PREVALENCE, KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS, AND ATTITUDE OF HOOKAH (WATERPIPE) SMOKING AMONG HEALTH CARE STUDENTS AT A SOUTHEASTERN URBAN RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT Background: Waterpipe (hookah) smoking is gaining in popularity as a form of smoking tobacco. There is a noticeable increase in hookah smoking worldwide, among young adults. There is a growing body of literature that indicates that college students may not be as knowledgeable as should be in making decisions about smoking waterpipes. Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the prevalence, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding hookah (waterpipe) use among college-based health care students. Methods: Participants in this study were chosen based on their readiness and willingness to participate. The questionnaire was distributed by the researcher to graduate students through a link for a web-based survey. A paper copy was distributed in class to undergraduate students only. There were 319 college-based health care students who participated in this study from the following specialties: nursing, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy and nutrition. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Respondents have used or tried hookah (waterpipe) smoking before (n=156, 49%), while the majority of students who have not tried or used the hookah smoking (n=163, 51%). Students were able to identify health hazards that might result from hookah smoking, for example cancer (n=258, 80.9%), respiratory problems (n=308, 97%), cardiovascular impairments (n=202, 63%), hematological impairments (n= 98, 31%), harm during pregnancy (n=214, 67%), and diarrhea (n=37, 11.6%) as potential health hazard. This study showed that 187 students (58.6%) believed that cigarette smoking is more harmful than water pipe smoking due to the false beliefs that they have. There was also general disagreement regarding students’ attitudes and opinions about waterpipe smoking. Finally, this study showed the reasons why students engage in hookah smoking; for example, (241, 75.5%)of the students reported that the reason for water pipe smoking is an increased opportunity to smoke a water pipe in cafes, etc. Also, students said other reasons like flavor/aroma of Hookah itself (219, 68.7%), and utility of water pipe in leisure & pleasure activities (217, 68%). Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence of hookah (waterpipe) smoking is common among students in health care especially in young adults. Further studies are needed to ask more students and at different institutions. Finally, we recommended conducting educational campaigns to increase students’ knowledge and awareness and to correct the wrongs beliefs and attitudes

A framework of mobile transaction use: the user’s perspective

The remarkable advances of mobile technologies and the prevalence of mobile devices have profoundly transformed telephony systems. They provide functionalities which surpass telephony needs, and which motivate the development of value-added mobile services and functions. The number of mobile phones in use far exceeds any other technical devices that could be used to market, sell, produce, or deliver products and services to consumers. These developments open lucrative opportunities to retailers and service providers. The literature highlights the fact that mobile transactions (m-transactions) are one of the most critical incentives for successful mobile commerce (m-commerce). However, the successfulness of m-transaction systems in Saudi Arabia requires a strong acceptance of the Saudi consumers. The importance of this study is accentuated by the fact that mobile commerce and its services are still in their infancy and there is still an apparent lack of acceptance of mobile transactions amongst Saudi users. Research needs to address the issue of acceptance of m-transactions from the user’s perspective, particularly within developing countries as they suffer from a noticeable lack of studies in this field. This research initially starts with a comprehensive literature review about the critical factors affecting the acceptance and use of electronic commerce (e-commerce), m-commerce and focuses on m-transactions, including different technology acceptance models and theories, helping to investigate whether there exists an effective comprehensive framework for adopting m-transactions within the context of Saudi Arabia and, more specifically, from a consumer’s perspective. Furthermore, to emphasize the true value measure of m-transaction, we must comprehend and evaluate the potency and limitations of mobile purchasing and the key factors affecting the m-transaction use decision. M-transactions hold a huge potential for online business and sales, but merely having an m-transaction service “hosted” on the World Wide Web (WWW) should not lead us to believe that customers will rush into mobile commercial websites for their desired products. Recognising that fact and realizing that there are different important factors and concerns over m-transactions playing a significant role, highlight the need for investigating and developing a framework that encompasses the critical factors affecting the intention to use m-transaction within the context of a Saudi consumer’s perspective. In order to achieve this goal, this study evolved in several stages aiming to reach a satisfactory level of maturity. These stages can be divided into three main phases: (1) exploratory phase which contains three exploratory studies which helped to add the cultural qualities as a further dimension that would play a significant role in such a unique cultural region. Consequently, a holistic framework is integrated that includes the key factors affecting the intention to use m-transactions. This framework is empirically validated in (2) a further study using a statistically representative sample size of 1008 Saudi users from different demographic backgrounds. The empirical analysis revealed that security, ease of use, usefulness, social influence, navigational structure, telecommunication infrastructure, individualism, masculinity, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and visual appeal have a significant impact on the intention to use m-transactions. Amongst those factors, ease of use was the most significant influential factor. Therefore, this led to (3) another study aiming to empirically investigate the level of ease of use (usability) of conducting m-transactions within the Saudi context. In total, this research comprised five different empirical studies to extend our understanding of the phenomenon of m-transactions. The ultimate product of this research is to develop a consolidated framework for the intention to use m-transactions, combined with a set of recommendations for mobile websites and application developers, designers, government, and other organizations that intend to extend their business in the mobile commerce area, and this should eventually benefit the users

The Extent of Comprehension and Knowledge with Respect to Digital Citizenship Among Middle Eastern and US students at UNC

Digital technologies have revolutionized the way people acquire information and gain new knowledge. With a click or touch on the screen, anybody who is online can sail in the digital world and accomplish many things.  As such, the optimal use of information and communication technology involves user comprehension, knowledge, and awareness of positive digital citizenship.  The purpose of this study was to examine the scope of knowledge and understanding about digital citizenship among Middle Eastern and US students at the University of Northern Colorado. It also examines the difference among Middle Eastern and US students at the University of Northern Colorado in three categories: respect, education and protection. The study was based on a questionnaire that was distributed to 51 students at the University of Northern Colorado. The result reveals that there was not a significant difference between Middle Eastern and US students at the University of Northern Colorado in term of digital citizenship awareness. This study recommends examining other variables that may affect on digital citizenship. Keywords: Digital citizenship, awareness, respect, educate, protect, Middle East.

A Study of Middle Class Proportion in Saudi Arabia using Engel's Coefficient

Based on Engel coefficient, this paper makes a descriptive statistical analysis of the current situation of the middle class in Saudi Arabia. The proportion of the middle class is measured by Engel’s coefficient. The research aims to identify the changing trend and development rules of the middle class. This is of great significance for achieving Saudi 2030 and building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects. Keywords: middle class, Saudi Arabia, Engel coefficient, kernel density estimate, functional data DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/55-06 Publication date:May 31st 201

Tooth-bleaching procedures and their controversial effects: A literature review

AbstractAimThis review article will help clinicians improve their understanding of the history of bleaching procedures, bleaching types, components, mechanisms, and their effects on soft tissue, tooth structures, resin composite, and bonding.MethodsThe controversial issues about bleaching procedures and their effects are reviewed. Additionally, the consequences of pre- and post-bleaching on the bonding potential of composite resin restorations to tooth structure are discussed.ConclusionThe overall goal of the paper is to help reduce risks for patients

Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting for Hydrogen Production Using III-V Semiconductor Materials

The use of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting to harvest intermittent solar sources in the form of hydrogen is an attractive potential method to address energy and environmental issues. Since 1972, when Honda and Fujishima demonstrated the use of titanium dioxide (TiO2) in PEC water splitting (1), extensive efforts have been devoted to the development of photoelectrode stability and high solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. Metal oxides (e.g. TiO2, Fe2O3, BiVO4, and SrTiO2) have been extensively studied but their large band gap and sluggish charge transfer kinetics typically limited their solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency (1-9). III-V semiconductor materials have proven attractive for PEC water splitting due to their high efficiency, optimal band gap, and excellent optical properties but they are readily susceptible to corrosion in strongly acidic or basic aqueous solutions during the PEC process (10-18). This thesis aims to construct a PEC device (e.g. photoanode and photocathode) based on III-V semiconductor materials (such as InGaN, GaP, and GaPSb) for PEC water splitting. The design of a direct PEC water splitting device requires a suitable band gap to cover the entire solar spectrum (visible range), which leads to a high photocurrent and solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency. The band edge alignment must straddle the hydrogen and oxygen redox potentials and stable under illumination in electrolyte conditions (19). However, the current challenge is to develop efficient and stable solar-to-chemical conversion systems based on III-V semiconductor materials for PEC water splitting. This can be addressed by incorporating novel co-catalysts that are physically and electrically attached to the surface of the photoelectrodes. The role of the co-catalyst is to minimize the overpotentials and accelerate the charge kinetics at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface (20). Additionally, the surface modification strategy of applying co-catalysts can extend the stability of the photoelectrode for long-time operation (21-25)

