outputs of the suburb project is a policy recommendation, according to which resident data is required for the development of a sustainable city. Identifying the residents’ local needs and considering their experiences help to understand how people can live in an ecological and socially sustainable manner in their own residential area. As such, the residents should be included in the development of the residential areas, since they are always at the core of the development efforts.
Read more about the EKOS project.
Sociohistorical research opens up perspectives into the history of production animals and the meat industry
In her research, Professor of Social History Marja Jalava examines the expansion of commercial animal production as an element in the breakthrough of modern industrial capitalism in Finland and the resulting changes in the relationships between animals and people from the 1890s to 1960s. The research focuses specifically on the transformation of pig farming from small-scale husbandry for household needs to industrial animal production, which resulted in pigs being viewed as goods for the purposes of the meat industry. At the same time, small farmers began to be groomed into producers operating at the terms of the market economy, who were required to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to people, animals, plants and the environment.
Jalava seeks to problematise this collectively adopted new thinking around production animals and people by studying how capitalistic profit-seeking was materialised in the form of new types of agricultural entrepreneurs and new kinds of production animals. At the same time, Jalava analyses the ways in which meat began to gain an increasingly important role in the Finnish diet, which was mostly built around potato and grain in the early 20th century. The massive increase in animal product and meat consumption during the 20th century is currently a key cause for climate change and the environmental crisis, which is why it is important to study its history, i.e. what lead to this untenable development.
Read more about the research (in Finnish).
A study on nature-oriented interventions as a form a rehabilitation for depression patients
The impacts of forests and nature on a person’s physical and mental well-being have been demonstrated in numerous studies. Researchers of the universities of Tampere and Jyväskylä are looking into whether or not time spent and guided activities in nature could help the rehabilitation of depression patients. Over the course of 12 weeks, participants in Tampere, Jyväskylä and Hämeenlinna made 90-minute visits to parks and urban forests in groups completing guided tasks that involve identifying favourite locations, practising presence and supporting a connection to nature through group discussions, for example.
The effects that nature has on well-being were utilised in the research in a goal-oriented manner as part of rehabilitation and guidance. The guidance included supporting a feeling of safety among the participants and helping them recognise the health effects of nature. The study was funded by Kela, and it was conducted in 2019–2021.
Rethinking dialogue in social services and health care to improve leadership, well-being and productivity
The SoteDialogit project was launched to develop expertise, enhance quality, customer orientation and customer safety, support employees’ well-being and work capability and promote organisational renewal and professional development in partner organisations in the social services and health care sector.
The project is a collaborative effort involving the Work Research Centre in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tampere University, the University of Eastern Finland, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences and Lapland University of Applied Sciences. The project is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).
Read more about the SoteDialogit project.
Study develops educators’ preparedness to confront gender-based violence
A multidisciplinary research project titled Education and Raising Awareness in Schools to Prevent and Encounter Gender-Based Violence (ERASE GBV) is carried out with partners from three European countries: Finland, Spain and Croatia. The project investigates institutional and affective practices for responding to gender-based violence in schools.
The project participants develop a web-based training programme to increase awareness of and improve the ability of educators to prevent and address gender-based violence in schools. In addition, teachers, student teachers and other professionals working in schools are trained to recognise and support children and young people who are exposed to gender-based violence, abuse or harassment, refer them to further services and help them report abuse and violence to the public authorities.
Read more about the ERASE GBV project.
Study looks into gendered practices within the European Parliament
A research project titled Gender, party politics and democracy in Europe: A study of European Parliament’s party groups (EUGenDem), which is funded by the European Research Council (ERC), is carried out to systematically analyse the gendered policies and practices that exist within the political groups in the European Parliament (EP). The project entails a comparative study of the political groups and provides insights into the significance of gender in the current political party transformations in Europe. The project examines the policies of selected party groups to generate information about gender equality relating to economics, social rights and moral policy.
Read more about the EUGenDem project.
Sustainable welfare through collaboration between public administration, businesses and citizens
Climate change is challenging welfare states, such as Finland, to adjust their practices. How can we steer the transition to an environmentally sustainable welfare state? The ORSI project investigates fair and robust methods for making our society more environmentally sustainable.
The ORSI project explores governance and budgeting, everyday participation, sustainable innovation, and the guidance of consumption choices. The aim is to bring citizens, policymakers and businesses together to address these issues.
In 2020, the participants of the ORSI project not only conducted research but also engaged in active interactions with societal stakeholders to promote the creation of a sustainable eco-welfare state.
ORSI is a collaborative undertaking between Tampere University, the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Aalto University and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
Read more about the ORSI project.
Research on comics as a tool for accessibility and access to rights
The projects of Tampere University’s Sarjis research group examine whether or not a comic-style document can be more understandable than a text document. The documents themselves are related to social welfare and elderly services. The target groups of the comic-style documents are people who, for one reason or another, find it difficult to understand written (official) language. The group includes PhD candidate Mira Kainulainen, whose doctoral thesis approaches the subject from the perspective of intersemiotic translation, i.e. translation between sign systems. The purpose of the project is to increase equality.
The Intersectionality in Research Network InReNet was established to bolster an intersectional approach to research and education
The Intersectionality in Research Network (InReNet) is a multidisciplinary operating forum for the researchers and students of Tampere University. The network studies and develops intersectionality as a theoretical approach and research practices that have a strong connection to the activism of marginalised groups and the equality efforts conducted by authorities and non-governmental organisations.
The network has organised workshops for teachers covering the decolonisation of education. In 2022, the network also organised its first international symposium ‘Intersectionality beyond Eurocentrism’ at which the keynote speakers were from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
Workshops for the university community for processing concern caused by the war
The workshops initiated in November 2022 aim to help members of the university community to process the concern and anxiety caused by the war. The workshops seek to widely identify the impacts of wars and conflicts on academic communities, analyse the reactions caused by the impacts among community members, assess the measures taken by various universities, and identify the best practices and approaches to processing anxiety and concern within academic communities.
An innovation course to drive sustainability
The Innovation for Sustainability course involves theoretical and practical grassroots-level coverage of innovation activities that aim for sustainable development. The concrete example covered during the course is South Africa and its fragile urban settlements. The students cooperate with young local residents and students of the University of Johannesburg to consider the key challenges in the area and think up innovative solutions based on the models and tools presented during the course. The course is part of the EduCASE programme funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture, and Tampere University is cooperating with the University of Johannesburg in relation to it.
Health and Environment course for students of Public Health
Public Health studies include the Health and Environment course that delves into the health effects of the environment and environmental problems. For example, the covers the concept of planetary well-being and a sustainable food system. Students who complete the course will understand how the environment impacts people’s health and what kinds of political decisions and strategies can prevent environmental change.
Read more about the Health and Environment course.