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 examination of gills of the common carp Cyprinus carpio revealed the presence of two species of the family Trichodinidae belonging to the genus Dipartiella (Raabe, 1959) Stein, 1961 namely D. indiana Saha and Bandyopadhyay, 2017 and D. kazubski Mitra and Bandyopadhyay, 2009 for the first time in Iraq from Al-Graiat location on the Tigris River at Baghdad city. This also represents the first record of the genus Dipartiella from fishes of Iraq. The descriptions and measurements of these two parasite species as well as their illustrations were given.
Albizia lebbeck biomass was used as an adsorbent material in the present study to remove methyl red dye from an aqueous solution. A central composite rotatable design model was used to predict the dye removal efficiency. The optimization was accomplished under a temperature and mixing control system (37?C) with different particle size of 300 and 600 ?m. Highest adsorption efficiencies were obtained at lower dye concentrations and lower weight of adsorbent. The adsorption time, more than 48 h, was found to have a negative effect on the removal efficiency due to secondary metabolites compounds. However, the adsorption time was found to have a positive effect at high dye concentrations and high adsorbent weight. The colour removal effi
... Show MoreAlbizia lebbeck biomass was used as an adsorbent material in the present study to remove methyl red dye from an aqueous solution. A central composite rotatable design model was used to predict the dye removal efficiency. The optimization was accomplished under a temperature and mixing control system (37?C) with different particle size of 300 and 600 ?m. Highest adsorption efficiencies were obtained at lower dye concentrations and lower weight of adsorbent. The adsorption time, more than 48 h, was found to have a negative effect on the removal efficiency due to secondary metabolites compounds. However, the adsorption time was found to have a positive effect at high dye concentrations and high adsorbent weight. The colour removal effi
... Show MoreABSTRACT : The restoration of bone continuity and bone union are complex processes and their success is determined by the effectiveness of osteosynthesis. The use of plants for healing purposes predates human history and forms the source of current modern medicine. This research was planned to study the histological and immunohisto-chemistry of osteocalcin to evaluate of effect of local application of lepidium sativum oilon healing of induced bone defect in rat tibia. In this study, fourty albino male rats, weighting (300-400) gram, aged (6-8) months, will be used under control conditions of temperature, drinking and food consumption. The animals will subject for a surgical operation of medial side of tibiae bone, in control group the bone
... Show MoreBackground: The repair of bone defects remains a major clinical challenge in dentistry. Bone is a highly vascularized tissue reliant on the close spatial and temporal connection between blood vessels and bone cells to maintain skeletal integrity. The health promotive , preventive, and curative properties of herbs were recognized by the ancient and the present pharmacist and physicians to form the theoretical foundations in Medicine. Objective: Immunohistochemistry of osteocalcin and histological study to prove that symphytum officinale oil when applied locally on generated bone defect healing in rat tibia, it was very effectiveness. Patients and Methods: 0ur study fourty male rats , weighting (250-350) grams ,aged (5 7)months ,was
... Show More‘Ode to a Nightingale’(1819) is a typical poem of a Romantic poet like John Keats, but
‘The Nightingale’(1798) is an uncharacteristic poem of a Romantic poet like Coleridge.
The paper proposes a comparison between Coleridge’s ‘The Nightingale’ and Keats’
‘Ode to a Nightingale’.Coleridge’s poem diverges from the Romantic norm; it carries some
characteristics new to Romantic poetry like the realistic and objective portrayals of nature and
the nightingale, while Keats’ poem adhere to the characteristics of Romantic poetry; it
portrays nature and the nightingale subjectively and unrealistically. Coleridge’s poem is very
much influenced by the scientific approaches to environment, and natural his
This study investigates the factors that led to the outbreak of protest movements in Sudan, since Sudan’s independence in 1956 until December 2018. The study aims to identify the role of protests in bringing about political and social transformations in Sudan, besides identifying the factors that help in the success or failure of the governments that resulted from those protests, with special emphasis on the challenges of the government of the 2018 revolution. The main results of the study reveal that the December 2018 protests are the largest in term of numbers, and witness huge participation of youth and women, and the slogans raised were national and comprehensive. However, the challenges that the transitional government is going th
... Show MoreThis study rigorously investigates three 3d transition metal carbide (TMC) structures via LDA and GGA approximations. It examines cohesive energy (Ecoh), Vickers hardness (Hv), mechanical stability, and electronic properties. Notably, most 3d TMCs exhibit higher cohesive energy than nitrides, and rs-TiC demonstrates a Vickers hardness of 25.66 GPa, outperforming its nitride counterpart. The study employs theoretical calculations to expedite research, revealing mechanical stability in CrC and MnC (GGA) and CrC (LDA in cc structure), while all 3d TMCs in rs and seven in zb structures show stability. Charge transfer and bonding analysis reveal enhanced covalency along the series, influenced by the interplay between p orbitals of carbon and d o
... Show MorePlumbago (Plumbaginaceae) is a genus of 10-20 species of flowering plants used in traditional Indian medicine, native to warm temperature to tropical regions of the world. The roots of Plumbago europaea, the Iraqi species of Plumbago, have been used for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and dysmenorrhea. The main active constituents from dried powdered leaves and roots of Plumbago europaea were extracted by Soxhlet apparatus using ethyl acetate, the main active constituent was characterized by spectroscopic analysis (IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR) as plumbagin. Quantitative and qualitative study of plumbagin in the roots and leaves extracts was carried out by HP
... Show MoreQuality control of well logs has always been an important objective in reservoir studies because of the key role played by well logs as input data. This study aims to make a quality control on well logs data for two wells of Yamama formation in southern Iraqi field to ensuring and enhancing the measurement accuracy. In the beginning, the calibration data of before and after surveys are applied as initial evaluation for the quality of density log in well R-1. Then, depth matching is used to fit the depth of all logs in each well. After that, the comparison between the main and repeat sections is helped to check the repeatability. Finally, all uncorrected logs are environmentally corrected to remove the effects of the borehole conditi
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