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.
Humor is an interesting phenomenon that has been studied widely, yet it is considered a universal trait that cannot be an old subject for a study. This study is conducted to investigate humor from a universal pragmatic lens in a stand-up comedy show, namely, You Wanna Hear Something Crazy?. It aims to study humor as a coin with two sides, the production side and the understanding side. To achieve the aim of the study, the researchers use an eclectic contains Grice’s CP model (1975) and Habermas’s UP model (1979, 1984, 1987, 1998). The study has noted that while using the observance and the non-observance of the cooperative maxims to produce humor, the universal validity claims of truth, sincerity, and normative rightness for rea
... Show MoreApplications of quantitative methods, which had been explicit attention during previous period (the last two centuries) is the method of application sales man or traveling salesman method. According to this interest by the actual need for a lot of the production sectors and companies that distribute their products, whether locally made or the imported for customers or other industry sectors where most of the productive sectors and companies distributed always aspired to (increase profits, imports, the production quantity, quantity of exports. etc. ...) this is the part of the other hand, want to behave during the process of distribution routes that achieve the best or the least or most appropriate.
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to investigate the effects of level pH and the growth phases of Coelastrella saipanensis on Chlorophyll a,b, total, and Carotene. The algae were cultured in BG11 media and grown at different pH levels. We measured chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, growth phases, and carotene concentrations. The results showed that at pH 8.5, the measurements of photosynthetic pigments-chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, and the total chlorophyll (0.183, 0.268, and 0.433 mg L-1, respectively). The highest values of chlorophyll a (0.185 mg L-1), and b (0.339 mg L-1), and the total chlorophyll (0.492 mg L-1) were recorded in the stationary phase. In addition, the study found that at pH 8.5 and the beginning of the stationary phase,
... Show MoreThe ground state density distributions and electron scattering Coulomb form factors of Helium (4,6,8He) and Phosphorate (27,31P) isotopes are investigated in the framework of nuclear shell model. For stable (4He) and (31P) nuclei, the core and valence parts are studied through Harmonic-oscillator (HO) and Hulthen potentials. Correspondingly, for exotic (6,8He) and (27P) nuclei, the HO potential is applied to the core parts only, while the Hulthen potential is applied to valence parts. The parameters for HO and Hulthen are chosen to reproduce the available experimental size radii for all nuclei under study. Finally, the CO component of electron scattering charge form factors are also investigated. Unfortunately, there is no
... Show MoreThe study aimed to identify self –affirmation degree, tendency degree toward perfection, awareness degree of creativity among fine arts institutions students, and the significant correlation between self -affirmation and its tendency toward perfection, and the awareness of creativity among fine arts institutions students. To achieve these objectives, the author had constructed two scales: one to measure self –affirmation among the sample based on “Lang& Jakobowski theory” (Lang& Jakobowski, 1973) that consisted of (54) item divided into two parts: qualitative and situational. The other scale is to measure the tendency toward perfection depend on (flett & Hewitt, 1991) that composed of (46) item divided into two sectio
... Show MoreThe present study was conducted to determine the effect of different concentrations of putrescine and spermidine at all stages of regeneration (callogenesis, somatic embryos multiplication, germination and rooting)) of date palm cultivar Barhee. Shoot tips were eradicated from 2-3 years old offshoots, surface sterilized and inoculated onto Murashiege and Skoog, 1962 (MS) medium supplemented with 20 mg/L 2,4-D and 3 mg/L N6-2-isopentyl adenine (2ip). Primary callus was obtained after 24 weeks on the nutrient medium. Calli were then transferred onto fresh MS medium containing 0.0, 50, 100 or 150 mg/L of putrescine or spermidine individually. Results were recorded after 12 weeks. A significant increase in embryonic callus fresh weights reached
... Show MoreA new derivative of PAM, acrylamide was copolymerized with succinic anhydride, and the reaction product reacted with three dyes, anthocyanin, bromophenol, and thymol. The prepared polymers were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and UV-visible spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and thermal analysis. FT-IR spectroscopy showed the disappearance of two bands near 3450 and 3380 cm-1 for the stretching vibrations of the primary amine which indicates for the formation of amides. The UV-photolysis of aqueous solutions of different concentrations of the polymers was studied. Polyacrylamide-g-succinic anhydride showed an increase in polymerization under light. An increase of ~ 50% was observed for a 200 mg/L
... Show MoreHealthcare professionals routinely use audio signals, generated by the human body, to help diagnose disease or assess its progression. With new technologies, it is now possible to collect human-generated sounds, such as coughing. Audio-based machine learning technologies can be adopted for automatic analysis of collected data. Valuable and rich information can be obtained from the cough signal and extracting effective characteristics from a finite duration time interval that changes as a function of time. This article presents a proposed approach to the detection and diagnosis of COVID-19 through the processing of cough collected from patients suffering from the most common symptoms of this pandemic. The proposed method is based on adopt
... Show MoreIn this research work a composite material was prepared contains a matrix which is unsaturated polyester resin (UPE) reinforced with carbon nanotube the percentage weight (0.1, 0.2, 0.4.0.5) %, and Zn particle the percentage weight (0.1, 0.2,0.4,0.5)%.
All sample were prepared by hand lay-up, process the mechanical tests contains hardness test, wear rate test, and the coefficient of thermal conductivity. The results showed a significant improvement in the properties of overlapping, Article containing carbon nano-tubes and maicroparticles of zinc because of its articles of this characteristics of high quality properties led to an, an increase in the coefficient of the rmalconductivity, and increase the hardness values with increased pe