Energy flexibility is reshaping Finland’s electricity market

A new study from the University of Vaasa, Finland, examines how consumers are influencing the electricity market by becoming more flexible with their energy consumption

University of Vaasa

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Doctoral researcher Nayeem Rahman, University of Vaasa

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Credit: University of Vaasa

The future of the electricity market may depend less on big power plants and more on everyday choices made at home. Nayeem Rahman’s dissertation at the University of Vaasa shows how consumers are gaining influence through energy flexibility, with direct implications for sustainability and costs.

For decades, the low cost of electricity provided little incentive for consumers to change their energy consumption habits. However, as prices surged due to the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many households became considerably more conscious of their energy usage. This shift is now being enabled by digitalisation, which makes participation easier than ever.

– Energy flexibility can increasingly be automated through mobile applications and smart devices that react to the market in real-time. The goal is to make participation as easy as possible by requiring minimal human touch points, and the result is a financial win-win: households cut their costs while suppliers reduce the need to purchase high-priced spot electricity, states Nayeem Rahman.

Rahman’s doctoral dissertation in marketing examines how households and businesses are reshaping the Finnish electricity market by becoming more flexible with their energy consumption. According to Rahman, the market is being actively reshaped through three interconnected mechanisms.

– Retailers are creating new business models that reward flexibility, digital platforms are linking households and the grid, and consumers are becoming prosumers by both consuming and producing electricity. These dynamics are reshaping the market – by changing how individual firms operate, by redefining the role of digital platforms, and by influencing the wider energy ecosystem, Rahman says.

Money is the most effective incentive

A key finding of the dissertation is the discrepancy between public sustainability goals and actual consumer behaviour. While many express a desire to be environmentally friendly, the research indicates that material and monetary benefits are the most effective motivators for adopting flexible energy habits.

– The most common incentive is a lower electricity bill. But it can also mean getting paid for the surplus energy from your rooftop solar panels, or being compensated for exporting electricity from your electric car's battery back to the grid during a period of high demand on the grid, Rahman explains.

The findings are beneficial for energy companies, policymakers, and technology developers seeking to design effective business models and supportive regulations. By recognising that consumers respond most readily to clear financial advantages, stakeholders can accelerate the transition to a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable electricity market.

Doctoral dissertation

Rahman, Nayeem (2025) Energy flexibility as a market shaping mechanism: A case study of the Finnish electricity ecosystem. Acta Wasaensia 564. Doctoral dissertation. University of Vaasa.

Publication PDF

Public defence 

The public examination of M.Sc. Nayeem Rahman’s doctoral dissertation “Energy flexibility as a market shaping mechanism: A case study of the Finnish electricity ecosystem” will be held on Friday 10 October 2025 at 12 (UTC + 3) at the University of Vaasa, auditorium Nissi.

It is possible to participate in the defence also online: 
https://uwasa.zoom.us/j/69008269959?pwd=FsNawPQaboI12TRzJZWW5lAKKAYR8j.1 
Password: 299959

Professor Anna-Greta Nyström (Åbo Akademi University) will act as opponent and Professor Hannu Makkonen as custos. 

Further information

Nayeem Rahman was born in 1990 in Bangladesh. He completed a Master of Science degree in Strategic Business Development at the University of Vaasa in 2019. Rahman is currently a doctoral researcher in marketing at the University of Vaasa.

 

Quebecers’ gambling habits shifted dramatically during the pandemic, new research shows

Online sports betting and day trading saw substantial jumps in the first year of the lockdown, says Sylvia Kairouz

Concordia University

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Sylvia Kairouz

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Credit: Concordia University

The COVID-19 pandemic shutdown changed just about every aspect of daily life, including gambling habits. With no casinos, bingo halls, sports betting or even lottery tickets, an unprecedented number of Quebecers turned to online gambling, many for the first time.

A new study led by Concordia researchers reveals that between 15 and 20 per cent of Quebecers gambled online in 2021, with more than five per cent trying it for the first time. About 15 per cent of Quebecers reported gambling online both before and during the pandemic. Only 1.4 per cent reported stopping gambling altogether.

The findings are based on a population survey of over 4,500 residents of the province. Ninety-six individuals were selected as representative of the population for in-depth semi-structured interviews about their gambling experiences during the first year of the lockdown. The study was published in Harm Reduction Journal.

“Between 2018 and 2021, online gambling almost tripled in scope in Quebec,” says Sylvia Kairouz, a professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the study’s lead author.

“For some, it was a compensatory strategy for being stuck at home and not being able to participate in other activities. But most of the gamblers were steady, who had gambled before and during the pandemic. Some increased their gambling, reporting that they diversified their activities or spent more money.”

She notes that some respondents who quit gambling altogether said they would likely not have been able to stop if venues like casinos had remained open.

“This suggests that accessibility and the availability of gambling is an important factor for some people.”

