Why Now? : Analyzing Processes for Gender Empowerment in Contemporary India and Morocco

This bachelor's thesis has been conducted based on an interest in the women's empowerment processes taking place in India after the 2012 Delhi gang rape,  and after the suicide of Amina Filali in Morocco in 2012. The goal of the study is to analyze whether there are similarities in the way the processes unfold, based on Hans Abrahamsson's (2003) work on structural change, and to analyze how far the processes of change have advanced. In order to do so, a qualitative, abductive study of each country was conducted and later compared through the framework of Abrahamsson's three key concepts in order to analyze similarities and differences.   Based on secondary- and tertiary sources from both academia and media, the thesis attempts to create a holistic picture of the developments by discussing opinions accessible both to the broader public and scholarly community.   The thesis suggests that neither India nor Morocco show signs of permanent strategic gender changes, or structural change, but are instead situated in the problem-solving phase of the model. Neither country can be seen as having experienced strategic gender changes, as they have failed to satisfy strategic gender interests. India appears further along in its process, as the government has been forced to take larger problem-solving measures in order to stifle the protests. Morocco on the other hand, has survived on the promise of change alone. Recently, both countries have experienced a second tragedy similar to their first, the results of which remain to be seen. In the light of past developments, this thesis predicts future strategic gender changes are more likely in India than Morocco, albeit problematic in both

How are audit firm changes experienced? : A qualitative study from the management's perspective

Bakgrund: Det nya rotationskravet som infördes i Sverige 2016 väcker tankar om hur företagsledningar upplever revisionsbyråbyten. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på att undersöka för- och nackdelar med rotationskrav i kvantitativa studier. Däremot har inte forskare undersökt företagsledningens perspektiv på revisionsbyråbyten i Sverige, vilket motiverar vår studie att undersöka hur revisionsbyråbyten upplevs av företagsledningar. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse för hur representanter från företags-ledningar upplever byte av revisionsbyrå, samt jämföra om upplevelserna skiljer sig mellan företagsledningar i noterade och onoterade bolag. Metod: För att uppnå studiens syfte utfördes 19 semistrukturerade telefonintervjuer. Samtliga intervjupersoner representerade företagsledningen på respektive företag. Nio intervjuer hölls med representanter för noterade bolag och tio intervjuer med representanter för onoterade bolag. Slutsats: Vi kommer fram till att revisionsbyråbyten upplevs som tidskrävande. Anledningen till bytet avgör inte hur bytet upplevs, och de viktigaste faktorerna att tänka på för att ett revisionsbyråbyte ska upplevas positivt är: att välja en revisionsbyrå med rätt kompetens, att ha ett personligt möte och att se till att personkemin stämmer, samt att börja planera bytet i tid.Background: The new mandatory audit firm rotation rule was introduced in Sweden in 2016, which raises interest in how management experience audit firm changes. Previous research has focused on investigating the pros and cons of mandatory audit firm rotation in quantitative studies. However, researchers have not investigated the management's perspective of audit firm changes in Sweden, which motivates our study to investigate how audit firm changes are experienced by management. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how representatives from the management experience audit firm changes, and to compare if experiences differs for management in listed and unlisted companies. Method: To fulfil the purpose of this study, 19 semi structured telephone interviews were conducted. The people interviewed represented the management at each company. Nine interviews were held with listed companies and ten interviews with unlisted companies. Conclusion: We conclude that audit firm changes are experienced as time consuming by management. The reason behind the audit firm change does not determine how the change is experienced and the most important factors to consider, in order for an audit firm change to be perceived as positive, are: choose an audit firm with the right competence, have a personal meeting to make sure there is personal chemistry between the auditor and yourself, and start planning the audit firm change in time

Perinatal outcomes after treatment with ADHD medication during pregnancy

OBJECTIVES: To analyze perinatal outcomes after maternal use of attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication during pregnancy. METHODS: The study included singletons born between 2006 and 2014 in Sweden. Data on prescription drug use, pregnancies, deliveries, and the newborn infants' health were obtained from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, the Prescribed Drug Register, and the Swedish Neonatal Quality Register. We compared infants exposed to ADHD medication during pregnancy with infants whose mothers never used these drugs and infants whose mothers used ADHD medication before or after pregnancy. Analyses were performed with logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 964 734 infants, 1591 (0.2%) were exposed to ADHD medication during pregnancy and 9475 (1.0%) had mothers treated before or after pregnancy. Exposure during pregnancy increased the risk for admission to a NICU compared with both no use and use before or after pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-1.7; and aOR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.4, respectively). Infants exposed during pregnancy had more often central nervous system-related disorders (aOR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.1-3.1) and were more often moderately preterm (aOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6) than nonexposed infants. There was no increased risk for congenital malformations or perinatal death. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with ADHD medication during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk for neonatal morbidity, especially central nervous system-related disorders such as seizures. Because of large differences in background characteristics between treated women and controls, it is uncertain to what extent this can be explained by the ADHD medication per se

