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Numbness of the Mind Paradigm in Haruki Murakami’s After the Quake and Iraq’s After the Quake
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Haruki Murakami (1949-present) is a contemporary Japanese writer whose works have been translated into fifty languages and won him plenty of Japanese and international awards. His short stories are well constructed in a weird realistic manner and are mixed with elements of surrealism. His novels and short stories fall under the genre of magical realism. One of the major revolving themes that Murakami wrote about was the haunting feeling of emptiness and disconnectedness in a world which seems to care much for materialism and self-interests.

    The paper explores two of Murakami’s short stories in his book After the Quake (2000) and the relevance of their themes and characters to Iraq after the quake. Literally, Iraq may never have witnessed a real earthquake, but one can say its metaphorical meaning has a great implication upon the lives of its people. The reference to Iraq after the quake in this paper would focus on the aftermath of the 2003 War such as: the feeling of disconnection among people, disinclination in life, feelings of deprivation and depreciation, and the corruption of leaders and politicians. Likewise, though Murakami’s short stories chosen in this paper do not deal with the actual earthquake, its implications can be felt as we read the stories. His characters witness a sense of disconnectedness and the feeling of being unappreciated even when they do the hardest and most dangerous jobs.

    Two of Murakami’s short stories “UFO in Kushiro” and “Super Frog Saves Tokyo” are tackled to show the paradigm and comparison between the lives of these characters (that are actually a reflection of Japanese lives in mid 1990s) and the restricted depressing life of the Iraqis in the postwar era of the 2003 War. Both have experienced fragmentation, despair and lack of self-worth due to the reasons that are explained in this paper. The Iraqis however, may have experienced a deeper suffering where one can say they have reached a state of the numbness or enslavement of the mind and feelings. The paper also highlights that animosity should be dissipated from the hearts of people specifically in politicians and top leaders. Though it is a complicated world, man should conceive that the prosperity of mankind rests in his own hands. Cherishing the diversity of cultures and understanding each other’s moral principles are the means to diminish evil in order to reach the desired bliss.

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Publication Date
Fri Nov 01 2019
Journal Name
Journal Of Physics: Conference Series
Data Processing, Storage, and Analysis: Applying Computational Procedures to the Case of a Falling Weight Deflectomer (FWD)
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In the field of civil engineering, the adoption and use of Falling Weight Deflectometers (FWDs) is seen as a response to the ever changing and technology-driven world. Specifically, FWDs refer to devices that aid in evaluating the physical properties of a pavement. This paper has assessed the concepts of data processing, storage, and analysis via FWDs. The device has been found to play an important role in enabling the operators and field practitioners to understand vertical deflection responses upon subjecting pavements to impulse loads. In turn, the resultant data and its analysis outcomes lead to the backcalculation of the state of stiffness, with initial analyses of the deflection bowl occurring in conjunction with the measured or assum

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Publication Date
Sun Dec 05 2010
Journal Name
Baghdad Science Journal
Pre-Test Single and Double Stage Shrunken Estimators for the Mean of Normal Distribution with Known Variance
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This paper is concerned with pre-test single and double stage shrunken estimators for the mean (?) of normal distribution when a prior estimate (?0) of the actule value (?) is available, using specifying shrinkage weight factors ?(?) as well as pre-test region (R). Expressions for the Bias [B(?)], mean squared error [MSE(?)], Efficiency [EFF(?)] and Expected sample size [E(n/?)] of proposed estimators are derived. Numerical results and conclusions are drawn about selection different constants included in these expressions. Comparisons between suggested estimators, with respect to classical estimators in the sense of Bias and Relative Efficiency, are given. Furthermore, comparisons with the earlier existing works are drawn.

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Publication Date
Wed Mar 10 2021
Journal Name
Baghdad Science Journal
Improving the Performance of Constructed Wetland Microbial Fuel Cell (CW- MFC) for Wastewater Treatment and Electricity Generation
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The current study deals with the performance of constructed wetland (CW) incorporating a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment and electricity generation. The whole unit is referred to as CW-MFC. This technique involves two treatments; the first is an aerobic treatment which occurs in the upper layer of the system (cathode section) and the second is anaerobic biological treatment in the lower layer of the system (anode section). Two types of electrode material were tested; stainless steel and graphite. Three configurations for electrodes arrangement CW-MFC were used. In the first unit of CW-MFC, the anode was graphite plate (GPa) and cathode was also graphite plate (GPc), in the second CW-MFC unit, the anode was stainless steel

