Search Results (46)

Fallujah, by Jonathan Holmes (2007), is one of the archetypal examples of verbatim theatre, which addresses the truths of the Iraq War through dramatised eyewitness accounts and documentation reconstructions. Sketched in the Second Battle of Fallujah, the play reveals moral, political, and epistemological aspects of how modern warfare is presented. This article hinges on the postmodern theory of Jean-François Lyotard—especially the concepts of language games, paralogy, and the differend—to discuss the play Fallujah as a subversion of official grand narratives of the Iraq War. Through the use of testimonial intertextuality, irony and fragmentation, Holmes builds a multidimensional tableau of discourse contradictions in which truth is relative, and legitimacy is constantly deferred. The play turns into a meta-discursive critique of Western power dynamics, challenging the manner in which the knowledge is created, distributed, and twisted in the name of liberation and humanitarianism. Further, the article examines both dramaturgical and aesthetic techniques that lend truthfulness to Holmes’ concept of the verbatim approach as it dislocates the truth in relation to war and victimhood. The results help us comprehend the role of modern theatre in the reconstruction of the cultural memory and morality in the post-war era. The article concludes that Fallujah is a vivid example of postmodern theatrical resistance, an ethical and artistic response to commodity violence and the obliteration of lived suffering. Full article

Objective: Although there has been substantial research on post-traumatic stress disorder and its commonly comorbid conditions, the unique associations among these mental health symptoms and relationship adjustment have not been investigated. The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of the associations among PTSD and relationship adjustment for female and male veterans, as well as to account for the impact of comorbid symptoms of depression and problematic alcohol use in a large sample. Method: Participants were 2325 (n = 1122 men and 1203 women) veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from a larger study exploring wartime experiences and post-deployment adjustment. Chi-square analyses and regressions tested the associations among mental health symptoms (PTSD symptom severity, depressive symptoms, and problematic alcohol use) and relationship status and adjustment. Results: For both men and women, those with probable PTSD were less likely to be in an intimate relationship than those without probable PTSD, and those in intimate relationships had lower PTSD symptom severity compared with those not in intimate relationships. However, when accounting for PTSD, depression, and problematic alcohol use simultaneously, only depression emerged as a significant negative predictor of relationship adjustment. Conclusions: Shared variance among these common post-traumatic mental health conditions comorbidities may be most responsible for PTSD’s negative association with relationship adjustment. Unique remaining variance of depression is also negatively associated with relationship adjustment. Treatment implications of these findings for individual and couple therapy post-trauma are provided. Full article

The air quality in Mosul was adversely affected both directly and indirectly during and after the conflict phase, spanning from the occupation to the liberation of the city from ISIS (2014–2017). Direct impacts included the ignition of oil fields and sulphur deposits, as well as the use of military weapons and their propellants. Indirectly, the air quality was also compromised by various other factors negatively affecting the quality due to excessive emission levels of air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and other toxic gases. Six important locations in the city of Mosul were selected, and the concentrations of the parameters PM2.5, PM10, formaldehyde (HCHO), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), NO₂ and SO₂ were determined at monthly intervals during the year 2022. The sites were selected both according to their proximity and their specific distance from the direct conflict zone. The aim was to assess the present pollutant levels based on WHO guidelines and to compare the results with previous pre-war studies to understand the long-term war impact on air quality. The results showed that the annual average values of PM2.5, PM10 and NO₂ were above the WHO limits at all locations throughout the year. In contrast, the annual average values of TVOC, HCHO and SO₂ were within the limits in the hot months but exceeded them in the cold months (December to March), which can be attributed to the use of heating material in winter. Two sites revealed higher pollution levels than the others, which can be attributed to their proximity to the devastated areas (conflict zones), high traffic density and a high density of power generators. These factors were further exacerbated by post-war migration from the destroyed and unsafe areas. Thus, in addition to the short-term effects of burning oil fields and sulphur deposits, as well as airborne weapon emissions, the increase in traffic, the use of decentralized power generators, and the higher demand for heating oil, progressive desertification due to deforestation and the destruction of extensive green areas, as well as increasing and unaddressed environmental violations in general, can be held responsible for declining air quality in the urban area. This work should be considered as preliminary work to emphasise the urgent need for conventional air quality monitoring to consolidate air quality data and monitor the effectiveness of different approaches to mitigate war-related air quality deterioration. Possible approaches include the implementation of air purification technologies, the preservation of existing ecosystems, the replacement of fossil energy sources with renewable energy options, proactive and sustainable urban planning and enforcing strict air quality regulations and policies to control and reduce pollution levels. Full article

