Is the Smartphone (SP) an extension of consciousness or just an (other) externalization of the mind and an extension of the social? The concept of externalizing the mind more appropriately describes a series of processes that tend to be considered extensions of the mind. The human mind has evolved concurrently with various externalizations, such as utensils and language, as contributions to the development of the common environment of humanity: culture and civilization. Externalizations indicate the appearance of the human mind (...) while the extensions take into account the possibility of passing to another level (the singularity of consciousness). SP is a handy tool that mediates the personal relationship with the world, benefiting from a level of integration into the global workspace of the mind. Externalization called the SP could be a bridge from the externalization of the mind to its extensions, making the ontological leap from the utensil status to that of "part of the mind". SP is a mediator of an environment: it mediates between the mind and a special social environment called the Internet (mediates access to cognitive support provided by society through the virtual world), which is gradually becoming another reality. SP is part of the extension of human society by introducing tools into the network of personal relationships. Not the mind is expanded, but the social network, increasing the number of entities with which the human can create and maintain relationships. SP may be an extension of the social rather than an extension of the mind because it mediates an increase in the complexity of social relations that can lead to the emergence of "collective minds" (causing a change in the ontological status of society). Changing cognitive demands is a feature of the world's progress. Progress brings along with it cognitive costs of integration, technical solutions like SP, aimed at reducing these costs, generating an evolutionary advantage in the new social context. From an evolutionist perspective, the world means precisely this kind of modification of cognitive demands necessary for survival, SP joining the set of tools that mediate the cognitive progress of the world in which the human is inserted. We propose the use of an evolutionary cognitive economy principle, based on avoiding unnecessary costs, reducing losses and optimizing cognitive gains. (shrink)

Compulsive smartphone users’ psyches, today, are increasingly directed away from their bodies and onto their devices. This phenomenon has now entered our global vocabulary as “smartphone zombies,” or what I will call “iZombies.” Given the importance of mind to virtually all conceptions of human identity, these compulsive users could thus be productively understood as a kind of human-machine hybrid entity, the cyborg. Assuming for the sake of argument that this hybridization is at worst axiologically neutral, I will construct (...) a kind of phenomenological psychological profile of the type of cyborg which engages in these patterns of behavior. I follow Judith Butler in seeing this identity as the result of performance practices, which as such can be modified or replaced using other performances. Pursing one such alternative, I compose a dancing critique that “reverse engineers” the choreographies implied by these cyborgs’ survival practices. The upshot of this critique is that their movement patterns do indeed align closely to those of horror cinema’s zombies. I therefore conclude by suggesting a few possible choreographic imperatives to facilitate more enabling ways of being for iZombie cyborgs today. (shrink)

In a social situation, why is it sometimes off-putting when a person reaches for his smartphone? In small-group contexts such as a college seminar, a business meeting, a family meal, or a small musical performance, when a person begins texting or interacting with social media on a smartphone he may disengage from the group. When we do find this off-putting, we typically consider it to be just impolite or inappropriate. In this essay, I argue that something more profound (...) is at stake. One significant way in which individuals shape their self-identities is through interactions with others in small groups. Much identity-work is interdependent; it requires generating and preserving social contexts. I argue that the smartphone-use of some individuals can fracture a group’s context and thus negatively affect the identity-work of others. In this essay, I examine identity-work, sociality, and personal technology from a perspective of existential phenomenology. (shrink)

When our smartphones distract us, much more is at stake than a momentary lapse of attention. Our use of smartphones can interfere with the building-blocks of meaningfulness and the actions that shape our self-identity. -/- By analyzing social interactions and evolving experiences, Roholt reveals the mechanisms of smartphone-distraction that impact our meaningful projects and activities. Roholt’s conception of meaning in life draws from a disparate group of philosophers—Susan Wolf, John Dewey, Hubert Dreyfus, Martin Heidegger, and Albert Borgmann. Central to (...) Roholt’s argument are what Borgmann calls focal practices: dinners with friends, running, a college seminar, attending sporting events. As a recurring example, Roholt develops the classification of musical instruments as focal things, contending that musical performance can be fruitfully understood as a focal practice. -/- Through this exploration of what generates meaning in life, Roholt makes us rethink the place we allow smartphones to occupy in the everyday. But he remains cautiously optimistic. This thoughtful, needed interrogation of smartphones shows how we can establish a positive role for technologies within our lives. (shrink)

Smartphone use plays an increasingly important role in our daily lives. Philosophical research that has used first wave or second wave theories of extended cognition in order to understand our engagement with digital technologies has focused on the contribution of these technologies to the completion of specific cognitive tasks (e.g., remembering, reasoning, problem-solving, navigation).However, in a considerable number of cases, everyday smartphone use is task-unrelated. In psychological research, these cases have been captured by notions such as absent-minded smart-phone (...) use (Marty-Dugas et al., 2018) or smartphone-related inattentiveness (Liebherr et al., 2020).Given the prevalence of these cases, we develop a conceptual framework that can accommodate the functional and phenomenological characteristics of task-unrelated smartphone use. To this end, we will integrate research on second wave extended cognition with mind-wandering research and introduce the concept of ‘extended mind-wandering’. Elaborating the family resemblances approach to mind-wandering (Seli, Kane, Smallwood, et al., 2018), we will argue that task-unrelated smartphone use shares many characteristics with mind-wandering. We will suggest that an empirically informed conceptual analysis of cases of extended mind-wandering can enrich current work on digitally extended cognition by specifying the influence of the attention economy on our cognitive dynamics. (shrink)

Virtues, broadly understood as stable and robust dispositions for certain responses across morally relevant situations, have been a growing topic of interest in psychology. A central topic of discussion has been whether studies showing that situations can strongly influence our responses provide evidence against the existence of virtues (as a kind of stable and robust disposition). In this review, we examine reasons for thinking that the prevailing methods for examining situational influences are limited in their ability to test dispositional stability (...) and robustness; or, then, whether virtues exist. We make the case that these limitations can be addressed by aggregating repeated, cross-situational assessments of environmental, psychological and physiological variables within everyday life—a form of assessment often called ecological momentary assessment (EMA, or experience sampling). We, then, examine how advances in smartphone application (app) technology, and their mass adoption, make these mobile devices an unprecedented vehicle for EMA and, thus, the psychological study of virtue. We, additionally, examine how smartphones might be used for virtue development by promoting changes in thought and behavior within daily life; a technique often called ecological momentary intervention (EMI). While EMA/I have become widely employed since the 1980s for the purposes of understanding and promoting change amongst clinical populations, few EMA/I studies have been devoted to understanding or promoting virtues within non-clinical populations. Further, most EMA/I studies have relied on journaling, PDAs, phone calls and/or text messaging systems. We explore how smartphone app technology provides a means of making EMA a more robust psychological method, EMI a more robust way of promoting positive change, and, as a result, opens up new possibilities for studying and promoting virtues. (shrink)

