The Relationship Between the Levels of Cultural Intelligence and the Ability to Adapt Leadership Style Amongst the Leaders in Abu Dhabi Education Sector

Globalization is inevitable and the inherent result is a work environment that is becoming increasingly diverse. Leaders must meet the challenges of globalization by being adaptable in dealing with the continual pace of change and the cultural diversity of their followers. Internationalization of education and the mobility of students and staff increase pressure on educational leaders to deal with diversity, thereby outlining a good context for understanding these converging factors. Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is “motivated by the practical reality of globalization in the workplace”, whereas, the Full Range Leadership Model measures leadership types using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). Both of these two concepts, and leadership adaptability define the scope of this study. This research focused on school leaders, and aimed to estimate their CQ, identify their predominant leadership style, and to understand the relationship between CQ and their ability to adapt their leadership style. The Abu Dhabi education sector is amenable to an investigation of the links between CQ, leadership style, and adaptability. Focus groups were held in order to develop questions for a quantitative instrument measuring leadership adaptability. An analysis of the leadership adaptability scale found it met expectations as a survey instrument. The CQ instrument was further validated in the UAE, and has been translated into Arabic. School leaders in Abu Dhabi exhibit high levels of CQ, leadership adaptability, and predominantly demonstrate a transformational leadership style. Significant relationships were identified between transformational leadership style and CQ, and between CQ and leadership adaptability. The implications of this research are far reaching as they highlight the interconnection between the factors of CQ, leadership style, and leadership adaptability in a UAE education context. Further, they present a positive picture of the Abu Dhabi education sector, which is undergoing a period of modernisation in order to be considered world leading and to develop a knowledge based economy

Cultural intelligence and leadership style in the education sector

Purpose: Schools in UAE are multicultural in nature. In this context, cultural intelligence (CQ) is a tool, which can increase an individual’s ability to interact with people outside his/her culture. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of the school leaders regarding the key influences of cultural intelligence on their ability to adapt their leadership style in the Abu Dhabi Education Sector. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive review of the literature was carried out to acknowledge the cultural intelligence and leadership style adaptability concepts. This research has adopted a qualitative method of inquiry. Data for the study have been collected from three focus groups with 14 schools leaders in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Findings: This pilot study reveals that cultural intelligence has some influence on the school leaders’ ability to adapt their leadership style within a diverse work environment. This influence is complex in nature and multiple factors have been identified. Research limitations/implications: The main limitations of this study are associated with the small sample size. Regarding the implications, while this study was conducted in a UAE cultural context, it can be extended to other Gulf countries. Future research should prompt educational leaders, administrators, students, and research academics to further consider the impact of cultural intelligence on leadership style. Practical implications: This study contributes towards cultural intelligence literature. Schools should provide cultural training to managers before appointing them to leadership positions, which helps in understanding the culture which they are going to operate in, and effectively manage their drives, workforce, students, and the community. Originality/value: The paper highlights six core factors that influence the ability of school leaders to adapt their leadership style in culturally diverse environments. These preliminary factors need to be examined further to validate the dimensions of leadership adaptability in various contexts

Towards the Pharmacological Validation and Phytochemical Profiling of the Decoction and Maceration of Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam.-A Traditionally Used Medicinal Halophyte

Decoctions (leaves and roots) of Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam. are traditionally used against diabetes in many countries, including Mauritius. This study endeavoured to evaluate the inhibitory potential of leaves, roots, twigs and fruits extracts (decoction and maceration) of B. gymnorhiza against key enzymes relevant to diabetes. Considering complications related to diabetes, other clinical enzymes, namely, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), tyrosinase, elastase and pancreatic lipase, were used. Identification of compounds was carried out using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Antioxidant capacities were assessed using DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, CUPRAC, phosphomolybdenum, metal chelating. The relationship between mode of extraction, plant parts and biological activities was determined using multivariate analysis. Macerated fruits, rich in phytochemicals (phenolic, flavanol, tannin, and triterpenoid), exhibited substantially high antioxidant capacities related to radical scavenging (DPPH: 547.75 ± 10.99 and ABTS: 439.59 ± 19.13 mg TE/g, respectively) and reducing potential (CUPRAC: 956.04 ± 11.90 and FRAP: 577.26 ± 4.55 mg TE/g, respectively). Additionally, the same extract significantly depressed AChE and BChE (3.75 ± 0.03 and 2.19 ± 0.13 mg GALAE/g, respectively), tyrosinase (147.01 ± 0.78 mg KAE/g), elastase (3.14 ± 0.08 mg OE/g) and amylase (1.22 ± 0.01 mmol ACAE/g) enzymatic activities. Phytochemical results confirmed the presence of 119 compounds in all maceration and 163 compounds in all decoction samples. The screening also revealed important compounds in the extracts, namely, quinic acid, brugierol, bruguierol A, epigallocatechin, chlorogenic acid, to name a few. Multivariate analysis reported that the plant parts of B. gymnorhiza greatly influenced the observed biological activities in contrast to the types of extraction methods employed. Docking calculations have supported the findings of the experimental part through the high binding affinity and strong interactions of some compounds against tyrosinase, AChE, BChE and elastase enzymes. The decocted root and leaf of B. gymnorhiza showed low to moderate antidiabetic activity, thereby partially supporting its traditional uses in the management of diabetes. However, the fruit, the most active organ, can be used as a diet supplement to reduce the risk of diabetes complications after evaluating its cytotoxic effects.Funding: This research was funded by UAEU Program for Advanced Research, grant number 31S398-UPAR to Yusra Al Dhaheri.Scopu

