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.
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are of potential interest because of their effective antibacterial and antiviral activities. Capping agents are used for exhibiting a better antibacterial activity than uncapped Ag NPs. There are very few reports that have shown the usage of AgNPs for in-vivo antibacterial therapy. Citrate-capped silver nanoparticles were synthesized chemically by citrate reduction method; the size of Cit-AgNPs was determined by an atomic force microscope (AFM) and was between 15-90 nm. Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) isolates were the only sensitive species to Cit-AgNPs. MICs and MBC of Cit-AgNPs were determined by using A. baumannii. The results showed an additive effect of Cit-AgNPs. Four mice groups were infected with
... Show MoreThis study aimed for isolation and identification of Candida glabrata and identifying some virulence factors. The distribution of patients with candidemia thrush showed that the age group 50-65 years old recorded the highest incidence of candidiasis in female and male with leukemia by 50% and 37.9 % respectively compared to the lowest incidence of candidiasis in the age group under 17 years old in female and male 8.8% and 13.5%, respectively. While the age group between 5-8 years was high, reaching 18 cases of oral candidiasis and 42% of children with leukemia compared with the age group, which was the least, that reached 9 cases, 21%. The highest incidence of C. glabrata was 59 isolates of females and males with leukemia, while C. kefyer w
... Show MoreProsopis farcta has been used traditionally for several diseases as cardiovascular, kidney, diabetes, bacterial infection and it has diuretic activity. This study was designed to evaluate the diuretic effects of P. farcta extract in comparison with spironolactone and hydrochlorothiazide in normal and hypertensive rats.Forty eight rats, were divided into Two groups. The First group was consist of Twelve normotensive rats, to represent the control group and normal treated group receiving 50 mg/Kg of P. farcta extract; Six rats in each group.
The Second group involved 36 hypertensive rats, were divided into six subgroups, each of six rats. The First subgroups served as a positive control, the Second, Third
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Twelve species from Brassicaceae family were studied using two different molecular techniques: RAPD and ISSR; both of these techniques were used to detect some molecular markers associated with the genotype identification. RAPD results, from using five random primers, revealed 241 amplified fragments, 62 of them were polymorphic (26%).
ISSR results showed that out of seven primers, three (ISSR3, UBC807, UBC811) could not amplify the genomic DNA; other primers revealed 183 amplified fragments, 36 of them were polymorphic (20%). The similarity evidence and dendrogram for the genetic distances of the incorporation between the two techniques showed that the highest similarity was 0.897 between the va
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A theoretical model is developed to determine time evolution of temperature at the surface of an opaque target placed in air for cases characterized by the formation of laser supported absorption waves (LSAW) plasmas. The model takes into account both plasma dynamics and time variation of incident laser pulse (i.e. pulse shape or profile).Shock tube relations were employed in formulating plasma dynamics over target surface. Gaussian function was chosen in formulating the pulse profile in the present modeling
The study includes collection of data about cholera disease from six health centers from nine locations with 2500km2 and a population of 750000individual. The average of infection for six centers during the 2000-2003 was recorded. There were 3007 cases of diarrhea diagnosed as cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae. The percentage of male infection was 14. 7% while for female were 13. 2%. The percentage of infection for children (less than one year) was 6.1%, it while for the age (1-5 years) was 6.9%and for the ages more than 5 years was 14.5%.The total percentage of the patients stayed in hospital was 7.7%(4.2%for male and 3.4%for female). The bacteria was isolated and identified from 7cases in the Central Laboratory for Health in Baghdad. In
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The present study cognitive aims to investigate the negation phenomenon in American political discourse under Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) principles. The research sample includes two speeches given by Clinton and Trump in their election campaigns in 2016. Since the nature of the study follows the social-cognitive approach, the researcher adopted two models of analysis to achieve the study’s objectives: First, the theoretical framework of MST (developed by Fauconnier (1994), Fauconnier and Sweetser (1996) to examine meaning construction resulting from building different levels of negative mental spaces by two different genders the selected speeches. Second, pragmatic model to examine the role of gender from the functional per
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The samples were collected monthly crustaceans Mjmafah foot of two stations in tributary Zab down and two others in the Tigris River for one year with effect from November 2001 until October 2002 recorded during the study period the current 41 units taxonomic and were higher density of Mjmafah foot Guy Tigris River before the mouth of the tributary
Background: The influence of glucose metabolism is seen in many infectious diseases, making diabetic patients more vulnerable to sepsis and other serious sequelae of bacterial invasion such as UTI and vaginitis.Patients and method: sixty two patients (women) were suffering from GUTIs consulting Al-Elwya hospital from November- 2009 to March -2010. Two samples were taken from those patients (urine samples and vaginal swabs); these samples were cultured on Blood, Chocolate, and MacConkey's agar for isolation of bacteria.Results: The study group consists of sixty two women suffering from (GUTI), their ages range from 18-55 years. Thirty eight of them were diabetic women and twenty four of them were non- diabetic women. Twenty t
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