The present study addresses the war-related soil contamination with heavy metals in the urban area of Mosul/Iraq as a result of the war of liberation from ISIS (2014–2017). In order to cover seasonal influences, a total of eight sample sets from soils in the conflict area and adjacent areas were collected over the course of the year in two three-month test series, and the parameters pH, E.C., salinity and the heavy metals Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr and Ni were taken as indicators for contamination. Results showed average heavy metal levels in the conflict areas above the global average limits, with some limits also being exceeded in the adjacent areas. All sampling sites were highly contaminated with Cd and moderately contaminated with Pb. The Igeo contamination factors indicated that the sampling sites in the conflict area were moderately to heavily contaminated with Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr and Ni, while the pollution load index indicated that all sites in the conflict zone were extremely to heavily contaminated with heavy metals. The study data give cause for concern that heavy metals may be released into other ecosystems. Full article

Planned by the British in the aftermath of World War I, the new state of Iraq—ruled by the Hashemite kingdom (1921–1958) under British mandate—emerged on the land of Mesopotamia and inherited its enormous cultural and architectural legacy. Colonial discourse was adopted by the British during the Hashemite reign to impose Western culture and hegemony. This paper reviews the impact of this colonial discourse in terms of Western architectural knowledge mobility on shaping Iraqi contemporary architecture in this epoch. The paper traces the education of nine notable early Iraqi architects with Western architectural academic backgrounds and studies 13 of their public buildings executed in 1936–1958, to reveal the stance of those architects toward this discourse and how their buildings connected to the legacy of Iraqi architecture. Findings rest on a style-coverage of the main local architectural legacy and Western architectural façade’s characteristics to detect and examine the nature and intensity of the transformations that the façades of these buildings exhibit compared to local traditions. Findings show that knowledge mobility helped develop certain types of architects’ responses toward local architectural traditions and colonial discourse that evolved through time during the study target epoch. Full article

Water scarcity is an important threat to food security in the Euphrates–Tigris river. Water scarcity is a huge worldwide problem that results from the rapid increase in water demand, which exceeds the amount of available water. The most significant problems currently affecting countries are food insecurity water scarcity. The Euphrates–Tigris river countries suffer from different political issues, such as the Syrian war and internal civil conflicts in Iraq. In addition, this area consists of only three countries: Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, but it affects the entire Middle East. Turkey has established many irrigation projects compared to Iraq, which still suffers from the previous American invasion. Therefore, this study examines the Euphrates–Tigris river (using two countries) to examine the relationship between water scarcity and food security from 1992 to 2020. This study will be conducted using a fixed and random regression approach over 18 years. The results show a negative relationship between water scarcity and food security in the short run, at a 10% significance level, and a long-term positive relationship of 1%. Thus, the use of research and development and the encouragement of investments will help policymakers to develop a nexus between water scarcity and food security. Full article

The war-related contamination of water and sediment of the Tigris River within the urban area of Mosul leads to seasonally independent exceedances of the WHO limit values for Cd, Pb, Cr, and Ni in water and sediments. Furthermore, exceedances consistently occur for conductivity, ${\mathrm{P}\mathrm{O}}_4^{3-}$, and ${\mathrm{S}\mathrm{O}}_4^{2-}$, as well as sporadically for salinity and COD in water samples, and consistently for salinity in sediment samples, highlighting the direct impact of war (ammunition, ignition of sulfur fields), as well as indirect effects (destroyed wastewater infrastructure). Conflict-related emissions from the former conflict zone (S5–S7) are highlighted by the sudden increases in load from S4 to S5, although partially masked by the discharge of highly polluted water from the Khosr River (between S3 and S4). Due to the sorption of sediments and the presumed wind-borne discharge of highly polluted particles into the Tigris River, sediments at S10 on the southern edge of Mosul showed the highest pollutant loads. Significant statistical differences were observed through T-test analyses for E.C., TDS, salinity, COD, ${\mathrm{P}\mathrm{O}}_4^{3-}$, ${\mathrm{N}\mathrm{O}}_3^{-}$, ${\mathrm{S}\mathrm{O}}_4^{2-}$, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr, and Ni for water samples, as well as salinity, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cr for the sediment samples for seasonal comparison. Since the percentage difference of water samples at S4–S7 is smaller than upstream and downstream, contaminant input is not limited to rainwater but also occurs via the year-round infiltration of highly polluted wastewater from the surrounding valleys or suburban areas, as well as presumably polluted groundwater or windblown particulate input. Full article

