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Natural hazards, paired with affected communities’ exposure and vulnerability, have caused numerousfatalities and great economic losses worldwide in recent decades. Floods represent about one-third ofall natural hazards, and together with storms they comprise 77% of economic losses caused byextreme weather events from 1980 to 2006 in Europe and have been the main natural hazards inEurope for more than a century. Survey data of public risk perception were collected in Sweden andItaly through online surveys several times during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the respondents wereasked questions about risk perception regarding nine threats: epidemics, floods, droughts, earthquakes,wildfires, terror attacks, domestic violence, economic crises, and climate change. The survey explorespublic perception on five factors: experience, likelihood, potential impact, as well as preparedness andknowledge of the phenomenon. The survey data were analysed by using ordinal logistic regression,were the variable of previous flood experience along with socioeconomic factors were used to explorehow/if previous experience has any statistical significance and potentially affects risk perception. Inaddition, this thesis also presents a spatial analysis of respondents’ previous flood experience andprevious flood events in Sweden, to explore whether this is reflected in the survey data. The resultsshow that the effect of experience on likelihood, knowledge and preparedness is high, and womenhave a higher perceived risk in all variables except preparedness. The results of the spatial analysisshow that the majority of respondents with experience live in North Middle Sweden which correlateswell with the analysis of past flood events during the recent decade. These findings could potentiallybe used in continuous research regarding disaster risk reduction and developing frameworks,specifically how impacts and perception influence other variables such as vulnerability, behaviour, andgovernance.

This dissertation explored the multifaceted issue of radon exposure and its connection to lung cancer, focusing on knowledge gaps and proposing mitigation strategies. Despite extensive research, inconsistencies persist in understanding the health impacts, public awareness, and effective mitigation of radon, particularly in regions like Tennessee that are disproportionately burdened by high radon levels. This work addresses this gap by integrating findings from three distinct studies: a scoping review, a cross-sectional survey, and a policy analysis. The review examined national literature about residential radon exposure, revealing variations in exposure levels and conflicting evidence regarding the risk of lung cancer. The cross-sectional study investigated radon Environmental Health Literacy (EHL) and testing behavior among Health Council participants in Northeast Tennessee, which uncovered disparities and associated risk factors. Finally, the policy analysis examined existing radon regulations across federal, state, and local levels, focusing on Tennessee, and proposed strategies for improvement, including standardized licensing for radon professionals. The combined findings of this study highlight the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to address radon challenges effectively in Tennessee. The review underlines the variability in exposure-risk associations, while the survey emphasizes the importance of tailored educational interventions to improve awareness and ameliorate testing rates. The policy analysis advocates for standardized certification to ensure reliable radon services in Tennessee. Overall, this dissertation offers valuable insights into radon's impact on public health and proposes strategies for mitigation through improved regulations, increased awareness initiatives, and targeted interventions, which all depends on collaborative efforts between stakeholders.

Cyber security is a fast-paced field, and it is important to understand what factors might drive the cyber professionals’ perception of risk when prioritizing risks. While gender differences have been previously observed in risk perception of cyber risks among non-professionals, this thesis will also look at years of experience as another aspect. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the subjective risk perception and risk prioritization among cyber security professionals. It seeks to study their risk perception and prioritization when they are assessing two specific risks on a risk assessment scale (risk matrix) even if the risks are assigned the same risk score. In this thesis, two specific types of risks (Social Engineering and System Intrusion) have been chosen for the risk descriptions, due to their common nature of cyber-attacks. To answer the thesis’ formulated questions, a quantitative study in the form of a questionnaire has been distributed to cyber security professionals (n=70) through professional networking channels. The results in this thesis revealed no significant relationship between risk prioritization and gender, nor between risk prioritization and years of experience. Risk perception was measured by the method of Walpole and Wilson (2021). For three of the four subscales (Affect, Exposure, Susceptibility) the cyber professionals perceived Risk A (Social Engineering) as statistically significantly higher than Risk B (System Intrusion). The results also showed that for both women and men, Risk A was perceived statistically significantly higher/larger than Risk B. There are some results in this thesis that align with previous research, however some are also indicating opposing findings. Traditionally, risk perception studies have focused on non-experts, and it is important to further explore the risk perception among professionals within a field since risk perception in general and in cyber security could be influenced by knowledge, expertise, and experience.

Trafikolyckor är ett stort samhällsproblem som många gånger kan förhindras då nästan samtliga olyckor sker till följd av mänskliga faktorer. Under vinterhalvåret är det många som kör bil till och från skidorter i Sverige där olika väderförhållanden kan ha inverkan på antalet trafikolyckor och dess konsekvenser. Syftet med det här arbetet var att undersöka hur personer som kör bil till och från skidorter i Sverige under vinterhalvåret uppfattar risker och om det finns några skillnader i riskuppfattning mellan könen. Den valda metoden för undersökningen var webbenkät som genomfördes på det webbaserade verktyget Survey&Report, där det insamlade datamaterialet har sammanställts och analyserats i Excel. Det har även gjorts en tematisk innehållsanalys på de fritextsvar som inkom i enkäten. Resultatet visar att det finns skillnader mellan kvinnor och mäns riskuppfattning där män funderar mindre över risker i trafiken jämfört med kvinnor. Ju mer mil en bilförare kör per år desto mer funderar bilföraren över risker i trafiken och är också mer medveten om de risker som finns jämfört med yngre och mer oerfarna bilförare. Kvinnor tar mindre risker i trafiken och tenderar att vara mer ödmjuka i skattningen av sin egen körförmåga jämfört med män. Slutsatsen är att hur bilförare agerar och skattar olika risker beror på vilken riskuppfattning de har och den varierar utifrån kön, ålder, erfarenhet, värderingar samt kultur. / Traffic accidents are a major problem that many times can be prevented, due to the fact that almost all accidents occur as a result of human error. During the winter months, many people in Sweden are driving to ski resorts, where weather conditions can have an impact on the number of traffic accidents and their consequences. The purpose of the paper is to investigate how people who drive to and from ski resorts in Sweden during the winter months perceive risks in traffic and whether there are any differences in risk perception between the genders. The chosen method for this paper was a web survey conducted on the web-based tools Survey&Report, where the collected data material has been compiled and analysed in Excel. A  thematic analysis of the free text responses was also applied. The results show that there are differences between women and men’s perception of risk, where men seems to think less about risks in traffic compared to women. The result also shows that the more miles a driver drives per year the more the driver thinks about risks in traffic and is also more aware of the risks that exist compared to younger and more inexperienced drivers. Women takes less risks in traffic and tend to be humbler in estimating their own driving ability compared to men. The conclusion of this paper is that how car drivers act and estimate different risks depends on the risk perception they have, and that varies based on gender, age, experience, values and culture.