Investigating the impact of bureacratic factors on government organisational performance in the Kingdom of Bahrain: A multiple case study approach

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This research is undertaken in response to the need to offer fresh insights to the number of models of organisational bureaucracy. The main aim of this thesis is to explore the bureaucratic factors related to governmental organisations that may influence their performance. Through conceptual and empirical research, several key factors have been identified which link organisational performance to social responsibility, job satisfaction, motivation, and decision quality. To support this research, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions were used in connection with the performance dimensions and the bureaucratic factors. In this context, the case study design used multiple sources of evidence in a triangulation strategy to contribute to developing a perspective on bureaucracy and its impact to government organisations in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Thus, a conceptual framework has been developed and proposed as part of the study. This research adopted a semi-structured interview research design in order to elicit the views of individuals and in-depth qualitative information. The findings in the context of this research confirmed that Bahrainis are highly rule-oriented, risk averse and do not readily accept change. In addition, they have a high preference for avoiding uncertainty thus they maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour. The results of the empirical investigation have therefore enriched the growing literature of bureaucracy and performance of government organisations not only in the Kingdom of Bahrain but also in the global setting it used the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The result of this research may be of help to a range of human resource managers, public administrators, employees and other stakeholders in bureaucratic organisational context

Factors that impact on the effectiveness of professional development programs for science teachers in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian Government has made a substantial investment in reforming the science curriculum in Saudi Arabia. The need for effective professional development (PD) programs is especially crucial in the context of recent curriculum reform in Saudi Arabia. The country has adopted new science curricula following the guidelines of renowned global publishers like McGraw-Hill. However, the introduction of the new science curriculum is posing challenges for science teachers, as it requires a paradigm shift from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred pedagogy. The research for this research involved an in-depth study on the impact of mandatory PD programs on Saudi Arabian science teachers in order to identify potential challenges to achieving the expected level of benefit from the PD programs. This study used a qualitative approach to data collection techniques. through employs three main methods for data collection, observation ,open-ended questionnaire and interview. the most effective professional development programs are likely to be those that address the specific subject matter that relates to the teaching issues faced daily by teachers, rather than those that cover vague and decontextualised educational or pedagogical concepts. Other factors include teachers’ involvement in learning communities, the facilities and resources provided by the school, and individual learning styles. On the other hand, common factor responsible for the failure of professional development programs is that the content covered is not relevant to the teachers’ specific needs. PD programs in Saudi Arabia are mainly focused on quantity instead of quality

Numerical Algorithms for Polynomial Optimisation Problems with Applications

In this thesis, we study tensor eigenvalue problems and polynomial optimization problems. In particular, we present a fast algorithm for computing the spectral radii of symmetric nonnegative tensors without requiring the partition of the tensors. We also propose some polynomial time approximation algorithms with new approximation bounds for nonnegative polynomial optimization problems over unit spheres. Furthermore, we develop an efficient and effective algorithm for the maximum clique problem

Fair and Diverse Group Formation Based on Multidimensional Features

The goal of group formation is to build a team to accomplish a specific task. Algorithms are being developed to improve the team\u27s effectiveness so formed and the efficiency of the group selection process. However, there is concern that team formation algorithms could be biased against minorities due to the algorithms themselves or the data on which they are trained. Hence, it is essential to build fair team formation systems that incorporate demographic information into the process of building the group. Although there has been extensive work on modeling individuals’ expertise for expert recommendation and/or team formation, there has been relatively little prior work on modeling demographics and incorporating demographics into the group formation process. We propose a novel method to represent experts’ demographic profiles based on multidimensional demographic features. Moreover, we introduce three diversity ranking algorithms that form a group by considering demographic features along with the minimum required skills. Unlike many ranking algorithms that consider one Boolean demographic feature (e.g., gender or race), our diversity ranking algorithms consider multiple demographic features simultaneously. Finally, we introduce a fair team formation algorithm that balances each candidate\u27s demographic information and expertise. We evaluate our proposed algorithms using real datasets based on members of a computer science program committee. The result shows that our algorithms form a program committee that is more diverse with an acceptable loss in utility