I am a multidisciplinary researcher (PhD Candidate) at the University of Helsinki. My research interests include sustainable behaviour change, ecological psychology, cognitive science and cultural evolution. I have a soft spot for complex systems and philosophy of science.
I am affiliated with the Environmental Policy Research Group, the WISE project, the Social Values Research Group and Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science.
In my free time I am an amateur musician who loves nature, hiking, photography and coffee. I also write popular science and am a columnist for indie mag The Conventions. For my photography, see my 500px page.
Find my CV here. I am actively looking for new collaborations, so if you find my work interesting or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Advanced Systems Analysis, 2019
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Doctoral Candidate, Environmental Policy Research Group, 2017
University of Helsinki
Environmental Policy and Sociology (M.Soc.Sc.), 2016
University of Helsinki
Philosophy of Science, Sociology, 2014
University of Melbourne
Social Policy and Sociology, 2012
University of Edinburgh
I took part in the three-month Young Scientists Summer Program at IIASA during the summer of 2019. I’m pleased to announce that my work at IIASA was awarded a Honorable Mention for exceptional effort.
This was pleasant news. 🙂
— Roope Kaaronen (@RoopeKaaronen) January 13, 2020
Congratulations to @FeliciaChiang1, @nchoquettelevy and @roryjgibb, as well as all the brilliant and kind people in the YSSP 2019 cohort. Last summer at @IIASAVienna was nothing short of fantastic. https://t.co/j3tqFNvHg8
Last autumn I got started with a new hobby: photography. Equipped with a second-hand Lumix GX80, I’ve mainly found myself taking pictures of wildlife, including birds, fungi and plants. Some of this has been for research purposes. You’ll find my photography on my 500px page.
From clay tablets to digital ones, libraries have always evolved. But what’s next? Read my thoughts here in an article for The Conventions.
From clay tablets to digital ones, libraries have always changed and evolved. What's next?
— Roope Kaaronen (@RoopeKaaronen) June 1, 2019
In my new @TheConventions piece, I argue that libraries have a broader role to play in providing consumption-free public space and avenues for social interaction.https://t.co/SvtMMcEsnG
Our letter “Concerns of Young Protesters are Justified” was published in Science. The letter can be read here and signed here.
In a #LetterToScience, researchers call for the support of recent grassroots mobilization of young #climate protestors, writing, “their concerns are justified and supported by the best available science.” https://t.co/PpJIYq3XSP #ClimateChange pic.twitter.com/oRsXGohQqQ
— Science Magazine (@sciencemagazine) April 11, 2019
I wrote an article on climate strikes, experiential education and envrironmental activism. Read it online here at The Conventions.
“Above all, the growing activism of youth is an indicator that democratic education is, in fact, working just fine, and that children are, in the words of late David Bowie,”quite aware of what they’re going through”“. Article by @RoopeKaaronen. https://t.co/7KHbtKFluE
— The Conventions (@TheConventions) February 18, 2019
A couple of months ago I did my first podcast episode with Adam Robbert from The Side View. Give it a listen here.
TSV Episode 5 with @RoopeKaaronen is now live. We talked about affordances, ecological psychology, and James Gibson; predictive processing, niche construction, and evolution; sustainable design, decentralization, the Anthropocene, and more: https://t.co/16XelGvBJ4
— The Side View (@TheSideViewCo) October 29, 2018
I wrote another essay for The Side View. This time, it’s on the phenomenology (cognition, perception and heuristics) of mushroom foraging. Read it online here!
I wrote an essay about my favourite autumnal activity: Mushroom foraging.
— Roope Kaaronen (@RoopeKaaronen) November 6, 2018
Digging deep into the cognitive, traditional and perceptual qualities of a dear activity is very rewarding, so I hope you enjoy the read! https://t.co/JhLH4mNy70
The Side View is a fascinating new multimedia platform edited by Adam Robbert. I wrote an essay for The Side View titled The Ecology of Design. Read it online here!
I wrote a piece on The Ecology of Design for @thesideviewco.
— Roope Kaaronen (@RoopeKaaronen) October 4, 2018
The essay discusses Roman highways, Darwin's earthworm studies and a roadmap to sustainable society.
Can you connect the dots? Give it a read!
[Keywords: affordance, niche construction]https://t.co/cUBOIRAHs7
Feeling inspired by an arts exhibition on magical realism, I wrote a piece on the need for imagination in environmental politics. Read it online here at The Conventions.
“We must be wary of associating realism with uniformity, or absence of alternatives. Realism is not a political stance to be assumed by the unimaginative.”
— Roope Kaaronen (@RoopeKaaronen) August 13, 2018
My new thought-piece for @TheConventions.https://t.co/wkezFwPq3e
Why aren’t we behaving sustainably despite our best intentions? Our behavioural environment requires “too much reading instructions and too little perceptual guidance” by well-designed affordances. My thoughts here at The Conventions.
Here's my piece for @TheConventions on why we aren't behaving sustainably despite our best intentions.
— Roope Kaaronen (@RoopeKaaronen) July 22, 2018
Our behavioural environment requires “too much reading instructions and too little perceptual guidance” (#affordance's).https://t.co/uh5knEkXw0