Search results

This study aims to compare the physical fitness test results of Japanese children in 2008 and 2018 to narrow the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy and extend healthy life expectancy. In addition, this paper sought to explore the potential of implementing health education programs as a new social context to promote race equality and human rights in health and social care.

This study was conducted in 2008 and 2018 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Physical fitness tests related to growth and development were administered to participants aged 6–17 years.

Physical fitness measurements in 2018, specifically those for walking ability and endurance, were significantly inferior to those in 2008. In a gender-specific analysis, boys outperformed girls in muscle strength, muscle endurance, walking ability and endurance tests, while girls outperformed boys in the balance test.

Most of the junior and senior high school students who participated in the EO test exceeded the upper limit of 120 s, suggesting that the load of the measurement method is low and improvement is necessary. In 2018, a large variation in 6M results was observed among participants, possibly due to the differences in the level of seriousness during the 6M test. Therefore, to ensure that junior and senior high school students properly perform the EO and 6M tests, it is necessary to devise an effective method of implementation, such as changing the physical fitness test load.

Mere health education is ineffective to address health inequalities. Addressing structural factors is essential to avoid unintended consequences such as increasing the gap between groups of people. However, one way to extend healthy life expectancy is to improve overall health, including differences in the health status of groups due to differences in region and socioeconomic status.

For the most part, the majority of the research on entrepreneurial masculinities has focused on the traditional business and finance sector, capturing a masculinity infused with notions of dominance, a cut-throat disposition and corporate acumen. There has been relatively less attention focused on the reproduction of masculinities and monetized body work in digital forms of entrepreneurship.

This conceptual article explores some of the entrepreneurial and performative skills utilized by male OnlyFans creators as they curate not only their bodies but also their sexualities in order to attract subscribers and maximize profits.

Mapping the relationship between entrepreneurialism and masculinity on OnlyFans is significant considering the platform’s popularity and the changing nature of digital entrepreneurship. Drawing connections to previous research on working-class entrepreneurial masculinities, we highlight how male OnlyFans creators, who are largely from working-class backgrounds, are actively practicing entrepreneurial skills.

We foreground the work of social media creators as sexualized and aesthetic labour, making connections between digital entrepreneurship, working-class masculinity, sexuality, and (idealized) bodies. Our article concludes with making recommendations for future research on the study of gender and sexuality within for-profit digital entrepreneurship.

The dynamics of work have increased the importance of work conditions and job demand in the corporate environment. This has exposed the high predominance of work overload among employees and managers in social organisations. This study aims to investigate the contemporary determinants of workaholism (organisational culture, financial well-being and career development) and quality of work-life (QWL) in Nigeria’s information technology (IT) sector.

To synthesise an understanding of factors that are responsible for workaholic behaviour among employees in the IT industry, this study used a cross-sectional research design to investigate the phenomenon that accounts for such hysteric conditions. This study administered an inventory battery of scales to obtain data from the study population on a random sampling technique to measure the established constructs responsible for workaholism and QWL. This study surveyed 644 samples of IT professionals in Nigeria and used structural equation modelling and artificial neural networks to examine the data obtained from the IT professionals.

The outcome of this study was significant as proposed. This study demonstrated that compulsive work approach adversely affects employee QWL in Nigeria’s IT industry. Also, excessive work adversely affects employee QWL in Nigeria’s IT industry. This study further discovered that organisational culture and management pressure significantly affect the QWL in the Nigerian IT industry. The results of this study showed that financial well-being significantly affects the QWL in the Nigerian IT industry. Lastly, it established that career development significantly affects the QWL in the Nigerian IT industry. This study concluded that if working round the clock is not completely removed from Nigeria’s IT cultural system, the industry will not be a safe environment and will not attract employees anymore. It has enabled many Nigerian workforces to quit working in Nigeria and migrate to international organisations.

