Colonialism radically transformed the cultures of colonized peoples, often rupturing Indigenous traditions and folklore. Whether creating colonial discourse, promoting orientalist literature, advocating western educational institutions, or through biased media representations, imperial powers systematically oppressed Indigenous and Native peoples. Subjugated communities, however, created, and still form postcolonial discourse from their knowledge systems. This discourse insists on Indigenous and Native culture as central to Indigenous and Native peoples identity. This study examines the postcolonial literature of three groups: Kānaka Maoli, African Americans, and Iraqis. The scope of this dissertation scrutinizes how folklore is employed as resistance in the postcolonial literature of Kānaka Maoli, African Americans, and Iraqis. Folklore as Resistance in Postcolonial Narratives and Cultural Practices: Hawaiian, African American, and Iraqi focuses on the centrality of folklore and cultural histories in the literature of these three groups. Kānaka Maoli emphasize the mo’olelo (hi/story) in their literature. Moʻolelo acts not only as a means to pass down hi/story and culturally significant stories from generation to generation (a genealogy) but also as a mode of resistance to hegemonic and imperial powers. Moʻolelo are not merely legends or myths; instead, they represent ancestral knowledge and connection to Kānaka history. Kānaka Maoli claim and revive ancestral moʻolelo in their literature and cultural performance to illuminate their relationship to place, ʻāina, and their country, the Hawaiian Kingdom. In this work, Dhiffaf al-Shwillay suggests that there are similar tendencies in the literature of Kānaka Maoli, African American, and Iraqis. The folklore and literature of these groups signify the histories of oppression and/or colonization and its aftermath. Al-Shwillay finds that Kānaka Maoli, African American, and Iraqi folklore in literature can be read as resistance to orientalism, oppression, and stereotyping. Following the trajectory of the historical and cultural context for the literary productions of these three communities, she offers analysis and reading of Sage Takehiro, Dana Naone Hall, Haunani-Kay Trask, Brandy Nālani McDougall, Zora Neale Hurston, Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, and Selim Matar. This dissertation concludes by emphasizing the dynamic political and cultural value of moʻolelo and folklore in postcolonial narratives. Al-Shwillay asserts that literature that draws upon folklore and cultural histories transmits evidence of oppressive powers and, crucially, resistance. In this mode of examination of postcolonial literature, al-Shwillay asserts that folklore records the resistance of peoples through their literary production. Folklore carries the knowledge of ancestors, cultural, and history.
Rainwater harvesting could be a possible solution to decrease the consequences of water scarcity and energy deficiency in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). This study aims to calculate the water and energy (electricity) saved by rainwater harvesting for rooftops and green areas in Sulaimani city, KR, Iraq. Various data were acquired from different formal entities in Sulaimani city. Moreover, Google Earth and ArcMap 10.4 software were used for digitizing and calculating the total rooftop and green areas. The results showed that for the used runoff coefficients (0.8 and 0.95), the harvested rainwater volumes were 2901563 and 12197131 m³ during the study period (2005 – 2006) and (2019-2020). Moreover, by compa
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The need for renewable energy sources is higher than ever due to rising global warming, climate change, and ozone depletion. For refrigeration and air conditioning applications, adsorption refrigeration systems are viable alternatives cooling techniques. This study is a topic and part of the M.Sc. thesis. A field solar-powered ice maker unit was created, studied, tested, and evaluated on the 13th and 30th of May, 2022. Activated carbon and methanol pair was used to set up a refrigeration system in Baghdad (Al Dora). Experimental tests were carried out outdoors to determine the coefficient of performance COP and specific cooling power SCP of the system. The results showed that the lowest temperature
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By unusual method for separating two isomers of a substituted nitro-coumarin using a soxhlet extractor and in controlling temperature to get a selective nitration reaction, several new Schiff base coumarins were synthesized from nitro coumarins as starting material, which were reduced by Fe in glacial acetic acid to produce corresponding amino coumarin derivatives. Then the latter was reacted with different aromatic aldehydes to produce the desired Schiff bases derivatives. After characterization by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) and Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (C-NMR), all these compounds were evaluated as potential Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Agents.
