Bakgrund: Under de senaste decennierna har frivillig informationsgivning blivit vanligare. Den växande digitaliseringen, högre krav på mer informationsgivning från intressenter, ökade krav på hållbarhet samt ökade nivåer av granskning från omvärlden är några förklaringar till den ökade efterfrågan på frivillig informationsgivning. På grund av den växande efterfrågan har ämnet blivit intressant att studera. Syfte: Den här studien undersöker vilken kategori inom frivillig informationsgivning som är dominerande samt vilka likheter och skillnader det finns mellan börsnoterade och icke-börsnoterade företag när det gäller mängden av frivillig informationsgivning. Metod: Studien innefattar en kvantitativ metod där studien baseras på årsredovisningar från 2021 och urvalet består av 30 stora svenska börsnoterade och 30 stora svenska icke-börsnoterade aktiebolags årsredovisningar. Metoden som används för att analysera informationen är ett kodningsschema och chi-2-test. Resultat: Resultatet visar att den dominerande kategorin av frivilliga informationsgivning är “analys av föregående år” samt att det finns en skillnad mellan börsnoterade och icke-börsnoterade aktiebolag angående mängden frivillig informationsgivning. / Background: In recent decades, voluntary disclosure has become more common. The growing digitization, higher demands for more information from stakeholders, increased demands for sustainability and increased levels of audit from the outside world are some explanations for the increased demand of voluntary information provision. Due to the growing demand, the subject has become interesting to study. Purpose: This study investigates which category of voluntary disclosure is dominant and what similarities and differences exist between listed and non-listed companies in terms of the amount of voluntary disclosure. Method: The study includes a quantitative method where the study is based on annual reports from 2021 and the sample consists of 30 large Swedish listed and 30 large Swedish non-listed joint stock companies' annual reports. The method used to analyze the information is a coding scheme and Chi-square tests. Results: The results show that the dominant category of voluntary disclosure is "analysis of the previous year" and that there is a difference between listed and non-listed companies regarding the amount.

Det har länge funnits en önskan om att etablera ett globalt regelverk med redovisningsstandarder för att främja internationell handel och investeringar. Gemensamma standarder skulle bidra till större förståelse, öka transparensen, kvaliteten och jämförbarheten av finansiella rapporter på en global nivå. År 2014 infördes bestämmelser om att större onoterade företag var tvungna att antingen adoptera K-regelverket eller att redovisa enligt frivillig IFRS. K3-regelverket står för bokföringsnämndens allmänna råd om årsredovisning och koncernredovisning och är en nationell svensk standard. IFRS står för International Financial Reporting Standards och är en global redovisningsstandard som används i cirka 170 länder. Adoptering av IFRS har ökat världen över och tidigare forskning har visat att tillämpning av IFRS leder till högre redovisningskvalitet. Syftet med studien är att undersöka om det finns gemensamma faktorer hos svenska onoterade företag som väljer att redovisa enligt frivillig IFRS. Studien kommer att utgå från 5 hypoteser som grundar sig i egenskaper hos företag vi tror påverkar i vilken utsträckning ett företag redovisar enligt frivillig IFRS eller inte. Hypoteserna är baserade på tidigare forskning och teori. Studien har genomförts med ett urval på 149 företag där 93 redovisade enligt frivillig IFRS och 56 företag redovisade enligt K3-regelverket. Genom logistisk regressionsanalys undersökte vi påverkan av företagsspecifika egenskaper på valet av redovisningsstandard. Studiens resultat visar att ett företags storlek är en faktor som påverkar valet av att adoptera frivillig IFRS. I de andra faktorerna som vi undersökte vilka var lönsamhet, tillväxt, skuldsättningsgrad samt om företaget använde sig av någon av big 4 redovisningsbyrå, kunde vi inte finna något samband kopplat till att redovisa enligt frivillig IFRS. / There has long been a desire to establish a global regulatory framework with accounting standards to promote international trade and investment. Common standards would contribute to greater understanding, increased transparency, quality, and comparability of financial reports at a global level. In 2014, provisions were introduced requiring larger unlisted companies to either adopt the K-standard or to report according to voluntary IFRS. The K3 standard represents the Swedish Accounting Standards Board's general advice on annual and consolidated financial reporting and is a national Swedish standard. IFRS stands for International Financial Reporting Standards and is a global accounting standard used in approximately 170 countries. The adoption of IFRS has increased worldwide, and previous research has shown that the application of IFRS leads to higher accounting quality. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether there are common factors among Swedish unlisted companies that choose to report according to voluntary IFRS. The study will be based on 5 hypotheses that are based on characteristics of companies that we believe affect to what extent a company reports according to voluntary IFRS or not. The hypotheses are based on previous research and theory. The study was conducted with a sample of 149 companies, of which 93 reported according to voluntary IFRS and 56 companies reported according to the K3 standard. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the impact of company-specific characteristics on the choice of accounting standard. The study's results show that a company's size is a factor that influences the choice to adopt voluntary IFRS. In the other factors we investigated, which were profitability, growth, leverage, and whether the company used any of the big 4 accounting firms, we could not find any relationship linked to reporting according to voluntary IFRS.

