A visitor-centric Approach to Socially Sustainable Museums: The Egyptian Geological Museum

The greatest threat that museums are facing in different parts of the world, including Egypt, is that museums no longer have the capacity to sustain themselves and their activities. Therefore, museums are in need to change the way they function to become more sustainable. New models for museums seek to give power to its visitors. A Visitor-centric approach in museums ultimately focuses on providing a product and a service which is compatible with the needs and expectations of visitors. This research represents an initial step in analyzing the relationship between customer-satisfaction and the quality of the education service on one hand and the concept of social sustainability on the other. These are three areas through which museums are expected to achieve the intended development. The study aims to evaluate visitors’ experience, which study also proposes a definition and measurement scale for social sustainability of the museum, and examines the relationship between visitors’ experience and the level of social sustainability. The proposed framework was empirically tested on the Egyptian Geological museum. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the museum’s management team and staff that helped in constructing a perspective about the museum, gaining information about the museum’s vision, mission, services, visitor numbers and demographics. A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to respondents among three hundred of the Egyptian Geological museum visitors. The survey was composed of three instruments: 1) the Servqual instrument, which measures the level of satisfaction of museum visitors with the quality of the service, including their experiences and perceptions; 2) the knowledge instrument, which assess the change a visitor knowledge; 3) and the subjective visitor perceptions of the social sustainability of the museum. The study findings carry important implications for the museum’s management, with specific actionable recommendations in key areas such as: strategic marketing, communication and service. Findings revealed that better the service quality as perceived by the customer, the greater the customer satisfaction with the core service. Findings showed that the better the quality of educational service as perceived by customers, the greater the museums social sustainability. On the scientific level, the study is a preliminary attempt to deepen understanding and measurement of an important construct in the sustainability field, namely social sustainability. The study points the way toward a promising approach for fostering the sustainable development of museums by providing a conceptual framework that integrates the services marketing and sustainability literature. Finally, the study alludes to important policy implications that may inform government decisions regarding national museums

Performance analysis of anaplasma antibody competitive ELISA using the ROC curve for screening of anaplasmosis in camel populations in Egypt

Anaplasmosis is a tick-born and potential zoonotic disease caused by Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum, A. ovis, A. platys and A. capra. Anaplasma marginale affecting bovines and camels causing significant economic losses. Camels as an integral part of the socio-economic lifestyle of nomads in semi-arid to arid ecosystems are prone to suffer from subclinical Anaplasma infections. This study aimed to determine the performance and adaptation of commercial competitive Anaplasma ELISA (cELISA) as a tool for screening the seroprevalence of anaplasmosis whitin the camel populations in Egypt. This study was based on the serological investigation of 437 camel sera collected between 2015 and 2016 during a Q fever prevalence study in Egypt using commercially available cELISA for the detection of antibodies specific for Anaplasma in bovine serum. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, an analysis method for optimizing cutoff values in cELISAs, was used to estimate the sensitivity and specificity using 76 true as serological positive (n = 7) and negative (n = 60) for Anaplasma antibodies. ROC curve analysis was done for 7 true positive and 60 true negative bovine samples and 7 true positive and 29 true negative camel samples serum. Real time PCR and/or conventional PCR was applied to confirm Anaplasma spp. specific-DNA in camel serum as an indication of a true positive and true negative for ROC analysis. Chi square analysis was performed to estimate the association between risk factors and anaplasmosis in camels. The cutoff value was determined as 0.42 (p value ≤ 0.001). Data simulation with randomly generated values revealed a cutoff value of 0.417 (p ≤ 0.001) with resulting 58.1% Se and 97.8% Sp. Seven true positive and 29 true negative camel serum samples was confirmed by PCR. Using the estimated cut off, the seroprevalence in the Nile Valley and Delta and the Eastern Desert domain was 47.4% and 46.4%, respectively. The potential risk factors as domains and origin of animals were less significantly associated with the prevalence of anaplasmosis (domains: χ(2) = 41.8, p value ≤ 0.001 and origin: χ(2) = 42.56, p value ≤ 0.001). Raising awareness especially for veterinarians and animal owners will significantly contribute to the best understanding of anaplasmosis in camels in Egypt. Alternative (in silico) validation techniques and preliminary prevalence studies are mandatory towards the control of neglected anaplasmosis in the camel population

Nutritive evaluations of some browse tree foliages during the dry season: Secondary compounds, feed intake and in vivo digestibility in sheep and goats

