The use of mobile phones to support women’s entrepreneurship in the Arab countries

Purpose This paper investigates how mobile phones can be used to support women’s entrepreneurship in Arab countries. The objective is to explore new ways to close the gender gaps in terms of entrepreneurship in these countries. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used in this research is an in-depth analysis of the existing literature and recent reports on women’s entrepreneurship and on the adoption and use of mobile phones in Arab countries. Findings The findings of this research indicate that female Arab entrepreneurs are interested in using mobile phones. However, they have not yet realised the full potential of mobile technology in empowering them beyond its basic use. Several challenges facing women’s entrepreneurship in the Arab countries were identified. Mobile phones can be used to overcome these challenges. Research limitations/implications This research is based on the collection and analysis of secondary data rather than primary data to support the findings. Practical implications There is a need for collaboration between telecommunication companies operating in the Arab region and government initiatives to build a solid environment in which female Arab entrepreneurs can operate. Originality/value This research provides new insights and recommendations for reducing the gender gaps in terms of entrepreneurship by using new and improved techniques to address women’s needs for economic independence. This will also increase the profit gained by the telecommunication companies operating in Arab countries and bring additional income to this regio

TOWARDS CLOSING GENDER GAPS IN ARAB COUNTRIES: UNDERSTANDING GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SMARTPHONE ADOPTION AND USE IN IRAQ (5)

This paper examines gender differences in Iraq in terms of smartphone adoption and use, with a specific focus on the factors that can affect women’s adoption and use of smartphones. The research used the mobile phone acceptance and use model proposed by Ameen et al. (2015). In total, 533 questionnaires were distributed to consumers aged 18–29 and the data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The findings revealed that three factors in the model had significantly different effects on the behavioural intention of groups of men and women. These factors were culture-specific beliefs and values, habit, and perceived relative advantage. The model fitted well with both groups, but the order of significance of the factors differed between them. The findings indicate that when targeting Iraqi women, other factors in addition to price must be considered

Mobile Adoption in the Arab Countries: A Conceptual Framework

There is limited research studying mobile phone adoption by actual consumers in the Arab countries, although the region had an incredible growth in mobile usage between the years 2000 and 2014. The main aim of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that can explain mobile adoption by customers in the Arab countries. An extensive analysis of the existing literature related to technology adoption in general as well as mobile adoption in the Arab countries was conducted. Accordingly, this paper proposes a new conceptual model based on some modifications of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) and adding new variables which were also found related to the studied phenomenon. This research provides several important implications for researchers willing to study mobile adoption in the Arab countries as well as telecommunication companies operating or willing to operate in the region. Consequently, this model is set forward based on future empirical validation of it in Arab countries

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ADOPTION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN IRAQI HIGHER EDUCATION: EVIDENCE FROM SALAHADDIN UNIVERSITY (10)

This paper investigates the use of e-learning systems in universities in Iraq as part of the UNESCO Avicenna Virtual Campus Project. In addition, it identifies the factors that can affect Iraqi students’ acceptance and use of e-learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the management of Salahaddin Avicenna E- Learning Centre. In addition, a questionnaire was developed based on extending the Technology Acceptance Model. A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed to students. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to analyse the data. The findings indicated that e-learning has a potential in being used successfully in Iraqi universities. However, the training on the use of the system needs to be improved. In addition, the findings indicated that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms and self efficacy have significant effects on behaviour intention and behaviour intention, experience, information quality and technical support have significant direct effects on actual use of the e-learning system

Beliefs About Medication and Uptake of Preventive Therapy in Women at Increased Risk of Breast Cancer: Results From a Multicenter Prospective Study

Introduction Uptake of preventive therapies for breast cancer is low. We examined whether women at increased risk of breast cancer can be categorized into groups with similar medication beliefs, and whether belief group membership was prospectively associated with uptake of preventive therapy. Patients and Methods Women (n = 732) attending an appointment to discuss breast cancer risk were approached; 408 (55.7%) completed the Beliefs About Medicines and the Perceived Sensitivity to Medicines questionnaires. Uptake of tamoxifen at 3 months was reported in 258 (63.2%). The optimal number of belief groups were identified using latent profile analysis. Results Uptake of tamoxifen was 14.7% (38/258). One in 5 women (19.4%; 78/402) reported a strong need for tamoxifen. The model fit statistics supported a 2-group model. Both groups held weak beliefs about their need for tamoxifen for current and future health. Group 2 (38%; 154/406 of the sample) reported stronger concerns about tamoxifen and medicines in general, and stronger perceived sensitivity to the negative effects of medicines compared with group 1 (62%; 252/406). Women with low necessity and lower concerns (group 1) were more likely to initiate tamoxifen (18.3%; 33/180) than those with low necessity and higher concerns (group 2) (6.4%; 5/78). After adjusting for demographic and clinical factors, the odds ratio was 3.37 (95% confidence interval, 1.08-10.51; P = .036). Conclusion Uptake of breast cancer preventive therapy was low. A subgroup of women reported low need for preventive therapy and strong medication concerns. These women were less likely to initiate tamoxifen. Medication beliefs are targets for supporting informed decision-making

Care-experienced cHildren and young peoples Interventions to improve Mental health and wEll-being outcomes: Systematic review (CHIMES) protocol

Introduction The mental health and well-being of children and young people who have been in care (ie, care-experienced) are a priority. There are a range of interventions aimed at addressing these outcomes, but the international evidence-base remains ambiguous. There is a paucity of methodologically robust systematic reviews of intervention effectiveness, with few considering the contextual conditions under which evaluations were conducted. This is important in understanding the potential transferability of the evidence-base across contexts. The present systematic review will adopt a complex systems perspective to synthesise evidence reporting evaluations of mental health and well-being interventions for care-experienced children and young people. It will address impact, equity, cost-effectiveness, context, implementation and acceptability. Stakeholder consultation will prioritise a programme theory, and associated intervention, that may progress to further development and evaluation in the UK. Methods and analysis We will search 16 bibliographic databases from 1990 to June 2020. Supplementary searching will include citation tracking, author recommendation, and identification of evidence clusters relevant to included evaluations. The eligible population is children and young people (aged ≤25 years) with experience of being in care. Outcomes are (1) mental, behavioural or neurodevelopmental disorders; (2) subjective well-being; (3) self-harm; suicidal ideation; suicide. Study quality will be appraised with methodologically appropriate tools. We will construct a taxonomy of programme theories and intervention types. Thematic synthesis will be used for qualitative data reporting context, implementation and acceptability. If appropriate, meta-analysis will be conducted with outcome and economic data. Convergent synthesis will be used to integrate syntheses of qualitative and quantitative data. Ethics and dissemination We have a comprehensive strategy for engagement with care-experienced children and young people, carers and social care professionals. Dissemination will include academic and non-academic publications and conference presentations. Ethical approval from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences REC will be obtained if necessary

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation