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.
A simple analytical method was used in the present work for the simultaneous quantification of Ciprofloxacin and Isoniazid in pharmaceutical preparations. UV-Visible spectrophotometry has been applied to quantify these compounds in pure and mixture solutions using the first-order derivative method. The method depends on the first derivative spectrophotometry using zero-cross, peak to baseline, peak to peak and peak area measurements. Good linearity was shown in the concentration range of 2 to 24 µg∙mL-1 for Ciprofloxacin and 2 to 22 µg∙mL-1 for Isoniazid in the mixture, and the correlation coefficients were 0.9990 and 0.9989 respectively using peak area mode. The limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) were
... Show MoreBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that involves autoantibodies attacking and weakening joints. RA is characterized by leukocyte (Monocyte, Lymphocyte mast cell .etc) infiltrations into the synovial compartment leading to inflammation in the synovial membrane. Synovitis leads to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases, chemokines, complement proteins, and growth factors. Objective: The current study pointed to verify the diagnostic values of interleukin -17 A and interleukin -18 in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and the effect of treatment thereon. Study subjects and methods: A total of 88 samples with RA were selected from the health clinics of AL-Yarmouk
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The concept of rehabilitation provided an essential richness in the conservation philosophy through sustaining buildings life and adapting them to the contemporary use through a vision which looks at the present and future . In Iraq , the existence of historical buildings and the traditional fabric in the cities required the urban development which enhanced the interests of planning and architectural fields especially the building rehabilitation which requires the architectural intervention , and all that led to elaborate the problem of research which is " The confusion in the concepts of monumental, historical and traditional buildings in Iraq, As well as The insufficient knowledge about rehabilitation and the acts related to it through
... Show MoreTriticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye grown for use as animal feed. In Florida, due to its soft coat, triticale is highly vulnerable to Sitophilus oryzae L. (rice weevil) and there is interest in development of methods to detect early-instar larvae so that infestations can be targeted before they become economically damaging. The objective of this study was to develop prediction models of the infestation degree for triticale seed infested with rice weevils of different growth stages. Spectral signatures were tested as a method to detect rice weevils in triticale seed. Groups of seeds at 11 different levels (degrees) of infestation, 0–62%, were obtained by combining different ratios of infested and uninfested seeds. A spectrophotometer wa
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Leiomyosarcoma (smooth muscle tumor) is a rare type of a malignant neoplasm of smooth
muscle. It is a resistant cancer, generally not very responsive to chemotherapy, radiationand surgery.The
aim of this study was to evaluate photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a possible basis for treatment using
(650 nm)diode laser with methyleneblue (MB) as a photosensitizer on leiomyosarcoma (LMS)cell line
(L20B) in vitro. The cytotoxic effects of 650nm diode laser 0.052 W/cm2 (power density) at different
exposure time (10, 20, and 30 min) with methylene blue at different concentrations (0.01% ,0.1 % ,1%)
was investigated on LMS cell line (L20 B). The cytotoxic effect of laser was increased with increasing
irradiation time for a certai
Human resources are considered as strategic fortune for being the main driver of the development wheel in the society, and the field of education and learning is one of the main pillars of this fortune for its great effect in the process of economic and social progress of individuals. I was the subject of education to the concerns of many countries, as adopted national policies . And regional support and the reduction of constraints, so came our study (education hub for human development) to identify the role of education in human development and to identify the obstacles facing the education process and the extent of its impacts negatively on the process of human development also contribute to the knowledge of school enrollment and the
... Show MoreMaxillofacial trauma in females is not widely reported. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics and the patterns of maxillofacial injuries in females and to determine the differences in these patterns among different causes. This retrospective study analyzed several variables, including demographic, social, injury-related, and treatment-related variables, and compared these variables in relation to the main etiologies of maxillofacial trauma. The main etiologies of maxillofacial injuries involving females were assault, followed by road traffic accidents, and falls. There were significant differences in relation to the 3 etiologies in age groups (