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 physicochemical behaviour of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) in water and ethanol-water mixture in the presence and absence of ZnSO4 were studied by measuring the conductivity at 298.15 K. The pre-micellar (S1) and post-micellar slopes (S2) were obtained and calculated the degree of dissociation (α) and the critical micelle concentration (cmc). With an increase in ethanol content, the cmc and α of DTAB increased whereas, in the presence of ZnSO4, the cmc and α decreased. By using cmc and α, thermodynamic properties as the standard free energy of micellization ( ) were evaluated. With an increase in ethanol content, the negative values of are decreased indicating less spont
... Show MoreThe development issue is considered as one of the most important matters of concern to governments, intellectuals and specialists in the contemporary world, especially in developing countries that are trying hard to move out of the afflicting underdevelopment domain to a brighter future and achieve the aspirations of those countries through organized planning which take advantage of available resources, whether material or humanitarian, in the best way possible.
The development process are taking place at multiple levels ranging from national to regional to local where the community is stimulated and excited for the cooperation, participation and preparation to perform planned change in the methods of thinking, acting and production.<
Despite the history of Baghdad city extends into a long history, most of the contemporary buildings of Baghdad have been shaped in the era of modernity. Furthermore, most of the buildings of modernity in Baghdad are types of modernity buildings in Iraq as a whole, and due to all the joints of change and development are taking place in Iraq starts from Baghdad. Accordingly, all selected buildings, which would be presented as case studies of modernity will be exclusively in Baghdad. Although the importance of this significant modernist product, which represents the identity of Baghdad, which should be preserved by the renewal and preservation policies, the problem of research was emerged as follow: new fin
... Show MoreThe education, especially higher education, is an essentially factor in the progress of any society, if we consider the higher education, represents the top of the education`s pyramid which take part in developing the human resources and provide the human staff to raise the productive efficiency, and improve the social , economic level
In order to face the increasing importance of higher education, great capabilities and expenditures must be available in a continous way, such expe
... Show MoreEnglish teachers in Iraq and other countries around the world up to this time use traditional methods to help students memorize new vocabularies. The sense of words or structure is not to be given in either the native tongue or the target language by definition, but is induced by the way the form is used in the situation. Situational Language Teaching (SLT) has recently become the needed method for improving speaking skills. It indicates the application of learning the language in actual and social exchange expressions so as to let learners do as required in classroom and non-classroom circumstances. This pilot study seeks to answer the following questions: Can SLT improve English speaking skills of target learners? How SLT contribute to th
... Show MoreAfter its 35-year occupation of Japan and the US occupation, Korea has set its sights on a long-term goal of building its country and establishing its foundations, unobtrusive and unchecked by the problems and wars that have stood in the way of its goal, surpassing all odds and achieving the best results. The most powerful Asian and global economies, which gained the respect of the world and its appreciation of the experience has become referred to as boys
Background and Aim: Camels from the central part of Iraq are infected with multiple parasitic diseases that have an economic impact by decreasing meat and milk production. This study aimed to evaluate Nematodirus spp. in camels (Camelus dromedarius). Materials and Methods: The study animals consisted of camels slaughtered in the central area of Iraq at the Al-Najaf slaughterhouse. All ages and sexes of camels were examined. Worms were recovered and identified microscopically. For molecular characterization, two Iraqi Nematodirus spp. partial ribosomal genes (ITS1 and ITS2) were sequenced and submitted to the NCBI database. Results: Of 160 camels tested, 29 were infected with Nematodirus spp. (18.13%). Twenty-one nematodes containi
... Show MoreA study that collected 240 samples and divided into two groups: the first 120 samples were for diabetics and the second 120 samples were for healthy people, and each group included (90, 20.10) samples from the mouth, urine and vagina respectively, The results showed positive (28.67, 4.00, 1.67) isolates of Candida. In the mouth, urine and vagina, respectively, of diabetic patients compared to (9.33, 2.33, 5.00) positive isolates in the mouth, urine and vagina, respectively, in the healthy. The rate of positive isolates in women was high in women with diabetes and healthy, and it reached 25.33 and 9.00 isolates, respectively, compared with the rate of isolates in men with Candida disease for diabetic patients and healthy people 14.67 and 2.0
... Show MoreThe Early – Middle Miocene Ghar and Lower Fars sedimentary succession at the representative oil-well Nu-18 of the Nahr Umr oil field south Iraq; is taken by this study to investigate the sedimentological to reservoir rock facies buildups and related reservoir zonation; as first rock-typing attempt for the both formations. The sedimentological characterization of the Early Miocene Ghar formation is mainly comprised by successive buildups of sands-gravels and sandstones, whereas; the Middle Miocene Lower Fars formation is started by limestone, limestone-marly/marl anhydritic, upgraded into interbedded-series of marl and anhydrite facies, with less-common occurrences of thin-sandstone interlayers, terminated by marl-sandy-secti
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