Oslo Metropolitan University

https://www.oslomet.no/om/ansatt/erikth/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erik_Thorstensen

Contact by mail
PUBLICATIONS Thesis Thorstensen, E. (2020). Responsible Assessments. Frameworks for a Value-Based Governance of Assistive technologies. . OsloMet. Centre for the Study of Professions. Books Forsberg, E.-M., Shelley-Egan, C., Thorstensen, E., Landeweerd, L., & Hofmann, B. (2017). Evaluating Ethical Frameworks for the Assessment of Human Cognitive Enhancement Applications. Cham, Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London: Springer International Publishing. Thorstensen, E. (2013). Ateismekritikk: om reduksjonisme, religion og samfunn. Oslo: Akademika forlag. Bjerg, H., Lenz, C., & Thorstensen, E. (Eds.). (2011). Historicizing the uses of the past: Scandinavian perspectives on history culture, historical consciousness and didactics of history related to World War II. Bielefeld: Transcript. Articles in Scientific Journals Thorstensen, E. (2019). Stakeholders’ Views on Responsible Assessments of Assistive Technologies through an Ethical HTA Matrix. Societies, 9(3), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc9030051 Thorstensen, E. (2019). Responsibility for Assistive Technologies: Product Assessment Frameworks and Responsible Research and Innovation. Etikk i Praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics, 13(1), 55–80. https://doi.org/10.5324/eip.v13i1.2525 Dobeš, P., Novotný, P., Danihelka, P., Baudišová, B., Nešporová, V., Thorstensen, E., & Toseroni, F. (2017). New Czech & Certified Methodology „Tools of Resilience“. Transactions of the VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Safety Engineering Series, XII(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1515/tvsbses-2017-0009 Thorstensen, E. (2017). Creating Golems: Uses of Golem Stories in the Ethics of Technologies. NanoEthics, 11(2), 153–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-016-0279-9 Thorstensen, E., Forsberg, E.-M., Underthun, A., Danihelka, P., & Řeháček, J. (2016). Regional Development and Climate Change Adaptation: A Study of the Role of Legitimacy. European Countryside, 8(3), 207–226. https://doi.org/10.1515/euco-2016-0016 Thorstensen, E. (2016). Agency and climate change: a quantitative-structuralist approach to the assignment of moral agency in mitigation. Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies, 4(2), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.5324/njsts.v4i2.2182 Thorstensen, E., & Forsberg, E.-M. (2016). Social Life Cycle Assessment as a resource for Responsible Research and Innovation. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 3(1), 50–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2016.1181295 Forsberg, E.-M., Ribero, B., Heyen, N. B., Nielsen, R. Øjvind, Thorstensen, E., De Bakker, E., … Millar, K. (2016). Integrated assessment of emerging science and technologies as creating learning processes among assessment communities. Life Sciences, Society and Policy, 12(9). Thorstensen, E. (2015). Patent-holders on expert committees. Can there be a conflict of interest? Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics, 9(1), 55–72. Forsberg, E.-M., Thorstensen, E., Nielsen, R. Ø., & de Bakker, E. (2014). Assessments of emerging science and technologies: Mapping the landscape. Science and Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scu025 Thorstensen, E. (2014). Public Involvement and Narrative Fallacies of Nanotechnologies. NanoEthics, 8(3), 227–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-014-0202-1 Thorstensen, E. (2013). Den nye ateismens grunnlag og argumentasjon. DIN-Tidsskrift for Religion og Kultur, (2), 129–155. Thorstensen, E. (2012). The Places of Memory in a Square of Monuments: Conceptions of Past, Freedom and History at Szabadság Tér. E-Journal of the American Hungarian Educators Association, Journals / Volume 5 (2012) / 8(8). Kaiser, M., Millar, K., Thorstensen, E., & Tomkins, S. (2007). Developing the ethical matrix as a decision support framework: GM fish as a case study. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 20(1), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-006-9023-8 Millar, K., Thorstensen, E., Tomkins, S., Mepham, B., & Kaiser, M. (2007). Developing the Ethical Delphi. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 20(1), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-006-9022-9 Book Chapters Thorstensen, E. (2018). Privacy and Future Consent in Smart Homes as Assisted Living Technologies. In J. Zhou & G. Salvendy (Eds.), Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Applications in Health, Assistance, and Entertainment (Vol. 10927, pp. 415–433). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92037-5_30 Forsberg, E.-M., & Thorstensen, E. (2018). A Report from the Field: Doing RRI from Scratch in an Assisted Living Technology Research and Development Project. In F. Ferri, et al. (Eds.), Governance and Sustainability of Responsible Research and Innovation Processes (pp. 19–26). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73105-6_3 Thorstensen, E. (2017). Responsible Help at Home: Establishing Indicators for a Product Assessment Methodology. In D. M. Bowman, A. M. Dijkstra, C. Fautz, J. Guivant, K. Konrad, C. Shelley-Egan, & S. Woll (Eds.), The Politics and Possibilities of Emerging Technologies. Berlin: IOS Press. Thorstensen, E. (2011). Historical Propaganda and New Popular Cultural Media Expressions. In H. Bjerg, C. Lenz, & E. Thorstensen (Eds.), Historicizing the Uses of the Past. Scandinavian Perspectives on History Culture, Historical Consciousness and Didactics of History Related to World War II (pp. 227–240). Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag. Thorstensen, E. (2004). Det glade budskap. In G. B. Mo & J. Holm (Eds.), Figura: festskrift for Karin Gundersen (pp. 275–281). : Unipub. Projects 2016-2019 The Assisted Living project: Responsible innovations for dignified lives at home for persons with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, Financed by the Research Council of Norway (IKTPluss & Samansvar). PhD student What is distinctive of the Assisted Living project is the application of a range of different methods in order to approach the knowledge needs in a combination of experimental and established approaches. Being built around engineering, health sciences and ethics and with an aim of creating novel assistive technologies, the project combined desk research with qualitative as well as quantitative approaches and engagement strategies. One central challenge was consequently how to integrate the different approaches to knowledge creation. Being based on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), the project combined academic knowledge with insights from a range of engagement activities with users, stakeholders and experts in order to establish the concrete user needs, political directions, health priorities and technological possibilities. Being the first RRI project to being applied in the health and care sector, the Assisted Living project advanced the understanding of the place of RRI in assistive technologies by documenting how novel processes might increase reflection on the realisation of the combination of monetary and non-monetary values through assistive technologies. Furthermore, the project found technical solutions to recognising movements in real homes and predicting activities up to 85 %. 2014-2016 Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change in Regional Strategies. Financed by Czech Republic: EEA Grants. Principal Investigator Being a very integrated and practically aligned research project, this resilience project engaged several schools in building understanding of how to adapt to a changing climate through competitions and exhibitions. Based on a national infrastructure of Local Action Groups (a structure under EU agriculture) the project engaged stakeholders and local politicians all over the Czech Republic in discussing how they could contribute to building local resilience. In addition, to local plans and engagement, the outcome was further deepened understanding of how the Local Action Groups saw their role and their possible actions in resilience building. 2014-2016 Naturalness in Human Cognitive Enhancement. Financed by Czech Republic: EEA Grants. Project assistant The main outcomes of Naturalness in Human Cognitive Enhancement are mainly scientific in nature with increased understanding of ethical issues of different aspects of cognitive enhancement. 2013-2015 EST-Frame. Framework for Assessment of Emerging Science and Technologies. Financed under FP7. Project assistant The EU-funded EST-FRAME (Integrated EST framework) project addressed the European Commission's call for a more integrated approach to assessment and governance of emerging science and technology (EST). Work began by appraising current assessment techniques for evaluating EST in order to map their strengths and weaknesses and determine appropriate application domains. Current EST policy trends that influence assessment were studied, and an analysis of integration needs in existing EST assessment was also performed. To design a flexible, integrated framework, researchers carried out four EST case studies involving nanotechnology in food production, synthetic biology, biofuels and cloud computing. With the support of about 120 key stakeholders and four dedicated workshops, the case studies helped to determine how existing frameworks are applied to assess a wide variety of impacts in these domains. Project partners developed an analytical protocol that was used to evaluate both a broad spectrum of assessments in each case and the most important technology advisory practices across cases. Findings resulted in several recommendations mainly for policymakers and assessment practitioners. The TranSTEP approach – the integrated EST framework for assessment – was finalised at the end of the project. It fills the important need for a holistic combination of partial assessments. This should facilitate the multidimensional policy support necessary for responsible, transparent and publicly acceptable EST governance. The framework is currently being applied and further developed in several projects. See here for details. EST-FRAME's comprehensive assessment framework enables policymakers and assessment practitioners to combine tools and methods in a flexible way without sacrificing transparency and accountability when assessing technologies or technological applications. It will ultimately lead to EST development in line with societal objectives. 