Encouraging female entrepreneurship in Jordan: environmental factors, obstacles and challenges

The number of female entrepreneurs and their contribution to the economy is steadily rising. Yet research suggests that female entrepreneurs face more challenges and barriers than their male counterparts. This is expected to be even more prevalent in Islamic contexts, which are characterised by conservative and patriarchal societies. In this research, 254 female business students from a private and a public university responded to a questionnaire that gauges their perceptions about potential barriers to entrepreneurship in Jordan and whether the business education they are receiving helps to prepare them for future entrepreneurial activity. Our results help to form a basis on which a deeper understanding of the phenomena can be achieved through more in depth future research. Among the main environmental factors that worry potential female entrepreneurs are the weakness of Jordanian economy, lack of finance, fear of risk, gender inequality and inability to maintain a work and private life balance. Our results also show that students are really not aware of the opportunities available to them and are unable to make a proper assessment. We call on both universities and the Jordanian government to put more emphasis on practical entrepreneurial education and encouraging women to play a much more active role within the workforce

Hemorrhoidectomy using harmonic ultrasound scalpel : results of a series of 110 consecutive patients

As a very common and benign disease in surgical practice, hemorhoidal disease should have a very low level of postoperative morbidity and pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate postoperative pain and morbidity, time to complete healing and time off of work in a series of 110 consecutive hemorrhoidectomy patients using harmonic ultrasound scalpel device. One-hundred-and-ten consecutive three quadrant hemorrhoidectomy procedures for symptomatic prolapsed hemorrhoids (grade III and IV) were performed in our institution. Postoperative pain was assessed using a visual analogue pain scale (VAS). Outpatient`s follow-up was done at 3 weeks and 3 months. There were 72 males (65%) and 38 females (35%). Mean age was 48,5 years (22-76). Sixty-seven patients (61%) had grade III hemorrhoids and 43 patients (39%), grade IV. All operations were performed under spinal anaesthesia. Postoperative complications included 7 patients (6,3%): 2 patients were readmitted for haemorrhage without need for reintervention, and 5 had urinary retention. Postoperatively scheduled analgesia was enough for pain control in all patients. One-day surgery represents only 5% of our patients, 85% had a less than 24 hours hospital stay with surgery done the day of admission and 10% stayed for more than one day. Seventy-nine patients (92%) returned to work in between 3 weeks. Time to complete healing was 6 weeks. At the term of the follow-up, no recurrence was observed. In conclusion, hemorroidectomy using harmonic scalpel is a safe technique with very low morbidity rate, postoperative pain is acceptable and time off of work is low

Tailgut cyst associated with a carcinoid tumor: case report and review of the literature

We report the case of a 49-year-old woman who presented a tailgut cyst lined by a variety of epithelium including squamous, columnar and transitional. Fortuitously a microscopic carcinoid tumor expressing immunohistochemically neuroendocrine markers was identified in the cystic wall. Tailgut cysts are congenital abnormalities located in the presacrococcygeal area occurring usually in adult patients. Clinical diagnosis is difficult because they are often asymptomatic. Patients may present symptoms resulting from local mass effects or complications. The differential diagnoses include rectal duplication cysts, cystic sacrococcygeal teratomas, epidermal cysts, epidermoid cysts, anal duct or gland cysts. Magnetic resonance imaging has recently become the modality of choice to image the cyst. Malignant transformation is rare; 23 cases including 10 carcinoid tumors have been reported in the literature. To our knowledge, this is the eleventh case of carcinoid tumor arising in a tailgut cyst