A Framework for Developing Leadership Model Based on National Culture Aspects

This is a conceptual paper inspired by studies that focus on leadership in specific cultural settings. It is based on the assumption that there is a systematic way by which national culture shapes multinational corporations’ leadership styles. Such leadership styles should be consistent with host-countries’ cultural values shared by members working in companies’ subsidiaries.  Unfortunately, researches conducted on such area failed to present a simple model for managers and executives to implement it. Further, companies attempts to identifying the company-specific leadership attributes that apply around-the-world, failed in employing the right steps and procedures. This paper proposes a framework that helps in bridging a gap between theory and practice. It proposes a user-friendly framework to help companies develop their unique leadership model. When companies apply such framework on their subsidiaries in different host countries, they will be able to identify and consider the generalizable and idiosyncratic (context-specific) characteristics of effective leadership. This will increase the companies’ ability to maintain its competitive advantage and to activate its code of conduct. The paper also presents a checklist based on which companies can follow up on the process presented in the framework. The framework focuses on leaders’ activities, followers’ perception towards leadership styles, as well as the contextual factors, other than culture, that may impact this process. This is not a onetime process. It should be replicated, especially if host-countries experience unusual social changes, or companies are entering new markets. The paper proposes that both case study research and action research are the best research methodologies that help in implementing the framework and building the leadership model. Key words: national culture, leadership, cultural fit, contextual factors

A Gap Between Theory and Practices: Best Leadership Practices in Multinational Corporations: An Egyptian Case Study

Purpose – This research aims to describe leadership practices that fit into Egypt national culture, in Multinational Companies (MNCs) work environment. Taking two of the top companies in leadership field as an example, this research helps in presenting guidelines for the best leadership practices for MNCs, operating in Egypt.Design/methodology/approach – This research employed qualitative case study, using semi-structured interviews. Two-case studies were conducted to reach more comprehensive findings. Findings –Leadership practices associated with Egypt’s national culture are macro managing employees; involving employees in decision making;  providing clear vision and objectives; maintaining context which includes providing clear rules and guidelines, coaching employees, maintaining a follow up system on employees performance  and maintaining a clear rewarding and penalizing system; and focusing on humane aspects which includes managing conflicts, keeping employees in harmony and considering individuals’ differences. Implications– This research highlights a gap between theory and practice. Some of the presented leadership practices presented in this research contradict with the literature’s classification for Egypt’s’ national. This indicates that further research work should be conducted to generalize findings.Originality/value –The research emphasizes that there is a shift in people’s perception towards best leadership styles and practices. The cultural aspects identified in this research challenges the classification of Egypt as high power distance and masculine society. Further, findings present new prospective for some of the leadership practices. The paper also proposes that short-term orientation is also a cultural aspect associated with workplace. Keywords: National culture, Humane-orientation, Short-term orientation, Leadership practices, Individualized consideration, Employees’ performance, Case study, Interviews analysis techniques DOI: 10.7176/DCS/9-3-07 Publication date:March 31st 201

A Shift in Employees’ Perception towards Leadership Practice: An Egyptian Case Study under Cross-Cultural Settings

Employees’ work related values change as their cultural values change over time, specially as their societies experience unusual social changes. Changes in employees work related values may increase the need for remarkable modifications in companies’ leadership practices and approaches. This research takes Egypt as an example of a host-country that is undergoing unusual social changes. The study aims to explore the impact of changes on employees’ perception towards best leadership practices, in cross-cultural settings. Two case studies were conducted with replication logic. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with Egyptian employees working in two multinational companies, operating in Egypt. The study findings regarding best leadership styles and practices contradict with literature’s classification for Egypt as high power distance and masculinity culture. This indicates that companies should reconsider employees’ cultural values that impact workplace. However, further researches should be conducted on such cultural aspects to reach more generalizable findings. This paper is among the few studies that tackled Egypt business environment from a cross-cultural perspective. Egypt presents a good example for cultural changes, since it has undergone major social changes since the year 2011. The research not only presents the recommended leadership practices but also emphasizes on their managerial implications. Further, the research is among the few studies that addressed the impact of national culture on leadership with reference to other contextual factor. Keywords: leadership, national culture, Egypt, power distance, masculinity, contextual factor