Four browse tree foliages (Cassia fistula, Schinus molle, Chorisia speciosa and Eucalyptus camaldulensis), native to the semi-arid region of north Egypt, were harvested during the dry season and evaluated for nutritional quality by determination of levels of nutrient and secondary compounds, as well as feed intake and apparent digestibility in sheep and goats. The study consisted of four experiments conducted in sequential 28-day periods that were the same in all respects, except that a different foliage was evaluated in each experiment which used six adult male Rhmani sheep (35±2.3 kg body weight (BW) at the start of the study) and six crossbred goats (30±1.56 kg BW). Sheep and goats were randomly divided into two groups of three and offered foliage at a level equal to 1.3 of the previous days voluntary intake of fresh matter and a commercial concentrate, with or without 10 g/animal/d of PEG, at 10 g/kg of BW to meet 0.7 of maintenance metabolizable energy requirements. Foliage crude protein (CP) content ranged from 124 (S. molle) and 128 (C. speciosa) to 185 g/kg DM (C. fistula). Ether extract was highest (97 g/kg) in S. molle. C. fistula had the lowest neutral detergent fiber (NDFom), acid detergent fiber (ADFom) and acid detergent lignin (lignin(sa)), while E. camaldulensis had the highest values. Total phenolics (TP), condensed tannins (CT), saponins (SAP), alkaloids (ALKA), the aqueous fraction (AF) of lectins, polypeptides and starch, and essential oils (EO) were lowest in C. speciosa (29, 21, 3, 0, 4 g/kg DM and 0.40 ml/kg DM, respectively) and highest in E. camaldulensis (102, 68, 15, 5, 3 g/kg DM and 15 ml/kg DM, respectively). Levels of TP, CT, SAP, ALKA and EO were highly positively intercorrelated among foliages, although AF was weakly negatively correlated to all others. Goats consumed 3.9% more foliage dry matter (DM) than sheep per kg BW0.75, and their digestibility was about 8% higher, probably reflecting their better capacity to detoxify secondary compounds in the rumen than sheep. Levels of CT (and due to its correlations, also TP, SAP, ALKA and EO) was a strong predictor of DM intake of PEG unsupplemented foliages within both sheep and goats. PEG increased (P<0.05) intake of DM and its components in sheep and goats. Digestion of DM and NDFom were not affected by feeding PEG, although digestion of OM, EE and CP were higher (P<0.05). TP in tree foliages (and due to its correlations, also CT, SAP, ALKA and EO) was not a predictor of the proportional increase in DM with PEG feeding, which was best predicted by level of CP within foliage. Overall, C. speciosa, had the highest nutrient value for both sheep and goats, both without and with PEG feeding, S. molle and C. fistula were intermediate and E. camaldulensis had the lowest nutritive value

Supportive Leadership at distance: The effect of innovation processes and climate

The rapid growth in use of home office creates the opportunity for leaders to embrace new ways of working in order to drive innovation. This study aims to investigate how leaders can support employees to foster an innovation climate that can lead to better innovation processes, when working from home. To gain a more in-depth understanding, this study examines how innovation processes and innovation climate are related to each other. Moreover, the aim is to investigate to what extent the individual dimensions (work engagement, age, and gender), the team dimension (social support) and the organizational dimensions (autonomy, home office and supportive leadership) predict innovation processes and innovation climate. Furthermore, it is desired to study to what extent the patterns of relationships are similar for innovation processes and innovation climate when investigating the effects from the three levels. To conduct this study a quantitative method was used where data was collected from 1531 participants representative of the Norwegian workforce during Covid-19. Reliability and validity were tested by factor and reliability analyses. Furthermore, a correlation analysis and multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. The findings indicate a strong relationship and effect between innovation processes and innovation climate; thus, these two concepts reflect a strong predictability between each other. This study showed a complex association between age and gender with innovation processes and climate. Moreover, the results show that giving autonomy in the working method, increasing work engagement, providing social support, and having a leader that is supportive, have a positive effect on the innovation processes. However, supportive leadership presented no effect in one component of the innovation processes. There is a similar pattern for innovation climate, but in this case supportive leadership presented a stronger relationship and effect with innovation climate. Despite the stigma around the use of home office, this study revealed a favourable relationship between innovation processes and climate. Nonetheless the results of this study suggest further research on use of home office, age, and gender with innovation climate

Supportive Leadership at distance: The effect of innovation processes and climate

