People
This page lists TaSTI's personnel and all those who do research and/or operative tasks somehow related to TaSTI.
Tampere Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies
This page lists TaSTI's personnel and all those who do research and/or operative tasks somehow related to TaSTI.
By appointment.
I am interested in the global system, especially in the global travel of ideas and in governance through epistemic means both in national and global contexts. I have also had a long-term interest in social research methodology, especially qualitative research.
I am professor of sociology and research director of the Tampere Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies (TaSTI). Within TaSTI, I lead the Tampere Research Group for Cultural and Political Sociology (TCuPS), an energetic group of scholars who share my interest in world society, national policymaking, global circulation of ideas, epistemic governance, and sociology of knowledge.
My areas of specialization are global studies, social and cultural theory, and methodology of social research.
Tampere Research Group for Cultural and Political Sociology (TCuPS)
See more about my research interests in our research team's home page: Tampere Research Group for Cultural and Political Sociology (TCuPS)
2016-2020 Academy of Finland, Epistemic capital in the synchronization of national policies; large scale research project
2014-2018 Epistemic governance in policymaking; large scale research project
2014-2016 Kone Foundation: Synchronization of national policies; small scale research project
2009-2013 Academy of Finland, The Moderns; large scale research project
2009-2012 Academy of Finland, Domestication of Ubiquitous Communication
2006-2009 Academy of Finland, Knowledge Production, Power, and Global Social Change
2000-2004 Tekes, Alma Media & Stora Enso, Media and Everyday Life
2001-2002 Academy of Finland, The Cultural Unconscious
1996-2002 Academy of Finland, The Habitus Research Project
1997-1999 Sitra, National Culture and Identity; part of Sitra’s Globalization, Welfare and Employment project
Chair of the board of the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies
Ulybina, Olga, Laia Pi Ferrer & Pertti Alasuutari: “Intergovernmental organizations in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic: Organizational behaviour in crises and under uncertainty”. International Sociology 37(4), 2022, 415–438. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/02685809221094687
Qadir, Ali & Pertti Alasuutari: ”The Discursive Side of Sociological Institutionalism in the Study of Religion”. Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 2022: 1-23, DOI https://doi.org/10.1163/15700682-bja10075
Alasuutari, Pertti & Ali Qadir: Epistemic Governance: Social change in the modern world . London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2019.
Alasuutari, Pertti & Valtteri Vähä-Savo: Owning worldwide principles: The case of American exceptionalism. Social Science Information 57 (4), 2018, 533–552.
Pi Ferrer, Laia, Pertti Alasuutari & Leena Tervonen-Gonçalves: Looking at others in national policy-making: the construction of reference groups in Portugal and Spain from 2008 to 2013. European Politics and Society 20 (3), 2018, 333–347.
Alasuutari, Pertti, Marjaana Rautalin & Jukka Tyrkkö: The rise of the idea of model in policymaking: The case of the British parliament, 1803–2005. European Journal of Sociology 59 (3), 2018, 341-363.
Alasuutari, Pertti: Authority as epistemic capital. Journal of Political Power 11 (2), 2018, 165-190.
Wang, Li & Pertti Alasuutari: Co-construction of the tourist experience in social networking sites: Two forms of authenticity intertwined. Tourist Studies 17 (4), 2017, 388–405.
Alasuutari, Pertti: The Synchronization of National Policies: Ethnography of the Global Tribe of Moderns. London: Routledge 2016.
Alasuutari, Pertti & Ali Qadir: Imageries of the social world in epistemic governance. International Sociology 31 (6), 2016, 633-652.
Alasuutari, Pertti: The Discursive Side of New Institutionalism. Cultural Sociology 9 (2) 2015, 162–184.
Alasuutari, Pertti: Following the Example of Other Countries? Policy Analysis of New Legislation in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 16 (3) 2014, 266-279.
Alasuutari, Pertti and Ali Qadir: Epistemic governance: an approach to the politics of policy-making. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology 1, 2014, 67–84.
Epistemic governance and the spread of new authoritarianism in Islamic societies
Tampere Cultural and Political Sociology (TCuPS)
Political Sociology, Global and Transnational Sociology
I hold a PhD in philosophy (1998) from University of Tampere and received the title of docent in philosophy in 2002. My current research interests include ignorance studies and social epistemology relating to expertise and the politics of digitalisation in the post-capitalist society. My philosophical expertise covers social epistemology, the philosophy of technology and the phenomenology of embodiment.