Contextual Factors That Impact Leadership Practices In Cross-Cultural Settings: An Egyptian Case Study

This paper explores the contextual factors, other than culture, that affect the implementation of companies’ leadership competencies models, in cross-cultural settings. The study employs qualitative case study, using semi-structured interviews. Two-case studies were conducted to reach more comprehensive findings. Based on the research findings, leaders’ personality and national culture, subordinates’ level of experience, the host-country situation, the company’s strategy, and the nature of the company’s departments may cause variance in leaders’ practices. However the overall variance in leader’s practices between the company’s different offices may decrease due to the company’s culture of origin as and the company’s cross-cultural experience. Thus, companies operating in cross-cultural settings should consider such factors when developing and customizing their leadership model to reach a sound cultural fit.  Based on research findings the paper proposes a model that needs to be tested in further research work. This study was conducted only on two multinational companies from the same origin and operating in the same host-country. Thus, further research work should be conducted on companies from other origins to generalize findings. This research is among the few studies that address the contextual factors, other than culture, that impact the implementation of companies’ leadership practices in cross-cultural settings. It is also among the few studies that investigates Egyptian business environment in cross-cultural settings. Keywords: leadership, contextual factors, national culture, multinational companies, Egyp

The standard of care in traditional medicine and modern medicine

This study aims to present the standard of care used in both traditional and modern medicine with attempts to compare and contrast between each of them. The issue of concern is whether practitioners in both medicine are required to adhere and follow the same standard of care or each one has its own standard differ from other. This should follow by necessity to define these standard in either field to the general public, patients, and practitioners in order to protect them. Such standard is considered as the cornerstone in the field of medicine; its practitioner is, thus, required to be committed in acting in accordance to the given standard and failure to do so could result to certain legal implications and actions. Therefore, practitioners in the field of medicine are held liable if found to be negligent in any of the given standard of care. So, to examine this issue, this study explains the definition of the standards of care in traditional and modern medicine firstly. Following by stating the limitations of the given standards of care in each field of medicine secondly. At the latest, it will mention the critical view of standard of care in both medicine. Overall, the main outcome of this study is that the given standard of care whether in the field of traditional or modern medicine is different in either field. This professional differences lead absolutely to vary their legal principles and rules in malpractice cases. Because of a very unique philosophy, set of principles, definitions, and standard for traditional medicine in contrast to modern medicine

Estimating Egyptsat -1 Radiometric Coefficient using Cross Calibration with Spot4 and Spot5

The pre-processing of satellite data is a vital step in harnessing the full potential of remote sensing pictures. EgyptSat-1, Egypt\u27s first satellite for observing the Earth from a distance, encountered a major obstacle as a considerable amount of the images it captured could not be used since the necessary radiometric coefficients were missing. This study utilises a cross-calibration methodology, taking advantage of the spectral similarity between Spot 4 and Spot 5 as reference satellites, in order to retrieve these difficult-to-obtain coefficients. The analysis demonstrates that the selection of window size in the cross-calibration process is crucial in determining the outcomes. In general, smaller window sizes tend to produce better results. However, there are certain cases when larger windows are more successful, such as in the scenario of EgyptSat-1\u27s band 3 and its cross-calibration with Spot 5. In contrast to a previous study, the new methodology produces much diminished uncertainty factors, indicating a remarkable enhancement in accuracy. The cross-calibration results highlight the significance of selecting the appropriate window size and satellite for accurate calibration, especially for the Near-Infrared (NIR) band, which is highly responsive to these parameters. Moreover, there are differences in the computations of offset and gain between Spot 4 and Spot 5, which further highlight the intricacies involved in radiometric calibration. The results of this study lead to the determination of improved calibration coefficients for EgyptSat -1, with the specific aim of maximising the accuracy of the results and minimising any errors

Antibiotics for eradicating meningococcal carriages: Network meta-analysis and investigation of evidence inconsistency