Objectives: In recent years, adolescents spend increasingly more time on technologic devices such as smartphones, televisions, computers, and tablets. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the usage of digital technology and health-related problems among adolescents. -/- Methods: A cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted by using a face-to-face survey administered to a sample of students studying at 4 randomly chosen public middle school and 4 randomly chosen public high school in the city of Istanbul. In (...) this study recruited 1147 volunteer adolescents. All participants were answered a questionnaire regarding the demographic characteristics, technological devices useage patterns and health-related problems. -/- Results: Most of the adolescents had smartphones (99.4%) and the fewest had game consoles (18.2%). The rate of using television and smartphone for more than two hours a day among adolescents was 13.1% and 28.4%, respectively. A decrease in sleep duration, increase in falling asleep time, distraction, fatigue, eating disorders and psychological symptoms were significantly more present for individuals using smartphone more than two hours. A positive and very weak relationship was detected between the duration of smartphone use and neck (r=0.096; p=0.002), wrist (r=0.079; p=0.008) and shoulder (r=0.069; p=0.021) pain. Also, positive and very weak relationship was detected between the duration of computer use and upper back (r=0.102; p=0.001), lower back (r=0.078; p=0.011) and shoulder (r=0.069; p=0.041) pain. -/- Conclusion: This study showed the most widely used technological device among adolescents is smartphones and it was observed that the excessive use of this device among adolescents is more associated with many different health-related problems than other technological devices. (shrink)

This study was conducted with the aim of developing the academic work in the Palestinian universities. No one can deny the technological stage that we are witnessing in the present era. Our mission is to use this development to develop the educational process. The Artificial Intelligence of the most important branches of computer science, which is interested in the development of computer software in order to make them simulate intelligent human, recently it emerged promised based on artificial intelligence applications are (...) intelligent tutoring system one of the most prominent of these applications is the most useful in the field of education. Intelligent tutoring system are programs that are helping the student and the teacher in the educational process, so that the student exploits these systems to increase his education and the acquisition of scientific skills, and we are not exaggerating if we say that the future of the development of the educational process is through the development of intelligent private teaching systems because it adapts to me intellectual level of the student as well as easy to use and available 24 hours every day. In this study, a smart tutor was designed using the ITSB tool developed by Prof. Sami Abu Nasser to develop the process of teaching the computer skills course. This course is a university course that teaches students of Israa University on different samples of students. After completion of the course, and evaluate the special lecturers who studied the course and used the system in the process of teaching and arrived at a set of conclusions and recommendations make sure that the use of the tutor Smart smartphone is important in the development of laboratory teaching has positive results in improving the level of scientific student . (shrink)

Smart home has become more and more popular in recent years. Due to the rapid development in the field of the Automation industry, human life is becoming more advanced and better in all aspects. In the present scenario, Automated systems are being preferred over the non-automated system. With the rapid growth in the number of consumers using the internet over the past years, the Internet has become an important part of life, and IoT is the newest and emerging internet technology. (...) Internet of things plays an important role in human life as well as in the educational field because they are able to provide information and complete the given tasks while we are busy doing some other work. In this project, a prototype and implementation of Smart Home Automation with Wi-Fi technology are demonstrated. ESP8266 is used as a Wi-Fi technology. The proposed system consists of a hardware interface and software interface. In the hardware interface, the integration of ESP8266 Wi-Fi technology for controlling home appliances, door lock and unlock and sensors is manifested, and an application is provided for controlling to multiple users of home, with smart phones, tablets, and laptops. This system is one of the best methods for controlling home devices with ease with multiple users and one of the best methods for an energy management system. The access to the whole system is given by its admin only to different users. This system is also expandable for controlling various appliances used at home and also for the security and safety purpose of the home through sensors as long as it exists on Wi-Fi network coverage. (shrink)

