| 1. |
- Barron, Andrew, et al.
(författare)
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Corporate political strategizing in the European Union during the 2007-2010 recession : an exploratory study
- 2011
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Ingår i: Environment and Planning. C, Government and Policy. - : Pion Ltd. - 0263-774X .- 1472-3425. ; 29:5, s. 783-801
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Using original data collected from a survey of Brussels-based Government Affairs Managers (GAMs) in May and June 2010, we explore the political actions of firms in the European Union during the 2007 – 10 financial crisis. Findings suggest that the financial constraints imposed by the crisis had a significant impact on whether GAMs entered into short-term or long-term relationships with policy makers and whether they engaged in individual or collective action. Significant cross-country differences were also observed between the political objectives pursued by firms, their propensity to engage in collective political action, and the tactics they use to influence policy makers. Taken together, these findings challenge institutional explanations of EU lobbying, which suggest that the EU system of policy making provides powerful incentives for firms to adopt specific lobbying behaviours in order to gain a seat at the EU policy-making table.
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| 2. |
- Barron, Andrew, et al.
(författare)
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The financial crisis and the gathering of political intelligence : A cross-country comparison of SMEs in France, Sweden and the UK
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Small Business Journal. - : SAGE. - 0266-2426 .- 1741-2870. ; , s. 1-22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article reports the findings of a study that compared cross-national differences in how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) monitored political responses to the economic and financial crisis of 2007–2009. Original, empirical data collected through an online survey of 206 small business managers in France, Sweden and the UK were analysed to explore the extent that they monitored policy responses to the crisis, their motivations for doing so, and the sources of information they used for political intelligence gathering purposes. The findings show that the monitoring of political initiatives by SMEs in response to the recession varied in accordance with the extent to which their countries are affected by the recession. Also, small business managers on the whole considered it more important, despite the international nature of the crisis, to monitor political responses in national rather than supranational political settings. Contrary to our expectations, we found that SMEs across all three countries drew on similarly wide sources of information when monitoring policy responses to the crisis. Also surprising was the finding that SME managers in the UK relied heavily on official government sources when gathering intelligence on attempts to alleviate the recession’s effects.
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| 3. |
- Bask, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
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Market power in the expanding Nordic power market
- 2011
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Ingår i: Applied Economics. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0003-6846 .- 1466-4283. ; 43:9, s. 1035-1043
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examine if the Nordic power market, Nord Pool, has been competitive or if electricity suppliers have had market power. Specifically, since the evolution from national markets to a multi-national and largely deregulated power market has taken place stepwise, we also examine how the degree of market power has evolved during this integration process. The Bresnahan-Lau method together with weekly data during 1996-2004 are used in the analysis, which shows that electricity suppliers have had small, but statistically significant, market power, but that the market power has been reduced as the Nord Pool area has expanded
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Erlandsson, Kerstin, et al.
(författare)
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Mothers' experiences of the time after the diagnosis of an intrauterine death until the induction of the delivery : a qualitative Internet-based study
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research. - : Wiley. - 1341-8076 .- 1447-0756 .- 0144-3615 .- 1364-6893. ; 37:11, s. 1677-84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIM: This study aims to describe how mothers spend the period of time between being diagnosed with a dead baby in utero and the induction of the delivery.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were collected using a web questionnaire. Five hundred and fifteen women who had experienced a stillbirth after the 22nd week of gestation answered the open question: 'What did you do between the diagnosis of the child's death and the beginning of the delivery?' A qualitative content analysis method was used.RESULTS: The results show that some mothers received help to adapt to the situation, while for others, waiting for the induction meant further stress and additional psychological trauma in an already strained situation.CONCLUSION: There is no reason to wait with the induction unless the parents themselves express a wish to the contrary. Health care professionals, together with the parents, should try to determine the best time for the induction of the birth after the baby's death in utero. That time may vary, depending on the parents' preferences.
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| 6. |
- Farrokhnia, Nasim, et al.