Loneliness and boredom are key drivers

Two-thirds of the new wave of online gamblers were men, and often young adults: 20 per cent were aged between 18 and 34, and 40 per cent were between 35 and 54. Men between their late 20s and early 40s were most likely to start or increase their online gambling habits during the pandemic.

Respondents cited several different reasons for their surge in gambling activity. The most common was the lack of alternatives, as land-based venues were shuttered. Boredom, isolation and relaxation or stress relief were also important. The lure of easy money additionally attracted some gamblers, especially those who had reported loss of income due to the lockdown.

Kairouz points out that off-line gambling in general had been declining before the pandemic, while online gambling has been modestly but steadily on the rise. That changed with the lockdown, especially when sports betting was legalized in August 2021.

Surprisingly, the researchers also found that day trading exploded during the pandemic’s first year. The practice of quickly buying and selling stock for small but rapid profits was found to share some traits with gambling — namely risk-taking, thinking on one’s feet and potential for fast financial rewards.

“The day traders we interviewed were having fun with it,” Kairouz says. “They were building these spreadsheets and gathering information and taking it very seriously. They felt they were trying to really understand the system and have control over it. But like gambling, it doesn’t usually work.”

Little oversight, more advertising

Kairouz notes that these habit changes presented some potentially significant challenges to public policy and health advocates. Online gambling is readily available at all hours, across all platforms, where it is widely advertised. It is also minimally regulated. Between 2020–21, Espacejeux.com, Loto-Québec’s online gambling platform, reported a 171 per cent jump in revenue, along with a 72 per cent rise in people requesting self-exclusion.

“In terms of prevention, the biggest challenge is a lack of regulation; the biggest risk is the advertisement this ecosystem is built on,” Kairouz says. “We banned advertising for tobacco and cannabis, so why do we allow the gambling industry to have this freedom?”

This study was funded by Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture.

Read the cited paper: “A portrait of online gambling: a look at a transformation amid a pandemic”

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Journal

Harm Reduction Journal

DOI

10.1186/s12954-025-01265-1 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A portrait of online gambling: a look at a transformation amid a pandemic

Article Publication Date

6-Aug-2025

COI Statement

W. Spencer Murch previously received training and funding from The Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, a research laboratory jointly supported by the Government of British Columbia and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC; a Canadian Crown Corporation). WSM holds a postdoctoral fellowship from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute and sits on the Advisory Board on Safer Gambling at the UK Gambling Commission.

 

Study examines ties between criminal charges and mental health among incarcerated youth

University of Kansas

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LAWRENCE — New research from the University of Kansas asks if mental health issues like depression and anxiety are associated with specific charges faced by juveniles incarcerated in the United States.

While the U.S. imprisons a larger share of its population than any other country, juvenile justice tends to be more reform-oriented than the adult criminal justice system. Such research can help clinicians develop therapeutic approaches with more precision.

“The goal is to reduce recidivism, not to be solely punitive,” said Paula Fite, professor and chair of clinical child psychology at the University of Kansas, lead author of the new research. “Really, the goal is to keep the community safe, avoid recidivism and help a kid make better choices so they don’t get caught up in the system. One of the main things we need to address, though, is mental health issues.”

Fite sought to know if particular charges are associated with types of psychopathology — specifically depression and anxiety. She was joined in the study by KU graduate students Jeevan Bains and Selena Baca.

Their findings were reported recently in Children and Youth Services Review.

For all juvenile prisoners, the researchers discovered high rates of depression and anxiety.

“What we’re finding is that it doesn’t overall really matter what the charge is,” Fite said. “We consistently see high rates of mental health concerns — depression and anxiety — among youth who are detained. There are various reasons for this. Some say experiencing mental health issues puts youth at a heightened risk to engage in problematic behaviors, because they may be less engaged in societal norms. They’re not thinking clearly, or they may act impulsively or respond poorly to stress."

Fite acknowledged that delinquent behaviors also could drive guilt, worry or distress, and those things can lead to mounting mental health concerns.

“So, it’s probably bidirectional,” Fite said. “There’s not a clear ‘chicken-or-egg’ answer, but the two are definitely linked.”

Fite said it’s vital to address mental health concerns not just after youth become involved with the system, but before. She said prevention efforts, community-based supports and early intervention can reduce recidivism.

“Once youth are detained, though, that can actually be an opportunity — because for many, it’s the first time their mental health issues are formally recognized,” said the KU researcher. “In Kansas and in many other places, the juvenile system often becomes the first point of contact for youth receiving mental health care.”

Providers who work with incarcerated youth recognize that there’s a shortage of resources for mental health services in the community, she said, so the justice system ends up being a critical access point.

The KU team parsed data from 276 youth from juvenile detention centers in the Midwest aged 11-17, who voluntarily answered questionnaires and provided demographic data to the researchers, which then was matched to categories of criminal charge. From there they analyzed the data with statistical software.

