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 research is drawn from a doctoral dissertation, studying the approach of Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Muhajir al-Sanandji al-Kurdi (1303 AH) on the issue of proving the existence of God Almighty.
Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Sanandji was one of the scholars well versed in mental sciences. He has many books, all of them in the sciences of speech and wisdom, and among his books is the book (Raising the Eyebrow in Explanation of Ithbat al-Wajib), which is still a manuscript that has not been printed.
Through this book, the researcher studied the evidence of Sheikh Abdul Qadir to prove the existence of God Almighty, and compared it with the evidence of philosophers and theologians.
At the beginning, he presented a study on the import
Background: The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate the vertical marginal fit of crowns fabricated with ZrO2 CAD/CAM, before and after porcelain firing cycles and after glaze cycles. Materials and Methods: An acrylic resin model of a left maxillary first molar was prepared and duplicated to have Nickel-Chromium master die. Ten die stone dies were sent to the CAD/CAM (Amann Girrbach) for crowns fabrication. Marginal gaps along vertical planes were measured at four indentations at the (mid mesial, mid distal, mid buccal, mid palatal) before (Time 0) and after porcelain firing cycles (Time 1) and after glaze cycles (Time 2) using a light microscope at a magnification of ×100. One way ANOVA LSD tests were performed to determine wh
... Show MoreSansevieriatrifasciata was studied as a potential biosorbent for chromium, copper and nickel removal in batch process from electroplating and tannery effluents. Different parameters influencing the biosorption process such as pH, contact time, and amount of biosorbent were optimized while using the 80 mm sized particles of the biosorbent. As high as 91.3 % Ni and 92.7 % Cu were removed at pH of 6 and 4.5 respectively, while optimum Cr removal of 91.34 % from electroplating and 94.6 % from tannery effluents was found at pH 6.0 and 4.0 respectively. Pseudo second order model was found to best fit the kinetic data for all the metals as evidenced by their greater R2 values. FTIR characterization of biosorbent revealed the presence of carboxyl a
... Show MoreThis field experiment, was conducted to investigate a comparison of two methods for harvesting potatoes: mechanical and handy when using moldboard and chisel plow for primary tillage and three different distances for planting tubers in the rows 15, 25, and 35 cm in silt clay loam soil south of Baghdad. The factorial experiment followed a randomized complete block design with three replications using L.S.D. 5 % and 1 %. Mechanical harvest recorded the best valid potato tubers at 88.78 %, marketable yield of 31.74 ton. ha-1, efficiency lifted 95.68 %, tubers damage index 28.41, speeding up the harvesting process and reducing time and effort. Handy harvest gave the least damage to potato tubers, 6.02 %, and unlifted potato tubers, 4.32 %. Howe
... Show MoreAddressed this research the impact of intelligence emotional dimensions of the main(self awareness, and self-management, and social awareness, and relationship management) in the performance excellence the university(performance optimization, and strategic development) this is by middling the styles decision making which are (rational and intuitive, and dependent, and spontaneous, and avoidant), and Go search of an intellectual dilemma raise fundamental questions revolve around the search was to answer those questions through a theoretical framework for search variables first and test models of the relationship and second through the impact six hypotheses President.The objective of the research to make sure the contr
... Show MoreElectrocardiogram (ECG) is an important physiological signal for cardiac disease diagnosis. With the increasing use of modern electrocardiogram monitoring devices that generate vast amount of data requiring huge storage capacity. In order to decrease storage costs or make ECG signals suitable and ready for transmission through common communication channels, the ECG data
volume must be reduced. So an effective data compression method is required. This paper presents an efficient technique for the compression of ECG signals. In this technique, different transforms have been used to compress the ECG signals. At first, a 1-D ECG data was segmented and aligned to a 2-D data array, then 2-D mixed transform was implemented to compress the
The rise of online platforms has transformed the discourse landscape, enabling users to create and share content actively, thereby shaping public perceptions and societal narratives. Understanding the dynamics of this discourse is essential for comprehending its socio-political implications. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) concerning online platforms, exploring how language is utilized across various digital contexts to influence identity formation and social inequalities. Methodologically, the review systematically searches electronic databases, including Google Scholar and ProQuest, using keywords related to CDA and online platforms. A total of 30 relevant studies are purpo
... Show MoreWhen embankment is constructed on very soft soil, special construction methods are adopted. One of the techniques is a piled embankment. Piled (stone columns) embankments provide an economic and effective solution to the problem of constructing embankments over soft soils. This method can reduce settlements, construction time and cost. Stone columns provide an effective improvement method for soft soils under light structures such as rail or road embankments. The present work investigates the behavior of the embankment models resting on soft soil reinforced with stone columns. Model tests were performed with different spacing distances between stone columns and two lengths to diameter ratios of the stone columns, in addition to different
... Show MoreThe increase in population resulted in an increase in the consumption of water. The present work investigates the performance of a recycling solar- powered greywater treatment system for the purposes of irrigation, used to reduce the amount of waste grey water and reduce electricity consumption and reduce the costs of constructing large scale water treatment plants. The system consumes about 3814W per hour and provides water treatment about 1.4 m3 per day. The proposed system is designed to residential, office and governmental buildings application. Tests are conducted in an office building at the Ministry of Science and Technology site in Baghdad. Laboratorial water samples testing analyses are co
... Show MoreThe Financial systems can be classified into two types. The first is the market–oriented, which is applied in United States and United Kingdom. While the second is bank-oriented as in Japan and Germany.
This study tries to explain the reasons which make some countries adopt the first one instead of the second, and the contrary. So the study consists of three sections. The first deals with the concept of financial system and it are functions. The second displays the indicators which are used to classify the financial systems, while the third one is devoted to the factors that determine the type of financial system .These sections followed by some conclusions.