The Eyes Beyond the Screen: Digital Media Policy and Child Health

Background: Modern communication technology and digital media have provided society with a foundation for instant messaging. Pictures, videos, and texts connect individuals with families, friends, and the world. Consequently, digital media has accelerated exposure to risk in which children and adolescents are most vulnerable. This project’s objective is to 1) congregate and highlight current knowledge about the impact of digital media on child health, and 2) underline deficiencies in related laws and regulations as well as offer solutions in digital media policy. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted through the JAMA Pediatrics database with keywords such as “digital media,” “social media,” “screen time,” “cyberbullying,” “child sexual abuse material,” “online exploitation,” “sextortion,” and “child privacy” to accumulate information from relevant studies and articles elaborating on adverse child health outcomes in relation to digital media use. Only peer-reviewed full-text publications between 2018 and 2021 were selected and 10 articles were obtained. The impact of digital media on child and adolescent health was synthesized, as shown in the results section. Furthermore, review of national digital media law was conducted through Congress.gov, and potential policy solutions are elaborated in the conclusions section. Results: (1) Screen time through social media use, gaming, and television among children and adolescents has dramatically increased, as charged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and is associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, hyperactivity, inattention, and conduct problems. (2) Reduced social contact with friends, peers, and teachers increases the risk of loneliness and helplessness which correlate to mental health harms. (3) Targeted advertisements attract young adolescents to increase screen time, establish brand allegiances, and form spending habits. (4) Time spent online is associated with increased risk of cyberbullying, sextortion, genuinely threatening messages, psychologically threatening messages, and intentional misinformation which has a strong correlation to negative mental health symptoms. (5) The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported over 21.7 million submissions of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in 2020, a 106% increase since 2019. (6) Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects social media sites from being sued over posts from their users, resulting in poor filtration of inappropriate material. Conclusions: Children and adolescents require modern media literacy to battle potential negative mental health symptoms heightened by the growing dependency on technology. The national government must enact legislation to hold social media companies accountable by straining their sites from harmful and inappropriate material. Proactive legislative measures such as negating targeted advertising for minors and an opt-out function from biased algorithms in social media apps prioritize lowering screen time over increasing business revenue

Optical Wireless Communications: Current and Future Trends

This paper considers the transmission of data over a wireless  channel in which the transmitter converts the message into an optical signal. This optical signal is transmitted over a wireless channel which is commonly known as optical wireless channel (OWC).   The OWC  is still not regulated, i.e., no license is required to transmit over this channel.  In addition, this channel can support communications with very high data rates. Further, in its construction, cheap components like light emitting diode (LED) is normally exploited. These factors attractive both the researchers and the industry field to develop a practical transceivers. In this paper, we initially review the basics of this systems, the benefits of using such a  system.  Then, the current applications are introduced and summarized. Finally, many potential applications are represented. Keywords: Optical Communications, Wireless Communications, Communication Channel

Association Between Alcohol Use and Negative Mental Health Symptoms in the Rio Grande Valley

Background: This study\u27s purpose was to research the link between alcohol use and negative mental health symptoms in the Rio Grande Valley. As current literature suggests, the Rio Grande Valley has above average alcohol consumption and negative mental health symptoms, especially among young adults. Recent studies indicate there may be an association between the amount of alcohol one consumes and the likelihood of experiencing negative mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety and vice versa. The RGV’s population and culture provides a unique opportunity to study this correlation and better advise the community and health care professionals about potential consequences of alcohol abuse and poor mental health. Methodology: This study surveyed UTRGV students ages 18-24. To maintain the study\u27s anonymity and provide incentive for participation, two surveys were produced. The primary survey remained completely anonymous. The optional second survey collected the participant\u27s name, email, and phone number for a chance to win one of three $25 gift cards at the end of the study. The participants\u27 personal identifiers in the second survey cannot be linked to any of the first survey\u27s responses, thus maintaining the anonymity of the main study. The survey was distributed via student listservs, social media pages, flyer postings, and in-person solicitation. The survey questions stemmed from four validated, psychometric scales including the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, 7-item Generalized Anxiety Questionnaire, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire. Descriptive outcomes, frequencies and percentages, T-tests, and Chi-square tests were utilized for sufficient data analysis and visualization. Results: 135 student responses were reported. According to the psychometric scales, a significant number of students indicated moderate and severe levels of depression and anxiety. Furthermore, 71% of students reported partaking in hazardous drinking, with 32% engaging in binge drinking. A strong relationship (p \u3c 0.001) between negative consequences and the amount of drinking was found. Despite these findings, no significant trends were observed between hazardous drinking and levels of anxiety (p = 0.51) or depression (p = 0.37) in students. Conclusion: Our results strengthen previous understanding that young adults of the Rio Grande Valley have significant levels of alcohol consumption and negative mental health symptoms. Together, these concerns might pose serious challenges to the quality of life for RGV residents. Educating our community and its healthcare workers on the prevalence of hazardous drinking and negative health symptoms is vital for long-term public health management