Research and leadership in research
The Philosophy of Technology, Social Epistemology, Phenomenology, Ignorance Studies, Body Studies
The Philosophy of Technology, Social Epistemology, Phenomenology, Ignorance Studies, Body Studies
TaSTI: Research Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies Tieteenalat
My dissertation in philosophy (Bodies Moving and Moved, 1998) was a pioneering research focusing on contemporary dance within the context of the philosophy of the body. In my postdoctoral research, I have evolved a phenomenological approach to the technology of philosophy, published in several articles and as the monograph, Meduusan liike (2006). My aim has been to rethink the theoretical foundations of human-technology interaction from a phenomenological perspective and body studies. Drawing on the philosophy of technology, critical theory and phenomenology, my recent research on the philosophy of technology has focused on virtual environments, wearable technologies, big data, the digitalisation process of schools, smart cities, artificial intelligence and care robotics.
Since 2008, I have led five research projects to develop theoretically and epistemologically relevant conceptualization and approaches to understanding embodied capabilities and competences required of professionals in post-capitalist economies. In the research project ‘The Working Body in the Post-industrial Economy’ (WORKBOD, 2011-2014), funded by Academy, in collaboration with co-researchers we used various case studies and theoretical frameworks to outline a detailed and more general view of how digitalized work cultures modify the conditions for working bodies in the 2010s.
Throughout my research career, I have focused special attention on how researchers in empirical sciences and philosophy can cooperate in studies to develop research questions, frameworks and outcomes that are practically, empirically, theoretically and/or methodologically ambitious. Approximately half of my published books, papers and scientific articles are collaborative efforts. I have co-written research papers and articles with about 40 researchers in various disciplines, including management studies, education, sociology, information sciences, engineering, media studies, social policy, cultural anthropology and political sciences.
I have published over 60 blind peer-reviewed articles and/or papers, three monographs and four edited books. I have supervised four doctoral dissertations and worked as an opponent in nine public defenses. My work has earned two research awards. I was also elected a member of the Board of the University of Tampere (2013–2018) as a representative of teachers and researchers. I have led a number of interdisciplinary research projects funded by the Academy of Finland, the Ministry of Education, the Finnish Work Environmental Fund, the Emil Aaltonen Foundation, Tekes, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Wihuri Foundation and Gyllenberg Foundation.
My ongoing research projects. ‘Struggling with Ignorance: Negative Expertise and the Erosion of the Finnish Information Society at the Turn of 2020’ (NEGATE) is funded by the Academy of Finland, 2018–2022 (see https://research.uta.fi/negate-en/ ). The project focuses on new forms of ignorance and dis/misinformation in the post-capitalist society. It develops new theoretical tools for understanding how citizens challenge authorities through social media platforms and how authoritative systems create inequality, especially epistemic inequality, between citizens. Relevant questions for us, for instance, are: How can ignorance and uncertainty be managed in crisis situations? How do experts respond to manufactured ignorance, denial of science, and other challenges to expertise? Methodologically, we draw on a mixed-methods design that combines qualitative interviews, ethnographic observations, samples of media material and surveys.
