Jordanian University Students Research Articles

Understanding learners' intention toward Metaverse in higher education institutions from a developing country perspective: UTAUT and ISS integrated model

PurposeThe Metaverse is an immersive virtual world where individuals interact with each other using an avatar. The Metaverse is promised to offer several potentials for different sectors. While the Metaverse promotes innovative interaction between individuals (e.g. learners), there is a scarcity of knowledge on what influences its acceptance and use in higher educational institutions (HEIs), particularly in developing countries. Thus, this paper aims to identify the factors that affect the users' intentions toward Metaverse technology for educational purposes in the HEIs in Jordan.Design/methodology/approachA study model was created by incorporating variables from the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) (performance expectancy, PE; effort expectancy, EE; social influence, SI; and facilitating conditions, FC) and information system success (ISS) model (user satisfaction, SAT; system quality, SQ; service quality, SVQ and information quality, IQ) with perceived curiosity (PC) and hedonic gratification (HG) constructs. Both PC and HG were added as context-related factors that could contribute to improving the applicability of UTAUT and ISS to a wide range of technology use contexts. Data were gathered from 441 Jordanian university students using an online questionnaire.FindingsThe analysis of the structural model revealed that users' behavioural intentions toward using Metaverse were significantly affected by user satisfaction (SAT), performance expectancy (PE), facilitating conditions (FC) and hedonic gratification (HG). Also, information quality (IQ) and services quality (SVQ) were revealed to have a significant influence on user satisfaction. Likewise, the results illustrated a significant impact of systems quality (SQ), information quality (IQ) and service quality (SVQ) on PE. Lastly, a significant effect of PC on the EE factor was found.Practical implicationsThis study will shed light on a number of practical implications for developers, designers, service providers and decision-makers supporting the acceptance and adoption of the Metaverse technology in the educational context. Also, it will contribute to developing the right strategies, and Metaverse content which will draw the attention of learners.Originality/valueAs per the surveyed literature and the researcher's prior knowledge, this is one of the first studies that integrate the UTAUT model, ISS model and two contextual factors (PC and HG) besides testing the proposed model in a developing country (Jordan). This paper is one of the few in which the individuals' acceptance behaviour of Metaverse technology was examined in the HEIs context.

The Impact of E-Learning on the Learning Motivation of Jordanian University Students

The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of e-learning on the motivation and academic success of Jordanian university students from different disciplines, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic era. The research further delved into understanding the role of e-learning tools, strategies, and teacher-student interactions in influencing these outcomes. The study explored the effects of e-learning on students' motivation across various disciplines. It sought to discern how e-learning strategies and teacher-student interactions affect students' enthusiasm and academic success. A questionnaire was electronically disseminated to 244 students from multiple Jordanian university faculties. Results indicated that e-learning positively influenced students' motivation. The convenience and easy access to resources were reasons students preferred e-learning. It also offered them self-learning avenues, enabling them to develop crucial skills and expand their viewpoints. The diverse educational techniques in e-learning further boosted their eagerness to learn. The study also found that e-learning supported consistent lesson engagement and boosted academic performance. The flexibility of studying at preferred locations elevated their overall results. Effective teacher-student communication emerged as pivotal for e-learning's success. Interactions with instructors during this phase had a favorable effect on their motivation and academic results. The study identified the compelling delivery of content and captivating teaching techniques as primary motivators. Consequently, a key recommendation is to emphasize creating and using interactive e-learning resources and activities, including multimedia, interactive tests, gamification, and group tasks. Such interactive methods can maintain student engagement, support autonomous learning, and nurture a communal spirit in the digital learning space.
 
 Received: 7 June 2023 / Accepted: 23 August 2023 / Published: 5 September 2023

Favor-Asking as Used by Jordanian University Students: A Socio-Pragmatic Study

This paper contributes to the existing literature on an important aspect of politeness by investigating the linguistic performance of the speech act of favor-asking as used by Jordanian university students. Specifically, it aims to explore the effect of gender and social distance on favor-asking performance. Data were collected from 100 Jordanian university students (50 males and 50 females) studying at two Jordanian universities: Jordan University of Science & Technology and Yarmouk University. The data were analyzed based on the speech act theory, using the content analysis model (i.e., the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) proposed by Blum-Kulka et al. (1989). Results demonstrated that the core strategy used in favor-asking among the students is significantly affected by gender and social distance. Conventionally indirect strategies (CISs) were found to be the most used category among all strategies; however, the female participants tended to use them much more often than the male participants. Keywords: Favour-asking, Applied linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Pragmatics, Jordanian society.