The excessive population growth leading to urbanization and, subsequent to it, urban sprawl, increases the size and number of urban settlements. Consequently, to fulfill the land needed for this expansion, humans encroach the public open areas, including highly crucial urban green spaces. Generally, any kind of greenness within the city, known as urban green spaces, benefits the ecosystem and the inhabitants. Hence, the green infrastructure, universally, should be preserved. Urban parks, specifically urban forest parks, serving as recreational green public spaces, (...) are beneficial for environmental issues and human’s mental and physical health, in other words, well-being, by enabling them to interact with nature. To appropriately preserve the urban forest parks, being aware of the motivational factors for the visitors have a key role. While the willingness factors vary amongst people, it is important to know whether different people can experience the same park diversely, which is almost attractive in terms of general park features. Hence, the study refers to the concept of sense of place, capable of turning spaces into the desired places, framing the users’ behavior and transmitting cultural meaning. Augmentation occurs using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in urban environments. It can be as simple as telecommunication technologies or very complicated ones. With their everyday use in peoples’ lifestyles, they have penetrated humans’ real lives, fading away the border detaching the real world from the world of computer-mediated services. Nowadays, a holistic technological perspective dominates the urban areas rather than individual ICT projects, which can reshape people’s interaction with their surroundings. Hence, the ICT-enriched spaces result in augmented spaces that convey a sense of place, supporting meaning-making and behavior framing. With its recent definition, gamification, which is the process of making activities more game-like, is a sample of augmentation. While triggering motivation in the users, it can support inducing new behaviors or reshaping the existing ones. Currently, gamification is spread out to various domains, both in academia and amongst practitioners. However, while gamification may involve any type of content, it is called a serious game in the case of transmitting serious educational content besides being entertaining. They are able to engage the player with the education of a certain topic or enhancement of a specific skill. The recent covid-19 outbreak and consequent confinement periods affected people's everyday lifestyles. While suddenly, people lost the freedom of being outdoor, experiencing new places, and interacting with each other, the technology rescued them from such a phenomenon. Virtual environment served them as a mediator to be in the same place, interact, and experience their daily activities in a novel form. Additionally, gamification changed even the sense of their virtual places. This thesis aims to enrich the park visitors’ experience via entertainingly introducing the Atatürk urban forest park to them, accompanied with educational content, by means of a locative serious game. The game benefits from the public awareness reinforcement to serve urban green space preservation. It generates a sense of placeness in its in situ mobile version and desktop version, played remotely, to frame the players’ behavior for the sake of its aim. The thesis is divided into six chapters to achieve its intended aim: The first chapter, the introduction, describes the excessive population growth leading to urbanization and its subsequent, urban sprawl, which increases the size and number of urban settlements and decreases the area of highly crucial urban green spaces. Discussing the green infrastructure benefits, this part emphasizes the importance of its preservation. After a brief debate around the possible ways of this conservation, this chapter continues with the thesis's purpose, method, and content. The literature review part, located in the second and the third chapter, introduces the types, definitions, and the benefits of the urban green spaces, instanced as parks and urban forest parks. This chapter continues with a description of the park experience, followed by the concept of the sense of place. Augmentation and the use of ICTs for behavior framing are described, followed by the idea of gamification, serious games, related case studies, and software. Next, in the fourth chapter, the thesis continues with the research part. Firstly, it introduces the selected area, Atatürk Urban Forest Park, with its detailed fauna and flora information. Then, it proceeds with the game development part, introducing the operated 360° panoramic field photography with a smartphone and using 3dvista Virtual Tour PRO software as the game development tool to provide a locative serious game. For the evaluation of the developed game’s success, in the fifth chapter, the thesis conducts an online survey, including a Google form questionnaire, requested to be filled after the gameplay, focused on the remote version, inspired by the pandemic situation. Finally, in the last chapter, the thesis results are concluded, and the discussions around the future possibilities of the provided method and its capabilities are made to enlighten the field for further studies. (shrink)

The main objective of our project is to construct a fully functional voice-based home automation system that uses the Internet of Things and Natural Language Processing. The home automation system is user-friendly to smartphones and laptops. A set of relays is used to connect the Node MCU to homes under controlled appliances. The user sends a command through the speech to the mobile devices, which interprets the message and sends the appropriate command to the specific appliance. The voice command given (...) by the user is interpreted by the mobile device using Natural Language Processing. The system utilizes a node microcontroller unit (Node MCU) as a Wi-Fi-based gateway to connect to the Google Assistant. It determines operation must be completed by which the appliance to fulfill the user’s request. The user increased mobile capabilities we will be using a smart phone in this project. A smartphone application as nearly all of the data transferred can be processed by cloud. The user increased mobile capabilities we will be using a smart phone in this project. The IoT -based system for home automation can easily and efficiently control appliances. The Node MCU is interfaced with the appliances and programmed in a manner that they respond to mobile inputs. (shrink)

In this open access book, Timothy Aylsworth and Clinton Castro draw on the deep well of Kantian ethics to argue that we have moral duties, both to ourselves and to others, to protect our autonomy from the threat posed by the problematic use of technology. The problematic use of technologies like smartphones threatens our autonomy in a variety of ways, and critics have only begun to appreciate the vast scope of this problem. In the last decade, we have seen a (...) flurry of books making “self-help” arguments about how we could live happier, more fulfilling lives if we were less addicted to our phones. But none of these authors see this issue as one involving a moral duty to protect our autonomy. (shrink)

This edited volume is designed to explore different perspectives of culture, identity and social development using the impact of the digital age as a common thread, aiming at interdisciplinary audiences. Cases of communities and individuals using new technology as a tool to preserve and explore their cultural heritage alongside new media as a source for social orientation ranging from language acquisition to health-related issues will be covered. Therefore, aspects such as Art and Cultural Studies, Media and Communication, Behavioral Science, Psychology, (...) Philosophy and innovative approaches used by creative individuals are included. From the Aboriginal tribes of Australia, to the Maoris of New Zealand, to the mystical teachings of Sufi brotherhoods, the significance of the oral and written traditions and their current relation to online activities shall be discussed in the opening article. The book continues with a closer look at obesity awareness support groups and their impact on social media, Facebook usage in language learning context, smartphone addiction and internet dependency, as well as online media reporting of controversial ethical issues. The Digital progress has already left its dominating mark as the world entered the 21st century. Without a doubt, as technology continues its ascent, society will be faced with new and altering values in an effort to catch-up with this extraordinary Digitization, adapt satisfactorily in order to utilize these strong developments in everyday life. (shrink)

For 4E cognitive science, minds are embodied, embedded, enacted, and extended. Proponents observe that we regularly ‘offload’ our thinking onto body and world: we use gestures and calculators to augment mathematical reasoning, and smartphones and search engines as memory aids. I argue that music is a beyond-the-head resource that affords offloading. Via this offloading, music scaffolds access to new forms of thought, experience, and behaviour. I focus on music’s capacity to scaffold emotional consciousness, including the self-regulative processes constitutive of emotional (...) consciousness. In developing this idea, I consider the ‘material’ and ‘worldmaking’ character music, and I apply these considerations to two case studies: music as a tool for religious worship, and music as a weapon for torture. (shrink)

Personal AI assistants are now nearly ubiquitous. Every leading smartphone operating system comes with a personal AI assistant that promises to help you with basic cognitive tasks: searching, planning, messaging, scheduling and so on. Usage of such devices is effectively a form of algorithmic outsourcing: getting a smart algorithm to do something on your behalf. Many have expressed concerns about this algorithmic outsourcing. They claim that it is dehumanising, leads to cognitive degeneration, and robs us of our freedom and (...) autonomy. Some people have a more subtle view, arguing that it is problematic in those cases where its use may degrade important interpersonal virtues. In this article, I assess these objections to the use of AI assistants. I will argue that the ethics of their use is complex. There are no quick fixes or knockdown objections to the practice, but there are some legitimate concerns. By carefully analysing and evaluating the objections that have been lodged to date, we can begin to articulate an ethics of personal AI use that navigates those concerns. In the process, we can locate some paradoxes in our thinking about outsourcing and technological dependence, and we can think more clearly about what it means to live a good life in the age of smart machines. (shrink)

