TaSTI Newsletter 2/2026

Upcoming events

• On 9–10 June, TaSTI will co-organise a joint seminar on ”Caring Technologies & Mental Health Matters” with Marjo Kolehmainen’s Research Council of Finland funded project NetCare – Networked Care: Intimate Matters in Online Mental Health Support. Programme: https://research.tuni.fi/tasti-en/news/caring-technologies-mental-health-matters-seminar/
• On Wed 20 May at 17:30-18:30, TaSTI co-organises a book launch for the book Kiistelty terveys (Contested Health) at Oodi library in Helsinki.
• The Finnish Society for Science and Technology Studies (FSSTS) organizes an STS reading circle and STS research seminar, held online every first Monday of the month at 12pm via Zoom. This spring’s last meeting will be a reading circle on 1.6.2026. Zoom link: https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/64866167054?pwd=rWgdmy6fMjWrjK7Z5v1bFmrxShbKmV.1
• Symposium on “Involving Young People in Research on Health and Wellbeing: Why it Matters and How it Works” will take place on 22 June 2026, hosted by Parenting Pain and Under Pressure projects and PERLA. See the programme and registration form. Registration closes on 7 June.

Courses in science, technology and innovation studies in 2026–2027

• The following courses in the Science and Technology module (SOC-M06, 20 cr) coordinated by TaSTI are open to everyone at Tampere University:
• YKT.229 Tiede ja teknologia yhteiskunnassa, 5 op, 24.8.2026–9.10.2026.
• YKT.YKE.601 Tieteen- ja teknologiantutkimuksen teoriat ja käsitteet: Biotiede, teknologia ja ruumiilliset erot, 5 op. 8.3.2027–7.5.2027.
• YKT.YKE.604 Research Areas in Social Studies of Science and Technology, 5 cr
  • YKT.YKE.604 Tila, teknologia ja toiminta 19.10.2026–6.12.2026.
  • YKT.YKE.604 Terveyssosiologia 20.10.2026–18.12.2026.
  • YKT.YKE.604 Yhteiskuntafilosofia III, Filosofinen metodologia 12.1.2027–23.2.2027.
  • YKT.YKE.604 Introduction to visual studies 1.3.2027–23.4.2027.
  • YKT.YKE.604 Monilajinen yhteiskuntatutkimus 8.3.2027–3.5.2027.
  • YKT.YKE.604 Professional Expertise in Social Sciences, Innovation for Sustainability. 8.3.2027–31.5.2027.

Recent publications by the TaSTI research community

• Alava H & Wolf-Meyer M (2026) Paradoxical scientization: Sisu, Finnish exceptionalism, and the limits of universal human experience. Science as Culture. https://doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2026.2634437
• Ganesh A (2026) Tenderness, (central) sensitivity and/or distress: Tracing gendered enactments of fibromyalgia in medical research. Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593261446986
• Huising R, Elmholdt K & Mäkinen EI (2026) Vanguard actors: The role of researchers in the emergence of ethics review procedures in the social sciences in Europe. Organization Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/01708406261432809
• Kolehmainen M (2026) Intimate matters: Privacy and security and networked mental health support. In Evans A, et al. Postdigital Intimacies: Relational Lives in the Networked Public-Private. UCL Press. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10222401/
• Kärkkäinen T & Muhonen R (2026) Balancing with academic perspectives in knowledge brokering – Arranging the hybridity of knowledge brokering organisations. In Pekkola E et al. (eds) Hybridity Through Transitions: Crisis and Resilience in Nordic Universities. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004745186_014
• Mäkinen EI, Toivonen A & Cooren F (2026) Tales of tension and morality: Analyzing tensional interplays across cultural resources in entrepreneurial storytelling. Journal of Management Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926251412224
• Nurmi J, Jallinoja P, Jauho M & Vuolanto P (eds) (2026) Kiistelty terveys: Miksi terveysaiheet kuumentavat tunteita? Gaudeamus. https://www.gaudeamus.fi/teos/kiistelty-terveys/
• Olsson T (2026) Understanding moral lapses in design: Cultural biases, beliefs, and narratives as factors of accidental evil. In Laaksonen S-M, et al. (eds) Platforms and the Planet: Big Tech, Digital Platforms and Environmental Responsibility. Emerald Publishing. https://bookstore.emerald.com/platforms-and-the-planet-hb-9781836621737.html
• Parviainen J (2026) Kohti tietämättömyyden yhteiskuntaa? In Juuti R, Björkman J, Heikkilä MK, Juuti P, Parviainen J & Viitaniemi E (eds) Dosentit – yhteiskunnan moniosaajat. Tampereen Dosenttiyhdistys ry, Tampere, 56–68.

PhD defences

• Erika Lilja defended her doctoral thesis Beyond Compliance: Exploring Responsible Openness in Science on 25 April 2026. Read more: https://www.tuni.fi/en/news/erika-lilja-open-science-requires-more-compliance-open-science-principles
• Olli Hasu’s PhD thesis Controlling the Flux of the Earth: Climate Finance, Environmental Data, and Risk Governance will be examined on Tuesday 16 June 2026 at 12:15 in Linna K103. The opponent is Professor Stephanie Wakefield (Florida Atlantic University) and custos Professor Turo-Kimmo Lehtonen.

News and other activities

• TaSTI postdoctoral researcher Maria Temmes received a grant from Emil Aaltonen Foundation for a social study of air quality and health in Finland.
• Matias Nurminen, Kirsikka Kaipainen & Thomas Olsson: Vastuulliset digipalvelut edellyttävät keppiä, porkkanaa ja poliittista ohjausta. 23.3.2026. https://www.mustread.fi/artikkelit/vastuulliset-digipalvelut-edellyttavat-keppia-porkkanaa-ja-poliittista-ohjausta/
• Piia Jallinoja was interviewed about the book Kiistelty terveys on the MTV morning programme: https://www.mtv.fi/lyhyet/edf90b0b8392140663f2/video-vinkkien-viidakossa-kuka-puhuu-totta-terveydesta