This study was set out to investigate factors affecting labor productivity on construction in the north of Iraq (Kurdistan) and to rank all the factors based on engineers, contractors, and designer’s opinions. 76 factors were analyzed based on previous literature and a pilot study. Next, by using online Google Form, a questionnaire form was created and sent to people who have experience in the construction industry. Afterward, the questionnaire form was sent to targeted people by email and social media apps. Factors were divided into nine groups “Management, Technical and Technology, Human and Workforce, Leadership, Motivation, Safety, Time, Material and Equipment, and External”. However, 202 respondents participated in this study,

Various speech enhancement Algorithms (SEA) have been developed in the last few decades. Each algorithm has its advantages and disadvantages because the speech signal is affected by environmental situations. Distortion of speech results in the loss of important features that make this signal challenging to understand. SEA aims to improve the intelligibility and quality of speech that different types of noise have degraded. In most applications, quality improvement is highly desirable as it can reduce listener fatigue, especially when the listener is exposed to high noise levels for extended periods (e.g., manufacturing). SEA reduces or suppresses the background noise to some degree, sometimes called noise suppression alg

In this paper, a dynamic investigation is done for strip, rectangular and square machine foundation at the top surface of two-layer dry sand with various states (i.e., loose on medium sand and dense on medium sand). The dynamic investigation is performed numerically using finite element programming, PLAXIS 3D. The soil is expected as a versatile totally plastic material that complies with the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. A harmonic load is applied at the base with an amplitude of 6 kPa at a frequency of (2 and 6) Hz, and seismic is applied with acceleration – time input of earthquake hit Halabjah city north of Iraq. A parametric study is done to evaluate the influence of changing L/B ratio (Length=12,6,3 m and width=3 m), type of sand

An experimental study is conducted to investigate the effect of heat flux distribution on the boiling safety factor of its cooling channel. The water is allowed to flow in a horizontal circular pipe whose outlet surface is subjected to different heat flux profiles. Four types of heat flux distribution profiles are used during experiments: (constant distribution profile, type a, triangle distribution profile with its maximum in channel center, type b, triangle distribution profile with its maximum in the channel inlet, type c, and triangle distribution profile with its maximum in the channel outlet, type d). The study is conducted using heat sources of (1000 and 2665W), water flow rates of (5, 7 and 9 lit/min). The water

This study produces an image of theoretical and experimental case of high loading stumbling condition for hip prosthesis. Model had been studied namely Charnley. This model was modeled with finite element method by using ANSYS software, the effect of changing the design parameters (head diameter, neck length, neck ratio, stem length) on Charnley design, for stumbling case as impact load where the load reach to (8.7* body weight) for impact duration of 0.005sec.An experimental rig had been constructed to test the hip model, this rig consist of a wood box with a smooth sliding shaft where a load of 1 pound is dropped from three heights.
The strain produced by this impact is measured by using rosette strain gauge connected to Wheatstone

This study aims to reveal the role of one of the artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, “ChatGPT,” in improving the educational process by following it as a teaching method for the subject of automatic analysis for students of the Chemistry Department and the subject of computer security for students of the Computer Science Department, from the fourth stage at the College of Education for Pure Science (Ibn Al-Haitham), and its impact on their computational thinking to have a good educational environment. The experimental approach was used, and the research samples were chosen intentionally by the research community. Research tools were prepared, which included a scale for CT that included 12 items and the achievement test in b

In this paper, the characteristics of microstrip monopole antennas are studied firstly in free space. Secondly, the effects of the human body on the studied antenna's performance are investigated for wearable communications. Different patch shapes of microstrip monopole antenna are chosen to operate at two bands: industrial scientific and medical band (ISM) and ultra-wideband (UWB) for wearable applications. The studied antenna consists of a radiating element on one side of the substrate and a partial ground plane on the other side. The antenna is supposed to fabricate on cloth fabric whose relative dielectric constant is Ɛr =1.7. At the same time, the pure copper could be used as the conducting part representing both t

In this study, the upgrading of Iraqi heavy crude oil was achieved utilizing the solvent deasphalting approach (SDA) and enhanced solvent deasphalting (e-SDA) by adding Nanosilica (NS). The NS was synthesized from local sand. The XRD result, referred to as the amorphous phase, has a wide peak at 2Θ= (22 - 23º) The inclusion of hydrogen-bonded silanol groups (Si–O–H) and siloxane groups (Si–O–Si) in the FTIR spectra. The SDA process was handled using n-pentane solvent at various solvent to oil ratios (SOR) (4-16/1ml/g), room and reflux temperature, and 0.5 h mixing time. In the e-SDA process, various fractions of the NS (1–7 wt.%) have been utilized with 61 nm particle size and 560.86 m²/g surface area in the presence of 12 m

A new pavement technology has been developed in Highway engineering: asphalt pavement production is less susceptible to oxidation and the consequent damages. The warm mix asphalt (WMA) is produced at a temperature of about (10-40) ^oC lower than the hot asphalt paving. This is done using one of the methods of producing a WMA. Although WMA's performance is rather good, according to previous studies, as it is less susceptible to oxidation, it is possible to modify some of its properties using different materials, including polymers. Waste tires of vehicles are one of the types of polymers because of their flexible properties. The production of HMA, WMA, and WMA modified with proportions of (1, 1.5, and 2%) of rub