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.
This study was designed to evaluate the effect of major surgery on thyroid hormones and thyrotropin in patient undergoing major lower abdominal surgery. The study included fifty patients scheduled for elective major lower abdominal surgery, the serum levels of T3, T4 and TSH were determined one day preoperatively, intraoperative, one day postoperatively, two days postoperatively, and rT3 was determined one day preoperatively, and one day postoperatively. We observed that the levels of (T3, T4, TSH) increased significantly (P<0.05) intraoperatively, one day postoperatively the levels of T3 and T4 reduced significantly (P<0.05), while TSH reduced not significantly (P>0.05), and two days postoperatively T4 and TSH returned to increase si
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سمير خلف فياض * و محسن طالب د.نوال عزت عبد اللطيف*, مجلة الهندسة والتكنولوجيا, 2010
The main objective of present work is to describe the feasibility of friction stir welding (FSW) for
joining of low carbon steel with dimensions (3 mm X 80 mm X 150 mm). A matrix (3×3) of welding
parameters (welding speed and tool rotational speed) was used to see influence of each parameter on
properties of welded joint .Series of (FSW) experiments were conducted using CNC milling machine
utilizing the wide range of rotational speed and transverse speed of the machine. Effect of welding
parameters on mechanical properties of weld joints were investigated using different mechanical tests
including (tensile and microhardness tests ). Micro structural change during (FSW) process was
studied and different welding zones
Praise be to Allah , the Lord of Heavens , Who revealed His Scripture in plain Arabic, and prayers and peace be upon the Master of all creatures and the chosen one , Muhammad (PBUH).Pushkin was known as a poet in Russia, the sun of its poetry that set, the father of the Russian literature and the founder of its literary language. When he published his poems, trying to express his inner poetic feelings and creative visions, he presented them with creativity and special touch. The reason behind the selection of Pushkin as the subject of this study is that he was affected by Islam and Arabs. For the purpose of this study, the dissertation has been divided into introduction and three chapters; each chapter includes two topics. In the introdu
... Show MoreA total of 41 patients with gastro duodenal symptoms (show signs of inflammation with or without duodenal ulcer) . 21 males (51.2%) and 20 female (48.8%) with an average age 0f (20 – 80) years old under going gastrointestinal endoscopy at Baghdad teaching hospital in internal disease clinical laboratory , between (February – June) 2009 . Biopsies specimen of antrum , gastric fundus ,& duodenal bulb were examined by the following methods (rapid urease test , Giemsa stain section to detect bacteria , & Haematoxilin and Eosin stained section for pathological study which are considered the gold standard methods , sera or plasma from these patients were tested by immunochromotography (ICM),serological m
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This study involves adding nano materials and interaction with cement mortar behavior for several mortar samples under variable curing time with constant water to cement ratio (W/C = 0.5). The effects of adding nano materials on the microstructure of cement mortar were studied by (Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray (for samples at different curing time 28 and 91 days. Small ratio replacements of nano particles (SiO2 or Al2O3) were added to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) type (I). The percentage of nano materials additives replacement by weight of ordinary Portland cement includes (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%) for both types of nano materials with constant (W/C) ratio, also the amount of the fin
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The purpose of this study was to examine the association of oral administration of Carbamazepine during pregnancy and the histological changes in the ovaries of mice. Timed-pregnant mice were divided into experimental and control groups. 60 mice in the experimental group received daily oral of 15 mg/kg of carbamazepine via intragastric tube on gestational days 0 to 18. 20 mice were used as control group. They received normal saline via the same route. Dams underwent laparotomy on pregnancy days 13, 15, and 18 and the ovaries were collected. Routine histological processing of the ovaries histology of paraffin sections stained with haemotoxylin and eosin, were conducted. The ovary under the effect of the drug, there was signs of degeneration
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Cold plasma is a relatively low temperature gas, so this feature enables us to use cold plasma to treat thermally sensitive materials including polymers and biologic tissues. In this research, the non-thermal plasma system is designed with diameter (3 mm, 10 mm) Argon at atmospheric pressure as well as to be suitable for use in medical and biotechnological applications.
The thermal description of this system was studied and we observed the effect of the diameter of the plasma needle on the plasma, when the plasma needle slot is increased the plasma temperature decrease, as well as the effect of the voltages applied to the temperature of the plasma, where the temperature increasing with increasing the applied voltage . Results showed t
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