Electric muscle stimulation (EMS) has been widely used in the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries. Patterned electrical neuromuscular stimulation (PENS), a specific form of EMS, has been developed to better educate muscles to contract properly. The physiological efficacy of PENS has not been quantifiably identified. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to determine the acute effect of one PENS training session (3 sets of 10 1-sec repetitions) on maximal isometric knee extensor (MVIC) torque production and surface EMG (sEMG) in healthy nonathlete college students. DESIGN: A randomized repeated-measures design was used in this study. METHODS: Twenty-two male college students participated in the study. All participants completed two training sessions, one with PENS and one without, in a randomized crossover design. RESULTS: One bout of PENS training significantly increased MVIC (3.1% ± 1.7%, p = 0.03) which was greater than the change in MVIC of the control group (p = 0.03). Control training did not alter MVIC but resulted in significant decrease in average sEMG amplitude (-7.8% ± 1.6%, p ≤ 0.01) and peak sEMG amplitude (-10.4% ± 2.7%, p ≤ 0.01). These reductions in sEMG following control training were significantly different from the PENS group (p = 0.03 and p ≤ 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that strength training in conjunction with PENS can enhance torque production after just one bout of training. The increase in torque with no change in sEMG amplitude can be explained by increased motor unit synchronization or decreased cocontraction of antagonist muscles.

Context: Knee pain is a common symptom in knee pathology and is associated with alterations in quadriceps activation and movement patterns. Reducing pain through intervention may help reestablish neuromuscular function. The independent effects of knee pain are difficult to examine and unclear. Objective: To investigate the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on quadriceps activation and vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) during walking. Design: Crossover. Setting: Laboratory. Subjects: 15 in the TENS group (10M and 5F, 23.5 ± 2.8 yrs, 70.5 ± 12.5 kg, 178.1 ± 7.4 cm), and 15 in the sham group (10M and 5F, 22.5 ± 2.0 yrs, 72.1 ± 13.7 kg, 177.5 ± 9.3 cm). Interventions: Subjects underwent three experimental conditions (pain, sham, and control). Measurements were recorded across four time points (preinfusion, infusion, treatment, and posttreatment). Hypertonic or isotonic saline, respectively, was infused into the infrapatellar fat pad for 48 minutes (total 7.7 mL). The TENS group received a 20-minute treatment. A sham treatment was administered to the sham group. Main Outcome Measures: Perceived knee pain on a 10-cm visual analog scale, knee extension maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) normalized to body mass, knee extension central activation ratio (CAR), and VGRF. Results: Knee pain peaked at 4 cm during infusion and remained consistent across time in the sham group (F2,28 = 49.90, P < 0.0001), while knee pain gradually decreased to 1.5 cm following TENS treatment (F2,28 = 23.11, P < 0.0001). A group x condition x time interaction was detected for both the MVIC (F6,168 = 2.92, P < 0.01) and CAR (F6,168 = 3.03, P < 0.008) measurements. Post hoc analysis revealed that the infusion of hypertonic saline reduced knee extension MVIC by 29% in the TENS group, and by 26% in the sham group (P < 0.05). However, while the MVIC remained depressed by 26% following sham treatment, the MVIC was found to improve by 12% following TENS treatment (P < 0.05). Similarly, a 10% decrease in CAR was detected in both sham and TENS groups prior to treatment. This 10% deficit held, with a 9% deficit following sham treatment, while the deficit of CAR was improved by 4% following TENS treatment (P < 0.05). For the TENS group, infusion of hypertonic saline changed VGRF at initial loading, midstance, and push-off phase. VGRF was only different at initial loading and push-off phase following TENS treatment. For the sham group however, sham treatment did not restore VGRF, showing alterations in initial loading, midstance, and push-off phase (α = 0.05). Conclusions: Infusion of hypertonic saline increased perceived knee pain, reduced knee extension MVIC, reduced CAR, and altered VGRF over some of stance phase. TENS lessened the deficits in MVIC, CAR, and VGRF, suggesting decreased muscle inhibition and improved movement function.

