Syrian University Students Research Articles

The interplay of technology and context in Syrian university students' electronic literacy practices

This article reports on a research study that aims to understand Syrian university students' electronic literacy practices and the factors that influence these practices. So doing, it seeks to find answers to the research questions of “what factors influence Syrian university students' electronic literacy practices?” and “what (types of) language do Syrian university students use online?”. It uses the survey approach as a main research method which employs both questionnaires and follow-up semi-structured group interviews.The findings reveal that Syrian university students use a variety of languages in their electronic literacy practices and that many factors influence these practices. Some of these factors are related to technical issues such as availability and easiness of internet access while others go beyond the computer screen and relate to the context where these practices are performed.

Nutritional knowledge assessment of syrian university students

Nutrition knowledge is one of the factors that affect nutritional status and nutritional habits of individuals, families, and societies. Nutrition knowledge is an important tool in assessing the nutritional status of an individual, group or community. Researchers have been trying to design and develop reliable and valid questionnaires that distinguish and measure nutrition knowledge and its impact on dietary behavior and diet-health awareness. Many studies have shown that nutrition knowledge can affect someone to follow dietary recommendations. The aim of this study was to assess the nutrition knowledge of Syrian university students and to find out if there was any relationship between anthropometric measurements, socioeconomic status, type of university and nutrition knowledge of the students. Nutritional knowledge was assessed using valid nutrition knowledge questionnaire, which covered six main sections. The questionnaire was designed for this study and was adapted from Parameter and Wardle. The number of students participated in the study was 998 students and were selected from four universities) in Syria. They were asked to complete the nutrition knowledge questionnaire under supervision of trained nutritionist. Anthropometric measurements were taken for all participants by trained professional. The results were statistically analyzed and P 30 had the highest points in TNK. Females had higher TNK score as compared with males. Furthermore, students enrolled in the private university and in health-related programs showed typically better TNK scores than those enrolled in public universities and in nonhealth-related programs. The highest TNK score based on BMI was found among students with BMI >30. The results support the likely value of including nutrition knowledge as a target for health education campaigns aimed at promoting healthy eating.

The association between physical activity, overweight and obesity among Syrian University students

Obesity and being overweight are considered as global health problems because obesity increases the risk of several chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes. Physical activity plays an important role in preventing overweight and obesity in young people and stemming its progression into young adulthood. Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable time for the development of obesity because it is marked by a slowing of growth and corresponding decrease in physical activity levels. In addition, physically active youth have lower levels of adiposity than youth who are less active. Several studies have identified the role of physical activity in attaining a healthy body weight. A study carried out at the University of Kalamoon, revealed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Syria is almost 47%. The objective of this study was to find out the association between physical activity, overweight and obesity in Syrian university students. An accurate assessment of physical activity is important in determining the risk of overweight and obesity. The absence of local and national relevant data in the Arab world could pose challenges to epidemiological studies on physical activity in these countries. Data from the International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ) short format on 320 Syrian university students (age 18-26) were analyzed. The prevalence of overweight/obesity had a strong inverse association with physical activity among males and females alike but was more visible in females. The low intensity and short duration of the physical activity has also played a role in shigher body mass index (BMI) values. More metabolic equivalent of tasks (METs) minutes/week resulted in lower BMI values and on the contrary, sitting time had a positive relationship with higher BMI values. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between males and females with regard to METs minutes/week which was 4854 ± 1272 and 4408 ± 1136 for males and females respectively in the normal weight group and for 4368 ± 984 and 4041 ± 985 for males and females, respectively in overweight group and 3385 ± 982 and 3063 ± 801 for males and females, respectively in obesity group. This trend also applies to sitting METs minutes/week. In the normal weight group, males had higher values than females whereas females had higher values in the overweight and obesity group but thedifference was significant (P < 0.05) between males and females in the three groups. These results underscore the importance of promoting physical activity among adolescence to prevent and control overweight and obesity.

A Study of The Brief Multidimensional Students' life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) with Syrian Secondary and University Students

The Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) is a self-report measure developed to assess life satisfaction among students in five specific domains: family, friends, school, self, and daily life. The purpose of the current study was to develop an Arabic version of this measure and to investigate its psychometric properties with Syrian secondary students as well as university students. With a sample of (N=1604), several methods were used to estimate the reliability and validity of the measure. The results showed satisfactory test-retest reliability and internal consistency coefficients. Also, the results provided evidence for the convergent and divergent validity. Further evidence for the construct validity of the instrument was provided by studying the inter-correlations of its five subscales as well as the correlations of these subscales with the subscales of the entire instrument. At the same time, validity was supported by the correlations of the five subscales with achievement. In sum, the findings of this study show that the psychometric properties obtained from administering the instrument to a sample of secondary school and university students meets acceptable levels. Recommendations were made to conduct further psychometric studies upon the Arabic version of BMSLSS and to administer this version in cross- cultural studies.