Publishing and marketing Lebanese children's books in the Arab world

The core question this research seeks to answer is: how and why do the publishing and marketing of children’s books in the Arabic-speaking World differ fundamentally from publishing and marketing in larger western children’s books markets? In 2003, the Arab Human Development Report concluded that the Arab book is a “threatened species” (Rogan, 2004). A decade later, this assessment still resonates with Arab book publishers. Sophisticated marketing techniques are still conspicuously absent from the Arabic book publishing industry, and in need of further development. Marketing and market research drives publishing in the West, and advocates the love of books to customers (Squires, 2009, pp. 40-69), (Baverstock, 2008, p: 1), (Bogucki, 2012), (Blythe, 2009, pp. 6-8) while publishing in the Arab World is driven by different priorities. To understand marketing Lebanese children’s literature, given that Lebanon is regarded as the Arab World’s publishing capital exporting 90% of its books, the research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data, provide a socio-cultural appreciation of the publishing industry, and address the factors affecting book development, customers, and markets. Publishing exists within a framework of influential factors shaping the industry, including legacy publishing houses and family-run publishing houses, mistrust between the different stakeholders in the book chain, and the socio-economic situation in Lebanon and across the Arabic-speaking World. An overview of the Lebanese children’s book publishing houses reflects the traditional methods used to publish and market Lebanese children’s books. Particular attention is given to the crucial role played by book fairs as the key sales channels across the region. A series of surveys demonstrates the importance of picture books for advancing literacy and language capacity among elementary school children as well as creating a love of the Arabic language. The uniqueness of Arab markets is demonstrated when marketing methods used in the UK are applied to the Lebanese market, with variable results. The research highlights the need to further develop marketing mechanisms for Lebanese children’s literature and the need for greater comparative publishing research in the Arabic-speaking World. The research adds to the body of knowledge on Arabic Children’s book, drawing a clear picture of the publishing and marketing of children’s books in Lebanon and across the Arabic-speaking World, offering practical ideas for other Lebanese publishers to work on, and introducing a combination of new methods to understand different players in the book chain process

Arabic children’s literature: Glitzy production, disciplinary content

© 2020, Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc. All rights reserved. Children’s literature in the Arabic language has seen an impressive boom in the last decade both in quantity and quality. Arabic children’s literature awards have also increased in number and competitiveness. However, children’s literature in the Arabic language continues to be criticised for not being appealing to children, due to its didactic content and its highly symbolic language. This study analysed 47 award-winning Arabic children’s literature books, looking at five domains. The purpose was to look for features and trends common to award-winning books. Results revealed that Arabic children’s literature continues to be seen as a tool to educate and impart morality. Results also revealed the dominance of male characters, the prevalence of realistic fiction genres, and the repeated use of poverty, child displacement, family and refugees as the topics of choice when writing for children

Personalized Nutritional Strategies to Reduce Knee Osteoarthritis Severity and Ameliorate Sarcopenic Obesity Indices: A Practical Guide in an Orthopedic Setting

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the most common joint diseases, especially in individuals with obesity. Another condition within this population, and which presents frequently, is sarcopenic obesity (SO), defined as an increase in body fat and a decrease in muscle mass and strength. The current paper aims to describe recent nutritional strategies which can generally improve KOA clinical severity and, at the same time, ameliorate SO indices. Searches were carried out in the PubMed and Science Direct databases and data were summarized using a narrative approach. Certain key findings have been revealed. Firstly, the screening and identification of SO in patients with KOA is important, and to this end, simple physical performance tests and anthropometric measures are available in the literature. Secondly, adherence to a Mediterranean diet and the achievement of significant body weight loss by means of low-calorie diets (LCDs) remain the cornerstone nutritional treatment in this population. Thirdly, supplementation with certain micronutrients such as vitamin D, essential and non-essential amino acids, as well as whey protein, also appear to be beneficial. In conclusion, in the current review, we presented a detailed flowchart of three different nutritional tracks that can be adopted to improve both KOA and SO based on joint disease clinical severity

Care of patients with hemoglobin disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic: An overview of recommendations.

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to a global health emergency.1 Compared to the general population, patients with hemoglobin disorders such as sickle cell disease (SCD) or thalassemia are expected to be more severely affected by COVID-19 due to their preexisting chronic morbidities.2 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not report any specific indications for patients with hemoglobinopathies. However, it can be hypothesized that the rapid spread of the virus may render these patients fragile when fighting the infection. SCD, a hematological condition with functional asplenia, puts patients at a greater risk to develop acute pulmonary complications, including viral infections.2 A study by Hussain et al reported four SCD cases that tested positive for COVID-19.3 These cases initially presented to the emergency department for a typical vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), and the clinical course of their SARS-CoV-2 infection was rather mild. Patients had a history of respiratory complications, such as acute chest syndrome (ACS), asthma, or pulmonary embolism, which may be potential risk factors for progressive COVID-19 pulmonary disease in patients with SCD.3 A series of isolated cases of ACS in SCD patients positive for COVID-19 has been recently reported.4,5 Therefore, very little clinical experience of infected patients with SCD currently exists. For this reason, we believe that certain recommendations must be followed by healthcare professionals treating any SCD patient infected with SARS-CoV-2

Personalized physical activity programs for the management of knee osteoarthritis in individuals with obesity: a patient-centered approach

Physical activity (PA) plays a vital role in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) management. However, engaging individuals with KOA in regular exercise is challenging, especially when they are affected by obesity. The aim of the current review is to elucidate how to increase adherence to exercise in this population. When implementing a PA program with patients with KOA and obesity, a specific multi-step approach can be adopted. In phase I (the baseline assessment), the patients' eligibility for exercise is ascertained and a physical fitness assessment, sarcopenic obesity screening and quantification of the pain experienced are undertaken. Phase II adopts a patient-centered approach in implementing a PA program that combines an active lifestyle (>6000 steps/day) with land- or water-based exercise programs performed over eight to twelve weeks, with a frequency of three to five sessions per week, each lasting 60 min. In phase III, several strategies can be used to increase the patients' adherence to higher levels of PA, including the following: (i) personalizing PA goal-setting and real-time monitoring; (ii) enhancing physical fitness and the management of sarcopenic obesity; (iii) building a sustainable environment and a supportive social network for an active lifestyle; and (iv) reducing pain, which can ameliorate the clinical severity of KOA and help with weight management in this population

Cooperative Driving for Speed Harmonization in Mixed-Traffic Environments

Autonomous driving systems present promising methods for congestion mitigation in mixed autonomy traffic control settings. In particular, when coupled with even modest traffic state estimates, such systems can plan and coordinate the behaviors of automated vehicles (AVs) in response to observed downstream events, thereby inhibiting the continued propagation of congestion. In this paper, we present a two-layer control strategy in which the upper layer proposes the desired speeds that predictively react to the downstream state of traffic, and the lower layer maintains safe and reasonable headways with leading vehicles. This method is demonstrated to achieve an average of over 15% energy savings within simulations of congested events observed in Interstate 24 with only 4% AV penetration, while restricting negative externalities imposed on traveling times and mobility. The proposed strategy that served as the "speed planner" was deployed on 100 AVs in a massive traffic experiment conducted on Nashville's I-24 in November 2022