The Added Value of Human Resources in Developing Leaders: A case study of an Egyptian Company

Preparation and development of leaders of the future in any organisation is a primary focus in both academic research and business. Specifically, interest exists regarding leader identification and methods employed in leader preparation and cultivation. Leaders within the organisation underpin the idea of dealing with change and uncertainty. Indeed, Hollis (2007) advises that organisation success lies in the ability of its leaders to set directions and take decisions, especially during critical situations. It takes inspirational visionary thinking to develop leaders, and requires the engagement of all organisation levels embracing top management and whole collaboration. Linking Human Resources (HR) and Organisation Development (OD) during complex times (Schein, 2010) will ensure that leaders help organisations maintain their competitive advantage. The purpose of the study is to centre attention on a particular macro organisation group in Egypt and review its activity even during change. The study explores the added value of HR and OD within the organisation and their contribution in readying and maturing leaders. Organisation impact is assessed, alongside the maintenance of competitive advantage in the face of rapid change. Employing qualitative methods within an action research case study (McManners, 2016), the study concentrates on a leading steel producer in Egypt and the MENA region, and reviews leader preparation and development and their impact on the organisation’s performance and subsequent business improvement. Data gathering was conducted via interviews with executive level, senior management, and via two focus groups from middle management. Together, information and data were obtained concerning the main issues the Group have confronted when attempting to prepare and develop leaders, particularly during uncertainty and change. The main outcome of the Leaders Model and Framework is to highlight the contributions of HR and OD. These departmental roles should safeguard sufficient talent that is continually assessed and aligned at all organisation levels within the organisation to achieve leaders. Collaboration, commitment, and communication within the organisation are paramount. Likewise, the need for organisation transformation, empowerment, and learning initiatives promotes added value for HR within the organisation

Islamic Perspectives on Natural Resources Management and Sustainability

The complexity of natural resources management has challenged the most willing governments and their most dedicated scientists. The many intangible dimensions of the environment have defeated the most creative valuation methods. Recently, more and more professionals and researchers have turned to religious teachings about nature and society, in order to tackle those intangibilities. In this context, so far, only a few efforts have been dedicated to the use of Islamic sources of law (shari ah) and tradition (sunnah) to inform natural resource management efforts. This paper sets out to review these efforts and to contribute an analysis of these Islamic sources. It concludes that, in Islam, the use of natural resources for consumption and profit lies at the juncture between individual worship (!ibadat), and group transactions (mu amalat). A balance between the two defines the relationship between human society (ummah) and the natural environment and is a defining factor of Muslim human ecology

Situating senior women in the literacy landscape of North Africa

Although literacy programs in North African countries vary in method, management approach, and in content emphasis, their discourse is strikingly similar: It focuses too often on learners' deficits and considers the condition of these “illiterate” subjects, i.e. persons lacking the 3Rs, as a “disease” against which a war of eradication must be waged. For Government Agencies, NGOs, and other institutional actors in literacy projects, such lexicon of combat, in which the lack of print culture becomes a physiological scourge, becomes a convenient framework to develop measurable outcomes for the literacy efforts. However, as will be demonstrated in this paper, there is a serious risk that their reductive discourse will result in their losing a real opportunity to significantly enhance learning outcomes if the local knowledge of women, and particularly, senior women, are not integrated in the literacy efforts. Senior women are repositories of wisdom in their communities. From life experience, they have developed multiple literacy skills, unrelated to schooling, by which they contribute significantly in caring for the health of their kin and neighbors, in teaching survival and subsistence skills, and in transmitting their pragmatic wisdom to younger generations. Based on fieldwork conducted in rural Tunisia and Morocco, the authors provide examples to demonstrate that including senior women's knowledge in the literacy landscape would strengthen the literacy efforts upon which sustainable development depends.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Walter de Gruyter and can be found at: http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/ijsl.2014.2014.issue-229/issue-files/ijsl.2014.2014.issue-229.xml