The harms associated with wireless mobile devices (e.g. smartphones) are well documented. They have been linked to anxiety, depression, diminished attention span, sleep disturbance, and decreased relationship satisfaction. Perhaps what is most worrying from a moral perspective, however, is the effect these devices can have on our autonomy. In this article, we argue that there is an obligation to foster and safeguard autonomy in ourselves, and we suggest that wireless mobile devices pose a serious threat to our capacity to fulfill (...) this obligation. We defend the existence of an imperfect duty to be a ‘digital minimalist’. That is, we have a moral obligation to be intentional about how and to what extent we use these devices. The empirical findings already justify prudential reasons in favor of digital minimalism, but the moral duty is distinct from and independent of prudential considerations. (shrink)

Nomophobia (no-mobile-phone phobia) is the fear and anxiety of being without a mobile phone. This study pioneers the investigation of nomophobia in Afghanistan using the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), addressing a crucial gap in the field. We collected statistical data from 754 undergraduate medical students, comprising men (56.50 %) and women (43.50 %), and analyzed the dimensions of nomophobia. While results revealed that all but two participants were nomophobic, they identified three significant dimensions affecting the level of nomophobia among participants: (a) (...) gender, (b) age, and (c) marital status. The study's contributions are precious, given the peculiarity of Afghan political turmoil, security, and human rights issues, especially for women. For example, the study's data collection was abruptly halted in December 2022 due to the Taliban regime's decision to make it illegal for women to enroll in universities as students. Therefore, while examining the characteristics of nomophobia across societies is imperative, it is also vital to investigate what is true of one society, Afghanistan, at one point in time and space. The study concludes by emphasizing the need to broaden participants' scope in future studies to better understand the prevalence of nomophobia across broader societal contexts and forces. (shrink)

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated drastic changes to undergraduate medical training at the University of Botswana (UB). To save the academic year when campus was locked down, the Department of Medical Education conducted a needs assessment to determine the readiness for emergency remote teaching (ERT) of the Faculty of Medicine, UB. Objectives. To report on the findings of needs assessment surveys to assess learner and teaching staff preparedness for fair and just ERT, as defined by philosopher John Rawls. Methods. Needs (...) assessment surveys were conducted using Office 365 Forms distributed via WhatsApp, targeting medical students and teaching staff during the 5 undergraduate years. Data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results. Ninety-two percent (266/289) of students and 73.5% (62/84) of teaching staff responded. Surveys revealed a high penetration of smartphones among students, but poor internet accessibility and affordability in homes. Some teaching staff also reported internet and device insufficiencies. Only WhatsApp was accessible to students and teaching staff. Conclusions. For equitable access to ERT in the future, the surveys revealed infrastructural improvement needs, including wider, stronger, affordable WiFi coverage within Botswana and enhanced digital infrastructures in educational institutions, with increased support for students. (shrink)

We argue that while digital health technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, smartphones, and virtual reality) present significant opportunities for improving the delivery of healthcare, key concepts that are used to evaluate and understand their impact can obscure significant ethical issues related to patient engagement and experience. Specifically, we focus on the concept of empowerment and ask whether it is adequate for addressing some significant ethical concerns that relate to digital health technologies for mental healthcare. We frame these concerns using five key (...) ethical principles for AI ethics (i.e. autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and explicability), which have their roots in the bioethical literature, in order to critically evaluate the role that digital health technologies will have in the future of digital healthcare. (shrink)

Education is essential to life, and the epidemic affected everything. Parents want to get their kids the most important teaching. However, since COVID-19 has affected schools and other institutions, providing education has become the most significant issue. Online learning pedagogy uses technology to provide high-quality learning environments for student-centered learning. Further, this study explores the experiences and challenges faced by Filipino tertiary students regarding the lack of gadgets amidst online learning. Employing the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the findings of this study (...) were: Some college students still have difficulty with online learning. Attending online classes is difficult, especially for students with limited resources. Smartphones, other gadgets, and internet connections play a significant role in online classrooms because they are the ones that students utilize while learning online, which is essential for successful participation in online higher education as well as for solving a variety of other difficulties in the new normal. Further, College students face similar health challenges. Having an online learning setup is not just about students' struggles with learning resources but also about their health issues. When our respondents used their smartphones for an extended period, they reported eye aches and blurred vision. They also said that some of their body parts, such as their legs and back, are aching, and feel pressured because they tend to overthink things in their surroundings, which causes them incredible difficulty in performing their best in attending online classes. Even though college students continue to suffer from a lack of learning resources during online sessions, they do their best to manage their needs and the scarcity of learning resources. Students have unique coping methods for dealing with difficulties in online classes. (shrink)

Background: Screen time among adults represents a continuing and growing problem in relation to health behaviors and health outcomes. However, no instrument currently exists in the literature that quantifies the use of modern screen-based devices. The primary purpose of this study was to develop and assess the reliability of a new screen time questionnaire, an instrument designed to quantify use of multiple popular screen-based devices among the US population. -/- Methods: An 18-item screen-time questionnaire was created to quantify use of (...) commonly used screen devices (e.g. television, smartphone, tablet) across different time points during the week (e.g. weekday, weeknight, weekend). Test-retest reliability was assessed through intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and standard error of measurement (SEM). The questionnaire was delivered online using Qualtrics and administered through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). -/- Results: Eighty MTurk workers completed full study participation and were included in the final analyses. All items in the screen time questionnaire showed fair to excellent relative reliability (ICCs = 0.50–0.90; all < 0.000), except for the item inquiring about the use of smartphone during an average weekend day (ICC = 0.16, p = 0.069). The SEM values were large for all screen types across the different periods under study. -/- Conclusions: Results from this study suggest this self-administered questionnaire may be used to successfully classify individuals into different categories of screen time use (e.g. high vs. low); however, it is likely that objective measures are needed to increase precision of screen time assessment. (shrink)

