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.
Extensive evaluation of 76 women with polycystic ovary syndrome compared with 25 fertile women as control group was achieved by routine investigations and hormonal study of each female which were done in one period during the menstrual cycle. Then the women with PCOS have been divided into 2 groups according to their menstrual cycle (irregular menstrual cycle) during assessing their hormonal profiles as follow:- 1- (54) Patients with oligomenorrhea. 2- (22) Patients with menorrhea. This study shows that the women with PCOs have different clinical features taken from a history of disease of all of the women. Those features were distributed as follow: 57.92% of them suffer from hirsutism. 19.24% suffer from irregular menstr
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the duration of time spent by the student inside the examination rooms answering the all kinds of written ex-amination questions has some kind of a positive effect on the final score he will get from that exam. And if there arc gender differences in this respect. Students and methods: Data on the final examinations of the autumn quarter was gathered on 892 examina-tions conducted at the end of this quarter , this included male participants of 566 and females of 326. Examinations were on twenty different subjects , including all of the first five years of the undergraduate students of Iraqi College of Medicine for the academic year 2002 — 2003 . The scheduled time of the examinations was
... Show MoreThis research aims to identify the role of radio advertising in promoting purchasing decisions of Iraqi audiences, especially that the placement of the announcement through the Iraqi radio stations dealt with a little of Iraqi researchers, and the goal of the research to know the extent of public exposure to the radio advertising through Iraqi radio and patterns of exposure,disclosure of the reasons for public hearing of the radio advertisement, identifying the most important factors influencing the decision to buy in the radio advertisement, this research is descriptive in terms of type as the researcher used the survey method,questionnaire and scale for data and information collection, the sample was selected according to the purp
... Show MoreAmino acids are the basic building block for peptides and proteins. They are raw materials for generating hormones, purines, pyrimidines and vitamins. Amino acids also provide the body with energy through their carbon structures. The study analyzed the amino acid in the kidneys of the albino mice embryo at 17 and 19 gestation days, using a high-performance liquid chromatography device (HPLC). Samples were obtained after removing them from the embryo and placing them in an ice bath to prevent cell lysis and acid loss. The study found 18 amino acids in the kidneys of the albino mice embryo. They are Asparagine (Asn), Glutamine (Glu), Serine (Ser), Glycine (Gly), Threonine (Thr), Histidine (His), Cysteine (Cys), Alanine (Ala), Proline
... Show MoreMany risks have adverse consequences for construction projects’ objectives such as quality, schedule, and cost. As engineering procurement construction (EPC) contracts gradually become one of the most common types used in implementing major large-scale construction projects, identifying common risk types and analyzing their root causes is important for developing measures to decrease and eliminate future risks in these types of contracts. The information about the main causes of risks was collected
In this research, that been focused on the most important economic benefits expected when applying the three standards of sustainability in construction projects (economic, environmental and social). Fuzzy AHP, a multi-decision decision-making technique for evaluating construction projects. Which when used we get the speed and accuracy in the results. Using this technique will reduce uncertainties decisions significantly (fuzzy environment), that found in most projects .The results of the data analysis showed that the economic standards take the greatest relative importance (60%) among the three sustainability standards. Therefore, the implementation of any standards need a cost so the economic benefit of any proje
... Show MoreBackground: Atrophic postoperative and traumatic scarring are common cosmetic problems for patients. Combining CO2 laser ablation with a fractional photothermolysis system in a treatment known as ablative fractional resurfacing fulfilling the new demands for a lesser risk of side effects and minimal or no downtime.Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of ablation fractional CO2 laser treatments for surgical scarring .methods: Twenty one patient ( 14 women, and 7 men ) with various skin types , I to IV , aged 3 to 48 years , presents with 24 scars between June and December 2012 , four patients excluded from study because they are not continued in follow up , the remaining 17 patient completed all 3 treatments & 6 months follow
... Show MoreThis study evaluates 22 patients with retained foreign bodies in the maxillofacial region that were all caused by penetrating missile injuries. Surgical intervention for the retrieval of the foreign bodies was carried out in 20 patients through the existing wounds and through separate incisions; all patients were followed up for a minimum of 2 months during which all the complications were registered and managed. Preoperative imaging is a prerequisite for the accurate localization of the foreign body and the subsequent successful removal of it. All patients developed complications that were categorized in this study into those that result from the injury itself and those that occur because of the retrieval procedure, the latter category bei
... Show MoreA lot of previous studies are concerned with the evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity of medicinal plants because it considered cheap and are believed to possess minimal side effects. Leucaena leucocephala didn’t evaluate globally for its anti-inflammatory effect yet though some of it’s already separated and identified secondary metabolites were studied and proved to exert many pharmacological activities besides their effect on lowering the pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6. So, there was an interest to evaluate the biological effect of Leucaena leucocephala as a novel anti-inflammatory agent was the first motivation to start an in vivo study using a rat population. The N-butanol and ethyl acetate extracts were cho
... Show More