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Humans have difficulties grasping the notion of exponential growth and often underestimate the accumulated final value, a phenomenon called exponential growth bias (EGB). During the COVID-19 pandemic, this tendency led to the inaccurate judgment of the virus spread, ultimately making safety measures seem less important. In prospect theory, loss aversion refers to the tendency of perceiving loss as more severe than a gain of the same magnitude is perceived as good. The question addressed was whether loss aversion through the valence of framing influences the judgments of exponential changes within the context of COVID-19. Furthermore, the association between EGB and the individual characteristic Need for Cognition (NFC) was investigated. Participants (n=129) were randomized into one of the two framing conditions (Recovery or Infection) and were presented with six EGB problems with different change rates and the six-item version of the Need for Cognition Scale. The results confirmed the existence of EGB at all growth rates (+5%, +15%, +25%), while the effect of EGB was mixed for exponential decline. The framing did not show a considerable effect on the accuracy of judgments. Simple linear regression analyses indicated that NFC moderates the effect of EGB at higher growth rates (i.e., at +15% and +25%). Overall, the results were more consistent and clearer for exponential growth than for exponential decline. The underestimation of exponential growth in the context of COVID-19 is quite alarming as it entails the risk of insufficient behavioral changes, which can lead to serious consequences for both the individual and society.

Stockholms bostadsmarknad har alltid varit pressad och bostadsbristen har länge varit ett faktum. 2021 rapporterade Länsstyrelsen att det demografiska bostadsbehovet i Stockholms län inte uppfylls. De facto är att det inte längre är en fråga om bostadsbrist, det är en fråga om bristande bostadsförsörjning! Fler bostäder behövs som skall kunna tillgodose medel- och framförallt låginkomsttagares bostadsbehov. Samtidigt härjade COVID-19 pandemin omkring och ledde till distansarbete som även 2022, “post pandemi”, fortsatt används i hög grad. Hur kontoren utnyttjas och vad för lokaler som efterfrågas på kontorsmarknaden har ställts på sin spets, och vakansgraden i somliga lägen och för vissa typer av kontorsbyggnader har stigit alltmer. Där kan ett behov av att utveckla dessa byggnader från fastighetsägarens sida uppstå för att förbättra driftnettot, då behovet redan är tydligt från samhället sida, fler bostäder till överkomligt pris! I och med detta gav regeringen Boverket i uppdrag att skriva en rapport kring förutsättningarna för att omvandla lokaler till bostäder. Därför blev detta kandidatarbetes syfte tydligt, att undersöka behovet av, och förutsättningarna för att omvandla vakanta kontorsbyggnader till bostäder “efter” pandemin. Detta, då ett ökat intresse från fastighetsägarnas sida uppenbarligen behöver väckas, allra mest ur ett hållbarhets- och bostadsförsörjningsperspektiv, och det vidare behöver redogöras för en konverterings förutsättningar, utom Boverkets egna rapport. Genom att tillämpa en semistrukturerad kvalitativ intervjustudie som knyter an till en litteraturöversikt uppfylls examensarbetets syfte och dess frågeställning besvaras.  Vad gäller behovet av konvertering på fastighetsägarnas sida, är detta begränsat. Mycket av detta har att göra med att intresset och incitamenten inte är så stora, men främst torde det ha att göra med att de flesta fastighetsägare ännu inte sett så stor skillnad på kontorsmarknaden. Dessutom adderat till detta är att inställningen till konvertering ofta är att det är för svårt på grund av diverse lagar, regler och krav. Vad gäller förutsättningarna för att konvertering ska kunna ske, är dessa många och djupgående. Tillräckligt hög vakans, lågt ingångsvärde, såväl som rätt förutsättningar plantekniskt, byggtekniskt, juridiskt, ekonomiskt, statligt, kommunalt och samhälleligt måste uppfyllas. Det viktigaste är dock den ekonomiska genomförbarheten, dör denna, gör också projektet det. Detta är varför det kan vara krångligt med konvertering, då det verkligen gäller att hitta rätt fastighet och byggnad med rätt förutsättningar och möjligheter! / The housing market in Stockholms has always been under pressure and the housing shortage has for a long time been a fact. In 2021 Länsstyrelsen reported that the demographic need of housing in Stockholm has not been fulfilled. In fact, it is not a question about a housing shortage anymore, it is a question about an insufficient housing supply! There is a need for more affordable housing for those with middle, and especially low income. Alongside all of that, COVID-19 has changed the working community even "post" pandemic, working from home and having digital meetings is now a part of the normal working week. This has led to a change in what is demanded of working spaces, which has resulted in higher vacancy rates in especially some types of areas with a particular standard. A need for property development can therefore arise since property owners have an interest in increasing the net operating income of the property, as well as there is a societal need. The government in Sweden gave an assignment to Boverket because of this need for housing and because of the increasing vacancy rates since the pandemic. The assignment which was given to Boverket, was to evaluate the preconditions of converting office buildings into housing. Therefore, it became clear as to what the purpose of this thesis were to be, I was to study the need for, and the preconditions for converting office buildings into housing. And I was to do this in hopes of increasing the property owners interests of conversion since it is important from a sustainability and housing supply perspective, and also because I found that it needed to be made clear of the exact conversion preconditions outside of Boverkets own report. The thesis purpose will be fulfilled, and the thesis questions will be answered by doing an semi- structured qualitative interview study that relates to a literature overview. The property owners need for conversion of the office buildings has through this study been proven to be raher limited. A lot of this has to do with the owners interest and the incentive of the conversion. Also, most of the property owners have not yet seen such a big difference on the office market. Added to this, the attitude towards conversion seemed rather negative, most of the interviewed companies taught it to be too hard to convert office buildings because of various laws, rules and requirements. In order for conversion to happen, it has been shown that the right preconditions regarding the zoning plan, structural engineering, law, economics, the states, the municipalities and the community's attitude towards the project need to be met.