Midwives' perception of using a knowledge base on fetal impact of drugs

A non-commercial knowledge base providing assessments of fetal risks of medicinal drugs is a useful tool in the everyday work of midwives. The information is freely available on the internet, and according to a questionnaire study, nearly 95% of the midwives are familiar with the database, 30% use the information weekly, and 80% express that it affects their medical decisions. A vast majority of the midwives also state that it is time-saving

Neonatal morbidity after fetal exposure to antipsychotics : a national register-based study

Objective To investigate the admission rate to neonatal care and neonatal morbidity after maternal use of antipsychotics during pregnancy. Design A population-based register study. Setting Information on all singleton births between July 2006 and December 2017 in Sweden including data on prescription drugs, deliveries and infants' health was obtained from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, the Prescribed Drug Register and the Swedish Neonatal Quality Register. Exposed infants were compared with unexposed infants and with infants to mothers treated with antipsychotics before or after but not during pregnancy. Participants The cohort comprised a total of 1 307 487 infants, of whom 2677 (0.2%) were exposed to antipsychotics during pregnancy and 34 492 (2.6%) had mothers who were treated before/after the pregnancy. Outcome measures The primary outcome was admission rate to neonatal care. Secondary outcomes were the separate neonatal morbidities. Results Of the exposed infants, 516 (19.3%) were admitted to neonatal care compared with 98 976 (7.8%) of the unexposed infants (adjusted risk ratio (aRR): 1.7; 95% CI: 1.6 to 1.8), with a further increased risk after exposure in late pregnancy. The highest relative risks were seen for withdrawal symptoms (aRR: 17.7; 95% CI: 9.6 to 32.6), neurological disorders (aRR: 3.4; 95% CI: 2.4 to 5.7) and persistent pulmonary hypertension (aRR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.4 to 3.1) when compared with unexposed infants. The absolute risks for these outcomes were however low among the exposed infants, 1.3%, 1.8% and 1.0%, respectively, and the relative risks were lower when compared with infants to mothers treated before/after the pregnancy. Conclusion Fetal exposure to antipsychotics was associated with an increased risk of neonatal morbidity. The effects in the exposed infants seem transient and predominantly mild, and these findings do not warrant discontinuation of a necessary treatment but rather increased monitoring of these infants. The increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension requires further studies

Antipsychotic Use During Pregnancy and Risk for Gestational Diabetes : A National Register-Based Cohort Study in Sweden

Objective: We aimed to study whether antipsychotic use during pregnancy is associated with gestational diabetes. Methods: This was a Swedish national register‐based cohort study on the Medical Birth Register and the Prescribed Drug Register including all 1,307,487 singleton births between July 2006 and December 2017. Antipsychotics were divided into first-generation antipsychotics (n = 728), high-risk metabolic second-generation antipsychotics including olanzapine, clozapine and quetiapine (n = 1710), and other second-generation antipsychotics (n = 541). The risks for gestational diabetes, foetal growth disturbances, pre-eclampsia, caesarean section and preterm labour were assessed. Women treated during pregnancy were compared to women not treated during pregnancy and to women who used antipsychotics before/after but not during pregnancy. Results: The crude risk ratio for gestational diabetes for women treated with high-risk metabolic second-generation antipsychotics during pregnancy was 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6–2.9) compared to untreated pregnant women (n = 1,296,539) and 1.8 (95% CI 1.4–2.5) compared to women treated before/after pregnancy (n = 34,492). After adjustment for maternal factors including body mass index, the risk ratios were 1.8 (95% CI 1.3–2.4) and 1.6 (95% CI 1.2–2.1). Exposed infants had an increased risk of being large for gestational age: adjusted risk ratios 1.6 (95% CI 1.3–1.9) and 1.3 (95% CI 1.1–1.6) compared to no maternal antipsychotic use during pregnancy and maternal use before/after the pregnancy. Other antipsychotics were not associated with metabolic risks. Conclusions: Olanzapine, clozapine and quetiapine used during pregnancy were associated with increased risks for gestational diabetes and the infant being large for gestational age. Enhanced metabolic monitoring should be considered for pregnant women using these drugs

Drugs and Birth Defects: a knowledge database providing risk assessments based on national health registers

To present concept, methods and use of a knowledge database providing assessments of potential fetal risks for all drugs on the Swedish market. Assessments of fetal risks are made primarily by analyzing prospective epidemiological data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register on drug intake in relation to birth outcome. This is complemented by evaluation of the scientific literature. Following standardized working procedures, a statement is compiled for each substance, which is also classified into one of three categories depending on the estimated risk level. The final documents include drug product names on the market, via linkage to a medicinal products register. The information is free and published on the website www.janusinfo.se. It can also be used as an integrated part of electronic health records. The database covers assessments of fetal risks for close to 1,250 medicinal drug substances on the Swedish market. Each year, 96,000 searches are made, which might be compared to the around 100,000 children born in Sweden yearly. Apart from the Swedish Physicians' Desk Reference (Fass), the database is the most commonly used resource among specialists within gynaecology and perinatal medicine for information on drugs during pregnancy. A non-commercial knowledge base with assessments of fetal risk of different drugs is valued by health care professionals and is used extensively in Sweden. Based on analyses of national health registers, the database provides unique information on teratogenic drug risks