This study has shown a meaningful dimension by discovering that workaholism is inherently in the cultural values and DNA of Nigerian IT institutions and not work addiction in itself for the employees. The novelty of this research has indicated that workaholism has not been documented much in the Nigerian IT sector.

Physical activity is an eminent practice for the maintenance of physical and mental health. Physical fitness always enables students to perform their various tasks efficiently specifically in academic performance. Student health is a principal factor for the performance of all kinds of activities particularly in academic performance. This study aimed to evaluate physical activity among university students and the factors for being inactive.

A questionnaire was designed and distributed among the students via WhatsApp, Skype and email, however, some responses were collected physically to maintain the quality of data. The questionnaire was categorized into demographic factors, current physical activity status and reasons for physical inactivity. Each section was further divided into questions and total 24 questions were asked from each individual for evaluation of inactiveness.

The finding of this research explored that enormous number of students are doing part time jobs and unable to find enough time for relaxation. The research was limited and evaluated limited factors and explored that 60.6% of students had less time for entertainment and this is only 2 h for this 60.6% of students. Among all factors of physical activity walking was preferable for 48.34% of the students. Students want to participate in healthy activities. Moreover, students are unable to perform physical exercise due to busy schedules of jobs (47.02%), part-time job burden (15.89%), study burden (35.10%) and poor health conditions (1.32%).

This study concluded that higher percentage of students have stress of limited resources and under this stress condition they are unable to take a balanced diet which they considered cost-effective. They did not perform maximum in their academic and daily activities and did not participate in sports activities. It was also observed that institutions did not provide a sufficient platform for physical activity for students. The research shows the factors which affect the student’s academic performance as being physically inactive. Evaluation of results explored that numerous students have limited resources during their career development and their attention remain diverted to overcome their limited resources which keep them physically unfit. The findings also explored that physically inactive students have heavy study and job burden which is not overcome and analyzed by their institutions.

In this current review, we aimed to understand technology addiction interventions and provide guidelines for IS scholars to use IT to prevent or attenuate technology addiction.

We systematically reviewed articles associated with technology and substance addiction interventions. These articles included review articles, peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings, and online articles.

We propose a roadmap for technology addiction intervention development and testing based on the review. Next, we summarize the similarities and differences between substance addiction and technology addiction in terms of antecedents, negative consequences, and neurobiological mechanisms. Based on this, two types of potential interventions for substance addiction were reviewed to explore how they can be used for technology addiction. To conclude, IT-mediated interventions were summarized, and promising avenues for future research were highlighted.

Technology addiction has a broad range of adverse impacts on mental health and well-being. With the knowledge and insight from this review, the Information Systems community can become part of the solution to technology addiction.

In this conceptual paper the authors aim to discuss the implications of a second-order cybernetic approach and eigenbehavior in ecosystem management. The authors argue that traditional management practices rely on the agreement of stakeholders, but this approach cannot satisfy multiple-objective realities, making radical constructivism necessary.

The authors examined this conjecture using a multi-agent simulation exercise. Agents display individual behavior consistent with the organizing principles proposed by von Foerster (eigenform and eigenbehavior), Hoffman (perception and fitness) and Maturana (domains of realization). This exercise is complemented with an ecosystem management classification exercise to show how convergence is achieved when a team of trained professionals describes entities of low versus high complexity in a spatially explicit domain.

The authors showed that eigenforms can diverge significantly depending on the complexity of the problem. The capacity of observers to stabilize an eigenform and create a common ground for understanding depends on the complexity of the problem at hand and their cognitive diversity. The authors highlighted the difficulties that arose when observation and modification through the intervention of the environment cannot be detached. The authors argue that this situation deeply permeates ecosystem resource management due to the unpredictable outcomes displayed by entities embedded into open system dynamics.

