Publikationer från Högskolan i Gävle
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ESG och Legitimitetströskeln : En kvantitativ jämförande studie av företag med högarespektive låga ESG-betyg inom amerikanska techbolag.
No full textStudiens syfte var att undersöka om de individuella ESG-aspekternas påverkan påfinansiell prestation skiljer sig mellan börsnoterade techbolag i USA som har högt respektivelågt ESG-betyg. Studien syftade särskilt till att undersöka om straffmekanismen somidentifierats i tidigare forskning återspeglas i hur de individuella ESG-aspekterna påverkarfinansiell prestanda
Communication, Treatment Expectations,Beliefs, and Self-Management of Nausea : for Enhanced Quality of Daily and Working Lifeduring Chemotherapy for Cancer
No full textSyfte: Att undersöka och beskriva betydelsen av behandlingsförväntningar, tilltro, kommunikation och egenvårdsstrategier gällande illamående under cytostatikabehandling vid cancer. Metod: Studie I var en tvärsnittsstudie av 457 patienter med cancer. Studie II använde randomiserad kontrollerad design och Studie IV en longitudinell design, med 198 patienter under medel- eller högemetogen cytostatikabehandling. I Studie III intervjuades 15 av dessa. Självrapporterade data samlades in via frågeformulär och analyserades med beskrivande och inferentiell statistik. Intervjuerna analyserades med reflexiv tematisk analys. Resultat: Under cancerbehandling trodde 63 % att akupunktur var effektivt, särskilt kvinnor och yngre patienter, medan 1 % hade använt det. Positiv kommunikation om antiemetiska effekter minskade inte illamåendeintensiteten. Patienter som fick positiv kommunikation under ordinarie antiemetisk behandling skattade mer positiva behandlingsförväntningar (79 mm Visuell Analog Skala (VAS) jämfört med andra grupper, 63–74). Förväntan att må illa var kopplad till mer illamående (34 vs. 18 och 11 mm VAS). Patienter med illamående skattade sämre livskvalitet och sämre funktion i dagliga aktiviteter. Egenvård mot illamående användes av 65 %, mest av yngre patienter, främst fysisk aktivitet. Vissa beskrev illamåendet som begränsande, medan andra inte upplevde något illamående eller kunde hantera det. Totalt mådde 54 % inte illa under cytostatikaperioden. Tidigare erfarenheter ansågs mer betydelsefulla än information för att skapa förväntningar. Slutsats: Trots hög tilltro till akupunktur var det få som använde det under cancerbehandling. Positiv kommunikation minskade inte illamående men påverkade behandlingsförväntningar hos patienter som fick ordinarie antiemetisk behandling. De som förväntade sig illamående mådde mer illa. Illamående försämrade livskvalitet och funktion i vardagen. Egenvård användes ofta. Tidigare erfarenheter uppfattades skapa förväntningar.Overall aim: To investigate and describe the significance of treatment expectations, beliefs, communication, and self-management strategies in antiemetic care during chemotherapy for cancer. Methods: Patients with cancer (n=457) were cross-sectionally studied in Study I. Study II used a randomized controlled design, and Study IV a longitudinal design, with 198 patients undergoing moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy. In Study III, 15 of them were interviewed. Questionnaires collected self-reported data, which were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Interviews underwent reflexive thematic analysis. Results: During cancer therapy, 63% believed acupuncture to be effective, especially women and younger patients. Around 1% had used it. Positive communication about antiemetic effects did not reduce nausea intensity. Patients receiving positive communication during standard antiemetic care (SAC) reported more positive treatment expectations (79 mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) vs. 63-74 mm in other groups). Expecting nausea was associated with worse nausea intensity (34 vs. 18 and 11 mm VAS). Nauseated patients rated worse quality of life (QoL) and functioning in daily activities. Self-management of nausea was used by 65%, particularly younger patients, with physical activity being most common. Some described nausea as limiting daily life, others experienced no nausea or had found ways to manage it. Overall, 54% did not experience nausea during the chemotherapy period. Previous experiences were viewed as more influential in shaping expectations than information. Conclusion: Despite positive beliefs in acupuncture effects, actual use during cancer therapy was rare. Positive communication did not reduce nausea but affected treatment expectations in patients receiving SAC. Expecting nausea predicted nausea. Nausea impaired QoL and functioning in daily activities. Patients frequently self-managed nausea. Previous experiences were perceived to shape expectations
Organiserad brottslighet inom avfallsverksamhet – en forskningsöversik
No full textAvfallssektorn utgör idag en växande arena för organiseradbrottslighet i såväl Europa som globalt. Mot bakgrund av utvecklingen har denna studie genomförts med syftet att ge en samlad och fördjupad bild av forskningsläget kring organiserad brottslighet inom avfallsområdet och att identifiera de mönster, drivkrafter och kunskapsluckor som präglar området. Studien har genomförts som en narrativ litteraturöversikt där vetenskapliga artiklar och rapporter från myndigheter eller organisationer om organiserad brottslighet inom avfallsområdet samlats in, granskats och syntetiserats. Analysen följde en tematiskt styrd process där centrala teman identifierades. Denna forskningsöversikt bygger på 74 artiklar och rapporter publicerade mellan 2000 och 2025. Genomgången av insamlat material visar att avfallssektorn i ökande grad utgör en arena för organiserad brottslighet, där ekonomiska incitament, svag tillsyn och bristande regelharmonisering samverkar.
