This thesis examines information visualization, infographics, as a method of advertising. To answer the initial research question of what makes infographics an appropriate method for print advertising, a practical infographic-based advertising campaign has been designed. This, together with three other campaigns, has been the basis for an analysis focused on function, appeal and persuasion. The result tells us that there are benefits to using infographics for an advertising purpose, because the method can act both attention-grabbing and convincing, depending on how it is used and designed.

This is a study about how embodied cognitive processes relates to slow drawing processes such as stippling, but also other slow mediums such as graphite pencil. With an auto-ethnographical research method the production of a stippled drawing is examined in relation to contemporary cognitional science, as well as a cognitive experiment that examines how important time and technique is to mental processes surrounding the drawing. The study is then examined in relation to other realistically stippled drawings to establish data outside the personal narrative. The main results were that the amount of time you spend drawing the studied object increasingly enhances the cognitive process of gathering of information. Furthermore the usage of hands during this slow process is established as an effective way to feel and remember the essence of an object for a longer period of time. Also, the parallell pause that occurs whilst drawing slowly and methodical enables reflection that stimulate the embodied cognitional processes linked to learning and understanding about objects outside ourselves.

This thesis studies the use of infographics in Swedish web versionsof newspapers. The selected cases consist of two examplesfrom Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter aswell as a case from British newspaper The Guardian. The thesis’main purpose is to examine if the selected cases are making fulluse of the interaction possibilities websites provide as a mediumin order to achieve the aim of making information as easy tolearn as possible. This aim is to be seen as the main purpose ofinfographics in general according to theories in the areas of infographicsand cognitive multimedia learning.The three cases are then analyzed on the basis of criteriaconstructed from prior studies in infographics and cognitivetheory of multimedia learning using the method of reflectiveequilibrium.

Problemet för patienter med vulvodyni är att de idag enbart får muntlig information av fysioterapeuten på den undersökta vårdmottagningen. Detta gör att de inte minns all den information som ges under det första vårdbesöket. Regionen saknar kunskap i hur de ska designa patientinformation. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att bidra med kunskap om hur patientinformation i text och bild kan designas för att öka chanserna att patienten kommer ihåg behandlingsinformationen som hen får under det första vårdbesöket.För att besvara arbetets forskningsfrågor har jag använt mig av metoderna textanalys, intervju och enkät. Som informationsdesigner behöver man tänka på att använda ett språk som så många som möjligt kan förstå. Resultaten från de empiriska undersökningarna visar att text och bild i samverkan ökar chanserna att patienten minns informationen. Det viktigaste för patienterna att minnas är övningarna och där kan bilder hjälpa till att skapa förståelse i hur övningen går till.Baserat på resultaten från de empiriska undersökningarna, tidigare forskning och teorierna; human centered design, text och bild i samverkan och kognition, har ett gestaltningsförslag utformats i text och bild för att öka chanserna att patienterna minns den information som de får av fysioterapeuten. / The problem for patients with vulvodynia is that today they only receive verbal information from the physiotherapist at the examined care clinic. This means that they do not remember all the information given during the first care visit. The region lacks knowledge in how to design patient information. The purpose of this degree project is to contribute with knowledge about how patient information in text and images can be designed to increase the chances that the patient will remember the treatment information they receive during the first care visit. To answer the work's research questions, I have used the methods text analysis, interview, and survey. As an information designer, you need to think about using a language that as many people as possible can understand. The results from the empirical investigations show that text and image in collaboration increase the chances that the patient will remember the information. The most important thing for patients to remember is the exercises, and that's where pictures can help create an understanding of how the exercise is done. Based on the results of the empirical investigations, previous research and the theories of human centered design, text and image in collaboration and cognition, a design proposal has been designed in text and image to increase the chances that the patients will remember the information they receive from the physiotherapist.

