Yhteiskuntatieteet - Social Sciences

Introduction to digital technologies transforming urban environments and their dominant narratives. Power dynamics of technological infrastructure, examining who develops urban technologies and who gets excluded. Comparative analysis of smart urbanism across global north and south cities. Social and material impacts of digital technologies on urban service delivery, community networks, and environmental claims. Critiquing mainstream smart urbanism approaches and exploring radical alternative technological solutions. Synthesizing diverse perspectives from researchers, developers, users, and critical commentators on urban digital transformation.

The course focuses on how societal influence is exercised through communication. It examines political communication and its key concepts and theories. Students will also explore social movements and activism as forms of influence. The course will look at current phenomena in political communication and the role of social movements and activism in contemporary society.

The course focuses on the main strands of environmental communication covering environmental risks such as ozone hole depletion, biodiversity loss, and climate change as well as the main measures to counter environmental risks. The course consists of hybrid teaching with recorded lectures, on-campus lectures and online exercises.

The course focuses on the main strands of environmental communication covering environmental risks such as ozone hole depletion, biodiversity loss, and climate change as well as the main measures to counter environmental risks. The course consists of hybrid teaching with recorded lectures, on-campus lectures and online exercises.

The course consists of two parts. The first part of the course focuses on Communication Sciences as part of the Social Sciences, History and Philosophy of Communication Sciences, and sub-fields of Communication Sciences (e.g. corporate communication and science communication). The second part delves into theories in communication sciences, such as Framing theory; Agenda-setting theory, and Uses and gratifications.

Technological change has uneven economic consequences for different social groups and communities. If unmanaged, these economic divides may have undesired implications for democracy such as widening gaps in political discontent and distrust. Such economic divides may even create political pushback against further technological change, some of which are conducive to improving environmental sustainability. This course examines the linkages between politics and technological change, and considers its impact on democracy during the Green Transition.

Main sustainability challenges in food, energy, and water systems Solution-oriented approach to steering change in food, energy, and water systems Real-world examples of governance, policy, management and cooperation between different actors Methodological approaches to study and analyse sociotechnical food, energy, and water systems Group work focused on solving real-world sustainability challenges in food, energy, and water systems, with emphasis on communication and reporting

Massive amount of data is generated every day by public and private organizations around the world. Digital footprints are collected as part of people’s everyday lives and their everyday activities, for example when shopping online, browsing the internet, or using social media. Big data collected has attracted increasing attention over the recent years, and increasing amount of survey, register, and other traditional type of data are openly available. Much of this data remains unutilized, even though powerful analyses for solving societal challenges become possible. This course explores the opportunities and challenges of open data and the benefits of multidisciplinary approach to problem solving.

Sustainable water use governance on different levels (global, trans-boundary, national and local) Political, economic, and social processes and institutions connected with sustainable water governance Power relations, inequality, and security Water infrastructure and governance in different socio-economics, political and ecological settings Risk, threats, conflicts, and vulnerabilities (such as flood, drought, transboundary water sharing)

Renewable Energy Policy Core Principles Actors and Institutions in Renewable Energy Policy Makin Energy Mixes for Sustainable Energy Transitions and Energy Security Energy Security and Geopolitics Energy Justice Considerations for Policymaking Community-Based Renewable Energy Initiatives Renewable Energy Policy, Technologies, and their Impacts

Key theories and approaches for understanding sociotechnical systems Characteristics of food, energy, and water sectors from a sociotechnical perspective Dynamics and examples of sociotechnical change and system evolution, including the co-evolution of infrastructures, technologies, practices, and governance, and their implications for sustainability Governance and future challenges of the water-energy-food nexus for understanding sociotechnical systems

Definitions on the contemporary capitalism: economy of knowledge; cognitive capitalism; surveillance capitalism; neo-feudalism. Perspectives of different advanced technologies (e.g., robots, artificial intelligence, and virtual agents). Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) within the workspace: enhancing, replacing, controlling. Current social scientific research on social factors influencing the relationships of people with robots and AI. How to examine the impact of robots and AI on people’s behaviour, thinking and emotions within social sciences. Use of AI applications. During the course we will practice the use of artificial intelligence as a part of group work.

The intertwined relations between macro-social and macro-economic processes in the digital economy: digitalisation, datafication, platformsation, and financialization Data and digital platforms: the role of Big Tech companies Labor, automation and AI The geopolitics of digital economy Disputes around the definition and regulation of the new digital economic activities and sectors Refiguration of social classes and economic production Vigilance, social control and old/new asymmetries and inequalities of power in digital society

Chatbots replace humans? Telecommuting makes it easier to strike a work-life balance? Health care apps can help older workers to retire later? These and similar questions have been publicly discussed since computer use at work increased. However, the answers are not always that simple, and they keep on changing as digital technologies continue to evolve. This course explores how digital technologies alter our working lives and our retirement transitions, looking into differences across technologies and countries.

From environment to pensions, policies are a central instrument for steering societies. To better understand these policies, a range of analyses instruments can be utilized. This course explains what policy analyses are and discusses when and why such analyses are conducted. Moreover, it explains what methods can be used for analyzing policies. Finally, it highlights what findings policy analyses can render.

The social character of the economy: core topics in economic sociology, political economy and heterodox economics The origin and peculiarities of the capitalist economic system The importance of innovation and technology Capitalism and democracy: the role of politics in a liberal economic order Welfare states and markets: the limits of state regulation and social control of the capitalist economy The relationship between the capitalist market economy and modern culture: behaviors, values, ideas and institutions

The course provides an introductory exploration of sustainability transitions and innovation policy, equipping students with an understanding of the core principles, key concepts, and analytical frameworks in transition studies. Grand sustainability challenges and introduction to transition studies Historical examples of technological transitions and transition phases The multi-level perspective (MLP) on sustainability transitions Role of firms, civil society, and users in sustainability transitions Policy instruments for fostering sustainability transitions Justice and equity considerations in sustainability transitions

Planning, conducting, reporting, and evaluating social scientific research of social media topics. Various qualitative and quantitative methodological tools for data collection and analysis. Choosing appropriate methods and research designs for research questions within social media research topics.

Planning, conducting, reporting, and evaluating social scientific research on sustainability. Various qualitative and quantitative methodological tools for data collection and analysis. Choosing appropriate methods and research designs for research questions within sustainability theme.

Introduction course for students who have Bachelor’s degree from other university than LUT University. The Orientation Days activities. Practical study-related information. LUT library collections, databases, reference practices, copyrights, information security, career planning and cultural difference related issues. Degree requirements and planning of Master's studies, preparation of the individual study plan. Study and exam culture in LUT. Research areas of Social Sciences and School of Engineering Science.