Management accounting has evolved significantly over the past decades, integrating modern theories and innovative approaches to enhance decision-making processes within organizations. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of contemporary management accounting practices, aligning them with emerging theoretical frameworks. Written in Farsi and developed within the Iranian academic and business context, the book critically examines traditional cost management techniques while exploring strategic cost management, performance measurement systems, and behavioral aspects of accounting. Drawing from both global and local perspectives, the book discusses the impact of modern economic theories, information technology advancements, and data-driven decision-making on management accounting. Additionally, it highlights the role of sustainability, digital transformation, and corporate governance in shaping accounting practices. By incorporating empirical evidence and case studies relevant to Iran’s economic landscape, this work serves as a valuable resource for academics, professionals, and students seeking to understand the evolving role of management accounting in today’s dynamic business environment. This book aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice, fostering a deeper understanding of how modern management accounting principles can enhance strategic planning, risk management, and organizational performance in an era of rapid economic and technological changes.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of tax accounting principles with a particular focus on Value Added Tax (VAT) within the Iranian context. Written in Farsi, the book explores the theoretical foundations and practical applications of tax accounting, offering insights into Iran’s tax regulations, VAT implementation, and its impact on businesses and financial reporting. It discusses the legal framework, compliance requirements, and challenges associated with VAT administration while comparing Iran’s tax system with international standards. The book serves as a valuable resource for tax professionals, accountants, researchers, and policymakers seeking to understand the complexities of tax accounting and VAT in Iran.

Mutual funds play a crucial role in financial markets by providing investors with diversified investment opportunities and professional management. This book offers an in-depth analysis of the mutual fund industry in Iran, examining its structure, regulatory framework, and performance assessment methods.  The book explores key aspects of mutual fund management, including fund selection, portfolio diversification, risk management, and investment strategies. It also evaluates various performance measurement models, such as risk-adjusted return metrics, benchmarking techniques, and the impact of economic and market conditions on fund performance. A comparative analysis with international practices is provided to highlight Iran’s unique challenges and opportunities in the mutual fund sector. Moreover, the book addresses the role of fund managers, investor behavior, and regulatory policies in shaping the mutual fund landscape. By integrating theoretical foundations with empirical data, this study offers valuable insights for academics, financial professionals, policymakers, and investors interested in the Iranian mutual fund market. This book serves as a comprehensive guide for understanding mutual fund operations and performance evaluation in Iran, contributing to the broader discourse on investment management in emerging economies.

The financial sector plays a crucial role in economic stability, and effective risk management is essential for maintaining the resilience of banks, financial institutions, and credit organizations. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of risk management frameworks, methodologies, and regulatory requirements, with a particular focus on quantitative modeling approaches. Written in the context of the Iranian banking and financial system, the book integrates theoretical insights with practical applications, addressing key risks such as credit, market, liquidity, and operational risks.

By incorporating advanced financial modeling techniques, including statistical, econometric, and machine learning-based approaches, the book offers an in-depth examination of risk assessment, mitigation strategies, and stress testing in financial institutions. Furthermore, it discusses the impact of global financial regulations, such as Basel accords, and their adaptation in Iran’s financial landscape. The book is designed for academics, policymakers, risk managers, and finance professionals seeking a structured approach to risk management with empirical insights and case studies from the Iranian financial system.

This work contributes to bridging the gap between theory and practice in financial risk management, highlighting innovative strategies that enhance the robustness of banking and credit institutions against financial uncertainties and crises.

The integration of skilled immigrants into European labor markets is a pressing issue, particularly as demographic changes and labor shortages challenge national economies. This study critically reviews key integration programs across Europe assessing their effectiveness in addressing skill gaps and fostering economic inclusion. By adopting a comparative policy analysis approach, this review examines residency and work permit structures, sector-specific support mechanisms, and cultural adaptation strategies. The findings highlight common challenges such as underemployment, foreign credential recognition, and cultural adaptation barriers while underscoring successful strategies, including language training, vocational upskilling, and employer incentives for hiring skilled migrants. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on two-way integration—ensuring both immigrants and host societies benefit from structured policy interventions. By identifying best practices and policy gaps, the study advocates for streamlined qualification recognition, proactive community engagement, and long-term policy flexibility to enhance labor market participation for skilled migrants. These insights serve as a foundation for evidence-based policymaking and future research on socioeconomic integration frameworks in the European context.

As Europe faces evolving migration patterns, the integration of skilled immigrants remains a crucial socio-economic challenge. This study explores innovative community-based approaches that enhance skilled immigrants’ access to local labor markets, professional networks, and social services. Through a comparative analysis of successful European models. This research highlights effective policies that align with labor market demands and foster long-term socio-economic inclusion. By examining barriers such as underemployment, recognition of foreign qualifications, and cultural adaptation, this study identifies best practices for facilitating smoother transitions into host economies. Key recommendations include enhancing language and vocational training, streamlining credential recognition, promoting inclusive hiring policies, and fostering mentorship programs that connect skilled immigrants with local professionals.  The findings advocate for community-driven integration models that prioritize policy flexibility, employer incentives, and sustained governmental support. Addressing these integration challenges not only mitigates skill shortages but also strengthens economic resilience and social cohesion across European societies. This research underscores the importance of a holistic, adaptive, and collaborative approach to integration, ensuring that skilled immigrants contribute meaningfully to their new communities.

