Arab Countries Of Middle East Research Articles

A brief synopsis of the psychosocial educational practices in the Arab higher education institutions: a first person’s viewpoint

Abstract This is a reflection brief on the psychosocial educational practices in higher education institutions in several Middle East Arab countries. These practices have influenced and led to the formation of current mentalities (i.e., the way of thinking about the prospect and outlook for the future) and realities in the region. The points recounted in this brief could be used as educational learning outcomes for higher education and formal schooling reforms. In the same way that failure is a result of within, success must also come from within.

Challenges and Construction Applications of Solid Waste Management in Middle East Arab Countries

Over the past few decades, solid waste production, specifically construction waste, in Middle Eastern Arab countries has dramatically increased. This is characterized by several factors, including rapid urbanization, common food wasting habits, diverse culture, lack of proper planning of solid waste processes, insufficient equipment, as well as lack of proper funding. The exponential growth in solid waste generation rates has led to hazards to health and the environment, causing issues related to air and water pollution under the already increasing pressure of climate change. In this review, we analyze the current solid waste challenges in 13 Arab countries, common diseases, and actual projects applied. The selection of Arab countries was mainly based on the countries with the highest population as well as the availability of data in the field of study. This review also highlights the efforts of the Arab governments that implemented several pilot projects that are not sustainable or effective in the long term. We discuss the main issues facing each Arab country and the main challenges they have in common, as well as the potential to use the great amounts of construction waste in these countries. It is recommended that proper disposal and collection plans should be prioritized in the municipalities’ agendas since air and water pollution represent the main challenge in all Arab countries. Adequate treatment, recycling, and compost production facilities should be initiated and monitored regularly to take advantage of the relatively high percentage of organic matter in most Arab countries. Proper cooperation between the informal sector, private companies, and governments should be ensured in order to achieve long-term goals in the solid waste management (SWM) sector in MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) Arab countries. This review provides a comprehensive study of the construction waste in MENA Arab countries that will help reach the goal of achieving sustainable countries.

Aid, Trade or Faith? Questioning Narratives and Territorial Pattern of Gulf Foreign Aid

ABSTRACT The paper introduces and examines the narratives and specifics of Gulf bilateral donors—namely the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. It confronts established narratives with current data and trends and includes the perspective of both Western and Arab scholars. The research points to some new trends among Gulf donors, notably the diversification of their aid sectors and the strengthening of the distinctiveness of Gulf donors from other southern donors. The research also focuses on the narratives about bilateral aid allocation factors of Gulf donors. The results confirm the continuing preference of Arab countries in Middle East and North Africa with predominately Muslim populations. However, aid is not evenly allocated among recipients in the MENA region, and the different and sometimes conflicting (geo)political and security interests of Gulf donors play an important role in the territorial distribution of aid. In addition to these strategic considerations behind the allocation of aid from Gulf donors, the study reveals certain importance of social needs’ factors in distribution of Emirati and Kuwaiti official aid.

War and the Nation-Building of Arab States in the Middle East

This paper adopts Charles Tilley’s “War-Driven Model” to discuss the state-building of Arab countries in the Middle East. This paper discusses the two aspects of national capacity and national identity in state construction, and argues that due to the special geopolitics of Middle East Arab countries, countries in the region cannot improve their national capacity in war, including financial absorption capacity and social control capacity; on the one hand, war and domestic ethnic conflict have fallen into a vicious circle of mutual cause and effect. Therefore, this paper argues that war has a more negative effect on the current construction of Arab states.

Трудовые мигранты с арабского Востока в Швеции: изменение парадигмы

Middle East Arab diasporas, primarily the Iraqi and Syrian ones, are playing an increasing role in the economy and demography of Sweden. This study aims to describe the formation of economically active diasporas in Sweden over the past three decades. There has been a paradigm shift in the immigration and business activity of people from the Middle East Arab countries in Sweden. Diaspora leadership changes depending on the situation in the countries of origin and migration phenomena driven by political and military shocks. This change affects the migration process and the role of communities in the economic life of the country. The study draws on the work of top research centres and data from leading Swedish and international statistical agencies. The rise and subsequent decline in Syrian immigration, which included labour migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, did not restore the unconditional leadership of the Iraqis among the Arab communities of Sweden. The significant business activity of Syrian immigrants, their professional skills, level of education, and broad business ties make the diaspora a likely leader in the Arab community. These four factors also contribute to easier migrant integration into Swedish society.

Heart Failure in the Middle East Arab Countries: Current and Future Perspectives.

