Is it unavoidable fact that the interface of a program will change when the program is updated. It is a well-known problem that such changes lead to usability issues, even if the new interface in itself is usable. In increasingly digitalized society where using computers and the Internet is no longer a matter of interest, but a necessity to manage everyday life, it is important that older generation is included in the rapid development. Older adults generally suffer from physical, motor and cognitive decline that can create barrier to using computers. Changing interface can be particularly problematic for this age group, and a smooth transition from the old interface to the new one is needed. Fifteen older and five younger computer users were recruited, to study how a drastically modified computer interface influences older adults as computer users. Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 was used as testing software for the case study where the participants were asked to conduct a series of tasks to observe the effects of first time experience with the new interface. The attitudes and the emotions towards the new interface, as well as the difficulties encountered during the first time use were studied in the thesis. The result showed the clear difference between the younger and older participants. Older participants generally had a more positive attitude towards the new browser, even though they encountered more difficulties during the test. The younger participants managed to complete the tasks with less assistance, but were skeptical towards the new interface. Despite the differences in the emotional reactions, both groups were reluctant to update to the new interface, which was shown to be particularly problematic for older participants. The result of the study indicates that an interface that undergoes major restructuring is most likely to be problematic for senior computer users. Thus, there is a need for a bridging strategy between the old and the new interface.

Abortable mutual exclusion is a variant of mutual exclusion, in which processes are allowed to abort in the trying protocol. Scott presented the first local-spin abortable mutual exclusion algorithms. They are based on a queue and perform O(1) remote memory accesses (RMAs) when no processes abort. However, they use unbounded space and a process can perform an unbounded number of RMAs, in the worst case, to enter the critical section. The only other local-spin abortable mutual exclusion algorithm is by Jayanti. It has bounded space and RMA complexity, but a process always performs \Theta(log N) RMAs to enter the critical section, where N is the number of processes. In this thesis, three new, bounded space, abortable mutual exclusion algorithms are presented. We give the first local-spin abortable mutual exclusion algorithm that uses only registers. It has \Theta(log N) RMA complexity, even if no processes abort. We also present the first local-spin abortable mutual exclusion algorithm using more general primitives which has bounded space and in which each process performs O(1) RMAs to enter the critical section when no processes abort. However, this algorithm is local-spin only for a certain type of cache-coherent model. Finally, we present an abortable mutual exclusion algorithm which is local-spin in any cache-coherent model and in which each process performs O(1) RMAs to enter the critical section when no processes abort. We develop a new reference counting method to bound the space used in this algorithm.

Soil salinity affects over 20% of the worlds irrigated land. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), the most important vegetable crop worldwide, is relatively salt sensitive. However, relatively little work has been done on salt tolerance of the potato plant. This thesis investigated the methodology of treatment application and scion/rootstock effects on subsequent salt stress responses of four contrasting potato genotypes: Norland, 9506, 9120-05 [ABA-deficient mutant], and 9120-18 [ABA-normal sibling] grown hydroponically in sand. The effect of incremental salt stress were studied, using NaCl, CaCl2 and combined NaCl + CaCl2 pre- treatments as well as varying methods of ABA application with a specific focus on the role of rootstock and scion. Physiological responses of various potato genotypes to salt stress differed depending on how the salt stress was applied. An incremental salt stress regime was able to more effectively differentiate genotypes based on salt stress resistance and greater salt tolerance compared to a sudden salt shock. Generally, the ability to produce ABA was positively related to the degree of salt stress resistance, with higher ABA levels induced under incremental salt stress treatments compared to salt shock. The method of ABA application also had a marked effect on potato responses to salt stress. Slowly increasing concentrations of exogenous ABA maintained growth rates, enhanced root water content and induced more lateral shoot growth compared to a single ABA dose. The degree of salt tolerance induced by the grafted rootstock was primarily modulated by salt acclimation and was manifested in the scion as increased water content, stem diameter, dry matter accumulation, stomatal conductivity, and osmotic potential and was associated with reduced leaf necrosis. Using the salt-resistant 9506 line as a scion also significantly increased root fresh and dry weight and stem diameter as well as root water content of salt-sensitive ABA-deficient mutant rootstocks. Exogenous ABA appeared to enhance plant water status via the roots under salt stress beyond that of grafting alone. This was verified by more positive stomatal conductivity and greater upward water flow in ABA treated grafted and non-grafted plants as compared to the absence of upward water flow in non-treated grafted plants as measured via micro NMR imaging. NaCl pre-treatment produced greater salt stress resistance compared to pre-treatment with CaCl2 and was associated with a specific Na+ ion effect rather than a non-specific EC-dependent response. However, the presence of both ABA and CaCl2 appears to be necessary in order to enhance Na+ exclusion from the shoot and increases the K+/Na+ ratio.