(författare)
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Emergency Department Triage Scales and Their Components : A Systematic Review of the Scientific Evidence
- 2011
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1757-7241. ; 19, s. 42-
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Emergency department (ED) triage is used to identify patients' level of urgency and treat them based on their triage level. The global advancement of triage scales in the past two decades has generated considerable research on the validity and reliability of these scales. This systematic review aims to investigate the scientific evidence for published ED triage scales. The following questions are addressed: 1. Does assessment of individual vital signs or chief complaints affect mortality during the hospital stay or within 30 days after arrival at the ED? 2. What is the level of agreement between clinicians' triage decisions compared to each other or to a gold standard for each scale (reliability)? 3. How valid is each triage scale in predicting hospitalization and hospital mortality? A systematic search of the international literature published from 1966 through March 31, 2009 explored the British Nursing Index, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PubMed. Inclusion was limited to controlled studies of adult patients (>= 15 years) visiting EDs for somatic reasons. Outcome variables were death in ED or hospital and need for hospitalization (validity). Methodological quality and clinical relevance of each study were rated as high, medium, or low. The results from the studies that met the inclusion criteria and quality standards were synthesized applying the internationally developed GRADE system. Each conclusion was then assessed as having strong, moderately strong, limited, or insufficient scientific evidence. If studies were not available, this was also noted. We found ED triage scales to be supported, at best, by limited and often insufficient evidence. The ability of the individual vital signs included in the different scales to predict outcome is seldom, if at all, studied in the ED setting. The scientific evidence to assess interrater agreement (reliability) was limited for one triage scale and insufficient or lacking for all other scales. Two of the scales yielded limited scientific evidence, and one scale yielded insufficient evidence, on which to assess the risk of early death or hospitalization in patients assigned to the two lowest triage levels on a 5-level scale (validity).
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| 7. |
- Gradmark, Anna, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and estimated insulin sensitivity and secretion in pregnant and non-pregnant women
- 2011
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Ingår i: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. - London : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2393 .- 1471-2393. ; 44:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Overweight and obesity during pregnancy raise the risk of gestational diabetes and birth complications. Lifestyle factors like physical activity may decrease these risks through beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis. Here we examined physical activity patterns and their relationships with measures of glucose homeostasis in late pregnancy compared to non-pregnant women. Methods: Normal weight and overweight women without diabetes (N=108; aged 25-35 years) were studied; 35 were pregnant (in gestational weeks 28-32) and 73 were non-pregnant. Insulin sensitivity and beta-cell response were estimated from an oral glucose tolerance test. Physical activity was measured during 10-days of free-living using a combined heart rate sensor and accelerometer. Total (TEE), resting (REE), and physical activity (PAEE) energy expenditure were measured using doubly-labeled water and expired gas indirect calorimetry. Results: Total activity was associated with reduced first-phase insulin response in both pregnant (Regression r2=0.11; Spearman r=-0.47; p=0.007) and non-pregnant women (Regression r2=0.11; Spearman; r=-0.36; p=0.002). Relative to non-pregnant women, pregnant women were estimated to have secreted 67% more insulin and had 10% lower fasting glucose than non-pregnant women. Pregnant women spent 13% more time sedentary, 71% less time in moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity, had 44% lower objectively measured total activity,and 12% lower PAEE than non-pregnant women. Correlations did not differ significantly for any comparison between physical activity subcomponents and measures of insulin sensitivity or secretion. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that physical activity conveys similar benefits on glucose homeostasis in pregnant and non-pregnant women, despite differences in subcomponents of physical activity.
