Portable Media Players Research Articles

How Linn Products Ltd. Has Achieved Organizational Fitness in the Digital Age

Overview: Prior research has understood the process of digital transformation as shifts between digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation phases and has treated the digital transformation process tautologically. In the literature, digital transformation is understood as transforming the whole organization, including its business processes and value proposition. This understanding is problematic because it fails to capture the need for achieving alignment between the organization, the environment, and the strategy based on the finer details of an organization’s context. Achieving this fit is important in a VUCA environment characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. We conducted a single case study of Linn Products, a UK-based high-tech company renowned for designing and manufacturing high-end home entertainment systems, including digital streaming products, music players, and speakers. This award-winning firm has not only embraced digital transformation but also sustained its performance proactively amidst the dynamic shifts in the consumable electronics industry. Our interpretive longitudinal study spans 2007 to 2023 and incorporates insights from 23 in-depth interviews. Our research provides valuable guidance for practitioners seeking to build resilience and adaptability in an era of digital disruption and polycrisis. Practitioner Takeaways: In an era marked by polycrisis, organizations must cultivate a combination of threshold and core capabilities to attain organizational fitness amidst the challenges of a VUCA environment. To leverage digital transformation, companies must adopt a strategic approach, whether through providing digital support in business processes or opting for full digital participation. Success in digital transformations hinges on the harmonious alignment of strategy, an organization’s unique circumstances, and the dynamic conditions of the VUCA environment.

The Challenges of Iranian Female Nurses Caring for Male Patients: A Qualitative Study.

Caring is a multidimensional concept with many factors that can affect its quality such as caring for the opposite sex. This study aims to explore the experiences of Iranian female nurses caring for male patients. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted via conventional content analysis and purposeful sampling. Seventeen female nurses including staff and head nurses participated. Unstructured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted from June to December 2019 in Iran. The interviews were recorded by an MP4 player. When no new codes were extracted from the interview the data saturation was achieved. All interviews were immediately transcribed verbatim and were analyzed via Graneheim and Lundman's conventional content analysis guidelines. Four themes emerged from the data: 1) women nurses' concerns about caring for men, 2) women nurses' unpleasant feelings while caring for men, 3) Ignoring women nurses' dignity, and 4) efforts to avoid unpleasant situations. Female nurses in Iran are faced with multidimensional challenges when providing care to men. Not only can these challenges decrease the quality of nursing care for male patients, but also make the hospital a stressful environment for female nurses and may lead to them leaving the work.

The Growing Role of Telerehabilitation and Teleassessment in the Management of Movement Disorders in Rare Neurological Diseases: A Scoping Review.

Background: People with rare neurological diseases (RNDs) often experience symptoms related to movement disorders, requiring a multidisciplinary approach, including rehabilitation. Telemedicine applied to rehabilitation and symptom monitoring may be suitable to ensure treatment consistency and personalized intervention. The objective of this scoping review aimed to emphasize the potential role of telerehabilitation and teleassessment in managing movement disorders within RNDs. By providing a systematic overview of the available literature, we sought to highlight potential interventions, outcomes, and critical issues. Methods: A literature search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, IEEE, and Scopus up to March 2024. Two inclusion criteria were followed: (1) papers focusing on telerehabilitation and teleassessment and (2) papers dealing with movement disorders in RNDs. Results: Eighteen papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The main interventions were home-based software and training programs, exergames, wearable sensors, smartphone applications, virtual reality and digital music players for telerehabilitation; wearable sensors, mobile applications, and patient home video for teleassessment. Key findings revealed positive outcomes in gait, balance, limb disability, and in remote monitoring. Limitations include small sample sizes, short intervention durations, and the lack of standardized protocols. Conclusion: This review highlighted the potential of telerehabilitation and teleassessment in addressing movement disorders within RNDs. Data indicate that these modalities may play a major role in supporting conventional programs. Addressing limitations through multicenter studies, longer-term follow-ups, and standardized protocols is essential. These measures are essential for improving remote rehabilitation and assessment, contributing to an improved quality of life for people with RNDs.

