There is concern that the use of financial incentives might exert an undue influence on potential research participants; unable to resist the lure of a large financial incentive, an individual might enroll in a trial against his or her better judgment. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the concept of undue inducement, and determine if the use of incentives in research is really problematic in this way. I suggest that ‘undue inducement’ mislabels a different problem --inadequate comprehension by research participants-- and argue that a strong comprehension requirement is the solution to the real problem raised by the use of incentives to participate in research. I also consider objections to a strong comprehension requirement, and examine whether a strong comprehension requirement provides a solution to the problems of coercion and exploitation in clinical research trials in the same way that it solves the problem of undue inducement.

Den ekonomiska och fysiska tillgängligheten av narkotika är idag historiskt hög, vilket bidrar till att narkotikan numera ses som en normalitet i samhället. Denna kvalitativa intervjustudie skildrar hur sex personer, alla med någon form av narkotikabakgrund, upplevt att narkotikan på ett eller annat sätt varit en del i deras liv. Deltagarna ger en bild av människors olika anledningar till att börja, fortsätta och sluta ett narkotikabruk samt beskriver hur attityden hos narkotikabrukare ofta förändras över tid. Resultatet visade att det sociala nöjet samt upplevelsen att bli fri sin inre oro var komponenter som medförde en positiv attityd, medan destruktiva konsekvenser i form av självförstörelse, kontrollförlust och sociala problem var komponenter som resulterade i en negativ attityd. Då den mänskliga attityden är en följd av våra tankar, känslor och handlingsinriktningar kom dessa aspekter att utgöra fokus för studien. Materialet analyserades utifrån en induktiv och deskriptiv ansats genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys.

Arbetsminnet är en viktig funktion för människans kognitiva förmåga. Tidigare forskning har visat det finns flera faktorer som kan påverka arbetsminnets kapacitet, ett exempel är inlärning. Den aktuella studien undersöker om om det finns ett samband med att studera på högskola och att förbättra sin arbetsminneskapacitet. I studien deltog 82 ekonomistuderanden varav 42 studeranden från andra terminen och 40 från sjätte terminen. Ett nätbaserat arbetsminnestest visade att det var en signifikant skillnad i arbetsminneskapaciteten (antalet ihågkomna ord) från andra till sjätte terminen. Det visade sig även att motivationen hade en tendens att vara högre att klara testet i sjätte terminen än i andra. Studien kan bidra till vidareforskning om en högre utbildnings effekt på olika faktorer som är förknippade med kognition.

Den första februari år 2015 infördes, i linje med motsvarande reglering i engelska Takeover Code, ett förbud mot budrelaterade arrangemang i takeover-reglerna. Vilka avtal förbudet omfattar och i vilka fall dispens kan beviljas utreds i det här arbetet. Bland annat på grund av dess nära relation till den svenska regleringen har dess engelska förebild getts en central roll i analysen. Några av de viktigaste slutsatserna är att irrevocables inte torde omfattas av förbudet och att vissa krav för hur budrelaterade arrangemang får utformas torde gälla även i de situationer då dispens enligt kommentaren till förbudet kan beviljas.

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) constitute a major problem in society and in drug therapy. They are a common cause of short-term hospitalization, prolonged hospitalization and death. Spontaneous reporting of ADRs remains one the most effective methods for detecting new and serious drug reactions. In Sweden physicians are legally required to report fatal and serious ADRs. We know from previous studies that there is a substantial degree of under-reporting of ADRs also in Sweden. Attitudes towards reporting of ADRs among physicians in the northern region of Sweden were investigated using a questionnaire. The most important factor for not reporting ADRs among physicians and general practioners in our region was that the reaction was considered to be well known. However, their attitudes could also allow for a considerable rate of under-reporting. The effect on the reporting rate when nurses received instruction and were encouraged to report ADRs was studied. During a 12-month study period, 18 ADR reports with a total number of 22 ADRs were sent in by the nurses participating in the study to test nurses as reporters of ADRs. Using the Swedish ADR database, we calculated the risk of agranulocytosis associated with the use of metamizole by using consumption data from the case records of scrutinized patients’ and stored prescriptions. Over the period from 1996 to 1999, ten cases of agranulocytosis during treatment with metamizole were reported to SADRAC. Metamizole was prescribed to 666 (19%) inpatients during the 3-month study period and 112 prescriptions were identified at the participating pharmacies. Thirty-eight percent of them indicated treatment for more than 15 days. Making certain assumptions, the calculated risk of agranulocytosis was one out of every 31 000 inpatients and one out of every 1400 outpatients. The degree of under-reporting of serious ADRs was studied in five hospitals. More than 1300 case records were scrutinized and among these we found 107 cases that according to current rules for ADR reporting, should have been reported. Only fifteen of these were found in the SADRAC database, indicating a under-reporting rate of 86%.The effect on the reporting rate of ADRs was studied in an intervention study in which a small economical inducement was given to those who reported ADRs. The effect of a small economical stimulation to increase the reporting rate was studied. From the intervention area we received 62 suspected ADRs compared with 50 from the control area. The increase in the number of reports was 59% compared with an unchanged reporting rate from the control area. The physicians in northern Sweden have a relatively good knowledge of the existing rules for ADR reporting. Nurses could play an important role in detecting and reporting suspected ADRs. The risk of developing an metamizole induced agranulocytosis is considerably increased if metamizole is given to patients for a longer time than recommended. The rate of reported ADRs is very low, also for serious and fatal reactions. An increase in the reporting rate of suspected ADRs was observed during study period.