Background— Studies on people with asylum-seeking backgrounds reveal different needs for and challenges with utilisation of health-related information and healthcare services in host countries. In order to explore such needs and challenges, we need to identify influential factors that affect the motivation of people with asylum-seeking background to seek health-related information and healthcare services. Awareness of a health problem and cues to action may vary from one person to another. Cues to action may, moreover, it can be internal (such as symptoms or changes in body shape) or external (such as messages). Studying cues to action, particularly among minorities with different ethnic backgrounds is therefore important. Purpose: This study investigates internal and external cues to take health actions among people with asylum-seeking background living in the two Nordic countries Finland and Norway. Design/methodology/approach: Two sets of semi-structured interviews were conducted from May to August 2022 with a total of 16 participants with asylum-seeking background in Finland (N = 7) and Norway (N = 9). The interview guide was developed based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify internal and external factors acting as motivators for taking health actions in the studied group. Results- The findings indicate that common cues to health actions among the participants were related to changes in health, access to free medical check-ups, health educational TV or radio programmes, and social media. The participants mentioned different internal and external motivations for taking health action, which correspond to their cultural differences or beliefs. These were advice from family members and friends, advice from a healthcare professional from their country of origin and receiving information about physical or mental health risk factors at church, mosque, or their community meeting. Finally, receiving information about physical or mental health risk factors from universities, employers, local health authorities, or medical professionals, and advice from a local healthcare professional were reported more among participants from the Norwegian sample group (three out of nine) compared with the Finnish sample group (one out of seven). Findings-The findings reveal that while different officials and stakeholders provide health-related information in terms of emails, letters (such as invitation letters for mammography check-ups), and guidelines to non-native minorities; only a small part of this information will reach and be used by the target population. Practical implications: This study has twofold practical implications, (a) to provide practical insights to healthcare providers, immigration authorities, and policymakers on factors influencing taking health action among non-native minorities, and (b) to highlight the role of cultural factors and beliefs in the utilisation of different health-related information and healthcare services among minorities in Nordic countries. The findings showed factors such as health-information being simple, related to the immediate health needs of the audience, as well as easy to access are the most important factors that lead to more utilisation of health-related information and healthcare services among the studied population. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies on cues to health actions among residents with asylum-seeking background living in two Nordic countries and provides reflections on the role of personal social networks and official cues in providing awareness of health problems.

Over the course of the last few decades, the Nordic countries are facing a change in their population structure, with a growing number of immigrants including people with asylum-seeking and refugee backgrounds. Almost three million people have moved to the Nordic countries in the last decade (Nordic Welfare Centre, 2017). For example, in Norway the number of asylum seekers for 2015 was 31,150 and the number of refugees for 2021 was 46,042 (Macro-trends, 2022; Statista, 2022). However, it should be noted that these individ-uals (asylum seekers and refugees) have diverse cultural and ethnical back-grounds, which means they may have different approaches toward seeking health information or healthcare services in their host country (Ahmadinia et al., 2021). Providing adequate and timely health information services for these people is one of the main challenges of the Nordic healthcare system (Haj-Younes et al., 2022). Therefore, a primary step to overcome this challenge is to understand what health-related information and healthcare services these individuals might need. This study aims to address this research gap by inves-tigating their information seeking behaviour from the perspective of cultural and ethnical background. Health information-seeking behaviour and health-care-seeking behaviour are two main key terms in this study. Health informa-tion-seeking behaviour refers to any situation in which an individual needs or uses any health-related information, while healthcare seeking behaviour refers to any activity undertaken by an individual who perceived himself to have a health concern, or to be sick, for the purpose of finding an appropriate reme-dy (Lalazaryan and Zare-Farashbandi, 2014; Ward et al., 1997). This extend-ed abstract, is a part of larger study including interviews also in Finland and Sweden, and presents preliminary findings of an original qualitative study on people with asylum seeking background and their health seeking behaviour in terms of health-related needs and utilisation in Norway

Dealing with the needs of asylum seekers and refugees regarding various health-related information and healthcare services is a challenge for healthcare service providers. According to the Finnish Immigration Service (2022), there were 61,645 new asylum applications between January 2015 and July 2022 in Finland. Immigrants and newcomers who want to initially settle down in a new country may face various challenges in accessing different health-related information and healthcare services. An area of concern is their health-related information or health needs, having access to medical information and services, and familiarity with the process and the procedures of using these services in a host country (Ahmadinia et al., 2021, 2022; Kidane et al., 2021; Willey et al., 2022). This study aims to investigate information-seeking behaviour from the perspective of cultural and ethnic backgrounds among people with asylum-seeking background living in Finland. This extended abstract presents a part of a larger study including interviews also in Norway and Sweden, presenting preliminary findings of an original qualitative study on Persian-speaking people with asylum-seeking background and their health-seeking behaviour in terms of health-related needs and utilisation in Finland.

This article reviews health beliefs, and attitudes of asylum seekers and refugees, using an adapted framework of the Health Belief Model. The systematic review included 15 peer-reviewed records retrieved from CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, and PsycArticles. Findings of this review show culture, tradition, fate or destiny, psychological factors, family, friends, and community were crucial influential factors in shaping asylum seekers, and refugees’ perceived barriers, fear, severity, and susceptibility in their health-seeking activities. In addition, knowledge and awareness related to the benefits of using modern healthcare services were motivators for different ethnic groups to take care of their personal health. Healthcare providers, educational programs, and support from family, friends, and community had noteworthy influence on triggering the health-related decision-making process among asylum seekers and refugees. This study offers practical implications for healthcare providers and public health community to devise culturally relevant strategies that will effectively target asylum seekers and refugees with diverse cultural, traditional and attitudinal beliefs about healthcare and health seeking activities. This is one of the descriptive review studies on asylum seekers and refugees’ health beliefs and their health-seeking behavior based on ethnicity grounds.

As Finland experiences demographic shifts with a growing population of asylum seekers, ensuring access to adequate healthcare information remains a significant challenge. Understanding how asylum seekers seek, evaluate, and utilize health information is crucial for improving healthcare accessibility and policy development. This study explores the health information needs and seeking behaviors of asylum seekers in Finland, identifying key challenges such as language barriers, digital literacy, trust in healthcare systems, and cultural adaptation.

The research employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating systematic reviews, qualitative interviews, and quantitative surveys based on established models, including the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking and the Health Information Acquisition Model. By analyzing asylum seekers' experiences and the effectiveness of available health information sources, the study aims to assess whether existing healthcare information meets their needs and expectations.

Preliminary findings suggest that asylum seekers face multiple barriers in accessing reliable health information, including fragmented service provision, sociocultural differences, and limited awareness of available resources. The study highlights the role of information-seeking strategies and the potential impact of digital health literacy programs in bridging the gap between asylum seekers and healthcare services.

