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.
Two series of 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives at the sixth position of the 2,4-di-
In this study, Zizphus spina-christi leaf powder was applied for the adsorption of methyl orange. The effect of different operating parameters on the Batch Process adsorption was investigated such as solution pH (2-12), effect of contact time (0-60 min.), initial dye concentration (2-20 mg/L), effect of adsorbent dosage (0-4.5 g) and effect of temperature (20-50ᵒC). The results show a maximum removal rate and adsorption capacity (%R= 23.146, qe = 2.778 mg/g) at pH = 2 and equilibrium was reached at 40 min. The pseudo- second-order kinetics were found to be best fit for the removal process (R2 = 0.997). Different isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubini-Radushkevich,Temkin) were applied in this stud
... Show MoreA new derivatives of Schiff bases connected with 5H-thiazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole ring 5a-c were prepared via many reactions starting by treating 1,4-phenylene diamine 1 with chloroacetylchloride to prepared compound 2, then reaction with p-hydroxybenzaldehyde to synthesize compound 3 then, this was reacted with thioglycolic acid and thiosemicarazide to giveN,N-(1.4-phenylene)bis(2-(4-(2-amino-5Hthiazolo[4,3-b][1,3,4]thiadiazol-5-yl)phenoxy)acetamide) 4. Compound 4 was treated with different aromatic aldehydes to give a new derivatives of Schiff bases containing 5H-thiazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazole ring 5a-c. The synthesized compounds were characterized using FTIR spectrophotometer and 1H NMR spectroscopy and the biological activity of
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The cement slurry is a mixture of cement, water and additives which is established at the surface for injecting inside hole. The compressive strength is considered the most important properties of slurry for testing the slurry reliability and is the ability of slurry to resist deformation and formation fluids. Compressive strength is governed by the sort of raw materials that include additives, cement structure, and exposure circumstances. In this work, we use micro silica like pozzolanic materials. Silica fume is very fine noncrystalline substantial. Silica fume can be utilized like material for supplemental cementations for increasing the compressive strength and durability of cement. Silica fume has very fine particles size less
... Show More5-Fluorouracil is one of the commonly used chemotherapy drugs in anticancer therapy; unfortunately treatment with 5-FU by solely has many drawbacks low lipophilicity, low permeability, low molecular weight, and its relatively poor plasma protein binding; also a brief half-life therefore frequent administration is required to maintain the optimal therapeutic plasma level which in addition to its poor selectivity, drug resistance and limited penetration to cancer cells; leads to increased incidence of side-effects to healthy cells/tissues and low response rates. In order to minimize these drawbacks; 5-FU was chemically conjugated with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) in a mutual prodrug moiety (S-(9H-purin-6-yl) 3-(
... Show MoreThe Plerion nebula is characterized by its pulsar that fills the center of the supernova remnant with radio and X-ray frequencies. In our galaxy there are nine naked plerionic systems known, of which the Crab Nebula is the best-known example. It has been studied this instance in order to investigate how the pulsar energy affect on the distribution and evolution of the remnant as well as study the pulsar kick velocity and its influence on the remnant. From the obtained results it's found that, the pulsar of the Crab Nebula injects about (2−3)𝑥 1047 erg of energy to the remnant, although this energy is small compared to the supernova explosion energy which is about 1051 erg but still plays a significant role in the distribution and the m
... Show MoreThe research consists of five chapters and aims to explore the administrative skills of leaders in physical education colleges and their relationship with administrative reform. The study sample included (deans, vice deans, and heads of departments) from physical education colleges for the academic year 2012-2013, with a total of 61 individuals. They were selected using the purposive sampling method, and the researcher distributed questionnaires to them, collecting 60 valid responses and excluding one due to its invalidity. After defining the concepts of administrative skills and administrative reform and redownloading relevant literature and previous studies, as well as consulting with a group of experts in management and psychology, the r
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