Along many dimensions, homeschooling is increasing, diversifying, and spreading globally. Yet little is known about the motivational climates and teaching strategies parents have adopted to promote academic achievement and motivation within their homes. Working within a self-determination theory (SDT) framework, this study used cluster analysis to examine the naturally-occurring types of learning environments created by 457 homeschool parents. Measures of support for autonomy, mastery goal orientation, and conditional regard were adapted for a homeschool context and used as constituting variables. Follow-up measures of need satisfaction, efficacy, student academic engagement, teaching practices and demographics were used to identify significant differences among groups. A five cluster solution best fit the data: a high need support group, low need support group and three groups of mixed need support. In general, the high need and mixed need support groups were associated with higher student engagement, need satisfaction, efficacy for homeschooling and frequent use of teaching strategies that promote autonomous motivation and support for student competence. The low need support group was significantly associated with lower need satisfaction and teaching strategies associated with control. Higher levels of academic engagement were reported for those students homeschooled longer and at higher grade levels. Male teaching parents (n = 29) reported significantly less need satisfaction and were significantly associated with the low need support group. Taken together, the findings extend self-determination theory to an important, emerging learning context. Results were consistent with findings in SDT research across other domains; thus, lending support to the universality of SDT's main tenets. / Educational Psychology

Abstract Introduction: Early Orthodontic Treatment (EOT) has been extensively studied, but questions still remain regarding the prevalence of its need in the United States. Without information regarding the epidemiology of EOT need, it is difficult to make determinations as to its viability as a Medicaid service. The Index for Preventive and Interceptive Orthodontic Needs (IPION) developed by Coetzee is the only index specifically meant for children in the mixed dentition. The purpose of this study was to utilize the IPION to measure EOT need in two pediatric dental populations in Philadelphia. Methods: 87 children between the ages of 6 and 9 were screened using the IPION. Overall scores, demographic information, and prevalence of specific malocclusions were recorded and analyzed. Results: A substantial proportion of children fell into the definite treatment need category (60.92% ±5.2% when including restorations and caries in the score, 31.03%±5.0% when excluding restorations and caries from the score). Site of screenings, race and sex had no significant effects on prevalence of EOT need, while IPION rubric used (IPION6 versus IPION9) had marginally significant effects on the prevalence of EOT need. Conclusions: There is a significant proportion of children in Philadelphia pediatric dental populations who have unmet EOT needs. Patients, communities, Medicaid, orthodontists and residents could all benefit from treatment of these children if policy were changed to allow EOT to be covered by Medicaid in Pennsylvania. / Oral Biology

Asthma is a chronic disease affecting over 300 million people worldwide. Airway inflammation is a central feature of asthma. Quantitative sputum cytometry is the most validated method to assess this and to adjust anti-inflammatory therapy, yet it is underutilized due to rigorous processing that requires expensive specialized technicians. To address these limitations, this thesis focuses on the development of several point of need biosensors that rapidly quantify respiratory biomarkers as alternatives to traditional laboratory tests. The project began by developing a paper based sensor for detection of myeloperoxidase (MPO), a neutrophil biomarker. A test was developed using commercially available antibodies, showing direct correlation between the test line colour intensity and total neutrophils. This work was expanded to include a second protein target, eosinophil peroxidase (EPX), for identification of eosinophils. Although the test performed well using neat samples, it failed to identify EPX in clinical sputum samples. Analyzing pre-treatment methods identified that a quick immunoprecipitation technique using protein A/G beads followed by syringe filtration allowed for the device to successfully quantify EPX, eliminating the need for a centrifuge. However, the limited supply of commercial anti-EPX antibodies combined with the need for sample pre-treatment prompted investigation into alternative detection avenues. Nucleic acid aptamers were explored, with aptamer selection for EPX producing several aptamer candidates. Binding affinity and specificity tests were performed, with the T1-5 aptamer emerging. T1-5 was capable of selectively binding EPX over MPO with high affinity. This aptamer was integrated into a simple pull-down assay, capable of detecting EPX with an order of magnitude lower limit of detection than the antibody test. Overall this work has developed multiple sensors with the potential to overcome the limitations of accessibility to sputum cytometry, rapidly identify the presence and type of airway inflammation, and deliver personalized treatment strategies that not only reduce the global healthcare burden, but also greatly improve a patient’s quality of life. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)