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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We studied the changing of structural and optical properties of pure and Aluminum-doped ZnO thin films prepared by thermal evaporation technique on glass substrates at thickness (800±50)nm with changing of annealing temperatures ( 200,250,300 )℃ for one hour. The investigation of (XRD) indicates that the pure and doped ZnO thin films were polycrystalline of a hexagonal wurtzite structure with preferred orientation along (002) plane. The grain size was decreased with doping before annealing, but after annealing the grain size is increasing with the increase of annealing temperature for pure film whereas for the doped films with ratios 1 %, 2 % we found that the grain size is larger than that before annealing. The grain size
... Show MoreThe 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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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 relationship between the clinical singes and some of the hematological and biochemical values in 126 cases of local breed and Shammi breed goats (from both sexes) diagnosed as cases of malnutrition from 230 goats examined .The clinical examination include (beside the general inspection and case history) body temperature, respiratory and pulse rates, mucus membranes skin and coat. Examination of the blood samples included RBCs count, Hb concentration, PCV % and values of cupper, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. The results showed that the mean body temperature of these goats was lower than in normal goats, while the respiratory and pulse rates were higher .Examination of blood revealed decrease in the means of RBCs counts ,Hb con
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Anaemia is a common extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) where anaemia of chronic disease (ACD) and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) are the two most frequent types. The distinction between these two types of anaemia has always been challenging requiring sophisticated techniques. Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) a truncated soluble form of the transferrin receptor is one of the parameters that is influenced by the Iron content and supply to the erythrons and is not affected by inflammatory status and therefore the use of the sTfR/log ferritin (sTfR-F) index can be a reliable indicator of functional iron deficiency.
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Since the end of World War II, the United States of America began to look at the Gulf States and Iraq due to the possession of huge quantities of oil, after taking the American oil depletion in order to tighten control over the oil of these countries, has pursued various means, political and military, in the framework of its strategy So that it could achieve this control, which focused on control of production and prices, for the conviction that those who control oil impose control over the political decision of the countries of the world.