Member of the Board of the University of Tampere as a representative of teachers and researchers (2013–2018)
Auvinen, P., Parviainen, J., Lahikainen, L. & Palukka, H. (2021) Discussion protocol for alleviating epistemic injustice: The case of community rehabilitation interaction and female substance abusers. Social Sciences 10(2), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10020045
Parviainen, J. & Koski, A. & Torkkola, S. (2021) ‘Building a ship while sailing it’. Epistemic humility and the temporality of non-knowledge in political decision-making on the COVID-19. Social Epistemology: A Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Policy 10.1080/02691728.2021.1882610
Parviainen J., Ridell S. (2021) Infrastructuring Bodies: Choreographies of Power in the Computational City. In: Nagenborg M., Stone T., González Woge M., Vermaas P.E. (eds) Technology and the City. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 36. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52313-8_8
Parviainen, J. & Coeckelbergh, M. (2020) The political choreography of the Sophia Robot: From robot rights and citizenship to political performances for the social robotics market. AI & Society. DOI: 10.1007/s00146-020-01104-w
Van Aerschot, L. & Parviainen, J. (2020) Robots responding to care needs? A multitasking care robot pursued for 25 years, available products offer simple entertainment and instrumental assistance. Ethics and Information Technology Available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-020-09536-0
Parviainen, J., Van Aerschot, L., Särkikoski, T., Pekkarinen, S., Melkas, H. & Hennala, L. (2019) Motions with emotions? A phenomenological approach to understand the simulated aliveness of a robot body. Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology, 23(3): 318–341. https://www.pdcnet.org/collection/show?id=techne_2019_0023_0003_0318_0341&file_type=pdf
Parviainen, J. & Lahikainen, L. (2019) Negative expertise in the conditions of manufactured ignorance: Epistemic strategies, virtues, and skills. Synthese, pp. 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-019-02315-5
Mondays, 10-11 (Linna 5053)
Professor of Sociology , Faculty of Social Sciences
Academic Coordinator, Masters Degree Program in Global & Transnational Sociology
Unit of Social Research, Tampere research group for Cultural & Political Sociology
Global & Transnational Sociology, Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Knowledge
Member, Steering Committee, Templeton Religion Trust
Docent, Centre for Ethnic Relations & Nationalisms, University of Helsinki
Tuesdays 10-11, or by appointment
Marjaana Rautalin’s research centers on global and transnational sociology, as well as sociology of education. In her PhD dissertation, titled Domestication of International Comparisons: The Role of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in Finnish Education Policy, she examined the ways in which PISA was invoked by different Finnish stakeholder groups when debating about the national education system. During her two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Tampere Institute for Advanced Social Research (IASR), she continued her research on political reassurance work by examining how the global community is invoked in motivating new legislation in the national context as well as how policy advice organizations (international and national) have been built and maintained in the pursuit of influencing domestic policies. In her postdoctoral research project funded by the Academy of Finland (2017-2020), she examined factors explaining the intensification of policy recommendations in international policy advice. This question was scrutinized from the perspective of how recommendations acquire legitimacy in the national parliamentary rhetoric and how the OECD has promoted these in its flagship reporting.
In her present post as postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, she studies how IOs react to changes in their institutional environments by rearranging their activities and what role exogenous shocks (such as pandemics) play in such processes. She also studies how IOs establish their scientific authority and how the reseach conducted by formal organizations receives agency in national parliamentary debates. Her other research focuses on national political rhetoric and how nation-states justify their official corona strategies.
Dr. Rautalin is a Coordinator of the European Sociological Association’s Research Network on Global and Transnational Sociology (RN15). In addition, she has duties in various associations for sociology and sociology of education. During 2014-2015 she served as a junior member in the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. She is also a member of the curriculum development group of the Master’s Degree Programme in Global and Transnational Sociology at Tampere University, where she also teaches and supervises theses. During Fall 2017, Dr. Rautalin served as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford Graduate School of Education.
Senior Research Fellow
Teacher responsible for the course (SSR.GTS.040) Designing Research in Global and Transnational Sociology (5 ECTS), Tampere University
global governance
international organizations
epistemic governance
authority
scientization
evidence-based policymaking
political rhetoric
synchronization of national policies
world society
world culture
Tampere Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies
Sociology
Policy research
International relations studies
Media research
Co-coordinator of the European Sociological Association's Research Network 15 (Global, Transnational and Cosmopolitan Sociology)
Member of the curriculum development group of the Master’s Degree Programme in Global and Transnational Sociology at Tampere University
Junior Member, 2014-2015, Finnish Academy of Science and Letters
Referee, 2009-, International Sociology, Journal of Education Policy, Educational Research, European Journal of Cultural Studies, European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, Globalization, Societies and Education, and Kasvatus [In Finnish: Education]
Chair of the organizing committee, European Sociological Association (ESA) RN 15 Midterm Conference 2022, Global Sociology: theory and practice in the 21st century, 5-6 May 2022, Paphos, Cyprus
Chair of the organizing committee, European Sociological Association (ESA) RN 15 Midterm Conference 2021: Global Social Change – Ideas, Beliefs, Interests, 26-27 May 2021 (online)
Rautalin, M., Syväterä, J., & Vento, E. (2020). International organizations establishing their scientific authority: Periodizing the legitimation of policy advice by the OECD. International Sociology, 1-22. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0268580920947871
Alasuutari, P., Rautalin, M., & Tyrkkö, J. (2018). The Rise of the Idea of Model in Policymaking: The case of the British parliament, 1803-2005. European Journal of Sociology, 59(3), 341-363. doi:10.1017/S0003975618000164
Rautalin, M. (2018). PISA and the criticism of Finnish education: justifications used in the national media debate. Studies in Higher Education.