From Reaction to Prevention: A Viewpoint on Reimagining Social Work Through a Public Health Lens
No full textThis viewpoint article argues that social work should incorporate key prevention principles from public health practice. Rather than replacing existing interventions, it aims to complement them by shifting practice from a reactive model to one that is proactive, explicitly prevention-focused, and systemic in scope. Public health has long emphasized the critical value of early intervention through a four-tier framework—primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention—that reduces risk and addresses inequities before they become entrenched. Applying this model could enable social work to act further upstream, focusing on the root causes that create social problems, rather than just treating the resulting symptoms downstream in the causal chain of disadvantage. Prevention-oriented practice would integrate professional judgment, values, and lived experience with evidence on effective approaches, while addressing social determinants of health such as housing, education, employment, poverty, and the environment. Implementation requires interdisciplinary work and cross-sector collaboration
Advancements in thermal management of lithium-ion batteries: the role of nanofluids and phase change materials
No full textThis paper investigates the application of nanofluids in lithium-ion battery (LIB) thermal management through a comprehensive review of thermal management system (TMS) development. The review focuses on systems incorporating both phase change materials (PCMs) and nanofluid technologies as solutions for managing heat generation and thermal hazards in LIBs. It demonstrates that traditional cooling techniques, such as air and liquid cooling, are less effective than nanofluids. These colloidal suspensions of nanoparticles (e.g. Al2O3, CuO, TiO2, AgO, as well as carbon-based nanomaterials) in base fluids enhance both thermal conductivity and convective heat transfer performance. The review demonstrats that using Al2O3-water nanofluids with a 2% volume fraction can reduce peak temperatures by 1.2°C, while hybrid nanofluids containing Al2O3-CuO can reduce temperatures by up to 54.23% at a 0.5% concentration. When PCMs are combined with nanofluids to form hybrid systems, maximum temperature reduction of up to 19.5% has been observed. These hybrid systems also contribute to greater thermal uniformity and delayed temperature increases. However, challenges such as nanoparticle stability, increased pressure drops, and environmental and economic concerns remain significant obstacles. This review concludes that TMSs using nanofluids in conjunction with PCMs within optimised channel designs show promising potential for enhancing LIB performance, though further research is needed to overcome the associated barriers
Negotiating sustainability: At what cost? Foreign direct investment, FDI, and local legitimacy
No full textAim: This study assesses how sustainability framing shapes municipal bargaining capacity and community acceptance in small municipalities engaging with foreign direct investment (FDI). Methodology: This study examines how small municipalities negotiate local legitimacy while attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) framed as ‘sustainable’. Using a qualitative case study of Älvkarleby (Sweden), the study analyses 12 semi-structured interviews and one written stakeholder response, complemented by on-site observations. Drawing on Institutional Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, and Place Leadership, the study shows how sustainability operates simultaneously as a source of legitimacy and a site of tension: coercive regulatory requirements and normative expectations encourage ‘green’ framing, while local resource constraints (labour, grid capacity, financing, land) and community concerns shape municipal bargaining dynamics. Findings & Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that sustainability is not solely an environmental or economic objective but a relational and political process through which legitimacy is constructed and contested at the local level. Normative institutional pressures shape expectations regarding investor behaviour, engagement, and long-term commitment, influencing how legitimacy is granted. While sustainability-oriented narratives enhance municipal attractiveness, asymmetric resource dependencies reduce local bargaining power. Place leadership plays a critical role in mediating these tensions by coordinating actors and aligning external investment pressures with local priorities. Contributions & Future Research: The study contributes to research on sustainable FDI by highlighting interactions between institutional pressures, resource dependencies, and place-based leadership in small municipalities. Future research could adopt comparative or longitudinal approaches. Key Words: Municipal Attractiveness, Local Bargaining Power, Resources, Sustainable Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Sustainability Governance, Community Acceptanc
