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.
The present study investigated the total content of phenolic compounds, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of water extracts oat (Avena sativa) and basil (Ocimum basilicum), medicinal plants. The Folin-ciocalteu reagent assay was used to estimate the total phenolic content of plants extract. The antioxidant capacity of the plants extract was tested by ferric reducing/antioxidant power Assay (FRAP) and ferric reducing scavenging activity using DPPH method, and the antimicrobial activity was measured against [Staphylococcus epidermidis; Staphylococcus aureus; Proteus spp.; Klebsiella spp.; Escherichia coli; Candida albicans] as tester strains. The total phenolic content of Avena sativa and Ocimum basilicum extracts revealed that the
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Background: Placenta is a chief cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and significant factor in fetal growth retardation. It undergoes different variations in weight, volume, structure, shape and function continuously throughout the gestation tosupport the prenatal life. Cautious examination of placenta can give information which can be useful in the management of complications in mother and the newborn. Objective: The present work has been attempted towards determination of the morphological ( macroscopic and microscopic) parameters of human full-term placentae and their relation with different parity and age group of mothers. Patients and Methods: A whole of 40 placentae were recently collected.They were divided into four groups
... Show MoreBackground: Infection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) leads to activation of T-helper cells (Th-1 and Th-2) which are involved in the synthesis and release of different cytokines which may lead to endothelial dysfunction. Objectives: To evaluate the endothelial function in patients with acute toxoplasmosis. Methods: This case-control study involved 31 patients with toxoplasmosis aged 19 - 47 years matched with 20 healthy subjects. Anti-T. gondii antibody (IgG, IgM, IgA) was determined by direct antigen-antibody reaction. Interleukin-6(IL-6), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and human malondialdehyde (MDA) serum levels were measured. Results: IgM, IgG and IgA levels were high in the infected patients compared with controls (P < 0.01). Furthermore, IL-
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The aim of present study was to develop solid and liquid self-microemulsifying drug delivery system of poorly water soluble drug mebendazole using Aerosil 200 as solid carrier. Microemulsions are clear, stable, isotropic liquid mixtures of oil, water and surfactant, frequently in combination with a co-surfactant having droplet size range usually in the range of 20-250 nm. Oleic acid, tween 80 and polypropylene glycol were selected as oil, surfactant and co-surfactant respectively and for preparation of stable SMEDDS, micro emulsion region was identified by constructing pseudo ternary phase diagram containing different proportion of surfactant: co-surfactant (1:1, 2:1 and 3:1), oil and water. In brief S/ CoS mix means su
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This study was designed to investigate the effect of thyroid hormone disturbance on lipids profiles and liver functions. Eighteen mature male rats Rattus norvegicus were divided into three groups. The first and the second groups were injected subcutaneously with thyroxine (T4) and carbimazol (both at 600 µg/kg BW) respectively on alternate days, to produce recurrent periods of hyper and hypothyroidism .The control group which is the third group was injected with physiological saline. The process continued 4 weeks, after that, injection, blood specimens were collected to estimate serum levels of T3 and T4, Total cholesterol (TC), Triglycerides (TG), High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) an
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In this article, Pb2Ba1.7Sr0.3Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor material was synthesized using conventional solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis demonstrated one dominant phase 2223 and some impurities in the product powder. The strongest peaks in the XRD pattern were successfully indexed assuming a pseudo-tetragonal cell with lattice constants of a = 3.732, b = 3.733 and c = 14.75 Å for a Pb-Based compound. The crystallite size and lattice strain between the layers of the studied compound were estimated using several methods, namely the Scherrer, Williamson-Hall (W.H), sizestrain plot (SSP) and Halder Wagner (H.W) approach. The values of crystallite size, calculated by Scherrer, W.H, SSP and H.W methods, were 89.454077
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With the aim of developing potential antimicrobials, a series of new 5-fluoroisatin derivatives incorporated with different secondary amines (piperidine, morpholine, pyrrolidine, dimethylamine, and diphenylamine) for monomer, and (piperazine) in case of dimer Mannich bases, separately in presence of formaldehyde to obtain Mannich bases of 5-fluoroisatin derivatives, which then each Mannich derivatives reacts with phenylhydrazine to form Schiff bases as final products. The resulting compounds were characterized by two spectroscopic analyses; (Fourier- transform infrared) FT-IR and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-NMR). In addition, the in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities were tested against some human pathogen
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