Social Media Use and Students’ Adherence to University Policies among Undergraduates

Social media platforms have emerged as a popular new medium that has integrated into our daily lives. Cell phones, iPods, and other portable media players have made it possible for people to carry a wealth of knowledge in the palm of their hands at all times. The advent of computer-mediated communication (also known as CMC) in the latter half of the 20th century is considered to be the seed from which social media sprang. This research aims to investigate the social media policy and the degree of compliance among undergraduate students in private and public universities in Osun State. Quantitative information was collected from 380 students at Redeemer's University and Osun State University for this research. The study used a questionnaire to gather data from its respondents, using a quantitative research approach for its investigation. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the study. The findings indicate that undergraduates are not aware of the university policy regulations, but they inadvertently had a high degree of compliance overall. The researchers concluded that students typically comply with the rules, with just a small percentage straying from them on occasion. As a result, the study suggested that educational institutions should make students aware of the potential consequences of violating social media policies and emphasise the importance of complying with these policies.

Practical Considerations for Implementing Adaptive Acoustic Noise Cancellation in Commercial Earbuds

Active noise cancellation has become a prominent feature in contemporary in-ear personal audio devices. However, due to constraints related to component arrangement, power consumption, and manufacturing costs, most commercial products utilize fixed-type controller systems as the basis for their active noise control algorithms. These systems offer robust performance and a straightforward structure, which is achievable with cost-effective digital signal processors. Nonetheless, a major drawback of fixed-type controllers is their inability to adapt to changes in acoustic transfer paths, such as variations in earpiece fitting conditions. Therefore, adaptive-type active noise control systems that employ adaptive digital filters are considered as the alternative. To address the increasing system complexity, design concepts and implementation strategies are discussed with respect to actual hardware limitations. To illustrate these considerations, a case study showcasing the implementation of a filtered-x least mean square-based active noise control algorithm is presented. A commercial evaluation board accommodating a low-cost, fixed-point digital signal processor is used to simplify operation and provide programming access. The earbuds are obtained from a commercial product designed for noise cancellation. This study underscores the importance of addressing hardware constraints when implementing adaptive active noise cancellation, providing valuable insights for real-world applications.

Contributing Factors to Customers Loyalty in Gadgets A Study on Apple Brand

Apple is a well-known technology corporation globally and one of the most valuable brands in 2020. Apple Inc. is a company that designs, develops, and distributes mobile communication and media players, PCs, and portable digital music players. Apple's products include iPhones, iPads, Macs, and iPods.In Malaysia, most university students choose to utilize Apple devices for their studies. This research examines why most students prefer Apple products in their daily lives. This research will also examine customer satisfaction, product quality, and other aspects and attitudes that impact customers' loyalty to Apple products. The data was acquired through monitoring and surveying students at University Sains Malaysia. This paper's analysis approach compares theory to observation and survey data.

The Relationship Between Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Awareness and the Use of Personal Listening Devices in Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the most common avoidable reasons for hearing impairment worldwide. Work-related, genetic, infectious, and environmental factors all have a part in defining the level of hearing impairment. Nevertheless, the use of personal listening devices (PLDs) is popular nowadays, particularly among younger people. Healthy behaviors are needed to prevent them from developing hearing loss. Our objective is to evaluate the knowledge level of NIHL among the people of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and understand its association with PLDs. Methods A cross-sectional survey was performed in December 2022 by sending an online survey on various social media applications. An electronic Arabic questionnaire with a total of 37 questions was designed to explore the participants' demographic data, history of hearing loss, risk factors, attitudes, and awareness of NIHL. Results Almost 22% of the study had mild-to-severe hearing impairment. Hearing issues were especially common among male individuals.A higher incidence of hearing impairments was seen in individuals who were utilizing a sound degree of more than 80%. The causes for NIHL comprised exposure to occupational noise, duration of the listening session per day, and the level to which the sound of the television or the broadcasting was raised. Approximately 77% of the participants preferred to reduce the sound of their personal audio devices (PADs) to prevent NIHL. Conclusion According to this study, there is a high prevalence of hearing problems in the Saudi population. Most of the respondents understood the risk factors linked to NIHL. There is a need for more NIHL awareness campaigns to educate the Saudi population and reinforce positive, healthy listening habits.

