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.
In the present work the performance of semifluidized bed adsorber was evaluated for removal of phenolic compound from wastewater using commercial activated carbon as adsorbent. P-chlorophenol (4-Chlorophenol) and o-cresol (2-methylphenol) was selected as a phenolic compound for that purpose. The phenols percent removal, in term of breakthrough curves were studied as affected by hydrodynamics limitations which include minimum and maximum semifluidization velocities and packed bed formation in the column by varying various parameters such as inlet liquid superficial velocity (from Uminsf to 8Uminsf m/s), and retaining grid (sometimes referred to as adsorbent loading) to initial static bed height ratio (from 3-4.5). In
... Show MoreIn The Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful
Scholars, past and present, have paid attention to the books of Fasting and Hajj, and they have compiled literature on that, and they have written treatises and researches. The best days, and as for the pilgrimage, it is one of the great pillars of Islam, which God Almighty has distinguished by making its rituals in the best of places, which is the Sacred House of God.
Background: Obesity has become one of the most important public heath problems all over the world.An epidemic of obesity is affecting children and adolescents across the developed and developing countries in recent years. As the prevalence of obesity increased, so did the prevalence of co morbidities like metabolic and endocrine diseases.Objectives: To overview obesity clinical features and the prevalence of associated co morbidities in children and adolescents attended the obesity researches and therapy center in Alkindy medical collage.Type of study: This is a cohort observational studyMethods : Obese child and adolescents aged 4-15year attended the obesity research and therapy unit in AL Kindy medical collage from the 1st of September
... Show More
(11)
(4)
The present work aims to investigate approaches, measures and detection of indoor radon level in buildings of the department of physics in college of science of Baghdad University. CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors were used to measure the radon concentrations inside the rooms, including five laboratories and five workplace rooms in ground and first storey of the department. The average radon concentration at first storey was found to be 43.1±13.2 Bq/m3 and 40.1±13.4 Bq/m3 at the ground storey. The highest level of radon concentration at the first storey in the radioactive sources store was 87.5±29 Bq/m3 while at the ground storey in room(2) was 70.2±24 Bq/m3 which is due to the existence radioactive sources in some selected
... Show More
Titanium-dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles suspended in water, and ethanol based fluids have been prepared using one step method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV–visible spectrophotometer. The TiO2 nanoparticles were added to base fluids with different volume concentrations from 0.1% to1.5% by dispersing the synthesized nanoparticles in deionized water and ethanol solutions. The effective thermal conductivity, viscosity and pH of prepared nanofluids at different temperatures from 15 to 30 oC were carried out and investigated. It was observed that the thermal conductivity, pH, and viscosity of nanofluids increases with the increase in TiO2 nanoparticle volume fraction
... Show MoreEarly childhood Is the of the important stages in the life of man and initiated full on others
reliability has been rise in growth toward independence and self-reliance, as is the transition
from the home environment to the kindergarten environment (kindergarten) (4-6) years where
starts in the interaction with the external environment, it is an essential stage in the
construction of sound personal to the child, and choose proper clothes at this age is one of the
important aspects in building the child's personality, as it reflects the clothing behavior and
taste his parents, especially his mother, she is the first responsible for providing clothes for
her children. Children at this stage are dependent the mothers in
The study aimed to identify the awareness degree of teacher students in the department of Arabic language and their supervisors at Al-aqsa University for their future roles in the age of knowledge. To achieve this objective, descriptive- analytical approach was used. The instruments of this study were two questionnaires: first one consist of (20) item for teacher students, and the second consist of (27) item for educational supervisors which covered three roles: professional, technological, and humanitarian. The sample was (120) student selected randomly, and (39) supervisors of Arabic language. The result revealed that the mean of degree awareness of teacher students and their supervisors of future role are (3.857), (3.472) respectively
... Show MoreSludge from stone-cutting (SSC) factories and stone mines cannot be used as decorative stones, stone powder, etc. These substances are left in the environment and cause environmental problems. This study aim is to produce artificial stone composite (ASC) using sludge from stone cutting factories, cement, unsaturated resin, water, silicon carbide nanoparticles (SiC-NPs), and nano-graphene oxide (NGO) as fillers. Nano graphene oxide has a hydrophobic plate structure that water is not absorbed due to the lack of surface tension on these plates. NGO has a significant effect on the properties of artificial stone due to its high specific surface area and low density in the composite. Its uniform distribution in ASC is very low due to its hydropho
... Show More
(4)
(3)