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.
Background: Obesity typically results from a variety of causes and factors which contribute, genetics included, and style of living choices, and described as excessive body fat accumulation of body fat lead to excessive body, is a chronic disorder that combines pathogenic environmental and genetic factors. So, the current study objective was to investigate the of the FTO gene rs9939609 polymorphism and the obesity risk. Explaining the relationship between fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) rs9939609 polymorphism and obesity in adults. Methods: Identify research exploring the association between the obesity risk and the variation polymorphisms of FTO gene rs9939609. We combined the modified odds ratios (OR) as total groups and subgro
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to identify psychological toughness and its relationship to some coordination, physical abilities and accuracy of some basic performance skills among the players of the Iraqi junior national handball team players. The hypothesis is the existence of a correlation between psychological toughness, coordination, physical abilities, and the accuracy of some basic skills performance among the players of the Iraqi junior national handball team players. The descriptive approach in the style of correlational relations used to suit the research problem, as the community was determined by (18) players for the Iraqi junior national handball team players, while the sample was (14) players, and the samp
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No country in the world has an ancient heritage of its own. It represents the product of the civilizations left behind by previous eras. It represents the development of urban life and its capital of the interest of its people in the field of construction and reconstruction. The urban heritage and its associated arts may seem to be a material heritage at first glance, but it is not free from the spiritual side. Therefore, the nations in different parts of the earth cherish it and care for it with all due diligence, because it mixes with its history, memories and emotions.
This research discusses the use of local environment materials in the production of urban fabric constituents. I
Lately great interests have emerged to find educational alternatives to teach and improve motor skills according to modern educational methods that take into account individual differences and speed in learning for the learner through individual learning that the learner adopts by teaching himself by passing through various educational situations to acquire skills and information in the way he is The learner is the focus of the educational process and among these alternatives the interactive video, the researchers noted through the educational training units at the Model Squash School of the Central Union, and that most of the methods and methods used in learning basic skills take a lot of time in the educational program and do not involve
... Show MoreThis study aims at examining the effectiveness of using the narrative approach in teaching the Interpretation of the Qur'an course in the development of conceptual comprehension among first-grade middle school female students. To achieve the objective of this study, a quantitative quasi-experimental design has been used. The sample consisted of first-grade middle school female students at "the third middle school" in Buraidah city, as this school suits the objective of the study. A test of conceptual understanding has been built by the researchers according to a list of conceptual understating skills at a significance level of α ≤ 0.05. Results have shown that there are statistically significant differences at the level (α ≤ 0,05)
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The banking sector of all kinds is the backbone of the economy in all countries, as it is the main financier of most economic projects in order to achieve economic development and achieve stability, which contributes to providing the necessary resources in return for obtaining a profit margin in exchange for giving up his money and bearing credit risks. Among the aforementioned banking sectors are: Islamic banks that invest their capital in several forms in order to obtain profits that enable them to continue and grow, and the most important of these formulas is the Murabaha formula, which is summarized by the bank selling a commodity after owning it and then selling it to the applicant for this commodity based on a prior request
... Show MoreThe region is defined by the spatial dimension, which consists of a set of stabilizers (towns and villages). The concept of the territory requires conditions on the nature of functional relations and the mutual influence of the regions within the region. Any territory must be based on the interdependence and interaction between the mother city and its surrounding countryside and cities, and when the interdependence is strong and the interaction is clear, it helps to define the territory. The regions are divided on different bases. There are geographically or national homogeneous regions, and there are cultural regions that want to preserve their culture in terms of language or religion. There are administrative regions to manage
... Show MoreGod has honored the man with life and decent living and warned against attacking anything that violates his sanctity without a legitimate right. Our Islamic Shari'ah has the rights to preserve the right of a Muslim in the event of any harm.
This research deals with the study of types of parallelism in contemporary Arabic poetry and took the hair Mahmoud Darwish, a model for the study has been the goal of research to clarify the term parallelism and the statement of the most important types, said evidence of that in the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish