This dissertation explored the social cognitive abilities of the Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), a relatively non-social, food-caching corvid. Corvids are a family of large-brained birds, which are capable of remarkable cognitive feats (e.g., future planning, tool use). These cognitive abilities have been revealed predominantly by testing social species, supporting popular theories that living in social groups drove the evolution of complex cognition. However, few studies have investigated the social cognitive abilities of corvid species that do not live in large groups. Here, I developed novel procedures using the food-caching behaviour of Clark’s nutcrackers as a tool to explore two cognitive abilities predicted to be limited to social species: mirror self-recognition (Chapter 2) and cooperation (Chapter 4). In Chapter 2, birds cached food when alone, with a conspecific present, and with a regular or blurry mirror. The nutcrackers suppressed caching with a regular mirror (as done with a conspecific), but not with the blurry mirror. When integrated with the traditional ‘mark test’, the birds also showed evidence of self-recognition with the blurry mirror by attempting to remove a coloured mark placed on their body with the blurry mirror, but not with an opaque barrier. In Chapter 3, I discuss the importance of self-recognition as a precursor for complex and flexible social cognitive abilities such as cooperation. To investigate cooperation, in Chapter 4 the birds experienced having their caches exchanged with another bird over multiple trials. This procedure assessed whether the normal response of cache suppression with a conspecific could be over-ridden if the experimental contingencies made cache sharing beneficial. The nutcrackers continued to cache in this context, and male birds increased caching when cooperation from the conspecific was exaggerated artificially by the experimenter. Combined, the results indicate the non- social Clark’s nutcracker is capable of mirror self-recognition, and the ability to distinguish one’s ‘self’ from others may facilitate flexible caching decisions, contrary to the predictions of the social living hypotheses. The findings indicate social living alone does not strongly predict complex cognitive abilities and, instead, that multiple evolutionary paths exist for the development of complex cognition. / October 2016

I vacillate between all extremes, beauty vs. ugly, internal vs. external, micro vs. macro. It is these disparate notions that inspire what I make. We cannot ever see ourselves objectively, but does that mean we shouldn’t try? This thesis is my attempt to dissect what I created in my 2 years at Virginia Commonwealth University, my exploration of the illness within and the psychological nature of how we go about hiding our insecurities.

Migration is a current subject in today's society. Many people are forced to migrate to a new country, but many of them are moving for other reasons, for example to study, to work or start a family. The aim of this paper is to gain an increased understanding of Arabic speaking female immigrant’s experiences of the adaptation process and whether there is a change in gender identity. The selection consists of Arabic speaking women who have lived in Sweden for a maximum of five years. A qualitative approach has been used and data were collected through interviews and analyzed within the themes that were presented by the research. In analysis, four such themes were identified, such as identity, social relations, cultural differences and migration processes. The result of the study shows that the majority of the respondents perceive that they have been affected by migration, that they have experienced cultural differences in Sweden compared with their homelands and that they are influenced by their social relations. / Migration är ett aktuellt ämne i dagens samhälle. Många människor tvingas fly, men många flyttar även av andra skäl, för att exempelvis studera, arbeta eller bilda familj. Syftet med arbetet är att få en ökad förståelse kring arabisktalande kvinnliga immigranters upplevelser av anpassningsprocessen och huruvida det sker en förändring gällande deras könsidentitet. Urvalet består av arabisktalande kvinnor som flytt från sina hemländer och som har bott i Sverige i högst fem år. En kvalitativ ansats har använts och data samlades in genom intervjuer och analyserades med tematisk analys. Vid analys framkom fyra övergripande teman som var identitet, sociala relationer, kulturella skillnader och migrationsprocessen. Resultatet av undersökningen visar på att majoriteten av respondenterna upplever att de har påverkats av migrationen, att de har upplevt kulturella skillnader i Sverige jämfört med deras hemländer och att de har influerats av deras sociala relationer.