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The influence of the Youth Olympic Games on the well-being of youth athletes
No full textIntroduction: Participating in sports is more than a competition; it is an avenue for personal growth and development, especially for young athletes. The Youth Olympic Games (YOG), established by the International Olympic Committee in 2010, is a unique platform for athletes aged 15–18 to showcase their skills while gaining invaluable life experiences. This study explores the influence of participation in the YOG, focusing on athletes' physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being. Methods: Using a retrospective mixed-methods framework, 173 participants (47% female and 53% male) who competed in one of the four YOG events held between 2010 and 2016 were surveyed in 2017, followed by interviews 6 months later in 2018 with 30 of the participants. Quantitative data on 18 well-being items assessed on a 5-point Likert scale was analyzed with a one-sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and the interview data was analyzed using a top-down thematic approach. Results and discussion: Participants' responses were significantly above “neutral” (P < 0.001) on the 18 items about the YOG impact, suggesting a positive effect of the YOG across the four dimensions of well-being. The interviews complemented and informed the survey by providing deeper insights and context, to show that taking part in the YOG and its educational programs influence, and are important for the young elite athletes' psychometric development. Recognizing this impact, more attention should be given to developing tools and strategies to support the social and emotional well-being of youth elite athletes in sports. A better understanding of the impacts of participating in the YOG can foster a healthier, more informed generation of athletes and community members.
Från fiktion till förändring? : En ekokritisk läsning av Maja Lundes Klimatkvartetten
No full textSlutgiltigt godkännandedatum: 2025-06-05</p
Historians will say they were best friends : En komparativ studie om lesbisk kärlek i litteraturen: Carol (1954) och The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2017)
No full textDenna uppsats behandlar lesbisk kärlek i skönlitteraturen, med verken Carol (1952) av Patricia Highsmith och The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2017) av Taylor Jenkins Reid. De båda romanerna skildrar lesbisk kärlek och utspelar sig under samma tidsperiod, 1950-talet i Amerika. De frågor som ställs i denna uppsats är hur lesbisk kärlek och bisexualitet porträtteras i romanerna, vilka likheter som finns samt eventuellt skillnader samt hur huvudkaraktärernas relation påverkas av tidsepokens normer, som romanerna utspelar sig i. Material som används för att svara på dessa frågor är två teorier; genusteori ur Raewyn Connells bok Om genus, queerteori ur Martin Berg & Jan Wickmans bok Queer samt bisexualiteten osynlighet förklarad av Svante Norrhem, Jens Rydström och Hanna Markusson Winkvist i Undantagsmänniskor. Denna uppsats pekar på att lesbisk kärlek samt bisexualitet porträtteras liknande i de två romanerna, vilket är ett rimligt resultat när de båda romanerna utspelar sig under samma tidsperiod i samma land. Dynamiken i båda kärleksparen i romanerna visar på att bisexualitet under perioden ifrågasätts och inte erkänns fullt ut. Den västerländska binära syn på sexualitet som antingen/eller, där man antingen är hetero eller homosexuell är ett aktuellt tema i boken. Uppsatsen pekar även på att romanerna porträtterar liknande teman som faller runtomkring, så som svartsjuka och omgivningens påverkan på de lesbiska paren. Dessa fynd analyseras utifrån ovannämnda teorier. Slutgiltigt godkännandedatum: 2025-08-27</p
Hofmeister-serien: Salters påverkan på upplösning och aggregering på cellulosa i lösningsmedel
No full textThis study investigated cellulose dissolution and aggregation by examining the effects of various combinations and concentrations of salts, LiOH, urea, and two types of cellulose: microcrystalline cellulose and dissolving pulp. Turbidity measurements were used to analyze the influence of ions based on their position in the Hofmeister series, focusing on the differences between kosmotropic and chaotropic ions. The results show that lower cellulose concentrations combined with higher LiOH levels resulted in improved dissolution. Higher cellulose concentrations led to increased turbidity and faster aggregation, resulting in gel formation. NaI, containing two chaotropic ions, produced the lowest turbidity, while LiCl, with two kosmotropic ions, yielded the highest turbidity and clear sedimentation. LiI showed an intermediate effect. The addition of urea and halving of the NaI concentration were also studied. These adjustments resulted in decreased turbidity at lower concentrations. Microcrystalline cellulose exhibited a lower tendency to aggregate compared to dissolving pulp, which is attributed to its shorter chain length and lower water absorption capacity. Furthermore, a three-day time-resolved study revealed that aggregation behavior varied depending on the salt added and the cellulose concentration. NaI-containing systems transitioned to gel faster than urea-based systems, despite showing better initial clarity. Urea significantly delayed aggregation and maintained low turbidity throughout the period, especially at lower cellulose concentrations. In contrast, reference systems without salt showed immediate gelation and high turbidity. This study contributes to a better understanding of how different combinations of ions and cellulose types in solvent systems affect cellulose dissolution. Such knowledge has potential applications in the development of cellulose-based materials