By contributing to the broader discourse on health information behavior and inclusion, this research offers recommendations for healthcare policymakers, information professionals, and social service providers to develop more effective, accessible, and culturally responsive health communication strategies.

During the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus people acquire and exchange health information about COVID-19 through different communication chan-nels. It is important to understand the role of individuals as information sources, and gain understanding on health information seeking behavior among language minorities during a pandemic.Lalazaryan & Zare-Farashbandi (2014) described health information seeking behavior as any individual’s activities that are related to seeking, obtaining, and making use of health information either regarding illnesses or treatments. In a pandemic, the health information seeking focus may change more towards securing one’s own health and supporting the close ones in the same crisis (Dreisiebner, März, Mandl, 2020). World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern (Jee, 2020; WHO, 2020). A pandemic raises feelings like fear, worry and anxiety. Mental health concerns have been raised in tow of the pandemic because of numerous reasons. One of them is the isolation millions of people have endured during the first and the ongoing second wave of COVID-19. WHO has established mental health recommen-dations of how individuals can care for their mental health during times of crisis. In these recommendations family and friends play a role, for instance in following ways: “keep in touch with friends and family”, “establish a support network”, “develop a feeling of belonging to the collective care process” (WHO, 2018).

Background— Studies on people with asylum-seeking backgrounds reveal different needs for and challenges with utilisation of health-related information and healthcare services in host countries. In order to explore such needs and challenges, we need to identify influential factors that affect the motivation of people with asylum-seeking background to seek health-related information and healthcare services. Awareness of a health problem and cues to action may vary from one person to another. Cues to action may, moreover, it can be internal (such as symptoms or changes in body shape) or external (such as messages). Studying cues to action, particularly among minorities with different ethnic backgrounds is therefore important. Purpose: This study investigates internal and external cues to take health actions among people with asylum-seeking background living in the two Nordic countries Finland and Norway.

Design/methodology/approach: Two sets of semi-structured interviews were conducted from May to August 2022 with a total of 16 participants with asylum-seeking background in Finland (N = 7) and Norway (N = 9). The interview guide was developed based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify internal and external factors acting as motivators for taking health actions in the studied group.

Results- The findings indicate that common cues to health actions among the participants were related to changes in health, access to free medical check-ups, health educational TV or radio programmes, and social media. The participants mentioned different internal and external motivations for taking health action, which correspond to their cultural differences or beliefs. These were advice from family members and friends, advice from a healthcare professional from their country of origin and receiving information about physical or mental health risk factors at church, mosque, or their community meeting. Finally, receiving information about physical or mental health risk factors from universities, employers, local health authorities, or medical professionals, and advice from a local healthcare professional were reported more among participants from the Norwegian sample group (three out of nine) compared with the Finnish sample group (one out of seven).

Findings-The findings reveal that while different officials and stakeholders provide health-related information in terms of emails, letters (such as invitation letters for mammography check-ups), and guidelines to non-native minorities; only a small part of this information will reach and be used by the target population.

Practical implications: This study has twofold practical implications, (a) to provide practical insights to healthcare providers, immigration authorities, and policymakers on factors influencing taking health action among non-native minorities, and (b) to highlight the role of cultural factors and beliefs in the utilisation of different health-related information and healthcare services among minorities in Nordic countries. The findings showed factors such as health-information being simple, related to the immediate health needs of the audience, as well as easy to access are the most important factors that lead to more utilisation of health-related information and healthcare services among the studied population.

Originality/value: This is one of the first studies on cues to health actions among residents with asylum-seeking background living in two Nordic countries and provides reflections on the role of personal social networks and official cues in providing awareness of health problems.

This article reviews health beliefs, and attitudes of asylum seekers and refugees, using an adapted framework of the Health Belief Model. The systematic review included 15 peer-reviewed records retrieved from CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, and PsycArticles. Findings of this review show culture, tradition, fate or destiny, psychological factors, family, friends, and community were crucial influential factors in shaping asylum seekers, and refugees’ perceived barriers, fear, severity, and susceptibility in their health-seeking activities. In addition, knowledge and awareness related to the benefits of using modern healthcare services were motivators for different ethnic groups to take care of their personal health. Healthcare providers, educational programs, and support from family, friends, and community had noteworthy influence on triggering the health-related decision-making process among asylum seekers and refugees. This study offers practical implications for healthcare providers and public health community to devise culturally relevant strategies that will effectively target asylum seekers and refugees with diverse cultural, traditional and attitudinal beliefs about healthcare and health seeking activities. This is one of the descriptive review studies on asylum seekers and refugees’ health beliefs and their health-seeking behavior based on ethnicity grounds.

The integration of skilled immigrants into European labor markets is a pressing issue, particularly as demographic changes and labor shortages challenge national economies. This study critically reviews key integration programs across Europe assessing their effectiveness in addressing skill gaps and fostering economic inclusion. By adopting a comparative policy analysis approach, this review examines residency and work permit structures, sector-specific support mechanisms, and cultural adaptation strategies. The findings highlight common challenges such as underemployment, foreign credential recognition, and cultural adaptation barriers while underscoring successful strategies, including language training, vocational upskilling, and employer incentives for hiring skilled migrants. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on two-way integration—ensuring both immigrants and host societies benefit from structured policy interventions. By identifying best practices and policy gaps, the study advocates for streamlined qualification recognition, proactive community engagement, and long-term policy flexibility to enhance labor market participation for skilled migrants. These insights serve as a foundation for evidence-based policymaking and future research on socioeconomic integration frameworks in the European context.

As Europe faces evolving migration patterns, the integration of skilled immigrants remains a crucial socio-economic challenge. This study explores innovative community-based approaches that enhance skilled immigrants’ access to local labor markets, professional networks, and social services. Through a comparative analysis of successful European models. This research highlights effective policies that align with labor market demands and foster long-term socio-economic inclusion. By examining barriers such as underemployment, recognition of foreign qualifications, and cultural adaptation, this study identifies best practices for facilitating smoother transitions into host economies. Key recommendations include enhancing language and vocational training, streamlining credential recognition, promoting inclusive hiring policies, and fostering mentorship programs that connect skilled immigrants with local professionals.  The findings advocate for community-driven integration models that prioritize policy flexibility, employer incentives, and sustained governmental support. Addressing these integration challenges not only mitigates skill shortages but also strengthens economic resilience and social cohesion across European societies. This research underscores the importance of a holistic, adaptive, and collaborative approach to integration, ensuring that skilled immigrants contribute meaningfully to their new communities.