The theme of architectural reconstruction has gained significant prominence within the discipline of architecture, intersecting with the increasing complexity of contemporary events, especially complex socio-political scenarios including deliberate city destruction, often referred to as urbicide. Preservation strategies that safeguard the memory and values embedded in places have become imperative to protect this urban tangible and intangible heritage. This study explores the application of architectural reconstruction in the post-war context of Mosul (Iraq) dealing mainly with the selection of traces, combining a strategy based half on physical evidence and half on the reconstruction of memory devices, and intertwining them into an operative procedure hopefully supporting urban reconstruction. The study’s results indicate that architectural interventions focused on revitalizing these symbolic spaces play a pivotal role in reconstituting the inhabitants’ habits and sense of community in Mosul. The projects, including the Souq and the Great Mosque and districts, successfully address various challenges, including the harmonious fusion of tradition and modernization, the delicate balance between memory and oblivion, and the careful negotiation between reconstruction and restoration. Full article

This paper reviews the future trends, the present situation and the prospects facing the application of Industry 4.0 technologies (e.g., Drones, texting technologies, GPS, etc.) in Iraq’s agricultural sector in general and small agribusiness industries in particular. Iraq struggles with chronic structural and emerging challenges that have hindered its food production over the years. In 2019, Iraq’s population had increased to around 39 million people, compared to 23.5 million Iraqis in 2000. This shift amounts to a 66% increase in population in 20 years. Food supply, whether locally produced or imported, has been struggling to catch up with the population growth, and Iraq has become increasingly dependent on food imports to meet domestic demand. Between 1985 and 2017, food imports increased from USD 2 billion to USD 11 billion, growing from 19 to 21% of total imports. Iraq’s economy has been highly dependent on the oil sector; with declining oil prices, politicians and international communities have emphasised that modern and smart agriculture that applies Industry 4.0 technology can increase productivity and be a source of job creation, income generation and self-reliance. Nonetheless, evidence obtained via this exploratory study using unstructured interviews (3 out 33) via an interpretive approach and conducting thematic analysis of the interviews with farmers and agri-entrepreneurs indicate that there is a long journey ahead before Iraq can rely on agriculture and new technologies, instead of oil, for its economy and to improve its food system. Moreover, Iraq’s political turmoil and uncertainty, the cyclical conflict and wars, and the corruption and mismanagement of state resources exacerbate this problem. Indeed, farmers face many challenges, such as a lack of infrastructure and security, the dominance of state-owned enterprises, and financing issues, with many farm owners struggling to access finance since there is no clear banking or credit system. On top of that issue, the diminishing of tacit knowledge among the farmers and the labour shortage issue in the agricultural sector hinders application of smart technology, as the majority of workers remaining in the market are unskilled labour. This study contributed to the literature on the application of smart technologies in agriculture and its socioeconomic effects. The exploratory nature of this study identifies areas for future research. Additionally, the arguments presented in this research highlight the challenges farmers and agri-entrepreneurs face in adopting new technologies and the tactics that they use to survive in a hostile environment like Iraq. It will also offer suggestions to help policymakers and international communities focus on intervention to help farmers and agri-entrepreneurs in Iraq to improve their performance. Full article

Intrusion detection systems (IDS) play a crucial role in securing networks and identifying malicious activity. This is a critical problem in cyber security. In recent years, metaheuristic optimization algorithms and deep learning techniques have been applied to IDS to improve their accuracy and efficiency. Generally, optimization algorithms can be used to boost the performance of IDS models. Deep learning methods, such as convolutional neural networks, have also been used to improve the ability of IDS to detect and classify intrusions. In this paper, we propose a new IDS model based on the combination of deep learning and optimization methods. First, a feature extraction method based on CNNs is developed. Then, a new feature selection method is used based on a modified version of Growth Optimizer (GO), called MGO. We use the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) to boost the search process of the GO. Extensive evaluation and comparisons have been conducted to assess the quality of the suggested method using public datasets of cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) environments. The applied techniques have shown promising results in identifying previously unknown attacks with high accuracy rates. The MGO performed better than several previous methods in all experimental comparisons. Full article

The present study investigates the effect of business ethics on happiness, aggression and inconsistency of effort and reward of auditors in Iran and Iraq. The statistical population of the present study includes all partners, managers and auditors working in audit institutions in Iran and partners of the audit institutions, assistant auditors, auditors, individual second rank and individual first rank, with a total of 365 questionnaires completed by Iranian respondents out of 450 questionnaires and 250 questionnaires completed by Iraqi respondents out of 350 questionnaires, a total of 615 questionnaires from the two countries in 2022. Also, the methods of variance analysis and ordinary least squares regression and Smart PLS 3 and Stata 15 software were used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The results from testing this research’s hypotheses indicate a negative and significant relationship between business ethics and aggression, effort-reward mismatch and a positive and significant relationship between business ethics and happiness. Since the current research was conducted in the emerging financial markets of Iran and Iraq, which are highly competitive, along with having special economic conditions, and since the occupation of the ISIS terrorist group, the civil wars in Iraq, severe world economic sanctions against Iran and the global crisis of Covid-19 in Iran and Iraq have led to special conditions, the current research can bring helpful information to readers and help the development of science and knowledge in this field. Full article

