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.
Background Psoriasis is one of the most prevalent chronic inflammatory skin conditions; its prevalence ranges from 1 to 3%. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), a cytokine that enhances inflammation, is overexpressed in synovium and skin plaques in psoriasis. TNF-α plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. IL-10 is the most crucial cytokine for reducing excessive immune responses and decreasing pro-inflammatory reactions in all autoimmune disorders. Objective To evaluate the effect of Apremilast on ILـ10, TNFـα, and BMI in obese psoriatic patients. Methods Thirty patients included in this investigative study to measure the concentrations of TNFـα, ILـ10 and BMI, before and after receiving Apremilast. TNFـα and
... Show MoreThe icon and the symbol represent the constituents of the communication process, through their intellectual and philosophical concepts that have been addressed by the current research that it has touched upon their importance in conveying the design idea for the recipient and showing the specificity of each one of them in the communication process. The research problem has been limited by the following question: what are the communication roles that the symbol and the icon present for the user in designing the industrial product?
The research objective is to reveal the theoretical visualization that describes the icon and the symbol in the industrial product and its importance in the communication process through stating the of simil
(38)
(36)
(5)
The research aim at identifying the time of motor response to auditory and visual stimuli as well as identifying the accuracy of blocking and finding the relationship between motor repose time and blocking accuracy. The community was (7) primer soccer league of 2019 – 2020 and the subjects were (24) volleyball players from Al Jaish and Al Shorta clubs ten players from Al Shorta club performed the pilot study. The researchers used the descriptive method and the data was collected and treated using SPSS. The results showed a significant relationship between response time and blocking accuracy. The researchers recommended concentrating on applying scientific principles for developing time of motor response in a manner suitable for bl
... Show More
Development of a precise and delicate reaction has been acquired for the determination of vancomycin hydrochloride using batch and cloud point extraction (CPE) methods. The first method is based on the formation of azo dye as a result of diazotized dapsone coupled with vancomycin HCl (VAN) in a basic medium. The sensitivity of this reaction was enhanced by utilizing a nonionic surfactant (Triton X-114) and the cloud point extraction technique (second method). The azo dye formed was extracted into the surfactant-rich phase, dissolved in ethanol and detected at λmax 440 nm spectrophotometrically. The reaction was investigated using both batch and CPE methods (with and without extraction), and a simple comparison between the two
... Show More
(7)
(4)
(19)
(18)
To determine the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and skin disorders, sixty six patients who suffering from skin diseases include chronic urticarial (CU) and atopic dermatitis (AD) who attended at Dermatological Clinic/ Al-Numan Teaching Hospital from the beginning of October 2015 to the end of January 2016 with age (6-62) have been investigated and compared to twenty two samples of apparently healthy individuals were studied as control group. All the studied groups were subjected to measurement of antiHelicobacter pylori IgG antibodies by enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) and detection of 16S rRNA and CagA genes by using singleplex and multiplex PCR methods. The results of current study revealed that there was a
... Show MoreObjectives: The study aims to: (1) assess the prevalence of phantom vibration and ringing syndrome among
nurses, (2) determine the level of job-related stress among those nurses who are working at teaching hospitals in
Al- Nasiriyah city, and (3) identify the association between job-related stress and experience of phantom
vibration and ringing syndrome.
Methodology: : A descriptive design, cross-sectional study was used for the present study was carried out
from 4th December, 2017 to the 4th April, 2018 in order to determine the association of Phantom
Vibration and Ringing Syndrome with Job - Related Stress among nurses at Teaching Hospitals in AlNasiriyah
City , on a purposive (non-probability) sample was used in t