Human biological memory systems have adapted to use technological artifacts to overcome some of the limitations of these systems. For example, when performing a difficult calculation, we use pen and paper to create and store external number symbols; when remembering our appointments, we use a calendar; when remembering what to buy, we use a shopping list. This chapter looks at the history of memory artifacts, describing the evolution from cave paintings to virtual reality. It first characterizes memory artifacts, memory systems, (...) and the two main functions such artifacts have, which are to aid individual users in completing memory tasks and as a cultural inheritance channel (section 2). It then outlines some of our first symbolic practices such as making cave paintings and figurines, and then moves on to outline several key developments in external representational systems and the artifacts that support these such as written language, numeral systems and counting devices, diagrams and maps, measuring devices, libraries and archives, photographs, analogue and digital computational artifacts, the World Wide Web, virtual reality, and smartphones (section 3). After that, it makes some brief points about the cumulative nature of the cultural evolution of memory artifacts and speculates about the possible future of memory artifacts, arguing that it is very difficult to look beyond an epistemological horizon of more than five years (section 4). (shrink)

This article makes the case that our digital devices create illusions of agency. There are times when users feel as if they are in control when in fact they are merely responding to stimuli on the screen in predictable ways. After the introduction, the second section of the article offers examples of illusions of agency that do not involve human–computer interaction in order to show that such illusions are possible and not terribly uncommon. The third and fourth sections of the (...) article cover relevant work from empirical psychology, including the cues that are known to generate the sense of agency. The fifth section of the article shows that our devices are designed to deliver precisely those cues. In the sixth section, the argument is completed with evidence that users frequently use their smartphones without the sort of intentional supervision involved in genuine agency. This sixth section includes the introduction of Digital Environmental Dependency Syndrome (DEDS) as a possible way of characterizing extended use of the smartphone without genuine agency. In the final section of the article, there is a discussion of questions raised by the main claim, including suggestions for reducing occurrences of illusions of agency through software design. (shrink)

Most people are completely oblivious to the danger that their medical data undergoes as soon as it goes out into the burgeoning world of big data. Medical data is financially valuable, and your sensitive data may be shared or sold by doctors, hospitals, clinical laboratories, and pharmacies—without your knowledge or consent. Medical data can also be found in your browsing history, the smartphone applications you use, data from wearables, your shopping list, and more. At best, data about your health (...) might end up in the hands of researchers on whose good will we depend to avoid abuses of power.2 Most likely, it will end up with data brokers who might sell it to a future employer, or an insurance company, or the government. At worst, your medical data may end up in the hands of criminals eager to commit extortion or identity theft. In addition to data harms related to exposure and discrimination, the collection of sensitive data by powerful corporations risks the creation of data monopolies that can dominate and condition access to health care. -/- This chapter aims to explore the challenge that big data brings to medical privacy. Section I offers a brief overview of the role of privacy in medical settings. I define privacy as having one’s personal information and one’s personal sensorial space (what I call autotopos) unaccessed. Section II discusses how the challenge of big data differs from other risks to medical privacy. Section III is about what can be done to minimise those risks. I argue that the most effective way of protecting people from suffering unfair medical consequences is by having a public universal healthcare system in which coverage is not influenced by personal data (e.g., genetic predisposition, exercise habits, eating habits, etc.). (shrink)

Clark and Chalmers propose that the mind extends further than skin and skull. If they are right, then we should expect this to have some effect on our way of knowing our own mental states. If the content of my notebook can be part of my belief system, then looking at the notebook seems to be a way to get to know my own beliefs. However, it is at least not obvious whether self-ascribing a belief by looking at my notebook (...) is a case of introspection the same way that knowing my non-extended beliefs is. Traditionally this sort of introspection is thought to be privileged and special in ways that the extended introspection case seems not to be. There is nothing privileged about looking at my notebook. Anyone could do it. The aim of the paper is to find out how to understand extended introspection and whether there is something privileged and special about knowing one’s own extended beliefs. Moreover, the notebook case has close analogs using twenty-first century technology. It seems possible to know our beliefs that are extended to smartphones, wearable technology or a cloud-based data store. First, I present the case of extended introspection. I then discuss whether it should be understood as ordinary introspection or as mind-reading. Both seem to be bad fits, which finally prompts an original account for extended introspection based on epistemic rules. (shrink)

This paper examined the relationship between tertiary students’ social media management attitudes and their academic performance in Cross River State, with a specific focus on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. To achieve this purpose, three null hypotheses were formulated accordingly. The study adopted a correlational research design. Cluster and simple random sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 1000 students from the entire population. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire titled: Tertiary Students’ Social Media Management and (...) Academic Performance Questionnaire (TESSMMAPQ). The reliability of the instrument was established through Cronbach alpha and estimate of .93 was obtained indicating that the instrument was internally consistent in measuring what it purports to measure. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis used to analyze data and to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Findings revealed that there is no significant relationship between tertiary students Facebook management attitudes (r. cal.0.032 < crit. r.0.062), WhatsApp management attitudes (r. cal.0.038 < crit. r.0.062), and Instagram management attitudes (r. cal.-0.009 < crit. r.0.062) respectively, with their academic performance. Based on these findings it was recommended among others that; tertiary students' social media usage should be regulated by smartphones producers and internet service providers; in such a way that a maximum monthly login interval (MMLI) is provided that will restrict users to a limited number of login chances. This will ensure that students maintain focus when they have been barred. (shrink)

The article entitled “Post-COVID-19: Education and Thai Society in Digital Era” has two objectives: 1) to study digital technology 2) to study the living life in Thailand in the digital era after COVID-19 pandemics. According to the study, it was found that the new digitized service is a service process on digital platforms such as ordering food, hailing a taxi, and online trading. It is a service called via smartphone. The information is used digitally. Public relations, digital marketing, and (...) living in cyberspace play an increasingly digital role. People have communication skills, use Line, Facebook, social media, have tools to search for knowledge, learn and improve themselves. People in the new era of life have a new way of life therefore there is social life in the cyber world. There should be ethics, attitudes, values, and click-on images that are linked to digital use. For a good time life, It is important to have digital intelligence (Digital Quotient) to live after post-COVID19, the digital era. (shrink)