Unexploded Ordnances (UXOs) are considered a global concern and a persistent hazard due to their capability to endanger civilians and the place where they are located, and the probability of remaining active explosives even after decades of ending a conflict. Hence, risk education is crucial for providing individuals with life-saving knowledge on recognizing, avoiding, and reporting UXO threats. The main objective of this study is to develop a web augmented reality (AR) application to investigate the effect of WAR on non-explosive ordnance risk education. Firstly, UXO 3D models are edited and constructed using the Blender 3D computer graphics software. Secondly, the proposed web AR application is developed using MindAR JavaScript-based library. Finally, the web application QR code and UXO Hiro codes are printed on infographics and brochures to be distributed to secondary school students aged 12 to 18 at six public and private schools in Tikrit City, Salah al-Din governorate, Iraq. Survey questions are validated and distributed to be collected from 137 respondents. The present study shows that the proposed web AR application increased respondents’ information in identifying UXO by 54.7%. Approximately 70% of respondents use the Internet for more than 3 h daily. Institutions should use new risk education methods in line with the tremendous technological growth and invest students’ knowledge and time in this field. Better risk education teaching methods can save lives. Full article

Domestication of new plants is one of the key (ongoing) phenomena in the history of agriculture. Wild plants are the ancestors of current and future crops and the largest reservoir of genetic diversity for crop breeding and improvement. Wild food species have been used for human nutrition since ancient times and are often the object of human strategies for coping with emergency situations, such as natural disasters and conflicts. We analyzed qualitative data collected through ethnobotanical field studies conducted in recent years in five selected Eurasian regions (Afghanistan, Kurdistan region of Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and Ukraine) that have been recently affected by wars and/or socio-political turbulence. Data were collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with local people. We identified five taxa for each region, which are culturally very salient in the local food systems, that retain an important economic value in local markets, and that, therefore, could be good candidates for becoming novel crops. The cultivation of the reported species may significantly help local communities in their post-war livelihoods and especially in terms of food security and domestic nutritional care. Future studies should focus on the agronomic feasibility of the highlighted species within their regional ecosystems. Full article

Extensive asphalt pavements have persisted along >25 km (km) of shoreline on Abu Ali Island, on the Arabian (Persian) Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, reportedly stranding as a result of the 1983–1985 Nowruz oil spills. A study was conducted in October 2020 to support development of a remediation plan. Cross-shore transects were surveyed at 100 m intervals and 1434 shovel test pits were dug to determine oil type, thickness, and depth of burial. Oiling of any description was observed at 76% of the pits. Using 15 diagnostic biomarker ratios, only 5 of the 94 oiled samples from Abu Ali Island in 2020 likely contain other oils. Data on historical spills were identified from the literature. Based on chemical biomarker data for potential source oils in the northern Arabian (Persian) Gulf, the diagnostic ratio for the biomarkers 18a-22,29,30-Trisnorneohopane (Ts) and 17a(H)-22,29,30-Trisnorhopane (Tm) for the 94 samples only matched one Iraq crude oil. No large individual spills of Iraq crude oil were identified in the literature or spill databases, although releases of both Kuwait and Iraq crudes were reported for the 1991 Gulf War oil spills. However, oil residues from Abu Ali did not match most prior samples of Saudi shoreline oiling from the Gulf War oil spills, which largely consisted of spilled Kuwait crude. Though we cannot definitely conclude that the majority of the residual oil on Abu Ali Island delineated during the 2020 survey is oil from the Nowruz oil spills, because there is no source oil from these spills, we use a weight of evidence approach to say that it is highly likely that the majority of the residual oiling is from the Nowruz spills. Full article

Migration to Germany has been a fact of life for the average German since the 1960s. Immigrants started arriving from countries like Turkey, Spain, Greece, or Italy as a post-war labor force was invited to Germany to address workforce shortages. Many of these immigrants ultimately brought their families to live in Germany. One group of these newcomers was Aramean families of Syriac Orthodox faith, forced to flee the Tur Abdin region in southeast Turkey via Syria, Lebanon, and Northern Iraq. This paper will discuss the background and impetus for moving to the West for this immigrant group in detail. It will review the impacts on the life of devout Syriac Orthodox families while living in Germany, a secular country. It will also take an initial look at whether evangelical communities in Germany can come alongside this group, still suffering from a different kind of persecution: the “otherness” of living in Germany. Full article