The general crisis of research methods in the social sciences
Research methodology: philosophy and techniques, founded by philosophers and applied by scientists, and no accurate application of techniques except with a deep understanding of philosophy, as a prerequisite. This fact is almost completely absent from the Iraqi and Arab academic mentality. This constituted one of the dimensions of the double crisis - theoretical and applied - of research methods in the social sciences. As first, there is no philosophy of science, neither as an independent material nor as an introductory subject, but not even an oral confirmation. Secondly, the advancement of quantitative research methods are presented without a background philosophy, as solo methodologies studied in a simple way.
Thirdly, institutional dogmatism does not understand and accept only the quantitative methods familiar and prevalent, within a context of "foundational ignorance". Fourthly, administrative research, not the scientific one, based on the outward mentality, and the external motivation that have been formed as a result of long decades of scraping of the scientific mind and as a dedication to authoritarian, opportunistic and formal cultures. All these have cast the researcher away from his professionalism and his cognitive and social interests, in order to turn him into a searcher for an “academic certificate’ rather than a “knowledge”; a searcher for an “interest” not “value.”
Land snails constitute an important group of mollusks distributed worldwide. This study reports on land snails found in Iraq. A survey of terrestrial gastropods was performed during their activity seasons in gardens, agricultural lands and nurseries in Iraq from March 2022 to September 2023. Fifteen terrestrial snails belonging to seven families were documented. The species Euchondrus michonii (Bourguignat, 1853) was identified and recorded based on several distinct conchological characters for the first time in Iraq. The recently collected specimens, along with those previously recorded in Iraq, were included in this checklist. Essential information on each species is also presented. As there is no previous checklist or study that
... Show MoreThe rate of gas induction was measured in gas-inducing type mechanically agitated contactors provided with two impellers. A reactor of 0.5 m i.d. was used with a working capacity of 60 liters of liquid. Tap water was used as the liquid phase, and air was used as the gas phase. The bioreactor mixing system consists of two equal diameter stirrers; the top impeller is shrouded-disk/curved-blade turbine with six evacuated bending blades, while the bottom impeller was disk turbine. The impeller speed was varied in the range of 50 to 800 rpm. The ratio of impeller diameter to tank diameter (D/T) and the submergence (S) of upper impeller from the top were varied. The effects of clearance of lower impeller from the tank bottom (C2) an
... Show MoreTrickle irrigation is one of the most conservative irrigation techniques since it implies supplying water directly on the soil through emitters. Emitters dissipate energy of water at the end of the trickle irrigation system and provide water at emission points. The area wetted by an emitter depends upon the discharge of emitter, soil texture, initial soil water content, and soil permeability. The objectives of this research were to predict water distribution profiles through different soils for different conditions and quantify the distribution profiles in terms of main characteristics of soil and emitter. The wetting patterns were simulated at the end of each hour for a total time of application of 12 hrs, emitter disch
... Show MoreHepatitis, an inflammation of the liver, has a number of infectious and non-infectious causes. Two of the viruses that cause hepatitis (hepatitis A and E) can be transmitted through water and food; hygiene is therefore important in their control. First, to assess the importance of HAV and HEV as a possible diagnosis for clinically diagnosed patients with acute viral hepatitis. Second, to assess the prevalence of hepatitis A and E in all provinces of Iraq and study its association with age, gender. This study consisted of two groups: The first group consisted of 2975 patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute viral hepatitis. The second group consisted of a total of 9610 persons, which were recruited by surveying a nationally representative
... Show MoreIn recent years, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are attracting more attention in many fields as they are extensively used in a wide range of applications, such as environment monitoring, the Internet of Things, industrial operation control, electric distribution, and the oil industry. One of the major concerns in these networks is the limited energy sources. Clustering and routing algorithms represent one of the critical issues that directly contribute to power consumption in WSNs. Therefore, optimization techniques and routing protocols for such networks have to be studied and developed. This paper focuses on the most recent studies and algorithms that handle energy-efficiency clustering and routing in WSNs. In addition, the prime
... Show MoreFish are regarded as a crucial indicator of alterations in the aquatic environment due to their position at the apex of the food chain. Monitoring these alterations is crucial for identifying modifications in the aquatic ecosystem. The principal elements influencing fish health are temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, pesticide contamination, microplastics, and algal presence. These elements substantially influence fish health regarding development, reproduction, respiration, oxygen stress, and the internal enzymes associated with digesting and other metabolic functions. Alterations in global environmental conditions and anthropogenic pollutants result in modifications to fish populations, their lives, and their behavior and
... Show MoreThis study examines emotional blackmail from a discursive pragmatic standpoint to gain insights into how this psychologically manipulative phenomenon is revealed in the discourse of some American movies. Five extracts from five American movies are purposely selected and analyzed using an eclectic model based on a discursive pragmatic approach to navigate this unexplored study area. The model incorporates Halliday’s (2014) transitivity system, Martin and White’s (2005) attitude system, Forward and Frazier’s (1997) types and tools of emotional blackmail, and Mayfield’s (2010) informal fallacies. The present study is guided by four research questions that identify the types and tools of emotional blackmail employed in the selec
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