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.
BN Rashid, Nasaq, 2015
COVID-19 is a unique viral infectious illness that causes a variety of symptoms and health hazards, particularly to the respiratory system and has been declared a worldwide pandemic. The disease is characterized by a cytokine release in severe conditions. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a proinflammatory cytokine, mediates an important immunomodulatory process. Also, vitamin D was identified to have a role in the innate immunity of individuals. Our study was designed to find the role of IL-6 and vitamin D in COVID-19 patients, as well as, to see whether there is a link between vitamin D deficiency and cytokine syndrome development. The study included 90 COVID-19 patients and 30 control people from Baghdad, Iraq. The age of the participants was non-s
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This study evaluated the knowledge and practice of breast self-examination (BSE), among a sample of educated Iraqi women. The study sample comprised 858 women aged 18–62 years affiliated to 6 major Iraqi universities, categorized according to occupation as teaching staff (11.5%), administrative staff (18.0%) and students (70.5%). Data were collected by a self-completed questionnaire. In all, 93.9% of the women had heard about BSE, the main source of information was television (39.9%), doctors (18.4%) and the awareness campaign of the Iraqi National Breast Cancer Research Programme (11.6%). Only 53.9% of the women practised BSE; the most common excuses by those that did not were lack of knowledge of the significance of BSE (42.0%) and lack
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The main problem established by a discovery of a thyroid nodule is to discriminate between a benign and malignant lesion. Differential diagnosis between follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) and benign follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA) is a great challenge for even an experienced pathologist and requires special effort. A developing number of some encouraging IHC markers for the differential diagnosis of thyroid lesions have emerged, including, Hector Battifora mesothelial (HBME-1) and galectin-3 (Gal-3). There was significant positive correlation between Galectin-3 and HBME-1 in follicular carcinoma and follicular variant of papillary carcinoma (r= 0.380, P= 0.041) and (r= 0.315, P=0.047) respectively. There was no significant correlation between
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The islamic legitimacy,imposition and of al-zakkat(regular charity) are well
known matters to the whole muslims but being in love with the present life and
worldly existence and being in scare of the death made some of the moslems to lag
behind and delay of keeping with that matter (regular charity) because the mony al
wayes was the reason for the man happiness in the present life allah makes al-zakat
(regular charity) one of the granting remissionns of the moslems people sins in return
for that allah promised the moslems to honored them with the eternal life in in the
paradise where is the gardens beneath which rivers flow so that I decided to write in
this matter of couarse after trust and recommend in god and h
Background: Environmental chemicals are thought to
adversely affect human reproductive function.
Objective : To estimate the concentration of cadmium(Cd)
, lead ( Pb ) and Zinc ( Zn ) in serum and seminal plasma
among infertile men .
Methods: A sample of 70 infertile men was investigated.
The relationship of trace elements concentration in serum and
seminal plasma was studied in relation to sperm density,
motility and sperm count.
Results: Except for Zinc the concentration of (Pb) and (Cd)
were generally higher in serum than in seminal plasma. The
mean concentration of (Zn) in seminal plasma was more than
25 times higher than in serum There were no statistical
significant differences observed in the
Back ground: The gender related difference
may be the result of pregandiol excretion in the
latter half of pregnancy.
Aim: This study is to evaluate the effects of fetal
gender on serum human chorionic gonadotropin
[HCG] and testosterone in normotensive and
preeclamptic pregnancies
Methods: The study consisted of fifty women with
singleton pergnancy in their third trimester. Twenty
five pregnancies were uncomplicated Among those
there were thirteen male, and twelve female fetuses
Twenty five pregnancies were complicated by
preeclampsia. Among those thirteen were with male,
and twelve were with female fetuses. Human
chorionic gonadotropin and total testosterone were
measured in maternal periphe
The modernity of election practices of the elections in Iraq, according to the democratic approach, has led to a struggle between political rival forces reflecting a deep pressure on the tools involved in the management, marketing or control of these elections across the general social level. Hence the problem of research resides in answering the following question: What is the nature and size of the pressures affecting the media performance of Al-Iraqia News channel before the legislative elections of 2018 in Iraq?
The objectives of the research were the following:
1. to identify the nature of the pressures that limit the Al-Iraqia News channel’s perfo
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