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.
(42)
(40)
The varied applications of polystyrene in various fields of life led to examining the cause of radiation influence on some rheological behavior of commercial Polystyrene (PS) solution in the chloroform (CHCl3) solvent. Polystyrene grains shape samples were irradiated using the radioactive element Cesium- 137 with (9 µci) activity for 10, 20, and 30 minutes. The viscosity of the polymer solution depends on the concentration and size (i.e. molecular weight) of the dissolved polymer. Experimental data showed that the radiation dose affected the value of viscosity (shear, relative, specific, and reduced). The viscosity value significantly reduced at 10 min radiation dose and when increasing the dose, the viscosity value increased
... Show More
(3)
(2)
(7)
(6)
The discovery of novel therapeutic molecules is always difficult, and there are a variety of methodologies that use the most diverse and innovative medicinal chemistry approaches. One such approach is the deuteration technique: Deuteration is the process of substituting deuterium for hydrogen in a molecule. When compared to the drug molecule, its deuterated analogues may retain the features of the original molecule and, in some cases, improve its pharmacological activity, with fewer side effects and lower toxicity. Metronidazole is a commonly used antibiotic to treat anaerobic bacterial infections, protozoal and microaerophilic bacterial infections. Met
... Show More
(2)
(2)
New heterocyclic derivatives of quinoline are reported. Reaction of quinoline-2-thiol 4 with hydrazine hydrate gave 2-hydrazionoquinoline 5. Treatment of 5 with CS2 in pyridine afforded 1,2,4-triazolo-[4,3-a]- quinolin-1-2H-thione 6, whereas the reaction of 5 with carboxylic acids namely formic acid or acetic acid, yielded the 1,2,4-triazol-[4,3-a]-quinolin 7 or 5-methyl-1,2,4-triazolo [4,3-a]-quinoline 8 through ring closure. Diazotization of 5 under acidic conditions produced the fused tetrazole compound 9, tetrzolo-[1,5-a]- quinoline. Moreover, treatment of 5 with active methlyene compounds gave two pyrazole derivatives 10 and 11. Azomethines 12a-e were prepared through condensation of 5 with aromatic aldehydes or ketones.
The research aims to identify the relationship between employing future skills during teaching from the viewpoint of students of Islamic studies at the Northern Border University, as well as their attitudes towards future professions. The researcher employed the correlational descriptive approach. The tools were a questionnaire for employing future skills, and a scale for the attitude towards the future profession. The two research tools were applied to a random sample of (242) male and female students from the department of Islamic Studies, College of Education and Arts. The findings showed that the total level of employing future skills and their three axes during teaching was average. It was also found that the attitude towards future
... Show More
Internal Audit is one of the most important backers of corporate governance, the researcher expanded his interest in this subject to examine the efficiency of Internal Auditors at the Arab Bank and its branches in Jordan to achieve Accountability which enhances the Corporate Governance and to identify the effect of the International Internal Audit Standards in strengthening the role of Internal Auditors in Accountability, and the effect of Attribute and Performance Standards in Accountability. The researcher applied descriptive analysis method to define the role of Internal Audit in the Arab Bank in achieving one of the basic principles of Corporate Governance assimilated in Accountability. The researcher’s sources include
... Show More
(1)
(2)