Third-cycle subject areas

Even those with an illness or disability can experience good health, just as people can experience ill health in the absence of an underlying disease. As adults spend much of their time at work, the workplace is an important arena for action to promote health and prevent ill health. Good health also contributes to improved work performance and increased business value. Occupational health science studies health and ill health in working life, with a health-promoting and sustainable working life for all as the visionary goal. This includes positive and negative health effects of physical and mental strain in the work environment for different groups of employees, how different types of work-related illness can be prevented, and how employment and working conditions can be organized, designed and managed to make both the individual and the organization feel good. Occupational health science also includes knowledge of factors at the individual and organizational level that facilitate entry into and return to work. It also includes the interaction between factors at work and in leisure time that have an impact on health, as well as how to use the workplace as an arena to encourage employees to lead a healthy life outside work. The research and development work applies the latest methods to achieve its objectives, and develops its own new methods where necessary.

Head of subject: Marina Heiden
Director of Studies: Hans Richter

The didactic research at the University in the field of educational science is mainly based on the broad issues of continental didactics and has a focus on the whole, connections and conditions for teaching. The research moves between the teaching level, the organizational level and the societal level. Research on didactics at the University thus highlights, in different ways and with different emphases, links between societal and organizational conditions for teaching, teaching ideas, design and outcomes, which in turn include knowledge of policy, learning processes, methods, learning tools, teaching content, learning environments, school climate, teachers' work and profession as well as individuals' learning and identity. The object of knowledge of didactic research can, in a broad sense, be said to be teaching processes and their conditions, but within the field researchers can have different objects of study and focus on different activities.

Subject representative: Silvia Edling
Director of Studies: Björn Haglund

More about the University's research in educational sciences

Electrical engineering has applications in many areas of society and as an
auxiliary science in other subjects. The research subject Electrical Engineering at the University of Gävle is thematically focused on research issues in the field of built environment, in particular the electrical engineering systems, their parts and the electrical engineering infrastructure that are part of the built environment, how these systems and parts are integrated into the built environment and how they are designed for resource efficiency. In the subject, various sub-areas such as signal processing, sensor technology, telecommunications and control technology, are applied to electrical engineering systems in the built environment.

Head of subject: Niclas Björsell
Director of Studies: Jose Chilo, Kourosh Tatar

The basic idea behind the research topic is to take conscious and active measures when planning and building a new energy system as well as when retrofitting an existing energy system. Such measures can be improved energy management, transition to renewable energy sources, improved indoor and outdoor climate, efficiency of systems for the best possible resource management of labor, capital, raw materials and energy, and to avert the threatening environmental changes. Research in the subject of Energy Systems focuses on three areas: national and regional energy systems, industrial energy systems and building energy systems. The issues addressed cover the whole field from extraction, transformation and distribution to final use of energy. The research uses system analytical, mathematical and numerical methods, especially optimization, as well as detailed measurements and qualitative methods to analyze issues.

Head of subject: Mathias Cehlin
Director of Studies: Jose Chilo, Kourosh Tatar

Geospatial Information Science is traditionally an applied subject, addressing challenges in areas such as spatial planning, decision-making and industrial applications (engineering or social science oriented use). The subject also builds knowledge through scientific applications, e.g. by simulating complex geographical phenomena and processes to illustrate their underlying mechanisms.
As a postgraduate subject at the University of Gävle, Geospatial Information Science has its
origin in the university's profile area Built Environment. The doctoral education and the dissertations
written within the subject shall be thematically linked to what the Swedish Higher Education
defined as the field of Built Environment, i.e. with a "focus on buildings,
resource management, environmental impact, indoor environment and human beings" (Swedish National Agency for Higher Education decision 2010-
06-29, Reg.nr 641-1510-10). Doctoral education projects can also include pure subject research
in Geospatial Information Science that is necessary to answer research questions within Built Environment.

Subject representative: Stefan Seipel
Director of Studies: Jose Chilo, Kourosh Tatar

The interaction between people, technology and organization is seen as important for designing sustainable businesses characterized by, among other things, good working conditions, good environment and long-term productivity development and resource efficiency. The subject includes industrial organization and innovation management, logistics, purchasing and supply chains, quality management, management for sustainability and work science with industrial marketing, financial management and environmental technology as related and partly overlapping subjects. The subject is traditionally applied and focused on practice-relevant challenges within and between industrial and technology-based companies and organizations. A starting point is the enterprise level (the organization, the unit, the project) and its activities in the built environment. The topic also includes studies of
industry structures and transformation processes that cut across several companies/organizations in time and space, as well as studies of work processes and conditions for learning and health-promoting work. The doctoral education and the dissertations written within the subject must be thematically linked to at least one of the University of Gävle's degree rights, i.e. to Built Environment and/or Health Promoting Working Life.

