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.
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This work examines numerically the effects of particle size, particle thermal conductivity and inlet velocity of forced convection heat transfer in uniformly heated packed duct. Four packing material (Aluminum, Alumina, Glass and Nylon) with range of thermal conductivity (from200 W/m.K for Aluminum to 0.23 W/m.K for Nylon), four particle diameters (1, 3, 5 and 7 cm), inlet velocity ( 0.07, 0.19 and 0.32 m/s) and constant heat flux ( 1000, 2000 and 3000 W/ m 2) were investigated. Results showed that heat transfer (average Nusselt number Nuav) increased with increasing packing conductivity; inlet velocity and heat flux, but decreased with increasing particle size.Also, Aluminum average Nusselt number is about (0.85,2.
... Show MoreThe objective of this research was to estimate the dose distribution delivered by radioactive gold nanoparticles (198 AuNPs or 199 AuNPs) to the tumor inside the human prostate as well as to normal tissues surrounding the tumor using the Monte-Carlo N-Particle code (MCNP-6.1. 1 code). Background Radioactive gold nanoparticles are emerging as promising agents for cancer therapy and are being investigated to treat prostate cancer in animals. In order to use them as a new therapeutic modality to treat human prostate cancer, accurate radiation dosimetry simulations are required to estimate the energy deposition in the tumor and surrounding tissue and to establish the course of therapy for the patient. Materials and methods A simple geometrical
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The embryonic development of the Mosquito fish(Gambusia affinis) eye lens was investigated using light microscopy .The results indicated that the embryonic development of the lens does not correspond to that of the non spherical lenses of terrestrial vertebrates .This study showed that a very small cavity in the lens vesicle appears during development ,but it differs from that of the mammalian lens. The most important aspect in this study is that ,the posterior edge of the simple cuboidal epithelium which covers the anterior half of the surface of the lens is situated well beyond the equatorial region of the lens .As a result , the germinal and transitional zones became closer to the posterior pole rather than the anterior pole of the le
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Determination and evaluation of principal minerals in Negella sativa by atomic absorption technical methods were showed, using wet ashing method. This work was done on Negella sativa because of wide using of this plant in many formulations ( in food or medicine ).two types of atomic absorptions were used : first, flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, for minerals of high concentrations such as, Na, Mg, K, Fe, Ca, Li, Ni, Zn, Mn, Cu. Second, flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy, for minerals of low concentrations such as, Al, Si, V, B, Pb, Co, Cd, Cr ,Si, Hg, Sn .The results showed the existence of many minerals in Negella sativa useful to human sanity with acceptable dietary allowance. On other side, the presence of harmful m
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Generally, direct measurement of soil compression index (Cc) is expensive and time-consuming. To save time and effort, indirect methods to obtain Cc may be an inexpensive option. Usually, the indirect methods are based on a correlation between some easier measuring descriptive variables such as liquid limit, soil density, and natural water content. This study used the ANFIS and regression methods to obtain Cc indirectly. To achieve the aim of this investigation, 177 undisturbed samples were collected from the cohesive soil in Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Iraq. Results of this study indicated that ANFIS models over-performed the Regression method in estimating Cc with R2 of 0.66 and 0.48 for both ANFIS and Regre
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Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine abnormality in women, there is an increasing evidence for an oxidative stress in PCOS that induce genomic and mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid damage that leads directly to reduced fertility. The objectives of this study are to assess and compare the periodontal health status by measuring clinical periodontal parameters (PLI, GI and BOP)as well as serum levels of superoxide dismutase at gingivitis ,gingivitis with PCOS and healthy periodontium groups, then correlate between clinical and biochemical parameters. Materials and Methods: 60 females with an age range between (25-40) years old had been tested and divided into3 groups ,the control group consists of (20) f
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Celiac disease (CD) is the most common genetically - based disease in correlation with food intolerance. The aim of this study is to measure the activity of ALT enzyme and purify enzyme from sera women with celiac disease. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity has been assayed in (30) women serum samples with celiac disease, age range between (20-40) year and (30) serum of healthy women as control group, age range between (22-38) year. In the present study, the mean value of ALT activity was significantly higher in patients with celiac disease than healthy group (p<0.01). The ALT enzyme was partial purified from sera women with celiac disease by dialysis, gel filtration using Sephadex G- 50 and ion exchange chr
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Taking into account the significance of food chains in the environment, it demonstrates the interdependence of all living things and has economic implications for people. Hunting cooperation, fear, and intraspecific competition are all included in a food chain model that has been developed and researched. The study tries to comprehend how these elements affect the behavior of species along the food chain. We first examined the suggested model's solution properties before calculating every potential equilibrium point and examining the stability and bifurcation nearby. We have identified the factors that guarantee the global stability of the positive equilibrium point using the geometric approach. Additionally, the circumstances that would gu
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A new, Simple, sensitive and accurate spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) drug in pure and dosage forms. This method based on the reaction of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) with 1,2-napthoquinone-4-sulphonic acid (NQS) to form Nalkylamono naphthoquinone by replacement of the sulphonate group of the naphthoquinone sulphonic acid by an amino group. The colored chromogen shows absorption maximum at 460 nm. The optimum conditions of condensation reaction forms were investigated by (1) univariable method, by optimizing the effect of experimental variables (different bases, reagent concentration, borax concentration and reaction time), (2) central composite design (CCD) including the effect of
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