International experience and recommendations on audiological screening of schoolchildren: review.

Permanent childhood hearing loss is crucial for speech development and restricts learning abilities. Universal newborn hearing screening programs are well established to detect congenital hearing loss and address the need of hearing-impaired babies. Progressive or acquired permanent hearing loss can manifest later due to genetic causes, intrauterine or postnatal infections, middle ear diseases and excessive exposure to noise when listening the personal audio devices. The hearing loss prevalence in the population of 9 year-olds three times higher compared with newborns. School hearing screening is a part of hearing across the lifespan conception. The article presents international experience and recommendations for the organization of school hearing screening programs. A school-entry hearing test is mandatory, other grades might be screened also. The basic method is pure tone audiometry at frequencies of 500, 1 000, 2 000, 4 000 Hz at 20 dB. Otoscopy and tympanometry can be performed also, while whisper voice speech test is of low sensitivity. The main hearing screening issue is low follow-up of referrals to ascertain audiological assessment. Modern approaches to the prevention of hearing loss in schoolchildren and management of hearing impairements are described. Planning of hearing screening programs requires sufficient human and logistical resources, monitoring of results and quality improvement, all stakeholders engagement.

Prevalence and Pattern of Hearing Loss among Young Adults in Tertiary Institutions with Habitual Headphone/Earphone Usage in Kaduna Metropolis.

World Health Organisation estimates that 1.1 billion young people worldwide could be at risk of hearing loss due to unsafe listening practises and nearly half of the teenagers and young adults are exposed to unsafe levels of sound from the use of personal audio devices. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and pattern of hearing loss among students with habitual use of headphone/earphone in tertiary institutions in Kaduna. This was a prospective cross-sectional study of young adults with prolonged headphone/earphone usage in Kaduna and a group of nonheadphone/earphone users matched for age and sex as controls. Ethical approvals were obtained from relevant bodies and informed consent was also obtained from all participants. Data were obtained by clinical interview and audiometric evaluation of the participants and the data obtained were descriptively analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Frequency tables were generated and chi-square test and Student's t test were used to test for a possible association of variables. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Two hundred and seventy-two prolonged headphone/earphone users with same number of controls participated in this study. The mean age for subjects and controls was 22.6 ± 3.4 and 23.2 ± 4.2, respectively. Using the better hearing ear, 48 and 20 of the subjects and controls, respectively, had hearing loss, giving a prevalence of 17.6% and 7.4% among the subjects and controls, respectively. Of the 48 subjects with hearing loss, 89.6% had a mild hearing loss. Majority, 91.7% had sensorineural hearing loss and the hearing loss was bilateral in all the participants (both subjects and controls). High frequencies were the most affected (64.6%). This study revealed that hearing impairment was more common among prolonged headphone/earphone users. In the majority of the prolonged headphone/earphone users, the hearing impairment was bilateral, mild, sensorineural, and mostly affects higher frequencies.

Anything but Sony! Meshworking, identity multiplicity and the emergence of portable music players

This article explores the temporal processes through which firm identity emerges over time, and how the becoming of a firm's identity orients actors towards specific strategic pathways. Drawing on a historical case study of Sony and its development of consumer music technologies from the Walkman to digital music players (mp3), we present an alternative, processual framing of network relations through the ever-extending tangle of the meshwork. By introducing a meshwork-lens to the question of identity in business networks we emphasise the importance of a dynamic and complex identity multiplicity in shaping the action not only of the firm itself, but also in giving rise to the conditions for others to thrive. In doing so, we advance a processual approach to business networks and address the relatively undertheorized understanding of the temporal dynamics of identity in the IMP literature.

School hearing screening: international experience and recommendations

Permanent childhood hearing loss is crucial for speech development and restricts learning abilities. Universal newborn hearing screening programs are well established to detect congenital hearing loss and address the need of hearing-impaired babies. Progressive or acquired permanent hearing loss can manifest later due to genetic causes, intrauterine or postnatal infections, middle ear diseases and excessive exposure to noise when listening the personal audio devices. The hearing loss prevalence in the population of 9 year-olds three times higher compared with newborns. School hearing screening is a part of hearing across the lifespan conception. The article presents international experience and recommendations for the organization of school hearing screening programs. A school-entry hearing test is mandatory, other grades might be screened also. The basic method is pure tone audiometry at frequencies of 500, 1 000, 2 000, 4 000 Hz at 20 dB. Otoscopy and tympanometry can be performed also, while whisper voice speech test is of low sensitivity. The main hearing screening issue is low follow-up of referrals to ascertain audiological assessment. Modern approaches to the prevention of hearing loss in schoolchildren and management of hearing impairements are described. Planning of hearing screening programs requires sufficient human and logistical resources, monitoring of results and quality improvement, all stakeholders engagement.

Mobiltechnológiával támogatott kutatásalapú tanulás

Learning supported by mobile technology is extremely popular today because these technologies can support learning in different contexts. Mobile phones, e-book readers, MP3 and portable media players, tablets, laptops, smartphones, and GPS receivers can be considered mobile technology. As it can be seen from this list, they are different IT devices that can be held in the hand. Since they are portable devices, they enable learning regardless of time and place. The learning and teaching processes realized with mobile technology are called mobile learning (m-learning). Not only the device but also the student and learning are mobile. In the 2000s, research was published in the international literature in which mobile technologies supported learning by supplementing inquiry-based learning (IBL). Mobile technology-supported inquiry-based learning (mIBL) offers potential opportunities to support different levels of inquiry and generate new types of research; it helps to arouse and maintain students’ curiosity and motivation; it connects formal school and informal natural science learning related to everyday life. Although the research results so far show that mobile technology provides adequate support for IBL learning processes, practical strategies, recommendations, and guidelines are needed for further development and appropriate educational application. This study reviews the characteristics and practical applications of mobile learning through mobile technologies, emphasizing the support of inquiry-based learning.

Patterns of Using Personal Audio Devices and Associated Health Risks in Eastern Region, Saudi Arabia

Hearing loss is the world's fourth leading cause of disability. A limited number of studies in Saudi Arabia assess knowledge of personal audio device use and associated health risks among the general population, particularly on the regional level. Moreover, no study was performed in the Eastern Province about this problem. Thus, this study aimed to measure the pattern of the Use of earphones and Personal Audio Devices (PAD) and assess usage habits, listening beliefs, and knowledge of safe use of a sample of adults in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Data were derived in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia and included 483 participants; 33.7% belonged to the age group of 18-25 years old. Data were collected by an online self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with descriptive statistics, a c2 test, a Manne Whitney U test, and hierarchical multiple logistic regression. The assessment of the pattern of PAD usage showed that 53.4% of the participants reported that they had been using it for more than 5 years, and 43.1% used it more than 4 days a week. The assessment of perceptions related to continuous PAD usage showed that 61.7% believed its usage would lead to hearing loss, 79.7% thought it would cause ringing in the ear, 43.1% believed it would cause insomnia, and the majority (90.5%) believed it would cause headache. The knowledge level assessment for PAD use showed that more than half of participants (51.3%) had poor knowledge related to personal audio devices use. Half of the study's participants were unaware of the health risks associated with PAD use. Health officials should use more effective health education strategies to increase public and caregiver understanding of the many aspects of PAD usage.