Finally, the authors propose that the association between indication and transformation can be operationally interconnected as Eigenperception, which corresponds to a novel dynamic state bridging the gap between noise and eigenform. This concept of Eigenperception encapsulates entities that arise from eigenbehavior, encompassing observations, meanings, human transformative actions and ecological processes, all in a simultaneous manner.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to demonstrate how memes perpetuate trauma with a schematic. This conceptual paper uses the “begin with the end in mind” meme to format the presentation of the necessary components for the schematic of how trauma persists across generations. It is the third paper in a series of applications of the recursive, test-operate-test schematic to the systemic effects of the information processes involved in trauma. The schematic presented permits evaluations of solutions to interrupt the generational trauma cycle.

The required schematic components are described. Trauma (actual or perceived threat to survival) will be briefly discussed. Evolutionary processes that create the psychophysiology necessary to support nominal social expectations (NSEs) memes and metaphors will be summarized. The development of NSEs will be discussed. Metaphors and memes necessary for the creation of the schematic and esoteric events at level Learning IV will be briefly described. Finally, Figure 3, which illustrates the maintenance of NSEs and attempts to prevent their violation, will be explained.

It is asserted that functional human social behavior requires NSEs. Trauma is found to persist through the presence of anti-nominal NSE memes that are transduced by the individual into anti-nominal metaphors, which then damage grid, place and dentate gyrus cell (GPDG) neurophysiology. The damaged neurocircuits allow the use of anti-nominal NSE metaphors within our individual neurophysiology. Furthermore, anti-NSE memes interfere with the self-organized criticalities (SOCs) of genetic-epigenetic processes necessary for the intergenerational transfer of functional social behavior. When anti-NSE nominal metaphors are transduced back into anti-NSEs, social niche memes, the trauma process is reiterated. Anti-NSE memes and metaphors are found to be inappropriate criteria central to the maintenance of persistent trauma. Therefore, anti-NSE memes have hijacked our epigenetics and our social niches. Solutions are available because during our evolution, the Homo clade developed esoteric capabilities and the ability to bring back what information we can from those encounters. This physiology operates around the 5HT2A neural receptors that process hallucinogens, such as psilocybin. Accessing this resource system, either through naturally occurring altered states of consciousness or through micro-dose pharmaceutical psilocybin and related neurotransmitters, produces a significant structural change in the GPDG system to reset the NSE system illustrated in the schematic to its nominal status so that we can maintain nominal NSE relationships within our meme niche(s).

The source of persistent trauma in our social niche(s), the means by which the trauma is maintained and the means to mitigate and perhaps eliminate persistent trauma are identified. Based on these three conclusions, it is difficult to make decisions regarding corrective actions because of ubiquitous anti-NSE memes and because of the limitations of our ordinary consciousness.

If we wish to survive as a species, we will need to discover the criteria necessary to maintain our niche(s) congruent SOCs and use them instead of tyrannical memes described by Dawkins (1989) to make decisions about ourselves and our niche(s).

Significant courage is required to identify the memes that maintain trauma because many of them are culturally sacred cows. Unfortunately, we have known since Bremner's (1995) MRI study of posttraumatic stress disorder that trauma causes brain damage. Fortunately, our NSE genes compel us to pursue restitution of the memes that maintain our trauma-inducing cultures.

Several original assertions are presented. While the Homo clade ancestors began the creation of the social niche(s) that led to Homo sapiens sapiens, it is asserted that the australopiths created the NSE memes which are the foundation behaviors that permit our social niche(s). Furthermore, NSEs were produced by enhanced intentionality skills and NSEs were created by both genetic and memetic processes. The evolution of intentionality-NSE neural networks is asserted as the source of intentional material manipulation. While anti-NSE memes are claimed as the source of persistent trauma, the practice of esoteric technologies is presented as a solution to persistent trauma.

Diagnosing brain tumors is a process that demands a significant amount of time and is heavily dependent on the proficiency and accumulated knowledge of radiologists. Over the traditional methods, deep learning approaches have gained popularity in automating the diagnosis of brain tumors, offering the potential for more accurate and efficient results. Notably, attention-based models have emerged as an advanced, dynamically refining and amplifying model feature to further elevate diagnostic capabilities. However, the specific impact of using channel, spatial or combined attention methods of the convolutional block attention module (CBAM) for brain tumor classification has not been fully investigated.