Characterization of a Novel Mitovirus Infecting Melanconiella theae Isolated From Tea Plants

A dsRNA segment was identified in the fungus Melanconiella theae isolated from tea plants. The complete dsRNA sequence, determined by random cloning together with RACE protocol, is 2,461 bp in length with an AU-rich content (62.37%) and comprises a single ORF of 2,265-nucleotides encoding an RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp, 754 amino acids in size). The terminus sequences can fold into predicted stable stem-loop structures. A BLASTX and phylogenetic analysis revealed the dsRNA genome shows similarities with the RdRp sequences of mitoviruses, with the highest identity of 48% with those of grapevine-associated mitovirus 20 and Colletotrichum fructicola mitovirus 1. Our results reveal a novel member, tentatively named Melanconiella theae mitovirus 1 (MtMV1), belongs to the family Mitoviridae. MtMV1 is capsidless as examined by transmission electron microscope, efficiently transmitted through conidia as 100 conidium-generated colonies were analyzed, and easily eliminated by hyphal tipping method combined with green-leaf tea powder. MtMV1 has a genomic sequence obviously divergent from those of most members in the family Mitoviridae and some unique characteristics unreported in known members. This is the first report of a mycovirus infecting Melanconiella fungi to date

Diverse exact solutions to Davey–Stewartson model using modified extended mapping method

In this study, we obtain solitary wave solutions and other exact wave solutions for Davey–Stewartson equation (DSE), which explains how waves move through water with a finite depth while being affected by gravity and surface tension. The study is conducted with the aid of the modified extended mapping method (MEMM). A variety of distinct traveling wave solutions are furnished. The obtained solutions comprise dark, bright, and singular solitary wave solutions. Additionally, Jacobi elliptic function solutions, exponential wave solutions, singular periodic wave solutions, rational wave solutions, and periodic wave solutions are also offered. To help readers physically grasp the acquired solutions, graphical representations of some of the extracted solutions are provided

The effect of HCV serological status on Doxorubicin based chemotherapy induced toxicity and disease-free survival in breast cancer patients

Background: Breast cancer and HCV are two frequent diseases in Egypt. There is a considerable  probability of concurrent affection. This concurrence creates a subpopulation, which needs special  evaluation and care.Objective: To evaluate a subset of Egyptian breast cancer patients receiving Doxorubicin based adjuvant chemotherapy, with HCV seropositivity (group 2) compared to HCV seronegative patients (group 1).Methods: 102 breast cancer patients, planned to receive Doxorubicin based adjuvant chemotherapy, at the Oncology Department, Alexandria Faculty of Medicine, were recruited since June 2009. Pretreatment evaluation included serological testing for HCV. FAC Adjuvant chemotherapy was given for six cycles.Results: HCV seropositivity was detected in 52 cases. Two cases in the seropositive group developed toxic hepatitis and discontinued treatment and follow up. The remaining 100 patients suffered comparable toxicities, except for more frequent liver enzyme elevations in the seropositive group. Diarrhea was also more frequent in the seropositive group. Treatment delays and dose reductions were more frequently observed in the  seropositive group. The 36 month disease-free survival and relapse pattern were not significantly different between the two groups.KEYWORDS Adjuvant chemotherapy; Anthracyclines; Operable breast cancer; HCV; Special populations

Solitons in magneto-optic waveguides with Kudryashov’s law nonlinear refractive index for coupled system of generalized nonlinear Schrödinger’s equation using modified extended mapping method

In this work, we investigate the optical solitons and other waves through magneto-optic waveguides with Kudryashov’s law of nonlinear refractive index in the presence of chromatic dispersion and Hamiltonian-type perturbation factors using the modified extended mapping approach. Many classifications of solutions are established like bright solitons, dark solitons, singular solitons, singular periodic wave solutions, exponential wave solutions, rational wave, solutions, Weierstrass elliptic doubly periodic solutions, and Jacobi elliptic function solutions. Some of the extracted solutions are described graphically to provide their physical understanding of the acquired solutions