Background— Studies on people with asylum-seeking backgrounds reveal different needs for and challenges with utilisation of health-related information and healthcare services in host countries. In order to explore such needs and challenges, we need to identify influential factors that affect the motivation of people with asylum-seeking background to seek health-related information and healthcare services. Awareness of a health problem and cues to action may vary from one person to another. Cues to action may, moreover, it can be internal (such as symptoms or changes in body shape) or external (such as messages). Studying cues to action, particularly among minorities with different ethnic backgrounds is therefore important. Purpose: This study investigates internal and external cues to take health actions among people with asylum-seeking background living in the two Nordic countries Finland and Norway. Design/methodology/approach: Two sets of semi-structured interviews were conducted from May to August 2022 with a total of 16 participants with asylum-seeking background in Finland (N = 7) and Norway (N = 9). The interview guide was developed based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify internal and external factors acting as motivators for taking health actions in the studied group. Results- The findings indicate that common cues to health actions among the participants were related to changes in health, access to free medical check-ups, health educational TV or radio programmes, and social media. The participants mentioned different internal and external motivations for taking health action, which correspond to their cultural differences or beliefs. These were advice from family members and friends, advice from a healthcare professional from their country of origin and receiving information about physical or mental health risk factors at church, mosque, or their community meeting. Finally, receiving information about physical or mental health risk factors from universities, employers, local health authorities, or medical professionals, and advice from a local healthcare professional were reported more among participants from the Norwegian sample group (three out of nine) compared with the Finnish sample group (one out of seven). Findings-The findings reveal that while different officials and stakeholders provide health-related information in terms of emails, letters (such as invitation letters for mammography check-ups), and guidelines to non-native minorities; only a small part of this information will reach and be used by the target population. Practical implications: This study has twofold practical implications, (a) to provide practical insights to healthcare providers, immigration authorities, and policymakers on factors influencing taking health action among non-native minorities, and (b) to highlight the role of cultural factors and beliefs in the utilisation of different health-related information and healthcare services among minorities in Nordic countries. The findings showed factors such as health-information being simple, related to the immediate health needs of the audience, as well as easy to access are the most important factors that lead to more utilisation of health-related information and healthcare services among the studied population. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies on cues to health actions among residents with asylum-seeking background living in two Nordic countries and provides reflections on the role of personal social networks and official cues in providing awareness of health problems.

Over the course of the last few decades, the Nordic countries are facing a change in their population structure, with a growing number of immigrants including people with asylum-seeking and refugee backgrounds. Almost three million people have moved to the Nordic countries in the last decade (Nordic Welfare Centre, 2017). For example, in Norway the number of asylum seekers for 2015 was 31,150 and the number of refugees for 2021 was 46,042 (Macro-trends, 2022; Statista, 2022). However, it should be noted that these individ-uals (asylum seekers and refugees) have diverse cultural and ethnical back-grounds, which means they may have different approaches toward seeking health information or healthcare services in their host country (Ahmadinia et al., 2021). Providing adequate and timely health information services for these people is one of the main challenges of the Nordic healthcare system (Haj-Younes et al., 2022). Therefore, a primary step to overcome this challenge is to understand what health-related information and healthcare services these individuals might need. This study aims to address this research gap by inves-tigating their information seeking behaviour from the perspective of cultural and ethnical background. Health information-seeking behaviour and health-care-seeking behaviour are two main key terms in this study. Health informa-tion-seeking behaviour refers to any situation in which an individual needs or uses any health-related information, while healthcare seeking behaviour refers to any activity undertaken by an individual who perceived himself to have a health concern, or to be sick, for the purpose of finding an appropriate reme-dy (Lalazaryan and Zare-Farashbandi, 2014; Ward et al., 1997). This extend-ed abstract, is a part of larger study including interviews also in Finland and Sweden, and presents preliminary findings of an original qualitative study on people with asylum seeking background and their health seeking behaviour in terms of health-related needs and utilisation in Norway

Dealing with the needs of asylum seekers and refugees regarding various health-related information and healthcare services is a challenge for healthcare service providers. According to the Finnish Immigration Service (2022), there were 61,645 new asylum applications between January 2015 and July 2022 in Finland. Immigrants and newcomers who want to initially settle down in a new country may face various challenges in accessing different health-related information and healthcare services. An area of concern is their health-related information or health needs, having access to medical information and services, and familiarity with the process and the procedures of using these services in a host country (Ahmadinia et al., 2021, 2022; Kidane et al., 2021; Willey et al., 2022). This study aims to investigate information-seeking behaviour from the perspective of cultural and ethnic backgrounds among people with asylum-seeking background living in Finland. This extended abstract presents a part of a larger study including interviews also in Norway and Sweden, presenting preliminary findings of an original qualitative study on Persian-speaking people with asylum-seeking background and their health-seeking behaviour in terms of health-related needs and utilisation in Finland.

This article reviews health beliefs, and attitudes of asylum seekers and refugees, using an adapted framework of the Health Belief Model. The systematic review included 15 peer-reviewed records retrieved from CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, and PsycArticles. Findings of this review show culture, tradition, fate or destiny, psychological factors, family, friends, and community were crucial influential factors in shaping asylum seekers, and refugees’ perceived barriers, fear, severity, and susceptibility in their health-seeking activities. In addition, knowledge and awareness related to the benefits of using modern healthcare services were motivators for different ethnic groups to take care of their personal health. Healthcare providers, educational programs, and support from family, friends, and community had noteworthy influence on triggering the health-related decision-making process among asylum seekers and refugees. This study offers practical implications for healthcare providers and public health community to devise culturally relevant strategies that will effectively target asylum seekers and refugees with diverse cultural, traditional and attitudinal beliefs about healthcare and health seeking activities. This is one of the descriptive review studies on asylum seekers and refugees’ health beliefs and their health-seeking behavior based on ethnicity grounds.

