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The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the implementation of lockdown measures, resulting in children attending classes from their homes through online platforms. This study aimed to examine the impact of studying at home on children by investigating various aspects related to their study environment. Data were gathered through two questionnaires administered in Jordan: One targeted children aged 8–15 year through interviews, while the other targeted parents with at least one school-aged child through an online survey. The interview-based survey (N = 152) identified significant factors such as the study location, excessive use of computer peripherals, and physical discomforts like back, hand, and ear pain. Similarly, the parent survey (N = 1,152) revealed various significant factors including parents' monthly income, educational level, occupation, living area, sources of COVID-19 information, fear of the virus, TV time, eating and reading habits, smartphone usage, difficulty in concentrating while studying, engagement with social media, internet usage, elbow position, and eye protection. PRACTITIONER SUMMARY: This study examined the impacts of online learning on children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the findings, the practitioners should focus on factors related to the excessive use of screens, ergonomic setup of study environments, and children's physical discomforts. Furthermore, the parents' socioeconomic status, engagement with media, and educational level played an essential role in shaping children's learning experiences. Strategies to improve the study environment, provide ergonomic guidance, and promote healthy media habits could contribute to the effectiveness and success of online learning during a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study encapsulates not just the collective resolve but presents a compelling narrative of countries' efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spanning from January 2020 to May 2022, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of countries' responses, including a critical examination of the vaccination period. The study introduces a predictive model using linear regression to project future confirmed cases and deaths, providing countries invaluable insights for navigating potential pandemics. The research employs Stepwise Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist Index (MI) to unveil efficiency trends in each country's battle against COVID-19 spread. The analysis unfolds in two dimensions: Assessing the efficiency of 29 countries, including those in the Middle East, in reducing the COVID-19 spread rate, and evaluating their efficiency in curbing the mortality rate. Pearson and Spearman Correlation tests shed light on nuanced relationships within the model. The results underscore the critical impact of variables on confirmed cases and deaths, revealing the pivotal role of country-specific characteristics such as the population, population density, and proportion of individuals aged over 65. This study not only contributes to our understanding but offers a strategic roadmap for countries to strengthen their defenses against future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an overview of the influence of applying two human resource management (HRM) practices on workers' occupational health and safety (OHS). These practices are selection and recruitment, and development and training. Furthermore, this study highlights the observed activities to define hazards, processes and OHS measures in the manufacturing industries. It also assesses the importance of workers' knowledge and awareness of OHS programs. A structured questionnaire was administered to those working in the manufacturing sector in several countries. The responses were analyzed statistically. The results showed that the demographic variables had a significant impact on workers' knowledge and awareness of OHS programs. In addition, HRM practices played a major role in OHS. Therefore, it is recommended to top management to highly consider OHS practices by integrating them into the workplace, starting from worker selection, all the way to production, operations and management, by establishing a strong HRM system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community pharmacies play a significant role in providing medicines, vaccines, consultations, and other important health services to the public. Community pharmacies continued to provide their services during the COVID-19 pandemic in most countries around the world, and this was the case in Jordan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pharmacy staff needs to avoid the risk of exposure to the virus causing COVID-19 along with reducing the risk for customers. This paper summarizes the safety practices of most community pharmacies in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic, to protect staff and customers from the risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection. Data were collected in two folds. First, a survey was distributed online through social media targeting those pharmacists working in community pharmacies. Second, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the staff and owners of pharmacies in Jordan, asking about the procedures followed to enhance the safety practices of pharmacists. Analyzing responses revealed that since the start of the pandemic, about 94% of pharmacists were using personal protective equipment, 88% of pharmacies were frequently sterilizing the pharmacy and the main door handle, and 82% of pharmacies were providing medical masks, gloves, and alcohol at the entrance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The effect of the shape factor on the efficiency of the flexible photovoltaic modules. • The performance of different shapes of the flexible photovoltaic modules. • The standard flat photovoltaic modules is the most efficient shape of the flexible photovoltaic modules. This study investigates the performance of different shapes of the flexible photovoltaic modules. Three shapes of the flexible modules were compared under similar outdoor conditions: The standard flat, convex, and concave. The comparison was based on the solar radiation input, voltage output, current output, and back of the module's temperature. Results showed that based on the output power and the efficiency for the modules, the standard flat module was of the highest performance, followed by the convex module and then by the concave module. The average output efficiency of the standard flat module was 4.5–6.0% and 0.8–1.2% for the convex module, while it was 0.46–0.53% for the concave module. In addition, a simulated energy analysis was carried out between the standard flat module toward the south direction and the convex module toward the southeast direction. The simulation results showed that an area that holds 50 standard flat modules, could hold 72 convex modules. Moreover, the annual ejected electrical energy into a grid for the standard flat modules and convex modules were 8.61 MWH and 5.462 MWH, respectively. Furthermore, the performance of the standard flat and convex modules were 74.79% and 70.96%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic crashes are one of the most severe problems that affect communities worldwide. Despite that only 25% of all motor vehicle miles occur at night, about 50% of all traffic fatalities occur during night. In Jordan, traffic crashes were responsible for 4.5% of fatalities in 2007 and ranked as the third cause of death in 2010. The effect of lighting on crash reduction was evaluated in many countries around the world but none of these was in Jordan. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of roadway lighting on night-time crash reduction in Jordan before and after continuous lighting system installation. Crash data collected from the Jordanian Central Traffic Department were analysed statistically. Several variables were considered, out of them, five were statistically significant: Crash year, road surface, whether the crash occurred during the day or the night, number of vehicles involved and lighting condition. Results confirmed that lighting reduces expected crashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early diagnosis of brain disorders can significantly reduce the devastating consequences of these disorders. Physician's diagnostic capabilities and diagnosis time can be improved using computerized diagnosis techniques. Magnetic Resonance (MR) images are used for diagnosing multiple sclerosis, which is a disease that occurs when the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves. MR images segmentation is a complicated task due to the variability in the lesion's shape, location and patients' anatomy. This study proposes a new computerized diagnosis technique for detecting brain disorders based on features extracted from MR images. Data of 121 cases were used, including healthy and patients with brain disorders. The cases were classified into normal and abnormal, with abnormal representing brain disorders cases. The abnormal cases were fed into a classifier to identify brain disorders. Classification accuracies in the two stages were 82.7% and 70%, respectively; indicating a significant improvement over methods found in literature. The automated structure of the proposed algorithm is suitable for use in hospitals at low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buying an apartment or a house is an important step in everyone’s life worldwide, to reach a settled and stable life. Several criteria are considered when buying an apartment or a house. In Jordan, apartments are customers’ preferred choices because of financial circumstances. It is not easy for a person to decide on the apartment’s specifications such as location, design, building design and finances. This study assists people in selecting an appropriate apartment using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is considered an important multi-criteria decision-making approach. Data used in this study were collected in Jordan; however, people worldwide can benefit from this study. The methodology used is twofold. First, feedback was considered from five investors in the real estate sector in Jordan about specifications that customers consider when buying an apartment. Second, several customers were asked about their preferences in a dream apartment using a pairwise comparison questionnaire, which was collected from 305 participants to obtain the priorities of 10 different apartment alternatives found in the Jordanian real estate market. The AHP technique is used to analyse the collected data to assist customers in reaching the best purchase decision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]