Emirati Parents’ Attitudes toward the Military and National Service in the United Arab Emirates

Compulsory national service for male citizens presents the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces with an opportunity to recruit future military officers. Research showed that parental attitudes towards the military, manifested through their communication with youths, are likely to influence youths’ decision on a military career. Hence this study examined the attitudes of Emirati parents on the UAE military and national service; particularly parental perceptions of the military work environment; support of a military career for their children; and concerns about national service. Surveys, individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 59 Emirati parents. It found that most participants held the positive view that the military work environment helps attainment of professional goals but were uncertain about personal goals and workplace conditions. Also, more participants were supportive of a military career for sons than daughters. It also identified the basis for parental confidence about enlistment as patriotism and development of positive character traits but main concerns were the exposure to harsh training conditions and threat to life during enlistment. Recommendations were provided for better engagement by the UAE military with Emirati parents and the community.

An Online Participatory Observation: The Online Depression Community's Discussion on Depression Treatment

This article uses the online participatory observation method to analyze more than 2,000 posts of the "Sunshine Project Psychological Mutual Assistance Forum" in Mainland China. The research observed the discussion of depression in the online patient community in anonymous forums, including the popularization of medical knowledge about diseases, self-disclosure of patient diagnosis and treatment experience, patient interaction, and patient discussions on controversial issues and rumors of the disease. The results of the study show that the online community of depression patients is both a "web of information" and a "web of mutual help." The patient's health information acquisition mode has changed from vertical reception to horizontal interconnection, which not only enhances patients' scientific understanding of the disease but also allows them to increase their sense of psychological security in their interpersonal interactions. In this new type of risk communication mode, how to establish a new fact-checking mechanism and establish ordinary people's trust in scientific and medical knowledge is a new challenge.

Sexual Experience, Suicidal Behaviors and Depression Association, and Its Tendency to Lead to Smoking and Alcohol Consumption among Korean Adolescents

In numerous published findings, the cohesion was they have treated sexual experience, suicidal behaviors and depression, as the outcome variables and regard substance use as the core factors. In this study, we aim to do the opposite. We seek to make sense of the linkage by inversing the analytical direction. We intend to examine the association and the likelihood, and observe the levels to which sexual experience, suicidal behaviors, and depression may play a part in the odds of smoking and alcohol drinking among middle school and high school Korean students. The data obtained were cross-sectional from the 2019 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey, participated by 57, 303 Korean adolescents. Among which are male 52.1%, female 47.9%, ages 15 below 59.2 % and 15 above 40.4%. This study utilized descriptive, Chi-square, and logistic regression analyses. Our basic findings signified that sexual experience and mental health problems doubled the odds of motivation. Chi-square analyses asserted that the association was statistically significant. All variables were notably correlated to substance use at 0.01 level, that is, when sexual experience, suicidal behaviors, and depression tend to increase, there was a high risk of using substances. The results for logistic regression on alcohol drinking, the -2LL statistic is 73157.25, the Cox & Snell R2 is 0.057, and Nagelkerke R2 is 0.078 having the df of 1, with the p value of 0.000l, and the -2LL statistic is 39022.46, the Cox & Snell R2 is 0.064, and Nagelkerke R2 is 0.122 having the df of 1, with the p value of 0.000 for smoking, predicted the maximum likelihood and considerably identified as positive significant indicators in the onset of substance initiation. This study also found that sexual experience had remained robustly substantial with the odds of smoking and drinking, that is, participants with higher sexual experience had the strongest likelihood of substance use motivation. Our overall results contribute to the debate by treating sexual experience, suicidal behaviors, and depression as precedent significant risk factors for developing substance use behaviors among Korean adolescents. For efficient and effective management of sexual experience, suicidal behaviors and depression on teenagers, findings underscore the need for early detection on adolescents at risk. A comprehensive prevention and protective efforts is required along with continuous parental guidance. Intervention programs with coping skills to handle emotional and behavioral problems is essential to help reduce the probability of an increased risk factors and subsequently lessen the threat for developing cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking behaviors among teenagers. School-based programs that can create synergy by embedding teenagers in an academic environment that is equally supportive, beneficial and can help promote a positive mindset is recommended.

Assessment of the Practice of Digital Disbursement Financial System in Managing Student’s Loans among Higher Learning Institutions in Northen Zone Tanzania

Digital disbursements is a relatively payment system that allows users to send funds from person to person using only mobile phone number which also used by Higher Education Student Loan Board (HESLB) to manage loans among higher learning institutions’ students. This paper as aimed at assessing the practice of digital disbursement financial system in managing students’ loans among higher learning institutions in the Northern Zone of Tanzania.The study applied descriptive research design. A questionnaire was distributed to business experts of Mwenge Catholic University to check on the content validity. To ensure data reliability, a Cronbach’s alpha as a measure of internal consistency was used. The sample size of the study included 400 respondents where questionnaire and documentary review were used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse and present the quantitative data with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). This study found that the use of mobiles and connectivity,availability of financial and digital infrastructure, convenient and secure banking service with lower fees,offering faster service, and availability of internetdetermined the practice of digital disbursement financial system in managing students’ loans. The study concluded that digital disbursement financial system enables peopleaccessing basic digital services for their daily lives such as paying school fees, payment of utility bills and purchase of airtime. This is made in transmission of the payment message which finally can be transmitted in funds. The study recommended that, there should be reliable internet connectivity to ensuredigital disbursement financialservices which depends on telecommunications infrastructure and internet to allow connectivity to access digital financial service.