As Finland experiences demographic shifts with a growing population of asylum seekers, ensuring access to adequate healthcare information remains a significant challenge. Understanding how asylum seekers seek, evaluate, and utilize health information is crucial for improving healthcare accessibility and policy development. This study explores the health information needs and seeking behaviors of asylum seekers in Finland, identifying key challenges such as language barriers, digital literacy, trust in healthcare systems, and cultural adaptation.

The research employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating systematic reviews, qualitative interviews, and quantitative surveys based on established models, including the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking and the Health Information Acquisition Model. By analyzing asylum seekers' experiences and the effectiveness of available health information sources, the study aims to assess whether existing healthcare information meets their needs and expectations.

Preliminary findings suggest that asylum seekers face multiple barriers in accessing reliable health information, including fragmented service provision, sociocultural differences, and limited awareness of available resources. The study highlights the role of information-seeking strategies and the potential impact of digital health literacy programs in bridging the gap between asylum seekers and healthcare services.

By contributing to the broader discourse on health information behavior and inclusion, this research offers recommendations for healthcare policymakers, information professionals, and social service providers to develop more effective, accessible, and culturally responsive health communication strategies.

During the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus people acquire and exchange health information about COVID-19 through different communication chan-nels. It is important to understand the role of individuals as information sources, and gain understanding on health information seeking behavior among language minorities during a pandemic.Lalazaryan & Zare-Farashbandi (2014) described health information seeking behavior as any individual’s activities that are related to seeking, obtaining, and making use of health information either regarding illnesses or treatments. In a pandemic, the health information seeking focus may change more towards securing one’s own health and supporting the close ones in the same crisis (Dreisiebner, März, Mandl, 2020). World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern (Jee, 2020; WHO, 2020). A pandemic raises feelings like fear, worry and anxiety. Mental health concerns have been raised in tow of the pandemic because of numerous reasons. One of them is the isolation millions of people have endured during the first and the ongoing second wave of COVID-19. WHO has established mental health recommen-dations of how individuals can care for their mental health during times of crisis. In these recommendations family and friends play a role, for instance in following ways: “keep in touch with friends and family”, “establish a support network”, “develop a feeling of belonging to the collective care process” (WHO, 2018).

This review investigates the impact of personal and contextual factors on health-seeking behaviours in terms of health-related information and healthcare service needs and utilization among asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants using an adapted framework based on an extended Longo health information model. The 73 peer-reviewed records included in this systematic review were obtained from WoS, Ebsco, and Scopus. This review shows that culture, religion, policy, and systematic inequalities may play three different roles for our studied population, including facilitators, barriers, and health-related information sources. The findings indicated that providing universal health-related information and healthcare services may not meet all of the healthcare needs of our study population. As a result, healthcare providers must take a cross-cultural approach when designing, developing, and delivering specific health promotion programmes, treating patients with respect and attention, and providing health-related information and healthcare services based on ethnic, cultural, religious, and migration statuses.

As an immigrant who moved to Finland permanently, I have experienced the significant challenges of using the Finnish healthcare system, such as dealing with the dental appoint-ment booking system in Turku, which was accessible only in the local languages, either in Finnish or Swedish.When I arrived, I had to overcome language barriers, unfamiliar medical practices, and a culture different from my home country. These challenges are common for many im-migrants in the Nordic countries, not just me. This experience motivated me to pursue myacademic research into how immigrants’ access and use health-related information and ser-vices in Nordic countries, as well as what barriers they face. Furthermore, I noticed a lack of existing research in this area, which reinforced my commitment to investigating this topic.Health information refers to a broad spectrum of information, such as details about different available health services, disease prevention methods, and health promotion pro-grammes in a country. Health information is accessible through different mediums.For immigrants, reliable and comprehensive health information is absolutely neces-sary—it bridges the gap between an unfamiliar healthcare system and their specific health needs, facilitating informed decisions about their health needs, understanding their medical rights, and navigating the available health-related information and services in a new country.Immigrants face many barriers when accessing healthcare services and information in a new country. Not only are these barriers logistical and linguistic, but they also have deep roots in the beliefs, perceptions, traditions, cultures, and habits that shapethe immigrants’ health-seeking behaviours. In many cultures, it is common to receive immediate medications for any minor illness—a practice that contrasts sharply with the Nordic approach, where doc-tors typically conduct detailed medical examinations before prescribing any medication. This difference in practice can lead to misunderstandings and feelings among immi-grants about receiving inadequate care because they expect immediate remedies and per-ceive the care as unnecessarily delayed.

Purpose
This research paper aims to delve into the perceptions of health susceptibility among Iranian, Afghan and Tajik individuals hailing from asylum-seeking or refused asylum-seeking backgrounds currently residing in Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted between May and October 2022 involving a sample size of 27 participants. An adapted framework based on the health belief model along with previous studies served as a guide for formulating interview questions.

Findings
Notably influenced by cultural background, religious beliefs, psychological states and past traumatic experiences during migration journeys – before arrival in these countries till settling down – subjects’ perception of health concerns emerged significantly shaped. Additionally impacting perspectives were social standing, occupational status, personal/family medical history, lifestyle choices and dietary preferences nurtured over time, leading to varying degrees of influence upon individuals’ interpretation about their own wellness or illness.

Practical implications
Insights garnered throughout the authors’ analysis hold paramount significance when it comes to developing targeted strategies catering culturally sensitive health-care provisions, alongside framing policies better aligned with primary care services tailored explicitly around singular demands posed by these specific communities dwelling within respective territories.

Originality/value
This investigation represents one among few pioneering initiatives assessing perceptions regarding both physical and mental well-being within minority groups under examination across Nordic nations, unveiling complexities arising through intersecting factors like individual attributes mingling intricately with socio-cultural environments, thereby forming unique viewpoints towards health-care belief systems prevalent among such population segments.

The purpose of this study is to explore health information environment and behaviours of Persian-speaking immigrants in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilising information chaos framework. Between January to March 2022, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 18 participants, using an adapted framework of information chaos and previous research as a guide for the interview questions.

