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.
Tourism is one of the most important sources of income of economic key countries in the world so are imports of tourism for some countries a source of income is not significant of the total revenues of States. Making those countries, and those countries a destination for visitors, and here should be interest in the Wealth and cultural heritage that distinguishes Islamic countries in general, and Iraq in particular, must be placed specialist studies in all areas for the development of this area of tourism, especially religious tourism to achieve a desired and desired of such research.It is the most important ways to develop tourism in general and religious tourism is of particular publications, advertising, and is important for us in this
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to determine the influence of feeding diets containing different levels of sesame seeds and oil on the egg quality of laying quail. A total of 120, 10 weeks old, were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary groups and fed for 12 weeks diets containing 0% sesame seeds + 0% sesame oil (control group; C) or 0.5% sesame oil (T1), 1% sesame oil (T2), 1% sesame seeds (T3), and 2% sesame seeds (T4).The study was terminated when the birds were 22 weeks of age. Egg quality characteristics involved in the present study were egg weight, yolk diameter, yolk height, yolk weight, albumen height, albumen weight,Haugh unit, shell weight, shell thickness, shell percentage, yolk percentage, and albumen percentage. The addition of sesame
... Show MoreThe experiment was conducted at the period from 20th Dec. 2015 to 30th Mar. 2016 to know the effect of growth medium and nodes number on the acclimatization success of tissue propagated potatoes seedlings (Burrin class) and study some plant physiological properties. The first experiment involved testing growth media: loam, peat moss, and perlite with different portions (1:1) to plant tissue propagated potato tubers, while the second experiment involved testing the nodes number where 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5 plant nodes were chosen. Results of the first experiment showed the superiority of the culture media of peat moss + perlite to other culture media by giving the higher values of shoot system studied properties: plant height, branches number, le
... Show MoreMaterial obtained from the demolition of concrete structures and milling of flexible pavements has the highest potential for recyclability. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of hot mix asphalt with the concurrent use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). Contents of RAP and RCA were varied from 0% to 50% by fixing the total recycling materials percentage to 50%. Penetration grade 40/50 virgin binder and waste engine oil (WEO) as rejuvenator were used in the present study. A series of tests, such as Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength test, IDEAL CT, uniaxial compression test, and resilient modulus test, were carried out to assess the performance of
... Show MoreThis mini review provides an overview of methods for manufacturing expanded graphite (EGT) and the use of its composites with metal oxides in the field of photodegradation of dyes. Dyes from textile manufacturing represent a significant environmental pollution problem in waterways worldwide, highlighting the need for environmentally friendly and efficient technologies to remove dyes from industrial and local wastewater. Photodegradation technologies offer a low-cost, sustainable solution with minimal secondary pollution. Carbon-based materials, such as expanded graphite, are advantageous in enhancing catalytic activity. Accordingly, this review will explore the different fabrication techniques of expanded graphite and summarize the recent d
... Show MoreBackground: The bond strength of endodontic sealers with dentin is a very important property for maintaining the integrity and seal of the root canal filling. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of various irrigants (QMix, 17% EDTA and 2.5% NaOCl) on the push-out bond strength of AH plus and Bioceramic sealers. Materials and methods: Forty eight freshly extracted maxillary first molars human teeth with striaght palatal root were used in the study. The collected samples were randomly divided into three groups of equal sample size (n=16), according to the final irrigation regimen as follows: Group (1): QMix 2 in 1, Group (2): 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, Group (3): 2.5% sodium hypochloride. All samples were
... Show MoreThe optical energy gap(Eopt) and the width of the tails of localized states in the band gap (?E) for Se:2%Sb thin films prepared by thermal co-evaporation method as a function of annealing temperature are studied in the photon energy range ( 1 to 5.4)eV.Se2%Sb film was found to be indirect transition with energy gap of (1.973,2.077, 2.096, 2.17) eV at annealing temperature (295,370,445,520)K respectively. The Eopt and ?E of Se:2%Sb films as a function of annealing temperature showed an increase in Eopt and a decrease in ?E with increasing the annealing temperature. This behavior may be related to structural defects and dangling bonds.
The genus of Chrysobothris Eschscholtz, 1829 is one of the most diverse and widespread genera of the family Buprestidae of some 700 described species distributed throughout the world. In Iraq, particularly in the Kurdistan region, about 4 species had been recorded so far, many of these species are sympatric, share larval host plants, and are difficult to reliably separate morphologically. The current study investigates species limits and relationships among the recognized species occurring within the Erbil Province; mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase (COX I) molecular analysis confirmed the monophyly of two Chrysobothris species, Ch. affinis (Fabricius, 1794) and Ch. chrysostigma (Linnaeus, 1758). Implications of the resultant larval mor
... Show MoreFootball is a game derived from the integration of football and tennis skills and some of the laws of volleyball and yard measurements, and since it is a newly created game must be studied and cover all aspects related to them to reach them to the highest levels. It is known that each game or sports activity should have Physical capabilities and motor skills, which is important to determine the level of technical performance where the abilities of the game contribute to mastering skills. The significance of the research in determining the standard levels of physical and motor abilities of the football players to help young professionals and the sponsors to increase the efficiency of these capabilities and thus raise the level of per
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