More than 35% of participants reported clinically significant symptoms of depression, and more than 26% reported elevated symptoms of anxiety. The researchers did look at whether certain types of offenses were associated with different levels of anxiety or depression.

“There were some differences — for example, youth with arson-related offenses were associated with somewhat elevated levels of depression — but overall, the takeaway is that elevated mental health concerns are present across all types of charges,” Fite said. “It’s really important not to interpret the data as suggesting that only certain groups of youth need support.”

Fite said her findings show mental health concerns are widespread among detained youth.

“Screening and intervention should be standard practice in all detention settings, not just targeted to specific offenses,” said the KU researcher. “Ultimately, if we want to prevent recidivism and help youth reintegrate successfully, we have to take their mental health seriously.”

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DOI

10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108457 

 

Is overconfidence avoidable?

Overconfidence Persists Despite Years of Accurate, Precise, Public, and Continuous Feedback: Two Studies of Tournament Chess Players

Association for Psychological Science

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The late psychologist Daniel Kahneman once said if he could wave a magic wand and get rid of any bias, he would choose overconfidence. However, overconfidence is here to stay. In a new study in Psychological Science, researchers examined this bias among tournament chess players, to investigate if overconfidence is prevalent in an environment that should discourage it.

Chess is a fitting test bed for overconfidence research. “Both sides have access to the same universe of possibilities on the board in front of them,” said Patrick Heck, a researcher at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Research and the study’s lead author who spoke to the Observer in his personal capacity.

Heck and colleagues describe chess as an environment that should be inhospitable to overconfidence.

“We measured overconfidence in a domain where people receive regular, accurate, precise, and public information about their skill—a domain where people should have no reason to express excess confidence in their abilities other than genuinely overoptimistic beliefs,” he explained.

To understand players’ levels of confidence, the researchers surveyed about 3,000 chess players from three different chess tournaments and organizations and asked them to rate themselves. Those ratings were then compared with Elo ratings, a system for rating and ranking players, to assess a player’s actual skill. They found that the players with the lowest Elo ratings (i.e. the less skilled players) showed the greatest overestimation of their abilities. Those with higher Elo ratings were more accurate (Heck et al., 2025).

One of the most surprising findings, Heck said, was the sheer magnitude of overconfidence, a difference of 89 Elo points—that difference objectively predicts victory on average for the higher rated player, Heck explained.

“If I was matched against someone who is 89 points higher than me—that’s the overconfidence effect size—I would not feel good about that match,” Heck said. “I would not feel good about being able to consistently win.”

The findings of this study build upon a psychological phenomenon called the Dunning–Kruger effect, proposed in 1999. APS Fellow David Dunning, a professor at the University of Michigan and one of the researchers who first described the effect, said, “Those lacking expertise lack the expertise they need to recognize that they lack expertise.” In other words, the less skilled don’t know what they don’t know, which can make them more likely to overestimate their ability in certain areas and situations.

The findings of the chess study illustrate this concept clearly: Those who had greater expertise were better at estimating their ability because they were dealing with fewer unknown unknowns than those who didn’t.

Dunning and Carmen Sanchez, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, also study confidence and how it relates to skill level. Their study presented the “beginner’s bubble” hypothesis. Briefly, those with no knowledge and experience in an area avoid overconfidence, but after just a little learning or experience develop a striking degree of it, until their skill level catches up with their confidence later (Sanchez & Dunning, 2018).

Both studies demonstrate how prevalent overconfidence can be in everyday life. Sanchez pointed out that overconfidence can be especially concerning in the field of medicine and finances. She explained that a doctor who would be the least susceptible to the beginner’s bubble is one with a lot of experience or one fresh out of medical school.

“The medical school doctor or the resident is probably a fine doctor because when they don’t know something, they’re going to go ask somebody,” she said. “And the doctor with a lot of experience, they’re going to know the answer.”

Examples of overconfidence that apply to this research are not hard to find, and Heck suggests the concept may be a ubiquitous aspect of human experience. “We’re sort of getting at this idea that overconfidence is or can be a universal or core part of human psychology,” Heck said.

In Dunning’s view, overconfidence may be unavoidable, but it can be managed if one is aware.

“My take is overconfidence is actually inevitable if you think about it,” he said. “Confidence is good, but confidence has to be managed before it becomes overconfidence that’s going to hurt you.” 

References

Heck, P. R., Benjamin, D. J., Simons, D. J., & Chabris, C. F. (2025). Overconfidence persists despite years of accurate, precise, public, and continuous feedback: Two studies of tournament chess players. Psychological Science, 36(9), 732–745.

Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134. 

Sanchez, C., & Dunning, D. (2018). Overconfidence among beginners: Is a little learning a dangerous thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(1), 10– 28.

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Journal

Psychological Science

DOI

10.1177/09567976251360747 

Article Title

Overconfidence Persists Despite Years of Accurate, Precise, Public, and Continuous Feedback: Two Studies of Tournament Chess Players