The textile industry has a substantial negative impact on the environment. In order to decrease the environmental impact, the industry needs to transition to a more sustainable and circular system. One way of doing so is to increase participation in circular practices, like participating in circular end-of-life practices or purchasing second-hand or recycled textile products. This Master’s thesis explores the consumer role in this transition and is structured in a two-step approach. The first part investigates how consumers’ value and risk perceptions of different circular practices in the textile industry are related to their consumption behaviour by conducting a consumer survey (N = 3000) in three European countries. The second part of the thesis then identifies from an organisational stakeholder perspective how the consumer survey results can be practically applied in the textile industry. The thesis follows a mixed method approach, combining a quantitative consumer survey with a qualitative stakeholder survey.The results show that in most cases, consumers’ value perceptions of circular textile practices are significantly positively related to their consumption behaviour or participation in these, whereas perceived risks are negatively related. The findings also show which individual value and risk dimensions are related to which specific circular practice. Based on these results, organisational stakeholders identify different possibilities on how these findings can be practically applied in the textile industry. Suggestions focus on encouraging specific circular practices shown to be important to consumers, adapting marketing strategies and developing new policies to increase participation in more sustainable and circular alternatives.

When it comes to climate change, one of the most pressing challenges is energy production and consumption in society, from individuals to markets. From economic incentives, path dependence and risk perceptions of our society, actions and strategise need to become more adaptable towards change. The actions and strategise need to be impactful on behaviour and attitudes on such subject, and the authority responsible in this regard is the Swedish Energy Agency in Eskilstuna, Sweden. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the complicated transformation towards sustainable energy production and consumption in society, through the experience and knowledge of the Swedish Energy Agency. Economic growth desires, path dependence (in both societal behaviour and attitudes, as well as economic theorems) and risk perceptions are the subjects in discussion as they relate to the transformation.  The findings revealed that the Swedish Energy Agency is aware of societal behaviour and attitudes toward change to some extent; nonetheless, they must enhance the information provided to society. To have a greater impact on the majority of society, their action plans and strategies must become more adaptive to particular identities. Most policymaking in our culture is driven by economic incentives, but the Swedish Energy Agency believes that if they could raise knowledge, behaviour, and attitudes toward long-term change, the government (who is responsible for the agency's missions) would change. Because our government is a democracy, it reflects what our society desires.

Weather and climate disasters pose an increasing risk to life and property in the United States. Managing this risk requires objective information about the nature of the threat and subjective information about how people perceive it. Meteorologists and climatologists have a relatively firm grasp of the historical objective risk. For example, we know which parts of the United States are most likely to experience drought, heat waves, flooding, snow or ice storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. We know less about the geographic distribution of the perceived risks of meteorological events and trends. Do subjective perceptions align with exposure to weather risks? This question is difficult to answer because analysts have yet to develop a comprehensive and spatially consistent methodology for measuring risk perceptions across geographic areas in the United States. In this project, we propose a methodology that uses multilevel regression and poststratification to estimate extreme weather and climate risk perceptions by geographic area (i.e., region, state, forecast area, and county). Then we apply the methodology using data from three national surveys (n = 9,542). This enables us to measure, map, and compare perceptions of risk from multiple weather hazards in geographic areas across the country.

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The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is a 10-point scale that communicates the cumulative health risks associated with air pollution (ECCC, 2016). The general theme of this dissertation centers on an understanding of AQHI adoption while accounting for socioeconomic status (SES) in order to facilitate AQHI uptake by the public with particular focus on “at risk” populations (i.e. young children, seniors, and those with pre-existing respiratory and/or cardiovascular conditions). The study is unique since it approaches AQHI adoption consistent with the ecological model and an equity lens, and AQHI adoption is considered at the individual, organizational and community levels. The study area for this dissertation is Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The findings from this dissertation contribute to an understanding of why AQHI is or is not being adopted and suggests potential intervention strategies to increase its uptake. Consistent with health behaviour theory, demographics (gender, age, education, area of residence), knowledge/understanding and individual risk perceptions (neighbourhood air effects on health) were found to be significant predictors of AQHI adoption. Additionally, perceived benefits of AQHI adoption included protection of health for self and those cared for via familial and/or occupational duties. While perceived barriers of AQHI adoption included lack of time required to check and follow AQHI health messages and the inability to “self-identify” as belonging to the “at risk” population. This dissertation proposes that increases in AQHI adoption may be achieved by increasing AQHI knowledge and emphasizing the benefits and relevance of AQHI such that “at risk” populations can self-identify. Additionally, AQHI uptake may be increased by providing AQHI information at a neighbourhood scale via local media sources and wearable devices. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Yes / This paper aims to establish a link between aggregate organizational resilience capabilities and managerial risk perception aspects during a major global crisis. We argue that a multi-theory perspective, dynamic capability at an organizational level and enactment theory at a managerial level allow us to better understand how the sensemaking process within managerial risk perception assists organizational resilience. We draw from in-depth interviews with 40 managers across the UK’s food industry, which has been able to display resilience during the pandemic. In sensing supply chain risks (SCRs), managers within both authority-based and consensus-based organizational structures utilize risk-capture heuristics and enact actions related to effective communications, albeit at different information costs. In seizing, we found that managers adhere to distinct heuristics that are idiosyncratic to their organizational structures. Through limited horizontal communication channels, authority-based structures adhere to rudimentary how-to heuristics, whereas consensus-based structures use obtainable how-to heuristics. We contribute to the organizational resilience and dynamic capabilities literature by identifying assessment as an additional step prior to transforming, which depicts a retention process to inform future judgements. Our study presents a novel framework of organizational resilience to SCRs during equivocal environments, by providing a nuanced understanding of the construction of dynamic capabilities through sensemaking.

