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.
Background: The beliefs of pharmacy students in their curriculum may be critical to the success of medical education and the development of global health competences. Objective: To assess the beliefs, attitudes, and obstacles of PharmD students at the College of Pharmacy, University of Baghdad, during their first year in the newly adopted PharmD program. Method: In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted using flexible probing approaches. A sample of fourth-year PharmD students from the University of Baghdad's College of Pharmacy was selected using a purposive sampling method. The gathered data was analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach. Results: 40% of participants applied for the program because they believed it w
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This research dealt with the subject of auditing bank credit risks in accordance with international auditing standards and aims to develop procedures and design a credit risk audit program in accordance with international auditing standards and demonstrate their impact on the truth, truthfulness and fairness of financial statements and on their overall performance and continuity in the banking sector Its importance lies in relying on international auditing standards to assess and measure bank credit risk and its impact on the financial situation as well as the ability to predict financial failure. A set of conclusions have been reached, the most important of which is that the bank faces difficulties in measuring credit risk in accordance
... Show MoreThe investment decision, a critical decision for each investor as it involves risks and uncertain returns, so investors should avoid cases of uncertainty associated with the final decisions they are involved, and the problem of research in individual differences and differences in the behavior of individual investors and reflect the impact of this investment decision in the Iraqi market for securities. Therefore, the research aims to understand and analyze the impact of determinants of investor behavior as an independent variable in investment decision-making as a dependent variable in the Iraqi market for securities, and the research started from two main hypotheses to explore the influence and correlation between research varia
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In this study, gamma-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector was used to measure the specific activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in soil samples collected from IT1 oil reservoirs in Kirkuk city, northeast Iraq. The “spectral line Gp” gamma analysis software package was used to analyze the spectral data. 226Ra specific activity varies from 9 0.34 Bq.kg-1 to 17 0.47 Bq.kg-1. 232Th specific activity varies from 6.2 0.08 Bq.kg-1 to 18 0.2 Bq.kg-1. 40K specific activity varies from 25 0.19 Bq.kg-1 to 118 0.41 Bq.kg-1. The radiological hazard due to the radiation emitted from natural r
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In This research a Spectroscopic complement and Thermodynamic properties for molecule PO2 were studied . That included a calculation of potential energy . From the curve of total energy for molecule at equilibrium distance , for bond (P-O), the degenerated of bond energy was (4.332eV) instate of the vibration modes of ( PO2 ) molecule and frequency that was found active in IR spectra because variable inpolarization and dipole moment for molecule. Also we calculate some thermodynamic parameters of ( PO2 ) such as heat of formation , enthalpy , heat Of capacity , entropy and gibb's free energy Were ( -54.16 kcal/mol , 2366.45 kcal/mol , 10.06 kcal /k/mol , 59.52 k
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Vocational education is the basis of contemporary educational movement that aims at satisfying human needs. Societies can develop their human resources via setting programs for the working class as an aspect of the comprehensive national development. Vocational education is the main source of technical cadres the Iraqi labor market requires of the vocational preparatory schools to provide after three years of schooling.
The vocational schools of the governorate of Basra have a number of problems that lead to the lack of proficiency of their graduates. This study is an attempt to identify these problems or obstacles
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The 3D electro-Fenton technique is, due to its high efficiency, one of the technologies suggested to eliminate organic pollutants in wastewater. The type of particle electrode used in the 3D electro-Fenton process is one of the most crucial variables because of its effect on the formation of reactive species and the source of iron ions. The electrolytic cell in the current study consisted of graphite as an anode, carbon fiber (CF) modified with graphene as a cathode, and iron foam particles as a third electrode. A response surface methodology (RSM) approach was used to optimize the 3D electro-Fenton process. The RSM results revealed that the quadratic model has a high R2 of 99.05 %. At 4 g L-1 iron foam particles, time of 5 h, and
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Cost is the essence of any production process for it is one of the requirements for the continuity of activities so as to increase the profitability of the economic unit and to support the competitive situation in the market. Therefore, there should be an overall control to reduce the cost without compromising the product quality; to achieve this, the management should have detailed credible and reliable information about the cost to be measured, collected, understood and to analyze the causes for the spread of deviations and obstacles the management faces, and to search for the factors that trigger the emergence of these deviations and obstacles
Background: Thermocycling simulates the temperature dynamics in the oral environment. This in vitro study done to measure and compare the effect of thermocycling on the shear bond strength of stainless steel and sapphire brackets bonded to human enamel teeth using light cured orthodontic adhesive and debonded at various time, and to measure adhesive remnant index after debonding. Materials and Methods: one-hundred-twenty extracted upper first premolars for orthodontic reason were used in this study; depending on weather thermocycled or not, the sample was divided into two main groups, then within each group 30 teeth were used for stainless-steel brackets (Bionic®) and for sapphire brackets (Pure®). Both groups were subdivided into three
... Show MoreThe current study aims to identify the needs in the stories of the Brothers Grimm. The research sample consisted of (3) stories, namely: 1- The story of the Thorn Rose (Sleeping Beauty) 2- The story of Snow White 3- The story of Little Red Riding Hood. The number of pages analyzed reached (15.5) pages, and to achieve the research objectives, Murray's classification of needs was adopted, which contains (36) basic needs that are further divided into (129) sub-needs. The idea was adopted as a unit of analysis and repetition as a unit of enumeration, Reliability was extracted in two ways: 1- Agreement between the researcher and himself over time, where the agreement coefficient reached 97%. The second was agreement between the researcher and tw
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