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 compare the effect of two types of viral hepatitis A and E (HAV
and HEV) on liver functions in Iraqi individuals by the measurement of biochemical changes
associated with hepatitis.
The study performed on 58 HEV and 66 HAV infected patients compared with 28 healthy
subjects. The measured biochemical tests include total serum bilirubin, serum transminases (ALT
and AST) alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT).
The study showed that adolescent and young adults (17-29) years, were mostly affected by
HEV while children (5-12) years were frequently affected by HAV. The severity of liver damage in
HEV patients was higher than HAV patients as a result of high serum transa
In this work pyrazolin derivatives were prepared from the diazonium chloride salt of 4-aminobenzoic acid. Azo compounds were prepared from the reaction of an ethanolic solution of sodium acetate and calculated amount of active methylene compound namely, acetyl acetone to obtain the corresponding hydrazono derivative (1). Cyclocondensation reaction of compounds (1) with hydrazine hydrate and phenyl hydrazine in boiling ethanol affording the corresponding pyrazoline-5-one derivatives of 4-aminobenzoic acid (2,3). Then compound (3) was reacted with thionyl chloride to give the corresponding acid chloride derivative(4), followed by conversion into the corresponding acid hydrazide derivative (5) carboxylic acid thiosemicarbazide (11), esters
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This paper aims to study the effect of circular Y-shaped fin arrangement to improve the low thermal response rates of a double-tube heat exchanger containing Paraffin phase change material (PCM). ANSYS software is employed to perform the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of the heat exchanger, including fluid flow, heat transfer, and the phase change process. The optimum state of the fin configuration is derived through sensitivity analysis by evaluating the geometrical parameters of the Y-shaped fin. For the same height of the fins (10 mm), the solidification time is reduced by almost 22%, and the discharging rate is enhanced by almost 26% using Y-shaped fins compared with the straight fins. The results demonstrate that the sol
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In the geotechnical and terramechanical engineering applications, precise understandings are yet to be established on the off-road structures interacting with complex soil profiles. Several theoretical and experimental approaches have been used to measure the ultimate bearing capacity of the layered soil, but with a significant level of differences depending on the failure mechanisms assumed. Furthermore, local displacement fields in layered soils are not yet studied well. Here, the bearing capacity of a dense sand layer overlying loose sand beneath a rigid beam is studied under the plain-strain condition. The study employs using digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) and finite element method (FEM) simulations. In the FEM, an experiment
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In this research, the kinetic studies of four isoenzymes of Asprtate aminotransferase, which partially purified from the urine of chronic renal failure patients were carried out .The four isoenzymes were obeyed Michaelis-Menton's equation and the optimum concentration of their substrate (Aspartic acid) was (166.5x10-3) mole/liter,and their Km values were determined. Four isoenzymesI,II,III,IV have shown an optimum pH at 7.4.The four isoenzymes obeyed Arrhenius equation up to 37º C and their Ea and Q10 constants were determined .
This study was done to evaluate a new technique to determine the presence of methamphetamine in the hair using nano bentonite-based adsorbent as the filler of extraction column. The state of the art of this study was based on the presence of silica in the nano bentonite that was assumed can interact with methamphetamine. The hair used was treated using methanol to extract the presence of methamphetamine, then it was continued by sonicating the hair sample. Qualitative analysis using Marquish reagent was performed to confirm the presence of methamphetamine in the isolate.The hair sample that has been taken in a different period confirmed that this current developing method can be used to analyzed methamphetamine. This m
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In this paper, split-plate airlift electrochemical reactor as an apparatus with new configuration for wastewater treatment was provided. Two aluminum plates were fixed inside the reactor and present two functions; first it works as split plates for internal loop generation of the airlift system (the zone between the two plates acts as riser while the other two zones act as downcomer) and second it works as two electrodes for electrocoagulation process. Simulated wastewater contaminated with zinc ions was used to test the performance of this apparatus for zinc removal by studying the effect of different experimental variables such as initial concentration of zinc (50-800 ppm), electrical current density (2.67-21.4 mA/cm2), init
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