Undervisningen i skolan ska anpassas efter samtliga elevers individuella behov och de vars funktionsnedsättningar påverkar möjligheterna att nå målen har rätt att få kompenserande stöd som minskar konsekvenserna av nedsättningen. Elever med en utvecklingsrelaterad störning avleds och distraheras lättare av distraktioner irrelevanta för skolarbetet, vilket beror på exekutiva funktioner med ett otillräckligt arbetsminne och/eller brister i inhiberingsmekanismer samt nedsatt uthållighetsförmåga. Då alla sinnesintryck påverkar lärandet och tolkningen av intrycken är avgörande är detta viktiga aspekter att ta hänsyn till i skolan och utformning av undervisningen och dess rum. Som ett led att hålla oss ajour med aktuell forskning och med insikten att det finns en viss saknad av hjälpmedel valde vi att undersöka effekten av ett visuellt brusreducerande hjälpmedel, QuietFrames. Studien genomfördes som kombinerad metod med ett explorativt förhållningssätt. Det är en kvasiexperimentell design med pre-posttest, där interventionen bestod av införandet av hjälpmedlet QuietFrames. 12 elever, diagnosticerade med lindrig intellektuell funktionsnedsättning, inskrivna i den anpassade grundskolan och gymnasieskolan genomförde kognitiva tester från Mindmore. Resultaten genomgick en statistisk analys av inompersonsdesign med hjälp av det statistiska verktyget Jamovi där analysen nåddes genom beroende t-test där signifikansvärdet studerades. Detta kompletterades med strukturerade intervjuer med 3 pedagoger. Intervjuerna bestod av standardiserade frågor som analyserades tematiskt för att ge en uppfattning om pedagogernas upplevelse av QuietFrames effekt. Resultaten av studien visar att visuellt brusreducerande glasögon inte kan betraktas som ett effektivt hjälpmedel för den undersökta gruppen elever. Inte heller visar den statistiska analysen att användningen av dessa gav ett förbättrat resultat avseende elevernas prestationer gällande uppmärksamhet, fokus och arbetsminne. Detta motsades dock av den upplevelse som pedagogerna redogjorde för i intervjuerna. Studien kan med fördel genomföras på nytt med ett större antal deltagare och fler mätpunkter då urvalsgruppen i denna studie kan anses vara för litet.

Adipositas ist ein bedeutendes Gesundheitsrisiko und deren Prävalenz steigt stetig seit Dekaden. Die zugrundeliegenden Mechanismen der Entstehung der Adipositas sind daher zwingend notwendig um neue Methodiken der Präventation und Behandlung zu finden. Viele Faktoren tragen zur Entstehung der Adipositas bei - in den letzten Jahren sind die Bedeutung und der Einfluss des Gehirns und unseres Verhaltens auf die Entstehung von Adipositas tiefgreifender erforscht worden. So ist Adipositas mit Veränderungen in der Struktur und Funktionalität des Gehirns und damit einhergehend kognitiven Prozessen assoziiert. Studien an Tiermodellen haben gezeigt, dass ähnliche Veränderungen bereits nach einer erhöhten Zunahme von Fett und Zucker, ohne einhergehende Adipositas, auftreten können. Da unsere moderne Essenslandschaft von Fett- und Zuckerreichen Lebensmitteln geprägt ist, ist es wichtig zu verstehen, diese Lebensmittel auch im Menschen zu Veränderungen im Gehirn und der Kognition führen und so die Entstehung von Adipositas vorantreiben. Ziel dieser Dissertation war es zum ersten Mal einen Zusammenhang zwischen Fett- und Zuckerreicher Ernährung und Veränderungen in Kognition und Entscheidungsfindung zu untersuchen. Da mit Adipositas assoziierte Veränderungen des Gehirns unter anderem im Dopaminsystem auftreten- verantwortlich für Prozesse von zielgerichtetem Verhalten, unter anderem dem Arbeitsgedächtnis - fokussiert sich diese Dissertation auf Dopaminabhängige kognitive Prozesse und Zusammenhänge. Hierfür wurden zwei experimentelle Verhaltensstudien mit jungen und gesunden Probandinnen durchgeführt. In der ersten Studie wurden Probandinnen anhand ihres Fett- und Zuckerkonsums in Gruppen mit niedrigem und hohem Konsum eingeteilt. Beide Gruppen unterzogen sich einer Ernährungsbedingten Dopamindepletion und absolvierten einen kognitiven Test zur Messung der Kapazität des Arbeitsgedächtnis. Unter Normalbedingung, sprich nicht-manipulierten Dopaminleveln, unterschied sich die Kapazität des Arbeitsgedächtnis nicht zwischen den beiden Gruppen. Im depletierten Zustand, sprich mit verringerten Dopaminleveln, blieb die Kapazität der Gruppe mit hohem Fett- und Zuckerkonsum unverändert, wohingegen sich die Kapazizät der Gruppe mit niedrigem Fett- und Zuckerkonsum verringerte. Daraus lässt sich schließen, dass erhöhter Fett und Zuckerkonsum mit erhöhten Dopaminleveln assozziert sind. In der zweiten Studie wurden erneut Probanden anhand ihres Fett- und Zuckerkonsums in Gruppen mit niedrigem und hohem Konsum eingeteilt. Beide Gruppen absolvierten einen Test zur Messung der Stabilität und Flexibilität des Arbeitsgedächtnis im Magnetresonanztomographen. Der Konsum von Fett und Zucker war weder mit Veränderungen in der Flexibilität und Stabilität des Arbeitsgedächtnis, noch mit veränderter neuronaler Aktivität während des Tests assoziiert. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Dissertation geben keinen Eindeutigen Hinweis darauf, dass erhöhter Fett- und Zuckerkonsum mit Veränderungen im Dopaminsystem und Dopaminabhängiger Kognition assozziert sind. Weitere Studien sind daher nötig um tiefergehende Erkenntnisse zu erlangen.:List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................... 3 I. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4 1. The current obesity pandemic and treatment options ............................................ 4 2. The Neurocognitive profile of obesity ..................................................................... 6 2. 1 Attentional bias to food ........................................................................................ 6 2. 2 Food reward sensitivity ....................................................................................... 7 2. 3 Self-control and executive function...................................................................... 8 2.4 Working memory .................................................................................................. 8 3. Dopamine and cognition....................................................................................... 10 3. 1 Dopamine pathways for action selection............................................................ 10 3. 2 Prefrontal and striatal dopamine modulate working memory stability and flexibility .................................................................................................................... 12 4. The interplay between obesity and dopamine ...................................................... 13 4.1 How is the dopamine system altered in obesity? ............................................... 13 4.2 Western diet and alterations of the dopamine system ....................................... 14 5. Genetic susceptibility to obesity ........................................................................... 15 5.1 Dopaminergic single nucleotide polymorphisms ................................................ 15 II. Rationale of the experimental work ...................................................................... 18 Study 1 ..................................................................................................................... 18 Study 2 ..................................................................................................................... 19 III. Published Articles ................................................................................................ 20 Publication 1 ............................................................................................................. 20 Publication 2 ............................................................................................................. 39 IV. Summary ............................................................................................................. 57 V References ........................................................................................................... 62 VI Appendix .............................................................................................................. 84 Darstellung des eigenen wissenschaftlichen Beitrags ............................................. 84 Erklärung über die eigenständige Abfassung der Arbeit .......................................... 87 Curriculum Vitae ....................................................................................................... 88 Publications .............................................................................................................. 91 Conference contributions ......................................................................................... 91 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 93