Alasuutari, P., Rautajoki, H., Auvinen, P., Rautalin, M. (2018) Shattering the Single European Sky: Argument from authorities in dealing with the SES initiative. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology. doi: 10.1080/23254823.2018.1449661
Rautalin, M., Alasuutari, P., & Vento, E. (2018). Globalisation of education policies: does PISA have an effect? Journal of Education Policy. doi: 10.1080/02680939.2018.1462890
Alasuutari, P., Rautalin, M., & Syväterä, J. (2016). Organisations as Epistemic Capital: the Case of Independent Children’s Rights Institutions. Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 29(1), 57‐71.
Rautalin, M., & Alasuutari, P. (2015). Kyouiku taikoku de nariyuku fukyouwaon [Discordant voices in the land of education]. In N. Furuichi & T. Toivonen (Eds.), Kokka ga yomigaeru toki: motazaru kuni de aru Finrando ga nandomo saisei dekita riyuu [When nations revive: Why Finland has been able to reinvent itself time after time], in Japanese (pp. 88‐102). Tokyo, Japan: Magazine House [In Japanese]
Rautalin, M. (2014). The role of PISA publicity in forming national education policy: The case of the Finnish curriculum reform. In P. Alasuutari & A. Qadir (Eds.), National Policymaking: Domestication of Global Trends (pp. 95‐110). London: Routledge.
Rautalin, M. (2013). Domestication of international comparisons: The role of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in Finnish education policy. Academic dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences. Academic Dissertation, School of Social Sciences and Humanities. University of Tampere, Tampere.
Alasuutari, P., Mikola, E., Rautalin, M., Syväterä, J., & Valkeasuo, L. (2013). Globaalien kehityslinjojen luominen ja kotoistaminen [The Creation and Domestication of Global Developmental Trends]. In M. Lehtonen (Ed.), Liikkuva maailma: Liike, raja, tieto [The Fluid World: Movement, Boundary, Knowledge] (pp. 33‐53). Tampere: Vastapaino. [in Finnish]
Rautalin, M., & Alasuutari, P. (2009). The Uses of the National PISA Results by Finnish Officials in Central Government. Journal of Education Policy, 24(5), 2009‐2556.
Rautalin, M., & Alasuutari, P. (2007). The curse of success: The impact of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment on the discourses of the teaching profession in Finland. [Research Article]. European Educational Research Journal, 6(4), 348‐363.
Alasuutari, P., & Lampinen, M. (2006). OECD ja suomalaisen projektiyhteiskunnan synty [the OECD and the birth of Finnish project society]. In K. Rantala & P. Sulkunen (Eds.), Projektiyhteiskunnan kääntöpuolia (pp. 56‐68). Helsinki: Gaudeamus. [in Finnish]
For more publications and expert tasks see SoleCris Research Information Database
Email: pia.vuolanto(at)tuni.fi
I work as a Academy Research Fellow at the Tampere University Research Center for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies. My Academy of Finland fellowship project explores the development of complementary and alternative medicine as a research field. I am Project Coordinator in the EU-funded research project VAX-TRUST, which focuses on vaccine hesitancy. I co-lead a research project on criticism of medicine, Health, Knowledge and Expertise with Dr Johanna Nurmi. I am an active member of STI Tampere Network, which gathers Tampere University people interested in science and technology studies and innovation studies.
My research concerns scientific controversies, criticism of science and the societal status of science. In particular, I study controversies related to health, criticism of medicine and knowledge production in different alternative health practices. I am interested in the boundaries of science and the status of experts and expertise in contemporary societies. In my research, I combine sociology and philosophy of science, science and technology studies and higher education studies. I also focus on sociology of health, especially the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Finland and Europe and health care professionals' perceptions on CAM. I am conducting research on vaccine hesitancy among the general public and health care professionals.
One of my research projects deals with knowledge production in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). I analyze the transformation of the research system and how CAM is challenging and questioning the field of conventional medicine. I have edited the volume Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Knowledge Production and Social Transformation with Jenny-Ann Brodin Danell from Umeå University and Caragh Brosnan from Newcastle University, Australia (2018).
