Search results

This paper aims to examine the secessionist orientation of Kurdistan Region’s paradiplomacy in the context of two main variables: the internal structural variables in Iraq after 2003 and the nationalism variable.

This study relies on the theory of neoliberalism to explain the transformation of Kurdistan’s paradiplomacy to protodiplomacy. It also relies on legal approach through using the Iraqi constitution and the draft constitution for the Kurdistan Region.

The internal structural variables are one of the main variables to motivate the region with advanced nationalism to pursue a protodiplomacy. Secession or forming an independent state of Kurds is a historic requirement supported by the advanced nationalism of Iraqi Kurds.

This study encourages focusing on the crucial role of the internal structural variables that drive the regions, especially with the advanced nationalism to pursue a protodiplomacy. Also, this study recommends giving more focus on the external variables and Kurdistan’s secession.

This paper reveals the reality of Kurdistan’s protodiplomacy.

This study aims to indicate the most significant entrepreneurial environmental challenges that motivate universities of Kurdistan to become more entrepreneurial.

This qualitative study of 24 in-depth semi-structured interviews with deans and heads of department in the universities of Kurdistan Region deals with what is meant by being an entrepreneurial university and what challenges motivate universities toward adopting the entrepreneurial university model. Interviews were organized, coded and grouped using template analysis approach.

The results showed that most significant entrepreneurial environmental challenges that push universities in Kurdistan Region to becoming more entrepreneurial are university funding, having collaborations, contributing to the regional development, developing entrepreneurial competencies, globalization challenges, the need for innovation and the emergence of the opposition forces.

This study examines only the entrepreneurial environmental challenges that have been identified by Gibb et al. (2013). Also, it does not consider the role of leadership in dealing with these challenges.

This study extends the framework of Gibb et al. (2013) of the entrepreneurial environmental challenges that push universities to become more entrepreneurial by considering the challenges that universities in developing countries face. Then, this study adds greater clarity to the challenges that motivate universities to become more entrepreneurial in developing countries.

This purpose of this study is to examine research performance of Iraqi-Kurdistan universities, using the number of papers appearing in journals and proceedings, and the number of citations received by those papers as covered by Scopus, 1970-2012. This study also identifies subject coverage (domain/field) of publications and determines the preference of research communication channel within the research community?

A total of 459 papers published by Iraqi-Kurdistan universities and indexed by Scopus during the given time period were considered. The source items (i.e. records of publications by the faculty members of the Iraqi-Kurdistan universities) were all the documents published in international journals and proceedings indexed by Scopus (an Elsevier bibliographic database) from the time period ranging from 1970 to 2012. All papers having an authorship or a co-authorship associated with the Iraqi-Kurdistan universities were included and the number of citations received by them was counted for the period.

The study found that major journals used by Iraqi-Kurdistan universities were Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Journal of Chinese Clinical Medicine, Asian Journal of Chemistry, Hemoglobin and Journal of Applied Sciences Research. Additionally, three older institutions (Salahaddin University-Hawler, University of Sulaimani and University of Duhok) were the most productive universities. Moreover, the study revealed that 237 of 459 (52 per cent) of publications have international collaborations. It is further evident that among the 459 publications, 211 (40 per cent) have been cited 1,020 times; while 248 (60 per cent) of the papers have not been cited even once, so about 60 per cent of the papers were invisible to world science during the study period. This study also noted that the 25 highly cited papers were cited 484 times, representing 47 per cent of all the citations (484 of 1,020). This indicated a concentration effect, whereby a relatively small number of papers earn most of the citations and research impact generated by the faculty members of Iraqi-Kurdistan universities.

This is the first scientometric research to analyse Iraqi-Kurdistan universities’ scientific productivity.

Due to the weaknesses of the traditional methods and advances in science, using currently new technologies such as building information modeling (BIM) for the restoration and revival of historical monuments is considered a novel solution. This study addresses how computer science in BIM can contribute significantly to the restoration and improvement of the cultural heritage.

This study addresses how computer science in BIM can contribute significantly to the restoration and improvement of the cultural heritage.

Also, it assesses through this application, the capabilities of current software's in developing with the use of photogrammetry an accurate geometrical models for the minaret with its elements are linked to databases carrying information related to the minaret texture, historical identity and decoration. Finally, it shows the importance of this model to support experts in case of future restoration and conservation to the minaret.

The research describes the process of regenerating and documenting the motifs of the historical Choli minaret in Erbil. It explains the steps followed for full application of the historical buildings information modeling (HBIM) to this minaret.