Gisela Böhm
I am a psychologist; I am full professor for research methods in psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway, and guest researcher at the Department of Psychology at the University of Inland Norway.
I study risk perception in the realm of environmental risks, climate change risk perceptions have been a particular focus of my research. What has always fascinated me is causal thinking. I have investigated people’s mental models about environmental issues and how mental models relate to evaluative responses such as perceived risk, morality, and emotions, and eventually to behavior.
I joined SRA as a PhD student in the 1990s and have been an active member since. I served on the Executive Committee of SRA – Europe from 1998 to 2003. As president of the SRA-E Nordic Chapter, I wish to promote an active community of risk researchers within the Nordic and Baltic countries. A core activity in this regard is supporting regular SRA Nordic conferences, but I also want to initiate other fora, platforms, and activities that facilitate the communication between members and allow for an active exchange and debate within the community. Holding close contact of SRA Nordic with both other SRA-E chapters and SRA International is a natural part of this endeavor.
Paulina Budrytė
P. Budryte is a researcher and asist.professor at Kaunas University of Technology. She belongs to the Research group "Civil Society and Sustainability". P. Budryte investigates public risk perception, risk evaluation and social vulnerability, along with urban development and environmental protection. She often conducts spatial analysis of hazards, as well as their impacts and effects. She also contributes to local community involvement in knowledge production and sharing. Additionally, P. Budryte teaches Sustainable Development, Urban and Regional Development, Environmental Policy, and Environment and Society courses at the university. Last but not least, she is a team member in various COST, DUT, H2020/HE, Erasmus+, etc. projects.
Ambitions for the future:
As the Baltic States are in a very peculiar geographical situation, countries face a lot of risks, so strengthening the knowledge and capabilities of academic and general society is crucial. That is why I would like to see more rigorous, intense and profound research conducted about this region, with representatives from this region and solemnly by the people from this region.
Small steps to this ambitious future:
- Network and support local researchers, especially young researchers.
- Encourage partnerships (short visits or sabbatical leave) between Baltic and Scandinavian countries.
- Contribute as needed to all tasks carried out the network.
John H. M. Damsager
I am MSc. in Risk Management in society (Karlstad University 2017) living in Copenhagen.
I am a Graduate from the master's program Risk Management in society, Karlstad University (https://www.kau.se/en/education/programmes-and-courses/programmes/SARHS).
My master's thesis was published in edited form in: Finn Nilson, John Damsager, Jens Lauritsen & Carl Bonander (2018) "The effect of breed-specific dog legislation on hospital treated dog bites in Odense, Denmark. A time series intervention study". PLOS ONO https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208393
I am currently looking for a full-time position within the risk management area. In this connection, I thought that a commitment in the SRA-E NORDIC could be relevant for me – and hopefully also for SRA-E NORDIC in a year where the 9th SRA-E Nordic Conference is to be held in Copenhagen.
In the period 2018 – 2021, I was appointed external examiner for the Bachelor's Degree Programme in Emergency and Risk Management at University College Copenhagen. I am currently taking a supplementary module at graduate level level in Philosophy of Risk at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
I originally graduated with a BA in religious studies and an MA in church history (University of Copenhagen). With these skills, I work for Lex - Denmark's National Encyclopedia as subject manager within the field of church history.