AIM: To compare different antibiotics for eradicating the carriage of Neisseria meningitidis, and to investigate heterogeneity and evidence inconsistency.  METHODS: From a search of PubMed and published systematic reviews, we identified 23 trials evaluating 15 antibiotics that could be connected in a trial network. The outcome of interest is the eradication of N. meningitidis. We used WinBUGS to conduct random-effects, mixed treatment comparisons. Heterogeneity and evidence inconsistency was investigated by meta-regression modelling and examining characteristics of trial participants and interventions evaluated.  RESULTS: Rifampin, ciprofloxacin, minocycline, ceftriaxone, and azythromycin were statistically significantly (P<0.05) more effective than placebo. The probability of being the best was 67.0% for a combination of rifampin and minocycline, 25.0% for ceftriaxone, 1.7% for azythromycin, and below 1% for the remaining regimens. Significant inconsistency between the direct and indirect estimates was observed for the comparison of rifampin and ciprofloxacin (P<0.01), which may be caused by different types of carriers and different doses of ciprofloxacin.  CONCLUSION: A range of prophylactic antibiotic regimens are effective for eradicating meningococcal carriages, and treatment choice will depend on the individual priorities of the patients and physicians. In clinical situations where complete eradication is considered to be of the utmost importance, a combination of rifampin and minocycline seems to offer the highest likelihood of success. Ceftriaxone as a single intramuscular injection is also likely to be more effective as compared with the other two antibiotics (ciprofloxacin or rifampin) recommended by the current guidelines

The Relation between Bacterial and Heavy Metal Water Pollution and Blood Micronuclei as Biomarkers in the Tigris River Fish

The objective of this study is to evaluate the bacterial count and heavy metal concentration of river water on fish micronuclei. Fish and water samples are carried out in 1 May to 1 June 2013 from Tigris River. A total of fifty three fish sample are studied. The bacteriological quality of water showed that the total viable count is ranged from 150×103 to 352×103 cfu/ml and fecal coliform counts was 1250 cell/100ml during the study period. All the metals (Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn) are within the normal limit, but Cd was slightly elevated in river water samples. The appearance of micronuclei in red blood cells of all fish species is detect , by recording a larger number of it, in ( Abu Alsomere , Hishne , Bannini Kaber al fam & Karkoor ahmar) species compared with (Abu AL hakam , Nabbash , Kattan , Himri & Tela shami ) species. There is a difference in the percentages of the leukocytes types in different fish species, the highest percentage (12.3) of lymphocyte is recorded in Barbus xanthopterus and the lowest (1.5) is in Garra ruf

FPGA Implementation of Sphere Detector for Spatial Multiplexing MIMO System

Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO (techniquesuse multiple antennas at both transmitter and receiver forincreasing the channel reliability and enhancing the spectralefficiency of wireless communication system.MIMO Spatial Multiplexing (SM) is a technology that can increase the channelcapacity without additional spectral resources. The implementation of MIMO detection techniques become a difficult missionas the computational complexity increases with the number oftransmitting antenna and constellation size. So designing detection techniques that can recover transmitted signals from SpatialMultiplexing (SM) MIMO with reduced complexity and highperformance is challenging. In this survey, the general model ofMIMO communication system is presented in addition to multipleMIMO Spatial Multiplexing (SM) detection techniques. These detection techniques are divided into different categories, such as linear detection, Non-linear detection and tree-search detection.Detailed discussions on the advantages and disadvantages of each detection algorithm are introduced. Hardware implementation of Sphere Decoder (SD) algorithm using VHDL/FPGA is alsopresente

Comportement axial de colonnes en béton armé renforcées de tubes en matériaux composites

