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Various health systems are challenged by a multifaceted crisis of increased service demand and workforce shortages. The effects are devastating and may end up in decreased access to care, poor quality of patient care and extreme demands on the workforce. The introduction of the physician assistant (PA) profession provided an avenue to address such challenges in several countries. In Germany, the integration of PAs has been proceeding slowly.

To understand the integration of the profession in Germany, we conducted 15 expert interviews to reveal how the PA profession is perceived among healthcare experts as well as the barriers and facilitators of integration in inpatient care.

Our results highlight a generally positive perception of PAs, particularly in terms of workload relief and bridging the gap between healthcare professionals. Nonetheless, barriers include resistance from healthcare workers unfamiliar with the PA role, while workforce shortages and collaborative teamwork facilitate integration.

These findings lay the groundwork for potential integration-enhancing strategies in Germany.

This paper aims to develop a cultural diversity management (CDM) framework to enhance the performance of architecture design firms (ADFs) in Egypt.

A research methodology consisting of literature review, case studies and survey questionnaire was designed to achieve the abovementioned aim. First, literature review was used to investigate the concepts of globalization, international construction, diversity, diversity management (DM) and organizational performance. Second, four case studies were presented and analyzed. The first two cases explored the role of CDM towards enhancing the performance of ADFs, while the last two cases showed initiatives carried out by NGOs to integrate architects of color into their communities through training programs that enhanced their skills and uplifted their societies. Third, a survey questionnaire was carried out with a representative sample of ADFs in Egypt to investigate their perception and application of DM towards enhancing organizational performance. Based on the results of the above, the research developed a framework to enhance the performance of ADFs through managing culturally diverse workforces.

Literature review showed that diversity is not limited to race and gender; however, it includes other types such as disability, socioeconomic status, thinking style, culture, personality, life experience, religious and spiritual beliefs. Despite the benefits that diversity brings to ADFs such as stimulating creativity and increasing productivity, poor management of diverse workforce leads to dysfunctional conflicts, frustration and confusion. Results of case studies showed that ADFs that adopt a CDM approach succeeded in enhancing their performance. In addition, training initiatives carried out by NGOs succeeded to integrate architects of color into their communities and uplifting their societies. Results of data analysis identified the barriers to integrating diverse workforce in ADFs. These barriers include “Poor communication and spirit of collaboration between diverse workforce”, “Resistance to change”, “Lack of maintaining wage equity and promotion between different workforces based on gender”, “Poor organization culture” and “Lack of Senior Management involvement”. This necessitated taking action towards developing a framework to overcome these barriers to manage diverse workforces towards enhancing the performance of ADFs in Egypt.

Because of the conceptual nature of the proposed framework, it has to be tested and validated to ensure its capability to overcome the barriers of managing culturally diverse workforces as an approach for enhancing the performance of ADFs in Egypt.

This research presents a practical solution to enhance the performance of ADFs in Egypt through managing cultural workforce diversity.

The research identified and analyzed the barriers that obstruct the integration of diverse workforces in ADFs. The research tackled a topic that received scant attention in construction literature with particular emphasis on Egypt. In addition, this paper proposed a CDM framework to enhance the performance of ADFs in Egypt, which represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the body of knowledge.

This research aims to develop and validate a framework for eradicating women’s discrimination in architectural design firms (ADFs) in Egypt and propose strategies for prospective adoption in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to increase the transformational impact of women on the architectural and urban developments of the Gulf region.

A combined qualitative and quantitative research approach was designed to accomplish four objectives. Firstly, to investigate the nature of business in ADFs, women’s discrimination and policies for gender equity (PGE) in architecture. Secondly, to analyse three case studies to validate the identified causes and impacts of women’s discrimination and examine the role of PGE towards eradicating women’s discrimination in ADFs. Thirdly, to conduct a survey questionnaire with a representative sample of ADFs to investigate their perception of women’s discrimination and the correlation between PGE towards eradicating women’s discrimination in ADFs. Based on the above, the research developed and validated a framework to eradicate women’s discrimination in ADFs in Egypt and suggested strategies for potential application in the GCC countries to increase the transformational role of women in the architectural and urban developments of the Gulf region.

Through literature review and case studies, the research identified and validated the causes and impacts of women’s discrimination as well as PGE in Architecture. The findings of data analysis showed that the highest-ranked causes of women discrimination in ADFs were “customs and beliefs” followed by “Underestimating women’s work” and “Recruiting males more than females”. Moreover, the highest-ranked impacts of women’s discrimination were “career shift and leaving the profession” followed by “decrease in creativity and innovation” and “decrease in economic growth”. Furthermore, the Spearman correlation test showed that while some PGE were correlated, others were not. These findings helped in the development of the proposed framework and proposed strategies.

This research presents a practical framework to eliminate women’s discrimination in ADFs in Egypt based on the findings of literature review, case studies and survey questionnaire. The framework explained in a workable way the objectives of the framework functions; activities; tools and techniques; involved personnel and needed resources as well as enforcing mechanisms. It was validated by a representative sample of ADFs in Egypt to ensure its practicability and viability and suggested strategies for implementation in the GCC countries to increase women’s role in architectural and urban development.

The research identified and validated the causes and impacts of women’s discrimination as well as PGE in Architecture. Moreover, the research investigated the perception of women’s discrimination and the correlation between PGE through conducting a survey questionnaire with a representative of ADFs in Egypt. The research tackled a topic that received scant attention in construction literature, especially in Egypt and the GCC countries. The research developed and validated a framework to eradicate women’s discrimination in ADFs in Egypt. It represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred. The research suggested several strategies for the prospective implementation of the framework in the GCC countries as an approach to enhancing the transformational role of women in the architectural and urban developments of the Gulf region.

This research aims to develop and validate a framework to support the development of sustainable architectural entrepreneurship start-ups (AES) in Egypt by overcoming the challenges that obstruct their development.

A qualitative and quantitative research methodology was designed to accomplish four objectives. The literature review investigated the concept of entrepreneurship, the challenges of AES in Egypt and Egypt’s Vision 2030. Four case studies were analysed to validate the identified challenges and strategies adopted to overcome these obstacles. A survey questionnaire was conducted with AES founders in Egypt to assess their perception of entrepreneurship, challenges and strategies adopted to overcome these barriers. Finally, a framework was developed and validated to facilitate the development of sustainable AES in Egypt.

Through a literature review, the research identified the highest 17 challenges that obstruct the development of sustainable AES in Egypt and classified them into six categories. Analysis of case studies confirmed various challenges and strategies adopted to overcome these obstacles. Data analysis showed that “financial”, “awareness, educational and training” represent the most influential challenges to AES in Egypt. Moreover, “self-funding through savings” was ranked the highest strategy employed to overcome the financial challenges, while the “continuous learning and skill development” strategy was adopted to address the challenge of awareness, education and training.

This research presents a practical solution to facilitate the development of sustainable AES in Egypt by overcoming the challenges that obstruct their growth. The framework was explained in a workable way to include the required activities, tools and techniques, involved personnel needed resources and implementation strategies.

This research identified and analysed the challenges of developing sustainable AES and the strategies adopted to overcome these obstacles. It studied a topic that received scant attention in construction literature related to start-ups in architecture, especially in Egypt. Moreover, this research developed and validated a framework consisting of six domains based on the findings of a literature review, case studies and survey questionnaire to facilitate the development of sustainable AES in Egypt, which represents a novel and creative synthesis that adds value to knowledge in a way that has not previously occurred.