Tidigare forskning har kopplat låga och höga nivåer av mentalisering till diverse psykiatriska diagnoser. Dock har det inte studerats i lika stor grad om höga nivåer av mentalisering kan bero på faktorer som inte är patologiska, som personlighetsdraget neuroticism. Att undersöka om det finns icke-patologiska förklaringar till högre nivåer av mentalisering kan vara viktig kunskap som kan användas vid utformandet av effektiv behandling för människor med diagnoser där höga nivåer av förmågan förekommer. Denna studie undersökte om högre nivåer av neuroticism bidrar till högre nivåer av mentalisering hos vuxna. Forskningsfrågan var: Finns det ett samband mellan högre nivåer av neuroticism och högre nivåer av mentalisering? Urvalet bestod av 66 deltagare över 18 år. Jag samlade in data genom en webbenkät som bestod av skalorna EPQ-R och MentS som mätte neuroticism respektive mentalisering. Jag analyserade datan via en hierarkisk regressionsanalys, en korrelationsanalys och ett oberoende t-test. Resultatet visade att neuroticism inte hade ett samband med mentalisering. Sambandet förändrades heller inte när jag kontrollerade för kön och ålder. Att höga nivåer av neuroticism inte bidrog till att man mentaliserade mer kan eventuellt förklaras av att nivåerna av neuroticism inte var särskilt höga i urvalet samt storleken på urvalet. Mer forskning behövs via ett större urval med högre nivåer av neuroticism. / Previous studies have connected low and high levels of mentalization to various psychiatric diagnoses. However, there have been fewer studies examining whether high levels of mentalization are related to factors that are not pathological, such as the personality trait neuroticism. Examining whether there are non-pathological explanations to high levels of mentalization can be important knowledge that is useful when designing effective treatment aimed for people with diagnoses where high levels of the ability occur. This study examined whether higher levels of neuroticism contribute to higher levels of mentalization among adults. The research question was: Is there a relationship between higher levels of neuroticism and higher levels of mentalization? The sample consisted of 66 people aged 18 and above. I collected data through a web survey that consisted of the scales EPQ-R and MentS which measured neuroticism and mentalization respectively. I analyzed the data by using a hierarchical regression, a correlation analysis and an independent samples t test. The results showed that there was no relationship between neuroticism and mentalization. Neither did the relationship change when I controlled for gender and age. The fact that higher levels of neuroticism did not contribute to higher levels of mentalization could potentially be explained by the levels of neuroticism within the sample not being particularly high and the size of the sample. More studies are needed with a larger sample and where the levels of neuroticism are higher.