Abstract : The construction industry is expressing great demand for innovative and durable structural members such as bridge decks and piers, piling, and poles. Many steel-reinforced concrete structures subjected to de-icing salts and marine environments require extensive and expensive maintenance. Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) have recently gained wide acceptance as a viable construction material for repair, rehabilitation, or new construction of the aging infrastructures particularly those exposed to harsh environment conditions. The promising concept of concrete-filled FRP tube (CFFT) system, that may be further reinforced with steel or FRP bars, has raised great interest amongst researchers in the last decade. The CFFT technique has been used successfully in different concrete structure elements such as pier column and girder for bridges and also as fender piles in marine structures. The FRP tube acts as a stay-in-place structural formwork, a noncorrosive reinforcement for the concrete for flexure and shear, provides confinement to the concrete in compression, and the contained concrete is protected from intrusion of moisture with corrosive agents that could otherwise deteriorate the concrete core. Using FRP bars instead of conventional steel bars in the CFFT columns can provide a step forward to develop a promising totally corrosion-free new structural system. Nonetheless, the axial behaviour of FRP bars as longitudinal reinforcement in compression members has yet to be explored, especially for the CFFT columns. To date, most of the experimental investigations performed on FRP confined concrete columns have considered short, unreinforced, small-scale concrete cylinders, tested under concentric, monotonic, and axial load. The slenderness ratio, internal longitudinal reinforcement type (steel or FRP bars), and axial cyclic loading effects on the behaviour of FRP confined concrete long columns, however, have received only limited research attention. To address such knowledge gaps, this study aimed at investigating the behaviour of the CFFT long columns internally reinforced with steel or FRP bars tested under monotonic and cyclic axial loading. A total of ten reinforced concrete (RC) and CFFT columns were constructed and tested until failure. All columns had 1900-mm in height and 213-mm in diameter. The investigated parameters were: i) the effect of internal reinforcement type (steel, glass FRP (GFRP), or carbon FRP (CFRP)) and amount, ii) GFRP tube thicknesses, and iii) nature of loading (i.e. monotonic and cyclic). The effect of the different parameters on the axial behaviour of the tested columns is presented and discussed. The research work presented in this dissertation has resulted in one paper submitted to the Elsevier Journal of Engineering Structures (manuscript ID: ENGSTRUCT-D-15-01381) and one accepted conference paper submitted to the 5 th International Structural Specialty Conference (CSCE 2016), London, Ontario, June 1st - 4th, 2016. The experimental test results showed that the CFFT columns reinforced with GFRP bars exhibited similar responses compared to their counterparts reinforced with steel bars with no significant difference in terms of ultimate axial strength and strain capacities. The GFRP tubes provided significant confinement of the tested specimens attributing to shift the mode of failure from axially dominated material failure to flexural-dominated instability failure. The results also indicated that the plastic strains of the FRP-reinforced CFFT columns was linearly proportional to the envelop unloading strains (εun,env). The relationship depended little on level of confinement, but strongly on the longitudinal reinforcement amount and type, particularly when εun,env > 0.0035. On the other hand, an analytical investigation was conducted to examine the validity of the available design provisions for predicting the ultimate load capacity of tested columns. The results of the analysis were compared with the experimental values. It was found that the ACI 440.R1 (2015), CSA S806 (2012), and CSA S6-06 (2010) design provisions provided higher conservative results for the GFRP-reinforced control specimens than that of steel-reinforced specimen. This might be due to neglecting the contribution of the compressive resistance of the GFRP bars to the axial carrying capacity. Furthermore, for FRP-reinforced CFFT columns, the ACI 440.2R (2008), CSA S806 (2012), and CSA S6-06 (2010) provisions results over the experimental results were an average of 1.68±0.31, 1.57±0.18, and 1.72±0.35 with a COV of 18.4%, 11.3%, and 20.5%, respectively. By considering the confinement codes limits, the CSA S806 (2012) showed better correlation for the ultimate carrying capacity based on the average than the CSA S6-06 (2010) and ACI 440.2R (2008), particularly for specimens cast with tube Type B.Résumé : L'industrie de la construction exprime une grande demande pour les structures innovantes et durables tels que les tabliers de ponts et les quais, les pieux et les poteaux. Plusieurs structures en béton armé sont soumises à des sels de déglaçage et à des environnements