Yhteiskuntatieteet - Social Sciences

This literature course focuses on studying key concepts and approaches related to global communications and Asia in the context of media, communications and soft power. During the course the students read a wide variety of literature on different Asian countries and explore how questions soft power and media are played out in different contexts. All use of AI tools for the course work must be carefully documented according to separate instructions provided in the course Moodle site.

Current empirical research and theories on social interaction via latest communication technologies, media consumption and its digital footprints, and the societal impacts of different platforms. Perspectives of different social media and advanced social technologies (e.g., latest social media platforms, metaverse, extended reality technologies [AR/VR/MR] and virtual avatars). Perspectives of datafication and its implications to public media use: how data influences, for example, media’s relationship with their audiences and individual taste. How newer forms of media always contain traces of older forms of media, and how they draw influence from each other. Participation to media environments, public discussions, and content creation. Ethical consideration of social technologies and wellbeing, and social media and data. Review of social factors around latest communication technologies and digital media and how to examine them from the perspectives of social and communication sciences and social sustainability.

Kurssilla käsitellään työyhteisöjä, viestintätyötä ja viestinnän johtamista muuttuvassa ympäristössä. Opiskelijat tutustuvat työyhteisöviestinnän osa-alueisiin, viestinnän johtamiseen ja suunnitteluun sekä viestinnän keinoihin ja työkaluihin. Kurssin aikana opiskelijat tutustuvat myös viestintäosaamisen käsitteisiin ja ymmärtävät viestintäosaamisen merkityksen asiantuntijuuden rakentumisessa. Osana kurssia opiskelijat perehtyvät tarkemmin jonkin työyhteisön viestintään.

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.

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.

This course focuses on contemporary issues and trends discussed and debated in the field of communication sciences in a global context. During the course, students will have an opportunity to participate in lectures given by international researchers and visiting scholars/professors. The course can also be held in full by a visiting professor/visiting scholar.

The course covers current theories of corporate responsibility and sustainability communication, including greenwashing. In addition, it introduces theoretical approaches to organizations as political actors in the context of such communication. The course discusses also sustainability reporting, stakeholder analysis and engagement from the perspective of different organizations and actors.

This course focuses on how various emerging forms of influence, soft power and disinformation are challenging journalistic practices and democratic ideals. These themes are discussed in the context of issues related to for example to climate change, sustainability and green transition.

In this course, we explore how global communication and questions of soft power and geopolitics are related to climate change and other environmental issues. During the course, we discuss various empirical cases that illustrate different aspects of these phenomena and analyse how global communications and soft power shape the narratives with which we communicate about climate change related issues in a complex media environment.

Sustainable water use governance both in rural/urban and in local/global contexts Political, economic, and social processes and institutions connected with sustainable water use governance Power relations, inequality, and security Water infrastructure and governance, co-governance, stakeholders, local movements Risk, threats, conflicts, and vulnerabilities (such as flood, drought, transboundary water sharing) Theories and research methods

Fundamentals of renewable energy technologies Policies supporting renewable energy and financial models Actors and institutions in renewable energy policymaking Energy security, industrial policy, and geopolitics Energy mixes for sustainable energy transitions Sustainability and justice considerations for energy policy Citizen and community-driven renewable energy initiatives

Governing natural resources in rural/urban and in local, national and global contexts Major political, economic, and social institutions and organizations social, economic and cultural questions related to natural resource policies and governance Key theories and research methods

Introduction to sociotechnical systems in food, energy and water sectors and infrastructures Sustainability and sustainable change in food, energy, and water sectors The interdependence of food, energy and water systems Governance of security, risks, demands, and future development of food, energy, and water systems Theories and key concepts regarding food, energy, water systems

Kaupungistuminen ilmiönä: historia ja keskeiset käsitteet Kaupungistuminen globaalisti ja Suomessa Kestävät kaupungit: ihmisen, yhteisön ja rakennetun ympäristön suhde Sosiaalisen kestävyyden haasteet kaupungeissa: eriarvoisuus ja alueellinen/sosioekonominen eriytyminen Yhteisöllisyys ja vaikuttamisen keinot Kaupunkisuunnittelu ja kriittiset järjestelmät kaupungeissa

Globaalien keskinäisriippuvuuksien kehitys ja merkitys yhteiskuntien kehityksessä ja kansainvälisessä toiminnassa Keskinäisriippuvuus ja taloudellinen kehitys Instituutiot ja valta keskinäisriippuvuuksissa Protektionismi

Yhteiskehittämisen (co-creation, co-development) sekä palvelumuotoilun lähtökohdat ja perusmenetelmät yhteiskuntatieteissä Kokeilukulttuuri osana politiikkaa sekä yhteisöjen ja organisaatioiden kehittämisessä Toteutetaan ryhmätyö yhteiskehittämisen periaatteita noudattaen

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 the relationships between people and robots or AI.  The social factors and impact of robots and AI on people’s behaviour, thinking and everyday life, and how to examine them from the perspectives of social sciences and social sustainability.

The intertwined relations between macro-social and macro-economic processes in the digital economy: digitalization, datafication, platformization, and financialization Data and digital platforms: the role of Big Tech companies Labor, automation, and AI Digitalization of money and finance States and the geopolitics of digital economy Disputes around the definition and regulation of the new digital economic activities and sectors Reficonguration 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.