Optimizing learning comfort: ergonomic influences on children's transition to online education.

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.

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.

The influence of human resource management practices on occupational health and safety in the manufacturing industry.

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.

Analyzing the invisibility angles formed by vehicle blind spots to increase driver's field of view and traffic safety.

A driver's field of view is an essential requirement for decreasing traffic crashes and increasing safety. This article improves driver safety by analyzing factors that affect the invisibility angles formed by a vehicle's A and B pillars. An experiment was conducted with 117 participants. Two models were developed, each associated with one invisibility angle. In the A-pillar invisibility model, the age, weight, waist circumference, torso angle and distance between eyes and windshield were significant. For the B-pillar model, the age, gender, stature, waist depth, waist breadth, torso angle and distance between steering wheel and abdomen were significant. Some of these factors increase the invisibility angle(s), including age, stature, torso angle, distance between windshield and eyes, and distance between steering wheel and abdomen. Other factors decrease the invisibility angle(s), including weight, waist circumference, waist depth and waist breadth. In addition, gender significantly affects the invisibility angle.

Evaluation of overhead guide sign sheeting materials to increase visibility and safety for drivers.

Overhead guide sign visibility must increase to improve driver safety on roadways. Two methods increase overhead guide sign visibility: sign illumination and use of retroreflective sheeting materials. This paper compares three types of retroreflective sheeting: Engineering Grade (type I), Diamond Grade (type XI), and High Intensity (type IV). A field experiment was conducted at night using licensed drivers to determine the optimum retroreflective sheeting material that increases sign visibility and legibility. Results showed that, of the three types of retroreflective sheeting, Diamond Grade (type XI) sheeting requires minimum illuminance to be visible, followed by High Intensity (type IV) sheeting. Cost analysis, including labor, maintenance, and material cost components of the three retroreflective sheeting materials, showed that High Intensity (type IV) could increase sign visibility and legibility at night for Departments of Transportation with limited budgets, consequently increasing driver safety on roadways.