Family and ethnic social ties in immigrant entrepreneurship – the roles and interplay in developing businesses in the host country

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how family and ethnic social ties, both as distinct and interrelated forms, support immigrant entrepreneurs in developing their businesses in their host country. This is identified through the following research question: How do family and ethnic social ties support immigrant entrepreneurs in developing their businesses in their host country? Design/methodology/approach: This study draws on the study of three immigrant entrepreneurs from Sweden, who run their businesses in different industries. The study used interviews and complementary data sources such as annual reports and press clips. Findings: The results reveal three concepts of immigrant entrepreneur social ties: (1) the control-based social ties of the immigrant entrepreneur, (2) the responsibility-based social ties of the immigrant entrepreneur, and (3) the inclusive and ethnic urgency-based social ties of the immigrant entrepreneur. Originality/value: This paper develops three ideas on immigrant entrepreneurs' use of social ties in Sweden. The paper particularly focuses on the central roles of family ties for entrepreneurship in combination with ethnic social ties.CC BY 4.0Corresponding author Börje Boers can be contacted at: [email protected]</p

A changed life – A literature review of relatives' experiences to care for a family member with ALS

Bakgrund: Amyotrofisk lateral skleros (ALS) är en progressiv obotlig neurologisk sjukdom som leder till successiv funktionsförlust och ökat beroende av anhöriga. Anhöriga får ofta rollen som vårdare för sin närstående med ALS. Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva anhörigas upplevelser i samband med att vårda en närstående med ALS. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en litteraturöversikt med strukturerad artikelsökning i databaserna CINAHL och PubMed. Totalt inkluderades 13 vetenskapliga artiklar publicerade mellan 2015–2026 i en europeisk kontext. Majoriteten av studierna hade en kvalitativ ansats, medan en studie hade en kvantitativ ansats. Analysen genomfördes med hjälp av Fribergs (2022a) fyrastegsmodell. Resultat: Resultatet visar att anhörigas livssituation förändras från symtomdebut till sjukdomens slutskede. Diagnosprocessen präglas av oro och osäkerhet. I takt med sjukdomens progression ökar ansvaret och den emotionella belastningen för anhöriga. Anhöriga upplever även att familjerelationer, vardagsliv och livskvalitet påverkas. Tiden upplevs som begränsad och omsorgen rymmer ambivalenta känslor. Konklusion: Litteraturöversikten visar att anhöriga till personer med ALS upplever sjukdomsförloppet som emotionellt påfrestande, där ett successivt ökande ansvar och förändrade livsvillkor påverkas deras vardag. Upplevelserna kan leda till stress, maktlöshet och social isolering. Bristande kunskap om sjukdomen samt otillräckligt stöd försvårar anhörigas möjligheter till att hantera situationen.Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease that leads to gradual loss of function and increased dependence on family members. As the disease progresses, relatives often assume the role of caregivers, which entails significant responsibilities. Aim: The aim was to describe relatives' experiences in association with caring for a person with ALS. Method: The study was conducted as a literature review with a structured articlesearch in the databases CINAHL and PubMed. In total, 13 scientific articles published between 2015– 2026 in a European context, were included. The majority of the studies had a qualitative approach, while one study had a quantitative approach. The analysis followed Friberg's (2022a) four-step model. Findings: The findings show that relatives life situation change progressively from symptom onset to the end stage of the disease. The diagnostic process is characterized by uncertainty and emotional strain. As the disease advances, emotional strain and responsibilities increase. As of this, family relationships, daily life and personal wellbeing are affected. Time is experienced as limited, and caring involves ambivalent emotions. Conclusion: The literature review shows that relatives of people with ALS experienced the course of disease as emotionally demanding, where gradually increasing responsibilities and changing life conditions affect their everyday lives. These experiences can lead to stress, feelings of powerlessness, and social isolation. A lack of knowledge about the disease, as well as insufficient support, further complicates relatives' ability to cope with the situation