marins qui exigent un entretien coûteux. Les polymères renforcés de fibres (PRF) ont récemment été reconnus en tant que matériau de construction viable pour la réparation, la réhabilitation ou la construction de nouvelles infrastructures vieillissantes en particulier celles exposées à des conditions d'environnement sévères. Le concept prometteur du système de tube rempli de béton PRF (CFFT), qui peut être encore renforcé avec de l'acier ou des barres en PRF, a amorcé un grand intérêt parmi les chercheurs durant la dernière décennie. La technique CFFT a été utilisée avec succès dans les différents éléments de structure en béton tels que les colonnes et les poutres de ponts et aussi comme des pieux pour les structures marines. Le tube en PRF agit comme un coffrage structural sur place, un renforcement non corrosif pour le béton en flexion et au cisaillement en utilisant l'orientation des fibres multidirectionnelle, fournit un confinement au béton en compression, et le béton est protégé de toute intrusion d'humidité des agents corrosifs qui, autrement, pourraient détériorer le noyau de béton (ACI 440. R-07 (2007)). L’utilisation des barres de PRF au lieu de barres d'acier conventionnelles dans les colonnes CFFT peut fournir un pas en avant pour développer un nouveau système structurel. Néanmoins, le comportement axial des barres en PRF comme armatures longitudinales dans les membrures en compression n'a pas encore été exploré, en particulier pour les colonnes CFFT. À ce jour, la plupart des études expérimentales effectuées sur les colonnes en béton confinés de PRF, ont considéré des cylindres en béton, courts, à petite échelle non armés, et testés sous un charge concentrique, monotone, et axiale. Le rapport d'élancement, le renfort longitudinal interne (acier ou barres en PRF), et les effets du chargement axial cyclique sur le comportement des colonnes élancées de béton confinés et en PRF, ont connu une recherche limitée. Pour combler ce manque de connaissance, cette étude vise à étudier le comportement des colonnes élancées CFFT armé en acier ou en barres de PRF testées sous charges axiales monotones et cycliques. Un total de dix colonnes en béton armé (RC) et CFFT été fabriquées et testées jusqu'à la rupture. Toutes les colonnes ont 1900 mm de hauteur et 213 mm de diamètre. Les paramètres étudiés sont les suivants: i) l'effet de type de renforcement interne et la quantité de renforcement, ii) les épaisseurs de tubes PRV, et iii) le type de chargement (monotone et cyclique). L'effet des variables considérées sur le comportement axial des colonnes testées dans le travail expérimental est présenté et discuté. Le travail de recherche présenté dans cette analyse a fait l’objet d’un article scientifique soumis à Elsevier Journal of Engineering Structures (manuscrit ID: ENGSTRUCT-D-15-01381) et un article lors d’une conférence acceptée soumis à la 5ième International Structural Specialty Conference (CSCE 2016), London, Ontario, Juin 1er - 4ième, 2016. Les résultats des essais expérimentaux ont montré que les colonnes CFFT renforcées de barres en PRFV présentaient des réponses similaires par rapport à leurs homologues renforcées avec des barres d'acier sans différence significative en termes de capacité ultime de résistance axiale et de déformation. Les tubes en PRFV fournissent un confinement significatif des échantillons testés attribuant à changer le mode de rupture, c’est-à-dire d’une rupture des matériaux axialement à une rupture d’instabilité en flexion. En outre, l'augmentation de l'épaisseur du tube en PRFV de 2,9 à 6,4 mm améliore les rapports de résistance et de déformation de 25 % et 12 %, respectivement. Les résultats indiquent également que les déformations plastiques des colonnes renforcées de PRF sont linéairement proportionnelles aux enveloppes de tension de déchargement (εde,env). La relation dépend un peu du niveau de confinement, mais fortement de la quantité et du type de renfort longitudinal, en particulier lorsque εde,env > 0,0035. D'autre part, une investigation a été menée pour examiner la validité des dispositions de conception disponibles pour prédire la capacité de la charge ultime des colonnes testées. Les résultats de l'analyse ont été comparés avec les valeurs expérimentales. Il a été constaté que les prévisions de l'ACI 440.R1 (2015), CSA S806 (2012), et CSA S6-06 (2010) ont fourni des résultats conservateurs plus élevés pour les échantillons de contrôle en PRFV que celui de l'échantillon d'acier. Cela peut être dû à la négligence de la contribution de la résistance à la compression des barres de PRFV à la capacité de charge axiale. En outre, pour les colonnes de CFFT renforcées de PRF, les prévisions de l'ACI 440.2R (2008), du CSA S806 (2012), et du CSA S6-06 (2010) étaient de 1,68 ± 0,31, 1,57 ± 0,18 et 1,72 ± 0,35 avec un COV de 18,4 %, 11,3%, et 20,5%, respectivement. En considérant les limites des codes de confinement, le code CSA S806 (2012) a révélé les meilleures prévisions pour la capacité de charge ultime basée sur la moyenne que celui du code CSA S6-06 (2010) et de l’ACI 440.2R (2008), en particulier pour les échantillons réalisés avec des tubes de Type B