FN:s medlemsländer har enats om 17 Globala mål för Hållbar Utveckling tillsammans med delmål som skall uppnås före år 2030. Mål nummer 13 är att bekämpa klimatförändringen och dess effekter med delmålet att hålla den globala temperaturhöjningen under 2 grader Celsius. En nödvändig åtgärd för att uppnå målet är att medlemsländerna måste minska sina utsläpp av växthusgaser i atmosfären. Matkonsumtion utgör en dryg fjärdedel av Sveriges totala utsläpp och för att delmålet skall uppnås år 2030 måste strategier för att minska utsläppen införas. Idag används strategier inom e-handel för att få besökare att handla mer, men framför allt för att öka antalet genomförda köp. När en användare utför en handling eller fattar ett beslut som överensstämmer med e-handelsföretagets mål, till exempel när användaren genomför ett köp på e-handelsplatsen, kallas det för konvertering. Studien ämnar till att undersöka hur konverteringsstrategier kan tillämpas för att få konsumenter att ta hållbara beslut och bli medvetna om sitt individuella koldioxidavtryck. Den empiriska undersökningen bestod av en kvantitativ enkät och kvalitativa användartester. I enkäten fick de deltagande resonera och svara på frågor kring ett scenario där en konsument erbjuds att klimatkompensera för ett köp på en e-handelsplats för livsmedel. Enkätens resultat gav en bild av vilka faktorer som kan orsaka känslorna “Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt” - rädsla, osäkerhet och tveksamhet. I denna uppsats kallas dessa känslor FUD:ar. Syftet med enkäten var också att ge en överblick av attityd kring och kunskap om koldioxidavtryck och klimatkompensation i Sverige. Utifrån enkätsvaren utformades en testmiljö bestående av webbsidan Mathem.se, en svensk e-handelsplats för livsmedel, där en “div”, ett block på en webbsida, integrerades. Div:en innehöll ett tillval för klimatkompensation. Designen av div:en och testmiljön avsåg att bemöta FUD:arna. Testmiljön användes slutligen i de kvalitativa användartesterna där deltagarna interagerade med tillvalet i ett scenario där de skulle genomföra ett köp. Analys av resultatet visade att det var relevant för deltagarna i studien att minska sitt individuella koldioxidavtryck. Analysen visade även att metoden som användes för att uppnå ett minskat koldioxidavtryck, i detta fall genom klimatkompensation, var mindre viktigt. / The UN member countries have during 2015 agreed on 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development together with aims over a 15-year plan for all member countries. Goal number 13 is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts and by 2030 keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees centigrade. One necessary action to meet this goal is for the member countries to lower their greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Food consumption accounts for just over a quarter of Sweden's total emissions and for the aim to be met by 2030, actionable strategies must be implemented. Today, e-commerce strategies are used to make visitors trade more, but above all to increase the number of purchases made. When a user performs an act, or makes a decision that is in accordance with the e-commerce company's goal, such as conducting a purchase at the e-commerce site, a so-called conversion takes place. This study aims to investigate how conversion strategies can be applied to encourage consumers to make sustainable decisions and become aware of their individual carbon footprint. The empirical survey consisted of a quantitative survey and qualitative user tests. In the survey, participants responded to questions about a scenario where a consumer is offered to buy carbon offsets to compensate for a purchase at an e-commerce site for groceries. The results of the survey gave a picture of what factors that could cause the feelings Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. In this paper, the feelings are referred to as FUD’s. The purpose of the survey was also to provide an overview of people in Sweden's attitude towards and awareness of carbon footprint and carbon offsetting. Based on the survey results, a "div"- block-level portion of a web-site, was developed containing a carbon offsetting option for consumers. The div was integrated into a test environment consisting of the website Mathem.se, a Swedish e-commerce site for groceries. The design of the div and the test environment aimed to treat and respond the identified FUD’s. The test environment was later used in the qualitative user tests where the participants interacted with the carbon offsetting option. It was made in a scenario where the participant was making a purchase. Analysis of the results showed that it was relevant for the participants in the study to reduce their individual carbon footprint. The analysis also concluded that the method of doing it, in this case by purchase carbon offsets, was on the other hand less important.

Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a dynamic process by which a distinct change in the phenotype and function of epithelial cells render them as mesenchymal cells. Characteristics of mesenchymal cells include the ability to invade, increased migratory kinetics and heightened resistance to apoptosis. Therefore, there is a strong need to fully understand the mechanism for the induction of EMT in pathological conditions such as carcinoma progression. Recent advances highlight two pivotal contributors, soluble growth factor (gf) signals, and mechanical signals, in the process. However, to date, no clear mechanism exists linking the two in epithelial transdifferentiation. Transforming Growth Factor-β1 (TGF-β1), a gf known to induce EMT in breast cancer formation, induces EMT on rigid surfaces and apoptosis on compliant surfaces. It is our belief that a combination of mechanical signals, gf signals, and the type of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins assembled by cells together drive the process of EMT. Here we investigated the role of the ECM protein fibronectin (FN) in EMT. Upon assembly into elastic, insoluble fibrils through cell-generated forces which become larger on stiffer surfaces, FN is able to serve as a gf delivery system. We examined the following hypothesis: Increased tissue stiffness drives FN assembly, which exposes cryptic binding sites for various gfs, such as TGF-β1, and creates a high concentration of these gfs at the cell surface, which in turn drives EMT. In this project we investigated three aims: (1) evaluate the effect of inhibiting FN fibrillogenesis and gf localization on TGF-β1-induced EMT, (2) assess the effect of TGF-β1 concentration on spatial patterning of ECM dynamics, cell phenotype and adherens junctional force, and (3) probe the role of the FN matrix in TGF-β1-induced spatial patterning of EMT. Results showed that both inhibition of FN fibril assembly and blocking the gf binding site on fibrils significantly attenuated the downstream effects of EMT. In microcontact patterns of epithelial colonies, increasing gf concentration led to spatial patterning of FN fibrils, cell phenotype and cell-cell junctional force. Elimination of FN fibrils effectively attenuated TGF-β1-induced spatial patterning. The knowledge acquired through these studies serves as an addition to an increasingly important body of work aimed at elucidating how physical changes within the microenvironment regulate physiology and pathology. By establishing a novel mechanism by which gf signaling induces EMT through interaction with the extracellular matrix, this research serves to combat the development and initiation of pathological phenomena, such as metastasis.