Subject representative: Per Hilletofth
Director of Studies: Jose Chilo, Kourosh Tatar

Today, research in wind energy is also conducted on aerodynamic problems affecting energy production. The indoor environment is a multidisciplinary subject and here refers mainly to air quality, air movement and temperature distribution in spaces where people spend time, such as homes, schools, offices and industrial premises. The application of research should contribute to enabling the creation of an indoor environment that meets people's requirements for comfort and well-being and where the air is free from harmful levels of particles and gases. It can also aim to create indoor environments that meet the requirements of certain industrial processes, for example, or that promote the preservation of materials and furnishings in museums and cultural heritage buildings, for example. Ventilation of buildings is a process that exchanges indoor air with ambient outdoor air. Indoor air quality is dependent on pollution sources and air flows in the buildings' surroundings. Therefore, urban ventilation driven by wind and differences in air density are also studied. The efficiency of urban ventilation is studied using the same methods and concepts used in building ventilation. The common basis for the different branches of research in the field is fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and chemistry. Turbulence, which describes the state of a flowing fluid, is here a central concept that requires statistical analysis tools to be described. Knowledge of experimental as well as numerical methods forms a basis in this research area. Methods developed in the field of experimental psychology are used in experiments with human subjects. Development of system technology for ventilation of buildings is based on technology developed in HVAC and control engineering.

Environment refers to the built and natural environment in a broad sense; specific places, such as schools, workplaces, hospitals, residential areas and parks; physical factors present in all environments, such as sound, light and temperature; and spatial factors in the social interaction between people, such as personal space and territory. The word environment also includes climate and environmental resources. Central to this is how psychological processes - memories, experiences, attitudes, cognition, emotion, perception, etc. - figure in behaviour that is affected by the environment in some sense or that affects the environment in some sense. The knowledge generated in the subject can, among other things, form the basis for conscious and active measures in the planning, construction and modification of the built environment, as well as interventions to reduce human impact on the environment. The issues addressed in the subject cover both theoretical and applied questions about how humans are affected by and influence the environment. The research uses empirical methods, especially experimental methods and other quantitative methods, but also qualitative methods.

Head of subject: Ola Eriksson
Director of Studies: Jose Chilo, Kourosh Tatar

The environment refers to the natural, built and social-ecological environment. The core of the subject consists of the relationships between humans, the environment and technology, where the effect of humans and technology on the environment is central while the effect of the environment on humans is more peripheral. Environmental science includes knowledge building on the interaction between the environment and human behavior and psychological processes (cognition, emotion, perception, attitudes, decision-making, etc.), the interaction between the environment and technology, as well as the tripartite interaction between environment, technology and humans. The overarching goal of environmental science is to reduce the negative environmental impacts of humans, with a particular focus on climate change, while building local social-ecological resilience. The common goals of research and education in environmental science are to contribute to low impact on the natural environment through good management, planning and conservation of natural resources and limited emissions to air, soil and water, which by extension increases human well-being, both from a system, societal and individual perspective. The objectives are achieved through the analysis and development of technological solutions (systems, processes, products and services), psychological factors and behavioral changes, and their interaction and integration in socio-technical and social-ecological systems that have in common that they have a direct or indirect impact on the natural environment.

Subject representative: Ola Norrman Eriksson
Director of Studies: Jose Chilo, Kourosh Tatar

More information about the University's research in sustainability science

The doctoral subject of social work encompasses research based on human health, well-being and development at the individual, group and societal levels. It refers to research that puts people at the center and develops knowledge about a sustainable living environment for people in different contexts, such as in working life, family life and leisure. Factors that are studied and affect health are found both in the individual and in the context in which the individual interacts. The subject studies people's ability to apply strategies to manage their health in different living environments and the relationship between these. Health-promoting conditions, strategies and measures are studied, as well as prevention and treatment interventions in different contexts. The research subject includes research aimed at promoting inclusive and sustainable living environments. In relation to a health-promoting working life, people's various forms of social vulnerability can be included. This includes issues that may relate to increased participation and integration in working life,
experiences of good health, life balance, and meaningfulness within different living environments. The doctoral program in social work thus has a focus on the subject's specific
areas and partly a focus on the thematic area of health-promoting working life.

Head of subject: Stefan Sjöberg
Director of studies: Hans Richter

The research puts people at the center with respect for the equal value of all people. It also contributes to knowledge about sustainable living environments with the aim of promoting the individual's health both in family life and leisure, as well as working life. The subject also studies people's ability to apply strategies to manage and promote their health and quality of life in different living environments and the relationship between them. Health-promoting conditions, strategies and measures are studied, as well as prevention and treatment interventions in different contexts.
The research topic also includes research aimed at promoting an inclusive and sustainable
working life for the health and well-being of individuals. A working life where people with long-term
conditions, functional variations and various forms of social vulnerability can enter or remain in. This includes issues that can affect integration into working life, experiences of good health, development and meaningfulness in different living environments. Many people today live with long-term medical conditions and functional variations that affect their ability to lead a healthy life as well as working life. Related to working life, research is also included that concerns leadership in health and social care, how care is organized, the working environment of staff and students, discrimination in working life, health-promoting factors, learning and development in the profession and how these measures relate to staff well-being and the quality of the activities. Preventive interventions at the individual level are important elements of health science research, as is research on the importance of leadership and work organization for human health. Theoretical, methodological and applied issues are addressed in the subject. Several professions, such as nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, are commonly involved in health sciences research. The research focuses on the questions asked and not on the professions conducting the research, but may also include profession-related questions. The research in health sciences at the University of Gävle is divided into 3 themes that concern relational and dynamic processes in health and care contexts that in the doctoral education should be related to the research degree in health-promoting working life. The thematizations concern the person in the practice of care (with a focus on the person receiving care and/or self-care and their relatives, people with long-term illness and the elderly, the relationship in care and good and safe care); the work environment, learning and leadership of health care professionals (including student nurses' learning and well-being) and the environment where care takes place and the integration of technology.

Subject representative: Annika Nilsson
Director of Studies: Hans Richter