Whales, Men and Truth : A Poststructuralist Analysis of Herman Melville's Moby Dick
No full textThis essay will analyze Herman Melville's Moby Dick through a poststructuralist perspective. Through the use of Peter Barry's deconstructive method, this analysis aims to understand how the theme of man's attempt to comprehend reality is reflected in Melville's novel. Moby Dick’s structure, its experimental language and its often complex and even contradictory meanings point toward objective truth as something necessarily unstable, or even impossible. As a sentiment that is often echoed in previous academic work on the text, the concepts of epistemic instability and disunity, explored in chapters like “The Whiteness of The Whale” or “The Doubloon”, are often discussed as being central themes of the book. The thesis of this text is that through deconstruction, the proposition that truth is fundamentally unattainable for man is revealed not only in the themes of Moby Dick, but also reflected in its aesthetics
The Architecture of Legitimacy Responsible Leadership and Institutional Entrepreneurship Revisited
No full textAim: It is the aim of this research to investigate how responsible leadership and institutional changes can enhance teams' effectiveness. Entrepreneurship helps to build legitimacy for sustainability-focused innovation in the Swedish renewable energy. Methodology: The approach to this study is based on theory and involves an interpretivist qualitative research design (deductive, Peircean) thematic analysis the data was collected through nine semistructured interviews with entrepreneurs and innovation support actors who are focused on sustainability in the Swedish renewable-energy sector. Complemented by relevant secondary documents the empirical material was utilized thematic analysis arranged within an integrated framework that combined multiple perspectives. Theory of Institutional Leadership and the Theory to Foster Responsible Leadership. Findings and Conclusion: According to the results, sustainability-based innovation is gaining active legitimacy. Established through the integration of effective leadership and institutional setting.' practical leadership methods that prioritize safety, stakeholder care, transparency, and long-term responsibility are key to strengthening trust and responsibility. Institutional entrepreneurship—such as navigating regulatory the value of limitations, building partnerships, and standards is conveyed through these values. Field-level practices and expectations together, these mechanisms generate pragmatist, moral and cognitive legitimacy, in support of institutional alignment and rationality. The societal acceptance of renewable-energy innovations in the long run. Contribution of the Study: Theoretically, the research facilitates the advancement of knowledge by outlining an encompassing structure which explains the legitimacy construction as a process and relational phenomenon in sustainability transitions. It introduces an elegant idea of the process of legitimacy creation, as it creates dynamic relations between the actors and thus serves to enrich the discourse on institutional change and the process of transition. iiiPractically, the results provide practical advice on sustainability-oriented leaders, intermediaries of innovation, and policymakers. The study identifies the synergistic nature of ethical leadership and institutional work by showing how these interventions can lead to the increased trust in stakeholders, enhanced credibility, and the overall acceptance of renewable energy solutions by society. Keywords: Responsible leadership, institutional entrepreneurship, legitimacy,stakeholder, corporate leaders, renewable energ
AI:s Role in Shaping the Future of Business Management
No full textSyftet med studien är att undersöka hur användningen av AI påverkar ledningens strategiska beslutsfattande inom verksamhetsstyrning, med fokus på effektivitet, beslutsunderlag, kvalité samt vilka risker och utmaningar som uppkommer. Metod: Studien utgörs av en kvalitativ metodansats med två semistrukturerade intervjuer, kombinerat med en kvalitativ enkätundersökning. Resultat och slutsats: Studien visar att AI i nuläget används i en begränsad omfattning och främst som stöd för informationshämtning, dataanalys och administrativa moment. AI förbättrar effektiviteten, kvalitén och bidrar till mer strukturerade beslutsunderlag men ersätter inte det mänskliga omdömet, samt genom effektivare processer och mer utvecklade analyser i verksamhetsstyrning, trots att påverkan på finansiella och icke- finansiella nyckeltal är minimal. De största utmaningarna handlar om integritet, dataskydd, bristande regler och osäkerhet från medarbetare. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar med en empiriskt grundad förståelse för hur AI faktiskt används i organisationer och hur tekniken påverkar ledningens arbete. Genom en kombination av intervjuer och enkätundersökning visar studien både möjligheter och hinder relaterat till AI i verksamhetsstyrningen och beslutsfattandet. Studien visar även hur psykologiska samt organisatoriska faktorer påverkas i och med en implementering av AI. Det ger en betydelsefull synvinkel som kompletterar befintlig forskning. Samtidigt visar empirin att AI antas ha en större roll i framtiden. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Framtida forskning kan inkludera fler organisationer, för att få en bredare förståelse för hur en tillämpning av AI kan påverka beslutsfattandet och verksamhetsstyrning. Det finns ett behov av ytterligare forskning som utvärderar AI:s inverkan på effektivitet, kvalitet och ekonomiska resultat. Vidare forskning kan även undersöka hur organisationer hanterar integritet, säkerhet och ansvar vid en implementering, för att se hur processer samt arbetsrutiner utvecklas.The purpose of this study is to examine how the use of AI influences managements strategic decision-making within management control, with a particular focus on efficiency, decision support quality, and the risks and challenges that arise. Method: This study applies a qualitive research approach based on two semi-structured interviews combined with a qualitive survey. Results and conclusions: The study indicates that AI is currently used to a limited extent, primarily as a support for information retrieval, data analysis and administrative assignments. AI improves efficiency, quality and contributes to more structured decision support, but does not replace human intelligence. This leads to more efficient processes and more developed analyses in business management, despite the minimal impact on financial and non-financial performances. The main challenges concern integrity, data protection, absence of regulations, and uncertainty among employes. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes an empirically grounded understanding of how AI is used in organizations and how the technology affects managerial work. Through a combination of interviews and a survey, the study demonstrates both opportunities and obstacles related to AI in business management and decision-making. Also, the study conveys how psychological and organizational factors are influenced by the implementation of AI. This indicates a significant viewpoint that complements current research, while the empirical evidence propose that AI expected to have a larger part in the future. Suggestions for further research: Further research could include more organizations to gain a broader understanding of how an implementation of AI can affect decision- making and business management. There is a need for further research that evaluates the impact of AI on efficiency, quality, and financial results. Furthermore, research could explore how organizations handle integrity, security, and responsibility as AI applies
Early Post-Discharge Predictors of Sedentary Behavior Following COPD Exacerbation: An Observational Study
No full textPatients hospitalized due to an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ECOPD) often exhibit increased sedentary behavior (SB), which may persist after discharge and negatively affect recovery. However, early determinants of SB during this period remain unclear. To identify the factors at hospital discharge that predict SB 30 days later in patients with ECOPD. This observational longitudinal study included patients hospitalized for ECOPD, assessed during the first week after discharge and reassessed 30 days later. Data collected included sociodemographic information (age, sex, name, telephone number, and address), anthropometric measurements (weight, height, and body mass index [BMI]), clinical history (previous hospitalizations, exacerbations, and smoking status), dyspnea (Medical Research Council scale, mMRC), health status (COPD Assessment Test, CAT), co-morbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index), and exercise capacity (6-minute walk test, 6MWT). Physical activity and sedentary behavior-including SB, light (LPA), moderate (MPA), and vigorous (VPA) physical activity, step count, and sleep-were measured using a triaxial accelerometer worn for seven consecutive days. Accelerometer data were processed with ActiPASS software, and statistical analyses were performed in RStudio. Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the discharge variables that could predict SB at 30 days. Forty-four patients (61% female; age 66 ± 8 years; FEV1 53 ± 13%; Charlson 1 [1-2]; hospital stay 5 [3-6] days) were included. At discharge, median mMRC was 3 (2-3), CAT 21 ± 8, 6MWT 274 ± 102 m, steps/day 3,148, SB 619 ± 226 min/day, and LPA 216 min/day. At 30 days, SB was 615 ± 166 min/day. Dyspnea (mMRC) and LPA at discharge explained SB at 30 days (R2 = 0.31, p < 0.001). Higher levels of dyspnea and lower levels of LPA during the first week after discharge are the significant predictors of SB 30 days after hospitalization for ECOPD