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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W Tarik A, AW Ali T, Journal of the Faculty of Medicine, 2015 - Cited by 2
Background The escalating global concern over increased body weight in adolescents, coupled with the rising rates of adolescent pregnancy worldwide, presents a significant challenge to healthcare systems. We plan to identify the maternal and neonatal consequences associated with pre-pregnancy overweight in adolescent women. Methods Throughout five years, all singleton adolescent pregnant women with pre-pregnancy self-reported body mass index (BMI) of 18.5– ≤ 29.9 were involved during the first-trimester visit. Two groups were generated: overweight and appropriate-weight (BMI 25–29.9 and 18.5–24.9, respectively). Obstetric and neonatal outcomes were observed prospectively and statistically adjusted for the confounding factors.
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Background: Pyogenic discitis most frequently occurs
after home delivery, hemorridectomy, and dilatation and
curettage. Discitis is generally due to blood borne bacterial
invasion of the disc from adjacent end-plate via
communicating vessels. Infective discitis remains an
uncommon, but potentially serious cause for back pain.
Delayed diagnosis can occur and a high index of suspicion
may occur.
Methods: The study included 30 patients suffering from
localized low back pain with limitation of movement.
Diagnosis was made by history, physical examination and
investigation mainly E.S.R and MRI.
Results: 50.3% of patient with discitis had a history of
vaginal delivery, 15% had a history of hemorridectomy
In the South of yement, when the accupation of Aden in 1839 by the British, British politics has proceeded in accordance with interests in promoting the existence and exploitation of this important site to implement their interests. Historians believe that Britain played a major role in the conflicts that have taken place on the land of Yemen, through a series of military and political dealings between them and the Ottoman Empire prior to withdrawal of Yemen and between local authorities and power to Yemen, such interactions have led to very serious consequences for the future of Yemen and Yemen was often divided into three parts, the northern areas under the authority of Imam Yahya, and the South, under the control of Britain, Asir and
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The theory of probabilistic programming may be conceived in several different ways. As a method of programming it analyses the implications of probabilistic variations in the parameter space of linear or nonlinear programming model. The generating mechanism of such probabilistic variations in the economic models may be due to incomplete information about changes in demand, production and technology, specification errors about the econometric relations presumed for different economic agents, uncertainty of various sorts and the consequences of imperfect aggregation or disaggregating of economic variables. In this Research we discuss the probabilistic programming problem when the coefficient bi is random variable
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With the increasing rate of unauthorized access and attacks, security of confidential data is of utmost importance. While Cryptography only encrypts the data, but as the communication takes place in presence of third parties, so the encrypted text can be decrypted and can easily be destroyed. Steganography, on the other hand, hides the confidential data in some cover source such that the existence of the data is also hidden which do not arouse suspicion regarding the communication taking place between two parties. This paper presents to provide the transfer of secret data embedded into master file (cover-image) to obtain new image (stego-image), which is practically indistinguishable from the original image, so that other than the indeed us
... Show MoreCharge multipole Coulomb scattering form factors in 48Ca nucleus have been reproduced utilizing the theory of nuclear shell. The efficient two-body nuclear potential fpbm is considered to construct the-spin orbit term LS vectors with Harmonic Oscillator HO potential as a wave function of single particle in Fp shell. Discarded spaces ( core + higher configuration) are taken into account through the Core polarization effect by model space with accurate two-body potential of Gogny to interact the LS operating particles with the discarded space pair ( particle-hole) with energy of excitation equal to 2ћω. Gogny interaction has been selected as it had succeeded in nuclear shell theory. The computed results were compared with th
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The current research dealt with the symbolic significance and its effectiveness in the design of the industrial product, the aesthetic communicative discourse that embodies the imagination and human conscience. Whether according to what has been termed custom or what has been approved by traditions long ago, symbolism may be the main actor in linking the identifying components of the product. In addition, symbolism provides the user with the key to accessing a direct awareness of the product’s shape and function, as an identification of the product by stimulating the symbolic form of the consumer’s imagination and inviting him to To meditate in order to realize the implicit meaning behind these forms and thus achieve the symbolism of
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Singapore has invested its human resources for the development of the country since earlier times, so it has directed attention to the education sector. Education and development complement each other, as investment in education has contributed over several years to the development of Singapore economy and has made it one of the strongest economies in Asia and the world. Despite the obstacles that faced educational policies in Singapore, the presence of a wise leadership capable of overcoming difficulties and solving them, and providing the appropriate atmosphere for the development of education has contributed significantly to making it one of the most advanced educational systems in the world, and making this system the main pillar for
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