To selectively emphasize relevant features while suppressing noise, ResNet50 coupled with the CBAM (ResNet50-CBAM) was used for the classification of brain tumors in this research.

The ResNet50-CBAM outperformed existing deep learning classification methods like convolutional neural network (CNN), ResNet-CBAM achieved a superior performance of 99.43%, 99.01%, 98.7% and 99.25% in accuracy, recall, precision and AUC, respectively, when compared to the existing classification methods using the same dataset.

Since ResNet-CBAM fusion can capture the spatial context while enhancing feature representation, it can be integrated into the brain classification software platforms for physicians toward enhanced clinical decision-making and improved brain tumor classification.

This research has not been published anywhere else.

Exposure to indoor air pollutants poses a significant health risk, contributing to various ailments such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. These unhealthy consequences are specifically alarming for athletes during exercise due to their higher respiratory rate. Therefore, studying, predicting and curtailing exposure to indoor air contaminants during athletic activities is essential for fitness facilities. The objective of this study is to develop a neural network model designed for predicting optimal (in terms of health) occupancy intervals using monitored indoor air quality (IAQ) data.

This research study presents an innovative approach employing a long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network (RNN) to determine optimal occupancy intervals for ensuring the safety and well-being of occupants. The dataset was collected over a 3-month monitoring campaign, encompassing 15 meteorological and indoor environmental parameters monitored. All the parameters were monitored in 5-min intervals, resulting in a total of 77,520 data points. The dataset collection parameters included the building’s ventilation methods as well as the level of occupancy. Initial preprocessing involved computing the correlation matrix and identifying highly correlated variables to serve as inputs for the LSTM network model.

The findings underscore the efficacy of the proposed artificial intelligence model in forecasting indoor conditions, yielding highly specific predicted time slots. Using the training dataset and established threshold values, the model effectively identifies benign periods for occupancy. Validation of the predicted time slots is conducted utilizing features chosen from the correlation matrix and their corresponding standard ranges. Essentially, this process determines the ratio of recommended to non-recommended timing intervals.

Humans do not have the capacity to process this data and make such a relevant decision, though the complexity of the parameters of IAQ imposes significant barriers to human decision-making, artificial intelligence and machine learning systems, which are different. Present research utilizing multilayer perceptron (MLP) and LSTM algorithms for evaluating indoor air pollution levels lacks the capability to predict specific time slots. This study aims to fill this gap in evaluation methodologies. Therefore, the utilized LSTM-RNN model can provide a day-ahead prediction of indoor air pollutants, making its competency far beyond the human being’s and regular sensors' capacities.

This paper aims to conceptually unite an ontology of cybernetics, bridging living and technical systems, to facilitate future epistemological and theoretical advancements applicable to highly technical societies by crafting a set of definitions that elucidate the nature of the world in which these systems operate.

The research uses a thematic synthesis of two systems/cybernetic traditions: complex adaptive systems and mechanology. The primary sources for this research were the main theses and correlated papers published in the Simondon case for mechanology, and the seminal literature preselected by the Santa Fe Institute for complex adaptive systems.

The study proposes the following concepts: Individuation: the emergence of new properties in an individual composed of synergistically related parts; Technical evolution: the notion that technical objects evolve into living beings; circular causality: the notion that feedback and feedforward processes shape the organisation and structure of systems and their relationship with the environment; The milieu refers to the part of the environment that has a relationship of co-production, co-dependency, and co-evolution with systems. Metastability is a state that transcends stability and instability and motivates changes in the system. Transduction is the cumulative process of individuation in which systems change structure and organization to maintain operational coherence with their surroundings.

The concepts the paper identifies can serve as a starting point for an extended study on the ontology of cybernetics or as the basis for an evolutionary epistemology both in humans and machines.