AI Generated Images for Education and Work Life : On Bias and Guardrails
No full textThe rapid multimodal development of Generative AI (GenAI) tools has opened up possibilities for content creation in many fields. This paper presents a study that had a focus on image generation for educational contexts and professional development in a course on artificial intelligence for education and work life. In an assignment, participants used different GenAI tools for image generation. Moreover, course participants analysed and discussed their AI generated images in essays. In the wide variety of GenAI tools two different image generation software were suggested, one from a big established IT company and the other from a small independent software developer. Both these tools were chosen because they are free to use without any licence fees, and that there are not any complex login procedures before using them. This was seen as important criteria for a group of course participants with relatively low pre-knowledge of GenAI and image generation. On the other hand, course participants with earlier experience of were allowed to use other and more advanced tools. Images could be generated individually or in groups, but the final analysis essays had to be written individually without any AI assistance. Four portraits should be generated with each tool of two world-wide well-known persons, one locally known person and a portrait of the course participant that wrote the essay. 61 essays were thematically analysed with the use of open coding and axial coding. Results were divided into the categories of Age, Gender and Ethnicity, Language, Guardrails, and Training data, with Training data as the central or axial category. Findings show that the results to a certain degree are depending on prompting and the language, but that the found bias is depending on the training data.FAIT
Students in global traumatic stress research : an opportunity for meaningful and equitable involvement
No full textBackground: Student engagement in traumatic stress research is recognised in academic settings, yet few studies have examined students' contributions or the structural barriers limiting their involvement.Objective: This letter aims to offer a critical reflection on the evolving role of students in global trauma research.Method: We reviewed student contributions to research innovation and examined systemic obstacles and inequities faced by students globally.Results: Our reflection identifies five key contributions of student-led initiatives: (1) Promoting inclusive and globally responsive research. (2) Enhancing the democratisation of knowledge production. (3) Advancing methodological diversity. (4) Amplifying marginalised voices within academic spaces. (5) Informing trauma research that reflects local epistemologies and lived realities. Persistent challenges include limited funding, institutional recognition, and inequitable access to research infrastructure, which disproportionately affect students in under-resourced settings.Conclusions: Greater institutional support for student leadership and collaboration, investing in student-led networks and fostering equitable research partnerships for emerging scholars may help build a more inclusive and globally responsive research agenda within the field of psychotraumatology.Alternativ titel: Estudiantes en la investigación global sobre estrés traumático: una oportunidad para una participación significativa y equitativa</p
Age, chemotype and overwintering practices control volatile emissions in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) seedlings
No full textSmall 5 to 7 cm seedlings appear to be less damaged by pine weevils (Hylobius abietis L.), one of the most economically devastating forest pests in Europe. In attempts to understand the underlying mechanisms, volatiles (VOC) released by the whole plant and wounded phloem of Scots pine (P. sylvestris L.) seedlings were investigated during the first year of growth. The changes in the VOC due to age/developmental stage and storage regimes were determined. Majority of the seedlings (84%) represented a ‘3-carene chemotype’ and 15% an ‘α-pinene chemotype’. 3.5 Week-old intact or wounded seedlings emitted mainly geranyl acetone and green leaf volatiles. Proportional increase of (+)-3-carene occurred during the growth and aging of intact ‘3-carene seedlings’, while (+/−)-α-pinene changed in their phloem emissions. From 9.5 week onwards, the intact seedlings began to emit 2-phenylethanol. During winter dormancy, the pine odor enriched with estragole, 3-phenylpropanol and 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol. The latter one, together with 4-ethylphenol, was characteristic to the over-wintered in an outdoor area (OA). These results support the hypothesis that seedling attractiveness to herbivores depend on the plant age and overwintering practices. Considering the antimicrobial properties of volatiles, overwintering of plants under natural conditions may also ensure higher disease resistance of plants.
