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.
Routine vaccination activities, such as detection, reporting, and management of adverse events following immunization (AEFIs), are generally handled by healthcare providers (HCPs). Safe vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) were introduced to control the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and practice of HCPs in Iraq about reporting adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, and their association with sociodemographic variables. The study was a cross-sectional study that was carried out between August and September 2021 at the COVID-19 vaccination centers in Iraq. This study used an online and paper-based questionnaire, which
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Abstract Daily dressing changes cause distress and pain for victims of burn injuries. The study aimed to determine the effect of music in reducing the pain and anxiety of thermally burned children during routine dressing changes. This quantitative study employed a randomized controlled trial design. The participants comprised 80 children at the Specialized Burns Hospital, in Baghdad, Iraq who were divided into two groups. The intervention group were exposed to three generic musical pieces (children’s music, nature sounds, and classical music) for 10-15 minutes. The researchers used the Objective Pain Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and physiological parameters to measure the children’s responses immediately before the dressing cha
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Groundwater is an important resource that can be used for various purposes. Various factors can change the chemistry of the GW, such as the chemical composition of an aquifer as well as the leaching of human waste into groundwater. The study area is a barren land covered by some sabkhas, in addition to some agricultural fields. The study aims to assess groundwater quality for drinking purposes using the Water Quality Index. The groundwater is chemically heterogeneous and has a wide quality range from very poor to excellent. Evaporation appears to be the controlling factor among the other shallow waters, while relatively deep water is related to rock-soil dominance. Rocks, land use and land cover have helped control the groundwater q
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This study aimed to reveal the extent to which the values of social peace are included in the content of social and national studies textbooks of the middle stage in kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To achieve this goal, the researcher used the descriptive analytical approach. The study sample consisted of all developed social and national studies textbooks of the middle stage in kingdom of Saudi Arabia in first and second semester of student books in edition of 1439-1440. The study tool was the analysis card. The study reached the following results: 1-The content of social and national studies textbooks of the middle stage in kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a whole included (38) social peace values of total (40) values, corresponding to the inclusio
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A large number of researchers had attempted to identify the pattern of the functional relationship between fertility from a side and economic and social characteristics of the population from another, with the strength of effect of each. So, this research aims to monitor and analyze changes in the level of fertility temporally and spatially in recent decades, in addition to estimating fertility levels in Iraq for the period (1977-2011) and then make forecasting to the level of fertility in Iraq at the national level (except for the Kurdistan region), and for the period of (2012-2031). To achieve this goal has been the use of the Lee-Carter model to estimate fertility rates and predictable as well. As this is the form often has been familiar
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The current research aims to analyze the content and and make a comparison based on the theory of art education as an organized cognitive area D.B.A.E. The researcher started by making a comparison followed by analysing the content to design a philosophical framework for content. He used these steps as starting point to study the comparison and some elements of art education due to the modern theories at the third intermediate stage in both Iraq and Egypt in light of the art education trend as an organizing cognitive area.
The research aims at a statement Internal Debt options during shocks and the impact of this borrowing in the volume of the foreign reserve, using induction and deduction with available data analysis. During the period (2004-2013) did not require the use of borrowing across (financial institutions, discounted transfers, bonds); it was only sufficient by transfer with commercial banks that can finance of temporary budget deficits: rose and decline of volume of foreign reserve according to the changes of oil prices and the volume of purchases and sales of the Central Bank of Iraq. Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has significantly contributed to Internal Debt through bond and discounted transfers in the secondary market; thus, funding the
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Aim: The study aimed to investigate the presence of the specific B1 gene T gondii in blood and milk samples from natural infected cattle and pregnant women (16-30 weeks) whose examination performed by the officers at the women's and children's Educational hospital in Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq. Materials and methods: A total of 150 serum samplings were collected analysed and scanned for Anti-T gondi antibodies (75 naturally-infected goats and 75 pregnant women with Toxoplasma). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect of B1(399pb) gene in 26 goat's blood samples and 7 samples from pregnant women. Results: A quick-test anti-cassette gondii results showed 26 positive samples of goats in a percentage of 34,666 percent, while a higher percent
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