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 research aims to measure the accounting conservatism practice of listed companies in the Iraq stock exchange using Basu model to measure the degree of accounting conservatism in a sample of companies of (21) companies for the period from 2007 to 2011, the researcher found that most of the listed companies in the market exercised accounting conservatism when measurement and disclosure of the result of the activity and financial position and there is a variation in the degree of accounting conservatism between economic sectors , which included banking , investment , insurance , industry , agriculture , tourism and hotels.
Because the practice of accounting conservatism properly
... Show MoreThis study was set out to investigate factors affecting labor productivity on construction in the north of Iraq (Kurdistan) and to rank all the factors based on engineers, contractors, and designer’s opinions. 76 factors were analyzed based on previous literature and a pilot study. Next, by using online Google Form, a questionnaire form was created and sent to people who have experience in the construction industry. Afterward, the questionnaire form was sent to targeted people by email and social media apps. Factors were divided into nine groups “Management, Technical and Technology, Human and Workforce, Leadership, Motivation, Safety, Time, Material and Equipment, and External”. However, 202 respondents participated in this study,
... Show MoreIraq is located near the northern tip of the Arabian plate, which is advancing northwards relative to the Eurasian plate, and is predictably, a tectonically active country. Seismic activity in Iraq increased significantly during the last decade. So structural and geotechnical engineers have been giving increasing attention to the design of buildings for earthquake resistance. Dynamic properties play a vital role in the design of structures subjected to seismic load. The main objective of this study is to prepare a data base for the dynamic properties of different soils in seismic active zones in Iraq using the results of cross hole and down hole tests. From the data base collected it has been observed that the average ve
... Show MoreAim: To determine the expression of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP-2) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and the difference in its expression level between positive and negative HPV-16 (human papilloma virus- 16) OSCC patients. Methods: This study was conducted on 33 biopsies obtained from patients with OSCC and 10 normal oral mucosa as controls. In situ hybridization (ISH) was used to investigate the presence of HPV-16, while immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to estimate the expression level of TIMP-2. Results: The TIMP-2 was expressed in 27 (81.8%) of OSCC sections with no significant difference between its expression level in HPV-16 positive and HPV-16 negative OSCC cases (p=0.058). TIMP-2 was found to be hig
... Show MoreBackground: Waterpipe and cigarette are two products of tobacco consumption, tobacco use has detrimental effects on the oral cavity, numerous studies around the world have reported a significant relationship between smoking and increase dental caries and viable count of cariogenic bacteria, Materials and Methods: unstimulated saliva was collected from 84 subjects and divided equally into three groups waterpipe smokers, cigarette smokers, and non-smokers all of the participants are adult male aged between 25-60 years, dental caries was measured by use DMFT index, while S.mutans and S.sobrinus were isolated by using a selective medium SB 20M (Sugar bacitracin-20 modified) agar Results: this present study showed a significant (p≤0.01)
... Show MoreEdward Albee, as a playwright, indicates that art should be useful and have a message. Therefore, his work foregrounds and critically examines issues concerning the Neurosis of Blackness and psychological trauma. Albee uses cruelty of racism in reflecting psychological trauma and emotional abuse of American black identity in his plays. Race, social inequality, and gender still sustain to engender controversy audience consciously. Racial discrimination is one of the major issues that affect the American Society. Albee challenges and exposes the presumptive dreams of equality of American society and institutional racism. Therefore, one of the main problems of the twentieth century in America is skin color. It
... Show MoreIncivility in nursing education can negatively affect the academic achievement. As there is no tool in Arabic to assess incivility among nursing students, there is a need for a valid and reliable tool.
This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Incivility in Nursing Education- Revised (INE-R) survey.
Th
The aim of the research is to prepare practical volleyball lessons by using the four pillars strategy for middle school students, and to identify the effect of the four pillars strategy in performing the transmission and volleyball skills in the second intermediate students, to assume that the two researchers assume that there are no statistically significant differences between the results of my skill performance tests Sending and preparing tribal and remote volleyball for the experimental and controlled groups, and there are no statistically significant differences between the results of the performance of the transmission and preparation skills of the volleyball between the two experimental and control groups, and the research co
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The basic orientation of the research is an attempting to apply the cost determining method according in the contract sector projects for Al- Iraq ceneral company, that this subject has a big value according to its modernity and its influence on the future and the eaning of the company.
The research aims to find out the effect of the method for determining cost based on the activity in determining the cost of the construction sector projects.The research was conducted in Iraq General Company for the implementation of irrigation projects. Bani search on three assumptions, the first is (that the application of the method for determining the cost on the basis of
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