A Review of Responses of Bulk Gel Treatments in Injection Wells -- Part II: Water Responses and Economic Assessments

Polymer bulk gels have been widely applied to mitigate excessive water production in mature oil fields by correcting reservoir permeability heterogeneity. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the water responses and the economic assessments of injection-well gel treatments. The survey includes 61 field projects implemented between 1985 and 2014 and compiled from SPE papers and U.S. DOE reports. Ten parameters were evaluated according to the reservoir lithology, formation type, and recovery process using the univariate analysis, stacked histograms, and scatterplots. Results indicated that gel treatments have very wide ranges of water injection/production responses and economic indicators. We identified that gel treatments do reduce the water production but not dramatically to really low levels. The water production continues to increase after the proactive treatments applied in undeveloped conformance problems at low water cuts ( \u3c 50%). Contrarily, the water production decreases after the reactive treatments conducted in developed conformance issues at high water cuts ( \u3e 50%). When successfully applied, gel treatments averagely reduce the water injection rate by 34% and the water cut by 10%; however, the water cut may also increase by 17%. For developed problems, the water cut may stabilize or increase after the remediation mainly in matrix-rock sandstone reservoirs, especially when small gel volumes are injected ( \u3c 1000 barrels) into this formation type. Economically, gel treatments are appraised solely based on the oil production response and both water responses are not considered in the evaluation. Typically, gel treatments have cost of incremental oil barrel of 2$/barrel and payout time of 9.2 months and function for 1.9 years. They have better water responses and economics in carbonates than in sandstones and in unconsolidated and naturally-fractured than in matrix-rock formations; however, they have reverse tends with respect to the gel effective time. The gel effective time significantly decreases with the channeling strength, the aperture of flow channels, and the temperature of injected drive-fluids. Generally, the water production response and economic parameters improve as the injected gel volume increases and the treatment timing advances in the flooding life. For different application environments, the present review provides reservoir engineers with updated ideas about what are the low, typical, and high performances of gel treatments when applied successfully and how other treatment aspects affect the performances

Field Performances, Effective Times, and Economic Assessments of Polymer Gel Treatments in Controlling Excessive Water Production from Mature Oil Fields

Polymer bulk gels have been widely applied to mitigate excessive water production from mature oil fields by correcting the reservoir permeability heterogeneity. This paper reviews water responses, effective times, and economic assessments of injection-well gel treatments based on 61 field projects. Eight parameters were evaluated per the reservoir type using the descriptive analysis, stacked histograms, and scatterplots. Results show that water production generally continues to increase after the treatment for undeveloped conformance problems. Contrarily, it typically decreases after the reactive gel treatments target developed conformance issues. For the developed problems, gel treatments do not always mitigate the water production where the water cut may stabilize or increase by 17% in 22% of instances. In addition, they often do reduce water production but not dramatically to really low levels where the water cut stays above 70% and reduces by only 10% in most cases. Gel treatments are economically appraised based only on the oil production response, and both water responses (injection and production) are not considered in the evaluation. They have a typical payout time of 9.2 months, cost of incremental oil barrel of 2 $/barrel, and effective time of 1.9 years. In addition, they have better water responses and economics in carbonates than in sandstones and in unconsolidated and naturally fractured reservoirs than in matrix-rock formations. The current review strongly warns reservoir engineers that gel treatments are not superior in alleviating the water production and candidates should be nominated based on this fact to achieve favorable economics and avoid treatment failures

