Historic cities such as Old Najaf are challenged with balancing the preservation of their cultural and architectural heritage against the pressures of modern urban development. Being one of the major religious centers for Shia Islam, Old Najaf receives annual millions of pilgrims and tourists, pressuring its infrastructure and threatening its historic façade. The aim of this study was to explore the viability of integrated approaches that balance heritage conservation with sustainable urban development, and lessons learned from international best practices, as well as stakeholder perspectives on this issue in the face of these challenges. This prompted the study to identify the challenges and opportunities for the heritage preservation and sustainable development in Old Najaf. It aims to comprehend the way residents and experts understand the dynamics of these layers through a mixed methods approach as well as derive actionable lessons learned after comparative analyses with case studies in Fes, Morocco and Kyoto, Japan. The study also explores the role that emerging technologies, regulation, and citizen engagement can play in addressing this trade-off education about Artificial Intelligence. The study shows that the major impediments for Old Najaf heritage are unplanned urban growth, inadequate infrastructure and mass tourism. Survey responses show that both residents and experts prioritize stricter zoning laws at the city's level, improved infrastructure for those corridors and sustainable tourism practices. In Fes, a city already leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as digital twins in urban planning, and building on advances made by Kyoto in GIS, comparative insights from both cities show the need to embed advanced technologies within strong policy frameworks supported by community-led initiatives. The findings underscore the need for holistic and context-sensitive strategies to protect the cultural heritage of Old Najaf, in line with sustainable development. ©2025 The authors.
Terahertz (THz) technology, which uses radiation lying between microwave and infrared in the electromagnetic spectrum, could revolutionize digital agriculture through terahertz’s ability to assess agricultural materials accurately and non-destructively. The review discusses notable developments in THz applications to digital agriculture: real-time crop monitoring, nutrient and disease detection, soil moisture and contaminant analysis, and supply chain traceability. The developments have emerged from studies in time-domain spectroscopy, imaging, machine learning (ML), and blockchain integration. Despite the promising advances in THz agricultural applications, limitations remain, such as limited penetration depth, high system costs, and ope
... Show MoreThe research is based on a statement of the effect and nature of the relationship of elements of promotional mix represented by (advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing) as the independent variable in the dependent variable represented in the competitive advantage in the General Company for the manufacture of medicines and medical supplies Samarra. Analytical descriptive in the theoretical side, through the use of a number of literature from scientific sources (books, research and studies published in Arab and foreign magazines) was also relied on the methodology of the case study in the practical side, Data collection using the questionnaire tool, which was designed using the triangular Like
... Show MoreBackground: Antimicrobial prescribing patterns have an important role in the emergence of resistance, and community pharmacists have a substantial influence on this issue. Objective: To assess community pharmacists' behaviors and attitudes toward antimicrobial dispensing, determine their proportions and categories, and examine the underlying rationales for this practice. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists in Iraq was conducted from June to August 2023, using a self-administered validated questionnaire. The attitudes, practices, and motivations driving the distribution of antimicrobials without a prescription (AWP) were explored in three areas. Results: A sizable proportion (61.6%) of respondents rejected
... Show MoreThis study tries to examine a model involving human resources management practices, employees’ outcomes, governmental support, and organizational performance of small businesses in Malaysia. It was hypothesized that HRM practices will be positively related to the organizational performance (financial and operational), and that employees’ outcomes would serve as a mediator in the relationship between HRM practices and performance. Also it was hypothesized that the governmental support will be positively related to organizational performance. The statistical results on data gathered from a sample of 265 small manufacturing businesses will demonstrate the nature of relationships among the study variables. Theoretical and practical
... Show MoreThis paper addresses the factors responsible for changes in crude oil prices, in real market and financial sector. In order to prepare the analytical background for further investigation, it highlights the patterns of correlations of the real oil price and the most related prices of assets, exchange rate and government bond yield. The paper reviews the statistical behavior of oil price, quantities and the global macroeconomic environment. Topics discussed include the theory of differential rent and scarcity effect ,the role of future market and speculation, strategies of energy of the major economies to investigate the prospects of oil market and the potential demand for OPEC's oil. The paper explores the
... Show MoreThis review focuses on conservation agriculture (CA) and its effects on increasing the soil’s resistance to erosion. CA involves minimum soil disturbance (minimum tillage/ no-till), diversified crop rotation, and maintenance of the soil cover to increase soil fertility and reduce erosion. CA reduces soil loss by up to 90% and water erosion by approximately 50 to 70% from runoff as it increases the health of the soil, yield of crops, and water-retention capacity of the soil by incorporating soil organic matter and promoting biodiversity. Crop rotation prevents the replenishment and depletion of soil nutrients by atmospheric fixation of nitrogen/biological nitrogen fixation. Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a new strategy in which travel
... Show MoreHuman resources are considered as strategic fortune for being the main driver of the development wheel in the society, and the field of education and learning is one of the main pillars of this fortune for its great effect in the process of economic and social progress of individuals. I was the subject of education to the concerns of many countries, as adopted national policies . And regional support and the reduction of constraints, so came our study (education hub for human development) to identify the role of education in human development and to identify the obstacles facing the education process and the extent of its impacts negatively on the process of human development also contribute to the knowledge of school enrollment and the
... Show MoreA geological model was built for the Sadi reservoir, located at the Halfaya oil field. It is regarded as one of the most significant oilfields in Iraq. The study includes several steps, the most essential of which was importing well logs from six oil wells to the Interactive Petrophysics software for conducting interpretation and analysis to calculate the petrophysical properties such as permeability, porosity, shale volume, water saturation, and NTG and then importing maps and the well tops to the Petrel software to build the 3D-Geological model and to calculate the value of the original oil in place. Three geological surfaces were produced for all Sadi units based on well-top data and the top Sadi structural map. The reservoir has
... Show MoreBackground: Nutrition can affect the development and integrity of the oral cavity as well as the progression of oral diseases such as dental caries which was the most predominant and wide spread not life threatening human diseases especially in developing countries as in Iraq. This study was conducted to assess the occurrence, prevalence and severity of dental caries condition and their relations to nutritional status among intermediate schools females in Al-Najaf city in Iraq. Materials and methods: This study was conducted among intermediate schools females aged 13, 14 and15 years old and the total sample consisted of 754 students. The assessment of nutritional status was performed using body mass index (BMI) following Centers for Diseas
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