Globalisation and rapid environmental change have created many challenges for public and private organisations across Iraq as a developing country, particularly in the higher education sector. This includes, for example, decreases in government funding; increased demand for higher education; a need for economic transformation, and related competitiveness of organizations. Such challenges require exceptional leaders and strategic planning in order to take action to improve. In Iraq, the higher education sector is still one of the main foundations in progressing the knowledge economy. Studies into leadership style, strategic planning processes, and the importance of leadership and organisational culture to an organisation’s success have been used to assist both public and private Iraqi colleges in responding to the challenges they face. Although, some studies have examined the interaction between leadership and strategic planning, and leadership and organisational success, there has been no empirical study that has investigated how these three variables interact together. Thus, this study aimed, firstly, to identify the current leadership styles and strategic planning processes in the colleges and the challenges they faced, and to gain an understanding from the perspective of the senior leaders themselves as to how they might best respond to the current situation. Secondly, based on the participants’ experiences, knowledge and perceptions, the study aimed to identify implications for both practice and policy to help improve the colleges’ outcomes. The study involved a mixed-methods approach and was conducted in two stages. During the first stage, the researcher gathered quantitative data by administering a survey package to 129 leaders (deans, associate deans, and heads of departments) across both public and private colleges in the capital city of Baghdad. During the second stage, the researcher gathered qualitative data to more deeply explore the survey results by conducting individual interviews with a sub-sample of 21 leaders from both college types (ten public and 11 private). In the data analyses stages, both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were applied to compiling tables and charts, and to test hypotheses, by employing the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Microsoft Excel, and NVivo. The results of study showed that both transformational and transactional leadership styles played a varied and vital role in the colleges’ strategic planning processes, and in turn their success. The fact that private colleges were ‘for profit’ and public colleges were ‘not for profit’, as well as their contrasting funding models, highlighted key differences between the two college types’ leadership and general modus operandi. While it was found that both transformative leadership and transactional leadership styles were necessary to address the challenges colleges faced in the Iraqi educational context, the impetus for change extended far beyond the need for professional development of leaders. The embracing of information communication technologies, and reliable Internet was seen as necessary in all aspects of the colleges’ work and provision for teaching and learning, and students’ success. This applied to both college types along with the need for closer adherence to government regulations and more focused government coordination of colleges’ administrative functions. Furthermore, implications for making successful improvements to practice also identified the need to manage the challenge of sociocultural influences on the appointments and promotions of leaders. It was concluded that a greater emphasis on teamwork and provision of incentives for staff, along with a ‘boost’ to pedagogy and practice, which could be provided through the adoption of information communication technologies and appropriate professional development strategies, would enhance the colleges’ ranks and the status of their qualifications. Also, theoretically, the study offers a value-add to leadership, strategic planning process, and organisational success literature in the form of a conceptual model that links these variables in the context of Iraqi higher education sector.
The objective of this study was to investigate the prophylactic roles of human enteric derived Lactobacillus plantarum L1 (Ll) and Lactobacillus paracasei L2 (L2), on EHEC O157:H7 infection in rodent models (In vivo). The Lactobacillus suspensions (L1 and L2) were individually and orally administered to experimental rats at a daily two consecutives of 100 μl (108 CFU/ ml/rat) for up to two weeks. Thereafter, on the 8th day of experiment rats were orally challenged with one dose infection of EHEC (105 CFU/ml/rat). Animals mortality and illness symptoms have been monitored. There was no fatal EHEC infection in rats that had been pre‑colonized with the Lactobacillus strains, while most of EHEC infected rats were died (90%). The
... Show MoreA CRITICAL OVERVIEW IN SELECTED POEMS
This research aims to analyze the indicators of spatial variation in the guide of health field in both Al-Adhamiyah and Rusafa districts according to the environmental and administrative units in 2016. The analysis was done by groups of health guide indicators. The objectives of the study were to identify the spatial variation of health services and assess the health situation for families following the environmental and administrative units of the studied area. Such objectives can be done by specifying the extent of the families’ consent to the type of services, measuring the cases of deprivation, and identifying the most deprived areas. The study has finally concluded that there is a clear spatial variation between the indicators and
... Show MoreThis research aims to know the reality of implementation of Knowledge Management in Saudi Universities Applied in Shaqra University and to study the difficults whish encountered in applying the Knowledge Management approach.
The study investigated the university staff in Shaqra, Thadig, and Huraymila branches, using a questionnaire designed by the researcher to collect the data, sample of (260) members was used, applying the descriptive analytical approach to test the hypothesis by using (SPSS) program.
The study revealed that the first four zero hypothesis are rejected because there is medium approval of the university members on the fo
... Show MoreBackground: Verrucous carcinoma (VSCC) is considered as a rare well differentiated carcinoma variant of SCC with no metastatic potential. The aim of this study is to evaluate the Immunohistochemical expression MMP-2, VEGF and D2-40 expression in OSCC and VSCC. Materials and methods: Thirty formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks of OSCC and another twelve VSCC were collected and Four micrometer thick sections were cut from each block and mounted on positively charged slides and stained immunohistochemically with monoclonal antibodies to MMP-2, VEGF and D2-40. Results: there is no statistical difference between SCC and VSCC regarding the immunoexpression of MMP-2 and VEGF. While the lymphatic vessels density were higher in SCC than V
... Show MoreAims: Assess selected measures of oral health: Enamel defect, eruption of permanent teeth, dental caries, investigate the nutritional status of orphans by physical examination and relate the nutritional status with measures of oral health.
Materials and methods: 192 orphans aged of 6 and 12 who were living in all orphanages in Baghdad, Iraq, were studied. Enamel defect was derived from the WHO's modified developmental defects of enamel (DDE) index, investigation of caries using Decay -Missing – Filled index for permanent teeth (DMF), the decay-missing filled index for primary teeth (dmf) index and all of the perm
The Iranian-Sudanese relations during the era of the transitional government (1985-1986), and the era of the third democratic government, has seen a marked improvement, particularly since the transitional government, which was formed in Sudan following a popular uprising that toppled former President Jaafar Nimeiri followed based on balancing policy in international relations, which is the same policy adopted by the government of Sadiq al-Mahdi that, especially that Mr. Sadiq al-Mahdi had enjoyed close ties with the government in Tehran before he took office, and on the basis of the policy of diplomatic representation between the two countries returned since the time of the transitional government after relations were severed due to the
... Show MoreThe objective of this study is to ascertain the pivotal role of headlines in captivating viewers' attention toward news bulletins. Additionally, it aims to explore the factors that contribute to the correlation between headlines and the public's acceptance or rejection of the meticulously crafted news articles presented through these bulletins. The study delves into the mechanisms employed in writing and editing headlines, focusing on their style, expert composition, and intriguing nature. These factors inevitably influence the level of acceptance and engagement of the viewership with the news articles disseminated via the news bulletins. Employing a descriptive methodology, the researcher distributed 200 question
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