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| 8. |
- Graner, Sophie, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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Adverse perinatal and neonatal outcomes and their determinants in rural Vietnam 1999-2005
- 2010
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Ingår i: Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. - : Wiley. - 0269-5022 .- 1365-3016. ; 24:6, s. 535-545
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Population-based estimations of perinatal and neonatal outcomes are sparse in Vietnam. There are no previously published data on small for gestational age (SGA) infants. A rural population in northern Vietnam was investigated from 1999 to 2005 (n = 5521). Based on the birthweight distributions within the population under study, reference curves for intrauterine growth for Vietnamese infants were constructed and the prevalence and distribution of SGA was calculated for each sex. Neonatal mortality was estimated as 11.6 per 1000 live births and the perinatal mortality as 25.0 per 1000 births during the study period. The mean birthweight was 3112 g and the prevalence of low birthweight was 5.0%. The overall prevalence of SGA was 6.4%. SGA increased with gestational age and was 2.2%, 4.5% and 27.1% for preterm, term and post-term infants, respectively. Risk factors for SGA were post-term birth: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 7.75 [95% CI 6.02, 9.98], mothers in farming occupations AOR 1.72 [95% CI 1.21, 2.45] and female infant AOR 1.61 [95% CI 1.27, 2.03]. There was a pronounced decrease in neonatal mortality after 33 weeks of gestation. Suggested interventions are improved prenatal identification of SGA infants by ultrasound investigation for fetal growth among infants who do not follow their expected clinical growth curve at the antenatal clinic. Other suggestions include allocating a higher proportion of preterm deliveries to health facilities with surgical capacity and neonatal care.
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| 9. |
- Graner, Sophie, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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Maternal health care professionals' perspectives on the provision and use of antenatal and delivery care : a qualitative descriptive study in rural Vietnam
- 2010
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 10:1, s. 608-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: High quality maternal health care is an important tool to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. Services offered should be evidence based and adapted to the local setting. This qualitative descriptive study explored the perspectives and experiences of midwives, assistant physicians and medical doctors on the content and quality of maternal health care in rural Vietnam. METHOD: The study was performed in a rural district in northern Vietnam. Four focus group discussions with health care professionals at primary health care level were conducted. The data was analysed using qualitative manifest and latent content analysis. Result Two main themes emerged: "Contextual conditions for maternal health care" and "Balancing between possibilities and constraints". Contextual conditions influenced both pregnant women's use of maternal health care and health care professionals' performance. The study participants stated that women's uses of maternal health care were influenced by economical constraints and cultural norms that impeded their autonomy in relation to childbearing. Structural constraints within the health care system included inadequate financing of the primary health care, resulting in lack of human resources, professional re-training and adequate equipment. CONCLUSION: Contextual conditions strongly influenced the performance and interaction between pregnant women and health care professionals within antenatal care and delivery care in a rural district of Vietnam. Although Vietnam is performing comparatively well in terms of low maternal and child mortality figures, this study revealed midwives' and other health care professionals' perceived difficulties in their daily work. It seemed maternal health care was under-resourced in terms of staff, equipment and continuing education activities. The cultural setting in Vietnam constituting a strong patriarchal society and prevailing Confucian norms limits women's autonomy and reduce their possibility to make independent decisions about their own reproductive health. This issue should be further addressed by policy-makers. Strategies to reduce inequities in maternal health care for pregnant women are needed. The quality of client-provider interaction and management of pregnancy may be strengthened by education, human resources, re-training and provision of essential equipment.
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| 10. |
- Granlund, David, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Consumer information and pharmaceutical prices : theory and evidence
- 2011
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Ingår i: Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics. - : John Wiley & Sons Ltd. - 0305-9049 .- 1468-0084. ; 73:2, s. 230-254
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, the impact of increased consumer information on brand name and generic pharmaceutical prices is analyzed both theoretically and empirically. The theoretical results show that an increase in information is likely to reduce the price of brand name pharmaceuticals, while the results regarding generics are less clear. In the empirical part of the paper, the introduction of the substitution reform in the Swedish pharmaceuticals market in October 2002 is used as a natural experiment regarding the effects of increased consumer information on pharmaceutical prices. The results clearly show that the reform has lowered the price of both brand name- and generic pharmaceuticals
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