THE ENHANCEMENTS IN STORAGE CAPACITY AND LONG-TERM DATA RETENTION OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL FLASH MEMORY IN MODERN MICROCIRCUIT APPLICATIONS

Generally, flash memory is a type of permanent memory for computers in which the contents can be reprocessed or erased electronically. Compared to programmable read-only memory that can erase electricity, operations on it can be performed on modules located in different locations. Flash memory is much less expensive than EEPROM, which is why it has become a dominant technology. Especially, in situations, this stable and long-term data retention is required. Its use is allowed in various cases like digital audio players, photo and video cameras, mobile phones and smartphones, and specialized Android applications on the memory card. Additionally, it is also used on USB flash drives, traditionally used to store and transfer information between computers. The proposed model provides enhancements to the storage capacity of various flash memory modules. In a saturation point, the proposed model achieved 93.03% of NOR Memory management, 89.31% of NAND Memory management, 94.25% of Ferroelectric RAM Memory management, and 94.53% of Magnetic RAM Memory management, 96.05% of Ovonic Unified Memory management and 96.16% of Salcogenide RAM Memory management.

A State-of-Art Review of Digital Technologies for the Next Generation of Tinnitus Therapeutics.

Background: Digital processing has enabled the development of several generations of technology for tinnitus therapy. The first digital generation was comprised of digital Hearing Aids (HAs) and personal digital music players implementing already established sound-based therapies, as well as text based information on the internet. In the second generation Smart-phone applications (apps) alone or in conjunction with HAs resulted in more therapy options for users to select from. The 3rd generation of digital tinnitus technologies began with the emergence of many novel, largely neurophysiologically-inspired, treatment theories that drove development of processing; enabled through HAs, apps, the internet and stand-alone devices. We are now of the cusp of a 4th generation that will incorporate physiological sensors, multiple transducers and AI to personalize therapies.Aim: To review technologies that will enable the next generations of digital therapies for tinnitus.Methods: A “state-of-the-art” review was undertaken to answer the question: what digital technology could be applied to tinnitus therapy in the next 10 years? Google Scholar and PubMed were searched for the 10-year period 2011–2021. The search strategy used the following key words: “tinnitus” and [“HA,” “personalized therapy,” “AI” (and “methods” or “applications”), “Virtual reality,” “Games,” “Sensors” and “Transducers”], and “Hearables.” Snowballing was used to expand the search from the identified papers. The results of the review were cataloged and organized into themes.Results: This paper identified digital technologies and research on the development of smart therapies for tinnitus. AI methods that could have tinnitus applications are identified and discussed. The potential of personalized treatments and the benefits of being able to gather data in ecologically valid settings are outlined.Conclusions: There is a huge scope for the application of digital technology to tinnitus therapy, but the uncertain mechanisms underpinning tinnitus present a challenge and many posited therapeutic approaches may not be successful. Personalized AI modeling based on biometric measures obtained through various sensor types, and assessments of individual psychology and lifestyles should result in the development of smart therapy platforms for tinnitus.

THE USE OF BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION (BBC) PODCAST IN EFL STUDENTS' LISTENING SKILL IN IAIN PALANGKA RAYA

A podcast is a digital multimedia file that can be downloaded to a portable media player, phone, or other device via the internet. There are many audio podcast that can be used in learning listening, one of them is British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) podcast. This research aimed to describe how the contribution and the problems in using British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) podcast in EFL students’ listening skill. This research was conducted at IAIN Palangka Raya. The type of this study was a qualitative approach. The data was taken from interview and documentation. Eight EFL students and two lecturers in IAIN Palangka Raya were the subjects of this research. They were determined by purposive sampling technique. The findings reveal that the use of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) podcast give positive contribution to students’ listening skill. Based on the result of the research using British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) podcast can develop students’ listening skill, vocabularies and they will be familiar with British accent. The problems in using the BBC podcast faced by the students were unfamiliar pronunciation, lack of vocabularies, and the speaker who spoke fast. Keywords: Podcast, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) podcast, EFL students, listening skill

