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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
Wed Dec 14 2016
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
Physical and Histological Evaluation of Coated Implant with Nano ZrO2 after Creation Titania Nanotubes
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Background: Contact between implant material and bones must be strong and fast creation, to fulfill these properties appropriate surface modifications must apply on used implants. In this contribution; double surface modifications are applied on Ti-6Al-4V alloy to accelerate osseointegration. Materials and methods: Anodic process is utilized to create titania nanotubes (TNTs) on the screws made from Ti-6Al-4V alloy. These implants were coated with nano ZrO2 particles. Second modification was annealing anodized screws at 8000C, and implanted in tibiae of nine adult New Zealand white rabbits. Results: Physical and histological consequences of two surface modifications on Ti-6Al-4V alloy screws were studied. Scanning electron microscope (SEM)

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Publication Date
Wed Aug 03 2022
Journal Name
Journal Of Accounting And Financial Studies ( Jafs )
The adequacy of foreign reserves and their role in the stability of the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar
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Many countries are very important in their interest not only in diversifying foreign reserves, but in determining and planning their volume in accordance with the goals set, namely facing potential external shocks, as the research aims to determine the extent of the strength of foreign reserves in the possession of the Central Bank in relation to every influential variable in the Iraqi economy. , in order to determine the minimum level of reserves that requires reconsideration of the exchange rate, as the research adopted the inductive analytical method in analyzing real (Quantitative data) for the research variables in the years of study, as the research adopted a set of analytical indicators approved by the International Moneta

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Publication Date
Mon Oct 14 2024
Journal Name
Irish Journal Of Medical Science (1971 -)
Comparison between early and late weight bearing after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery
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Publication Date
Sun Jun 20 2021
Journal Name
Baghdad Science Journal
Investigating the Aerodynamic Surface Roughness Length over Baghdad City Utilizing Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques
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This study calculated the surface roughness length (Zo), zero-displacement length (Zd) and height of the roughness elements (ZH) using GIS applications. The practical benefit of this study is to classify the development of Baghdad, choose the appropriate places for installing wind turbines, improve urban planning, find rates of turbulence, pollution and others. The surface roughness length (Zo) of Baghdad city was estimated based on the data of the wind speed obtained from an automatic weather station installed at Al-Mustansiriyah University, the data of the satellite images digital elevation model (DEM), and the digital surface model (DSM), utilizing Remote Sensing Techniques. The study area w

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Publication Date
Wed Sep 14 2016
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
Microleakage of Pit and Fissure Sealants after Using Different Occlusal Surface Preparation Techniques: An In Vitro Study
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Background: The marginal seal is essential for sealant success because penetration of bacteria under the sealant might allow caries onset or progression. The aim of the present study was to estimate and compare the microleakage of pit and fissure sealant after various methods of occlusal surface preparation. Materials and methods: Thirty non-carious premolars extracted for orthodontic reasons were equally divided into three groups. In group one, occlusal fissures were opened with round carbide bur, in group two, occlusal surfaces of the teeth were cleaned with a dry pointed bristle brush and samples of group three were cleaned with a slurry of fine flour of pumice in water using rubber cup. Then fissures of all teeth were etched using 35% p

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Publication Date
Mon Dec 25 2017
Journal Name
Biomedical And Pharmacology Journal
Effect of the Addition of Polyamide (Nylon 6) Micro-Particles on Some Mechanical Properties of RTV Maxillofacial Silicone Elastomer Before and After Artificial Aging
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Publication Date
Sun Apr 01 2018
Journal Name
Journal Of Educational And Psychological Researches
The effectiveness of Barman model in acquiring the historical concepts among fourth-grade literary students
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The researcher attempts to examine Barman model in acquiring the historical concepts among fourth-grade students at literary classrooms. To this end, the researcher held the null hypothesis, there is no significant difference between the experimental groups who was taught based on Barman model and the control group that taught based on the traditional method in acquiring the historical concepts on the post-test. To testify the effectiveness of Barman model, the researcher administered a questionnaire included (60) items on bunch of female-students who were selected from al-khamaeal preparatory school in al-hurriyah district in Baghdad. The author utilized different statistical tools to analyze the collected data.    &

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Publication Date
Sat Nov 30 2024
Journal Name
The Journal Of Infection In Developing Countries
Hematological profile among cutaneous leishmaniasis patients before and after treatment with sodium stibogluconate in Diyala, Iraq
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Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a common protozoan disease in Iraq characterized by localized ulcers, primarily on exposed skin. This study aimed to investigate the hematological parameters of infected patients using a complete blood count (CBC) in the endemic area of Diyala Governorate, northeast of Baghdad. This has been studied in newly diagnosed, untreated individuals and patients receiving sodium antimony gluconate. Methodology: Hematological screening was performed on blood samples from 161 patients with microscopically diagnosed cutaneous leishmaniasis before and after treatment. Anti-Leishmania IgG was also assessed by ELISA in seropositive and seronegative subjects. Results: The newly diagnosed, untreated pati

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Publication Date
Sun Dec 06 2009
Journal Name
Baghdad Science Journal
Seasonal Changes of Nutrient Concentrations in Water of Some Locations in Southern Iraqi Marshes, After Restoration.
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After restoration of Iraqi marshes during 2003, three locations were chosen, one in each main marsh (Um Al-Naaj site in Al-Hwaizeh marsh; Al-Nagarah site in Al-Hammar marsh and Al-Baghdadia site in Al-Chebaysh marsh) to determine the concentrations of nutrients (Nitrate, Nitrite, Phosphate and Silicate) in water seasonally for the period winter, spring, summer, and autumn at 2007. Five water replicates were collected from each site, seasonally. In the Lab., the samples were analyzed by colorimetric methods; the results showed that Um-Al-Naaj site has the highest nutrients level, while Al-Nagarah site has the lowest level. The statistical program t-test was applied at the significant levels (P-value < 0.01) and (P-value < 0.05) to know

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Publication Date
Fri Sep 25 2026
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
The Effects of Nano-Hydroxyapatite and Casein Phosphopeptide-Amorphous Calcium Phosphate in Preventing Loss of Minerals from Teeth after Exposure to an Acidic Beverage (An In vitro Study)
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Background: To evaluate the effect of antierosive agents (10% Nano-Hydroxyapatite (NHA), 10% Casein Phophopeptide-Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (CPP-ACP), and combination of 10% NHA and 10% CPP-ACP) on loss of minerals from enamel surface of permanent teeth treated with antierosive agents when exposed to an acidic beverage and investigate the morphological changes of treated enamel surface after demineralization with cola based beverage under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Materials and Methods: Sixty maxillary first premolars were randomly divided into four groups, 15 teeth for each group. Group I treated with 10% NHA, Group II treated with 10% CPP-ACP, Group III treated with 10% NHA and 10% CPP-ACP, and Group IV did not treat with any

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