Inner Child, Self-Esteem, and Mental Health in Jordanian University Students

Inner Child, Self-Esteem, and Mental Health in Jordanian University Students

Behavioral and psychological diagnosis for universities students after the corona pandemic closures

With the coronavirus's rapid spread, most countries have taken preventive measures to limit this spread. Therefore, this paper aims to explore university students' behavioral and psychological variables. To achieve this, the researchers used the descriptive survey approach to the 3,152 Jordanian university students (2,194 female and 1,058 male). We put the Generalized Anxiety Disorder screener GAD-7 and behavioral variables an electronic questionnaire using (Google Forms). To achieve the study's objectives, we used: means, standard deviations, frequencies, percentages, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Chi-square tests with a confidence level of 95% (p<0.05). The study results revealed that (66.34%) don’t do regular physical activity, and there were statistically significant differences between males and females in the practice of physical activities in favor of males. In addition, (64.47%) of the study sample spent (5-10) hours, and (26.6%) spent more than (10) hours on social networking sites. Also, (40.03%) of the study sample suffers from fat accumulation in the waist, pelvis, and thighs. There were also (60.32%) who suffered from sleep disorders. In addition, there are overlapping relationships between the study variables (anxiety level, sleep duration, time spent on social networks, physical activities, and body shape).

The Role of Competitive Advantage Between Search Engine Optimization and Shaping the Mental Image of Private Jordanian University Students Using Google

The Role of Competitive Advantage Between Search Engine Optimization and Shaping the Mental Image of Private Jordanian University Students Using Google

Depression stigma, depression literacy, and psychological help seeking attitudes among school and university students

Very little research has specifically investigated depression stigma and its correlation with depression literacy and help-seeking attitudes among students. This study aimed to assess the levels and correlations of stigma, literacy, and psychological help-seeking attitudes related to depression among a sample of high school and university students in Jordan. A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional design was employed using an anonymous, online, self-report survey. This study included a total of 650 students aged 16 to 24 years. The participants were found to have high levels of depression stigma, low levels of depression literacy, and negative attitudes towards seeking psychological help. The most frequently reported sources of psychological help were family members, relatives, and friends. A significant negative correlation was found between depression stigma and depression literacy. The predictive factors of depression stigma were depression literacy, age, gender, education, father's educational level, family size, and having history of mental health problems among family members, relatives, or friends. This study provides valuable information on the common mental health needs and concerns among students in Jordan. The findings also highlight the importance of developing and implementing depression awareness and prevention education campaigns for students in schools and universities. Such campaigns may increase students' knowledge about depression, enhance their use of mental healthcare services, and prevent or decrease their risk of developing depression.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness Among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Jordan.

Loneliness is characterized by a sense of melancholy, emptiness, and despair, as well as a higher risk of both psychological and physical problems. Numerous post-coronavirusdisease 2019 (COVID-19) sequela, both physically and mentally, have been caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic that has affected many people. Memory issues and loneliness were found to be uniquely correlated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the COVID-19 epidemic affected the levels of loneliness among Jordanian university students. This is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. Google Forms were used for data collection, utilizing a three-item loneliness scale developed by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States, which accounts for the following items: (1) how often does the participant feel about lacking companionship, (2) how often does the participant feel being left out, and (3) how often does the participant feel isolated from others. Each item was marked for three frequency levels of experience: (1) hardly ever, (2) some of the time, and (3) often. Responses to the three loneliness questions were graded on a scale of 3-9, with scores between 3 and 5 indicating "not lonely" and scores between 6 and 9 indicating "lonely." The study included 802 participating students. Specifically, 75.4% of the participants were females, 58% were aged 20-25, and 39% were 17-19. In addition, 37% were from the capital city, while 28% lived in the middle area. Seventy nine percent were from public universities, and 74% were studying in their second year. According to UCLA's three-item loneliness scale, 411 (51.2%) participants were lonely, while 391 (48.8%) participants were not feeling lonely. According to direct question answers, 576 (71.8%) participants were lonely, and 226 (28.2%) were not lonely. The study concluded that the frequency of loneliness was high among Jordanian university students. However, both genders experienced equal levels of loneliness, while younger participants felt more lonely than older ones.

The Prevalence and Gender Differences of Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization Among University Students in Jordan

The Prevalence and Gender Differences of Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization Among University Students in Jordan

Gender-Based Differences in Compliment Responses Among Jordanian University Students

The current study aims at exploring the difference between male and female Jordanian university students with regard to their compliment responses on Facebook. It also investigates the difference between male and female Jordanian university students when they respond to compliments offered by the opposite sex. The study is based on a corpus consisting of 233 compliment responses collected from responses to comments on Facebook posts. The data analysis was based on Herbert’s (1986) taxonomy of compliment response strategies. Findings of this research show that both male and female Jordanian university students tended to use the agreement strategies more frequently than the non-agreement and other interpretation strategies. The findings also show that although both male and female students use the agreement strategies more frequently, there are also differences in the use of the sub-categories of the agreement strategy among them. Results of the study also indicated that the Jordanian culture, norms, and expectations, as well as the relationship between the complimenter and the complimentee, accounted for the very limited number of compliments on appearance and compliment responses that occurred between two students of different genders.

