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.
Community participation is one of the basic pillars of the sustainable development process. It provides opportunities for different groups of society to contribute to the management, preparation and implementation of development plans commensurate with their needs and aspirations. In this context, the study presents a study of the concept of community participation and its importance in sustainable development, In terms of its conditions, requirements and principles, as well as its image, as well as addressing the most important challenges and obstacles facing the participation of citizens in development projects. The research also provides an analysis of a number of international and Arab experiences adopted In its polici
... Show MoreThis study includes adding chemicals to gypseous soil to improve its collapse characteristics. The collapse behavior of gypseous soil brought from the north of Iraq (Salah El-Deen governorate) with a gypsum content of 59% was investigated using five types of additions (cement dust, powder sodium meta-silicate, powder activated carbon, sodium silicate solution, and granular activated carbon). The soil was mixed by weight with cement dust (10, 20, and 30%), powder sodium meta-silicate (6%), powder activated carbon (10%), sodium silicate solution (3, 6, and 9%), and granular activated carbon (5, 10, and 15%). The collapse potential is reduced by 86, 71, 43, 37, and 35% when 30% cement dust, 6% powder sodium meta-silicate, 10% powder activated
... Show MoreSince the introduction of the HTTP/3, research has focused on evaluating its influences on the existing adaptive streaming over HTTP (HAS). Among these research, due to irrelevant transport protocols, the cross-protocol unfairness between the HAS over HTTP/3 (HAS/3) and HAS over HTTP/2 (HAS/2) has caught considerable attention. It has been found that the HAS/3 clients tend to request higher bitrates than the HAS/2 clients because the transport QUIC obtains higher bandwidth for its HAS/3 clients than the TCP for its HAS/2 clients. As the problem originates from the transport layer, it is likely that the server-based unfairness solutions can help the clients overcome such a problem. Therefore, in this paper, an experimental study of the se
... Show MoreThe Incentives legislation aims to raise the efficiency of job performance of all kinds through optimal investment of human resources and their capabilities to raise or increase and production influence and provide distinguished and creative services such as The Incentives Law of Productive Ministries Employees No. 20 of 1993 and instructions issued by ministries and relevant Facilities regarding incentives for their affiliates based on provisions Public Companies Law and the instructions of the Higher Education Fund issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The human element is the most unstable and complex element of production as it is characterized by a set of feelings and emotions that is expresses
... Show MoreElection study included four sites for the waters in area of Youssifiyah south of Baghdad (river water, tank water, liquefactions water, and water filtrate and seethed and purifier by alum and chloride), the samples were collected during the month of June in 2007. Temperature, electrical conductivity and acidity are measured. Also , the concentration of chloride , sulphate , carbonate , nitrate , sodium , calcium , magnesium , hard total and total dissolved substances are determined , as well as heavy metals assess environmental risk (such as Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe). It was also a study of bacterial totals included both total Bacteria (TB) and Total Coliform Bacteria (TC) and Fecal Coliform (FC) and Fecal Streptococci (FS). The stu
... Show MoreThe deficiency in the nurse staff in the health organizations consider an important problem that must be studied and solved basically , not only because it affect on the health organization and it's strategic goals , but also it affect the human being and it's health which can't be substituted with anything or delayed in it's treatment ,This research aims to necessary for health organizations to strategically help in maintaining the nurse staff and to keep that in it's strategic orientation and it's mission , moreover , the health organizations must study the reality of the nurse in the health organizations and know the causes beyond leaving the nurse staff the nurse job , and then remove
... Show More Educational services in Iraq face many problems that have reduced the efficiency of the educational process, as a result of the difficult conditions experienced by educational services in Iraq. This led to the accumulation of these problems and their exacerbation significantly over the years, as there was no fundamental solution to these problems. The study proposes a planning method for managing the educational system in Iraq, especially for the primary and secondary levels, where these negative phenomena are very prominent, especially the deficit in school buildings and the phenomenon of overcrowding in classrooms. &am
... Show MoreScientists are investigating the efficacy of different biosorbents for promoting economic and environmental viability in purifying contaminants. Among the primary by-products of biodiesel production is waste microalgae biomass, which has the potential to be used as a cheap biosorbent for the treatment of pollution. In the present study, the biomass left over after extracting the chlorella vulgaris was used to test the potential biosorption of CIP from simulated aqueous solutions. Bisorbent's ability was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Analysis with a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer revealed that C
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The research addresses the specification table and the extent of its use in developing achievement tests, as well as detects the obstacles to its use through a sample of (120) respondents from the faculty members in some Baghdad schools and colleges. After unpacking and processing the data statistically, the research reached several results: the study sample do not use the test map in the development of their tests, as their percentage reached (82%) and there are no statistically significant differences in the use of the specification table by the sample members according to their place of work or the number of years of experience. The results also revealed the most important reasons that prevent the use
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The current research aims at highlighting the role of engagement of a sample of employees who works in some of the Iraqi private banks in terms of their interaction , commitment and enthusiasm and the positive impact they own regarding their job and devote their efforts to achieve the core purpose which is customer loyalty. The problem was expressed through a number of intellectual and practical questions.
In order to achieve the aim of the research the quantitative analytical method was used depending on a questionnaire as a basic tool to collect research data and the qualitative survey method depending on semi-structured interviews which were distrib
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