Research focus

My education background allows me to conduct research using both quantitative methods and qualitative methods. My advance is in quantitative methods, even while I’ve studied both approaches further than required by study requirements. To further my theoretical background, I’ve decided to focus on few core areas I investigate further.

Online services and social networks

As most modern scholars, I want to understand more how services are used and what elements contribute to usage and how do they affect. Moreover, as the services become adapted to everyday life, what practicalities they create or change. For example, in social networks area, what friendship means in modern era.

Major publications and patents

  • Measuring Social Relations: Case OtaSizzle (co-authored with Juuso Karikoski)
    2010 IEEE Second International Conference on Social Computing
  • Pending patent: Method And Apparatus For Intuitive Management Of Privacy Settings (co-invented with Matti Vesterinen, Teemu Harju, Tomi Kulmala and Ville Rantala)

Online participation and citizen engagement

I’m keen on question how the information and communication technology can be used to advance and develop political participation. I believe in deliberative theory and practices, especially the role of dialogue before decision-making. Also, for citizen participation to be successful, the other parts of the society act and respond to citizens

Major publications

  • Public administration and e-participation – an actantial model based on expert interviews, to appear in Hallinnon Tutkimus 2011; Finnish journal for administrative study
  • Eräiden kansalaisjärjestöjen verkkosivut ja osallistamisen muutos 1990-luvulta 2010-luvulle [The change of online participation from 1990's to 2010 in ten non-governmental organizations], Master’s Thesis, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Social Sciences

Technology and society

As technology is being adapted in the society, it is obvious new problems and questions will emerge. The dialogue and power relations between society, especially decision-makers and media, and technology creators and distributors will be interesting to follow also in analytical manner.

Education

Due to my background in mobile computing, I’ve been engaged with mobile education topics, i.e. how the mobile phone can be used to enhance the learning for students.

Now my interests are related to two main components, firstly, how to improve ICT education – especially in elementary and secondary school contexts, and secondly how can we use technology to bring cultural change in school systems, making them more participatory.