In an age of pervasive digitization, students' limited familiarity with the vast realm of information poses a significant challenge. This study investigates the hurdles faced by university students in terms of internet access and information retrieval. Objectives encompass understanding the impact of internet access challenges on academic performance, exploring factors influencing students' lack of interest in enhancing internet skills, and identifying barriers to effective internet utilization. Methodologically, a survey approach is adopted, involving 160 purposively selected students as respondents. A structured (...) questionnaire is used for data collection, distributed through Google Forms, resulting in a comprehensive 100% response rate. The study's theoretical foundation rests on the Use and Gratification Theory and Digital Divide Theory, highlighting digital literacy's importance in education. Key findings support alternative hypotheses, revealing the influence of internet connectivity challenges on academic performance, citing factors like cost, inertia, intent, and digital literacy. In conclusion, the study underscores students' reliance on smartphones for internet access, proposing specialized instruction, self-driven skill enhancement, and collaborative efforts to enhance internet accessibility and affordability. Recommendations emphasize specialized instruction, self-driven skill improvement, and collaborative efforts to enhance affordable internet access. Ultimately, tackling these challenges empowers students to navigate the digital landscape and leverage its potential effectively. (shrink)

Background The purpose of this study was to examine whether extended use of a variety of screen-based devices, in addition to television, was associated with poor dietary habits and other health-related characteristics and behaviors among US adults. The recent phenomenon of binge-watching was also explored. -/- Methods A survey to assess screen time across multiple devices, dietary habits, sleep duration and quality, perceived stress, self-rated health, physical activity, and body mass index, was administered to a sample of US adults using (...) the Qualtrics platform and distributed via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Participants were adults 18 years of age and older, English speakers, current US residents, and owners of a television and at least one other device with a screen. Three different screen time categories (heavy, moderate, and light) were created for total screen time, and separately for screen time by type of screen, based on distribution tertiles. Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted to examine differences in dietary habits and health-related characteristics between screen time categories. -/- Results Aggregate screen time across all devices totaled 17.5 h per day for heavy users. Heavy users reported the least healthful dietary patterns and the poorest health-related characteristics – including self-rated health – compared to moderate and light users. Moreover, unique dietary habits emerged when examining dietary patterns by type of screen separately, such that heavy users of TV and smartphone displayed the least healthful dietary patterns compared to heavy users of TV-connected devices, laptop, and tablet. Binge-watching was also significantly associated with less healthy dietary patterns, including frequency of fast-food consumption as well as eating family meals in front of a television, and perceived stress. -/- Conclusions The present study found that poorer dietary choices, as well as other negative health-related impacts, occurred more often as the viewing time of a variety of different screen-based devices increased in a sample of US adults. Future research is needed to better understand what factors among different screen-based devices might affect health behaviors and in turn health-related outcomes. Research is also required to better understand how binge-watching behavior contributes impacts health-related behaviors and characteristics. (shrink)

This study was conducted with the aim of developing the academic work in the Palestinian universities. No one can deny the technological stage that we are witnessing in the present era. Our mission is to use this development to develop the educational process. The Artificial Intelligence of the most important branches of computer science, which is interested in the development of computer software in order to make them simulate intelligent human, recently it emerged promised based on artificial intelligence applications are (...) intelligent tutoring system one of the most prominent of these applications is the most useful in the field of education. Intelligent tutoring system are programs that are helping the student and the teacher in the educational process, so that the student exploits these systems to increase his education and the acquisition of scientific skills, and we are not exaggerating if we say that the future of the development of the educational process is through the development of intelligent private teaching systems because it adapts to me intellectual level of the student as well as easy to use and available 24 hours every day. In this study, a smart tutor was designed using the ITSB tool developed by Prof. Sami Abu Nasser to develop the process of teaching the computer skills course. This course is a university course that teaches students of Israa University on different samples of students. After completion of the course, and evaluate the special lecturers who studied the course and used the system in the process of teaching and arrived at a set of conclusions and recommendations make sure that the use of the tutor Smart smartphone is important in the development of laboratory teaching has positive results in improving the level of scientific student . (shrink)

Our society is undergoing digital change. Dealing with digital technologies has become a daily practice. Many healthcare facilities are implementing digital technologies. Nurses are placed in a strategic position to be the leader of the digital healthcare workforce. Nursing students are more exposed to this technological advancement as they are future professional nurses. This study aimed to examine how information-processing and exchanging skills in digital spaces affect digital problem-solving skills among nursing students. The Bayesian mindsponge framework (BMF) was used as (...) a conceptual framework. This quantitative study utilized a cross-sectional design. The population was all nursing students in two private nursing institutions located in Bangkok, Thailand (n=476) and Surabaya, Indonesia (n=179). Samples were the total population. Self-developed instrument was used in data collection. Data analysis used BMF analytics. The majority were females aged 20-22 years old who use smartphones and tablets daily. The information-processing and information-exchanging skills in digital spaces were positively associated with digital problem-solving skills among nursing students (MInformationProcess=0.30 and SDInformationProcess=0.05; MInformationExchange=0.37, and SDInformationExchange=0.05). More efforts are needed to improve nursing students’ problem-solving skills by using digital content, for instance, by modifying the information-processing and information-exchanging skills in digital spaces. Collaborative learning methods should be promoted in order to support the creation of conducive environment for supporting knowledge or information-exchanging behavior among nursing students by using digital technology. (shrink)

Clark and Chalmers propose that the mind extends further than skin and skull. If they are right, then we should expect this to have some effect on our way of knowing our own mental states. If the content of my notebook can be part of my belief system, then looking at the notebook seems to be a way to get to know my own beliefs. However, it is at least not obvious whether self-ascribing a belief by looking at my notebook (...) is a case of introspection the same way that knowing my non-extended beliefs is. Traditionally this sort of introspection is thought to be privileged and special in ways that the extended introspection case seems not to be. There is nothing privileged about looking at my notebook. Anyone could do it. The aim of the paper is to find out how to understand extended introspection and whether there is something privileged and special about knowing one’s own extended beliefs. Moreover, the notebook case has close analogs using twenty-first century technology. It seems possible to know our beliefs that are extended to smartphones, wearable technology or a cloud-based data store. First, I present the case of extended introspection. I then discuss whether it should be understood as ordinary introspection or as mind-reading. Both seem to be bad fits, which finally prompts an original account for extended introspection based on epistemic rules. (shrink)