Case Study in Refractory Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Successful Treatment with Plerixafor

The present case study describes our experience in treating a young woman diagnosed with a relapsing case of diffuse large cell lymphoma, who was heavily pre-treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Our only chance to improve her survival was by using high-dose chemotherapy, followed by peripheral stem cell rescue. Unfortunately, in this patient, collecting sufficient stem cells for bone marrow transplantation proved to be very difficult since she had already been heavily treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Currently, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) alone or G-CSF plus chemotherapy are the most commonly used treatments for stem cell mobilization. However, 5–30% of patients do not respond to these agents. Plerixafor is a new hematopoietic stem cell-mobilizing drug that antagonizes the binding of chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1α to CXC chemokine receptor 4. It is indicated in combination with G-CSF to mobilize hematopoietic stem cells to the peripheral blood for collection and subsequent autologous transplantation in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma [Kessans et al.: Pharmacotherapy 2010;30:485–492; Jantunen: Expert Opin Biol Ther 2011;11:1241–1248]. Based on our findings, we consider plerixafor to be a very efficient and practical solution to mobilize and collect stem cells among all patients in such a situation, enabling us to proceed to autologous bone marrow transplantation and peripheral stem cell rescue in order to improve the patients’ overall survival

Hybrid model of intensive lifestyle intervention is potentially effective in patients with diabetes & obesity for post-COVID era

The Weight Achievement and Intensive Treatment (Why WAIT) program is a 12-week multidisciplinary intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) for patients with diabetes and obesity in real-world clinical practice that has led to long-term weight loss maintenance for up to 10 years. During COVID-19, we reported that a virtual model (VM) of the program was equally effective in reducing body weight and improving glycemic control. Here, we test a newly-introduced hybrid model (HM), to accommodate ongoing restrictions of the pandemic. We evaluated 56 participants: 18 from HM, 16 from VM and 22 from the in-person model (iPM). At 12 weeks, mean change in body weight from baseline for HM was -8.2 ± 5.0 kg; p<0.001. Mean change in A1C for HM was -0.6 ± 0.6%; p=0.002. There were no significant differences in body weight reduction (p=0.7) or A1C reduction (p=0.6) between groups. Blood pressure, lipid profile, and all other parameters showed improvements without significant differences between groups. Overall, HM is as effective as VM and iPM in reducing body weight and A1C after 12 weeks. Given its scalability, HM could be offered to more patients with diabetes and obesity who may benefit from its increased flexibility and enhanced accountability without compromising the multidisciplinary approach for a post-COVID era

Multi-UAV Allocation Framework for predictive crime deterrence and data acquisition

The recent decline in the number of police and security force personnel has raised a serious security issue that could lead to reduced public safety and delayed response to crimes in urban areas. This may be alleviated in part by utilizing micro or small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their high-mobility on-board sensors in conjunction with machine-learning techniques such as neural networks to offer better performance in predicting times and places that are high-risk and deterring crimes. The key to the success of such operation lies in the suitable placement of UAVs. This paper proposes a multi-UAV allocation framework for predictive crime deterrence and data acquisition that consists of the overarching methodology, a problem formulation, and an allocation method that work with a prediction model using a machine learning approach. In contrast to previous studies, our framework provides the most effective arrangement of UAVs for maximizing the chance to apprehend offenders whilst also acquiring data that will help improve the performance of subsequent crime prediction. This paper presents the system architecture assumed in this study, followed by a detailed description of the methodology, the formulation of the problem, and the UAV allocation method of the proposed framework. Our framework is tested using a real-world crime dataset to evaluate its performance with respect to the expected number of crimes deterred by the UAV patrol. Furthermore, to address the engineering practice of the proposed framework, we discuss the feasibility of the simulated deployment scenario in terms of energy consumption and the relationship between data analysis and crime prediction