This essay is about power in the classroom. It is about the power dimension of the student-teacher relationships that arise in that space. The overall aim has been to investigate which categories are fruitful in a power analysis of these relationships. My aim has therefore been to develop power categories and to use them to identify and to categorise cases of power interaction that take place between those particular actors in that particular setting. In order to gather material for my study I have both read literature that approaches the study of the student-teacher relationships from a power perspective and done a series of observations in a high school. My theoretical frame comprises a concept of power and a series of power categories. These categories include strength, authority, inducement, coercion, violence, resistance as well as to possess power, to have power, to exert power, the scope of power and the base of power. My theoretical definition of power is that power is the capacity to accomplish things. My operational definition is that power is the capacity of either teachers or students to accomplish change in he life of other individuals. My investigation shows that these categories are useful to deal with, classify and analyse a great number of student-teacher interactions. Other conclusions that I draw in this study are for example that power displays great variation in kind and in the situations where it occurs, that some sorts of power are more common than others, and that students’ power is more fragile than teachers’.

No description available.

Inducement prizes-where cash rewards are given to motivate the attainment of targets--have been long used to encourage scientific research, develop technological innovations, or stimulate individuals, groups, and communities to accomplish diverse goals. Lately, prizes have increasingly attracted the attention of policy-makers, among others, due to their potential to induce path-breaking innovations and accomplish related goals. Academic research, however, has barely investigated these prizes in spite of their long history, recent popularity, and notable potential. This research investigates prizes and the means by which they induce innovation. It uses an empirical, multiple case-study methodology, a new model of innovation applied to prizes, and multiple data sources to investigate three cases of recent aerospace technology prizes: a main case study, the Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) for robotic Moon exploration; and two pilot cases, the Ansari X Prize (AXP) for the first private reusable manned spacecraft and the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge (NGLLC) for flights of reusable rocket-powered vehicles. The investigation unveils the dynamics of prizes and contributes a better understanding of their potential and disadvantages in a context in which more traditional mechanisms are used to induce innovation. This research shows that prizes are a more complex mechanism and their investigation requires analyzing entrant- and context-level factors generally not considered by the literature. Prizes complement and not replace patents and other incentive mechanisms. The incentives offered by prizes attract entrants with diverse characteristics, including unconventional entrants--individuals and organizations generally not involved with the prize technologies. Entrants are generally attracted by the non-monetary benefits of participation and the potential market value of the technologies involved in competitions. Many more volunteers, collaborators, and partners also participate indirectly and support official entries as they also perceive opportunities to accomplish their personal and organizational goals. The monetary reward is important to position the competition in the media and disseminate the idea of the prize. Prizes can induce increasing R&D activities and re-direct industry projects to target diverse technological goals, yet the evolution of prize competitions and quality of the technological outputs is generally difficult to anticipate. The overall organization of prize R&D activities and their outputs depend on entrant-level factors and can only be indirectly influenced by setting specific competition rules. The most remarkable characteristic of prize R&D activities is their interaction with fundraising efforts which, in some circumstances, may constrain the activities of entrants. Prizes can also induce innovation over and above what would have occurred anyway, yet their overall effect depends significantly on the characteristics of the prize entrants and the evolution of the context of the competition. The ability of prizes to induce innovation is larger when there are larger prize incentives, more significant technology gaps implicit in the prize challenge, and open-ended challenge definitions. To successfully induce technological breakthroughs, prizes may require complementary incentives (e.g. commitments to purchase technology) or support (e.g. seed funding.) Prizes are particularly appropriate to, for example, explore new, experimental methods and technologies that imply high-risk R&D; induce technological development to break critical technological barriers; accelerate technological development to achieve higher performance standards; and, accelerate diffusion, adoption, and/or commercialization of technologies. They involve, however, higher programmatic risks than other more traditional mechanisms and their routine use, and/or challenge definitions that overlap, can weaken the incentive power of the mechanism. Successful implementation of competitions requires many parameters to be properly set.