Hemkänslans betydelse när hemmet blir en vårdplats : En litteraturöversikt
No full textBakgrund: Hemmet anses för många vara den plats som symboliserar trygghet, identitet och privatliv, samtidigt kan hemmet även fungera som en plats där vård och omsorg bedrivs. Hemmets karaktär kan försvagas när sjukdomsläget förändras. Sjuksköterskan har en roll i att ge stöd, skapa trygghet och ge information. När vården flyttar in i hemmet påverkas även vänner och familj, som ofta hamnar i en vårdgivarroll. Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva upplevelsen av hemmet när det utgör både bostad och plats för vård. Metod: Litteraturstudien baserades på totalt 17 vetenskapliga artiklar, 15 kvalitativa artiklar och två av mixad metod. Dessa genomgick en kvalitetsgranskning samt analyserades med innehållsanalys enligt Graneheim & Lundman (2004). Sökningarna av artiklarna gjordes i databaserna PubMed och Cinahl. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i tre kategorier: (1) Miljöns betydelse för hemkänslan beskriver omgivningensintryck. (2) Relationers betydelse för att skapa hemkänsla beskriver hur relationer ger hemmet liv. (3) Förlust och återskapande av hemkänslan beskriver förändringar i hemmets karaktär. Diskussion: Hemmets betydelse var beroende av upplevelser, omgivning, föremål och relationer. En trygg miljö kunde bidra till välbefinnande och sjuksköterskan bar ett ansvar när det kom till att skapa en förtroendefull relation som bidrog till hemkänsla. Hemmet fick också en central roll vid förändrade livssituationer och bidrog till att bibehålla identiteten. Slutsats: Hemkänslan har en central betydelse för individens välbefinnande och omvårdnaden behöver balansera säkerhet med personcentrerat förhållningssätt för att främja trygghet, värdighet och känslan av ett hem.2025-11-05</p
Adaptive Segmentation-Based Initialization for Steered Mixture of Experts Image Regression
No full textKernel image regression methods have demonstrated excellent efficiency in various image processing tasks, including image and light-field compression, Gaussian Splatting, denoising and super-resolution. The estimation of parameters for these methods commonly employs gradient descent iterative optimization, which poses a significant computational burden for many applications. In this paper, we introduce a novel adaptive segmentation-based initialization method targeted for optimizing Steered-Mixture-of Experts (SMoE) gating networks and RadialBasis-Function (RBF) networks with steering kernels. The novel initialization method allocates kernels into pre-calculated image segments. The optimal number of kernels, kernel positions, and steering parameters are derived per segment in an iterative optimization and kernel sparsification procedure. The kernel information from local segments is then transferred into a global initialization, ready for use in iterative optimization of SMoE, RBF, and related kernel image regression methods. Results demonstrate significant improvements in both objective and subjective quality compared to regular grid, K-Means, deeplearning-based, and previous segmentation-based initialization methods. The proposed initialization method reduces kernel usage by 70% compared to other initialization methods while maintaining the same reconstruction quality. Furthermore, by generating initial parameters closer to optimized results, convergence time is reduced, achieving overall runtime savings of up to 50% compared to prior methods. Additionally, the method supports parallel computation, with initialization time halved when using four GPUs compared to on
‘I am not forced to live near the office’ : sustainable hybrid work for public employees in a rural region
No full textContext-specific knowledge on enhancing performance and well-being at work is necessary, as different contexts pose different advantages and challenges. At the same time, the hybrid work model is often investigated as a homogeneous work design, despite its varied uses and locations. For public employees in rural areas, a hybrid work model could contribute to sustainable work that supports performance and well-being. Yet, little is known about which factors this group perceives as important or necessary to achieve this. To address this gap, we recruited 70 public sector employees from a sparsely populated area in Sweden. They completed a qualitative survey about their psychosocial and organizational hybrid work environment, performance, and well-being. Our reflexive thematic analysis suggests that (i) an adequate setup and trust-based leadership, (ii) a supportive climate and reasonable demands, and (iii) work flexibility are central for this specific group. Despite diverse demographic backgrounds, participants shared similar needs, particularly regarding the importance of spatial and temporal flexibility, empowerment, and trust-based leadership. Our results contribute to the Job Demands-Resources model by qualitatively exploring perceptions of resources and demands, identifying factors that support performance and well-being when using a hybrid work model within a public organization in rural Sweden.