Democratization, Social Renegotiations and the Hegemony of the Rey Bouba Lamidate over the Population of Slavish Mboum Origin in Question in the District of Touboro (North Cameroon)

This article analyzes the effects of democratization on power relations between the Rey-Bouba lamidate and the population of slavish Mboum origin in the district of Touboro (North Cameroon). The analysis of the challenges of its political participation (conventional and unconventional) leads to the study of its political activism in a context of diversification of the partisan offer. It also involves entering the profiles of political elites, from their rank and their associative movement. Based on the theory of coloniality of power and collected empirical data, democratization seems to be a favorable framework for social renegotiations between the lamidate of Rey-bouba and the population of the slavish Mboum origin.

The Influence of Storytelling Method on the Public Speaking Communication Skills among the Students of Mercu Buana University Meruya West Jakarta

The study aims at identifying the public speaking communication skills among the students of Mercu Buana University Meruya, West Jakarta, before and after the implementation of the storytelling method. In addition, the study also aims at identifying the presence or the absence of the impact of the storytelling method on the public speaking communication skills of the Mercu Buana University students in Meruya, West Jakarta. By using the SPSS Version 20, 40 students have been gathered as the samples of the study and these students come from all faculties in the Mercu Buana University. After the data have been gathered, the data are analyzed using the descriptive statistical test and the hypothesis test. In this regard, the researchers have implemented the normality test and the hypothesis test. The hypotheses within the study are tested using the following criteria: (1) if the rate of significance < a (sig. value < 0.05) then Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted; and (2) if the rate of significance > a (sig. value > 0.05) then Ho is accepted and Ha is rejected. The results of the study show that the students of Mercu Buana University have understood the concept and the implementation of the storytelling method. From the results of the analysis toward the assessment category of the storytelling method, out of 8 assessment variables 3 variables do not have significant influence on the storytelling method that the students of Mercu Buana University have implemented and the three variables are Pressure, Material Disclosure, and Participant Gesture. In addition, the results of the paired sample t-test there are significant differences between the pre-test results and the post-test results. These findings show that the storytelling method is highly influential for the changes on the public speaking communication skills that the students of Mercu Buana University perform.

Students’ Perception toward the Integrated Content-Based Reading Instructional Material

This study aims at developing reading instructional material using content-based instruction (CBI) approaches for the students of Islamic Education Department in a private university in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi province, Indonesia. This is a research and developmental research with ADDIE developmental model. This study involved the lecturers and students of Islamic Education Department. This paper presents the students’ perception toward the Integrated Content-Based Reading Instructional Material that had been designed. The result of this study found that the students of Islamic education department have a very positive perception toward the Integrated Content-Based Reading Instructional Material.

Is There any Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Intimate Partner Violence by Husband?

Emerging preliminary data alarmed on an intensive increase of IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe. This article presents findings from a mixed-method approach identifying the changing nature of IPV during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka. Quantitative secondary data identified a rapid increase of complaints on violence against women (VAW) in Sri Lanka and Kalutara District with the implementation of island-wide lockdown restrictions. As qualitative data revealed IPV tends to be associated with childhood maltreatment, economic difficulties, stress, lack of social skills and empathy, infidelity and intimacy problems, excessive interference of co-residents, and alcohol and psychoactive drugs even before the pandemic. But, loss of income, increased stress, increased intimacy problems, alcohol addiction and using alcohol, and binge-watching of television by husband identified to be significant factors contributing to a higher incidence of IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic period in Kalutara District.

Development of Teaching Materials for the Pre-Reading and Writing Based on a Contextual Approach in Elementary Schools

This study was a development research with a Four-D development design from Thiagarajan. This study was conducted in two schools in Sinjai Regency, namely SDN 102 and MIN 2 Sinjai. There were two results in this study. The first was prototype development of teaching materials for teaching reading and writing based on a contextual approach in SD/MI uses the Four-D teaching material development procedure from Thiagarajan. The procedures consisted of four stages namely definition, design, development, and dissemination stage. The second result showed that teaching materials for beginning reading and writing based on a contextual approach in Class 2 were declared valid. Teaching materials for teaching reading and writing based on the contextual approach in SD/MI are categorized as valid because in the learning process the validity criteria have been met, namely the average value of expert validation results was categorized as valid. Teaching materials for teaching reading and writing based on a contextual approach in SD/MI were categorized as effective because there was an increase in learning outcomes after the development of teaching materials for beginning reading and writing were from low category to good category. The students’ responses in teaching reading and writing met the effectiveness criteria. Based on the data from the responses of teacher 1 and teacher 2, both of them gave positive responses. The observation sheet was in the good category, implemented completely, and the management of teaching materials for developing teaching reading and writing learning based on the contextual approach was in the very good category. Thus, it showed that the teacher's response, observation sheets, and learning management sheets for teaching materials for teaching reading and writing learning based on the contextual approach were in the practical category.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Environment in the Asia Pacific

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the consequences of political and ecological choices that have been made and continue to be made in the Asia Pacific. Over recent decades, the region’s rapid urbanization and industrialization have played a significant role in dynamic national economic development, a rapid rise in per capita income and the establishment of some of the world’s fastest-growing cities. Development has, however, come at a heavy price: planetary-health experts believe that a byproduct of human intrusion into remote wilderness areas has been a sharp uptick in environmental degradation and zoonotic diseases such COVID-19. Moreover, people living with poor air quality are more susceptible to this virus, and airborne particulate matter may even help to spread the virus. A study conducted by the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health has confirmed that there is a statistical correlation between high levels of air pollution and increased Covid-19 mortality rates.