Please take part in a survey for the Westfjords!

University Centre of the Westfjords is asking for the participation of as many residents in the Westfjords as possible in a survey for a research project on place appropriation.

 

The project is a collaboration between UW and Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO) in France and was initiated by Dr. Elisabeth Guillou, professor of social and environmental psychology. Université Laval in Quebec, Canada, also participates in the research analysis. This research project is funded by Fondation de France, in France.

 

The title of the project is "Appropriation de l’espace maritime et littoral, représentation sociale de la mer et construction identitaire : Comprendre la perception des risques et l’adaptation aux enjeux des territoires" which loosely translates as "Appropriation of marine and coastal areas, social representation of the sea and identity construction: Understanding risk perception and adaptation to territorial issues."

 

In short, the objectives of the project are: Understanding how place appropriation contributes to identity, and how identity influences the way individuals face risks related to their territory.

 

This doesn't only apply to natural disasters but also social changes/abnormalities which people might experience as a result of environmental impacts (e.g. changes in their community, effects on business and employment etc.)

In preparatation for this phase of the research project, 25 residents in the Westfjords were asked to draw up an image of their immediate surroundings, applying a formulated method. But this time ALL residents in the Westfjords are asked to participate in this survey, to gain as accurate results as possible.

The survey is available in Icelandic and French and takes about 8-10 minutes to fill out.