Health-Promoting Lifestyle Behaviors Among Jordanian University Students

Abstract Date Presented 04/21/2023 University students’ lifestyle behaviors may change for the better or worse as a result of several factors in their lives. Studying these behaviors would provide effective interventions to improve the lifestyle and health promotion of university students. Primary Author and Speaker: Shaden Khalil Al-Matalka Additional Authors and Speakers: Mohammad Nazzal, Ala'A F. Jaber Contributing Authors: Shaden Khalil Al-Matalka, Mohammad Nazzal, Ala'A F. Jaber, Alaa Oteir, Mariam Abu-Alim

The Role of Television Sports Programs in Shaping Awareness of Physical Health among Jordanian University Students

The Role of Television Sports Programs in Shaping Awareness of Physical Health among Jordanian University Students

The Predictability of Cyberbullying and Psychological Distress in Bulimia Nervosa Disorder among Jordanian Universities Students

The Predictability of Cyberbullying and Psychological Distress in Bulimia Nervosa Disorder among Jordanian Universities Students

Prevalence of Depression Among Jordanian University Students During COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: The global COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on individuals, physical and mental health. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and depression as a mental health problem among students of Jadara University. Methods: a cross-sectional study among Jadara University students by survey forms was conducted between 6 -12 of May 2020. The CES-D scale was used to assess depression. Result: Out of 200 participants, 45% were classified as high risk for depression and 55% as low risk for depression. Our resulting study revealed that the academic year and the professional status of the student had a significant relationship with depression. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic gives insight into the importance of universities and states natural resources to respond to mental health problems among the most vulnerable.

Digital skills and entrepreneurial intentions for final-year undergraduates: entrepreneurship education as a moderator and entrepreneurial alertness as a mediator

PurposeThis study aims to test the impact of digital skills on the entrepreneurial intentions of last-year undergraduate students in Jordanian universities, especially after the Coronavirus disease pandemic and the digital transformation in education and business patterns. In addition, it aims to assess the role of entrepreneurial alertness as a mediator and entrepreneurship education as a moderator in the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.Design/methodology/approachThe quantitative study used a questionnaire distributed to 401 students from different Jordanian universities. The data was collected over 2 months and two structural equation models were developed using AMOS 25 to examine the relationship.FindingsA significant negative relationship was found between digital skills and entrepreneurial intentions of last-year undergraduate students in Jordanian universities post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A fully mediating role of the alertness variable has appeared in addition to a significant moderating role of entrepreneurship education.Originality/valueThis is the first study that attempts to investigate the impact of digital skills on students' entrepreneurial intentions in Jordan after the COVID-19 pandemic, In addition, it is one of the few studies that assess the mediator's and moderator's effects on the same conditions. Finally, the study provided a review of the definitions and models used as part of the contribution to upcoming reviews.

Substance Abuse among University Students: Assessing Prevalence, Risk and Preventive Measures

Objectives: This research was undertaken to determine the prevalence and beliefs about drug abuse among university students in Jordan and to recommend certain preventive measures for the problem of drug addiction.
 Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional online survey was conducted in April 2021 and included 679 students from private and public universities in Jordan. Students were asked to fill out the study survey through social media (Facebook and WhatsApp).
 Results: The study included a survey conducted among 679 students from private and public universities whereby two third of them were females and more than half were studying in medical and health departments. It was found that 7.1% of university students used drugs in their life including illicit drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Also, the addictive students started using drugs at a mean age of 18 years old ± 3.9. Importantly, around half of the addictive students succeeded to quit using drugs, 20.8% reported not trying to quit, while 33.3% of them tried but could not quit. In addition, the findings of this study revealed that peer pressure (n= 657, 96.8%), and the lack of religious commitment (n= 654, 96.3%), were the most motivational factors for drug abuse. Finally, regression analysis showed that female gender (OR= 0.094, p-value <0.001), and studying in public university (OR= 0.496, p-value= 0.042) were considered protective factors against substance abuse.
 Conclusion: Focusing on increasing the awareness of youths about the risks of using drugs is a major framework in the society. Our recommendations are to increase awareness among the students, parents and society about drug abuse.