THE IMPACT OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE PROGRAMS ON QUALITY OF WORK-LIFE (QWL) AMONG FEMALE EMPLOYEES WITHIN THE BANKING SECTOR

The purpose of the current study is to examine the impact of work-life balance programs (Flexible work arrangements, Maternity leave policies, Childcare support, Women\u27s health programs, Leadership development programs, Pay equity, and Communication) on quality of work life (QWL) among female employees within the banking sector. Quantitative methodology was carried out, and a questionnaire was self-administered on (296) female full-time employees within commercial banks in Jordan. SPSS was employed to screen and analyze the gathered data. Results of the study indicated that acceptance of study hypotheses under the main allegation of the fact that characteristics of female employees\u27 work-life balance programs have a statistically significant influence on the quality of work-life from the perspective of female employees within the banking sector. Results proved that adopting work-life balance programs for female employees could lead to a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce. By prioritizing the needs of their female employees, organizations can create a positive work environment that supports the well-being of their workforce and leads to long-term success. In addition, the study found that the most influential sub-variable was communication as it can help promote work-life balance programs among female employees by raising awareness, providing information, addressing concerns, and encouraging participation. By doing so, companies can create a more supportive and inclusive work environment, ultimately leading to increased productivity, job satisfaction, and employee retention. The Study recommended that organizations get inspired by other organizations\u27 initiatives in supporting working mothers and female employees. Significance of the current study is expected to help banks create a more diverse and inclusive workplace by supporting female employees to balance their work and personal responsibilities

Translation Quality Assessment of Academic Research Titles: A Case Study of Islamic Education PhD at Yarmouk University

This study aims to examine the level of translation accuracy applied to the titles of PhD theses presented in the field of Islamic Education at Yarmouk University. A detailed analysis was conducted to reveal the types of errors present in the translation and these were subsequently categorized into six sections, based on the nature of the error. Furthermore, errors were assessed based on their impact on the translation accuracy, which determined the level of its acceptability. The findings uncovered major translation errors in the majority of the titles, many of which are the result of a shortfall in the translator’s terminology; general, educational, or Islamic. It is recommended that researchers and scientific research deanships should be aware of the importance of accurate translation being applied to academic research work and the positive outcomes that would ensue, not only on individual research work, but also on the university’s reputation

The Effectiveness of Using Generate Ideas (SCAMPER) Strategy on Improving Ninth Grade Students' Writing Skills at Wadi El Sir Schools in Jordan

The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of using SCAMPER strategy in teaching English writing skills; to improve the level of ninth grade students' writing skills at Wadi El Sir Schools in Jordan. The population of the study consisted of all ninth grade students of both sexes. The sample of the study was chosen randomly, four sections from two schools: two sections for males and two sections for females, (experimental and control). The results showed that there were statistically significant differences at the level of (α = 0.05) in the performance of students in writing skills, in favor of the experimental group. The results also showed statistically significant differences between the two sexes in their performance in writing in favor of the females. The researcher set some recommendations for future research in this topic. Keywords: SCAMPER, Writing Skills, Creative writin

Designing social personalized adaptive e-learning

Here we introduce Topolor, a social personalized adaptive elearning system aiming to improve social interaction in the learning process as well as applying classical adaptation based on user modeling. Here, we focus on the system architecture and preliminary evaluation that showed high system usability

Apply the We! Design methodology in E-learning 2.0 system design : a pilot study

During the emergence of Web 2.0, the methodologies and technologies of E-learning have developed to a new era, E-learning 2.0, emphasises on social learning and the use of social interaction tools. The students are the main end-user of the E-learning 2.0 systems, so it is essential to take students' opinions into consideration during the design process of such systems. The We!Design participatory design methodology is proposed for incorporating undergraduate students in the development of educational systems. This pilot study aims to investigate how the We!Design methodology would work and what the results might propose, and gather initial preferences and improve the quality and efficiency of the larger scale studies in the future

An exploratory study to design an adaptive hypermedia system for online-advertisement

The revolutionary world of the World Wide Web has created an open space for a multitude of fields to develop and propagate. One of these major fields is advertisement. Online advertisement has become one of the main activities conducted on the web, heavily supported by the industry. Importantly, it is one of the main contributors to any businesses’ income. However, consumers usually ignore the great majority of adverts online. This research paper studies the field of online advertisement, by conducting an exploratory study to understand end users’ needs for targeted online advertisement using adaptive hypermedia techniques. Additionally, we explore social networks, one of the booming phenomena of the web, to enhance the appropriateness of the advertising to the users. The main current outcome of this research is that end users are interested in personalised advertisement that tackles their needs and that they believe that the use of social networks and social actions help in the contextualisation of advertisement