[pt] Esta pesquisa pretende analisar a experiência dos educadores voluntários no Pré-vestibular Comunitário Bonsucesso (PVCB), inaugurado, no final de 2016, por jovens agentes de pastorais da Paróquia Nossa Senhora de Bonsucesso, situada no bairro de Bonsucesso, no município do Rio de Janeiro. O Pré-vestibular Comunitário Bonsucesso acolhe alunos egressos, em sua maioria, de escolas pública e cujo recorte social é marcado pela baixa renda. Este trabalho objetiva, portanto, a partir das experiências desses educadores, analisar qual a influência do Pré-vestibular Comunitário Bonsucesso na formação profissional dos professores que desenvolvem a prática docente no contexto do trabalho voluntário. Nessa perspectiva, busca-se refletir sobre o papel desse curso de educação comunitária na formação profissional desses educadores que exercem a docência voluntária no espaço de educação não-formal. O trabalho foi estruturado sobre três eixos centrais: breve panorama dos pré-vestibulares comunitários; o Educador voluntariado e os pré-vestibulares comunitários; e a pesquisa de campo, na qual foi possível perceber a influência do Pré-vestibular comunitário Bonsucesso a partir da percepção dos educadores voluntários que nele atua, ao resgatarem experiências tanto individuais quanto coletivas. Essas experiências revelam o processo de troca no espaço comunitário e sinalizam como a prática docente voluntária ofertada pelo PVCB proporciona espaço potente para construção de saberes profissionais docentes. Por sua vez, revela como o voluntariado continua potencializando outras expressões, como a busca de experiência profissional, sendo terreno fértil para construção de saberes que fortaleçam os professores voluntários para o mundo do trabalho formal. Para obtenção dos resultados utilizou-se pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa que realizou 7 entrevistas com professores do PVCB. A fim de fundamentar teoricamente, recorreu-se, principalmente a Gohn (2013), Zago (2008), Tardif (2014), Santos (2006) e Nascimento (1999). Por fim, este estudo revelou-se de grande relevância, pois os achados da pesquisa desvelam novas configurações de voluntariado e apontam o trabalho do PVCB como espaço de formação de novos professores. / [en] This research intends to analyze the experience of volunteer educators in the Bonsucesso Community Pre-University Entrance Examination (PVCB), inaugurated, in late 2016, by young pastoral agents from the Nossa Senhora de Bonsucesso Parish, located in the Bonsucesso neighborhood, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Bonsucesso Community Pre-university entrance exam welcomes students who are graduates, mostly from public schools and whose social profile is marked by low income. This work aims, therefore, from the experiences of these educators, to analyze the influence of the Bonsucesso Community Pre-university entrance exam in the professional training of teachers who develop teaching practice in the context of voluntary work. In this perspective, we seek to reflect on the role of this community education course in the professional training of these educators who exercise voluntary teaching in the space of non-formal education. The work was structured around three central axes: a brief overview of the community entrance exams; the volunteer educator and the community entrance exams; and field research, in which it was possible to perceive the influence of the Bonsucesso community college entrance exam from the perception of the volunteer educators who work there, when rescuing both individual and collective experiences. These experiences reveal the exchange process in the community space and signal how the voluntary teaching practice offered by PVCB provides a powerful space for the construction of professional teaching knowledge. In turn, it reveals how volunteering continues to enhance other expressions, such as the search for professional experience, being a fertile ground for building knowledge that strengthens volunteer teachers for the world of formal work. To obtain the results, a qualitative research was used, which conducted 7 interviews with PVCB professors. In order to substantiate theoretically, it was used, mainly Gohn (2013), Zago (2008), Tardif (2014), Santos (2006) and Nascimento (1999). Finally, this study proved to be of great relevance, since the research findings reveal new configurations of volunteering and point out the work of the PVCB as a space for training new teachers.

