Background: Finding behavioral changes in youth during the COVID-19 pandemic may provide a better image of the negative impact of quarantine on their mental and physical health. The purpose of the present research was to examine the smartphone usage status, sleep pattern, health-related quality of life, and physical activity among adolescents from before to during the COVID-19 confinement. Methods: The present study used a descriptive-comparative design. The participants were 384 male and female students aged 16 to 18 years (mean age of 16.84±1.06 years) in grades 11 and 12 from the high-schools of Golestan province, Iran, in 2020. Screen time, sleep pattern, health-related quality of life, and physical activity were measured using standard questionnaires. Paired-Sample t test was employed to compare the means of the constructs of the study from "before" to "during" the COVID-19 pandemic. Independent t test was used to measure gender differences. Results: Results shed light on the increments in smartphone use and decrements in sleep quality, health-related quality of life, and physical activity among adolescents from "before" to "during" the COVID-19 pandemic (all P<0.001). Girls had significantly higher use of smartphones in both "before" (P=0.003) and "during" (P<0.001) the pandemic compared with boys. However, no other gender differences were found among male and female adolescents (all P>0.05).
Conclusion:The findings of this study revealed the effects of policies related to COVID-19 pandemic on health-related behaviors among adolescents and emphasized the importance of adopting appropriate coping strategies to promote healthy lifestyle during confinement.
Technological advances have transformed the face of the world. Over the past two decades, the banking industry has been investing heavily in using Information Technology (IT). In response to new laws, the growth of global networks and rising incomes, the banking industry employs new technologies called e banking to achieve and maintain strategic benefits. Electronic banking refers to financial activities that are carried out using electronic technology. Electronic banking gives banks the opportunity to respond to the different needs of customers in different locations simultaneously. In recent years, with the growing spread of information technology and the benefit of the Internet, banks and financial institutions are seeking to provide more different and diverse services for their customers. The emergence and development of e-banking is facing serious challenges, which responding to them is inevitable. The challenges that the e-banking system will face include financial, regulative and legal issues, organizational culture and process issues, infrastructures and systems. One of the challenges of developing electronic banking in Iran is the legal challenge. One of the most important legal challenges for the e-banking system seems to be whether the general rules of contracts provide sufficient guarantees for the validity and necessity of electronic contracts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the legal challenges for the advancement of the electronic banking system and provide solutions for solving them.
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