Internationellt resande är en uppskattad och naturlig del av livet för många människor som lever i Sverige idag. Resande kan vara avslappnande, äventyrligt och en härlig upplevelse men det kan även innebära risker. Brottslighet, hälsoproblem, politisk instabilitet och terrorism är alla reala risker som turister kan råka ut för på sina resor. En risk innebär en osäkerhet om, och i så fall när det kan inträffa och det går inte att förutsäga. Denna osäkerhet innebär att turister får förlita sig på sin uppfattning av hur riskabelt det är att exempelvis besöka en destination med hög brottslighet. Personers riskuppfattning i samband med internationella resor har fastställts påverkas av yttre faktorer och inre faktorer. Personer motiveras även av olika faktorer till att resa och har olika åsikter och preferenser för vad de vill uppleva på sina internationella resor. En del av denna skillnad mellan turister har förklarats med att personer har olika behov av att uppleva nya, spännande och äventyrliga händelser på sina resor. Andra motiveras istället av att ta det lugnt och på ett säkert sätt uppleva vad destinationen och turistindustrin kan erbjuda. Turister kan särskiljas i två extremer. En extrem är människor som motiveras av äventyr och överraskningar, så kallade noveltysökare. Den andra extremen är människor som vill ta det lugnt och resa på ett tryggt sätt så kallade familiaritysökare. Personer kan även motiveras av delar en blandning från båda dessa extremer och kan då kallas för neutrala resenärer.   Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka riskuppfattning vid internationella resor samt att undersöka om det efter en indelning av respondenterna i novelty-familiaritysökande grupper går att fastställa några skillnader i hur riskabla de upplever att riskerna är under internationella resor. För att undersöka detta utförs en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Med det teoretiska ramverket och den kvantitativa enkätundersökningen har slutsatser dragits utifrån uppsatsens syfte och frågeställningar.   Respondenterna i undersökningen upplever att terrorism, politisk instabilitet, brott och hälsoproblem utgör risker under internationella resor. Terrorism var den risk som i högst grad påverkade respondenternas beslut rörande resande. Med sambandstester fastslogs att det finns samband mellan respondenternas uppfattning rörande riskerna och deras relations till yttre och inre påverkan.   Respondenterna kunde utifrån deras preferenser och motivation för internationellt resande delas in i de tre grupperna familiaritysökande, neutrala resenärer och noveltysökande. Respondenternas tillhörighet i turistgrupperna och deras svar på hur riskabelt de upplever att de fyra riskerna är, sambandstestades. Utifrån detta går det att fastställa att noveltysökande turister upplever att riskerna terrorism, politisk instabilitet och hälsoproblem utgör en lägre risk under internationella resor än vad de familiaritysökande turisterna gör. Detta ger stöd till tidigare forskning som fastställt att ett sådant samband existerar.

Amy S.Y. Ho. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-58).

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the unpredictability of climate change and natural disasters impact the risk perception of Swedish companies. The literature chapter that has been elaborated in this study describes theories that are associated with effects of climate change and natural disasters, risk management and knowledge. Further on, the research has been conducted with a qualitative method in order to gain a profounder understanding of the topic and how it influences the risk perception of Swedish companies. The study has further on been following a abductive research approach since the area of research was rather unexplored.  We present the results of our study by answering to the research questions in the conclusion chapter that have been derived from the analysis. Furthermore, the conclusion chapter involves that the risks perception of the studied companies differentiates depending on the level and type on knowledge that the companies hold.

This dissertation examines the influence of competing risks in shaping individuals' choices about potential intimate relationships. According to Ulrich Beck's "risk society" theory, the individualization of social risks has direct and measurable consequences for the ways people organize and evaluate potential intimate relationships (Beck & Beck-Gernsheim, 1995, 2002, 2004; Giddens, 1994; Lupton, 2006). This study investigates the ways in which subjective or identity-related risks hypothesized by scholars of late modernity shape the perception and the actual risk of dating violence. Empirical research on dating violence identifies many objective “risk factors” related to a person’s chances of experiencing intimate partner violence; however studies investigating perceptions of dating risk from the subject’s perspective sometimes reveal more personal concerns and priorities. To date, no intimate partner violence research explicitly utilizes a conceptualization of risk informed by risk society theories. The present study explores the potential for utilizing risk society concepts in explaining the relationships between perceptions of instrumental risks and identity-related risks, and how these risk perceptions may impact involvement in dating violence.