2003-2005 Ethical Bio-TA Tools, The National Committees for Research Ethics. Financed under FP5. Project assistant The objective of 'Ethical Bio-TA Tools' project is to develop and improve tools for the ethical assessment of new technologies in agriculture and food production in general and modern biotechnologies in particular. The first and primary result of the Ethical Bio-TA Tools project is that several ethical biotechnology assessment tools have been identified, described and evaluated. Building on this description and evaluation phase a number of the existing tools have been improved and new tools have also been introduced. A toolbox has thus been developed that is appropriate for use in the assessment of ethical issues raised by agri-food biotechnologies. In addition, these tools have a broader relevance for ethical deliberations in agriculture and food production. Reports Thorstensen, E. (2017). Literature review of responsible research and innovation on assisted living technologies for the Assisted Living Project. Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences. Dlabka, J., Danihelka, P., Novotný, P., Rožnovský, J., Hollan, J., Krist, J., Thorstensen, E., … Suchánková, J. (2016). Od zranitelnosti k resilienci. Adaptace venkovských oblastí na klimatickou změnu (No. 978-80-87308-32–5). ZO ČSOP Veronica. Brattbakk, I., Landsverk Hagen, A., Rosten, M. G., Sæter, O., Osuldsen, J., Andersen, B., Thorstensen, E., Bratseth, K. (2015). Hva nå, Tøyen? Sosiokulturell stedsanalyse av Tøyen i Bydel Gamle Oslo (AFI-rapport No. 8–2015) (p. 170). Arbeidsforskningsinstituttet. Forsberg, E.-M., Beekman, V., De Bakker, E., Heyen, N., Klüver, L., Millar, K., Thorstensen, E.,… van Doren, D. (2014). TranSTEP – Get an integrated perspective on complex technology issues by teaming up across assessment communities. Forsberg, E.-M., Thorstensen, E., de Bakker, E., Bryndum, N., Cuhls, K., van Doren, D., … Wydra, S. (2013). EST-Frame deliverable 1.1 Frameworks for assessing societal impacts of emerging science and technologies. Thorstensen, E., Boucher, P., Forsberg, E.-M., de Bakker, E., Boegaardt, M.-J., Bryndum, N., … Nielsen, R. Ø. (2013). EST-Frame deliverable 1.2: The current and future context for EST analysis. Beekman, V., de Bakker, E., Baranzke, H., Baune, O., Deblonde, M., Forsberg, E.-M., Kaiser, M., Millar, K., Thorstensen, E., … Sandø, P. (2006). Ethical bio-technology assessment tools for agriculture and food production: final report ethical bio-TA tools (QLG6-CT-2002-02594). Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI). Conferences and Miscellaneous Thorstensen, E. (2018). Hvordan teknologiske løsninger gir økt livskvalitet på brukerens premisser. Om The Assisted Living project. For Stortingets Utdannings- og forskningskomité, 12.04.2018. Thorstensen, E. (2017). Do seniors dream of smart homes? Considerations for a product assessment approach in responsible research and innovation. Presented at the Fifth Annual Conference on Governance of Emerging Technologies: Law, Policy and Ethics, Arizona State University. Forsberg, E.-M., & Thorstensen, E. (2017). A report from the field: Doing RRI from scratch in an assisted living technology research and development project. Presented at the RRI – SiS conference. Zouganeli, E., Casagrande, F. D., Holthe, T., Lund, A., Halvorsrud, L., Karterud, D., … Thorstensen, E., Forsberg, E.-M. (2017). Responsible Development of Self-learning Assisted Living Technology for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia. In C. Röcker, J. O’Donoghue, M. Ziefle, L. Maciaszek, & W. Molloy (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health (Vol. 1). Oporto, Portugal. https://doi.org/10.5220/0006367702040209 Thorstensen, E. (2015). Public Engagement for Bioenergy with BECCS – What Can Be Learned from the Clean Development Mechanism? Presented at the 2nd European TA Conference: The Next Horizon of Technology Assessment, Berlin. Thorstensen, E., Hagen, A. L., & Brattbakk, I. (2015). Religion, values and community in Norwegian urban renewal. Presented at the Contending Religions, Identities and Space Living together in contemporary Africa and Europe, The University of Macerata. Thorstensen, E. (2014). Conflicts of interest in IPCC reports. Presented at the The S.NETconference 2014, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Thorstensen, E. (2014). Public Participation and Stakeholder Inclusion for Geoengineering: What Do We Know from CDM A/R? Presented at the Climate Engineering Conference 2014 Critical Global Discussions, Berlin. Thorstensen, E., Gundersen, H., & Hodne, R. (2014). Robert Musil og den første verdenskrig. Vinduet, 68(4), 156–163. Thorstensen, E. (2013). A Very Small Disaster: Cultural Studies of Nanotechnologies. Presented at the Cultures of Disasters An international conference on humanistic disaster studies, University of Oslo. Thorstensen, E., & Forsberg, E.-M. (2013). Responsibility for social sustainability. Presented at the S.Net 5th Annual meeting: Innovation, Responsibility, and Sustainable Development, Boston, MA. Thorstensen, E. (2010). Om kompetansemålet ”… reflektere over det pluralistiske samfunnet som en etisk og filosofisk utfordring”. Religion og Livssyn, (2), 13–18.