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.
This study discussed the effects of doping with silver (Ag) on the optical and structural properties of
CdO nanoparticles at different concentrations 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 wt% prepared by the precipitation method. The
materials were annealed at 550˚C for 1 h. The structural, topographical, and optical properties were
diagnosed by X-ray diffraction analysis, atomic force instrument, and visible and ultraviolet spectrometers.
The results show that the average diameter of the grains depends on the percentage of added silver to the
material, as the diameter decreased from 88.8 to 59.7 nm, and it was found that the roughness increased from
5.56 to 26.5. When studying the optical properties, it was noted that th
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Simulation of free convection heat transfer in a square enclosure induced by heated thin plate is represented numerically. All the enclosure walls have constant temperature lower than the plate’s temperature. The flow is assumed to be two-dimensional. The discretized equations were solved stream function, vorticity, and energy equations by finite difference method using explicit technique and Successive Over- Relaxation method. The study was performed for different values of Rayleigh number ranging from 103 to 105 for different angle position of heated thin plate(0°, 45°, 90°). Air was chosen as a working fluid (Pr = 0.71). Aspect ratio of center of plate to the parallel left wall A2
... Show MoreAnastatica Hierochuntica L. Used As an Alternative of Conjugated Estrogen (Premarin) in Rabbit Females
There are risks and benefits with all medicines and estrogen replacement is no exception. In fact, estrogen replacement is one of the most controversial topics in Endocrinology. Anastatica hierochuntica L. is a popular treatment for the management of female reproductive disorders. The present research highlights the effect of aqueous extract of plant against conjugated estrogen(Premarin) in rabbits. Femal oryciolagus cuniculus rabbits were divided into four groups: the 1 st group, rabbits were orally administered (using a feeding solution )with daily dose(5 mL distilled water)for two months, the 2nd group, the rabbits were treated with conjugated estrogen (50 µg/kg b.w, body weight )for one month. The 3rd group, the rabbits were treated wi
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In this paper the effect of engagement length, number of teeth, amount of applied load, wave propagation time, number of cycles, and initial crack length on the principal stress distribution, velocity of crack propagation, and cyclic crack growth rate in a spline coupling subjected to cyclic torsional impact have been investigated analytically and experimentally. It was found that the stresses induced due to cyclic impact loading are higher than the stresses induced due to impact loading with high percentage depends on the number of cycles and total loading time. Also increasing the engagement length and the number of teeth reduces the principal stresses (40%) and
(25%) respectively for increasing the engagement length from (0.15 to 0
There are risks and benefits with all medicines and estrogen replacement is no exception. In fact, estrogen replacement is one of the most controversial topics in Endocrinology. Anastatica hierochuntica L. is a popular treatment for the management of female reproductive disorders. The present research highlights the effect of aqueous extract of plant against conjugated estrogen(Premarin) in rabbits. Femal oryciolagus cuniculus rabbits were divided into four groups: the 1 st group, rabbits were orally administered (using a feeding solution )with daily dose(5 mL distilled water)for two months, the 2nd group, the rabbits were treated with conjugated estrogen (50 µg/kg b.w, body weight )for one month. The 3rd group, the rabbits were treated w
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The present work presents design and implementation of an automated two-axis solar tracking system using local materials with minimum cost, light weight and reliable structure. The tracking system consists of two parts, mechanical units (fixed and moving parts) and control units (four LDR sensors and Arduino UNO microcontroller to control two DC servomotors). The tracking system was fitted and assembled together with a parabolic trough solar concentrator (PTSC) system to move it according to information come from the sensors so as to keep the PTSC always perpendicular to sun rays. The experimental tests have been done on the PTSC system to investigate its thermal performance in two cases, with tracking system (case 1) and without trackin
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Aqueous extract of poppy plant) Papaver nudicaule) with five concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250) mg/l were used to anesthetize fingerlings of the common carp Cyprinus carpio (Mean total length 8.91 ± 0.31 cm and mean total weight 7.72 ± 1.19 gm) instead of the traditional use of MS-222. Results showed that extracted solution of poppy have partial and overall anesthesia effect on these fishes with inverse relationship between the concentrations used and the time needed to reach partial and overall anesthesia, and also direct relationship between concentrations used and time needed for fish recovery. Best results were obtained by using a concentration of 250 mg/l, where time for partial anesthesia was 8 ± 1.52 m
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