The rapid growth in use of home office creates the opportunity for leaders to embrace new ways of working in order to drive innovation. This study aims to investigate how leaders can support employees to foster an innovation climate that can lead to better innovation processes, when working from home. To gain a more in-depth understanding, this study examines how innovation processes and innovation climate are related to each other. Moreover, the aim is to investigate to what extent the individual dimensions (work engagement, age, and gender), the team dimension (social support) and the organizational dimensions (autonomy, home office and supportive leadership) predict innovation processes and innovation climate. Furthermore, it is desired to study to what extent the patterns of relationships are similar for innovation processes and innovation climate when investigating the effects from the three levels. To conduct this study a quantitative method was used where data was collected from 1531 participants representative of the Norwegian workforce during Covid-19. Reliability and validity were tested by factor and reliability analyses. Furthermore, a correlation analysis and multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. The findings indicate a strong relationship and effect between innovation processes and innovation climate; thus, these two concepts reflect a strong predictability between each other. This study showed a complex association between age and gender with innovation processes and climate. Moreover, the results show that giving autonomy in the working method, increasing work engagement, providing social support, and having a leader that is supportive, have a positive effect on the innovation processes. However, supportive leadership presented no effect in one component of the innovation processes. There is a similar pattern for innovation climate, but in this case supportive leadership presented a stronger relationship and effect with innovation climate. Despite the stigma around the use of home office, this study revealed a favourable relationship between innovation processes and climate. Nonetheless the results of this study suggest further research on use of home office, age, and gender with innovation climate

Seroprevalence and Molecular Detection of Bovine Anaplasmosis in Egypt

Bovine anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease with zoonotic potential, caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Anaplasma marginale. The disease is distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. The economic losses from anaplasmosis in animals is of significant importance because it causes severe morbidity and mortality in cattle. Recovered animals may become persistent carriers. Epidemiological information on the actual status of bovine anaplasmosis in Egypt is scarce. Thus, this study aimed to determine anti-Anaplasma antibody and DNA in serum samples using ELISA and PCR, respectively. In total, 758 bovine sera were collected from cattle farms located in 24 Egyptian governorates in 2015 to 2016. Sera were analyzed with the commercially available ‘Anaplasma antibody competitive ELISA v2’ kit and ‘AmpliTest Anaplasma/Ehrlichia spp. real time TaqMan TM PCR. Anaplasma spp. antibodies were detected in 140 (18.5%) (CI: 15.8–21.4%) of the investigated sera by ELISA, and Anaplasma/Ehrlichia-DNA was detected in 40 (5.3%) (CI: 3.8–7.1%) of the positive sera by real time PCR. Co-detection of both Anaplasma spp. and Coxiella burnetii-specific antibodies was proven in 30 (4%) of the investigated sera. The results of this work confirm the significant prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis in Egypt. Raising awareness in decision makers of the public health, veterinarians and animal owners is required to reduce the spread of infection

Informal physics with the Middle Eastern and North African region and public

Physics, as a human venture, seeks to engage people all across the world. Engagement encompasses a variety of activities through which to interact with the public, including students and early-career physicists. In the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region, the landscape of the type of activities is relatively under-explored, and the exploration of these activities vis-à-vis different groups remains an area of interest within the literature. The public engagement activities that we present in this talk cover the authors’ experiences in three key activities: talks, mentorship, and social media engagement, all of which aim to address a MENA audience. The purpose of these activities is to spark interest in physics, gauge existing interest, engage in discussions about the impact of physics research locally and globally, and provide information about physics careers. Engagement comes in various forms — for instance, talks at Egyptian universities consisted of informal teaching events which engaged diverse audiences, including early-career physicists and the general public. Our online engagement has centered around mentorship of physics students and early-career physicists. Through the informality of social media, we have been able to engage with MENA students, both within the MENA region and within the diaspora in the context of research and early-stage career advice. The increasing influence of social media over the past decade has given rise to this new modality for engagement, which includes two types: public mentorship by raising awareness about physics and its applications and professional mentorship to provide information to early career physicists. In the context of the broader literature, informal physics programs play a critical role in recruitment of under-represented populations into physics and their sense of belonging to the physics community (Rethman et al., 2021). Our work highlights the impact of these engagement activities with a novel audience that has not been represented in the physics education literature. Understanding how different members of the public respond to public engagement will be important for developing future strategies and programs dedicated to improving STEM engagement efforts in the MENA region. Our goal is to advocate for public engagement in the MENA world and to encourage more research in informal physics in the Arab region. We plan to present examples and discuss our experiences in talks, mentorship, and social media engagement with a MENA audience. REFERENCE Rethman, C., Perry, J., Donaldson, J. P., Choi, D., &amp; Erukhimova, T. (2021). Impact of informal physics programs on university student development: Creating a physicist. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 17(2), 020110