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19 as pandemic across the world. With its alarming surge of affected cases throughout the world, lockdown, and awareness (social distancing, use of masks etc.) among people are found to be the only means for restricting the community transmission. In a densely populated country like India, it is very difficult to prevent the community transmission even during lockdown without social awareness and precautionary measures taken by the people. Recently, (...) several containment zones had been identified throughout the country and divided into red, orange and green zones, respectively. The red zones indicate the infection hotspots, orange zones denote some infection and green zones indicate an area with no infection. Contact tracing is known to be an effective technique for detecting and monitoring persons who may have been exposed to individuals infected with any communicable disease. While a good number of contact tracing schemas are existent today (eg., in-person and phone interviews, paper forms, email and web based questionnaires and smartphone apps), they often require active user participation and might miss certain COVID-19 transmission. The Android application updates the locations of the areas in a Google map which are identified to be the containment zones. The application also notifies the users if they have entered a containment zone and to achieve all these functionalities, many tools, and APIs from Google like Firebase and Geofencing API are used in this application. Therefore, this application can be used as a tool for creating further social awareness about the arising need of precautionary measures to be taken by the people of India. (shrink)

The high rate of mathematics education students‟ academic performance in universities has become unbearable. In an attempt to proffer solution to this menace, this study assessed Poll Everywhere eLearning platform, test anxiety, and undergraduates‟ academic performance in Mathematics in Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research one control group and one treatment group. The population of this study comprised all the fulltime regular undergraduates offering Education Mathematics in the Department of Science Education, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria. (...) Accidental sampling technique was adopted in selecting a sample of 328 undergraduates who are owners of smartphones from the population. Test-Anxiety Inventory and Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) were used as data collection instruments. The null hypotheses were tested using independent t-tests and simple linear regression. Findings revealed that Poll Everywhere eLearning platform has a significant effect on students‟ test anxiety and academic performance in Mathematics respectively; there is a moderate negative and significant relationship between students‟ test anxiety and their academic performance in Mathematics. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that Poll Everywhere eLearning platform could be used for the effective teaching and examination of learners in Mathematics and other science-related disciplines. This can be done through the design and integration of course modules to the Poll Everywhere online platform. (shrink)

Along with the development of new technologies applied to a smartphone, the frequency that users interact with their phones also increased, leading to more impacts on human behaviors.

The situated potentials for action between material things in the world and the interactional processes thereby afforded need to be seen as not only constituting the possibility of agency, but thereby also comprising it. Eo ipso, agency must be de-fused from any local, "contained" subject and be understood as a situational property in which subjects and objects can both participate. Any technological artifact should thus be understood as a complex of agential capacities that function relative to any number of social (...) and material factors. Keeping in mind that we are co-constituted by webs of relations involving increasingly complex collections of artefacts, networks, niches, and communities of practice, our investigation will be guided by interrogating the functional potential of a thing that in the last fifteen years has seamlessly worked its way into the everyday life of millions of human agents. This "thing," the smartphone, is merely a nodal point in a highly complex network. Recognizing this massive "collective," we nevertheless want to show some of the ways in which something as seemingly mundane as a smartphone can reflexively alter the range of actions available to a cognitive agent (Latour 1994). Specifically, we hope to shed light on some of the social-cognitive consequences of technological mediation by looking at the complementary, if not mutually implied, domains of memory and knowledge. (shrink)

Peirce and Husserl both realized that our habits and habitual conceptions, though vital to the success of most activities, nevertheless occlude large portions of the experiential canvass. So, unless preparatory work puts us in the right mindset, we risk perceiving the world—not as it is—but rather as we expect it to be. While Peirce and Husserl were predominantly concerned with supplying a better observational basis for inquiries like science, semiotics, and mathematics, I draw on their phaneroscopic/phenomenological tools to combat the (...) addictive and mind-narrowing effects of technology. I go over several examples to show how, when we (try to) rid ourselves of presuppositions and relax the pursuit of efficiency, we enable contemplative possibilities conducive to flourishing and the pursuit of meaning. My overall message is that, in an age when we increasingly depend on devices like Smartphones (and soon VR) to form flat and one-sided worldviews, re-establishing an unmediated contact with our everyday surroundings can have tangible existential benefits, nipping in the bud tyrannical trends as well as wasted lives. (shrink)

This chapter begins with a discussion of the significance of studies of aspects of tool use in understanding causal cognition. It argues that tool use studies reveal the most basic type or causal understanding being put to use, in a way that studies that focus on learning statistical relationships between cause and effect or studies of perceptual causation do not. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.

This study aims to use the Asian knowledge model “APO” as a determinant for performance excellence in universities and identifying the most effecting factors on it. This study was applied on Al-Azhar University in Gaza strip. The result of the study showed that (APO) model is valid as a measure and there are four dimensions in the model affecting significantly more than the others (university processes, KM leadership, personnel, KM outputs). Furthermore, performance excellence produced though modernizing the means of education, (...) curriculum development, technology and flexibility in the organizational structure. The study recommends expanding the usage of (APO) model, enhancing the role of knowledge leadership, technology, organizational flexibility, sharing culture and incentive systems that encouraging innovation. (shrink)

The use of counterfactuals for considerations of algorithmic fairness and explainability is gaining prominence within the machine learning community and industry. This paper argues for more caution with the use of counterfactuals when the facts to be considered are social categories such as race or gender. We review a broad body of papers from philosophy and social sciences on social ontology and the semantics of counterfactuals, and we conclude that the counterfactual approach in machine learning fairness and social explainability can (...) require an incoherent theory of what social categories are. Our findings suggest that most often the social categories may not admit counterfactual manipulation, and hence may not appropriately satisfy the demands for evaluating the truth or falsity of counterfactuals. This is important because the wide- spread use of counterfactuals in machine learning can lead to misleading results when applied in high-stakes domains. Accordingly, we argue that even though counterfactuals play an essential part in some causal inferences, their use for questions of algorithmic fairness and social explanations can create more problems than they resolve. Our positive result is a set of tenets about using counterfactuals for fairness and explanations in machine learning. (shrink)

My topic is the intelligent guidance of action. In this paper I offer an empirically grounded case for four ideas: that [a] cognitive processes of practical reasoning play a key role in the intelligent guidance of action, [b] these processes could not do so without significant enabling work done by both perception and the motor system, [c] the work done by perceptual and motor systems can be characterized as the generation of information specialized for action guidance, which in turn suggests (...) that [d] the cognitive processes of practical reasoning that play a key role in the guidance of intelligent action are not the abstract, syllogistic ones philosophers often treat as the paradigm of practical reasoning. Rather, these cognitive processes are constrained by, and work well with, the specialized concepts outputted by perception and the feedback outputted by sensorimotor processes. (shrink)

Impostor syndrome or Impostor phenomenon is a belief that a person thinks their success is due to luck or external factors, not their abilities. This psychological trait is present in certain groups like women. In this paper, we propose a neutrosophic trait measure to represent the psychological concept of the trait-anti trait using refined neutrosophic sets. This study analysed a group of 200 undergraduate students for impostor syndrome, perfectionism, introversion and self-esteem: after the COVID pandemic break in 2021. Data labelling (...) was carried out using these neutrosophic trait measures. Machine learning models like Support Vector Machine(SVM), K-nearest neighbour (K-NN), and random forest were used to model the data; SVM provided the best accuracy of 92.15%. (shrink)

Some say there are moderators and abstainers. One post, call or text with “off” energy, unfortunately, would get me down for days, sometimes more, so for the time being, I abstained. Moderation requires more discipline. I hoped detaching from tech would help me build up to moderation.