Society is dependent processes that emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere prevents sunlight reflected from earth’s surface to get to space thereby warming the earth and causing climate change. To prevent the effects of adverse climate change, the voluntary carbon market was designed to help buyers, individuals or organizations that cannot avoid emission in their process, purchase carbon credits from sellers, entities whose process prevent or avoid carbon emissions. The voluntary carbon market faces challenges like market fragmentation, opacity of records, and delayed processes due to layers of intermediation and double counting. In an attempt to solve these challenges, blockchain, a ledger technology, has been applied by innovative organizations. This thesis researches the possible roles of trading carbon credits using blockchain based platforms in the voluntary carbon market. Furthermore, this thesis focuses secondarily on how the application could increase supply of carbon credits, influence commitment to net-zero, contribute to production of high-quality carbon credits, and promote fairness in carbon trading. A conceptual framework based upon the Oxford Principles for Carbon Offsetting, Taskforce for Scaling the Voluntary Carbon Market (TSVCM), and the Sustainability Principles was used in this study. Seven organizations were investigated in this study through a first phase of interview and a second phase of survey.The findings suggest that blockchain-enabled carbon trading has the potential to enable market growth, foster systems interactions and transition via information technology, and support opportunities for sustainability in the socio-ecological system. Blockchain also inherits the unsustainability of the overall tech and energy sectors wherein it operates. Weak governance systems off-chain from non-disclosures by market players also risk the market system on-chain to vulnerabilities. The authors conclude that trading carbon credit on blockchain-enabled platforms is a step in the right direction in terms of amplifying the contributions the voluntary carbon markets hold for cutting down carbon emissions. They also acknowledge that the blockchain-carbon credit application does not directly address upstream issues of carbon emission but serves as a mechanism to accelerate decarbonization.

As the environmental crises have increased around the world in the past decades, companies have become more aware of the importance of sustainability and social responsibility. While large companies are required by law to perform sustainability reports, small companies do so on a voluntary basis. The purpose of this study is: (1) To investigate what factors affect the quantity of sustainability reporting amongst small, Swedish listed companies; and (2) To investigate how sustainability reporting has developed over the years in small, Swedish listed companies. A quantitative method with cross-sectional and longitudinal design was used in this study. Annual and/or sustainability reports and financial information from 53 companies were collected and examined. Furthermore, we conducted a content analysis with an index of keywords to quantify data from the annual and/or sustainability reports based on predetermined categories. The results show that there is a positive relationship between voluntary sustainability reporting and firm size amongst small, Swedish listed companies. No other relationships were detected in this study. The results further show a remarkable increase in sustainability reporting when studying the years of 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Bakgrund: Ensamhet uppstår vid många stadier i livet, där vi människor upplever ensamhet på olika sätt. Men ensamhet uppstår även vid användandet av sociala medier. Människor kommer ifrån varandra genom att den fysiska kontakten medan den sociala interaktionen på sociala medier ökar. Frivillig ensamhet och många som upplever ensamhet kan oftast uppleva positivt eller negativt av upplevd ensamhet. Syfte: Syftet med detta arbete är att förstå och undersöka hur ensamheten förekommer i relation till sociala medier användning. Studien är avgränsat till att studera ensamhet och avskildhet för att kunna få olika uppfattningar om upplevelsen av ensamhet som uppstår med användandet av sociala medier. Metod: 10 människor i olika åldrar har djupintervjuats med semistrukturerade intervjuer för att få en bättre förståelse för hur ensamhet upplevs av olika människor. Jag har använt mig av kvalitativ dataanalys. Resultat: Studiens resultat visar att människor har olika upplevelser av ensamhet när de använder sig av sociala medier. Många kan känna att det är bra att komma från varandra medan andra kan känna att det är jobbigt att komma ifrån sammanhållningen som finns. / Background: Loneliness occurs at many stages in life, where we humans experience loneliness in different ways. But loneliness also arises when using social media. People get apart by increasing physical contact while social interaction on social media. Seclusion is a loneliness that is selfchosen and many who use loneliness can often experience positively or negatively from perceived loneliness. Aim: The aim of this work is to study the loneliness that arises when using social media. How loneliness arises with the use of social media arises. The study is limited to studying loneliness and seclusion to get different perceptions about the experience of loneliness that arises with the use of social media. Method: 10 people of different ages have been interviewed in depth with semi- structured interviews to gain a better understanding of how loneliness is experienced by different people. I have used qualitative data analysis. Results: The study concluded that people have different experiences of loneliness when they use social media. Many may feel that it is good to get away from each other while others may feel that it is difficult to get away from the cohesion that exists.

