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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
Thu Dec 24 2020
Journal Name
Advances In Civil Engineering
Analytical study on torsional behavior of concrete beams strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer laminates using softened truss model
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This study aimed at evaluating the torsional capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) beams externally wrapped with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. An analytical model was described and used as a new computational procedure based on the softened truss model (STM) to predict the torsional behavior of RC beams strengthened with FRP. The proposed analytical model was validated with the existing experimental data for rectangular sections strengthened with FRP materials and considering torque-twist relationship and crack pattern at failure. The confined concrete behavior, in the case of FRP wrapping, was considered in the constitutive laws of concrete in the model. Then, an efficient algorithm was developed in MATLAB environment t

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Publication Date
Fri Sep 01 2023
Journal Name
Journal Of Building Engineering
Discharge performance assessment of a vertical double-pipe latent heat storage unit equipped with circular Y-shaped fins
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This paper aims to study the effect of circular Y-shaped fin arrangement to improve the low thermal response rates of a double-tube heat exchanger containing Paraffin phase change material (PCM). ANSYS software is employed to perform the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of the heat exchanger, including fluid flow, heat transfer, and the phase change process. The optimum state of the fin configuration is derived through sensitivity analysis by evaluating the geometrical parameters of the Y-shaped fin. For the same height of the fins (10 mm), the solidification time is reduced by almost 22%, and the discharging rate is enhanced by almost 26% using Y-shaped fins compared with the straight fins. The results demonstrate that the sol

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Publication Date
Sun Dec 01 2019
Journal Name
Journal Of Accounting And Financial Studies ( Jafs )
دراسة تحليلية لظاهرة الفساد الاداري والمالي في بعض المؤسسات الصحية لمحافظة القادسية: An analytical study of the phenomenon of administrative and financial corruption in some health institutions in Al-Qadisiyah Governorate
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Certainly there is a negative impact on development due to corruption in its corruption forms It is administrative and financial as well as direct impact on all sectors Including the health sector, which has seen in Iraq a marked setback in performance and services , The research aims at the possibility of demonstrating the negative effects of financial and administrative corruption on health institutions and Inability to meet health needs The extent to which Regulatory institutions and institutions manage to reduce financial and administrative corruption and ways of dealing with it The phenomenon of financial and administrative corruption is the most serious phenomenon because of its impact on economic growth, which in turn impedes the

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Publication Date
Sun Nov 01 2015
Journal Name
Journal Of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences And Applications
Treatment of localized vitiligo with 1% pimecrolimus Cream versus 0.05% clobetasol propionate cream—single, blinded, comparative therapeutic trial
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KE Sharquie, HR Al-Hamamy, AA Noaimi, KA Ali, Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications, 2015 - Cited by 3

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Publication Date
Mon May 27 2019
Journal Name
Al-academy
A Hypothesis of Architectural Environment Exercise for Actor Training (Continuous exercise space workshop – A model): هيثم عبد الرزاق علي
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The peculiarity of the theater does not lie in its dramatic content because many literary genres and other artistic styles share with it in this content. The peculiarity of the theater lies in contemplating the drama through what is architectural, and this architectural axis is what distinguishes its character. It is a spatial poetry which is composed by the laws of physics and chemistry, (Weight, height, distance, rhythm, gravity, impulses and chemical excretions). i.e., what cannot be expressed in words. This is a game of space to exchange and organize energy and communicate in space by the living body, which contains the possibilities of the living drawing in space: in the time and place. This research deals with the importance of the

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Publication Date
Thu Jan 30 2025
Journal Name
Iraqi Journal Of Agricultural Sciences
FIRST RECORD OF RED ALGAE POLYSIPHONIA SUBTILISSIMA (MONTAGNE, 1840) (FAMILY: RHODOMELACEAE) COLLECTED FROM KARACHI COAST PAKISTAN (NORTHERN ARABIAN SEA).
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This study presents a detailed morphology and taxonomic study of Polysiphonia subtilissima collected from Abdul Rehman Goth, Karachi coast, Pakistan. Polysiphonia is a filamentous heterotrichous red algae, characterized by its branching structures and attachment mechanisms. P. subtilissima is notable for its broad salinity tolerance and wide distribution across marine and freshwater ecosystems. This research provides an in-depth examination of the internal and external structures of P. subtilissima, contributing to its systematic study and documenting its first recorded occurrence in Pakistani coastal areas, bordering the northern Arabian Sea. The findings enhance the understanding of the species taxonomy and its ecological role in

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Publication Date
Mon Jul 10 2023
Journal Name
Journal Of Engineering
Experimental Study of Pre-Cast Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams (Hallow Core section) Retrofitting with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP)
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Experimental programs based test results has been used as a means to find out the response of individual elements of structure. In the present study involves investigated behavior of five reinforced concrete deep beams of dimension (length 1200 x height 300 x width150mm) under two points concentrated load with shear span to depth ratio of (1.52), four of these beams with hallow core and
retrofit with carbon fiber reinforced polymer CFRP (with single or double or sides Strips). Two shapes of hallow are investigated (circle and square section) to evaluated the response of beams in case experimental behavior. Test on simply supported beam was performed in the laboratory & loaddeflection, strain of concrete data and crack pattern of

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Publication Date
Sat Jun 01 2024
Journal Name
Case Studies In Chemical And Environmental Engineering
Optimization of photocatalytic process with SnO2 catalyst for COD reduction from petroleum refinery wastewater using a slurry bubble photoreactor
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Publication Date
Wed Feb 01 2023
Journal Name
Measurement: Sensors
Dynamic monitoring of saturated stiff clay soil foundation structure by falling weight deflectometer system under impact loads sensors effect
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Experiments research is done to determine how saturated stiff clayey soil responds to a single impulsive load. Models made of saturated, stiff clay were investigated. To supply the single pulse energy, various falling weights from various heights were tested using the falling weight deflectometer (FWD). Dynamic effects can range from the major failure of a sensitive sensor or system to the apparent destruction of structures. This study examines the response of saturated stiff clay soil to a single impulsive load (vertical displacement at the soil surface below and beside the bearing plates). Such reactions consist of displacements, velocities, and accelerations caused by the impact occurring at the surface depth induced by the impact loads

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Publication Date
Wed Nov 23 2022
Journal Name
Dental Hypotheses
Remineralization of Dentine Caries Using Moringa Oleifera Based Nano-Silver Fluoride: A Single-Blinded, Randomized, Active-Controlled Clinical Trial
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