Social support as the mediator for the relationship between internet gaming disorder and psychological problems among university students

BackgroundThere has been increasing recognition of internet gaming disorder as a psychiatric problem that is linked with serious impairment and distress and correlated with psychological reactions and social consequences. Thus, this study proposed that psychological problems (stress, anxiety, and depression) and social support could be associated with IGD and social support had a mediating role between these psychological problems and IGD among university students in Jordan. MethodsA cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design was adopted. The university students (N = 1020) were selected randomly from four universities (two public and two private) in Jordan. A self-structured questionnaire was used to collect data using the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20 Test), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MSPSS), and sociodemographic data. FindingsFindings of this study found that the mean age of the participants was 21.38 (S.D ± 2.12) and 55.9% of them were males The prevalence of internet gaming disorder was 12.16% among the participants, where the cut-off point for internet gaming disorder was 71 out of 100. Internet gaming disorder was significantly correlated with stress, anxiety, social support, and depression. However, stress, anxiety, and social support had a direct effect on internet gaming disorder, while social support had the strongest effect on internet gaming disorder. It was found that social support had a mediating role between anxiety and stress (β = −0.172, T-Statistics = 3.92, p < 0.001; β = −0.268, T-Statistics = 5.45, p < 0.001, respectively) and internet gaming disorder (p < 0.001). ConclusionThis study can help policymakers and instructors develop health education programs and/or health training programs that focus on using social support as a coping method when experiencing psychological problems including stress and anxiety and adopt social support in management programs for excessive use of internet gaming.

The Predictability of Cyberbullying and Psychological Distress in Anorexia Nervosa Disorder among Jordanian Universities Students

Objectives: The study aimed to determine the percentage of explained variation demonstrated by cyberbullying and psychological distress in Anorexia Nervosa Disorder among Jordanian university students. Additionally, it aimed to investigate whether this percentage varies based on gender. Methods: The study sample consisted of 988 male and female Jordanian university students. Cyberbullying, psychological distress, and Anorexia Nervosa Disorder were measured to achieve the study's purpose. Results: The results indicated that 5.36% of students had Anorexia Nervosa Disorder, with 18.87% being male and 81.13% being female. A chi-square analysis showed no significant differences in the prevalence of Anorexia Nervosa based on gender. The study also found that psychological distress, flat pattern versus neutral, and victim's pattern versus neutral had predictive power for Anorexia Nervosa among university students. However, flat pattern/victim versus neutral and gender had no predictive power. Furthermore, the correct classification rate for identifying individuals with or without Anorexia Nervosa reached 93.9% for both groups, with 60 views classified incorrectly and a possibility of total error at 6.1%. Conclusions: Based on these results, the researchers recommend that educational institutions, especially universities, pay attention to Anorexia Nervosa Disorder and its relationship to cyberbullying and psychological distress. They also suggest directing the attention of workers in the field of psychological counseling towards establishing the main lines of psychological counseling and suitable treatment methods for Anorexia Nervosa Disorder.

Perception of university students on the role of educational digital stimuli in achieving academic passion in vocational education

Introduction. Digital stimuli are one of the strategies prepared by higher education institutions in university teaching in the field of vocational education, but they do not attach importance to them from other strategies that are used. The investigation of the role of educational digital stimuli in achieving the academic passion of vocational education students in Jordanian universities in light of COVID-19 is important to try to know the effect of digital stimuli on the academic passion of vocational education students. Methodology and research methods. The descriptive survey method was used to analyse the data. To achieve the objectives of the study, a questionnaire consisting of (29) items was designed, divided into three areas: dynamics (11 items), mechanics (7 items), and components (11 items) to collect data. The study sample consisted of 260 male and female students in Jordanian universities. Results and scientific novelty. The results showed that the role of educational digital stimuli in achieving academic passion was ‘high’ with no statistically significant differences due to the gender variable, with statistically significant differences due to the variables of the academic year and university type. Practical significance. The study recommends designing educational environments that are attractive, interactive, and related to the students’ reality, using strategies for deep information processing, problem-solving method, creativity and critical thinking in order to achieve students’ involvement in learning.

PODCASTS IMPACTS IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS TO JORDANIAN EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

English plays a vital role in ensuring flawless communication and interaction amongst people. This study aims to investigate the speaking enhancement throughout podcasting use as a teaching method. Besides, it focuses on how this podcasting enhances speaking of English language. In this study, the researcher focuses on university students in Jordan. In order to achieve such aims, this study employed quasi-experimental design. The findings concluded based on the lecturers’ observation during implementing speaking test that EFL students committed several speaking errors and these errors are found to be caused due to lack of vocabulary, pronunciation difficulties, grammar differences, listening difficulties, tenses, morphological error categories, and preposition use. It also found that students are positively affected by the use of technology-based teaching approach (podcast), additionally, it is concluded that technology-based approach positively affected students’ speaking skill. This study recommends that teachers and students should focus when improving speaking skills on the use of technology tools. In addition, it is recommended to conduct further studies focusing on the causes of speaking difficulties.