Studiens syfte var att ta reda på socialsekreterares uppfattning om barnfattigdom och hur den påverkar barn samt det förebyggande arbetet. För detta användes en kvalitativ metod som genomfördes med intervjuer med sex socialsekreterare och tolkades med hjälp av hermeneutisk metod. Resultatet visade att socialsekreterarnas definition av barnfattigdom stämmer överens med Rädda Barnens och att barn som lever med föräldrar med försörjningsstöd eller har låg inkomststandard lever i barnfattigdom. Påverkan för barnen är utanförskap på grund av att de inte har möjligheter att få moderiktiga materiella ting enligt informanterna. De menar också att fritidsaktiviteter är viktiga för att inte hamna utanför den sociala arenan. Det förebyggande arbetet är mer riktat mot föräldrarna än barnen och därigenom arbetar de indirekt med barnen. Informanterna anser också att det är viktigt att föräldrarna börjar med någon sysselsättning för att stärka sig själva och därmed stärks också barnens självkänsla. En stressig arbetsmiljö visar sig och detta kan leda till att barnperspektivet lätt faller i skymundan vid handläggning av ekonomiskt bistånd. / The study´s purpose was to find out Social workers view on child poverty and how it affects children and prevention. For this, a qualitative methodology was used and six social workers were interviewed and a hermeneutic methodology was used in the interpretation. The results showed that social workers definition of child poverty was in line with Save the children and that children living with parents receiving income support or low income living in child poverty. According to the informants children ends up in exclusion because they do not have opportunities to get fashionable material things. They also mean that leisure activities are important not to fall outside the social arena. Prevention is more directed at the parents than the children and thereby they work indirectly with the children. The informants also believe that it is important that parents begin any employment to strength themselves, reinforcing the children´s self-esteem. A stressful work environment turns out and this can lead to that the child´s perspective easily falls in to the background when management of financial assistance.

Abortable mutual exclusion is a variant of mutual exclusion, in which processes are allowed to abort in the trying protocol. Scott presented the first local-spin abortable mutual exclusion algorithms. They are based on a queue and perform O(1) remote memory accesses (RMAs) when no processes abort. However, they use unbounded space and a process can perform an unbounded number of RMAs, in the worst case, to enter the critical section. The only other local-spin abortable mutual exclusion algorithm is by Jayanti. It has bounded space and RMA complexity, but a process always performs \Theta(log N) RMAs to enter the critical section, where N is the number of processes. In this thesis, three new, bounded space, abortable mutual exclusion algorithms are presented. We give the first local-spin abortable mutual exclusion algorithm that uses only registers. It has \Theta(log N) RMA complexity, even if no processes abort. We also present the first local-spin abortable mutual exclusion algorithm using more general primitives which has bounded space and in which each process performs O(1) RMAs to enter the critical section when no processes abort. However, this algorithm is local-spin only for a certain type of cache-coherent model. Finally, we present an abortable mutual exclusion algorithm which is local-spin in any cache-coherent model and in which each process performs O(1) RMAs to enter the critical section when no processes abort. We develop a new reference counting method to bound the space used in this algorithm.