Physical activity, especially cardiovascular fitness training, has been shown to enhance cognitive performance and to counteract age-related cognitive decline1-5. Furthermore, regular physical activity has been demonstrated to diminish age-related volume-shrinkage in several brain regions particularly in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus6-10. In the same vein, physical activity and high levels of cardiovascular fitness seem to enhance neurocognition during childhood11-13. In this context, the basal ganglia and its components, the caudate nucleus, the putamen and the globus pallidus, are of special interest as animal research indicates that exercise also seems to influence the molecular architecture and the metabolic capacity of the basal ganglia14,15. Besides their fundamental role in motor execution16, the basal ganglia are also involved in many cognitive functions like mental flexibility17, task-switching ability18 and cognitive control19. Furthermore, age-related disorders like Parkinson’s disease are related to a decline in the dopamine circuits of the basal ganglia20,21. The striatum is the input nucleus of the basal ganglia and is composed of caudate nucleus and putamen. The pars interna of the globus pallidus is (together with the substantia nigra pars reticulata) the output region of the basal ganglia and conveys information from the striatum to the thalamus and back to the frontal areas22. The striatum, which is essential for cognitive flexibility and attentional control, shows an increase during childhood and adolescence23,24 and a particularly rapid and early age-related change9,25 in older adults. Furthermore, the described cognitive functions are essential for academic success of children and young adults. Thus, it is of particular interest to find appropriate interventions that could mitigate both the volume-shrinkage and the (presumably) related cognitive decline in older adults and/or that could support academic success in children. In this review, we will summarize research that investigated whether physical activity has the potential to be such an intervention. First, we will show that neuroplasticity in the basal ganglia is possible in principle. Second, we will report studies where the relationship between physical fitness level and volume of the basal ganglia and its relation to cognitive performance were investigated. Besides cross-sectional studies, we will report studies that investigated exercise-induced changes in the volume of the basal ganglia and related changes in cognitive performance after long-term fitness interventions.

In recent years, research on embodied cognition has inspired a number of studies on multimedia learning and instructional psychology. However, in contrast to traditional research on education and multimedia learning, studies on embodied learning (i.e., focusing on bodily action and perception in the context of education) in some cases pose new problems for the measurement of cognitive load. This review provides an overview over recent studies on embodied learning in which cognitive load was measured using surveys, behavioral data, or physiological measures. The different methods are assessed in terms of their success in finding differences of cognitive load in embodied learning scenarios. At the same time, we highlight the most important challenges for researchers aiming to include these measures into their study designs. The main issues we identified are: (1) Subjective measures must be appropriately phrased to be useful for embodied learning; (2) recent findings indicate potentials as well as problematic aspects of dual-task measures; (3) the use of physiological measures offers great potential, but may require mobile equipment in the context of embodied scenarios; (4) meta-cognitive measures can be useful extensions of cognitive load measurement for embodied learning.

This publication-based dissertation examines the phenomenon of incumbent adaptation to changing environments with a dynamic capabilities perspective. Its core consists of four research papers that are self-contained and have been developed to be published in double-blind peer-reviewed academic journals. This intellectual body is framed with an introduction (Section 1) that introduces the current state of research on dynamic capabilities, summarizes the four research papers, and presents the current publication status of the work; the concluding Section 6 presents the overall contributions, limitations, and avenues for future research. The first research paper (Section 2) is a systematic literature review of empirical studies that identify idiosyncratic dynamic capabilities in practice. Its main finding is a taxonomy of dynamic capabilities that introduces 19 dynamic subcapabilities and connects them to existing conceptual literature. The second research paper (Section 3) is a longitudinal single case study of Axel Springer, a leading media corporation that has exercised dynamic capabilities to convert from a print publisher to an internet company. The study finds iterations, overlaps, and interconnections between sensing, seizing, and transforming. Based on the findings, a generalized conceptual model for dynamic capabilities in incumbent adaptation is constructed. For the third research paper (Section 4) an action research approach is applied to explore how managers’ mental models can engender erroneous resource cognition. The study discovers five cognitive biases that may distort resource cognition. The fourth research paper (Section 5) is a teaching case study building on the strategic challenge for Somedia, a Swiss media firm, to diversify from its declining legacy business by leveraging its resources and capabilities. This publication-based dissertation enhances the understanding of incumbent adaptation and presents applicable implications and recommendations for practitioners.