Effect of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus History on Future Pregnancy Behaviors: The Mutaba’ah Study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in any pregnancy and recurrence rates are high in future pregnancies. This study aims to investigate the effect of self-reported history of previous GDM on behaviors in a future pregnancy. This is an interim cross-sectional analysis of the pregnant women who participated in the Mutaba’ah Study between May 2017 and March 2020 in the United Arab Emirates. Participants completed a baseline self-administered questionnaire on sociodemographic and pregnancy-related information about the current pregnancy and previous pregnancies. Regression models assessed the relationships between self-reported history of GDM and pre-pregnancy and pregnancy behaviors in the current pregnancy. Out of 5738 pregnant parous women included in this analysis, nearly 30% (n = 1684) reported a history of GDM in a previous pregnancy. Women with a history of previous GDM were less likely to plan their current pregnancies (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74–0.96) and more likely to be worried about childbirth (aOR: 1.18, 95% CI 1.03–1.36). They had shorter interpregnancy intervals between their previous child and current pregnancy (aOR: 0.88, 95% CI 0.82–0.94, per SD increase). There were no significant differences between women with and without a history of GDM in supplement use, sedentary behavior, or physical activity before and during this current pregnancy. Nearly a third of parous pregnant women in this population had a history of GDM in a previous pregnancy. Pregnant women with a previous history of GDM were similar to their counterparts with no history of GDM in the adopted pre-pregnancy and prenatal health behaviors. More intensive and long-term lifestyle counseling, possibly supported by e-health and social media materials, might be required to empower pregnant women with a history of GDM. This may assist in adopting and maintaining healthy prenatal behaviors early during the pregnancy or the preconception phase to minimize the risk of GDM recurrence and the consequential adverse maternal and infant health outcomes

A comparative study on chemical profiles and biological activities of different extracts of three Verbascum species from Turkey: In vitro, in silico and network pharmacological approaches

The present study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and enzyme inhibition properties of aerial part of Verbascum cheiranthifolium Boiss. V. myriocarpum Boiss. & Heldr. and V. pyroliforme (Boiss. & Heldr.) Kuntze as well as their chemical profiles. Results showed that MeOH and hydromethanol recovered the highest total polyphenolic content with highest content obtained from V. cheiranthifolium (27.61and 27.69 mg GAE/g respectively) and V. myriocarpum (24.24 and 25.34 GAE/g respectively). The estimated content of verbascoside was quite higher in V. cheiranthifolium (987.05–6780.07 mg/100 g) and V. myriocarpum (1506.47–6433.73 mg/100 g) than V. pyroliforme (49.54–121.97 mg/100 g). All extracts of V. cheiranthifolium (274.17–713.79 mg/100 g) and polar ones of V. myriocarpum (185.67–304.51 mg/100 g) accumulated higher chlorogenic acid content than V. pyroliforme extracts (36.33–112.56 mg/100 g). The latter species was dominated by luteolin-7-O-glucoside and apigenin-7-O-glucoside with highest content recorded from the hydromethanolic extract (639.70 and 196.14 mg/100 g respectively). Extracts of V. cheiranthifolium (46.15–48.74 mg TE/g) and V. myriocarpum (46.05–48.50 mg TE/g) exerted significantly higher scavenging activity than those from V. pyroliforme (12.77–34.64 mg TE/g). Highest significant anti-acetylcholinesterase activity was obtained by MeOH extract of V. pyroliforme (2.65 mg GALAE/g) and V. myriocarpum (2.57 mg GALAE/g). In conclusion, extracts from the three investigated Verbascum spp. can be a potential source of bioactive metabolites with interesting antioxidant and enzyme inhibition properties

Close, but no cigar: an unfortunate case of primary angiitis of the central nervous system

Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is an uncommon and misunderstood disease, where little is known regarding its immunopathogenesis and appropriate treatment. Due to the constellation of nonspecific clinical features and imaging findings, PACNS is a diagnostic conundrum for clinicians and can be very difficult to treat. Case presentation: A 64-year-old male with a history of prostate cancer presented to the emergency department with expressive aphasia and severe headache. Previously, he was diagnosed with ischemic strokes at outside hospitals and was subsequently initiated on anticoagulation medication but was later readmitted with a new onset of nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and later was found to have ischemic changes in the right temporoparietal lobe. He was suspected to have hypercoagulability of malignancy, as he was unresponsive to a wide variety of anticoagulants and his symptoms continued to deteriorate. On presentation, the physical examination was significant for right homonymous hemianopia, with positive antinuclear antibodies and notable erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The results from the full serologic workup was negative. Subsequent imaging of the brain revealed multifocal stenoses in multiple arteries. On further examination, digital subtraction angiography was concerning for vasculopathy, and was initiated on corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide. Discussion: This is one of the first cases of PACNS in which recurrent strokes were the presenting symptom for PACNS. Vasculitis should be a considered differential in patients with recurrent ischemic strokes and failed anticoagulant therapy. It is important to rule out malignancy and infectious causes due to the wide spectrum of conditions that cause central nervous system vasculitis.</p