After decades of cuts to federal funding, cities were left with few resources for public services, particularly parks and open spaces. Current trends of massive gentrification in New York City are changing the housing market and other components of the private sector. In addition to altering socio-spatial dynamics in the housing and consumer markets, gentrification can alter public spaces as well. By comparing three New York City neighborhoods at different stages of gentrification, I analyzed socio-spatial dynamics, public and private funding, event programming, and ethnographically observed changes in the physical and social landscape of the park, and neighborhood, over time.

7 % of children in preschool have some sort of language disorder. How should preschool teachers best help these children? In a small special group where they can focus on the child´s individual linguistic development or in an ordinary group were the other children can be linguistic models for the child and help his or hers development? The purpose of this paper is to see what preschool teachers, who work with children who has language impairment, says about working with these children in a special group as compared with working with them in an ordinary group together with children without language impairment. What are the advantages and the disadvantages related to the different ways of working? Another focus point is how the children collaborate with each other. I have used theories about integration and peer collaboration to understand the results. I have conducted interviews with two preschool teachers with experience in both working with solely language impaired children in a small group as well of work in a mixed group of children with and without language impairment. Furthermore, I have also observed how the children collaborate with each other. The result of the interviews and observations show that there is not an easy way to answer the question about which way is better. One conclusion I can make is that it requires more work from the teachers working in a mixed group. They have to be aware of the variation in the children´s needs and they have to work active with the children´s collaboration in order to prevent that language impaired children are excluded in play.

Place is not a static backdrop for social relationships; rather, it is a dynamic product of the interactions among the people, practices, objects, and representations contained within it. Often, street-involved people who use drugs are excluded from interactions that would otherwise allow them to participate in community dynamics. In Vancouver, British Columbia, peer-based outreach groups redress these barriers by providing low-threshold positions to individuals living with active or past addiction. The overall question of this thesis is: what is the role of place in the health of an individual and of a community? Objectives include: (1) applying existing models of social exclusion to outline barriers preventing Peer Members from engaging in placemaking; (2) mapping the ideological positionality of the Peer Members and the rest of the community with regard to citizenship; and (3) exploring how Peer Members utilize their biosocial role as outreach workers to establish social capital and situate themselves as participants in a healthy community. By providing a platform where various social identities can interact with one another, ties of familiarity are established between these groups, thus enabling the transfer of resources, knowledge, and shared norms of respect. The first half of the discussion focuses on how social and geographic displacement legitimizes the process of social abandonment. Consequently, this relegated the Peer Members and their peers into the role of anti-citizen, rationalized their marginalization, and reinforced the wider community’s stigma toward people who use drugs. The latter half of the discussion illustrates how the Peer Members utilize their biosocial role of outreach and support workers to navigate boundaries and establish social connections to circulate knowledge and information within and among different social fields. This enabled the expression of mutual reciprocity, thereby negotiating the place of people who use drugs and harm reduction among the wider community. Place is therefore a concept that shapes, and is shaped by, the social networks that determine social legitimacy or illegitimacy. Although marginality and oppression cannot be transformed immediately, creating a social environment where Peer Members can be supported and support one another helps mitigate the marginalization that characterizes their lives.

The purpose of this study was to examine what previous research says about children’s experiences living in a low-income family. Its aim was to found out what children themselves say about their life living in a low-income family and what consequences, practical and emotional, low-income environment has on children. More specifically our aim was to find out how children themselves experienced their situation compared with their peer’s economical situation. We also wanted to see if there were any differences between what younger and older children say about their situation. Furthermore, we wanted to find out what meaning they added to “normality” and how they related to that phenomenon. The study was based on reviews of nine qualitative studies from Sweden, England, North Ireland and USA – all published between 1998 and 2011, focusing on children and their experiences of poverty. Five themes were identified that seemed to be important for children’s experiences: life circumstances, relationships, children as actors, school and future. The analysis was based on perspective of normality, focusing how impoverished life circumstances put children in a category which deviates from majority of society. Main results demonstrate that there are big differences in how younger and older children experience their situation where older children showed more discontent and the younger children seemed more satisfied about their situation. Overall the children appear as actors which have not given up hope to change and impact their situation – there was a major will to fit in and be like other peers. As a positive aspect the study shows that relationships seemed very important for these children where friends seemed to be a good support and the family ties were strong.