The study found that participants relied on interpersonal connections, news outlets, and social media to stay informed on current news and health-related information, with messaging apps being particularly popular due to their convenience and ability to connect with friends and family in their home countries. While most participants were satisfied with the amount of information they received, some encountered inaccurate pandemic information. The study also identified significant obstacles related to information scatter and conflict. Participants employed various methods, including verifying with official sources and interpersonal networks, to assess the reliability of their information. Credible health information led to changes in behaviour and lifestyle.

The study's findings offer practical implications for health authorities and policymakers to address the health information needs of Persian-speaking immigrants during public health crises. The use of an information-chaos framework could be beneficial in identifying challenges related to channelling accurate and reliable health information among minorities through different information sources. Such initiatives can bridge the gap between the health information needs of immigrants and the available health information, ultimately reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes.

This study represents one of the pioneering works exploring the information environment during a pandemic and the strategies adopted by the Persian-speaking minority to address the dissemination of false information during a health crisis. These findings shed light on the complex interplay of individual and health information environments that influence adhering to safety protocols and adopting healthy behaviours in this population.

Immigrants encounter cultural adaptation challenges impacting their health behaviors and outcomes, with health information and cultural factors influencing their actions. A survey of 340 participants from Finland, Norway, and Sweden was conducted, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. Results show that health beliefs and access to health information, mainly via the Internet, significantly predict immigrants' intentions to engage in health-related actions, while perceived barriers negatively affect their adoption of healthy behavior. The findings underscore the importance of information professionals in providing culturally relevant health information and resources to immigrants and emphasize the need for policymakers to consider cultural factors and information sources in health promotion efforts targeting immigrant populations. This study adds value to the information science literature by highlighting the role of information access and cultural context in shaping health-related actions among immigrants in Nordic countries.

Dealing with the needs of asylum seekers and refugees regarding various health-related information and healthcare services is a challenge for healthcare service providers. According to the Finnish Immigration Service (2022), there were 61,645 new asylum applications between January 2015 and July 2022 in Finland. Immigrants and newcomers who want to initially settle down in a new country may face various challenges in accessing different health-related information and healthcare services. An area of concern is their health-related information or health needs, having access to medical information and services, and familiarity with the process and the procedures of using these services in a host country (Ahmadinia et al., 2021, 2022; Kidane et al., 2021; Willey et al., 2022). This study aims to investigate information-seeking behaviour from the perspective of cultural and ethnic backgrounds among people with asylum-seeking background living in Finland. This extended abstract presents a part of a larger study including interviews also in Norway and Sweden, presenting preliminary findings of an original qualitative study on Persian-speaking people with asylum-seeking background and their health-seeking behaviour in terms of health-related needs and utilisation in Finland.

Over the course of the last few decades, the Nordic countries are facing a change in their population structure, with a growing number of immigrants including people with asylum-seeking and refugee backgrounds. Almost three million people have moved to the Nordic countries in the last decade (Nordic Welfare Centre, 2017). For example, in Norway the number of asylum seekers for 2015 was 31,150 and the number of refugees for 2021 was 46,042 (Macro-trends, 2022; Statista, 2022). However, it should be noted that these individ-uals (asylum seekers and refugees) have diverse cultural and ethnical back-grounds, which means they may have different approaches toward seeking health information or healthcare services in their host country (Ahmadinia et al., 2021). Providing adequate and timely health information services for these people is one of the main challenges of the Nordic healthcare system (Haj-Younes et al., 2022). Therefore, a primary step to overcome this challenge is to understand what health-related information and healthcare services these individuals might need. This study aims to address this research gap by inves-tigating their information seeking behaviour from the perspective of cultural and ethnical background. Health information-seeking behaviour and health-care-seeking behaviour are two main key terms in this study. Health informa-tion-seeking behaviour refers to any situation in which an individual needs or uses any health-related information, while healthcare seeking behaviour refers to any activity undertaken by an individual who perceived himself to have a health concern, or to be sick, for the purpose of finding an appropriate reme-dy (Lalazaryan and Zare-Farashbandi, 2014; Ward et al., 1997). This extend-ed abstract, is a part of larger study including interviews also in Finland and Sweden, and presents preliminary findings of an original qualitative study on people with asylum seeking background and their health seeking behaviour in terms of health-related needs and utilisation in Norway.

Literature on minorities' health-related information seeking shows that minorities, like non-minorities, require access to accurate and timely information, but they also need information in a range of languages and from a variety of sources. Health-related information seeking behaviour of Persian-speaking minorities living in Finland, explicitly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic situation, was investigated. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the extended Longo Health Information Model was used as a theoretical lens for analysing the data. The results point to several factors that can improve the outcome of minorities' health-related information seeking behaviours and activities, such as providing information related to their personal health, a deeper understanding of factors influencing the quality of health conditions at the individual or household level and broadcasting the latest health-related information in different languages and emphasize the needs for mental health-related information and services. The findings suggest that not only healthcare providers, immigration officials, and policymakers should be aware of the specific health-related information that minorities require, seek, and use during times of adversity, but also the extent to which how the identified factors influence the process of minorities' seeking health-related information.

Purpose
Immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees living in Europe face a number of challenges in accessing or using health information and healthcare services available in their host countries. To resolve these issues and deliver the necessary services, providers must take a comprehensive approach to better understand the types of health information and healthcare services that these individuals need, seek and use. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop that comprehensive approach.

Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed publications was performed, with 3.013 articles collected from various databases. A total of 57 qualifying papers on studies conducted in Europe were included in the review after applying the predefined inclusion and exclusion requirements, screening processes and eliminating duplicates. The information seeking and communication model (ISCM) was used in the analysis.

Findings
The findings revealed that while many health information and healthcare services are accessible in Europe for immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, many of these individuals are unaware of their existence or how to access them. While our findings do not specify what health-related information these groups need, use or seek, they do suggest the importance and value of providing mental health, sexual health and HIV, as well as pregnancy and childbirth information and services. Furthermore, according to our results, health information services should be fact-based, easy to understand and raise awareness about healthcare structure and services available in Europe for this vulnerable population.

