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.
Pesticides serve a crucial function in contemporary farming practices, safeguarding agricultural crops against pest infestations and boosting production outputs. However, indiscriminate use has caused environmental and human health damage. This study aimed to develop and validate a gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) methodology for the direct and routine analysis of spiromesifen residues in soil, leaves, and tomato fruits. The proposed method prioritizes simplicity by avoiding derivatization steps, offering advantages over existing approaches that utilize lengthy multi-step extraction or derivatization prior to GC analysis. A key novelty of this work is the development of a QuEChERS extraction coupled directly to GC-FID
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The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of the crude extracts mixture of three plants (Tribulus terrestris, Phoenix dactylifera and Nasturtium officinale) on semen quality,sex hormones and reproductive performance of mature male mice. A group of 25 male mice given 150mg/kg/day of the powder of the plants mixture with the food for four weeks and another three groups of 25 animals each given intraperitoneal injection from each of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts with a doses 75, 150, and 300mg/kg/day for two weeks. A remarkable increase in sperm concentration and motility with a decreased abnormal morphology was obtained in the experimental groups. A significant increase in hormones level were recognized in most grou
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The process of transporting waste from urban areas to sanitary landfill sites requires large amounts of money due to the length and distance. To address this problem, temporary transfer stations were established by the Municipality of Baghdad to reduce the cost of transportation, and for the purpose of preserving the environment in a sustainable manner, standards were set for the establishment of these stations. The two stations of Al-Karrada Municipality and Al-Shula Municipality were chosen as a case study to measure the extent of adopting and applying the standards for establishing substations locally, regionally and internationally, and the most important results were reached Which is that the transforming (regular) stations of the t
... Show MoreThis paper aims to identify the approaches used in assessment the credit applications by Iraqi banks, as well as which approach is most used. It also attempted to link these approaches with reduction of credit default and banks’ efficiency particularly for the Gulf Commercial Bank. The paper found that the Gulf Bank widely relies on the method of Judgment Approach for assessment the credit applications in order to select the best of them with low risk of default. In addition, the paper found that the method of Judgment Approach was very important for the Gulf Bank and it driven in reduction the ratio of credit default as percentage of total credit. However, it is important to say that the adoption of statistical approaches for
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The study aimed to investigate the relationship between the multiple intelligence and the numerical sense. The chosen population of the study was the 4th secondary stage students. The sample consisted of 400 female and male student. The researcher utilized two test; multiple intelligence test which include three categories of intelligence (logical-mathematical, spatial, and linguistics) consisted of (36) item, and the numerical sense test that consisted of (44) item. The two tests were constructed by the researcher himself. The psychometric properties of the test were also verified. The results showed that there was a correlation between the multiple intelligence and the numerical sense as well as the students’ means scores
... Show MoreThe research aims to; identify the management of conflict as perceived by secondary school managers toward the directors of directorates of education in wassat province, identify functional performance as perceived by secondary school managers toward the directors of directorates of education in wassat province. Besides, explore the relationship between Conflict management and functional performance among the directors of directorates of education in wassat province. A descriptive approach deemed more appropriate with study design. As a tool to collect the data of current research, the author used a questionnaire. Spss tools were used for data analysis
Background: Oil refinery workers are continuously exposed to numerous hazardous materials. Petroleum contains the heavy metals as a natural constituent or as additives. These metals induce the production of ROS which associated with an oxidative damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids. This study was conducted to assess the salivary levels of heavy metals, salivary oxidative status, oral immunological activity (salivary sIgA) and assessment of the oral findings among the workers of Al-Daura oil refinery in Baghdad city. Subjects, Materials and Methods: This study was done in Al-Daura oil refinery; samples consist of 60 workers involved in refinery processes (study group) and 20 non-workers (control group). Oral examination and saliva collection
... Show MoreThe problem of research was to identify after the use of cost technology based on specifications in the validity of determining and measuring the costs of the implementation of contracting, by applying to al-Mansour General Construction Contracting Company as an appropriate alternative to the traditional costing system currently adopted, which is characterized by many shortcomings and weaknesses Which has been reflected in the validity and integrity of the calculations. To solve this problem, the research was based on the premise that: (The application of cost technology based on specifications will result in calculating the cost of the product according to the specification required by the customer, to meet his wishes properly and witho
... Show MoreThis study explores the role of nanomaterials in the performance of asphalt binders and mixtures. Two commonly available nanomaterials, i.e., nanosilica (NS) and nanoalumina (NA), were used at contents of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% by weight of asphalt binder. A set of experiments was carried out at the binder level to investigate properties such as penetration, softening point, aging-related mass loss, nanomaterial dispersion (storage stability), and workability (rotational viscosity). In addition, the suitability of NS and NS was also assessed through the testing of nanomodified asphalt mixtures, which focused on Marshall properties, the resilient modulus, moisture susceptibility, permanent deformation, and fatigue resistance. The findings in
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The objective of this study was to investigate the release profile of different fat and water soluble bases using diazepam as a model drug , and then to develop a satisfactory formula with a rapid release of diazepam from suppository bases .The study was conducted using theobroma oil ,glycerol-gelatin and glycerol-PEG1540 bases using conventional mold method for preparation .while the later base was utilized to incorporate diazepam ( buffered solution ) in a hollow type suppositories. The results indicated that all types of bases can be utilized to formulate diazepam as rectal suppositories with acceptable disintegration time ( 12, 10, 6, and 6min.), respectively . While 100% of the released drug had been shown differen
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