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Publication Date
Thu Jun 01 2017
Journal Name
American Journal Of Pharmaceutical Education
Exploring Electronic Communication Modes Between Iraqi Faculty and Students of Pharmacy Schools Using the Technology Acceptance Model
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Publication Date
Tue Dec 01 2015
Journal Name
Journal Of Engineering
Calibration and verification of the hydraulic model for Blue Nile river from Roseires dam to Khartoum city
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This research represents a practical attempt applied to calibrate and verify a hydraulic model for the Blue Nile River. The calibration procedures are performed using the observed data for a previous period and comparing them with the calibration results while verification requirements are achieved with the application of the observed data for another future period and comparing them with the verification results. The study objective covered a relationship of the river terrain with the distance between the assumed points of the dam failures along the river length. The computed model values and the observed data should conform to the theoretical analysis and the overall verification performance of the model by comparing it with anothe

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Publication Date
Wed Jan 01 2020
Journal Name
International Journal Of Psychosocial Rehabilitation
Psychological pressures and their relationshiptothe competitive orientation of football playersinthe Iraqi Premier League for the 2018-2019season
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Publication Date
Tue May 02 2023
Journal Name
Journal Of Optoelectronics And Advanced Materials
Preparation of samarium doped-PMMA composite by casting method to evaluate the optical properties and potential applications
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Samarium ions (Sm +3), a rare-earth element, have a significant optical emission within the visible spectrum. PMMA samples, mixed with different ratios of SmCl3.6H2O, were prepared via the casting method. The composite was tested using UV-visible, photoluminescence and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The FTIR spectrometry of PMMA samples showed some changes, including variation in band intensity, location, and width. Mixed with samarium decreases the intensity of the CO and CH2 stretching bands and band position. A new band appeared corresponding to ionic bonds between samarium cations with negative branches in the polymer. These variations indicate complex links between the Sm +3 ion and oxygen in the ether group. The optical absorption

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Publication Date
Tue Nov 09 2021
Journal Name
Journal Of Accounting And Financial Studies ( Jafs )
Murabaha for real estate and its reflection on the profitability of Al-Nahrain Islamic Bank: applied research
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The Islamic Bank of Al-Nahrain offers a formula for financing the purchase of real estate through a deferred sale contract, through Murabaha to the order to buy, and the payment of the price is in the form of instalments that include (the purchase price of the profit and the mutual agreement on the real estate). This research aims to show the reflection of real estate murabaha on the bank's investments, by measuring the effect of real estate murabaha on the profits achieved by the Islamic Bank of Al-Nahrain Bank. The growth of 'real estate murabaha' realized from the 'amounts granted by Bank X, in addition to analyzing the financial ratios of profitability indicators, including (return on deposits Y2) and for the years (2016 - 20

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Publication Date
Tue Dec 01 2020
Journal Name
International Journal Of Pharmaceutical Research
Synthesis of Some New Schiff Bases Starting from 2,2 Dimorpholinyl Acetic Acid and Evaluating the Biological activity
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n this study new derivatives of Schiff bases (5-10) were synthesized from the new starting material 1 . Which has been synthesized by the reaction of (1 mol.) of dichloroacetic acid with two moles of morpholine, in the presence of potassium hydroxide, Ester derivatives 2 and 3 were synthesized by the reaction of 1 with methanol or ethanol respectively in the presence of sulphuric acid as catalyst . Compound 2 was also prepared from dimethylsulphate with high yield , 2 and 3 was used to synthesized 2,2-dimorpholinylacetohydrazide 4 via reaction with NH2NH2.H2O 80% .Imines (5-10) were synthesized via the reaction of 4 with appropriate aromatic aldehydes in the presence of G.A.A as a catalyst . Derivatives compounds (1-10) were identifie

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Publication Date
Mon Aug 01 2022
Journal Name
Baghdad Science Journal
Influence of Cold Plasma on Sesame Paste and the Nano Sesame Paste Based on Co-occurrence Matrix
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The aim of the research is to investigate the effect of cold plasma on the bacteria grown on texture of sesame paste in its normal particle and nano particle size. Starting by using the image segmentation process depending on the threshold method, it is used to get rid of the reflection of the glass slides on which the sesame samples are placed.  The classification process implemented to separate the sesame paste texture from normal and abnormal texture. The abnormal texture appears when the bacteria has been grown on the sesame paste after being left for two days in the air, unsupervised k-mean classification process used to classify the infected region, the normal region and the treated region. The bacteria treated with cold plasma, t

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