Practical implications
This study has a range of practical implications, including (1) highlighting the need for mental health and behavioural health services and (2) stressing the value of addressing cultural context and religious values while investigating (health) information seeking of people with foreign background.

Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to systematically review and examine the behaviour of immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees in relation to health information and healthcare services in the European context.

Empowering individuals through e-health can be considered as the current trend in developing healthcare services and devices. The aim of this article is to shed light on availability, benefits, and limitations of using these services and devices in people’s everyday life. This study is a descriptive review based on a non-exhaustive selection of previous studies that define information exchange, information formats, opportunities, and restrictions of e-health technologies. The main focus of this study is on presenting available e-health services and devices while describing their benefits and limitations. This approach has the potential to provide new insights into the future development and integration of e-health into the healthcare system of a country. The idea behind this review is to provide a better understanding of e-health services for authorities, healthcare professionals, individuals, and related beneficiaries.

During the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus people acquire and exchange health information about COVID-19 through different communication chan-nels. It is important to understand the role of individuals as information sources, and gain understanding on health information seeking behavior among language minorities during a pandemic.Lalazaryan & Zare-Farashbandi (2014) described health information seeking behavior as any individual’s activities that are related to seeking, obtaining, and making use of health information either regarding illnesses or treatments. In a pandemic, the health information seeking focus may change more towards securing one’s own health and supporting the close ones in the same crisis (Dreisiebner, März, Mandl, 2020). World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern (Jee, 2020; WHO, 2020). A pandemic raises feelings like fear, worry and anxiety. Mental health concerns have been raised in tow of the pandemic because of numerous reasons. One of them is the isolation millions of people have endured during the first and the ongoing second wave of COVID-19. WHO has established mental health recommen-dations of how individuals can care for their mental health during times of crisis. In these recommendations family and friends play a role, for instance in following ways: “keep in touch with friends and family”, “establish a support network”, “develop a feeling of belonging to the collective care process” (WHO, 2018).

In this paper, Qoros automotive manufacturing company, which is aiming at expanding their market in Europe, will be analyzed. In this case, the challenges that the aforementioned company has faced will be explained and some recommendations regarding marketing, strategy, production methods and other related issues based on competitive intelligence models like SWOT, Porter's Five Forces Analysis, ADL Matrix, and other related theories will be provided.

Currently, organizations – must have a plan to achieve their future objectives. In this case, an information strategy facilitates greater success when planning for the future in any organization. Research design, data, and methodology – The core objective of the project was to explore the information infrastructure of Walkbase in a discursive manner. We started the project by providing a description of the firm, which facilitates retail outlets using in-store analytical devices. Results – We conclude that the management of Walkbase revised its current information structure to implement a more structured one that might be included in a long-term investment. On such an occasion, management can prioritize the component to develop first. Conclusions – Along with our results, we also described the business, its products, its facilities, and how it can serve different industries. Finally, we left the prioritization decision within the framework’s components to top management.

This article provides a comprehensive review of various theories and hypotheses related to achieving an optimal capital structure. Researchers generally define capital structure as a combination of share issuance, private investment, bank debt, business debt, leasing contracts, tax obligations, retirement debt, deferred compensation for executives and employees, deposits, product-related debt, and other potential liabilities. The study explores key theories and hypotheses, including the Net Income Approach, Net Operating Income Approach, Traditional Approach Theory, Miller and Modigliani Theory, Static Trade-Off Theory, Asymmetric Information Hypothesis, Pecking Order Theory, Signaling Theory, Agency Cost Theory, Free Cash Flow Hypothesis, Dynamic Trade-Off Theory, and Market Timing Theory. Applying these theories enables analysts to maximize returns while minimizing risk, ultimately enhancing corporate value. Given the close relationship between profitability and capital structure, this paper emphasizes the importance of incorporating profitability factors in determining an optimal capital structure applicable across different financial environments.

This paper evaluates the performance of the top 50 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2006 to 2010. A non-probability sampling method was used to select companies with positive liquidity, high turnover, and significant market impact. Using post-modern portfolio theory, the study applied EROV, Sortino, and M³ ratios to assess performance. Statistical analysis using ANOVA and the post-hoc Tukey test revealed significant differences in company performance. However, the results indicated that these companies did not outperform the market. Therefore, the researchers recommend incorporating additional financial and economic factors when selecting the top 50 companies.

Organizational behavior is closely linked to culture and structure, making these factors essential considerations in strategic decision-making. This paper begins by defining organizational culture, structure, and behavior. It then explores the relationship between culture and structure and their impact on behavior. Additionally, we examine various approaches to work subdivision at both the organizational and unit levels. To gain a deeper understanding of organizations, we analyze organizational behavior, culture, and structure as fundamental components of an organization’s framework and present their interrelationships.

This study empirically analyzes the impact of financing methods on a company’s capital structure. To achieve this, companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2006 to 2009 were categorized into two groups: those with high leverage and those with high stock issuance. Their performance was then evaluated using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and capital structure theories. By applying CAPM, we calculated the risks and expected returns for both groups and compared them to each other and the market. Statistical tests, including F-Levene and Student’s t-test, were used to validate the assumptions. The results indicate that companies financing through stock issuance exhibited lower risk and higher returns. Consequently, this group demonstrated better performance against systematic risk and created more value for shareholders.

This study aims to evaluate the functionality and impact of portfolio management in investment companies actively operating in the Tehran Stock Exchange between 2005 and 2010. The assessment is based on modern and post-modern portfolio theories using Sharpe, Sortino, and Sterling ratios. The first hypothesis was tested through statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) and pairwise mean comparisons using the LSD pre-test. The results indicate that the performance of investment companies varies according to the Sharpe, Sortino, and Sterling ratios, with Sterling’s ratio showing a slightly better performance. The second hypothesis compared the performance of investment companies to the overall market. Except for the Sortino ratio, the other metrics demonstrated that investment companies performed better than the market. Finally, the results of the Kruskal-Wallis test and Chi-Square statistic confirmed that all three ratios provide consistent rankings of investment companies.

