Advertising in responsive websites is a quite new phenomenon and has therefore, previously not been a target for any mayor research. Todays society, where new technological innovations persistantly supersede others must be seen as a possible changer for how companies advertise to this society. This paper sheds light on many of the difficulties connected with advertising for responsive websites, but also possibilities and advices for the future. Through a litterature review and a focus group with respondents from a large communication agency in Umeå, insights, implications, solutions and thoughts both connected to specific websites but also around advertising for the future as a whole is presented. This paper can work as a subject of discussion, when designing responsive websites with advertising in mind or as a starter for future research.

In the recent years, development of various organic and inorganic nano-sized systems has gained great interests especially for cancer diagnosis and treatment and intense researches are carried out in this area. Regarding to the recent trends for drug delivery system design, the novel approaches for drug carriers are mainly based on development of smart and nano-size drug carriers which are targeted to cancer cells. Hence, for an effective tumor-targeted delivery device, besides its chemical structure further criteria such as detection of tumor site and sensitivity to the higher temperature and lower pH of the tumor compare to rest of the body gains importance. The aim of this study is to design and prepare polysebacic anhydride (PSA) based nanocapsules (NCs) loaded with Doxorubicin (DOX) which is an anti cancer drug. In order to obtain an intelligent delivery system, drug-loaded nanocapsules were coated with pH sensitive poly (L-histidine). PSA nano-carriers were firstly loaded with DOX and then in order to introduce pH sensitivity, they were coated with poly (L-histidine). PLH-coated NCs were modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to prevent their macrophage uptake. Drug release profile from this system was examined in two different buffer solutions prepared as acidic (pH 4) and physiological (pH 7.4) media. The physical and chemical properties of the nano particles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), ultraviolet and visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-VIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In vitro studies of the prepared nanocapsules were performed on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by using WST Kit 8 cell viability test. In order to obtained results, pH sensitive nanocapsules with size 230 nm exhibited cellular uptake and promising intracellular release of drug.

The discourse on education for Aboriginal people has long been limited to a curriculum of cultural assimilation often resulting in an erosion of self-esteem and disengagement. Consequently, this research puts forth narratives of how fiddle programs in northern Manitoba work as a culturally responsive curriculum that in turn address such curricular erosions. As a research methodology, Metissage afforded me pedagogical opportunities to weave the various perspectives of community members, parents, instructors, and former students into an intricate story that attempts to represent some of their social, cultural and historical experiences within the north. Braiding stories of the historical and present impacts of fiddle playing reveals the generative possibilities of school fiddle programs in Canadian Indigenous communities. In addition to building intergenerational bridges, the stories put forth in this thesis demonstrate how the fiddle has become a contemporary instrument of social change for many communities across northern Manitoba.

This master thesis aimed to create and characterize multilayer coatings upon mesoporous silica particles (MSP). The properties of the coating aimed for, was to have a triggerable controlled release, where a targeted enzyme within the intestine, alpha-amylase, is supposed to degrade the coating. The coating was created from a bilayer consisting of DOTAP and DOPC in a 1:3 molar ratio, which serves as a protective coating. The second layer interacting with the surroundings consisted of a starch component, amylopectin, which is degraded by alpha-amylase. The study of the coating was performed with ellipsometry, where the adsorption of the different layers of the coating on a planar silica surface and the enzyme-triggered degradation was recorded. The adsorbed amount of DOTAP/DOPC was 4,22 ± 0,11 mg/m2 and amylopectin 1,82 ± 0,94. The effects of different pH where performed, simulating the coated particle going through the gastro-intestinal system. Two enzymes alpha-amylase and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) where used for degradation of the coating. The knowledge from ellipsometry was applied to coating mesoporous silica particles and it was confirmed that the two layers had formed with zeta- potential measurement.

Deep Brain Simulation (DBS) has received attention in the scientific community for its potential to suppress epileptic seizures. To date, DBS has only achieved marginal positive results. We believe that a highly complex possibly chaotic (HPC) biologically inspired stimulation is superior to periodic stimulation. Using Radial Basis Functions (RBFs), we modeled interictal and postictal time series based on electroencephalograms (EEGs) of rat hippocampus slices while under low Mg2+. We then compared the RBF based interictal and postictal stimulations to the periodic stimulation using a Cognitive Rhythm Generator (CRG) model for spontaneous Seizure-Like Events (SLEs). What resulted was a significant improvement in seizure suppression with the HPC stimulators at lower gains as opposed to the periodic signal. This suggests that the use of biologically inspired HPC stimulators will achieve better results while confining the stimulation to a narrow region of the brain.