This chapter analyses the prospects of using neuroimaging methods, in particular functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), for philosophical purposes. To do so, it will use two case studies from the field of emotion research: Greene et al. (2001) used fMRI to uncover the mental processes underlying moral intuitions, while Lindquist et al. (2012) used fMRI to inform the debate around the nature of a specific mental process, namely, emotion. These studies illustrate two main approaches in cognitive neuroscience: Reverse inference and (...) ontology testing, respectively. With regards to Greene et al.’s study, the use of Neurosynth (Yarkoni 2011) will show that the available formulations of reverse inference, although viable a priori, seem to be of limited use in practice. On the other hand, the discussion of Lindquist et al.’s study will present the so far neglected potential of ontology-testing approaches to inform philosophical questions. (shrink)

Principles of fairness and solidarity in AI ethics regularly overlap, creating obscurity in practice: acting in accordance with one can appear indistinguishable from deciding according to the rules of the other. However, there exist irregular cases where the two concepts split, and so reveal their disparate meanings and uses. This paper explores two cases in AI medical ethics – one that is irregular and the other more conventional – to fully distinguish fairness and solidarity. Then the distinction is applied to (...) the frequently cited COMPAS versus ProPublica dispute in judicial ethics. The application provides a broader model for settling contemporary and topical debates about fairness and solidarity. It also implies a deeper and disorienting truth about AI ethics principles and their justification. (shrink)

Limitless is a movie (released in 2011) as well as a novel (published in 2001) about a tormented author who (plagued by a writer’s block) becomes an early user of an experimental designer drug. The wonder drug makes him highly productive overnight and even allows him to make a fortune on the stock market. At the height of his career, however, the detrimental side-effects become increasingly noticeable. In this article, Limitless is analysed from two perspectives. First of all, building on (...) the views of the French novelist Emile Zola, the novel is seen as the report of a closely monitored experiment. Subsequently, building on the phenomenology of Ludwig Binswanger, I will show how the cognitive enhancement drug not only boosts the protagonist’s information processing capacities, but also modifies his experience of space and time, his sense of spatiality, his way of being-in-the-world. On the basis of these (complementary) analyses I will indicate how genres of the imagination (such as movies and novels) may play a significant role in assessing the societal implications of emerging technological developments such as neuro-enhancement, especially during the preparatory or anticipatory stage. (shrink)

The educational process has been dramatically transformed by technology; this transformation has caused the emergence of central concepts, among which is distance learning. The latter has brought new opportunities to learn from; meanwhile, it has presented challenges that have impacted learning in many ways. Thus, the present study investigated the implementation of E-learning among EFL students at Moulay Ismail University to identify students' perceptions about this type of learning and consider the pros and cons to ensure best practice solutions that (...) endorse online learning quality. The study included 315 students at Moulay Ismail University in Morocco who completed an online questionnaire and used descriptive analysis because the data was presented in simple summaries that aimed to describe the basic features of the data and measures. The findings, both quantitative and qualitative, indicated that e-learning is still in its early stages. At the same time, students are not entirely prepared to supersede traditional learning with distance education due to some reasons, in particular, such as lack of university support in offering resources to learn online, lack of internet connection, malfunction of technological tools, etc. All in all, EFL students prefer blended learning because it allows them to combine a new technological experience with a traditional one. Meaning that e-learning should not be excluded entirely from the educational system, but it can be used only as a support to foster EFL students' academic achievements. (shrink)

Background: Community-based education (CBE) involves educating the head (cognitive), heart (affective), and the hand (practical) by utilizing tools that enable us to broaden and interrogate our value systems. This article reports on the use of virtue ethics (VE) theory for understanding the principles that create, maintain and sustain a socially accountable community placement programme for undergraduate medical students. Our research questions driving this secondary analysis were; what are the goods which are internal to the successful practice of CBE in medicine, (...) and what are the virtues that are likely to promote and sustain them? -/- Methods: We conducted a secondary theoretically informed thematic analysis of the primary data based on MacIntyre’s virtue ethics theory as the conceptual framework. -/- Results: Virtue ethics is an ethical approach that emphasizes the role of character and virtue in shaping moral behavior; when individuals engage in practices (such as CBE), goods internal to those practices (such as a collaborative attitude) strengthen the practices themselves, but also augment those individuals’ virtues, and that of their community (such as empathy). We identified several goods that are internal to the practice of CBE and accompanying virtues as important for the development, implementation and sustainability of a socially accountable community placement programme. A service-oriented mind-set, a deep understanding of community needs, a transformed mind, and a collaborative approach emerged as goods internal to the practice of a socially accountable CBE. The virtues needed to sustain the identified internal goods included empathy and compassion, connectedness, accountability, engagement [sustained relationship], cooperation, perseverance, and willingness to be an agent of change. -/- Conclusion: This study found that MacIntyre’s virtue ethics theory provided a useful theoretical lens for understanding the principles that create, maintain and sustain CBE practice. (shrink)

In this research, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed and tested to predict Birth Weight. A number of factors were identified that may affect birth weight. Factors such as smoke, race, age, weight (lbs) at last menstrual period, hypertension, uterine irritability, number of physician visits in 1st trimester, among others, as input variables for the ANN model. A model based on multi-layer concept topology was developed and trained using the data from some birth cases in hospitals. The evaluation (...) of testing the dataset shows that the ANN model is capable of correctly predicting the birth weight with 100% accuracy. (shrink)