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This study aims to analyze to what extent distance education is feasible and efficient with the limited technological infrastructure in Egypt. The study answers this question from the perspective of households' preparedness level regarding possessing information and communication technologies (ICTs). In addition, it assesses whether the pattern of students' ICT ownership is influenced by disability- and socioeconomic-based inequality in education and whether the pattern of ICT ownership exacerbates such biases.

A three-stage probit model with double sample selection (PMDSS) was applied to estimate the factors likely to influence ICT possession, considering the selection process for school enrollment and education continuation. The authors utilized nationally representative data from the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2018.

About 40% of students aged 12–25 did not have ICTs. Most socioeconomically poor households, particularly those living in Upper Egypt, were the least likely to obtain ICTs and rely on distance education. In addition, female students, particularly those with disabilities, had the lowest chance of benefitting from distance learning.

The persistent structural deprivation of school enrollment and educational progression has led to the positive selection of well-off children in education, which is extended to ICT possession and internet use. Without addressing these structural biases, the study suggests that distance education will likely exacerbate educational inequalities.

The study analyzed the extent to which Egyptian families were prepared in 2018 regarding ICT possessions for distance education for their children, particularly those with disabilities. Furthermore, it investigated whether access to distance learning was influenced by disability- and socioeconomic-based inequalities in education.

Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-concept (SC) play a very important role in one’s life. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the SC and EI of tribal and nontribal university students.

The research used a quantitative approach, 100 nontribal (50 male and 50 female) and 100 tribal (50 male and 50 female) students were selected by nonprobability sampling method. The Bangla version of the self-concept questionnaire (Beck et al., 2001) and the emotional intelligence questionnaire (Hyde et al., 2002) were used to measure the SC and EI of students. Pearson correlation, t-test and post hoc tests were used for statistical analysis.

The findings of this study showed that the tribal and nontribal students differ significantly on the measure of SC and EI (p < 0.01). Although nontribal students showed higher SC than tribal students, tribal students showed a higher level of EI than nontribal students. The results also showed that gender significantly affects SC and EI (p < 0.01). Males have higher SC and EI than females. Furthermore, the study revealed that socioeconomic status differs significantly in the case of SC. Finally, the result also showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.245, p < 0.01) between SC and EI.

The results of the research are only based on the students of one university besides the sample size is limited.

This research allowed the authors to determine the practical implications. The findings suggest that there is a significant difference in SC and EI between tribal and nontribal students, with nontribal students showing higher levels of SC. This implies that interventions and programs aimed at enhancing SC may be particularly beneficial for tribal students. The study also reveals that there are significant differences in SC and EI between tribal and nontribal adolescent boys and girls. This highlights the importance of considering gender differences when designing interventions to improve SC and EI among tribal and nontribal students. Moreover, educators, parents and policymakers can use these findings to develop targeted interventions and strategies to enhance SC among tribal students, with the aim of improving their overall well-being, academic achievements and success in life.

This paper adds to the literature on the SC and EI of tribal and nontribal university students by describing the difference in levels and a significant correlation. This paper obtains an innovative statistical approach to develop the findings so that information can be used in the future.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder that significantly impacts the quality of life of affected individuals. Diet has been identified as a potential modifiable risk factor for IBS, yet its association with IBS risk in the Kurdish adult male population remains understudied. This case-control study aimed to investigate the association between the lifeline diet score (LLDS), a validated tool assessing overall diet quality and the risk of IBS in Kurdish adult men.

A total of 200 Kurdish adult men were recruited, comprising 100 IBS patients (cases) and 100 healthy controls without IBS. Medical records and interview questionnaires were used to confirm IBS diagnoses, while detailed dietary questionnaires were administered to assess participants’ dietary habits and calculate their respective LLDS scores. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between LLDS and IBS risk, adjusting for potential confounding factors.

Participants with higher LLDS scores exhibited a significantly reduced risk of IBS compared to those with lower LLDS scores (OR= 0.38, 95% confidence intervals = 0.18–0.77; p <0.001). The association remained statistically significant even after controlling for potential confounders such as socioeconomic status, age, eating rate, protein, fat, physical activity and body mass index.

This case-control study demonstrates a significant inverse association between the LLDS and the risk of IBS in Kurdish adult men. Higher LLDS scores, indicative of a healthier and more balanced diet, were associated with a decreased risk of IBS. These findings highlight the potential role of dietary patterns in IBS prevention and management within the Kurdish adult male population.

Pune is a prominent information technology (IT) hub in India, where snacking has become a customary practice among IT professionals. This study aims to determine the pattern and factors associated with snacking among IT professionals from various multinational corporations (MNCs) in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

This cross-sectional study considered 404 IT professionals aged 21 to 50 years. A convenient sampling method was adopted to administer a validated questionnaire. Information on snacking patterns and factors associated with snacking were recorded. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data with p = 0.05. The participation was voluntary, and confidentiality was ensured.

The mean age of the participants was 31 ± 7.9 years. Almost half (51.5%) of the participants engaged in daily snacking. The sociodemographic factors such as younger age (0.000), marital status (p = 0.001), salary package (p = 0.006), living situation (p = 0.05), designation (p = 0.042) and work experience (p = 0.001) significantly related with the unhealthy snacking pattern scores. Daily snacking was significantly associated with hunger (p = 0.001), stress (p = 0.001), weight (p = 0.000), peer influence (p = 0.041) and taste (p = 0.001). Hunger, stress, taste, peer influence, boredom and weight were significantly (p = 0.05) associated with unhealthy snacking patterns.