Tampere University Research Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies (TaSTI)
science and technology studies, sociology, medical sociology, higher education studies
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Tampere Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies , Tampere University. I am currently working on my project Evaluating Inner Truth: Technologies of evaluation and testimonial practices in assessing the “inner truth” of individuals, funded by the Kone Foundation (2021-2024). I have been a member of the Tampere Research Group for Cultural and Political Sociology (TCuPS) for several years. I am also a board member of the European Sociological Association RN-15: Global, transnational and cosmopolitan sociology. I also belong to the Research Group for Epistemic Matters (REM). My research interests include science and technology studies, sociology of valuation and evaluation, gender studies, sociology of associations, analytics of governmentality, global and transnational sociology, global governance, cultural studies, and neo-institutionalist sociology.
Hiitola, Johanna, Zeinab Karimi & Valtteri Vähä-Savo (2021) Epävarmuuden jatkumot: Prekaarisuuden muodot ja sukupuolistunut väkivalta pakkomuuttajien elämänkuluissa. [Continuums of uncertainty: Forms of precarity and gendered violence in the lives of forced migrants]. Sukupuolentutkimus-Genusforskning 34(3), 34-46.
Vähä-Savo, Valtteri, Jari Luomanen & Pertti Alasuutari (2021) Between rationalism and romanticism: metaphors in managing conflicting institutional logics in science and technology parks. Culture and Organization. https://doi.org/10.1080/14759551.2021.1969650
Hiitola, Johanna & Valtteri Vähä-Savo (2021) Reassembling attachments: place and well-being among Afghan refugees in a small rural town. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2021.1905507
Hiitola, Johanna & Valtteri Vähä-Savo (2021) Genres of Departure: Forced Migrants’ Family Separation and Personal Narratives. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 11(3), 235–249. DOI: http://doi.org/10.33134/njmr.372
Vähä-Savo, Valtteri (2020) Cross-national comparisons in epistemic governance: analysis of parliamentary debates from eight countries. Contemporary Politics, 26(5), 597-615. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569775.2020.1813931
Vähä-Savo, Valtteri (2020) Decoupling spheres of belonging in the Nordic welfare states. In Hiitola, Johanna, Kati Turtiainen, Sabine Gruber & Marja Tiilikainen (Eds.) Family life in transition: Borders, transnational mobility and welfare society in the Nordic countries. London: Routledge, 10-20.
Vähä-Savo, Valtteri, Jukka Syväterä & Leena Tervonen-Gonçalves (2019) The authority of meta-organisations: Making the International Association of National Public Health Institutes attractive to prospective members. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, 6(4), 474-502. https://doi.org/10.1080/23254823.2019.1612262
Alasuutari, Pertti; Valtteri Vähä-Savo & Laia Pi Ferrer (2019) National Self-Image as a Justification in Policy Debates: An International Comparison. New Global Studies, 13(2), 167–189. https://doi.org/10.1515/ngs-2018-4038
Alasuutari, Pertti & Valtteri Vähä-Savo (2018) Owning worldwide principles: The case of American exceptionalism. Social Science Information, 57(4), 533-552. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0539018418816192
Vähä-Savo, Valtteri (2016) Sektoritutkimuksen genealogia. [Genealogy of Sectoral Research]. Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 2138. Tampere: Tampere University Press.
I am a Senior Research Fellow at the Research Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies (TaSTI) at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and an Adjunct Professor of social pscychology at Tampere University. I teach in the field of science and technology studies.
Academic identities and careers, disciplinary cultures, temporal acceleration, women and science
TaSTI
Science studies, higher education studies, time studies, social psychology
Ylijoki, O.-H. (2019) Happy in academia: the perspective of the academic elite. In Cannizzo, F. & Osbaldiston, n. (eds.) The Social Structures of Global Academia. London: Routledge.
Ylijoki, O.-H. & Henriksson, L. (2018) Tribal, proletarian and entrepreneurial career stories: junior academics as a case in point. Studies in Higher Education 42, 7, 1292-1308.
Ylijoki, O.-H. (2016) Projectification and conflicting temporalities in academic knowledge production. Theory of Science 38, 1, 7-26.
Ylijoki, O.-H. (2015) Conquered by project time? Conflicting temporalities in university research. In Gibbs, P., Ylijoki, O.-H., Guzmán-Valenzuela, C. & Barnett, R. (eds.) Universities in the Flux of Time. An exploration of time and temporality in university life. London: Routledge.