A lack of adequate building maintenance is a significant obstacle faced by governmental hospitals. This paper evaluates factors that negatively impact building-maintenance practices in Iraq. A literature review was conducted to identify factors affecting maintenance. A list of 42 factors affecting hospital-buildings was collected from previous studies and tested using a structured questionnaire distributed to hospital-maintenance experts. During the data analysis, 76 valid questionnaires were used. Based on the respondents’ ratings, the relative-importance index (RII) was used to determine the level of importance of each factor. From the results, it was concluded that twelve factors affect maintenance practices in hospital buildings: faulty design (0.889), lack of funding (0.874), inadequate training (0.871), misuse of building facilities (0.866), construction errors (0.863), lack of work experience (0.858), building age (0.826), individual modifications carried out by the hospital staff (0.826), shortage of maintenance staff (0.824), administrative corruption (0.821), selection of unqualified maintenance contractors (0.816) and unavailability of skilled appointed maintenance personnel (0.808). Understanding these factors’ effects is essential for maintenance-department managers to develop strategies for maintaining hospital buildings in Iraq by controlling them, as well as identifying problems and finding appropriate solutions to avoid them. KEYWORDS: Governmental hospitals, Maintenance, Iraq, Building maintenance, Maintenance practices, Factors affecting maintenance
Recent studies agree that the democratic system in a country can only be established in an atmosphere of political and religious freedom. However, the term democracy and the term freedom have become controversial because their concepts remain multiple and different. Karl Popper is one of the most prominent philosophers in modern Western political thought, and one of the defenders of democracy as opposite to dictatorship. It has defined its function by its ability to restrain the ruling elite and to enforce it to prevent their tendency to tyranny. This can be achieved only in the context of the close relationship between democracy and freedom, so, if there is democracy in the absence of absolute freedom, democracy is a gateway to expandin
... Show MoreObjective: To assess the impact of anxiety and stress during pregnancy upon neonatal outcome Methodology: A descriptive purposive study was used to assess the impact of anxiety and stress during pregnancy upon neonatal outcome. The study was conducted from (22nd \ September \ 2020 to 15th \ February \ 2021). A non-probability sample (purposive sample) was selected from 100 women. Data were collected through an interview with the mother in the counseling clinic, during the third trimester of pregnancy, as well as after childbirth in the labour wards to assess the outcome of pregnancy. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics (frequency and percentages). Results: The most important thing observed in this study was the n
... Show MoreHuman herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) infection has increased recently in Arabic countries. HHV-8 in healthy persons does not necessarily cause life-threatening infection, and however, it causes a more severe infection among immunocompromised patients. The distribution of HHV-8 genotypes varies according to ethnicity and depends on the geographic region prior rapid development of global travel. A cross sectional prospective study included a hundred healthy blood donor samples with a mean age of (36.60±10.381), 81% were positive for molecular detection of HHV-8 DNA. PCR results for HHV-8 were strongly related with risk factors such as the number of sexual relations, previous surgeries, blood transfusion, dental operation, and the number of b
... Show MoreSocial factors may affect the available sources of toxic substances and causes of poisoning, and these factors may change over time. Additionally, understanding the characteristics of poisoning cases is important for treating such patients. Therefore, the present study investigated the characteristics of poisoning cases in Baghdad Poisoning Consultation Center (PCC) and Forensic Medicine Institute (FMI). Data on all poisoning cases reported in PCC and FMI during 2013 were retrospectively obtained from medical records. Total of 1131 reports of poisoning cases (1082 from PCC and 49 from FMI) were analyzed according to age, sex, geographical distribution and causes of poisoning according to the type and class of poisoning agent. The results
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Here we determined the structure of a cold active family IV esterase (EstN7) cloned
The monitoring of lotic ecosystems is an important issue. This study investigated the total petroleum hydrocarbons (THP) in the Tigris River within Baghdad City, Iraq, which is considered the ultimate water supply source of the city. The study included measurement of THP concentrations, distribution, and origins of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) in various matrices (water, sediment, and macrophyte) in Tigris River within Baghdad City, in addition to some environmental factors during two seasons (dry and wet) for October 2020 to April 2021. The sampling was collected from three sites along the river. Thirteen compounds were identified in the current investigation from total petroleum h