Deep Brain Simulation (DBS) has received attention in the scientific community for its potential to suppress epileptic seizures. To date, DBS has only achieved marginal positive results. We believe that a highly complex possibly chaotic (HPC) biologically inspired stimulation is superior to periodic stimulation. Using Radial Basis Functions (RBFs), we modeled interictal and postictal time series based on electroencephalograms (EEGs) of rat hippocampus slices while under low Mg2+. We then compared the RBF based interictal and postictal stimulations to the periodic stimulation using a Cognitive Rhythm Generator (CRG) model for spontaneous Seizure-Like Events (SLEs). What resulted was a significant improvement in seizure suppression with the HPC stimulators at lower gains as opposed to the periodic signal. This suggests that the use of biologically inspired HPC stimulators will achieve better results while confining the stimulation to a narrow region of the brain.

Closing the achievement gap between African American and White students continues to challenge educators in both urban and suburban contexts. Teachers and administrators in America are overwhelmingly White, and have limited training, if any, in understanding cultural differences or developing culturally responsive practices and policies. More importantly, racism and deficit thinking impose invisible barriers that inhibit the success of African American students. This Problem of Practice explored the existing achievement gap between African American and White students at Keller Middle School, a Title I campus in southeast Texas. Using a qualitative research methodology, campus data, policies, and practices were examined through the lens of societal racism, institutional racism, and deficit thinking. Three fundamental themes were revealed in this study: 1) White teachers and administrators believed that African American students were not successful in school because they (or their families) had internal defects that impeded learning; 2) African American parent and student participants had deficit beliefs about other African Americans and used defensive othering as a coping strategy; and 3) African American students and parents perceived themselves as successful and attributed that success to a high motivation to achieve. Recommendations are given to address the gap in achievement for African American learners in middle school.

The discourse on education for Aboriginal people has long been limited to a curriculum of cultural assimilation often resulting in an erosion of self-esteem and disengagement. Consequently, this research puts forth narratives of how fiddle programs in northern Manitoba work as a culturally responsive curriculum that in turn address such curricular erosions. As a research methodology, Metissage afforded me pedagogical opportunities to weave the various perspectives of community members, parents, instructors, and former students into an intricate story that attempts to represent some of their social, cultural and historical experiences within the north. Braiding stories of the historical and present impacts of fiddle playing reveals the generative possibilities of school fiddle programs in Canadian Indigenous communities. In addition to building intergenerational bridges, the stories put forth in this thesis demonstrate how the fiddle has become a contemporary instrument of social change for many communities across northern Manitoba.

Transitions is a three part series, examining themes which define our human condition. Utilizing traditional, digital, and interactive media, including sound, video, clay, paper, polyvoile material, and electronic devices, I create responsive installation environments that allow me to share my personal stories with those of the viewers. Collaboratively and co-creatively we examine issues of existence, self-awareness, and embodied spatiality within an arena that incorporates stories, memories and histories. As the viewer engages and participates in the work, they become the conduit between the brief moments of the present and the fragmented illusory images of the past.

This thesis proposes a way in which architecture and the built environment might work to integrate human consciousness and natural process. A theoretical design entitled Landscope is presented as a responsive, sustainable landscape that offers understanding of nature through active observation, interpretation and transformation of the environment. The design proposal is situated at the edge of Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada, adjacent to the existing facilities of the National Water Research Institute. Two extended studies accompany the design proposal. The first, Water, presents a poetic exploration of cosmic, responsive, and connective qualities of water relating to nature and technology. The second study, Connected Fields, focuses on the visionary American engineer Buckminster Fuller and his ‘Geoscope’ project, a geodesic dome designed to act as a monitoring and control centre for global material and resource flows. This section also includes a discussion of general conceptions of the world, focusing on key twentieth-century conceptions of the Biosphere, Gaia, and the Noösphere. Historical theories of environmental perception are discussed including Gestalt psychology and technical systems of observation. Drawing upon this cultural material, the thesis attempts to open boundaries that separate nature and technology, encouraging a complex, mutually dependent relationship between these traditionally separate realms. The general pursuit is a cybernetic and virtual model for environmental and ontological hybridity, involving an evolution of consciousness at both individual and global scales.