Women who have been incarcerated are disadvantaged in many respects as they enter community (Pedlar, Arai, Yuen, & Fortune, 2008). When putting their lives back together upon release they typically face tremendous hardships which are often intensified by the absence of healthy and supportive relationships (Richie, 2001). Hannah-Moffatt (2000) identified several gender-specific barriers facing women in prison that impede their chances for inclusion once they enter community. Women in prison, she explained, are often poorly educated, unemployed, and many have survived some form of physical or sexual abuse. Furthermore, feelings of guilt, fear, anxiety, and alienation are often compounded when women are apprehended and sentenced. This combination of challenges tends to produce a group of women with low self-esteem who will have difficulty readjusting in the community and are at risk of being socially isolated and excluded (Hannah-Moffatt, 2000; Maidment, 2006; Pollack, 2008). Structural determinants and individual agency both lie at the heart of social inclusion (Dominelli, 2005; Lister, 2000). Often overlooked in the literature is the fact that women who have been incarcerated have agency and possess a capacity to resist, overcome oppression, and counteract exclusion. As I embarked on this research project, an emphasis on women’s capacity was both a starting point and rationale for adopting a participatory approach. Very little is known about how women’s experiences with inclusion or exclusion shape their entry process. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine inclusion from the perspective of women entering community after release from a federal prison. Using a feminist participatory action research (FPAR) approach guided by anti-oppressive research (AOR) as my theoretical framework, I asked women living in community in a region of southern Ontario and who had been incarcerated to come together to discuss ideas around inclusion and explore ways to foster a more inclusive environment. This research project was rooted in a concern for social justice. Hall (2005) argues that negotiating the discourse of inclusion and exclusion requires a critical re-imagining of inclusion as social justice. Consequently, this study was designed to encourage dialogue and a critical re-imagining of what inclusion means among women entering community after incarceration, with an emphasis on collaborative learning. Plans and strategies were shaped and altered based on decisions of the research team and resulted in the development of three distinct phases of research involving team meetings, individual conversations, and engagement in photovoice. Data explored in each phase of the project, as well as my own reflexive knowledge acquired through ongoing critical self-reflection, provided insight into the complexities of difference, power, and identity. These findings are presented in four chapters beginning with a description of how the FPAR process based on principles of inclusion, participation, action, and social change unfolded. Then, themes were identified which revealed the swings of a FPAR process including: assumptions of collective identity and difference impede inclusion and participation, grappling with tensions around partnerships and power, and negotiating identity and resisting stigma. Findings also explored the contested nature of community and its role in inclusion. This chapter describes the kind of community women experienced before and after incarceration. Themes of feeling pushed out of community, being pulled into community, and negotiating issues of responsibility upon community entry highlight the ambiguous nature of community and social inclusion for women who have broken the law. Deep exclusion experienced by women who have been placed outside of community and sent to prison is arguably unparalleled, and this study was ultimately concerned with society’s tendency to exclude people based on difference. Experiences of inclusion/exclusion are often a result of normative social beliefs that construct difference as “less than” (Moosa-Mitha, 2005). Indeed when difference is viewed negatively, it often results in the exclusion and marginalization of those who are defined as the other (Woodward, 1997). Alternatively, social inclusion involves respect for differences and the removal of barriers to participate in public life (Salojee, 2005). When women in this study felt free to participate in the life of their community in ways that did not undermine their sense of self and their differences they were in the process of being included. Supportive relationships and judgment free spaces seemed to remove pressures for women to conform to dominant expectations of behaviour to gain acceptance. Findings from this study suggest we need to create space for difference and social inclusion to co-exist in community. This space would be one that centres difference, promotes social justice, values different forms and levels of participation, acknowledges that relationships grow and change over time, interrogates taken for granted assumptions of power and privilege, and emphasizes dialoguing through difference.