Operating principle of gesture control. Copyright Fastems Oy.

Gesture control could replace button pressing in industrial machinery.  Researchers at the TAUCHI Research Centre at the University of Tampere have developed gesture control which functions reliably and also with the help of a low-cost system.

“We started by looking for appropriate gestures.  These were defined at in a workshop, tested with the help of our prototype and further developed,” reports Professor of Interactive Technology Markku Turunen.

“The biggest challenge was to find the gestures which come most naturally to people and which the system can interpret most reliably,” he continues.

“We replaced the buttons on the machinery by creating a model in which the buttons are part of the person’s body, for example, the shoulder.” When the operator points with his shoulder, the device turns in the direction indicated by the operator’s shoulder.” Read more »

Kaisa Kurki

Ms. Kaisa Kurki (Master of Arts) was selected to be in charge of international affairs at the University of Tampere, beginning on 1 February 2012.

Ms. Kurki took a master’s degree at the University of Tampere majoring in translation studies (German) and has served as a coordinator of international education  at the University of Tampere since 2004. Before that she was a translator, an academic assistant in translation studies and acting coordinator at the University of Tampere.  She speaks English, German, Swedish and Spanish.

“I would hope to raise the profile of internationality in the University’s operations and improve everyone’s internationalization opportunities.  The University should be a genuinely international community as seen in its internal operating culture and external attractiveness,” she says.

There were 60 applicants for the post.

The annual application round for the Master’s Degree Programmes taught in English at the University of Tampere opened on 1 December. Applications for the programmes are to be submitted through the University Admissions Finland service (UAF).

Before sending the applications to the University for the selection of students, UAF evaluates the eligibility of applicants and the authenticity of educational certificates. The UAF process also includes verification of language test scores. A total of five programmes are open for applications for entry 2012:

• Master’s Degree Programme in Software Development
• Master’s Degree Programme in Human-Technology Interaction
• Master’s Degree Programme in Bioinformatics
• Master’s Degree Programme in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research
• Master’s Degree Programme in Comparative Social Policy and Welfare

The deadline for applications is 31 January, 15 February or 15 March 2012 depending on the programme, please see http://www.uta.fi/admissions/degreeprog/applying.html for detailed information. The selection of students will be made by mid-May, and the programmes start in August-September. Read more »

Most people like to look at pictures of nude or scantily clad human bodies. Looking at nude bodies is sexually arousing, and a nude human body is a classic subject in art. Advertising, too, has harnessed half-clothed models to evoke positive images about the products advertised. Brain imaging studies have localized areas in the brain which are specialized in detecting human bodies in the environment, but so far it has been unknown whether the brain processes nude and clothed bodies in different ways.

Researchers at the University of Tampere and the Aalto University, Finland, have now shown that the perception of nude bodies is boosted at an early stage of visual processing. Read more »

Dr. Anchit Khanna is currently working on his doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Biomedical Technology, University of Tampere.

The Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers has named the cancer researcher Dr. Anchit Khanna Scientist of the Year.  Dr. Khanna, 32, is currently working on his doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Biomedical Technology, University of Tampere. His research is concerned with the effect mechanisms and clinical significance of the recently identified CIP2A cancer gene. The dissertation will be held in December 2011.

Dr. Anchit Khanna has received numerous distinctions and awards at international scientific conferences in this highly significant field of medical science. He is an exemplary international researcher whose research discoveries have potential for clinical application in the cancer treatments of the future. The present award was announced October 12th at a young researchers’ club event of the Union of University Researchers and Teachers in Helsinki. Read more »

14.10.2011

L’Institut de Recherche sur la Paix à Tampere (TAPRI) invite les dossiers de candidature pour la Bourse de Recherches 2012 de TAPRI. Le montant de la bourse est 20.000 euros.