Tirzepatide reduces alcohol drinking and relapse-like behaviours in rodents

Background: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a major public health problem, with few effective medications currently available. However, peptides of the gut-brain axis appear to offer promising therapeutic targets for AUD as they influence the mesolimbic reward circuitry. Methods: Here, we examined the effects of tirzepatide, a long-acting dual glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) agonist approved for diabetes and obesity, using behavioural assays (locomotor activity and conditioned place preference), alcohol intake paradigms (intermittent access two-bottle choice, drinking in the dark and the alcohol deprivation effect), and molecular analyses (microdialysis, electrophysiology and proteomics) in rodents. Findings: First, tirzepatide effectively attenuated the rewarding properties of alcohol, measured through locomotor stimulation, conditioned place preference, and accumbal dopamine release (P &lt; 0.001). Subsequently, this GLP-1R/GIPR agonist dose-dependently reduced voluntary alcohol consumption (P &lt; 0.001), prevented binge (P &lt; 0.01) and relapse-like drinking (P &lt; 0.001), and maintained efficacy during repeated administration (P &lt; 0.001). Finally, tirzepatide induced sustained synaptic depression in the lateral septum (P &lt; 0.05) and further altered histone regulatory proteins in this region (P &lt; 0.05), suggesting a potential neural substrate for its effects. Moreover, the GLP-1R/GIPR agonist affected metabolic parameters including body weight (P &lt; 0.001), adipose tissue mass (P &lt; 0.01), hepatic triglycerides (P &lt; 0.01) and circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines (P &lt; 0.05). Interpretation: Together, our findings suggest tirzepatide modulates alcohol-related behaviours through reward-related mechanisms while also affecting physiological consequences associated with long-term alcohol use. Given tirzepatide's established clinical use and the consistency of effects observed here, these results support further investigation for treating AUD and associated complications.CC BY 4.0© 2025 The Author(s)Correspondence Address: E. Jerlhag; Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 13, SE-405 30, Sweden; email: [email protected] study is supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council (2023-2600, 2020-00559, 2020-01463, 2024-03054), LUA/ALF (723941 &amp; 1005347) from the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Alcohol Research Council of the Swedish Alcohol Retailing Monopoly (FO2024-0048), National Institutes of Health (NIH) (P50 AA010761 &amp; U01 AA014095), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development (BLR&amp;D I01BX000813 &amp; IK6BX006299), Herbert &amp; Karin Jacobssons Foundation (2024-Forskning-225), Adlerbertska Research Foundation (2024-791), Wilhelm &amp; Martina Lundgren’s Research Foundation (2024-SA-4698), Åke Wibergs Foundation (M24-0216), Swedish Diabetes Foundation (DIA 2024-898) and Mary von Sydow Foundation (2024-36 &amp; 2024-185). Thaynnam A Emous held an international internship scholarship from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Process Number #2023/18470-5, while conducting research at the University of Gothenburg.</p

Designing Synthetic Active Learning for model refinement in manufacturing parts detection

This paper introduces Synthetic Active Learning (SAL), a fully automatic model refinement strategy for manufacturing parts detection using only synthetic data actively generated with domain randomization for training. SAL iteratively updates the detection model by identifying its weaknesses, such as in specific categories, materials, or object sizes, using custom evaluators, and generating targeted synthetic data to address them; it selectively synthesizes new useful data with respect to active learning, where traditionally humans in the loop select data to label. During each iteration, model training and data generation occur simultaneously to improve efficiency. Evaluated on four use cases from two industrial datasets, SAL achieved mAP@50 improvements of 2 to 6% percentage points over static learning, which refers to training on a fixed, pre-generated dataset. It also showed notable gains in underperforming categories, leading to more balanced performance across classes. Another benefit is that it uses a consistent configuration across multiple use cases, avoiding the need for extensive hyperparameter tuning common in prior domain randomization studies. Given its encouraging performance across diverse scenarios, we believe that SAL can scale to broader industrial applications where training can be fully or mostly based on synthetic data. CC BY 4.0Correspondence Address: X. Zhu; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; email: [email protected]; CODEN: JMSYECorrigendum in: Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 16 December 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2025.12.012This work was partially supported by the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP) funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Sweden. The computations were enabled by the Berzelius resource provided by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation at the National Supercomputer Centre. We gratefully acknowledge colleagues at the Production Oskarshamn, Production Zwolle, Transmission Assembly, Engine Assembly, Academy, and Smart Factory Lab Departments at Scania CV AB for providing the CAD models and use cases. We also extend our thanks to Prof. Joakim Lindblad at the Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, for his valuable insights and constructive feedback on this study.</p

Dog-related injuries requiring medical attention in Skaraborg district, Sweden

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with dog-related injuries by analysing data collected from 5908 patients seeking treatment at healthcare facilities in Skaraborg district, Sweden, over the years 2001–2016. Methods: To describe factors associated with dog-related injuries, we analysed variables from four categories: people, that is, characteristics (gender and ages) of the patients who were injured; the circumstances in which the injuries occurred; the causes and types of injuries caused by dogs (injury mechanisms); and whether the injuries resulted in hospitalisation. Results: Most injuries occurred in residential settings (58%). Half of the reported injuries (n=2954) were due to dog bites, with the same number of patients who were injured in non-bite-related events, comprising a second group. Injury mechanisms for dog-related injuries other than bites varied, as did locations where the various injuries occurred. However, slightly more than half of all non-bite-related injuries were caused by falls, especially falls on the same level involving slips and trips (n= 831, 55.3% of all fall-related injuries). Dog bites were the primary injury cause for younger groups, while non-bite injuries were the leading injury cause for adults aged 45 years and older. Conclusions: The study showed that men and younger age groups were more likely to be injured via dog bites, while older women were more likely to be injured by tripping or falling over dogs. These findings imply that separate injury prevention strategies are required to address the different factors associated with both injury types.CC BY 4.0© Author(s)First published online January 12, 2026Correspondence Address: S. Sarenbo; Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Biology and Environment, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Pedalstråket 13, 392 31, Sweden; email: [email protected]; CODEN: SJPHAThe authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.</p