For many years, data about heart failure (HF) was only limited to Western countries but in the last few years, well designed heart failure registries have been conducted in many developing countries. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current status regarding the epidemiology and management of heart failure in Middle East Arab countries (MEACs) by analysis of the results of the latest HF registries performed in these countries and to anticipate future perspectives, quality initiatives and areas of research and development. Data has shown that the average age of affected individuals is at least 10 years younger than their Western counterparts. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was generally under-represented in these registries to less than 30% of the whole population of heart failure. Coronary artery disease (CAD) constitutes about 55% of causes of heart failure in this region in comparison to about 70% in Western countries. An area that needs development is the investment in establishing specialized heart failure programs to cut the circle of non-compliance and repeated HF admissions to the hospitals. Advances in heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support will continue to slow down and we are not expecting major changes in the near future but on the other hand, implantation of electronic devices like ICD and CRT is expected to increase significantly in the coming years in these countries.

Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes Among Patients in Countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of WHO (EMRO): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

ContextHepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global public health issue. The Eastern Mediterranean regional office (EMRO) of the world health organization (WHO) seems to have one of the highest prevalence rates worldwide, with at least 21.3 million HCV-infected patients.ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to review systematically all epidemiological data related to the prevalence of HCV genotypes in infected patients in EMRO countries.Data SourcesA systematic search was conducted of peer-reviewed journals indexed in electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, ISI, PakMediNet, and IMEMR, and Persian-specific databases including SID, Iran Medex, and MagIran).Study SelectionA systematic search was performed with temporal limits (papers published between January 2000 up to June 2015), regarding the prevalence and distribution of HCV genotypes in EMRO countries.Data ExtractionThe prevalence rates of HCV genotypes were pooled by metan command in Stata 14. Statistical heterogeneity was explored using the I-square at the 5% significance level. Publication bias was assessed, graphically and statistically, by funnel plot and Begg and Egger tests.ResultsA total of 563 records were identified through the electronic search. Of these records, 134 studies comprising 67681 HCV-infected individuals were included in the meta-analysis. In Iran, subtype 1a was the predominant subtype with a rate of 42% (95% CI, 39 - 46), followed by subtype 3a, 35% (95% CI, 31 - 38). In Pakistan, Subtype 3a was the most common subtype with a rate of 56% (95% CI, 49 - 62), followed by subtype 3b, 10% (95% CI, 7 - 12). In Saudi Arabia and Egypt, genotype 4 was the most prevalent genotype with a rate of 65% (95% CI, 59 - 72) and 69% (95% CI, 36 - 100) respectively. In Tunisia and Morocco, subtype 1b was the most common subtype with a rate of 69% (95% CI, 50 - 88) and 32% (95% CI, 7 - 56) respectively.ConclusionsThe genotype distribution of HCV takes diverse patterns in EMRO countries. Genotypes 1 and 3 were predominant in Iran and Pakistan, while genotype 4 and 1 were the most common genotypes in the Middle East Arab countries and North African Arab countries. Understanding the genotypes of HCV can help policy makers in designing good strategies for treatment.

Investigating the Key Factors Influencing on Management Information Systems Adoption among Telecommunication Companies in Yemen: The Conceptual Framework Development

Organizations invest in information technology and systems because they provide economic value to the business. While recognizing the importance of the management information systems in the organization, the majority of Arab countries in Middle East and underdeveloped countries are still dealing with issues in adopting the technologies. Research in technology adoption among the Middle East countries more focused on internet banking, e-government and e-commerce area. Notwithstanding that individuals in the Middle East are known as late adopter, organizations in Middle East are unable to infuse management system into their business processes. To fully adopt the management information systems, organization must understand the three dimensions of information system; organization, people and technology itself. Thus, this study aims to shed some light on the management information systems adoption among the employees at telecommunication companies in Yemen. The study of the country is still inadequate and less exposure. Hence, the purpose of this study is to provide a conceptual framework for analyzing the factors affecting management information systems adoption. As the organization responsible for providing internet and mobile phones, telecommunication companies should be the first to adopt the latest technology in the market to better provide good infrastructures. In accordance, this study may help managers and policy makers identify the factors in their effort to attract more employees and to adopt the management information systems in the organization.