A présent, le programme de recherches de TAPRI se concentre à questions relatives aux racines des guerres et des conflits, au processus de leur émergence et évolution ainsi qu’aux conditions de leurs résolutions et d’une paix soutenable, la gestion international des crises et les relations de l’Europe avec les régions dans son voisinage. L’avantage d’information sur les recherches en cours puisse être trouvé sur le site de TAPRI (http://www.uta.fi/tapri). Le projet de recherche des candidates doit être lié aux thèmes du programme de recherches de TAPRI. La préparation de thèse de doctorat peut aussi être considérée. Read more »

14.10.2011

Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI) invites applications for the 2012 TAPRI research grant. The grant is 20.000 euro.

TAPRI’s present research programme focuses on the study of the root causes of wars and conflicts, the processes of their emergence and evolution, as well as the conditions for conflict resolution and lasting peace, international crisis-management and Europe’s relations with its nearby regions. Information on on-going research activities can be found on TAPRI’s homepage (http://www.uta.fi/tapri). The applicant’s research project should relate to TAPRI’s research programme. The grant may also be given to support the elaboration of a doctoral thesis. Read more »

“Not everybody gets sicker as they get older,” says Professor Clas-Håkan Nygård, who has been researching the health of municipal employees ever since the 1980s.

The professor is not in favour of changing the present retirement system in Finland

A follow-up study of the work ability of municipal employees reveals that work ability in middle age predicts functional ability in retirement.

“Poor work ability in middle age implies a greater probability of poor functional ability in retirement.  This group also have higher mortality, says Clas-Håkan Nygård, Professor of Occupational Health at the University of Tampere.

Problems coping in middle age are apparent in people’s functional ability in retirement.

There is also a positive message to come out of the research.

The work ability of more than half of the research subjects remained surprisingly good for longer than was previously anticipated.  The research also served to identify groups in which people’s work and functional ability actually began to improve although their work ability may have plummeted in middle age.

“Once the strain of work is removed, there may be at least a momentary improvement in health.  Or then the people have gone and done something about their health.” Read more »

Searchers by nature revolutionize traditional immigration

A new group of immigrants has come into being which does not originate in the traditional poverty-stricken countries of origin.  The typical representative of this group is a young individual doing poorly paid odd jobs in an affluent country which pay enough for the person to live well for a long time in a cheaper country.

“This is a new group which clearly came into being in recent decades and which continues to grow,” says Professor Pirkko Pitkänen, a professor of education at the University of Tampere.

Seekers by nature are almost invariably from affluent countries.

The reasons for leaving a poor country are generally economic.  The hope of better living motivates people to leave their home countries, but often they want to retain close ties with relatives and friends living in the old country and to send them financial support.  Living in two or more countries frequently means living a transnational life.  The axis Turkey -  Germany may constitute a transnational space as there are important matters, functions and close relatives and friends in both countries.

Home may be in two or more countries and this is not generally felt to be a problem.  The younger the person concerned the more natural a transnational life is.

“The transnational way of life is something different from traditional immigration, where the purpose is to remain in the country of destination and contact with the country of origin is not necessarily even maintained,” says Professor Pitkänen.

Such were the results of the worldwide TRANS-NET research project funded by the European Commission and coordinated by University of Tampere Professor Pirkko Pitkänen.  The project included research groups from India, Morocco, the UK, France, Germany, Turkey and Estonia. Read more »

Meeri Mäkinen is one of the researchers of BioMediTech.

Top-level research in biosciences and medical sciences is going from strength to strength and the development of new ambitious treatment methods is being intensified in Tampere.  A research institute in the field, the Institute of Biosciences and Medical Technology, BioMediTech, is making significant advances in its expertise in Pirkanmaa and elsewhere in Finland.  This joint institute of Tampere University of Technology and the University of Tampere started up in spring.

Tampere research on biomaterials and among others stem cells, prostate cancer and illnesses connected to cell function is already world class.  It is hoped that BioMediTech will serve to make other technologies in biosciences and medicine into world leaders and raise the profile of Tampere top science in Finland and throughout the world. Read more »