Finished Projects

Project Funders: European Structural and Investment Funds – European Social Fund (ESF)

Period: 2021 - 2023

Description: This project created an ExpertZones model that provides a structured way to support doctoral researchers' psychological well-being, career path development, and networking. The model helped doctoral researchers and other academics understand the various dimensions of expertise and become aware of their strengths and development needs related to their growth into specialists in their research field.

The project established support groups and a well-being team at the University of Oulu to maintain doctoral researchers’ well-being. In addition, the project integrated support for career development and networking, together with related skills training, into the doctoral research process. As a result of this project, we expect an increase in the doctoral researchers' well-being and the broadening of their expertise beyond the subject of their research.

Funding & partners: Strategic Research Council programme of the Academy of Finland: 2016-2019

Description: The aim of the Evidence-based health promotion @work project is to produce research-based guidelines for workplace health promotion. Workplaces have a great effect on an individual's health, which is why the focus of the project is on finding effective strategies to promote health behavior change in different occupational environments. For example, shift workers and micro-entrepreneurs need different kinds of health support than workers with less mentally and/or physically demanding occupations. The promoting strategies include e.g., reorienting health services, creating healthy policy and supportive environments, and developing personal skills. One part of the project is to study how persuasive technology can be utilized in promoting health promotion at work. An intervention will be designed to study persuasive technology in a work environment.

Funding & partners: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Academy of Finland, Responding to Public Health Challenges Research Programme (SALVE) and The Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District: 2012-2016

Description: The object is to find new lifestyle counselling methods for those who are at high risk for metabolic syndrome. During the project, a persuasive ICT application is developed to support making lifestyle and eating habit modifications. The effects of lifestyle counselling methods and ICT application are studied multi-disciplinary. More information can be found on the PrevMetSyn webpage.

Funding & partners: The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation: 2014-2016

Description: The vision of the Digital Health Revolution –initiative was that future healthcare will allow citizens to control and make use of his or her personal data from numerous sources. A fundamental revolution is needed to truly enhance proactive, personalized health maintenance for the benefit of individuals, society, and businesses.

Digital Health Revolution aims to:

• contribute to the change in the control of data in favour of the individual
• explore health-related data from genomics to the digital footprint
• develop successful personal data movement across systems and services
• create My Data ecosystem for promoting individually and socially more responsive, predictive, and preventive health care and wellbeing solutions
• promote the My Data-based health business

Funding & partners: Strategic Centers of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SHOK): 2010-2014

Description: The products, services, and methods that were developed in the SALWE research program aimed at maintaining and improving the functional capabilities of an individual, and the ultimate goal being prevention and treatment of diseases with major public health and economic impact. ELIKSIIRI focused on the development of persuasive digital interventions.

Funding & partners: The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation: 2013-2014

Description: The target of this project was to create a basis for future health and well-being services by monitoring human well-being and supporting behavior change at an early age. By utilizing the latest technology, we can monitor users in their everyday life by collecting sensor data for social web applications in real-time. The social web applications can also give feedback instantly (or even proactively), at a very specific moment when a user has made a good or bad decision affecting her/his health and well-being. It is the best time to support behavior change. Social interactions, like comments from the user’s peers, can further gain persuasion and improve user experience.

Funding & partners: The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation & companies, Finavia Oyj, Business Oulu and Council of Oulu Region: 2010-2013

Description: The research project examines integrating social media systems as a seamless part of physical spaces and developing physical spaces and their services with the help of feedback gathered via social media. In the Web2.0 era, the so-called crowdsourcing principles have gained great popularity in participatory design. It is important to understand when and under what circumstances this approach can effectively be used. In the research project methods and indicators are developed that support participatory design, then users can genuinely participate in the development of new products and/or services. The third research theme in the SOMELETTI project is user persuasion. Especially in the focus is to motivate customers to provide feedback on the physical facilities and services through the new social and virtual channel, and to participate in the development of spaces and the virtual channel itself by using persuasive technology.

Funding & partners: Academy of Finland: 2010-2011

Description: Among the most central questions with new kinds of Web Squared applications are social and behavioral user issues. The goal of this research is to recognize the next wave of the web and to develop design principles for this new wave of Web Squared applications. The proposed research will both investigate existing heart rate monitors and their related systems and services and develop new concepts for future heart-rate related sports applications, technologies, and solutions. A special area of interest is end-user persuasion. The produced research results will help researchers in computer science, information systems, marketing, management, social psychology, sociology, physiology, medicine, and other fields to gain deeper insight on Web Squared and they will help practitioners build better solutions. The applicability of the research results is wide, and the research project has the potential for making a true breakthrough on a global scale.

Funding & partners: National Technology Agency & companies: 2007-2010

Description: The goal of the RichWeb project is to study and develop design principles and software functionality for the next generation of Web-based and mobile applications.

​​​​​​Funding & partners: Academy of Finland: 2008-2009

Description: The next generation of Web-based information systems emphasize online collaboration and sharing of knowledge between users. The gap between browser-based and desktop applications may be narrowed down through the so-called Web 2.0 technologies. This holds great promises for the future of the Web, but it also comprises challenges. For instance, the collaborative nature allows malignant users to hamper the work of others. The project will investigate the key functionalities and the opportunities and risks they pose. Overall, the goal of this project is to develop sound and safe design principles for the next generation of Web-based and mobile applications. Special areas of interest among key functionalities are social network analysis and end-user persuasion.

Funding & partners: National Technology Agency & companies: 2006-2008

Funding & partners: Finnish Academy & National Technology Agency: 2001-2004

Funding & partners: Companies, National Technology Agency & Finnish Academy: 2002-2003

​​​​​Funding & partners: National Technology Agency & companies: 2000-2002

​​​​​​Funding & partners: National Technology Agency & companies: 2000-2002

Funding & partners: National Technology Agency & companies: 1998-2000