Sweden is currently facing a paradigm shift in its security policy as it has applied for membership in the military alliance NATO. According to the current government, Swedish NATO membership is the best way to safeguard Sweden in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Previous research indicates a connection between trust and risk perceptions, as well as a difference in risk perceptions between men and women. Trust in governmental institutions also becomes central during crises and disasters. The theoretical framework of this study draws on Ulrich Beck's theories of the risk society and cosmopolitanism, Anthony Giddens' concept of trust in expert systems, and a socialization theory of gender by Davidson and Freudenburg. The purpose of this pilot study is to examine how students' trust in governmental institutions influences their risk perceptions regarding NATO membership. Furthermore, the aim is to investigate whether the relationship between trust in governmental institutions and risk perceptions is influenced by factors such as attitudes towards NATO and gender, and whether there are differences in risk perceptions between men and women regarding NATO membership. This study uses a quantitative method in the form of surveys to address the research questions. The sample for the study consists of the group "They call us students" on Facebook and a discussion forum for all students enrolled in the bachelor's program in Social Analysis. Data from the survey were analyzed through means comparison, correlation, and regression analyses. The results of the study indicate that a high trust in governmental institutions leads students to perceive fewer risks associated with NATO membership. Women also tend to perceive more risks with NATO membership, and a positive attitude towards NATO results in fewer perceived risks with NATO membership. This pilot study has demonstrated the relevance of investigating the relationship between trust in governmental institutions and risk perceptions regarding NATO membership. It would also be interesting for future research to examine other factors that influence individuals' risk perceptions, such as social class and ethnicity. / Sverige står just nu inför ett paradigmskifte i den svenska säkerhetspolitiken då Sverige har ansökt om ett medlemskap i militäralliansen Nato. Enligt den nuvarande regeringen är ett svenskt Natomedlemskap det bästa sättet att värna Sverige efter Rysslands invasion av Ukraina. Tidigare forskning visar att det finns ett samband mellan tillit och riskuppfattningar samt att det finns en skillnad i mäns och kvinnors riskuppfattningar. Tillit till statliga institutioner blir också centralt under kriser och katastrofer. Studiens teoretiska referensram utgår från Ulrich Becks teorier om risksamhället samt kosmopolitism, Anthony Giddens begreppet om tilliten till expertsystem och en socialisationsteori om genus av Davidson och Freudenburg. Syftet med denna pilotstudie är att undersöka hur studenters tillit till statliga institutioner påverkar deras riskuppfattning gällande ett Natomedlemskap. Vidare är syftet att undersöka om sambandet mellan tillit till statliga institutioner och riskuppfattningar påverkas av faktorerna inställning till Nato och kön samt om det skiljer sig i män och kvinnors riskuppfattningar gällande ett Natomedlemskap. I denna studie används kvantitativ metod i form av enkätundersökningar för att besvara studiens frågeställningar. Studiens urval består av gruppen “Dom kallar oss studenter” på Facebook samt ett diskussionsforum för alla som läser kandidatprogrammet för samhällsanalys. Data från undersökningen analyserades genom medelvärdesjämförelse, korrelation och regressionsanalyser. Resultat från studien visar att en hög tillit till statliga institutioner leder till att studenter upplever mindre risker med ett Natomedlemskap. Kvinnor tenderar även att uppleva mer risker med ett Natomedlemskap samt att en positiv inställning till Nato leder till mindre upplevda risker med ett Natomedlemskap. Denna pilotstudie har visat relevansen att undersöka förhållandet mellan tillit till statliga institutioner och riskuppfattningar med ett Natomedlemskap. Det skulle även vara intressant för vidare forskning att undersöka andra faktorer som påverkar individers riskuppfattningar såsom klass och etnicitet.

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