Bibliometric analysis of diabetes mellitus research output from Middle Eastern Arab countries during the period (1996–2012)

The main objective of this study was to analyze research productivity originating from Middle East Arab (MEA) countries in the field of diabetes mellitus (DM). Data from January 1, 1996 till December 31, 2012 were searched for documents with specific words in diabetes as a "source title" and a list of 13 MEA countries as affiliation country. Research productivity was evaluated based on number of publications, citation analysis, indexing in Institute for Scientific Information and impact factor (IF). The 13 MEA countries published a total of 479 documents in 41 diabetes journals. This number represents 0.75 % of the total documents produced globally in the field of DM. The number of published documents increased by around fivefold from early 2000 to 2012. Of the 41 journal titles retrieved, 24 (58.5 %) had their IF listed in the journal citation reports 2012. Forty-two documents (14.5 %) were published in journals that had no official IF. The total number of citations for documents published from MEA countries in the field of DM, at the time of data analysis, was 5,565 with an h index of 35. The median (inter-quartile range) citation for documents from the 13 MEA countries was 4 (1---11). The top productive institution in the field of DM was United Arab Emirates University with 51 documents (10.6 %). Authors from MEA countries collaborated mostly with authors in countries like United Kingdom, USA, and Germany. The present data show promising and relatively good diabetes research productivity in MEA countries especially after 2008.

Challenges facing CEDAW in the Middle East and North Africa

The rights of women are still being violated in the Arab countries of Middle East and North Africa (MENA), despite their ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This article addresses the challenges facing the attainment of gender equality in this region, arguing not only that culture plays a major role in determining this inferior status of women, but also that the ratification of CEDAW did not bring any qualitative change because of the weakness of this legal instrument per se, and because of the numerous reservations placed by the Arab MENA states on it.

Adaptation and translation of mental health interventions in Middle Eastern Arab countries: A systematic review of barriers to and strategies for effective treatment implementation

All too often, efficacious psychosocial evidence-based interventions fail when adapted from one culture to another. International translation requires a deep understanding of the local culture, nuanced differences within a culture, established service practices, and knowledge of obstacles and promoters to treatment implementation. This research investigated the following objectives to better facilitate cultural adaptation and translation of psychosocial and mental health treatments in Arab countries: (1) identify barriers or obstacles; (2) identify promoting strategies; and (3) provide clinical and research recommendations. This systematic review of 22 psychosocial or mental health studies in Middle East Arab countries identified more barriers (68%) than promoters (32%) to effective translation and adaptation of empirically supported psychosocial interventions. Identified barriers include obstacles related to acceptability of the intervention within the cultural context, community and system difficulties, and problems with clinical engagement processes. Whereas identified promoter strategies centre on the importance of partnering and working within the local and cultural context, the need to engage with acceptable and traditional intervention characteristics, and the development of culturally appropriate treatment strategies and techniques. Although Arab cultures across the Middle East are unique, this article provides a series of core clinical and research recommendations to assist effective treatment adaptation and translation within Arab communities in the Middle East.

Connexin 26 ( GJB2) mutation in KID syndrome: An Egyptian patient

Keratitis ± ichthyosis ± deafness (KID) syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by the occurrence of localized erythematous scaly skin lesions, severe bilateral keratitis, and sensorineural deafness. Other ocular manifestations include corneal epithelial defects and scarring, which cause progressive decline of visual acuity and may eventually lead to blindness. To our knowledge, few cases have been reported worldwide and none were reported from the Middle East Arab countries. Here we report the first Egyptian patient with this syndrome.

Sickle cell disease in Middle East Arab countries

The sickle cell (HbS) gene occurs at a variable frequency in the Middle Eastern Arab countries, with characteristic distribution patterns and representing an overall picture of blood genetic disorders in the region. The origin of the gene has been debated, but studies using β-globin gene haplotypes have ascertained that there were multiple origins for HbS. In some regions the HbS gene is common and exhibits polymorphism, while the reverse is true in others. A common causative factor for the high prevalence and maintenance of HbS and thalassaemia genes is malaria endemicity. The HbS gene also co-exists with other haemoglobin variants and thalassaemia genes and the resulting clinical state is referred to as sickle cell disease (SCD). In the Middle Eastern Arab countries, the clinical picture of SCD expresses two distinct forms, the benign and the severe forms, which are related to two distinct β-globin gene haplotypes. These are referred to as the Saudi-Indian and the Benin haplotypes, respectively. In a majority of the Middle Eastern Arab countries the HbS is linked to the Saudi-Indian haplotype, while in others it is linked to the Benin haplotype. This review outlines the frequency, distribution, clinical feature, management and prevention as well as gene interactions of the HbS genes with other haemoglobin disorders in the Middle Eastern Arab countries.