This study explores the evolution of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) by integrating additional financial risk factors, including liquidity risks, downside risks, unexpected event risks, and operational and economic risks. These modifications enhance the model’s efficiency, leading to improved interpretations of market conditions and portfolio structures. As CAPM evolves, new variants provide better insights for financial managers, analysts, and investors, helping them assess both the advantages and limitations of these models in decision-making.

This paper analyzes the performance of investment companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange that engaged in active portfolio management from 2006 to 2010, using the Sharpe, Treynor, and Sortino ratios. To gain a deeper understanding of their performance, the study also incorporates additional measures, including portfolio turnover, liquidity, size, and diversification. After collecting the necessary test data, statistical tests such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk were conducted, revealing that the data distribution was not normal. Consequently, the hypotheses were tested using nonparametric methods. The findings of the first hypothesis, evaluated using Friedman and Wilcoxon tests, indicate that the companies demonstrated stronger control over systematic risk compared to other risk components. The results of the second hypothesis, analyzed using a combination of ANOVA and Multiple ANOVA, suggest that portfolio turnover had a more significant and positive impact on company performance than the other evaluated measures. This implies that investors can identify companies with high portfolio turnover and superior performance, even when other measures, such as liquidity and diversification, are relatively lower.

This dissertation undertakes a comprehensive investigation into the health information behaviours and health service requirements of immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees across Nordic countries of Norway, Finland, and Sweden. The study presents valuable findings concerning the complex interplay among cultural factors, social networks, and personal experiences, thereby deepening our current understanding of the health behaviours displayed by these communities. This study explicitly includes immigrants, asylum seekers, and those denied asylum, acknowledging that the circumstances and contexts in which people experience health information needs might then differ.
This thesis integrates data obtained from six academic articles and employs diverse research methodologies to investigate this intricate subject matter. The research employs various qualitative and quantitative methodologies, such as systematic literature reviews, semi-structured interviews, and structured surveys. The use of mixed methodologies ensures comprehensive and rigorous approach to the investigation.
Rather than focusing on particular mental or physical health conditions, the studies included in this analysis take a broader perspective by assessing the overall well-being of the populations being studied. This approach enables the integration of various perspectives towards health-related behaviours and needs of these communities, thereby augmenting the scope and depth of scholarly comprehension in this domain. Furthermore, this thesis addresses the influence of cultural, traditional, and social factors on health beliefs and healthseeking behaviours among asylum seekers and refugees.
Understanding health susceptibility perceptions among asylum seekers and those denied asylum in Finland, Norway, and Sweden, offers a novel perspective on this issue. The thesis identifies a variety of internal and external cues that motivate health-related behaviour in these populations.
The proposed conceptual model that investigates the impact of health beliefs, information access, and cultural influences on health behaviours and outcomes among immigrants in Nordic countries is a significant contribution to this dissertation. This paradigm captures the complexity of these factors and promotes a more context-aware, user-centred design approach. It corresponds with the person-in-context perspective and the social determinants of health framework, advocating for the indispensable role of information professionals in providing culturally appropriate health information.
The theoretical underpinning of this thesis spans on multiple interdisciplinary fields, including information system design, service design, behavioural studies, social science, human-computer interaction (HCI), user experience (UX) design, patient-centred design, human-centred design methods, and designing for health equity, among others.
The findings of this thesis provide policymakers, healthcare providers, and information professionals involved in devising and delivering health services for immigrant populations with invaluable insights. It requires the implementation of user-centred design principles, cultural sensitivity, and inclusive approaches in the creation of information systems and services, highlighting strategies to integrate health information services into broader social and cultural contexts. This strategy promotes health information equity and has the potential to enhance immigrant populations' health outcomes.

Supervisors: Professor Kristina Eriksson-Backa (Åbo Akademi University) and Assistant Professor Shahrokh Nikou (Delft University of Technology).

External Reviewer: Professor Ágústa Pálsdóttir (University of Iceland) and Professor Ina Fourie (University of Pretoria)

Opponent: Professor Ágústa Pálsdóttir (University of Iceland)

Health information seeking behavior is a widely discussed topic in the field of information studies. However, the current study is about observing and evaluating the efficiency of health information seeking behavior through E-Health service and devices. The main reason that motivated the researcher to carry out the current research was high cost of healthcare services in Finland. It is expected that health information obtained through electronic or online sources would help people to improve their health conditions. Therefore, this thesis is an empirical study on observing E-Health information seeking behavior and evaluating the efficiency of E-Health service and devices. In order to estimate the efficiency of E-Health service and products, this study considered some criteria generated by previous studies. These criteria were employed in the current study as indicators of the health information seeking efficiency.
The current study developed a customized model of health information seeking behavior based on the general model of information seeking behavior. The model contains some further criteria to measure the efficiency of the information seeking process. The primary tool to collect data were a multiple-choice questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed through two main methods, namely hard copy and online. The participants in this study were either Finnish older adults who were over 50 years old, or other persons who were responsible for providing health information for them.
The results of this study show that using E-Health service and products has neither a positive effect on improving the health condition of patients, nor does it motivate people to a healthier lifestyle, or make them feel more satisfied. However, it is expected that the results provide a framework for further studies to develop more efficient E-Health-related tools and services.

Supervisor: Professor Gunilla Widén (Åbo Akademi University)

Advisors: Professor Isto Huvila (Uppsala University) & Kristina Eriksson-Backa (Åbo Akademi University)

This study evaluates the performance of investment companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) by employing systematic and nonsystematic risk measures, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), and Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT). The research aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the risk-return tradeoff in the Iranian capital market, analyzing the extent to which these financial theories can explain stock price movements and investment company performance. Using historical stock price data, market indices, and macroeconomic factors, the study measures systematic risk (beta) and diversifiable risk across selected investment firms. CAPM is utilized to determine expected returns based on market risk premiums, while APT identifies multiple economic and financial variables influencing asset returns. The findings highlight the efficiency of these models in assessing investment performance, offering insights into portfolio diversification strategies and risk management practices within the Iranian financial market. The study contributes to the existing literature on asset pricing models in emerging markets, providing valuable implications for investors, financial analysts, and policymakers in Iran.