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.
The syntheses, characterization and experimental solid state X-ray structures of five low-spin paramagnetic 2-pyridyl-(1,2,3)-triazole-copper compounds, [Cu(Ln)2Cl2], are presented in this study, for the following five Ln ligands: L1 = 2-(1-(p-tolyl)-1H-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine), L2 = 2-(1-(4- chlorophenyl)-1H-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine), L3 = 4-(4-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)benzonitril), L4 = 2-(1-phenyl-1H-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine) and L5 = 2-(1-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1H-(1,2,3- triazol-4-yl)pyridine). These five [Cu(Ln)2Cl2] complexes each contain two bidentate 2-pyridyl-(1,2,3)- triazole (Ln) and two chloride ions as ligands, with the Cu–N(pyridine) bonds, Cu–N(triazole) and Cu–Cl bonds trans to each othe
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Objectives: To assess pregnant women’s knowledge regarding syphilisand to find out the relationship between women’s knowledge regarding syphilis infection and demographic and reproductive variables. Methodology: A descriptive analytical study of non probable (purposive sample) of 250 pregnant women during their different gestational ages for the period (October 2nd to April 25th 2013) by using questionnaire format consists of demographic variables and items of women's knowledge regarding syphilis who are visiting primary health care centers in Al-Kharkh and Al-Rrusafa in Baghdad city. The coefficient relia
The current research is interested in the objective study of revitalizing the religious sites and the extent to which they achieve the pragmatic and semantic ends, because they are derived from history and civilization and have a clear impact over the recipient. The research question is (what are the techniques of developing the spaces of the religious shrines in accordance with revitalizing the interior spaces within them?).
The research aims at determining the weak and strong points in the process of revitalizing the interior spaces in the religious shrines.
The theoretical framework consists of two parts: the first addressed the revitalization in the interior design, and the second addressed the religious shrines and th
This work evaluates the influence of combining twisted fins in a triple-tube heat exchanger utilised for latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) in three-dimensional numerical simulation and comparing the outcome with the cases of the straight fins and no fins. The phase change material (PCM) is in the annulus between the inner and the outer tube, these tubes include a cold fluid that flows in the counter current path, to solidify the PCM and release the heat storage energy. The performance of the unit was assessed based on the liquid fraction and temperature profiles as well as solidification and the energy storage rate. This study aims to find suitable and efficient fins number and the optimum values of the Re and the inlet tem
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What makes the commercial advertisement distinct is the design structure which is built according to artistic and creative concepts and terms based on the visual and formal interdependence relationships to express the motives of the advertising idea, which is based in its action mechanism on the effective variables, some of which are related to the marketing aspect, and others related to the advertisement aspect. The major aspect is the functional and aesthetic variables, which are represented by the vocabulary of the advertisement area for the open spaces such as the street ads. Its promotional dimension is the active forces in the circulation of commodities and products. Therefore, there would be significant problems the designe
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ABSTRACTBackground: In Medical ethics education, improving medical student’s attitudes toward respecting the right of patients is an essential task. The medical students’ attitude has been affected by social, educational and personality background factors.Objective: To investigate medical student’s attitudes regarding medical ethics courses.Method: The study was conducted in Al-Kindy College of Medicine on academic year (2013 -2014) for the period from January to September. A cross- sectional study design was adopted with a self- administered questionnaire form distributed to medical students in the 5th-6th under graduate grades. The questionnaire consisted of 31 items relevant to student’s opinion about attitudes concerning ethi
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