How Self-Service Business Intelligence Education Can Develop Data Literacy and AI Literacy : Lesson Learned from Practitioners

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can take Business Intelligence (BI) to the next level by empowering users in their daily decision-making tasks. Just like Self-Service Business Intelligence (SSBI), AI integrated business analytics comes with many benefits, but also with numerous implementation challenges. In fact, typical SSBI implementation challenges like data quality, data governance, and employee training are equally relevant when integrating AI. Hence, lessons learned from development of SSBI education could increase data literacy and AI literacy. Two case studies of SSBI education in large BI consultancy firms have identified five SSBI education steps: (1) increase the interest of using data; (2) introduce data to all users; (3) clean and define data to create standard reports; (4) develop SSBI data governance and (5) become self-reliant on accessing and using data. SSBI education can create a foundation that leads to being better prepared for the implementation and use of more advanced AI analytics.CC BY-NC-ND 4.0</p

Pity, pricing and purchase pressure in Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves

This study examines how Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves communicate guarantee systems and real-money cost structures in their player-facing monetisation design. The study focuses on three areas: guarantee communication, price transparency and currency conversion, and urgency-based or purchase-pressure cues. A comparative case study design was used, and official in-game monetisation materials were analysed through qualitative content analysis. The results show that the two games share important structural similarities, since both rely on banner systems, premium currencies, guarantee mechanics and limited-time promotional design. At the same time, the comparison reveals meaningful differences in how clearly these systems are communicated in practice. Genshin Impact appears to communicate guarantee systems and real-money costs more explicitly, while Wuthering Waves places greater responsibility on the player to interpret the practical meaning of the monetisation system. In contrast, the games are more similar in their use of urgency-based and purchase-pressure cues

HOW IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS AFFECT COMPOSITION : How is the act of composing for video games affected by the video game implementation tools used?

I denna studie undersöks hur digitala implementationsverktyg påverkar kompositionsprocessen och motivering av kompositörens verktygsval när de skapar musik för spel. Ludomusikologi är ett ungt fält där frågor om hur det kan studeras ställs. Fältets befintliga forskning har sällan varit utifrån ett produktionsperspektiv, vilket denna undersökning ämnat ha. I undersökningen intervjuades tre yrkesverksamma kompositörer med erfarenhet av olika implementationsverktyg. Intervjuerna genomfördes semi-strukturerat och spelades in i transkriberingssyfte. Transkriberingarna bearbetades med en ”Gioia-inspirerad” tematisk tolkning. Tolkningen av materialet pekar bland annat på att implementationsverktyg förbättrar arbetsflödet, iterationsmöjligheter och att den musikaliska kvalitén kan öka till följd av detta. För framtida forskning hade fler respondenter behövts för att möjliggöra en ökad generaliserbarhet för studiens upptäckter

Time-snaking facilitated debriefings about energy system futures – A megagame case study

Participation in a Megagame and a consecutive facilitated debriefing can enable large groups to co-construct awareness and knowledge about the complex relations involved in developing sustainable futures for current societies. “Switching the current” is a megagame where 20 to 100 participants collaboratively experience the challenges involved in shaping future energy consumption patterns and energy production solutions for their region, just and sustainable from a social, economic and environmental perspective. This paper explores how collective discussions can be visualized to better understand how in-game experiences are connected to real-world phenomena. Doing so, a time-snake method has been developed which visually depicts how reflective group discussions move between “game content” and “real world phenomena”, as well as between “attention to details” and “a broad systems perspective”. The comprehensive analysis and comparison of two debriefing sessions shows how participating in a Megagame can develop awareness and understanding of complex relations in shaping sustainable futures of societal energy systems. It also demonstrates how applying time-snake visualizations can help to evaluate the richness of the reflective co-construction that occurs in facilitated debriefings. © 2025 The Authors.CC BY 4.0June 2026Corresponding author: B. Johansson, Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping, 581 83, Sweden. Email address: [email protected] authors would like to thank the Swedish Energy Agency (grant number 2020-024506) for supporting this study.</p

GENDER REPRESENTATION IN GAME TRAILERS : A critical research study of female representation in game trailers

Speltrailers är ett vanligt sätt för spelföretag att göra reklam för nya spel. Dessa trailers ger möjliga konsumenter en inblick i spelets spelkänsla och narrativ. Denna studie ämnar undersöka genusrepresentation i dessa trailers och analysera hur framför allt kvinnor gestaltas. Tidigare studier har historiskt sett rapporterat en högre nivå av sexualisering och objektifiering bland kvinnliga karaktärer än manliga. Mediekritiker och feminister har kritiserat gestaltningen av kvinnliga karaktärer i media under lång tid och uppmärksammat att narrativ ofta tar ett manligt perspektiv. Resultaten från innehållsanalysen i denna studie visar på mer jämställdhet mellan kvinnliga och manliga karaktärer. Dock skiljer sig fortfarande representationen i aspekter som åldersgrupp, kroppsform och karaktärsroll i samstämning med tidigare studier