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.
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The acrylic polymer composites in this study are made up of various weight ratios of cement or silica nanoparticles (1, 3, 5, and 10 wt%) using the casting method. The effects of doping ratio/type on mechanical, dielectric, thermal, and hydrophobic properties were investigated. Acrylic polymer composites containing 5 wt% cement or silica nanoparticles had the lowest abrasion wear rates and the highest shore-D hardness and impact strength. The increase in the inclusion of cement or silica nanoparticles enhanced surface roughness, water contact angle (WCA), and thermal insulation. Acrylic/cement composites demonstrated higher mechanical, electrical, and thermal insulation properties than acrylic/silica composites because of their lowe
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In this study, we focused on the random coefficient estimation of the general regression and Swamy models of panel data. By using this type of data, the data give a better chance of obtaining a better method and better indicators. Entropy's methods have been used to estimate random coefficients for the general regression and Swamy of the panel data which were presented in two ways: the first represents the maximum dual Entropy and the second is general maximum Entropy in which a comparison between them have been done by using simulation to choose the optimal methods.
The results have been compared by using mean squares error and mean absolute percentage error to different cases in term of correlation valu
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The research aimed to prepare a psychological counseling program for the coaches of the Sports Care Center in the gymnasium, and to learn about the impact of the psychological counseling program in reducing irrational ideas and causal attribution of the coaches of the Sports Talent Care Center in the gymnasium, to assume that there are statistically significant differences between the results of the tribal and posttests of the research group Experimental in the scale of irrational ideas, and there are statistically significant differences between the results of the tribal and posttests of the experimental research group in the scale of the causal attribution scale, The experimental approach was adopted by designing one experimental
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This 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
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Aims: 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
Transient three-dimensional natural convection heat transfer due to the influences of heating from one side of an enclosure filled with a saturated porous media, whereas the opposite side is maintained at a constant cold temperature, and the other four sides are adiabatic, were investigated in the present work experimentally. Silica sand was used as a porous media saturated with distilled water filled in a cubic enclosure heated from the side,using six electrical controlled heaters, at constant temperatures of (60, 70, 80, 90, and 100oC). The inverse side cooled at a constant temperature of (24oC) using an aluminum heat exchanger, consisted of 15 channels feeded with constant temperature water. Eighty thermocouples were used to control t
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n this study, 25 clinical isolates of Proteus spp. were collected from urine, wounds and burns specimens from different hospitals in Baghdad city, all isolates were identified by using different bacteriological media, biochemical assays and Vitek-2 system. It was found that 15 (60%) isolates were identifies as Proteus mirabilis and 10 (40 %) isolates were Proteus vulgaris. The susceptibility of P. mirabilis and P. vulgaris isolates towards cefotaxime was (66.6 %) and (44.4 %) respectively; while the susceptibility of P. mirabilis and P. vulgaris isolates towards ceftazidime was (20%). Extended spectrum β-lactamses producing Proteus was (30.7 %). DNA of 10 isolates of P. mirabilis and 4 isolates of P. vulgaris were extracted and de
... Show MoreThis paper analyzes a piled-raft foundation on non-homogeneous soils with variable layer depth percentages. The present work aims to perform a three-dimensional finite element analysis of a piled-raft foundation subjected to vertical load using the PLAXIS 3D software. Parametric analysis was carried out to determine the effect of soil type and initial layer thickness. The parametric study showed that increasing the relative density from 30 % to 80 % of the upper sand layer and the thickness of the first layer has led to an increase in the ultimate load and a decrease in the settlement of piled raft foundations for the cases of sand over weak soil. In clay over weak soil, the ultimate load of the piled raft foundation w
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