The mean age of the participants was 31 ± 7.9 years. Almost half (51.5%) of the participants engaged in daily snacking. The sociodemographic factors such as younger age (0.000), marital status (p = 0.001), salary package (p = 0.006), living situation (p = 0.05), designation (p = 0.042) and work experience (p = 0.001) significantly related with the unhealthy snacking pattern scores. Daily snacking was significantly associated with hunger (p = 0.001), stress (p = 0.001), weight (p = 0.000), peer influence (p = 0.041) and taste (p = 0.001). Overall, hunger, stress, taste, peer influence, boredom and weight were significantly (p = 0.05) associated with unhealthy snacking patterns such as snacking in between, prioritizing taste over nutrition, exclusion of fruits and vegetables in snacks, lack of control over snacking and snacking habit.

This study uniquely identifies the snacking pattern of IT professionals from Pune, India, which primarily includes unhealthy snacking. Various socio-demographic and other factors such as hunger, taste, stress, boredom, convenience, weight and peer influence, were associated with unhealthy snacking. Understanding the snacking pattern and its determinants can help create nutrition interventions to promote healthy snacking and decrease the risk of noncommunicable diseases in IT professionals.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional anemia in the world and a pervasive health problem, especially in developing countries. Children under two years of age are more prone to be affected by IDA. The best strategy to prevent and treat IDA is to use iron supplements. This study aims to examine the factors associated with noncompliance (such as non-utilization or inconsistent usage) of iron drop supplementation among infants between 6 and 24 months old.

Online databases (PubMed, Scopus and SID) were searched to retrieve relevant articles published from inception up to July 2023. Among the 2,177 articles detected, after removing duplicate and irrelevant titles, 21 cross-sectional studies that met the authors’ inclusion criteria were included. Screening for articles and data extraction were conducted separately by two researchers.

The findings suggest that some factors related to mothers, such as education, knowledge, attitude and performance; some factors associated with child such as child’s gastrointestinal and dental complications; taste and smell of iron drops; and birth order and gender are the main determinants of adherence to iron supplementation.

It can be proposed that the most significant factors affecting the feeding of iron drops to children under the age of two include: the level of mother’s awareness, socio-economic status of the household and the occurrence of digestive complications following the supplementation. Given these observations, adopting proper policies toward improving the nutritional awareness of mothers and producing iron supplements with minimal side effects seems crucial.

Despite a significant evidence base illustrating the issue of housing insecurity and homelessness experienced by women over the age of 55 in Australia [Pawson et al., 2018; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2021b; Mission Australia 2022; Per Capita 2022], there continues to be a knowledge gap in the representation of older women in current Federal and New South Wales (NSW) State Government housing and homelessness policies and initiatives. This paper aims to identify the extent and ways in which older women were represented (or not represented) in the Federal and NSW State housing and homelessness policies in 2022.

Of the total primary and supplementary Federal and NSW State policy and strategy documents, 16 were collected through a systematic review and then analysed using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework and feminist lens to explore quotes, phrases, keywords and language choices which suggested prevalent themes, rhetorical devices and dominant discourses.

Three significant themes were identified by the analysis (1) “relinquished responsibility”, (2) “inconsistent rhetoric” and (3) “homogenising and ideological cherry picking”. These themes presented the authors with three main discussion points to inform policy reform which we have addressed in relation to policy implications, evidence-based policy decision-making and impacts on older women.

The combination of a systematic review with CDA provides a unique approach to exploring homelessness policy for older women.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a slowdown of economic activity across the globe, which has resulted in high levels of disruption to labour markets. This study seeks to examine how the outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted the search strategies of students seeking for an internship, and whether these have changed since the start of the pandemic. The study utilises the strength of weak ties hypothesis, social capital theory and status attainment theory to explore the changes in securing a position since the outbreak of COVID-19.

This study draws on data from two cohorts of MBA students seeking to secure internships: one before the outbreak and one during. A multinomial regression is employed to examine how students have used network ties to secure internships and how this has changed since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The multinomial regression results indicate that there was little difference in the strategies employed by students before the crisis compared to those that secured them during, potentially indicating that students are unwilling to deviate from typical job search strategies, especially in times of uncertainty.

This study provides insights into how network ties are used by job seekers during a period of economic and environmental uncertainty.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic factors and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) across genders. The study also highlights the impact of cognitive and motivational factors on the EO in Saudi Arabia.

This is a quantitative analysis based on the Adult Population Survey of 2016 conducted by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor among a sample of 4,053 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The results showed significant differences in most EO dimensions between genders. It was found that EO is positively related to gender, with more women intending to start a venture than men in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Self-efficacy, motivation and social welfare motivational factors for EO are positively associated with the gender of the respondents.

This paper illustrates the urgency to establish programs that support self-efficacy, motivation and social welfare to promote entrepreneurship among women in the Kingdom.

The study highlights the impact of cognitive and motivational factors on EO among females in Saudi Arabia.

Child malnutrition is a grave concern for Pakistan, as the country has one of the highest incidences of child stunting in the developing world. The present study examines the relative significance of parents' education on a child's nutritional status in Pakistan.

For analysis, the study has used data from Phase 7 of the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) (2017–2018). Since the dependent variable ranges from 0 to 1 (1 indicates not a stunted child, while 0 represents a stunted child), binary logistic regressions are used for the analysis.

The results show that mothers' and fathers' education positively contributes to a child's nutrition. However, mothers' education is considered more significant, especially in the long run. The mother's education categories are positive and significant in the long run, while only their higher education is positive and significant for the father's. Moreover, the magnitude of the effect also shows that the probability of stunting is less if the mothers are educated. The long-run coefficient for mothers' higher education is 0.752, while that of fathers' higher education is only 0.232.

The present study compares the importance of mothers' and fathers' education in child nutrition and concludes that the role of the mother is more crucial for child upbringing. There are rarely any studies that focus on the role of fathers' education in child nutrition and compare whose role, mothers' or fathers,' is more important for child well-being.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2023-0483