Determinan Tingkat Pengetahuan Tentang Risiko Pemakaian Headset Dengan Sikap Penggunaan Headset Pada Mahasiswa

Headset refers to a pair of small loudspeakers that are worn on or around the head above the user's ear. World Health Organization (WHO) stated in 2019 that nearly 50% or 1.1 billion adolescents and young adults (12 to 35 years old) are at risk of hearing loss due to loud and long exposure to sound, including music they listen to through personal audio devices and the 2018 WHO projection shows that if no action is taken, there will be 630 million people living with hearing loss by 2030 and this number will continue to grow or 1 in 10 will experience hearing loss. The objective of this research is to determine a correlation between the students understanding of the headset usage risk and their attitudes of using headset at semester IV nursing students of STIKes Widya Dharma Husada Tangerang. The result of this research based on the data collected from the students showed that 21 students with well understanding of the headset usage risk have shown positive attitudes (32.3%). Meanwhile, 44 (67,7%) students with well understanding of the headset usage risk have shown negative attitudes. The result of the statistical calculation found that (p-value=0,421, α: 0,05). Therefore, it can conclude that there is no correlation between the students understanding of the headset usage risk and their attitudes of using headset. The suggestion based on this research is students should contribute by raising awareness about hearing loss and how to prevent it.

Analysis of potential risk of hearing loss among students using personal audio devices

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is on the rise, affecting nearly 1.1 billion young people as per the World Health Organization. It is mainly due to exposure to noise in recreational settings for prolonged duration and at high intensity resulting in unsafe listening practices. Aim and Objective: This study aims to analyze the potential risk of audio device usage and hearing loss among the students. Materials and Methods: Hearing loss among students using personal music player with headphones/earphones was assessed using a self-designed audiometry mobile application and followed by a questionnaire to those found to have hearing loss asking for their preferences of personal audio devices, usage in terms of years, duration per day, volume, content, and awareness of NIHL. Results: Among the 3000 students, 3.2% (96) of students were identified with hearing loss and 72% of the total subjects were unaware of NIHL. About 81% (78) were headphones users as compared to 19% (18) earphones users. About 50% of the subjects with hearing loss had reported usage of a personal audio device for more than 6 h per day followed by 30% who used it for 4–6 h, 16% who used it for 2–4 h followed by 4% who used it for 1–2 h per day. About 90% of students used volume settings more than 60% and 10% preferred 60–40% volume settings. About 65% of the subjects were using audio devices for more than 6 years and 16% for

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the use of personal audio devices among high school students in Buraydah, Al-Qassim

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the use of personal audio devices among high school students in Buraydah, Al-Qassim

Phenomenon of music-induced opening of the blood-brain barrier in healthy mice.

Music plays a more important role in our life than just being an entertainment. For example, it can be used as an anti-anxiety therapy of human and animals. However, the unsafe listening of loud music triggers hearing loss in millions of young people and professional musicians (rock, jazz and symphony orchestra) owing to exposure to damaging sound levels using personal audio devices or at noisy entertainment venues including nightclubs, discotheques, bars and concerts. Therefore, it is important to understand how loud music affects us. In this pioneering study on healthy mice, we discover that loud rock music below the safety threshold causes opening of the blood-brain barrier (OBBB), which plays a vital role in protecting the brain from viruses, bacteria and toxins. We clearly demonstrate that listening to loud music during 2 h in an intermittent adaptive regime is accompanied by delayed (1 h after music exposure) and short-lasting to (during 1–4 h) OBBB to low and high molecular weight compounds without cochlear and brain impairments. We present the systemic and molecular mechanisms responsible for music-induced OBBB. Finally, a revision of our traditional knowledge about the BBB nature and the novel strategies in optimizing of sound-mediated methods for brain drug delivery are discussed.