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Text Clustering consists of grouping objects of similar categories. The initial centroids influence operation of the system with the potential to become trapped in local optima. The second issue pertains to the impact of a huge number of features on the determination of optimal initial centroids. The problem of dimensionality may be reduced by feature selection. Therefore, Wind Driven Optimization (WDO) was employed as Feature Selection to reduce the unimportant words from the text. In addition, the current study has integrated a novel clustering optimization technique called the WDO (Wasp Swarm Optimization) to effectively determine the most suitable initial centroids. The result showed the new meta-heuristic which is WDO was employed as t
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This study seeks to shed light on the aspects of visual pollution and its impact on the aesthetics of the town of Al-Eizariya known to suffer from the phenomenon. In order to identify the real causes of the problem which develops in various forms and patterns, threatening not only the aesthetic appearance of the towns, but also causes the emergence of new problems and phenomena that will have negative repercussions on the population. The researcher uses the analytical descriptive method to analyze the phenomenon of visual pollution in terms of reality, development, manifestations and spread and uses photos which document the visual pollution and its impact on the aesthetics of the known. The study concluded the existence of a strong rela
... Show MoreHard-grade asphalt binders like AC20-30 typically exhibit excessive stiffness, reduced penetration, and compromised workability, necessitating modification before use in paving applications. This study evaluates the efficacy of regular polyalphaolefin (PAO), a synthetic olefin-based lubricant, as a performance-enhancing modifying agent for such binders. AC20-30 was blended with PAO at dosages ranging from 2 wt.% to 10 wt.%, and the modified binders were characterized via penetration, ductility, softening point, and rotational viscosity measurements, alongside advanced rheological and chemical-morphological analyses. Incorporating PAO in AC20-30 asphalt progressively reduced the binder stiffness and enhanced its flexibility, with all modifie
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The pandemic SARS-CoV-2 is highly transmittable with its proliferation among nations. This study aims to design and exploring the efficacy of novel nirmatrelvir derivatives as SARS entry inhibitors by adapting a molecular modeling approach combined with theoretical design. The study focuses on the preparation of these derivatives and understanding their effectiveness, with a special focus on their binding affinity to the S protein, which is pivotal for the virus’s access to the host cell. Considering molecular docking aspects in the scope of a study on nirmatrelvir derivatives and S protein, dynamics simulations with 25 nanoseconds of their binding are explored. The study shows that these derivatives might work as effective antivi
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Mesoporous silica (MPS) nanoparticle was prepared as carriers for drug delivery systems by sol–gel method from sodium silicate as inexpensive precursor of silica and Cocamidopropyl betaine (CABP) as template. The silica particles were characterized by SEM, TEM, AFM, XRD, and N2adsorption–desorption isotherms. The results show that the MPS particle in the nanorange (40-80 nm ) with average diameter equal to 62.15 nm has rods particle morphology, specific surface area is 1096.122 m2/g, pore volume 0.900 cm3/g, with average pore diameter 2.902 nm, which can serve as efficient carriers for drugs. The adsorption kinetic of Ciprofloxacin (CIP) drug was studied and the data were analyzed and found to match well with
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Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures were synthesized through the hydrothermal method at various conditions growth times (6,7 and 8 hrs.) and a growth temperature (70, 90, and 100 ºC). The prepared ZnO nanostructure samples were described using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer to distinguish their surface morphologies and crystal structures. The ZnO samples were confirmed to have the same crystal type, with different densities and dimensions (diameter and length). The obtained ZnO nanostructures were used to manufacture gas sensors for NO2 gas detection. Sensing characteristics for the fabricated sensor to NO2 gas were examined at different operating temperatures (180, 200, 220, and 240) ºC with a low gas concentrati
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Background: This study aims to assess the prevalence of malposed canines among students of College of Dentistry/ University of Baghdad and evaluate the relation between canine malposition and occlusal features.
Material and method: The prevalence of buccally malposed canines was estimated by intra-oral visual examination of 250 young adult subjects (106 males and 144 females), their ages were between 19-24 years.
Results: The prevalence of the mandibular malposed canine (12%) was higher than the maxillary buccally malposed canine (10%). Generally, malposed canines were found higher in f
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