This thesis explores the role of environmental perceptions and activism in migration decision-making within the context of a country highly vulnerable to climate change. It focuses on a case study of young climate activists in Bangladesh, and their aspirations for staying or moving. The qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews. For analysis of migration decisions, the study utilizes a theoretical framework of aspirations and capabilities by De Haas (2021), while incorporating concepts of Hirschman’s (1978) “voice” and Robins’(2022) “duty to loyalty”. The study reveals that climate activists are aware of and concerned about environmental changes, but do not perceive them as immediate threat to their current livelihoods. While they face daily challenges and witness the vulnerability of communities, they express hope and actively choose to stay in their country. Activism serves them to voice their concern and help their community. The constant interaction between the environmental perceptions and activism, shapes their capacity to envision a better future and enhances their aspirations for staying in their motherland

[pt] O presente trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar e contextualizar o atual cenário do mercado voluntário de carbono no Brasil, para que possa servir como um guia para as empresas brasileiras entenderem sobre esse mercado. Para isso foi feita uma revisão bibliográfica com diversos estudos e publicações de entidades do terceiro setor, bem como relatórios e artigos publicados no Brasil e no mundo, mostrando o surgimento, o contexto e os atuais desafios e pontos de atenção que esse mercado exige. O trabalho mostra que esse é um mercado relativamente novo, mas que já passou por momentos de crise e expansão, e que nos últimos anos, impulsionado por empresas e pessoas físicas querendo compensar suas emissões, movimento que ficou mais conhecido como Net Zero, e em alguns casos carbono neutro, vem apresentando forte crescimento. Por outro lado, ainda pelo pequeno tamanho do mercado, quando comprado com as emissões globais e pela sua natureza de ser voluntário e com relativa facilidade de entrada, tanto no fornecimento do crédito quanto nos compromissos assumidos, diversos desafios se apresentam para esse mercado, que por um lado é facilmente adaptável a diversas realidades, mas que por outro precisa ser crível e mostrar resultados para quem vende, compra e quem consome. As principais conclusões são, que esse mercado tem grande potencial de promover inovações tecnológicas e engajar empresas e pessoas na direção de uma economia de baixo carbono, e que funciona como uma importante ferramenta de transição, e que ele sozinho não consegue fazer com que o mundo caminhe para a neutralidade nas emissões de carbono. / [en] The present work aims to present and contextualize the current scenario of the voluntary carbon market in Brazil, so that it can serve as a guide for Brazilian companies to understand this market. To achieve this, a bibliographic review was conducted using various studies and publications from third-sector entities, as well as reports and articles published in Brazil and in other contries, showing the emergence, context, and current challenges and points of attention that this market demands. The work shows that this is a relatively new market, but it has already gone through periods of crisis and expansion. In recent years, driven by companies and individuals seeking to offset their emissions, a movement known as Net Zero, and in some cases carbon neutral, it has been experiencing strong growth. However, due to the small size of the market compared to global emissions and its voluntary nature with relative ease of entry, both in the supply of credits and in the commitments made, various challenges are presented for this market. On one hand, it is easily adaptable to various realities, but on the other hand, it needs to be credible and show results for those who sell, buy, and consume. The main conclusions are that this market has great potential to promote technological innovations and engage companies and individuals towards a low-carbon economy. It serves as an important transition tool, but alone, it cannot lead the world towards carbon emissions neutrality.